No notification sound when CarPlay is connected

We're building a taxi driver app. Our goal is simple:

Play a notification sound when a new ride request arrives — even if the iPhone is connected to CarPlay.

We use Firebase push with "sound": "default" and "interruption-level": "time-sensitive". The app requests .carPlay and uses a category with .allowInCarPlay.

Everything works when CarPlay is disconnected — we get sound and banner. But when connected to CarPlay:

the push is delivered silently, no sound is played (even on the phone), Siri Announce is enabled, but nothing is spoken. Questions:

Is notification sound blocked when CarPlay is active, unless the app has CarPlay entitlement?

Is Siri Announce the only way to notify the driver audibly in this case?

Would getting a CarPlay entitlement (e.g. CarPlay.communication) fix this without building a full CarPlay UI?

Thanks — all we need is a reliable sound alert when a new ride comes in.

You have asked this same question on multiple threads and was given an answer that only CarPlay apps - apps that have an icon on the CarPlay home screen - may show notifications.

I am not sure why you worry about building a full CarPlay app. CarPlay apps are not separate apps—you add CarPlay support to your existing app. CarPlay apps can use built-in templates to render their UI on the CarPlay screen.

You can find all the info you need in the CarPlay Developer Guide

thanks for the detailed answer

No notification sound when CarPlay is connected
 
 
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