How To Turn Off CarPlay on Your iPhone

CarPlay is an undeniably useful feature on your iPhone, but it might cause distractions. If you’re one among them and no longer wish to use CarPlay in your vehicle, you can turn it off for good. This guide discusses several nifty techniques to temporarily or permanently turn off CarPlay on your iPhone.

How To Turn Off CarPlay on Your iPhone

You might find CarPlay convenient in several situations, such as making calls, using navigation, controlling your vehicle with voice commands, etc. However, if you prefer your car’s infotainment system’s OS over CarPlay or don’t wish to link your iPhone to your vehicle, consider turning off the feature. Doing this will ensure that CarPlay does not start automatically when you connect your iPhone to your car for charging.

Another benefit of disabling this integration is that it will safeguard your personal data in your absence.

Turning off CarPlay on an iPhone is simple. You can selectively disable it for a specific car. Or you can turn it off permanently on your device to prevent automatic detection on any vehicle supporting CarPlay.

How to Turn Off CarPlay for a Specific Car

Irrespective of whether your iPhone is wired or wirelessly connected to your vehicle’s infotainment system for running CarPlay, you can follow these steps to turn off the feature.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap General.
  2. Scroll down and select CarPlay.
    CarPlay settings on iPhone
  3. Under My Cars, tap the name of the vehicle for which you wish to disable CarPlay.
    turn off Apple Carplay
  4. Finally, disable the CarPlay toggle button. Doing this won’t trigger this service on your connected car.
  5. Additionally, tap Forget This Car to un-sync your iPhone. If you change your mind, you will have to re-set up Apple CarPlay from scratch on your vehicle to use it again.
    disconnect Apple Carplay

How to Permanently Turn Off CarPlay on Your iPhone

Besides turning off CarPlay for a specific car, you can permanently disable the feature on your iPhone to ensure CarPlay does not trigger on any vehicle. This becomes especially useful in scenarios when your iPhone automatically connects to any vehicle’s infotainment for CarPlay.

  1. Open the Settings app and tap Screen Time.
  2. Scroll down and press Content & Privacy Restrictions.
    content and privacy restrictions
  3. Enable the Content & Privacy Restrictions toggle, followed by Allowed Apps.
    allowed apps in screen time
  4. Turn off CarPlay to permanently disable the feature on your iPhone.
    disable CarPlay in Allowed Apps

How to Disable CarPlay From Your Car’s Infotainment System

In addition to tweaking iPhone settings, you can configure your car’s internal system to avoid launching CarPlay or prevent establishing a connection with your iPhone. This method varies from car to car, and in some cases, your vehicle’s infotainment system might not provide an option to turn off the feature at all. 

To disconnect your iPhone, look for the Connected Devices/Device Connectivity option in the car’s internal system and tap to disconnect or forget it. As for CarPlay, you can switch to a different mode, such as radio, to avoid turning it on.

CarPlay in the Car Infotainment center

How to Disable CarPlay Temporarily

Apart from turning off CarPlay completely, you can temporarily disable it for some time with a few tricks. This can help you attend a call or use an in-app feature on your iPhone directly if you don’t wish to do it from your car’s screen, maintaining privacy. 

For instance, you can enable Airplane or Do Not Disturb mode on your iPhone or unplug the connected cable to your car to disable CarPlay until you revert the changes. Similarly, you can turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on your iPhone to temporarily stop CarPlay detection. Additionally, if your vehicle has an in-built voice assistant, try instructing it to turn off CarPlay.

Adios CarPlay!

Apple CarPlay is a useful feature when driving, but there might be times when you need to turn it off. Whether for privacy, battery life, or personal reasons, your iPhone provides you the flexibility to disable CarPlay. 

FAQs

Can I turn off CarPlay in my car?

It all depends on your vehicle’s infotainment system. While CarPlay might be hardwired to certain systems, some allow you to tweak its settings to turn it off.

Can I use CarPlay with an Android device?

No. CarPlay is designed only for iPhones. However, Android has its own version called Android Auto, which has similar features and uses. It works across all Android smartphones.

Does CarPlay use my data?

To an extent, yes. Data is used when you use streaming apps and maps on your iPhone through CarPlay. The amount of data usage is determined by what apps you’re using, so be cautious if you have limited data.

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