[jeffreee]

I have had a CWP '19 Forester Sport for a week now and have loved the Android Auto/Apple Carplay integration, but has Subaru forgot to have a place to set a phone down? The center console cubby underneath the head unit is too small for both my phone or my wife's phone. Where have the rest of you put your phone while connected via USB? I ordered a couple dash mounts that are magnetic, but I am looking at the flat surfaces and whatnot, and it doesn't seem like there are a lot of great options.

Any ideas or solutions you all have?

 

[elDubDub]

I found that one of those rubbery/sticky mats work great on top of the dash in front of the third center display. I originally doubted it, but found it works great and doesn’t slide at all, and I don’t even notice it there and frequently forget to take my phone with me when I leave the car.

 

[Pilot1226]

They don't appear to have updated for 19's yet, but ProClip had some great permanent solutions in the past.

https://www.proclipusa.com/vehicle/dashboard-mounts/3571-subaru-forester/2018

I'm going to check out that rubber mat. Anything special? Product link?

 

[elDubDub]

This isn’t the exact one I have, but looks to be similar in size and stickiness. I have just enough length of USB cord and place my phone on the mat just above the main touch screen, which is level enough to not be an issue. It hasn’t fallen once.

 

[Pilot1226]

Excellent, thank you!

 

[80 SUBIE]

Still thinking about it. So far I just rest it in the forward cubby or in one of the cupholders. But it's not a good fit either spot. On a previous vehicle I had one of the steel plates inside the phone cover and a magnet that clipped on vent fins. Might consider that again but need to decide if it's visible/usable on either side. The hand's free voice response gadget responds awfully quickly when activated but works for calling better than my prior phone/car setup did.

 

[elDubDub]

This is my setup for the phone. I originally wanted something more “complex”, but soon found that this simple setup worked perfectly.

 

[simonforester]

@jeffreee I've been using the magnet vent mount for several years. I leave it on the vent to the left of the head unit. I put the metal plate in my otterbox phone case. Every time I get in the car, I just stick my phone to the magnet mount and it stays there safely, whether I connect it through carplay or bluetooth. I found it more secure this way than leaving it in the cubby - that space is indeed too small for my phone and it would slip out at times when I turned too aggressively.

Any ideas or solutions you all have?[/quote]

 

[Hojoben]

Just purchased this as an alternative to propping my phone in a cup holder or having it slide out of the cubby. Works well as long as you aren’t particular about having the phone easily viewable.

KMMOTORS Coin Side Pocket,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C33APP6?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

 

[subiesubieDOOO]

Not sure why anyone needs the phone to be mounted somewhere, incoming calls and texts come through head unit and outgoing calls go through head unit and can be controlled with steering wheel functions. My phone never leaves my coat pocket in winter or back pocket in summer. Just wondering..

 

[elDubDub]

CarPlay (and possibly Android Auto) require a physical connection to display the apps on the dashboard screen. Also, when using navigation on the phone, especially on long trips, you want your phone to be charging so that when you reach your destination you don’t have a dead phone.

 

[wbdubya]

Not sure why anyone needs the phone to be mounted somewhere, incoming calls and texts come through head unit and outgoing calls go through head unit and can be controlled with steering wheel functions. My phone never leaves my coat pocket in winter or back pocket in summer. Just wondering..

Some of us don't have Apple Car Play (I have a 2018) :frown2: I use Waze every time I get in the car and prefer the phone to be mounted high so I'm not taking my eyes off of the road.
I hope the BT speaker improved in the 2019's. 2018 call quality is crappy at best.

 

[Sdcerreta]

Agree with elDubDub. Must have hard connection for Apple Car Play. This allows me to view navigation on the 8" screen. In my 09 Forester, I had the Navi deck and could always see the map when driving everywhere. I really do miss this feature.

