Home » No Factory Upgrade To Enable Wireless Android Auto, CarPlay In Older Cadillacs

No Factory Upgrade To Enable Wireless Android Auto, CarPlay In Older Cadillacs

No Factory Upgrade To Enable Wireless Android Auto, CarPlay In Older Cadillacs

As we reported earlier this month, Cadillac has rolled out wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay as a standard feature for its entire 2021 model year lineup (wired connectivity remains). That lineup includes the CT4 and CT5 sedans, XT4, XT5, XT6, Escalade and Escalade ESV utilities. Since then, Cadillac Society has been fielding questions from readers who have wanted to know whether older vehicles with only wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay could somehow be upgraded to also achieve this wireless capability.

Sadly, the answer is no.

“Vehicles are either sold with wireless [Android Auto/CarPlay] or don’t have it. We have no formal plan for a paid or unpaid update,” Stu Fowle, spokesman for Cadillac parent firm, General Motors, told Cadillac Society in an emailed statement.

That means that Cadillac has no plans to provide an upgrade path, either free or paid, to allow vehicles to converted their strictly wired CarPlay and Android Auto functionality to wireless. Even so, not all hope is lost for those looking to get wireless CarPlay or Android Auto, since several aftermarket solutions claim to deliver the capability. That, however, is a story for another time.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay provide deep integration between the vehicle and the smartphone, allowing the phone to drive the infotainment screen and enabling more natural usability by letting the driver interact with already familiar applications. In doing so, both CarPlay and Android Auto aim to increase safety by reducing the need  to use the smartphone in the vehicle by bringing most of the handheld’s features to the vehicle’s screen.

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Written by
Alex is the founder of Cadillac Society. He has a deep passion for automotive business strategy and enjoys driving his ATS sedan on twisty mountain roads.

5 Comments

  1. Cadillac just. Lost my attention with this dumb decision why , is the question they need to answer This is just stupid marketing for the brand, someone at Cadillac needs to step up and get with it on updating tech for customers with a couple year old $60-$100K vehicles

    Reply
    • Well, let’s put all this into context: prior to the 2021 model year, Cadillacs have (wired) Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard. That’s is not the case with rival brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, which offer it as an option.

      Now, not offering a path to upgrade wired to wireless functionality might not be ideal, but it’s definitely not something that the competition would do, either. So what was your expectation?

      Reply
  2. There may be a way using Bluetooth technology, or wait until the infotainment systems of the newer cars are available refurbished from salvage yards, then swapping the units.

    Reply
  3. I’ve upgraded to wireless Android auto on 2020 XT6.

    Reply
    • can you share what product you used achieve wireless AA? I’ve tried a few third party AA wireless devices, but they won’t work.

      Reply

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