[SHCS]

I've been researching these. I know many are hopeful Kia will implement wireless on the 10.25" via firmware in the future but until then I plan to add it with a USB adapter.

Has anyone got experience with any specific brands, good or bad? Brands I've been looking into being AAWireless, CarlinKit, carsifi, Ottocast, among others. Any thoughts or prior threads I failed to spot in my searches.

 

[Speedtek22]

I just bought a Carlinkit 3.0 on Amazon.
Been using it for a few days now and it works perfectly.
I was even able to pair it with my wife's profile and it selects her phone when she changes profiles (instead of mine when my phone is in the car)
Have to say, I'm impressed, it's small and unobtrusive (I tucked it up on the phone charging slot since I don't use that feature), connects quickly and seamlessly, and is easy to set up.

 

[SHCS]

Thanks Speed, hit us with an update in a couple weeks.

 

[Speedtek22]

Thanks Speed, hit us with an update in a couple weeks.

Unless it outright fails, it will be pretty much the same...lol
The only thing that is concerning me at the moment is the USB interface port in the car seems to stay powered after everything is shut down and the door is opened. Does anyone know if this shuts down after a set time?

Edit: It shuts off, just takes about 15-20 minutes

 

[SHCS]

I had heard that one of the two ports was an 'always on' port. My understanding was the center USB was the 'always on' port. Haven't got mine yet to test. But good to know at least one of them turns off at a certain time. How did you test?

 

[Speedtek22]

I had heard that one of the two ports was an 'always on' port. My understanding was the center USB was the 'always on' port. Haven't got mine yet to test. But good to know at least one of them turns off at a certain time. How did you test?

It is on the centre USB port (that's the only one that connects for CarPlay). The Carlinkit has an LED bar on it indicating when it is powered up. I pulled it out when I got back in the car after about 20 minutes and the LED bar was off (finally). So it would appear the power does shut down after a while.

 

[Speedtek22]

Update to the update...The centre USB is powered on all the time...The Carlinkit adapter has a (really) slow blink rate. Noticed it when I went back out later and the light was on...after about a count of 5 it went off again, for another count of 5...and so on. Tricked me...lol.
May have to look into getting a USB extender that can be switched off.

This should do the trick:

USB Switch Extension Cable, ANDTOBO Upgraded USB Extension Cord with On/Off Power Switch Cable for LED Strips, iOS System, etc : Amazon.ca: Electronics

USB Switch Extension Cable, ANDTOBO Upgraded USB Extension Cord with On/Off Power Switch Cable for LED Strips, iOS System, etc : Amazon.ca: Electronics

www.amazon.ca

Edit; Although probably not really necessary as the Carlinkit is only rated at 0.15W which works out to around 0.03A draw. It would would take quite a while to drain a 60AH battery at that.

 

[SHCS]

Kinda like this one for a few bucks more. Less loose cable while giving you the ability to add non-AA/CarPlay dependent media should you need it.

axGear USB 3.0 4 Port HUB w/on Off Switch Portable Slim for Laptop Desktop Computer : Amazon.ca: Electronics

There's not an air gap up underneath the charging plate is there? To tuck the whole mess up behind the console? I ask cause my Suzuki did. You couldn't see it. But if you felt up under there, there was just a space that you could run a USB through.

Would be nice to be able to run something like that through to the glove box where it could be 3M'd in place.

 

[Speedtek22]

Kinda like this one for a few bucks more. Less loose cable while giving you the ability to add non-AA/CarPlay dependent media should you need it.

axGear USB 3.0 4 Port HUB w/on Off Switch Portable Slim for Laptop Desktop Computer : Amazon.ca: Electronics

There's not an air gap up underneath the charging plate is there? To tuck the whole mess up behind the console? I ask cause my Suzuki did. You couldn't see it. But if you felt up under there, there was just a space that you could run a USB through.

Would be nice to be able to run something like that through to the glove box where it could be 3M'd in place.

