OTTOCAST U2-AIR Wireless CarPlay Adapter for iPhone,Retains Factory Control

I started off by comparing 10 different wireless CarPlay adapters. I used professional review sites and customer reviews to compare them on:1) boot up time2) input lag3) connection quality/stability4) updates (how difficult, how long manufacturer provides updates).Based on the data I collected for those points, I went with Ottocast. Here’s how it has measured up for me:1) Boot time - People were reporting 18 seconds which sounds like an eternity to me but I am finding it to be way faster than that. I haven’t timed it but from the time I turn on the engine, buckle up, and put it in drive, CarPlay is on screen. My biggest fear was that this device wouldn’t be ready for use until I was already well down the road but it has been a non-issue.2) Input lag - As there is with any wireless CarPlay whether that be via an adapter like this, or native to the car, or built into an aftermarket receiver/head unit, there is input lag/delay. Personally this hasn’t been a bother to me. It’s a minor delay. A little bit longer than the delay I see with plain Bluetooth music streaming, but less delay than I see when using AirPlay between devices at home.3) Connection stability - It seems like many of these products are plagued with connection drops/disconnects. But that’s what stood out to me about Ottocast in the reviews, it had the least complains about that. And so far I haven’t had any issues.4) Updates - Most other adapters require an update before using but this worked out of the box. They actually recommend not updating until something stops working - like after a phone update. I haven’t performed an update but it looks to be on pair with all others, and with Ottocast being one of the leading brands in this space, I’m hopeful they’ll be around to keep supporting this product with updates into the future.Some other points worth mentioning:Setup - While this wasn’t a criteria I was tracking/comparing, it is also worth noting how incredibly simple setup was. Just a couple of steps over a couple of minutes and it was ready to go.Size - this thing is incredibly small. I thought it would be much bigger. I like how compact it is - easily stays out of the way.Summary - From review comparing and my real world experience, Ottocast U2 seems like the best product from among its peers, particularly in what I think are the 2 most important aspects: boot up time and connection stability.

For those beginning to use the OTTOCAST U2-AIR device, but the USB ports in your vehicle continue to supply power even after you turn off your car and walk away from it, please note that a company named Cable Matters makes a one-foot-long USB extension cord with a toggle switch (ON OFF). Just search for Cable Matters usb on off switch 1 ftThe particular extension cord I just mentioned is USB-A (male on one end, female on the other end, being an extension cord and all), so if your vehicle's ports are USB-A (the older type), you should do well with the Cable Matters cord I've suggested. On the other hand, if your vehicle's ports are USB-C, perhaps you can search for and find a similar on-off extension cord for USB-C. All of us USB-A people wish you luck.Use the switch to disconnect the U2-AIR immediately after turning off your vehicle, and to reconnect it after your head unit boots up for a new trip.The OTTOCAST U2-AIR is still very new to me, but not being able to turn it off without physically unplugging its USB cable was the only complaint I had, and I now consider that issue to be resolved (good enough, anyway) thanks to the Cable Matters on-off switch.I've noticed there is a longer delay when I press the steering wheel button to skip to the next song, but even when using wired CarPlay, I have always had a delay of maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of a second. Now it's closer to a full second. That's the trade-off: a couple of slight delays in exchange for keeping your iPhone in your pocket or purse. The delay is fine with me; I'm already used to it. Changing the volume is just as fast as it ever was. Touch-screen response is also the same as ever, imo.I'm pretty happy with this device so far, it has actually been making me smile as I drive. But I have read the other reviews and I will be watching and listening carefully to see if I experience any of the other mentioned or described issues in the days ahead. If anything seems significant enough to be shared, I will try to remember to update this post.FYI, my iPhone is a 15 Pro Max, and my car is a 2021 Subaru Forester (Sport trim).

This is actually the 2nd one of these I have ordered and tried. I have a 2019 RAM 1500 5th Gen Bighorn. These trucks have 2 USB A and 2 USB C plugs, but there has to be a fuse adjusted in the fuse box under that dash, that requires the dash piece to be removed, under the steering column... or, the USB ports stay powered in the RAM, connected to the device and your phone will not switch to your homes WiFi unless you manually disconnect the Carplay device.After I sent the first one back, I found a forum post about moving that fuse, so the power shut off after 1 hour. So, when you get home, the truck has to be off and left alone for 1 hour before it'll disconnect and hop onto your home WiFi. Is it a small inconvenience, yes. Would it be more convenient to just get in the truck and have Carplay without messing with cables, YES. So I ordered this one to try again.I want you to keep in mind, I have had this for 3 weeks now, but the truck I use it in, is not driven much. I have a company vehicle, so my RAM, only gets driven on weekends and maybe a couple trips to the store during the week. With that said, it's now dead. There haven't been any iPhone updates or updates to RAM Uconnect. I got in yesterday and got the screen I added a photo for. I restarted my phone, had to hunt for the Bluetooth connection and then it's WiFi connection and manually force a connection. Tech support is simply logging into the device via it's IP address and checking for updates and it was up to date once I got it forced into connecting. Today, same thing, this same screen. If you force it to connect, it will work fine. If you don't, it won't connect on it's own. I tried different cables and tried all 4 USB plugs to make sure it wasn't an equipment issue on my end, it isn't.I think we would all like wireless Carplay and Android Auto. But I don't think the technology is there yet. Plugging in, just takes a couple seconds. A cord might not be convenient, but it's reliable and only costs $10 to replace if it goes bad later. I'm returning this one and calling the wireless Carplay idea, done and over until I buy a different truck or the devices get reliable.

