Thanks to H.Jones and a couple of videos I found on Youtube, I found out about the Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility for MY 2012-2015 XFs. I researched other forums and found that these two units received the most reviews:

https://unique-ad.co.uk/product/wire...-xf-2011-2015/

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...7da14c4dwKYZTU

I went with the Joyeauto unit as it had many reviews from Audi/BMW/Porsche forums and it was significantly cheaper. Seller was prompt in answering questions and I received the unit within 7 days. Installation was a breeze, all the tools you need are a plastic trim tool, T20/T30 bits, and a screw driver. The unit is plug and play and in total it took me 2 hours to finish the job at a leisurely pace.

CarPlay works wired or wireless and I found both to be seamless. This really modernized the car and makes it much more enjoyable to commute in, highly recommend!

 

Thanks for this! I'm considering a similar age XFR and had no idea this was possible. Can you comment on functionality with the stock infotainment? Does switching back and forth with NAV work as expected? Does the reverse cam still pop up when reverse is engaged and you are in Carplay, or do you need to switch first? Are steering wheel audio controls functional as advertised?

Thanks!

 

Everything else on the stock infotainment works as expected except for NAV. When you press the NAV button or NAV on touchscreen, it goes into the CarPlay/Android Auto UI. Reverse camera works just like factory, automatically comes up when you put the car in reverse. The Joyeauto unit is connected to the car audio through an aux cable, so you have to switch the audio input in the car to aux. You still have volume control, but you cannot skip music through steering wheel controls. Your phone will be connected to the Joyeauto device via wifi/bluetooth, but it still has to be connected to the car bluetooth for the phone function to work.

So it's not a perfect setup, but the ability to browse Spotify, Listen/Respond to Messages, get Waze on the screen is well worth the quirks.

 

Thanks, that is a very helpful rundown. Agreed, not perfect, but a heck of a lot more useful than factory nav, and no doubt worth the quirks.

How has stability and performance been?

 

There were a few occasions where the screen rebooted and CarPlay wouldn't automatically connect wirelessly. But nothing major and it runs smoothly 95% of the time.

One other thing, because the touchscreens are hopelessly outdated, swiping the screen left/right or up/down is not smooth and the icons need a bit more touch effort compared to regular iphone/ipad screens.

 

Thanks, sounds pretty good for stability and yes, I wouldn’t expect anything less on touch responsiveness given the dated touch panel. I currently have a 2010 GTI that has a similar responsiveness, or lack thereof. Sounds quite livable though.

 

Here's a new question...is there a way to get this display to show coolant temp?

 

CarPlay is restrictive in terms of what apps show up. Might be a possibility through Android Auto, but not sure. The module does have a screen mirroring option, so you can have a setup where you have a Wifi based OBDII reader, which sends data to an app such as DashCommand and mirror that onto the Nav screen. But, you lose CarPlay/AA when screen mirroring is enabled.

 

That's a little less than ideal. My perfect solution would be to have the ability to toggle between the analog clock and a temp gauge on the main cluster, but I have no idea how to make that happen.

 

For that level of seamless integration, you would need a complete custom setup. A new head unit possibly, wiring to read and transmit engine diagnostics to the display, and coding to retain factory head unit functions. Easier solution would be to mount an ipad mini or a cheap phone above the dash, connect it via Wifi to the OBDII reader, so you get both the original display and engine diagnostics without the complexity.

 

I thought of that too, but I'm lazy and that kind of solution seems a bit clunky and fiddley to me. I don't want to have to pair and boot the device every time I start the car.
I find it odd that Jag wouldn't include a temp gauge. This is vital info to have.

 

Agreed, engine temp is such vital information, especially on the R and R-S cars that are meant to be driven hard. Also, these 5.0 motors tend to overheat and have many plastic coolant pipe issues, which could potentially lead to a blown motor.

 

Hi All,

I know I'm coming to the party late on this topic but hope my comments might be helpful. I lack both the skill and confidence to have ever attempted to upgrade my 2008 XF with Apple Car Play. So I hunted around and got two very good recommendations for companies here in Melbourne who do hi end upgrades to vehicle sound, navigation, infotainment etc. I picked up my car last week and I have to reinforce the comments made here that my XF Jag which I absolutely cherish has now moved me to an even higher level of driving experience. I do a very limited amount of city driving. Overwhelmingly my passion is long distance country and interstate drives of a couple of thousand kilometres or even more. So whilst digressing, having the upgraded infotainment system and access to real time satellite navigation and LED headlights is simply fantastic.

As mentionned here apple car play is both wifi connected as well as USB cabled with the USB cable connection better in areas of poor/patchy telephone reception.

In terms of volume controls etc these have all been set up to operate through the steering wheel controls, but the installer did have to install a second small module to enable track changes for skipping tracks etc using the steering wheel controls. The volume was ok but this module was just specifically for changing music tracks.
The other upgrade that they did was to install an additional more sensitive mike in the head unit on the divers side so that the SIRI voice activation was faster in its response time.
I'd be happy to get the details of the additional control unit for anyone who has not been able to get their sound system to change tracks etc using the steering wheel control.
In terms of overall performance the system is for me almost perfect. It would be nice at some point to get an upgraded touch screen. If one is available I'd appreciate any details you could provide.

Having a brief stop on my last 2,100 km drive to the Darling River in northern NSW from Melbourne Victoria.