How To Fix iPhone 13 CarPlay Not Working, Crashing In iOS 15

iPhone 13 CarPlay not working

iPhone 13 CarPlay not working


Is your brand new iPhone 13 crashing CarPlay when you attempt to play songs from Apple Music or any other third-party streaming app like Spotify? This looks like another widespread day one iOS 15 bug. Strange enough it only affects the 2021 iPhone flagships!

iPhone 13 CarPlay Not Working?

The issue was first mentioned to us by iPhoneTricks.org reader Dmad1911. He reports:

“My wife’s phone would crash CarPlay when she tried to play music. She has a iPhone 13 pro max running iOS 15. I have the same thing.”

We did find a series of other similar complains on Apple’s Support Forums here, here and here.
This feedback stands out:

“I had an iPhone 12 with iOS 15, everything was working fine and dandy.
I upgraded to iPhone 13 and now music does not play using CarPlay when I am using either Spotify or Apple Music. “

How To Fix iPhone 13 CarPlay Not Working

We’ve scanned all Apple-related websites and together with tips provided by our readers we came up with the following troubleshooting guide:

1. Disable EQ in Music

Strange enough it appears that a large amount of iPhone 13 users have managed to fix CarPlay by disabling the following Apple Music setting:
how to fix CarPlay not working

  • Open Settings and browse for Music.
  • Tap on EQ.
  • Turn it Off, available at the top of the list
  • Reboot iPhone and reconnect to CarPlay. Does music playback work now?

2. Set Dolby Atmos to Auto

how to disable dolby atmos
With the iPhone 13 CarPlay isn’t crashing only when you attempt to play music, but also after ending a phone call. Some blame it on the new Dolby Atmos Apple Music setting. Turn it Off or make it Auto!
dolby atmos not supported on all speakers
Fact: iOS 15 warns you if you try to make Dolby Atmos ‘Always On’. A prompt informs that the feature isn’t supported by all speakers and this could definitely cause CarPlay crashes!

  • Open Settings and tap on Music.
  • Go for Dolby Atmos.
  • Switch for Off, or Automatic.
  • Reboot iPhone and reconnect to CarPlay. Does it still crash when playing music?

3. Reset All Settings

Use this one as a last resort. It’s a hassle because you need to reconfigure your iPhone Settings afterwards. However, some users have managed to fix the iPhone 13 CarPlay crashing issue thanks to it:
how to reset all settings in ios 15

  • Open Settings and browse for General.
  • Scroll to Transfer or Reset iPhone.
  • Tap Reset and go for Reset All Settings.
  • Provide your Passcode and cross your fingers!

Have you managed to fix iPhone 13 CarPlay not working in iOS 15? Did any of the tips provided in this article help you out. Do you have a better solution? Use the comments section and provide your feedback!

Related: Check out more fixes for other iPhone 13 common bugs:
Unlock with Apple Watch not working
Tap to Wake not working
– iPhone 13 and iOS 15 touch screen issues