Support

What do I need to watch on the car's screen?

An iPhone on iOS 27 or later, connected to a car with CarPlay. Open DriveIn from the CarPlay screen. Some cars have CarPlay's own video player, and DriveIn plays there; in others, DriveIn shows its own car screen with Home, Library, Cast to Car and Browser along the top.

Video on the car's screen is for passengers and parked cars only. Where the car can't show video, DriveIn plays on your iPhone and the sound comes through the car.

Does DriveIn come with any channels or videos?

No. DriveIn is a player: it plays what you add, such as your own videos, a playlist link from your provider, or your Plex, Jellyfin or Emby server. It doesn't provide or recommend any content.

How do I add a playlist?

Go to Library, tap + and paste an M3U or M3U8 link, or scan its QR code. DriveIn reads its groups and logos and shows how many channels it found. If a link says it isn't a playlist, open it in Safari to check it's a list of streams and not a web page, and check it hasn't expired.

How do I connect Plex, Jellyfin or Emby?

• Plex: in Library, tap +, choose Plex and sign in. You can also link with a code at plex.tv/link. Then pick your server.
• Jellyfin and Emby: enter your server's address, user name and password, or sign in with Emby Connect.

Your progress goes back to the server, so you can carry on in your other apps. Away from home, your server needs to be reachable from the internet (or over a VPN such as Tailscale).

How do I add my own videos?

In Library, open Imported Files and choose videos from Files or Photos, or share a video to DriveIn from another app or with AirDrop. In Files, you can copy them into DriveIn so they play offline, or play them from where they are to save space. DriveIn's folder also shows in the Files app under On My iPhone.

How do I mirror another app?

Connect CarPlay first, then open the Cast to Car tab on your iPhone and tap Screen Mirroring. iOS asks you to start the broadcast; after that, open any app and it shows on the car's screen.

Apps that block screen recording, including most paid streaming services, show a black picture. That's the app's choice and DriveIn can't change it. If an app's sound runs behind its picture, use Picture Delay in Cast to Car. Turn on a Focus to keep notifications off the car's screen.

How does casting work?

Some apps have a TV cast button that sends video over DLNA. Turn on casting in the Cast to Car tab, connect CarPlay, then tap the cast button in the other app and choose DriveIn by the name shown in Cast to Car. DriveIn plays the video itself, at full quality. Cast to Car lists apps that are known to work.

Why did the video move to my iPhone?

When DriveIn can tell the car is moving, video leaves the car's screen and keeps playing on the iPhone, with the sound still through the car. It comes back once the car is parked. DriveIn uses your iPhone's speed for this, so allow location access when asked.

A video won't play, or plays without sound

• Check the stream plays elsewhere: links expire and servers go offline.
• Try turning on Software Decoding in Settings > Playback.
• For a live channel, wait a moment: DriveIn tries again on its own before it shows an error.
• If it plays on the iPhone but not on the car's screen, send me the file type and your car's make and model.

How do subtitles work?

Subtitles inside the video appear in the player's subtitle menu, where Add Subtitles takes an .srt, .ass or .vtt file. Tap Search Online there to find subtitles on OpenSubtitles.com. Signing in to an OpenSubtitles account in Settings > Subtitles gives you more downloads a day.

What does DriveIn Pro include?

Your first 60 minutes of video on the car's screen are free. DriveIn Pro, a subscription, removes that limit. Watching on your iPhone, adding sources and browsing are always free, and on iPad DriveIn is free with no limits (iPads can't use CarPlay).

To cancel, go to Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions on your iPhone. To restore Pro on a new iPhone, tap Restore Purchases in DriveIn's settings. Refunds are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.

Does DriveIn collect my data?

No. There's no account, no analytics and no tracking, and your sources, passwords and watch history stay on your device. See the privacy policy for the details.

Contact

Email support@karanfadnavis.com or send a message. For bug reports, your iPhone model, iOS version, the app version (in DriveIn's settings) and your car's make and model help a lot. Please don't send passwords or full playlist links.