While Apple CarPlay is a wonderful feature to have in our car, there is one annoying aspect that has been bothersome. When you plug your phone in and start the car, it automatically starts playing what you were last listening to—music, audiobook, or podcast. Having to wait for the sound to start so that you can push the button to turn the audio off is annoying.
Searching online I found any number of articles with a variety of solutions. Everything from removing Music from the allowed apps in CarPlay, to buying a 99¢ blank track that you name so it is the first item in your music list, and so on. The best solution, and the one I implemented, was to use a personal automation.
Search for the “Shortcuts” app on your iPhone, and select the “Automation” tab. Create a new personal automation that is triggered by “When CarPlay Connects”. For the action search for “Play/Pause”. Tap on the Play/Pause option and select “Pause”. You will have the option to be asked to allow the automation each time. I opted for no, but I did opt to get a notification when the automation ran.
After setting this up, when I plug my phone in to the car there is a split second of sound and then the sound stops. It would be better if Apple would add an autoplay on/off option, but in the meantime being able to automate silence is acceptable.