It depends on your model year and which SYNC system you have — not on the model. Here is the year-by-year answer, how to check in about thirty seconds, and what 2016 owners need to do to add it.
Apple CarPlay is standard on 2017 and newer Fords equipped with SYNC 3, SYNC 4 or SYNC 4A. If your Ford is a 2017 or later and has a SYNC 3 or newer touchscreen, you have it.
2016 Fords with SYNC 3 can add it, but it takes two steps rather than one: a free software update to SYNC 3 version 2.2 or later, and — for Apple CarPlay specifically — a USB hub hardware upgrade that has to be installed by a dealer. Android Auto needs only the software update.
2015 and older Fords, and any Ford with SYNC 2 or the original SYNC, cannot run CarPlay. The hardware does not support it, and there is no Ford upgrade path.
Ford made Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard across the 2017 model year on vehicles equipped with SYNC 3. The rollout began with the 2017 Escape and extended through the Fusion, Mustang, Explorer, F-150, Focus, Edge and Super Duty during that model year.
One caveat worth knowing: some base trims in those years shipped with a plain SYNC system rather than SYNC 3. If your vehicle has a small monochrome display rather than a color touchscreen, that is what you have, and CarPlay is not available on it.
The 2016 model year is the confusing one, because Ford was mid-transition between SYNC generations. Some 2016 vehicles shipped with SYNC 3, others with SYNC 2, and the two look different but not obviously so.
If yours has SYNC 3, Ford released version 2.2 in May 2017 that adds CarPlay and Android Auto support to roughly 800,000 model-year 2016 vehicles. If yours has SYNC 2, there is no supported path to CarPlay.
CarPlay was not available on any Ford before the 2016 model year, and the earlier hardware cannot support it. Ford did retroactively add Siri Eyes Free to many 2011–2016 vehicles, which is a much more limited feature and often what people are remembering when they think an older Ford had some kind of iPhone integration.
This is the part that decides the answer, and it takes about thirty seconds in your driveway.
SYNC 3, SYNC 4 or 4A: a color touchscreen, either 6.5 or 8 inches on SYNC 3, larger on SYNC 4. Home screen split into tiles for Audio, Phone and Navigation. Responds to pinch and swipe.
SYNC 2 (MyFord Touch): a color touchscreen split into four colored corners — blue, yellow, green and red quadrants. If you see four colored corners, that is SYNC 2 and CarPlay is not possible.
Original SYNC: a small monochrome display, no touchscreen, controlled from steering wheel buttons.
Not sure? Call our service department at (630) 793-4680 with your VIN and we will tell you exactly which system your vehicle has and whether CarPlay is possible on it. That costs nothing and takes a couple of minutes.
Two things have to happen, and most guides only mention the first.
1. The software update. SYNC 3 version 2.2 or later is a free download. You can install it three ways: over Wi-Fi if your vehicle is Wi-Fi equipped and the option is enabled, by downloading it from the Ford Owner site to a USB drive using your VIN, or by bringing the vehicle to a dealer.
2. The USB hub upgrade — for Apple CarPlay only. The 2016 USB hardware does not carry the data CarPlay needs. It has to be physically replaced, which means a dealer visit and a parts cost. Android Auto does not require this — on Android, the software update alone is enough.
That distinction catches a lot of people out. A 2016 owner updates the software, plugs in an iPhone, nothing happens, and assumes the update failed. It did not; the USB hub is the missing piece.
Call (630) 793-4680 and we will confirm whether your 2016 has SYNC 3, quote the USB hub upgrade, and handle the software update at the same visit. Schedule service here, or ask about Ford Pickup & Delivery if you would rather we collect the vehicle.
Every new Ford we sell comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard, and current models support wireless connection rather than requiring a cable.
SYNC 4 with the available 12-inch touchscreen.
SYNC 4A on current models.
SYNC 4 with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto.
Standard smartphone integration across the range.
Standard on the hybrid and EcoBoost models.
SYNC 4A on the vertical center screen.
If you would rather not work it out from a screenshot, our service department will identify your SYNC version from your VIN over the phone and tell you honestly whether CarPlay is possible on your vehicle — including when the answer is no.
Service: (630) 793-4680 · Schedule an appointment · Pickup & Delivery
2055 West Ogden Avenue · Naperville, IL 60540 · Service (630) 793-4680
