OpenXPlay

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Android phone as the relay ​

The recommended setup: an Android phone as the relay and the head unit’s own browser to show CarPlay. Nothing is installed on the head unit. The first setup takes about 10 minutes. This guide follows OpenXPlay Relay 0.2.6.

Before you start

  • An iPhone with CarPlay
  • An Android phone with Android 8.0 or later (Android 10 or later for Carlink)
  • An Apple accessory (MFi) identity: identity.pk8 and certificate.p7b, which you supply yourself

Check the head unit’s browser ​

In the head unit’s browser, open openxplay.org/check. The page tests whether the browser can decode CarPlay’s video; continue once it says the browser works. If it doesn’t, try the Carlink app, CarLife or Wireless display instead. In a Tesla, see Tesla.

Install OpenXPlay Relay ​

On the relay phone, download and install openxplay-relay.apk (the latest release). If Android asks, allow installing apps from your browser or file manager.

Need an earlier version, or want to build it yourself?

Earlier versions are on Releases, and what changed in each is in the changelog. You can also build the app yourself as the OpenXPlay-Relay README describes.

Answer the setup guide ​

The first time you open the app, a setup guide takes you through a few pages; a bar at the top shows how far you are.

  1. Your car: choose the brand and the model; the year can stay Not sure. The list has XPeng, Tesla and ZEEKR; if your car isn’t listed, choose Other and type its name. Different cars get different settings: the XPeng G6 2023 comes with its screen data, a Tesla needs the Tesla browser setting, and for a ZEEKR the guide suggests Trusted HTTPS.
  2. Car display: choose Car browser. If the head unit has no usable browser, see Carlink app, and the experimental Wireless display (DLNA, Miracast) and CarLife.
  3. iPhone connection: choose Wireless: in the car, the iPhone connects by itself over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. USB cable is not recommended: the relay phone has to power the iPhone through the cable, and only some cables work; a USB-C iPhone on a USB-C to USB-C cable usually isn’t found (see Troubleshooting). The app asks you to confirm when you choose it.
  4. Wireless network: the iPhone, the relay phone and the head unit must reach each other. Choose one for your car; open it for details:
Wi-Fi Direct (recommended): the relay phone joins the head unit’s hotspot or another Wi-Fi

The iPhone connects straight to the relay phone. The head unit reaches the relay phone over the relay phone’s normal Wi-Fi, for example the car’s hotspot. Not available together with Carlink, which can replace CarPlay’s Wi-Fi Direct group: the guide then recommends This phone’s hotspot.

This phone’s hotspot: the head unit has no hotspot but can join a Wi-Fi network

The iPhone and the head unit both join the relay phone’s hotspot. The app can’t change Android’s hotspot settings, so the hotspot name and password must match on both sides. Choose one way first; the guide preselects neither and moves on only after you choose:

  • Copy to settings (recommended): the app suggests a name (OpenXPlay-A-…) and a 16-character password. Tap Copy name and open settings and paste it as the hotspot name in Android’s hotspot settings; come back to the app, tap Copy password and open settings and paste it as the password. Choose the security and the band the app shows below, then save the settings and turn the hotspot on.
  • Use my existing hotspot: keep a hotspot you set up yourself, and enter its name and password in the app.

Choose 5 GHz for the band, both for Hotspot band in the app and in Android’s hotspot settings: on 2.4 GHz the picture stutters easily. Switch back to 2.4 GHz only if the head unit can’t join a 5 GHz hotspot. Some phones open only a 2.4 GHz hotspot while connected to Wi-Fi; disconnect Wi-Fi first. Some turn Wi-Fi off when the hotspot is on, which Carlink can’t work with.

Use the car’s hotspot: everyone joins the head unit’s hotspot

The iPhone and the relay phone both join the car’s hotspot. Connect the relay phone to it first and save it in the app; the hotspot must let devices reach each other.

When you tap Next after choosing the network, the app reminds you to check, once the iPhone has connected, that Low Data Mode is off for this Wi-Fi on the iPhone; tap Got it to continue. See Start using it.

