Wireless CarPlay for the Kia Niro: make factory CarPlay wireless

With a wireless adapter you get into your Kia Niro, start the car and drive off: CarPlay or Android Auto starts by itself and your phone stays in your pocket or bag. There is one condition: your Niro already has wired Apple CarPlay or Android Auto from the factory. You can check that in one minute below.

View the 2-in-1 wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapter

1. What the adapter does in your Niro

• Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto in one adapter: iPhone and Android.
• Plugs into the existing USB port your Niro uses for CarPlay or Android Auto.
• Pair once, then the phone connects by itself.
• No installation, no tools: nothing changes in the car.
• Your Niro's own screen and controls keep working: touchscreen, steering-wheel buttons, speakers and microphone.

2. Does your Niro qualify? The 1-minute test

1. Start the car and wait until the touchscreen is fully on.
2. Connect your phone to a USB port with a cable: an iPhone for CarPlay, an Android phone for Android Auto.

• CarPlay or Android Auto appears: your Niro has the connection the adapter needs. The adapter goes into exactly that USB port.
• Nothing appears: try the other USB ports and a good cable, because some ports only charge. If nothing appears on any port, your Niro most likely has no CarPlay or Android Auto, and the adapter will not add it.

Passed the test? Then your Niro has what the adapter needs. Order the adapter and enter your Niro model and year in the order field.

3. Which Niro generations have wired CarPlay

Whether your Niro has CarPlay or Android Auto by cable depends mainly on the generation and the screen. The drivetrain (Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid or the electric e-Niro / Niro EV) makes no difference:

• Niro first generation (2016–2019, before the facelift) with the 7- or 8-inch touchscreen: the Niro was the first Kia with Android Auto, from the start of sales in 2016, connected via USB. According to Kia, Apple CarPlay followed by the end of 2016, so very early cars may only show Android Auto. Versions without a touchscreen have neither.
• Niro facelift (Hybrid and Plug-in from 2019) and e-Niro (until 2022) with the 10.25-inch navigation screen: CarPlay and Android Auto usually via the USB cable. This is the typical Niro for the adapter.
• Niro facelift and e-Niro with the 8-inch screen without navigation: usually CarPlay and Android Auto by cable as well. Later cars can already connect wirelessly; in the US, Kia made this standard on the 8-inch screen from the 2021 model year.
• Niro second generation (from 2022: Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid and Niro EV) with the 10.25-inch navigation screen: CarPlay and Android Auto usually via cable only, so the adapter fits here too.

A Niro with a navigation screen, 7 or 8 inches in the first generation or 10.25 inches later, is therefore the typical car for the adapter. The cable test is decisive.

Already wireless? Then you do not need the adapter. The second-generation Niro with the 8-inch screen (the entry version without navigation) usually has wireless CarPlay and Android Auto. The updated Niro shown for Europe in 2026, with two 12.3-inch screens, has wireless CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. If your phone already connects to your Niro without a cable, the adapter adds nothing.

4. Set it up in your Niro in 3 steps

1. Plug in: start the car, unplug the phone cable and plug the adapter into the USB port that worked in the test.
2. Pair once: switch on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on your phone, choose the adapter in the Bluetooth list (not the car) and follow the manual.
3. Confirm: accept the CarPlay or Android Auto prompt on your phone. After that, the phone should connect by itself every time you get in.

5. Questions from Niro drivers

• My Niro has the 10.25-inch navigation screen. Does the adapter work? Usually yes. With this screen, the Niro Hybrid, Niro Plug-in Hybrid and e-Niro or Niro EV usually connect CarPlay and Android Auto only via the USB cable, so this is the typical car for the adapter. CarPlay or Android Auto still runs on your Niro's own screen.
• My Niro only shows Android Auto (or only CarPlay) with a cable. Does the adapter help? Only for that system. The adapter does not add a system your Niro lacks. For wireless Android Auto, Google lists a phone with Android 11 or later and 5 GHz Wi-Fi.
• My Niro has the 8-inch screen without navigation. Do I need the adapter? Often not. In the second-generation Niro (from 2022) this screen usually connects CarPlay and Android Auto without a cable, and later first-generation cars can too. Try it once: if your phone connects without a cable, you can skip the adapter. If it only works with a cable, the adapter makes it wireless.
• Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid or electric: does that matter? No. What matters is the screen and whether it shows CarPlay or Android Auto with a cable. The adapter works the same way in the Niro Hybrid, the Niro Plug-in Hybrid and the e-Niro or Niro EV.
• Will the steering-wheel buttons and Siri or Google Assistant still work? Yes. If the voice button starts Siri or the Google Assistant with the cable, it does the same with the adapter. Calls use the car's speakers and microphone.
• Lag and battery? Wireless can respond slightly slower than a cable, mostly with audio, such as a short delay when you skip a track. Your phone no longer charges via the USB port and uses more battery, so use a charger on long drives.

6. Order the adapter for your Niro

Does your Niro show CarPlay or Android Auto with a cable? Then order the 2-in-1 wireless adapter. Enter your Niro model and year in the order field; we check it before we ship. If in doubt, you can always send us a photo of your USB ports or ask us before ordering.

Ships within 24 hours · 30-day returns · Free shipping until 30 November

Further reading

Wireless CarPlay for Kia · Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapter: does it work in my car? · 2-in-1 wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapter · Frequently asked questions · Contact us

Sources: Kia Motors Europe, press release on Android Auto and Apple CarPlay (March 2016, via Automotive World); Kia UK, Niro on-sale announcement (July 2016, via Conceptcarz); DrivingElectric, Niro facelift (February 2019) and e-Niro review; Parkers, Kia e-Niro (2019–2022) review; Kia America, 2021 Niro “What's new”; Kelley Blue Book, 2022 Kia Niro; Auto Express, Kia Niro review (second generation); CarExpert, 2022 Kia Niro review; The Korean Car Blog and EVLife, new Niro for Europe (2026); Google, Android Auto Help.