diff --git a/android/src/main/java/com/margelo/nitro/swe/iternio/reactnativeautoplay/AndroidAutoScreen.kt b/android/src/main/java/com/margelo/nitro/swe/iternio/reactnativeautoplay/AndroidAutoScreen.kt
index 19eb2de81576c4c9df9f0353f9dc7aef3f5fd1b5..8b9db9044e40c405fb8d166829eebe8391357150 100644
--- a/android/src/main/java/com/margelo/nitro/swe/iternio/reactnativeautoplay/AndroidAutoScreen.kt
+++ b/android/src/main/java/com/margelo/nitro/swe/iternio/reactnativeautoplay/AndroidAutoScreen.kt
@@ -124,7 +124,14 @@ class AndroidAutoScreen(
         }
 
         fun getScreenManager(): ScreenManager? {
-            return screens[AndroidAutoSession.ROOT_SESSION]?.screenManager
+            // First try to get the ROOT_SESSION screen
+            val rootScreen = screens[AndroidAutoSession.ROOT_SESSION]
+            if (rootScreen != null) {
+                return rootScreen.screenManager
+            }
+            // If ROOT_SESSION doesn't exist, get any screen's screenManager
+            // (after setRootTemplate, the root might be under a different key)
+            return screens.values.firstOrNull()?.screenManager
         }
 
         fun invalidateScreens() {
diff --git a/ios/extensions/CarPlayTemplateExtensions.swift b/ios/extensions/CarPlayTemplateExtensions.swift
index e15d37c34acc692ead9a39e962242e46e3aea525..73ac36aeee867dca7e8c8a6bbe9f79cc254a5e30 100644
--- a/ios/extensions/CarPlayTemplateExtensions.swift
+++ b/ios/extensions/CarPlayTemplateExtensions.swift
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ extension CPTemplate {
         self.init()
         initTemplate(template: self, id: id)
     }
-    @objc var id: String {
-        return (self.userInfo as? [String: Any])?["id"] as! String
+    @objc var id: String? {
+        return (self.userInfo as? [String: Any])?["id"] as? String
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/ios/scenes/AutoPlayInterfaceController.swift b/ios/scenes/AutoPlayInterfaceController.swift
index 5008b1ed3790e2d2798317aaeb4df3e65378dbce..927288c8a13bcdbc370cb48c3868c7aa57d89e33 100644
--- a/ios/scenes/AutoPlayInterfaceController.swift
+++ b/ios/scenes/AutoPlayInterfaceController.swift
@@ -90,7 +90,9 @@ class AutoPlayInterfaceController: NSObject, CPInterfaceControllerDelegate {
         var templateIds: [String] = []
 
         templates.forEach { template in
-            let templateId = template.id
+            guard let templateId = template.id else {
+                return
+            }
 
             if templateId == rootTemplateId {
                 return
@@ -117,12 +119,12 @@ class AutoPlayInterfaceController: NSObject, CPInterfaceControllerDelegate {
     {
         guard
             let template = interfaceController.templates.first(
-                where: {
-                    templateId == $0.id
+                where: { template in
+                    template.id == templateId
                 })
         else { return [] }
 
-        var templateIds: [String] = interfaceController.templates.map {
+        var templateIds: [String] = interfaceController.templates.compactMap {
             template in template.id
         }
 
@@ -173,7 +175,10 @@ class AutoPlayInterfaceController: NSObject, CPInterfaceControllerDelegate {
         _ aTemplate: CPTemplate,
         animated: Bool
     ) {
-        let templateId = aTemplate.id
+        guard let templateId = aTemplate.id else {
+            // System template without ID (e.g., CPNowPlayingTemplate)
+            return
+        }
 
         try? RootModule.withAutoPlayTemplate(templateId: templateId) {
             (template: AutoPlayTemplate) in
@@ -187,7 +192,10 @@ class AutoPlayInterfaceController: NSObject, CPInterfaceControllerDelegate {
         _ aTemplate: CPTemplate,
         animated: Bool
     ) {
-        let templateId = aTemplate.id
+        guard let templateId = aTemplate.id else {
+            // System template without ID (e.g., CPNowPlayingTemplate)
+            return
+        }
 
         if rootTemplateId == templateId {
             // this makes sure we purge outdated CPSearchTemplate since that one can be popped on with a CarPlay native button we can not intercept
@@ -210,7 +218,10 @@ class AutoPlayInterfaceController: NSObject, CPInterfaceControllerDelegate {
         _ aTemplate: CPTemplate,
         animated: Bool
     ) {
-        let templateId = aTemplate.id
+        guard let templateId = aTemplate.id else {
+            // System template without ID (e.g., CPNowPlayingTemplate)
+            return
+        }
 
         try? RootModule.withAutoPlayTemplate(
             templateId: templateId,
@@ -228,7 +239,10 @@ class AutoPlayInterfaceController: NSObject, CPInterfaceControllerDelegate {
         _ aTemplate: CPTemplate,
         animated: Bool
     ) {
-        let templateId = aTemplate.id
+        guard let templateId = aTemplate.id else {
+            // System template without ID (e.g., CPNowPlayingTemplate)
+            return
+        }
 
         try? RootModule.withAutoPlayTemplate(
             templateId: templateId,