  1. Get ready: the page lists only what is still missing; work through it. You do this once; the app remembers it.
    • Permissions: nearby devices (Bluetooth), nearby Wi-Fi devices, notifications and the microphone. CarPlay offers Siri and calls only when the microphone is allowed. USB and the Tesla setting also ask for Android VPN consent.
    • Import the CarPlay identity: select identity.pk8 and certificate.p7b together or one after the other, in any order, or a ZIP containing them. If you pick only one, the app asks for the other.
    • Pair the iPhone (wireless): allow the relay phone to become visible when it asks, then on the iPhone open Settings → Bluetooth, choose the relay phone and allow CarPlay.
    • Save the car’s hotspot (only with Use the car’s hotspot).
  2. Ready to start: check the summary. Connect automatically is on: next time the app opens, it starts after a short countdown. Start on boot starts the relay when the phone starts. If the page shows Battery optimization, tap it and let OpenXPlay Relay run unrestricted in the background; otherwise the phone may pause the relay when the screen is off or another app is open, and the head-unit page stops working. Some phones also have the maker’s own autostart and battery saver settings: open them from Settings → Background in the app.

Connect the head unit’s network ​

Put the head unit and the relay phone on the network you chose:

  • Wi-Fi Direct: turn on the head unit’s Wi-Fi hotspot and join it from the relay phone.
  • This phone’s hotspot: turn on the relay phone’s hotspot and join it from the head unit.
  • Use the car’s hotspot: turn on the head unit’s hotspot and join it from the relay phone; the iPhone joins it by itself.

Give the hotspot a password

The Android relay uses no pairing code: opening the address connects. Be sure to give the hotspot a password and let only your own devices join.

Start CarPlay ​

On the guide’s last page, tap Start CarPlay. For the first connection, keep the iPhone unlocked and near the relay phone.

The app’s home screen shows three tiles, the iPhone, this phone and the car; the links between them fill as the connection comes up. Under them are one line saying what is happening and at most one button. If something is still off, such as Bluetooth or the hotspot, the button fixes it or the app waits and starts once it is on. Tap a tile, or pull up the panel, to see every step with its details.

When no car screen is known yet, CarPlay waits up to 20 seconds for the head unit to report its size; Start now skips the wait. Once the step reads Open this address in the car’s browser, the address is shown under it with a copy button: it starts with https:// and ends in :8443, such as https://192.168.43.20:8443/.

Open the address in the head unit’s browser ​

  1. Type the address from the home screen into the head unit’s browser. Note that it starts with https://, not http://, and include the port number after the colon.
  2. The first time, the browser warns that it can’t verify the certificate. This is expected: choose Advanced (or similar), then continue to the page.
  3. Bookmark the page so you can open it directly next time.
Why the certificate warning, and is it safe?

The connection is still encrypted. Browsers allow WebCodecs video decoding only on secure pages, so the relay serves the page over HTTPS; the relay creates its own certificate, which no public authority has signed, so the browser can’t verify it and warns. Check that the address is your relay’s, then continue. See Troubleshooting; to remove the warning for good, see Trusted HTTPS.

Start using it ​

When the page asks for a tap, tap the screen once: the page goes full screen, and the tap doesn’t reach CarPlay. CarPlay then runs on the head unit’s screen and responds to your touches; the home screen says CarPlay is live.

Turn off Low Data Mode on the iPhone

With Low Data Mode on for the relay’s Wi-Fi, the iPhone may not connect to CarPlay. Once the iPhone has connected, open Settings → Wi-Fi on the iPhone, tap ⓘ next to this Wi-Fi and check that Low Data Mode is off.

By default, CarPlay sound plays over the car’s Bluetooth: keep the iPhone paired with the car and choose Bluetooth as the car’s audio source. To play the sound on the head-unit page instead, see There is no sound.

To change the picture, the sound or full screen, tap the OpenXPlay icon in CarPlay: the page’s settings slide in. See Head-unit page settings.

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