Findings with my new 2022 SV Plus and Carplay and Crackling sounds

[scotte]

Greetings to all:

If you want me to create a video of what I am going to describe below, I'll be happy to (maybe help generate some traction for a fix...??)

So, I have a new 2022 SV Plus, and as many others have noted, Carplay (I'm an Apple guy, though I do wander into the Android world now and again) causes crackling sounds when Siri is used for most anything. I've tried having Siri make calls and the phone conversation is sometimes ok, but most of the time has any variation of minor crackling to way too much to even keep the call going.

I also use T-Mobile (actually a T-Mobile MVNO - Mint Mobile).

So, I tried several experiments:

Many people have said a bluetooth conversation has been flawless - I found this to be true, but it is NOT carplay, and I do want my Carplay features with my iPhone
Carplay with a Genuine Apple USB-C to Lightning connector plugged into my iPhone 7 (latest iOS version) causes crackling
Carplay with a generic USB A to Lightning connector plugged into my iPhone 7 causes crackling
Tried a Carlinkit (older model) for "wireless" carplay (dongle plugs into USB A port) and still got crackling
Got a bit more creative - I also happen to have an spare iPhone 6 and purchased a $10 SIM from Tello Mobile (another T-Mobile MVNO) for 3 GB of data - opted to use the iPhone 6 as a hotspot - I set up my iPhone 7 for wifi calling, then disabled Phone use under Cellular, enabled the iPhone 6 hotspot, paired the iPhone 7 to the iPhone 6, plugged in the iPhone 7 to the USB A port with the generic cable to engage Carplay with my iPhone 7 - and had a wonderful conversion with a family member from work to home. Zero crackling and as clear, or better, than bluetooth. They also felt it was the best call quality from my car in a LONG time.


So, to sum things up, we have crackling with

- an iPhone plugged into either front-panel USB port (USB A or USB C) and make calls using the iPhone's built-in cellular radio

- an iPhone plugged into USB A port with a Carlinkit dongle for (wireless carplay) and make calls using the iPhone's built-in cellular radio

- an iPhone plugged into either front panel USB port and make calls using a hotspot, disabling the Carplay phone's cellular radio, thus forcing wifi calling to be used


We do NOT have crackling with

- Bluetooth calls (but this does NOT use Carplay)


8-Apr-2022 Update: Tried again wired, with a hotspot, and got the crackling again!


Can others help replicate these findings and note your results here?

If we have enough validation, maybe we can bring this to Nissan and have them work on it [with Apple] to try and find a fix for us all?

Maybe Android users could also try something similar and see what your findings are as well?

NOTE: If your phone audio DOES work via Carplay or Android Auto *WITHOUT* crackling and *WITHOUT* using Bluetooth, please make note of your Leaf's model year, trim, and at least the model number of your head unit via the "info" soft menu button.



Thank you, and let's see where this takes us.

[robmcbell]

Thanks for this, but now I have 2 threads to follow on same topic

[LeftieBiker]

Post a link, and I'll merge them tonight. EDIT: never mind, I can do it now.

Houston, we have a problem. I can't perform the merge because of software issues. I'll try again later.

[sirfergy]

I’m glad it’s not just me! Occasionally it works flawlessly but 99% of the time anytime the mic is enabled the audio is cracking.

[Quangdog]

We just bought a 2021 SL+ for my wife. She has also run into the crackling/static with the Siri voice in particular while using CarPlay. We've tried wired, wireless (with a carlinkit CarPlay adapter), and multiple phones, across multiple phone reboots. They all exhibit this behavior.

I'm a software engineer, so I did some purposeful testing, and believe I've isolated a specific way to reproduce the problem. I sent very long texts to the connected phone (they would take a minute or so for Siri to read them). It turns out, when the car is NOT moving, the Siri voice works just fine. Crystal clear. As soon as you start driving the car though, and it's moving more than a few miles per hour, the static starts up.

Here is how I tested: With my wife behind the wheel and me in the passenger seat and the car stopped, I sent her phone a very long text. Siri would start reading the text perfectly fine. My wife would start the car moving, and within a few seconds the voice would become very garbled to the point you could not understand it (still reading the same text message). We waited for that message to finish reading while still driving, then I sent another long message. It started reading all garbled and full of static. My wife would bring the car to a stop and within a few seconds the Siri voice would become crystal clear again. We repeated this test multiple times with multiple different long text messages and different connections/devices. The behavior is consistent across all these tests - voice is garbled with the car moving, but clear while the car is stopped.

I wonder if there is some sort of interference with the gps or built in cell radio in the car? While parked, maybe it is less active? While moving it's more active?

I've read reports of this issue across the entire Nissan product line, for the last few model years. I can't believe that Nissan is not aware of this - certainly someone in their engineering team somewhere at least knows about the problem, right?

Right!?!

[LeftieBiker]

Maybe it's the VSP..? What about when the car is backing up?

[skylitdriven]

This is a known issue with CarPlay on the Leaf, to my knowledge there's yet to be any actual fix found.

[Cbdudley]

If you turn off cellular data transmission via the radio menu system, the problem goes away (at least on my 2020 SL Plus). Of course, this means that you can’t use the Nissan EV Connect app until you turn it back on.

[scotte]

Please show a screen shot of where/how in the menu system to turn off cellular? I can then try it and see if it works for me.

[cwl]

If I disable the cellular data transmission, can I still use the Nissan EV Connect app if I'm connected via WiFi?