Defender blocks Carplay on my 2024 Chevy so I have to turn off web defense when will this be fixed?

Question

I have a 2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. Some months ago carplay quit working for maps. Also all apps on the phone would not work when carplay was connected. The message was consistently “Cannot find the server”. Finally through trial and error I figured out that once the phone connects to the local Chevrolet WiFi network defender was blocking my phone’s attempt to use the cellular network to gain access to servers to run map programs and everything else. The solution was to turn off web protection in defender. When will Microsoft and / or GM solve this problem? I don’t think it’s reasonable to turn web defender off every time I get in the car. And are you aware of this issue? If so why couldn’t I find an announcement on the web of how to fix this?

Answer 1

Hey,

I get how annoying it is when something that should just work, like CarPlay, suddenly doesn’t.

What’s happening here is that Microsoft Defender’s Web Protection feature on your phone is interfering with how your apps connect to the internet when you're in your Chevy.

Basically, once your phone connects to the truck’s WiFi, Defender tries to route all traffic through that network, even though your apps still need cellular data to work properly.

That’s why you’re seeing “Cannot find the server” errors.

The easiest fix for now is to turn off Web Protection in Defender when you get in the car, which you’ve already figured out.

You could also try disabling auto-join for Chevy’s Wi-Fi so your phone sticks to cellular, but that might affect other features like over-the-air updates or hotspot use.

Just curious, are you using an iPhone with Defender installed from Microsoft 365, or is it a standalone app?

And do you notice this happening only in your Colorado, or in other Wi-Fi environments too?

That might help narrow down whether it’s a Defender issue or something specific to GM’s network setup.

Regards, Aron