There's an indent underneath, but it feels like it's all a solid piece, no gap.
I would be hesitant to run a hub style USB setup off the carplay port, I don't think the system would like it much if you plugged anything else into it while running android or ios to the display.
For the time being I'm not even going to worry about it, we typically don't leave the car parked for more than a day or two at a time so the carlinkit is never going to impact the battery. You'd have to leave it sitting for months to drain it with that thing.

 

[SHCS]

I'm in agreement as far as the battery drain.

Was just thinking though, if the dongle remains powered after shutting the vehicle down, your phone won't disconnect from it. If you're listening to an audiobook for example, won't it keep playing as long as you're within connectivity range of the dongle? The same would go for a phone call. Or does Carplay/AndroidAuto recognize the car is off and facilitate the disconnection despite the phone still being connected to the dongle?

 

[Speedtek22]

I'm in agreement as far as the battery drain.

Was just thinking though, if the dongle remains powered after shutting the vehicle down, your phone won't disconnect from it. If you're listening to an audiobook for example, won't it keep playing as long as you're within connectivity range of the dongle? The same would go for a phone call. Or does Carplay/AndroidAuto recognize the car is off and facilitate the disconnection despite the phone still being connected to the dongle?

Good question.
I did notice that the carlinkit still has to do a "connect" to the system when you start the car and the phone doesn't pair to it until it does connect, so I think it will probably disconnect similarly when you shut the car off and open the door. (entertainment system power down).
I'll test it out next drive (if I remember...old brain...lol) and let you know what I find.

 

[SHCS]

@Speedtek22 Could we get an update on your experience with the Carlinkit 3.0 now that you've had it a month.

If anyone else has experience with any others I'd appreciate your input.

 

[Speedtek22]

@Speedtek22 Could we get an update on your experience with the Carlinkit 3.0 now that you've had it a month.

If anyone else has experience with any others I'd appreciate your input.

Loving it...sometimes it can take a little longer to connect to my phone, but that's fairly inconsequential.
The only annoyance sometimes is due to the fact that I have my wife's phone paired to it as well. Because the unit is "always on" (live USB port), if I leave the vehicle and go in a store (vehicle off) with the wife waiting in the car, it will be paired to her phone on the next start. A minor annoyance, but if we're on a trip and I have the nav running on my carplay it becomes a series of steps to switch back to mine.

PS: in answer to the question about the audio remaining connected if you're still nearby...I can confirm (from sitting in the car at wife's work waiting for her to come out) that the phone disconnects from the system once the entertainment system powers down (timeout or open driver's door). It's interesting, it kind of "preloads" the phone connection on the next start (if not too much time has passed), hence why it switches to the other user if previous user goes out of range. The "preload" does not seem to do a full connection though, probably because it doesn't sense a media system interface.

 

[SHCS]

My CarlinKit 4.0 arrived today. Needed the 4.0 for AndroidAuto. Apparently, the 3.0 is CarPlay only for anyone looking at these and needing Android connectivity. A lot of the information on that is pretty vague. There is ZERO mention of Android on outer packaging of the 4.0. But CarlinKit's 'chat support' confirms AndroidAuto connectivity. Hoping for the best, I haven't got my Seltos yet.

 

[Speedtek22]

My CarlinKit 4.0 arrived today. Needed the 4.0 for AndroidAuto. Apparently, the 3.0 is CarPlay only for anyone looking at these and needing Android connectivity. A lot of the information on that is pretty vague. There is ZERO mention of Android on outer packaging of the 4.0. But CarlinKit's 'chat support' confirms AndroidAuto connectivity. Hoping for the best, I haven't got my Seltos yet.

Awesome!
Sorry, I didn't even think about Android (being a diehard Apple guy...lol).

 

[SHCS]

(being a diehard Apple guy...lol)

Patooie!

 

[Speedtek22]

Patooie!

lol...So...how's the 4.0 working? Like it?

 

[SHCS]

Couldn't tell you. Haven't gotten the Seltos yet. Will update.

 

[Speedtek22]

Couldn't tell you. Haven't gotten the Seltos yet. Will update.

Oh damn...thought you had already, any updates on ETA?

 

[SHCS]

Don't wanna jinx it. We'll see.