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Split Screen on Carlinkit: Widgets vs Real Split

Carlinkit home-screen panes are widgets, not split screen. Make a real two-app split with code 121212 or the floating button. TBox Plus, Ambient, Ultra.

Quick answer

Enter code 121212 in Settings → Other → Factory settings, choose the ratio and one app for each half, and tap Save: the box creates a two-app shortcut in the app list that opens both apps side by side. Two owners confirmed it works; it uses the engineering menu, so change nothing else there. The two panes on the stock home screen are only a navigation widget and a player, so they cannot hold any app you like.

Symptoms

  • The stock home screen shows maps on the left and a player on the right, and you cannot put another app in the player's place
  • You want navigation and a video or music app on screen at the same time
  • Your navigation app does not appear when you try to add it to split screen
  • A split-screen shortcut you made disappeared after a reboot or a protocol switch

Applies to

Connection to the car
CarPlay and Android Auto
Highest risk on this page
Advanced
Status
Workaround confirmed by the community

Why it happens

The stock Carlinkit launcher on the TBox Plus, Ambient and UHD looks like a split screen out of the box: a navigation map on the left and a music panel on the right. It is not one. The left side is a widget showing the app chosen in the navigation settings, and the right side is a fixed player panel; only the app icons around them can be changed. An Ambient owner who wanted a video app in place of the player was told exactly that.

A real split screen, with any two apps running side by side, is an Android multi-window feature the firmware exposes in two places: the floating button, and a preset editor behind factory code 121212 that saves two-app shortcuts. One rule cuts across both: an app that is already the home screen’s navigation widget cannot also be placed in a split.

Fixes, ranked

Save a two-app shortcut with code 121212

  • Advanced
  • Time: 5 minutes
  • Worked for 2 of 2 reports

Warranty warning: this uses developer or engineering access. Follow the undo steps afterwards; some sellers refuse warranty claims on units with debugging left enabled.

  1. Open Settings → Other and tap the Factory settings label at the top of the screen.
  2. Enter 121212.
  3. Choose the ratio (50/50, or 70/30 and 30/70 where offered).
  4. Tap + on each half and pick an app. If an app is refused, it is probably set as the home-screen navigation widget; see Fix 2.
  5. Tap Save. The box may restart.
  6. Open the app list and go to the last page: the new icon shows both apps. Tap it to open them side by side.
  7. To stop the icon disappearing after a reboot, press and drag any icon from the second-to-last page onto the last page, then drag the two-app icon into the freed spot.
The 121212 preset editor: pick a ratio, add one app to each window, then Save. Reconstructed screen, labels may differ by firmware.

A Carlinkit owner who could only get 50/50 before reported that the shortcut appeared once they pressed Save. An Ultra owner who had set 70/30 in the 4545 menu, and seen nothing happen, followed the 121212 steps and the icon-moving trick and confirmed the 70/30 split worked. The ratio itself can also be set in 4545 → Other, but that only changes the proportion; 121212 is what creates the shortcut.

On builds from early 2026, owners found a Screen split or Factory settings app in the app list that opens the same editor without typing a code. An Ultra owner who creates splits through settings rather than the floating button said the two-app buttons can also be placed on the stock home screen.

Code 121212 opens part of the engineering menu, so this fix carries an Advanced label. The editor only creates shortcuts, but leave every other option in that menu as it is.

Free your navigation app from the home-screen widget

  • Safe
  • Time: 2 minutes
  • Recommended in the community FAQ
  1. Long-press the navigation widget on the stock home screen, or open the navigation settings where the widget’s app is chosen.
  2. Pick a different maps app for the widget, for example a second map app you do not use for routing.
  3. Return to Fix 1 (or the floating-button route under Things to try) and add your main navigation app to the split.

The Carlinkit FAQ states the rule: an app placed in the stock launcher’s widget cannot be added to split screen. Its suggested workaround is to give the widget a second maps app and keep your main navigation app for split screen. Owners asking why their navigation app was missing from the 121212 list got the same answer from other owners. Nobody reported back after trying it, so the badge shows the FAQ recommendation only.

Things to try (unverified)

  • Start a split from the floating button. Open the app you want on the left, tap the floating button, choose split screen, then open the second app; drag the divider to set the ratio. An experienced owner gave this route to the Ambient owner who asked about the home-screen panes, but that owner did not report whether it worked. The app opened first goes on the left, and the default navigation app may refuse to open a second time. It can take two or three attempts; on the TBox Plus it did not work on builds from November 2023 to January 2024 and worked again on the 17 Apr 2024 firmware. Splits made this way are not saved, so use Fix 1 for a pair you want every drive. If you removed the floating button, see remove the navigation bar and floating button.
  • Recreate shortcuts after a protocol switch. Owners report that two-app icons vanish after switching between CarPlay and Android Auto, because the screen resolution changes, and sometimes after saving in the 4545 menu or connecting to another head unit. One owner fixed repeated losses by keeping a single preset; moving the icon did not help everyone. See switching CarPlay and Android Auto.
  • 121212 does nothing on some TBox Plus units. One owner asked twice over seven months: 4545 and other codes worked, 121212 did not. Look for a Screen split or Factory settings app in the app list instead, or use the floating button. Nobody reported back.
  • Start a split automatically at boot. An Ultra 1 owner on the 11 Dec 2025 firmware chose a preset under Settings → Other → automatic split screen, but it did not start after a reboot. Owners who need this often use CarCar Launcher, which saves splits with ratios and autostart under a paid licence; see stuck on “Loading phone” before installing any launcher.

If nothing works

Note the box model and firmware date (Settings → About), which route you tried (121212, the Screen split app, or the floating button), the protocol you use, and the two apps involved. Some apps do not support multi-window mode at all; test the same pair with two other apps to tell an app limit from a firmware one.

Report firmware faults to Carlinkit support ([email protected]). The codes for each box are listed in the engineering codes reference. If split screen is a deciding feature when choosing a box, start here.

Related fixes

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Changelog

  • Last reviewed against new community reports:
  • Confirmed by 2 community reports.
  • Page updated:

"Confirmed" means a community member reported that the fix worked on their unit. We have not tested it on our own hardware. How we verify.