USB location for direct connection to CarPlay?

[IMPRMNS]

I can confirm that my 2024 USB ports do not transmit data either.

 

[landmannnn]

I'm in the same boat with my Android Auto. The INEOS website states that AA is wired only. It's the opposite and now my Starlink is pretty much worthless. It makes no sense that a vehicle designed to be out in the wilderness won't allow you to use your Starlink for your phone signal. If you disconnect from AA to use the Starlink Wi-Fi, you will no longer have access to OnX and other features that can only be obtained through AA. I have a support request in asking for a workaround. I'll post it if I receive one.

Same for all vehicles that use wireless AA or Carplay only.

A possible solution would be to have one phone connected to Starlink via wifi, and a second phone connected to the car using AA/Carplay.

You can then tether the two phones using bluetooth to get internet from the first to the second phone. It might work, worth a try.

It would be more likely to work if you used a laptop to connect to Starlink and then tether to the main phone using usb or bluetooth.

 

[Commodore]

Same for all vehicles that use wireless AA or Carplay only.

A possible solution would be to have one phone connected to Starlink via wifi, and a second phone connected to the car using AA/Carplay.

You can then tether the two phones using bluetooth to get internet from the first to the second phone. It might work, worth a try.

It would be more likely to work if you used a laptop to connect to Starlink and then tether to the main phone using usb or bluetooth.

Has anyone tried this? Last time I tried using my iPad connected to the Starlink which worked for data but my iPad doesn’t have GPS so it didn’t know where I was. I did not try and connect my phone to the iPad. Might be worth a try.

 

[Gajep71]

Same for all vehicles that use wireless AA or Carplay only.

A possible solution would be to have one phone connected to Starlink via wifi, and a second phone connected to the car using AA/Carplay.

You can then tether the two phones using bluetooth to get internet from the first to the second phone. It might work, worth a try.

It would be more likely to work if you used a laptop to connect to Starlink and then tether to the main phone using usb or bluetooth.

Possible but a bit much just to have connectivity in a vehicle that is supposed to get very far away from cell signals

 

[Tr182md]

I have seen agile off-road has a mount for an iPad that might be even better for maps. The grenadier screen is pretty small.

INEOS Grenadier Overhead Switch-Pros Mount » Agile Offroad

Grab Handle Mount for INEOS Grenadier by Agile Offroad. Capable of mounting full size devices and a direct Grenadier interior dash handle replacement.

agileoffroad.com

 

[FBP]

I sorta remember reading that a some point in 2024 Ineos stopped supporting wired car play. That sucks when you want to connect your phone to starlink and then use the phone for a wired carplay connection. At least this is what I was told on my adventure through Southern Utah a few months ago.

Edit: This is from the owner's manual.

Connecting Apple CarPlay
After connecting your phone or tablet using Bluetooth, Apple CarPlaywill be displayed automatically. If the phone is being connected for the first time, follow the instructions on the Center Display and
Touchscreen and/or your Apple CarPlay device screen to finish thesetup. Apple CarPlay requires iOS 13 and above. Your CarPlay device must have Hotspot turned on for wireless Apple CarPlay to work.


The issue is that wireless carplay also needs a wifi connection. Frankly, It's fucking stupid that they ditched wired carplay.

thanks for this - I am so pissed at this as I don't want bluetooth and wifi in the car - I always used CarPlay wired in all my other cars and it seems to be a logical option, especially for a car that prides itself to be low tech - do you know any hack to fix this? apparently the usb-c port has data

 

[globalgregors]

thanks for this - I am so pissed at this as I don't want bluetooth and wifi in the car - I always used CarPlay wired in all my other cars and it seems to be a logical option, especially for a car that prides itself to be low tech - do you know any hack to fix this? apparently the usb-c port has data

We have an early delivery, I believe it’s been wireless CarPlay only since day one. Haven’t found a way around the issue described above. Tend to use Organic Maps (which works offline) in CarPlay when out of mobile signal range. Passengers use the StarLink which is default powered to the ignition.

Tried all the ideas in this thread with no joy. Hope springs eternal so other ideas welcomed.

Generally takes ~30 seconds to switch between CarPlay and StarLink when/if ever necessary while driving. Bit of a pain, though.

 

[jrmgren]

Tried all the ideas in this thread with no joy. Hope springs eternal so other ideas welcomed.

Also 2024 owner here, been trying to get wired AA to work without success until I figured out it's Wireless only. What a stupid decision to remove such a basic functionality. As previously mentioned by others I also have starlink and would like to let my phone AND the car use it for data when I'm out of cell coverage (which is most of the time when going on a trip in Australia). But no, you have to use wireless and the phone and car won't have internet access at all since you're out of coverage.

Anyway there is one potential solution which I am going to try shortly is the following. A bit hacky but hey that's what we have to resort to. Note this is for Android, I am not sure for iPhone but it must be possible too.

