MB Medic Mercedes-Benz Repair Guides, Service, How To DIY
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In this guide (6 sections)
If you own a 2015 or newer Mercedes-Benz but don’t have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, you may be able to enable these features yourself. In this guide, you will learn how to use a simple module that plugs into the OBD-II port of your Mercedes-Benz and activates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. An activation tool can automatically unlock CarPlay and Android Auto without needing extra coding or programming.
Your Mercedes-Benz dealer should also be able to activate CarPlay/Android Auto. Get a quote from the dealer and decide which route you want to go. If the dealer’s quote is too expensive, going with this DIY solution may make sense. Also, note that this procedure may void your car warranty.
The early Audio 20 and COMAND units built around 2015 and 2016 are the same hardware as the later ones that came with CarPlay and Android Auto working. Nothing is missing inside the box. The only difference is a software flag that was never switched on, which is why an activation rather than a retrofit is on the table at all.
The two names you will see for this unit, NTG5*1 or NTG5S1 and NTG5.1, refer to the same head unit. Owners and specialists use both, so do not assume you have the wrong car because a thread uses the other spelling.
- Confirm your head unit variant first. If the module does not support your exact chassis and unit, it writes to the COMAND anyway and you can end up with a damaged head unit rather than a new feature. A COMAND is one of the more expensive parts in the car, so this is not a cheap thing to get wrong.
- This can affect your warranty. An unofficial software change to a networked control unit is visible, so if the car is still covered, get the dealer quote before you decide.
If a head unit has already been damaged by a failed activation, that is not automatically a new COMAND. Module Medics repair Mercedes COMAND units at board level and return your own unit, which keeps the coding and the navigation data that came with it. Worth a call before accepting a dealer replacement price.
How to activate Mercedes CarPlay and Android Auto
What you need:
- You must have the COMAND NTG5.1 Audio System / Audio20 head unit
- Mercedes CarPlay Activation Module (eBay link) or search Amazon
- To use Android Auto or CarPlay, you will need to install the smartphone integration package.
Instructions on how to activate Mercedes CarPlay/Android Auto
These instructions will help you unlock Mercedes CarPlay and Android Auto on COMAND NTG5.1
If your Mercedes is incompatible and the activation module doesn’t support your chassis, don’t perform these steps, or you will damage the COMAND on your Mercedes-Benz.
- Open the door of your Mercedes. Do not step on the brakes, press start, or start the engine.
- Locate the OBD-II port under the dashboard of your Mercedes-Benz.
- Plug the activation module into the OBD-II port. On your COMAND screen, you should see a message saying DIAG. Wait for the restart. Allow the module to activate the CarPlay and Android Auto on your Mercedes-Benz automatically. After about 30 seconds, the CarPlay and Android Auto should unlock. The head unit will restart.
- The command should restart after a few seconds.
- Verify that CarPlay or Android Auto is working by plugging in your phone.Â
Important
- Â The head unit may need a firmware update if you have an Audio20 made before 2015. The dealer will perform this.
- Connect DoIP or XentryConnect dealer equipment necessary to update Audio20 (SA505 or SA522) or COMAND (SA531) head unit firmware.
- It requires using a special HLI000000XXXX update disk.
- It would be best if you had an iPhone 5 or newer for Apple CarPlay
- This procedure may void your warranty.
- Make sure to use USB Lightning cable
Which Mercedes cars will this work with?
- A-Class W176 production 12.2015+
- CLA-Class W117 production 12.2015+
- B-Class W246 production 12.2015+
- GLA-Class W156 production 12.2015+
- GLE-Class W166 production 01.2016+
- GLE-Coupe W292 production 01.2016+
- GLS-Class X166 production 01.2016+
Check the Datacard or the production date of your Mercedes-Benz on your VIN sticker.
Why does my Mercedes not enable CarPlay / Android Auto at the factory?
The early NTG Audio 20 built between 2015 and 2016 are the same as the newer NTG Audio 20 units that already have CarPlay Android auto-enabled. The only difference is that the software installed in the older units does not have CarPlay and Android Auto enabled. Mercedes-Benz dealers can perform a firmware upgrade and enable CarPlay and Android Auto. This procedure typically takes about one to two hours at the dealer and requires their own Xentry equipment, because the enable is written by SCN coding through Mercedes online systems. No aftermarket tool substitutes for that part.
Dongle or dealer? The difference is not just price
Every comparison of these two routes stops at cost. There is a second difference that matters more over the life of the car.
A legitimate activation is done by SCN coding, which writes the entitlement into the car at Mercedes and is meant to stay. An activation written in by a plug in module is not recorded that way, and owners report it being wiped by a later COMAND software update, which puts you back where you started with no refund and the dealer quote still waiting. If you keep cars a long time or you expect a software update at some point, that is the deciding factor rather than the hundred dollars.
There is a second catch worth knowing before you order anything. Unlocking the software is not always the whole job. The correct Mercedes procedure can also require the USB and media ports in the armrest to be changed for the newer type, which is what the smartphone integration part number in the list above is for. Enable the software behind the old ports and you have paid for a feature you still cannot plug a phone into.
So three things have to line up, not one: the software flag, the firmware version, and the physical ports.
Can an aftermarket scan tool do this?
No, and it is worth being straight about it rather than selling you something that will not work. Legitimate CarPlay activation on these units is SCN coding, which goes through Mercedes online systems, and firmware updates on an Audio 20 built before 2015 need dealer equipment with the update media. That is the one category of work an independent tool cannot reach.
What a YOUCANIC UCAN-II Pro does cover is nearly everything else Xentry does short of online coding, including reading the head unit and the rest of the control units so you can confirm which variant you actually have before you spend anything, and clearing the fault codes a failed activation attempt leaves behind. Useful here, just not for the activation itself.
Related reading
Before you buy parts, scan every control module, not just the engine. It shows the root fault behind the warning lights and tells you whether the problem is still active. See how to do a full health check.
Questions from Mercedes-Benz Owners
Can Apple CarPlay and Android Auto be activated on my Mercedes?
It depends on the head unit, not just the model year. Cars with the NTG5 or NTG5.5 COMAND or Audio 20 system, from about 2016 on, usually have the hardware and only need the Smartphone Integration function activated, while older NTG4 and NTG4.5 units need an aftermarket interface module. Check your head unit version first, as shown above, before buying a dongle or paying for activation.
I followed the steps but CarPlay still does not show up. What else should I check?
Use a USB data cable, not a charge only cable, plugged into the media USB port rather than a charging port. Make sure CarPlay is allowed on the phone and that Smartphone Integration is switched on in the car’s settings. If the menu option does not exist at all, the function is not activated in the head unit yet.
The dealer told me CarPlay is not possible on my car. Are they right?
Sometimes. Some early production cars in a model year shipped with a head unit version that does not support it, even though later cars of the same model do. Ask the dealer which head unit and software version your VIN has; that answer tells you whether activation, a software update or an aftermarket interface is the path.
