In this video, I check out the Quad Lock Wireless CarPlay Adapter. You can buy this dongle for Wired CarPlay systems for $99 / £79 / €99 directly from Quad Lock themselves – https://bit.ly/quadlockcarplay
Quad Lock makes a number of smartphone accessories for all walks of life, including phone cases, vent mounts and desktop stands, so this wireless Apple CarPlay adapter is a product that’s a little unexpected from them, and since a few of you told me about it, I had to reach out to them to check it out.
In the box you get a small paper instruction manual, there is the wireless adapter itself, and there is USB-A to USB-C power cable and a USB-C to C power cable for more modern CarPlay ports.
Features & Design
Looking over the adapter itself. Its form factor is very similar in size to most other wireless adapters. It features a textured matt black casing, with an indented top part of the casing that also has the Quad Lock logo and there’s an LED status light above it.
On one end there is the USB-C port to power the adapter and on the other end there is a USB-A port that’s used for wired CarPlay passthrough, charge a phone, and it can be used to carry out firmware updates from a USB drive.
Connection & Boot Up
I plugged the adapter into both my Pioneer and Alpine CarPlay receivers, as well as the Coral Vision and Carpuride CarPlay displays and the adapter worked on all of them, meaning this adapter is capable of running on a variety of CarPlay systems.
Boot-up time took 14.22 seconds, after which you are presented with a menu system that’s built on the same AutoKit framework as a few other dongle brands, such as the CarlinKit 3.0. Rather than a red theme, this adapter has been themed to the Quad Lock colour palette with its logo sits in the bottom right cover. The adapter Settings can be accessed from the bottom left, and there’s an ability to return to the car system menu from the top right button.
Settings & Pairing
In the Settings area, there appear to be fewer options on this adapter, with the Auto Connect option being relocated elsewhere. From this screen, you can clear all paired phones, toggle the save log, and view firmware build number. The ability to toggle auto connect is now on the paired devices screen, which is a more convenient place for it, and from this screen, you can also remove and manually connect to any previously paired iPhone.
The adapter’s Bluetooth ID is displayed on the main first screen you see. So you simply have to pick up your iPhone, search for this ID in your Bluetooth settings screen and select it to begin pairing with the adapter.
Wireless Apple CarPlay
It took around 19.10 seconds to pair with the adapter and launch into wireless Apple CarPlay, so it’s not the fastest out there. From here you can interact with CarPlay as you would if it was connected to a cable. I found its swiping performance to be relatively good and this speed can be a little improved in its browser-based config menu.
Connecting to its config menu offers all the same great custom mention options as the other AutoKit adapters. This config menu offers a better way to tailor the performance and compatibility of the adapter than most other adapters that are out there. I reduced the media delay from 1000 to 500 and this made swiping and audio lag a little more rapid, and there are also options to improve call quality between normal, clear and HD.
Audio Quality
The call audio was decent, yet I couldn’t really tell much difference in call quality settings. Returning back from a call whilst streaming audio was handled just fine, with audio quality and playback resuming just as it was before I left it.
I’ve never had a bad experience with audio quality with these adapters on my test systems and the Quad Lock adapter is no different. The audio sounded great, it’s in stereo, and it was a pleasure to listen to overall.
My Impressions
This wireless CarPlay adapter from Quad Lock retails for . And you can check out the links to learn more about this adapter and to one down below.
After covering a number of AI Boxes and 2-in-1 adapters, it felt strange having to review such a simple wireless CarPlay adapter again. But if there’s any adapter out there that’s worth rebranding, the AutoKit framework of adapter is one of the best out there. It features as part of my top 2 wireless adapters, and its config menu system is the best out there for customising and fixing any compatibility issues.
Using the USB-A passthrough for wired CarPlay puts less stress on the USB port it’s plugged into, and allowing power to pass-through also helps you charge your iPhone or order devices at the same time. And finally, although updates can be applied over the air, the USB-A port is a good way to apply firmware updates from its maker without the need to be connected to the adapter.
Although it may not be the fastest adapter with an overall boot time into CarPlay of around 56 seconds, the Quad Lock CarPlay Adapter is built off a solid foundation that has had numerous updates in its past that will only help with its compatibility with various wired CarPlay car systems that its plugged into.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Brief overview
0:25 – Unboxing
0:35 – Features & design
1:07 – Boot-Up & Main Menu
2:11 – Pairing wireless Apple CarPlay
2:43 – IP config menu
3:07 – Call quality
3:33 – Audio before & after calling
4:14 – My Impressions
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