Setup guide

First-time setup

1. Start the car. Do this first — some cars only power the USB data lines once the ignition is on.
2. Plug ZeroCord into the USB port you normally use for CarPlay. If your car has several ports, it's the one marked with a phone or CarPlay symbol. A port marked only with a lightning bolt is charge-only and will not work.
3. Wait for the LED. It lights up within a few seconds.
4. On your phone, turn on both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Both are required. Wi-Fi does not need to be joined to any network — it just has to be switched on.
5. Pair with the device named ZeroCord in your phone's Bluetooth list.
6. Accept the prompt asking to use CarPlay or Android Auto. Your car's screen switches over.

That's the whole setup. It only happens once. From now on the adapter connects on its own about ten seconds after you start the car.

If it doesn't connect

Nothing happens when I plug it in

• Check the LED. No light means the port isn't supplying power — try the other USB port.
• Make sure you're in the CarPlay-capable port, not a charge-only one.
• Try the included USB-C tip if your car's port is USB-C.

The LED is on but my phone can't find it

• Confirm Wi-Fi is switched on. This catches most people — Bluetooth alone is not enough.
• On iPhone: Settings → General → CarPlay. If an old entry for your car is listed, tap it and choose Forget This Car, then start again.
• On Android: Settings → Connected devices, remove any old ZeroCord pairing and re-pair.
• Unplug the adapter, wait ten seconds, plug it back in.

It connects but drops out

• Turn off your phone's battery saver — on both iOS and Android it aggressively throttles the Wi-Fi link that CarPlay runs over.
• Turn off Wi-Fi Assist (iPhone) or Adaptive Wi-Fi (Samsung).
• If your phone is in a thick metal case or a metal-lined wallet case, try it without.
• Keep the phone in the cabin, not in the boot or a bag under a seat.

Sound plays through the phone, not the car

Something else has grabbed the Bluetooth audio route. Turn Bluetooth off and on again on the phone, or briefly disconnect the car's own Bluetooth phone pairing.

It takes much longer than 10 seconds

The first connection of the day is usually the slowest. If it's consistently over 30 seconds, unpair on the phone and pair once more from scratch — a half-completed first pairing is the usual cause.

Firmware updates

The adapter can update itself over your home Wi-Fi. Full instructions are on the card in the box. Updates are worth doing when your phone gets a major OS release, since that's when car makers' CarPlay implementations tend to change.

Still stuck?

Email vandro.digital@gmail.com with your car's make, model and year, your phone model and OS version, and what the LED is doing. That's usually enough for us to diagnose it in one reply.

If we can't get it working in your car, the 30-day refund applies — no argument.