Sync 4 w/ CarPlay - "No Data Available"

[sonofzell]

This issue has become both more frequent and more frustrating for me in the month or so that I've had my new truck. I've mentioned this several times in other sync related threads, but haven't really seen any others' observations of this happening, so I figured I'd start a separate thread in the hopes that someone may be able to offer any insight.

As the title suggests, the currently playing information often does not display in the side display panel when using CarPlay. This does not occur EVERY time I start the truck, but at this point, I'd estimate it happens 70-80% of the time, and when it does I've found no way to resolve it. These are some observations I've made:

• The CarPlay source does not matter; the "No Data" appears for Apple music, podcasts, audiobooks, Spotify, Pandora, etc. indiscriminately.
• When in the primary display screen, all CarPlay apps appear and function normally.
• The issue occurs when CarPlay is connected both wired and wirelessly.
• "No Data" will manifest immediately when the truck starts, and when it does, I've never observed it correcting itself on its own. Similarly, when CarPlay data does display, it stays on for the entire duration that the truck is running. It's basically a crap-shoot at startup, and whatever it decides to do is what you're stuck with for that entire ride.
• Push-button starting (vs. remote starting) does not seem to have any effect on the appearance of this issue. It's equally random in either scenario.
• When the "No Data" issue occurs, the "Now Playing" info on the 8" dash info center simply reads "Generic".

I know any third-party integration is bound to devolve into the Apple vs. Ford blame game, and while it's no concern to me which system is causing the problem, I've yet to find any useful info for troubleshooting either of them. As of the time I am writing this, I am running the most current versions of both Sync 4 (20262 r229) and iOS (14.4.1). I've done one total reset of the Sync system, as well as countless reboots of the phone(s). In the interest of troubleshooting (not assigning blame): I've connected my wife's phone (different model iPhone but same iOS version) and observed the same issue. That, along with the fact that CarPlay functions perfectly when in the primary display, would seem to indicate a "Ford issue". That being said, the fact that I have not found ANY other reports of anyone else experiencing this suggests it may be an "Apple issue" specific to my devices. Either way, I'm just flat-out stumped and out of ideas on how to identify what's causing this and/or how to prevent it from happening.

If it offers any clarification, my ultimate wish is to have CarPlay in the larger primary display with Waze or Apple maps running, and the "Now Playing" with basic pause/skip control in the secondary side display. I know this is possible, as I'm able to do it about 1 out of every 4 times I drive the truck. And yes - I am fully aware that CarPlay does offer a split-screen home page natively that does the same thing, but if we're being honest, I'm sure that massive 12" display was a big selling point of the '21s…. And any of us that have one paid a lot of cash to have it. Since I'm really not happy with the native Sync navigation (and never have been), and rarely if ever listen to AM/FM/Sirius, not having the second display show what it should sort of defeats the purpose of having it altogether (okay, that's admittedly a bit dramatic but my point remains).

I'm hoping someone here with some expertise in CarPlay, Sync, or both can offer some insight on what I can possibly do to troubleshoot further. I did talk to my dealer, but not surprisingly hit an immediate roadblock the second I mentioned Apple CarPlay.

Thanks in advance for any insights! Some example screens below…



Apple music displaying perfectly in the primary display pane:

When moved to the secondary side display, Apple music displays "No Data Available". Note: the playback controls DO still work:

This is what the "Now Playing" screen displays in the dash when the "No Data" problem occurs:

Just for reference, Spotify via CarPlay displayed on the primary screen...

...and Spotify showing the same behavior as all other CarPlay apps when switched to the secondary side screen:

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[Dan]

This issue has become both more frequent and more frustrating for me in the month or so that I've had my new truck. I've mentioned this several times in other sync related threads, but haven't really seen any others' observations of this happening, so I figured I'd start a separate thread in the hopes that someone may be able to offer any insight.

As the title suggests, the currently playing information often does not display in the side display panel when using CarPlay. This does not occur EVERY time I start the truck, but at this point, I'd estimate it happens 70-80% of the time, and when it does I've found no way to resolve it. These are some observations I've made:

• The CarPlay source does not matter; the "No Data" appears for Apple music, podcasts, audiobooks, Spotify, Pandora, etc. indiscriminately.
• When in the primary display screen, all CarPlay apps appear and function normally.
• The issue occurs when CarPlay is connected both wired and wirelessly.
• "No Data" will manifest immediately when the truck starts, and when it does, I've never observed it correcting itself on its own. Similarly, when CarPlay data does display, it stays on for the entire duration that the truck is running. It's basically a crap-shoot at startup, and whatever it decides to do is what you're stuck with for that entire ride.
• Push-button starting (vs. remote starting) does not seem to have any effect on the appearance of this issue. It's equally random in either scenario.
• When the "No Data" issue occurs, the "Now Playing" info on the 8" dash info center simply reads "Generic".