With the 2019, I have to connect the cable everytime and hit the Car Play button to see the Navigation. Also, can't add or change the route when driving on the 8" monitor, but you can do it on the iPhone. So, I have my phone mounted to the glass with suction cup.

I used it this way in the 09 Forester and much prefer this option. The manual says not to do this because of eyesight, but I have done it this way for 3 weeks now and there is no adverse affect to Eyesight and I use the lane assist feature quite often.

For the cable solution I really do not like a hanging cable in front of the LCD screen and just dangling. So, I ran a 10ft hidden iphone cable. I did not want to alter or drill any holes into the trim panel. So, I explored a bit. In the USB bay area there is an LED lamp that turns on with the headlights. It is very dim and not bright enough to see the USB ports. So, I removed it, ran the USB cable through this hole then ran the cable under teh dash, up the left pillar trim and tucked under the headliner. The cable comes out at the center between the eyesight cameras and I hid it in the cable guide where the Homelink mirror cable is located.

Works great and looks great. Now I can mount my phone to the Topeak Car Adapter, plug it into the USB cable and use Car Play navigation and audio features. When I leave, I take teh phone and have the same ToPeak iPhone XS case that mounts to my road or mountain bike. One case, one mount, many places to drive and ride!

:nerd::nerd::nerd:

The first photo shows the ToPeak window mount just under the radar detector (mounted to mirror arm, not window). the USB cable is long enough so I can connect and set the phone on the top dash area. Or I tuck the cable under the clip for the radar detector like you see it in the photo. This keeps the cable out of the way.

The second photo is from the front of the car. You can see the window mount, the radar detector and the cable tucked into the detector clip. This is nice and neat and out of the way.

 

[Sdcerreta]

Some of us don't have Apple Car Play (I have a 2018) :frown2: I use Waze every time I get in the car and prefer the phone to be mounted high so I'm not taking my eyes off of the road.
I hope the BT speaker improved in the 2019's. 2018 call quality is crappy at best.

Not sure what is sounds like in the 13-18 series, but it is much improved over my 2009 Forester. I have placed many phone calls and no one complains about call quality like before.

BT also seems flawless for streaming music from my phone.

 

[tobin]

They don't appear to have updated for 19's yet, but ProClip had some great permanent solutions in the past.

I'm going to check out that rubber mat. Anything special? Product link?

+1 for proclip. They just added a placeholder page with "coming soon" for a mount that will fit the 2019 Forester. It looks like it'll block both dash screens, unfortunately.

 

[securityguy]

https://www.weathertech.com/cupfone/

Not a fan or ProClips. As @tobin stated above, they generally block other important aspects of the dash. Great quality...but overpriced and there are far better options IMPO.

 

[Pilot1226]

Huh. That is unfortunate. Part of me wonders about the ones on the Outback that go over the left pillar. I can picture my phone flying at my head if the side airbag deployed.

However, it seems that the older Outbacks (Gen4's before the center touch) had options to mount down low, adjacent to the shifter. This seems like it would be an ideal placement since you don't need to use your phone anyway thanks to CarPlay.
@securityguy - I do like that Cupfone. I was contemplating on what I was going to do once I receive my Foz... Perhaps this is a good option.

 

[XTChic]

I have a 2016 and got something like this and put it on my left vent by the window. It works and it is easily accessible.

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Holder-Adjustable-Cradle-Compatible/dp/B06XRNB5HF/ref=sr_1_9?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1546547822&sr=1-9&keywords=vent+phone+mount[/ame]

 

[Scooby24]

should be able to use the same solution as what I have, which is perfect IMO.

 

[wbdubya]

You should probably close that vent off when you are using the heat. Otherwise it will assist in heating up your cell phone and causing it to shut down (happened to my Iphone).
I have a mount similar to yours in the same location but the arm articulates upward to get it away from the vent.

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Dashboard-Windshield-Magnets-Samsung/dp/B07GNKSX71/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1546555539&sr=8-2&keywords=beyyon[/ame]