How to Turn Off CarPlay?

It depends which of three things you mean. To end it for this trip, unplug the cable or turn off Bluetooth. To stop it launching in one particular car, go to Settings → General → CarPlay, select the car, and tap Forget This Car. To disable it completely, use Screen Time restrictions.

People search this phrase meaning quite different things, so here is each one.

1. Disconnect for this journey only:

• Wired: unplug the Lightning or USB-C cable.
• Wireless: go to Settings → General → CarPlay, tap your car, and toggle off, or simply turn off Bluetooth.
• On the car screen, many systems have an Exit CarPlay option that returns you to the car's own interface without disconnecting the phone.

2. Stop CarPlay launching in a specific car:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap CarPlay.
4. Select the car from My Cars.
5. Tap Forget This Car.

The phone will then charge over the cable without CarPlay starting. This is the option most people actually want, because it stops the behaviour without breaking anything else.

3. Disable CarPlay entirely on the iPhone:

1. Go to Settings → Screen Time.
2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn them on.
3. Tap Allowed Apps (or Allowed Apps & Features).
4. Toggle CarPlay off.

CarPlay then won't start in any vehicle. This is also how you prevent someone else re-enabling it, since it can be locked behind the Screen Time passcode.

4. Turn off just the automatic wireless connection: under Settings → General → CarPlay → [your car], you can leave the car paired but disable automatic connection, so CarPlay only starts when you choose it.

Turning off CarPlay on the car's side: many head units have their own setting — often under Setup, Phone, or Smartphone Integration — to disable CarPlay or Apple device projection. Useful if the car is shared and you don't want to change your phone's settings. The wording varies by manufacturer.

Why won't my CarPlay work? This is nearly as commonly asked as turning it off, and the causes are usually simple. Work through in this order:

1. Check the cable. A worn or non-certified cable is the most common cause of wired CarPlay failing. Use an MFi-certified cable — cheap ones often charge but won't carry data.
2. Try a different USB port. Many cars have only one data-capable port; the others are charge-only. It's often marked with a phone or smartphone icon.
3. Restart both — the iPhone, then the car (turn it fully off and on).
4. Check CarPlay isn't restricted under Screen Time, which you or an update may have changed.
5. Check Siri is enabled — CarPlay depends on it and won't start with Siri turned off.
6. Forget the car and re-pair it, which resolves most wireless problems.
7. Update iOS and check for a head unit firmware update from the manufacturer.
8. Turn off Bluetooth temporarily when troubleshooting wired CarPlay, since the two can conflict.

If nothing works, try another iPhone in the same car, or your iPhone in another car. That single test tells you whether the problem is the phone, the cable, or the vehicle.

A brief note on what CarPlay is, since many people arriving here aren't sure: it's Apple's system for projecting a simplified iPhone interface onto your car's built-in screen, giving you maps, music, messages and calls in a driving-safe layout. Android's equivalent is Android Auto, and turning that off follows a similar logic through the Android Auto settings on your phone.

Turning CarPlay back on: connect the cable, or go to Settings → General → CarPlay → Available Cars and select your vehicle to pair again.