I know any third-party integration is bound to devolve into the Apple vs. Ford blame game, and while it's no concern to me which system is causing the problem, I've yet to find any useful info for troubleshooting either of them. As of the time I am writing this, I am running the most current versions of both Sync 4 (20262 r229) and iOS (14.4.1). I've done one total reset of the Sync system, as well as countless reboots of the phone(s). In the interest of troubleshooting (not assigning blame): I've connected my wife's phone (different model iPhone but same iOS version) and observed the same issue. That, along with the fact that CarPlay functions perfectly when in the primary display, would seem to indicate a "Ford issue". That being said, the fact that I have not found ANY other reports of anyone else experiencing this suggests it may be an "Apple issue" specific to my devices. Either way, I'm just flat-out stumped and out of ideas on how to identify what's causing this and/or how to prevent it from happening.

If it offers any clarification, my ultimate wish is to have CarPlay in the larger primary display with Waze or Apple maps running, and the "Now Playing" with basic pause/skip control in the secondary side display. I know this is possible, as I'm able to do it about 1 out of every 4 times I drive the truck. And yes - I am fully aware that CarPlay does offer a split-screen home page natively that does the same thing, but if we're being honest, I'm sure that massive 12" display was a big selling point of the '21s…. And any of us that have one paid a lot of cash to have it. Since I'm really not happy with the native Sync navigation (and never have been), and rarely if ever listen to AM/FM/Sirius, not having the second display show what it should sort of defeats the purpose of having it altogether (okay, that's admittedly a bit dramatic but my point remains).

I'm hoping someone here with some expertise in CarPlay, Sync, or both can offer some insight on what I can possibly do to troubleshoot further. I did talk to my dealer, but not surprisingly hit an immediate roadblock the second I mentioned Apple CarPlay.

Thanks in advance for any insights! Some example screens below…



Apple music displaying perfectly in the primary display pane:

When moved to the secondary side display, Apple music displays "No Data Available". Note: the playback controls DO still work:

This is what the "Now Playing" screen displays in the dash when the "No Data" problem occurs:

Just for reference, Spotify via CarPlay displayed on the primary screen...

...and Spotify showing the same behavior as all other CarPlay apps when switched to the secondary side screen:

Do you have your Apple on share your music? I had change my setting on phone. Good luck and I hope the Apple users on here can help you. My phone is the BlackBerry key 2, I haven't let my BlackBerry go as of yet. So shout out to all apple users to get this problem fixed for you.

 

[sonofzell]

Do you have your Apple on share your music? I had change my setting on phone.

I confess I'm not really sure what setting you're referring to. I do have a "family" Apple music account, but as I said, the "No Data Available" affects any & all carplay apps equally when present, and there ARE times (albeit randomly) in which the data does display with no issues.

That being said, I'm more than happy to tweak any of my phone settings if there's any suggestions of something that may be affecting the data display. I appreciate the response - thanks!

 

[sonofzell]

In case anyone is interested, I finally did find a workaround for this issue. Based on feedback on a different F150 forum, I ran through a myriad of strategies to correct/prevent the "No Data Available" bug. This is what seems to work:

1. Connect the phone (wired OR wirelessly) to Sync/CarPlay as you normally would.

2. With CarPlay connected, return to the Sync menu and enter the phone settings screen.

3. Within the options for your connected phone, Un-select the "Enable Carplay" radio button.

4. After a few seconds, simply select the same button again to re-enable CarPlay.

This process [for me] immediately resurrects the audio tab on the side display (as well as the audio display in the dash cluster) to display the currently playing content, allowing me to have non-Ford navigation AND "Now Playing" data shown at the same time. After the first time I performed these steps, it worked properly for about two days before the "No Data" issue came back... I simply repeated the process and it has not returned since (about 4 days).

It's still an inconvenience, but a minor one now that I know I can correct it instantly without any major hassle. I'm still hoping to see it addressed in some OTA update down the road...

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