- Have a dedicated old phone without a SIM card in it. this phone will stay in the car and connect to Android Auto (BT + WIFI). It won't have internet access itself, but you can use offline maps of cached google maps.
- When you want to give this phone internet access, use a USB-C cable between this phone and your own phone and enable USB tethering. It will give the car phone's and therefore the car itself internet access via the usb link, whether your personal phone is on mobile or Starlink wifi.

The care phone can be connected to the car USB to charge. When you connect it to your own phone, it will discharge, unless:
- you enable the setting in your phone to charge the connected device. then your phone can also be connected to a separate usb port to charge itself.
- or, there are cable adapters that exist on ebay etc, that can split the usb-c output to 2 outputs, meaning you can connect the car phone to a charging usb port as well as your own phone (2 cables coming out of it).

I hope this works and we can actually get something out of this.
The worst part is I believe this is just a software limitation. If they re-added the functionality in a software update this would probably be all that's needed to make it work out of the box. But unlikely to happen.

 

[OkGo]

Do you have an option to use ethernet to the starlink and a usb ethernet adaptor for the phone ? Maybe simpler than needing a second phone.

 

[LeonD]

Has anyone tried this? Last time I tried using my iPad connected to the Starlink which worked for data but my iPad doesn’t have GPS so it didn’t know where I was. I did not try and connect my phone to the iPad. Might be worth a try.

If you are using your iPad for maps, you may want to use a bad elf GPS puck. Some discussion on it below.

Post in thread 'The "Locus Maps" Thread'

Sep 10, 2025

For what is worth, to assist me in remote areas without cellular service, I use the Bad Elf GPS Pro (https://bad-elf.com/). It’s a Bluetooth GPS receiver that connects to your phone or tablet and works seamlessly with apps like Google Maps and GAIA GPS mapping (make sure to download the maps before you head out). I have used the Bad Elf Pro extensively with the GAIA GPS Maps in areas without service, and it has been very accurate, reliable for navigation and recording my track.

It’s my understanding that the bad elf pro is not considered a legacy product, but Bad Elf has a newer...

• LeonD

• 

 

[Logsplitter]

If you are using your iPad for maps, you may want to use a bad elf GPS puck. Some discussion on it below.

Post in thread 'The "Locus Maps" Thread'

Sep 10, 2025

For what is worth, to assist me in remote areas without cellular service, I use the Bad Elf GPS Pro (https://bad-elf.com/). It’s a Bluetooth GPS receiver that connects to your phone or tablet and works seamlessly with apps like Google Maps and GAIA GPS mapping (make sure to download the maps before you head out). I have used the Bad Elf Pro extensively with the GAIA GPS Maps in areas without service, and it has been very accurate, reliable for navigation and recording my track.

It’s my understanding that the bad elf pro is not considered a legacy product, but Bad Elf has a newer...

• LeonD

• 

Or a cheaper option although not quite as accurate is a Garmin Glo. Plenty accurate for me with its GPS and GLONASS satellite connections linked to my IPad for mapping.

 

[jrmgren]

Do you have an option to use ethernet to the starlink and a usb ethernet adaptor for the phone ? Maybe simpler than needing a second phone.

That's a decent workaround. In fact, another option is to get a small wifi travel router that can operate in client mode (the router's wifi connects to the starlink instead of running as a hotspot). Then ethernet from the router to the phone, with could only be a small length of cable and easier wiring.

 

[globalgregors]

Also 2024 owner here, been trying to get wired AA to work without success until I figured out it's Wireless only. What a stupid decision to remove such a basic functionality. As previously mentioned by others I also have starlink and would like to let my phone AND the car use it for data when I'm out of cell coverage (which is most of the time when going on a trip in Australia). But no, you have to use wireless and the phone and car won't have internet access at all since you're out of coverage.

Anyway there is one potential solution which I am going to try shortly is the following. A bit hacky but hey that's what we have to resort to. Note this is for Android, I am not sure for iPhone but it must be possible too.

- Have a dedicated old phone without a SIM card in it. this phone will stay in the car and connect to Android Auto (BT + WIFI). It won't have internet access itself, but you can use offline maps of cached google maps.
- When you want to give this phone internet access, use a USB-C cable between this phone and your own phone and enable USB tethering. It will give the car phone's and therefore the car itself internet access via the usb link, whether your personal phone is on mobile or Starlink wifi.

The care phone can be connected to the car USB to charge. When you connect it to your own phone, it will discharge, unless:
- you enable the setting in your phone to charge the connected device. then your phone can also be connected to a separate usb port to charge itself.
- or, there are cable adapters that exist on ebay etc, that can split the usb-c output to 2 outputs, meaning you can connect the car phone to a charging usb port as well as your own phone (2 cables coming out of it).

I hope this works and we can actually get something out of this.
The worst part is I believe this is just a software limitation. If they re-added the functionality in a software update this would probably be all that's needed to make it work out of the box. But unlikely to happen.

Yep, doing the ‘second phone’ option at the moment, which is working well enough. It’s handy that phone Bluetooth operates in parallel with CarPlay so I can use it for Teams/WhatsApp calls coming through my primary phone now connected to the StarLink. Also means I have traffic data coming through to trade off against standalone routing in both the Overlander and Organic Maps.