Roon ARC shows 'bad connection' in car when trying to play music (ref#SOT9U1)

Network Setup

· Do you have a mesh network? (Google Mesh, Eeros, Ubiquiti, etc.)

ARC Status

· ARC is *Ready*

Describe the issue

When I am in my car, trying to play music, Arc says there is a bad connection, the music, icons, et al. Comes up but times out, bad connection

Describe your network setup

I have an xfinity modem, eero router and satellites (mesh network), latest update from Roon

Hi @Robert_Salz,

Thanks for the report. Does Roon ARC work as expected at home? Please provide a specific example of the issue, including the exact local date and time, as well as the track involved. We also need to know whether your Roon Server is connected to the primary router or to a satellite.

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Hi, when I try to listen in car, it says there is no connection. Arc works at home. But I have to be inside near one of my eero pods. Nucleus Server is connected to Eero base, I have an xfinity modem which is bridged to Eero. Bad connection occurs intermittently, lately all the time in the car. Today is Friday, April 3, 2026..6pm pst

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I also would get this problem often

Hi, have you figured a solution for this random outage in the car? I have a fairly modern car with internet hot spot. So, I don’t understand why the outages.

Hello @Robert_Salz,

We checked the diagnostics report from your Roon ARC app and found that the issue on April 3 was caused by poor network bandwidth.

As a cross-check, could you please test Roon ARC playback on a different network than your home network, and not on the network you used in your car? For example, your friend’s home network, or somewhere with strong LTE or 5G coverage.

Let us know please about the results.

Thanks.

Hi, I went across the street to my neighbor’s house, and joined her network, and ARC worked quite well. I have a feeling that my BMW’s network from ATT is not very good; I get only so much data per month as I understand. When I run out of data, I get a weaker signal. At that point I don’t know what to do, as I need the network on, in order to use CarPlay. I am curious if you have people like me, using CarPlay with ATT wireless in a car. Thanks, Robert

Normally this would just be to give all folks in the car a WiFi connection.

Your actual iPhone will have a data connection too, maybe try using your phones data instead of the WiFi in the car.

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Hey @Robert_Salz,

Thanks for the additional information! Based on this, I believe @Mr.Flibble is spot on with the above thought - see if using your normal mobile data provides a smoother experience.

We’ll be monitoring for your reply, thanks Robert! :raising_hands:

Hi all:

Continuing to be frustrated with lack of performance. When Arc first was released it worked in ,my car, using CarPlay. Now it doesn’t. I’ve been told by ATT, that CarPlay uses up all the memory, thus there is no room for ARC to work. I see a lot of finger pointing here, that no one knows what to do to fix my problem. I am savvy with computers, so I know I am doing everything I can on my end. I can only turn to you, Roon Service and Community. Let’s fix this!!

Ok @Robert_Salz let’s see if we can fix this!!

Let’s start by reviewing the problem…

Continuing to be frustrated with lack of performance. When Arc first was released it worked in ,my car, using CarPlay. Now it doesn’t.

Bad connection occurs intermittently, lately all the time in the car.

When I am in my car, trying to play music, Arc says there is a bad connection, the music, icons, et al. Comes up but times out, bad connection

You’re telling us that streaming music with ARC is unstable and the connection to your Roon Nucleus times out from time to time under the following conditions:

  • ARC is connected to your BMW via CarPlay
  • ARC connects to the Internet using the BMW hotspot
  • The BMW cellular service is provided by AT&T

Assuming that’s correct, consider the next sections to narrow down the cause of the problem.

Temporarily Ignore CarPlay Memory

I’ve been told by ATT, that CarPlay uses up all the memory, thus there is no room for ARC to work.

It’s unlikely that the BMW’s head unit is constrained by physical memory/RAM.

The more common cause of ARC streaming issues are network related, so let’s set aside the memory topic for now.

AT&T Mobile Bottleneck

The FAQ at the bottom of the ConnectedDrive program page mentions these 2 gems:

  • After 22GB, AT&T may temporarily slow data speeds if the network is busy.
  • AT&T may slow speeds during times of network congestion.

Roon’s ARC FAQ states that there are “many factors that might affect ARC’s bandwidth usage.”

  • Check the speed of the internet connection using BMW’s hotspot with an app on your mobile phone or visit https://www.speedtest.net in a mobile web browser. Here’s an example:
  • Check ARC’s playback setting to see the streaming quality (speed) it will use:
  • Play some music and confirm the signal path shows what’s streaming matches what the hotspot can keep up with:
  • Estimate the bandwidth needed from the cellular plan.
  • The ARC FAQ has the following info about using “Balanced” playback…
    • Files: Lossy files will be transmitted to ARC in original format. Lossless files will be transcoded to 256kbps Opus

    • TIDAL: We will request “High Quality” from TIDAL, typically this means 320kbit AAC

      Qobuz: We will request “Standard Quality” from Qobuz, typically this means 320kbit MP3

Do you observe any issues with this type of connection?

Mobile Phone-Only Alternative

You’ve told us that ARC works fine inside your house and your neighbor’s house when you join her network. I’ll take that to mean your phone is using wifi to reach the Internet and communicate with the Nucleus server.

Use just your phone’s cellular service and confirm that ARC works as expected.

How does this type of connection compare to using the BMW’s hotspot?

Next Steps

I see a lot of finger pointing here, that no one knows what to do to fix my problem.

I am savvy with computers, so I know I am doing everything I can on my end.

To paraphrase Tom Cruise from the movie Jerry Maquire, help us help you - by sharing the step-by-step process you’re taking to troubleshoot.

I have a feeling that my BMW’s network from ATT is not very good; I get only so much data per month as I understand. When I run out of data, I get a weaker signal. At that point I don’t know what to do, as I need the network on, in order to use CarPlay.

Once you confirm the problem is AT&T throttling cellular speeds with the BMW’s hotspot, then we can share opinions on your options.

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