9/23 updates - "Otto" likes to disconnect frequently from the car, Bluetooth and my iPhone and can be very annoying to reconnect. One other very odd “quirk” has appeared with “Otto”.When my car is off and parked in my driveway with “Otto” plugged into the USB audio port in my car, Otto takes over my wireless Sony ear buds when I’m close to the car and kills the Bluetooth signal from my iPhone to my ear buds.See the Car Play photo - that’s what pops up on my iPhone when Otto takes over my Tidal streaming.I unplugged Otto from the vehicle USB and my ear buds were fine. My Palisade must power Otto via the USB cable even when the ignition is off and allow it take over my iPhone. I'm looking for an improved brand or Otto model.It’s very odd to have my Sony ear buds die when I’m doing yard work so from now on, I unplug Otto when I’m doing yard work with my car in the driveway.3/23 update. 3 months later through a tough, coldwinter and “Otto” is still working nearly flawlessly with my iPhone 12 and Tidal streaming. As long as the Tidal app is open on my iPhone, connection is quick. I have not noticed any unusual drop outs or other quirks.It can take a minute or two for iPhone and Otto to connect if the Tidal app isn’t open. But if I click on the Tidal app on the Palisade media display, it connects nearly instantly. Really happy with Otto!12/21/22 update - got my 2023 Hyundai Palisade and I transferred “Otto” directly from old Mazda CX-9 to the Palisade, which immediately detected Otto and Otto worked instantly.The functionality was nearly perfect just like my old Mazda, I have to click on the Tidal app on my cell phone to fire up streaming with Tidal. Once I do, Car Play and Tidal work perfect! Otherwise, no issues.Original Review -My expectations for this device were low. I was expecting to have to send it back. I was wrong on both counts.Once I got “Otto” set up, it worked flawlessly and wirelessly with my formerly hard wire only Apple Car Play. It even worked with my Tidal streaming app on my iPhone through Otto enabled wireless Air Play.I had to open the Tidal app after my car audio system and “Otto” booted up. My car audio system boots a lot slower than Otto.Navigation, phone, audio and every app worked fine.A couple of install notes. Make SURE you have real Apple Car Play - Otto just makes existing Car Play wireless, it doesn’t create the entire Apple Car Play universe.Make sure you use the proper USB port in your car. You can have multiple USB ports in your car and it’s possible only one works for audio and the rest are power only. That’s how my Mazda CX-9 is set up.Otto includes 2 connection cables. One is USB C to USB C and the other is USB A to USB C. If you don’t know the difference, Google them. You need the right cable.Follow the directions and you should be fine - in a 2019 Mazda CX-9 with Apple Car play. I’ll have connection data on a 2023 Hyundai Palisade in about 10 days after my new Palisade arrives. Hope this helps!

SO HAPPY!! This was quick and easy and connects seamlessly. Would purchase again.

I have two of these and they are the best. I have an aftermarket pioneer and a 2026 Nissan and it works great with both. For the Nissan, I tried other options (including the Ottocast 3) to not have a cord, but nothing was close. It’s as close to seamless as you can get. In theory one with no cord that works with two different would be great, but they don’t work, and until then this is the best.

YES! It works! It does what they say, you don’t have to plug your phone in to use Apple CarPlay. It’s easy to install, very small, and for the price it does a nice job. What you don’t know is that it’s slow to respond. Sometimes it locks up, or fails to play the actual audio even though the screen says it’s playing. (Just unplug it from the usb port, re-connect, and everything is fine again.) Another thing you don’t know is that your phone will get hot in your pocket while it’s running, and it will eat up your battery pretty fast, too. The whole point of buying this is, I make a lot of short quick trips, and plugging my phone in every time is a hassle. Well, on a day where I was in and out of the car six times over two hours, driving about 90 minutes of that, my phone battery was very low. NOT THE FAULT OF THIS PRODUCT, but it does speak to my expectations, and the whole concept fails to meet them. I’ll keep playing with this thing because I like it, but in the future I’ll probably just plug the phone in and be done with it.

Worked ok for a bit, eventually stopped being recognized by the vehicle even when standard wired car play continued to work. Connecting to the device felt slow and with a significant delay from the phone to the device. It also would randomly start playing content when you opened the door and the car was completely off, there was no way to adjust the volume when this happened. It was super annoying.Before it stopped working I also tried updating the firmware on the device and it bricked the device until I contacted support and needed to reinstall the firmware using my computer with a sketchy software that required me to turn off safety protocols on my computer and was challenging to remove after. Support was decent to work with and able to help me fix the device, I didnt care to do it again with all the issues and the device performance.

Works as advertised and makes life a lot easier in motorhome !

Funciona bien !!

Working flawlessly with Mercedes CLS 2019. Quick connection and no apparent significant lag. Recommended!

I am impressed by the quality of the connection, fast and stable connection

I previously had the Carlinkit 4.0 and had many issues with freezing, so I returned it and picked this one. It was a little more pricy but it works exactly as advertised and does not freeze. The audio delay is very minimal, overall very happy!