Kenwood DDX-470 & iPhone owners
 

Hi group:

Today I lost full connectivity between my iPhone and Kenwood DDX-470 head unit. I can't get audio from SiriusXM, Pandora, or Music to play thru the head unit, but the pause and play buttons will start and stop the sound, which now only plays thru the iPhone speakers. Siri works fine, and the iPhone charges, so thee is some connectivity. Anyone else see this yet? I'm guessing it may be related to the latest iOS update on the phone.

I know this is going to sound silly but did you try rebooting the phone? My wife has this JBL speaker she connects the iPhone to in the kitchen and it suffered the same issue: sound only came from the iPhone despite the buttons working and the unit charging. A complete reboot of the phone was needed to get it working again with the JBL. I've also had the Music app go wacky and forcing it to quit (double tap home once unlocked then swipe up to kill the app) returned it to its happy place when syncing to my Alpine head unit.

Rebooted both. What's the most odd is I can select songs, play/pause, do thumbs up/down. etc., but the audio will only come out of the iPhone speakers. I'm going to roll back to an earlier version of iOS now and see what happens. This has to be a firmware issue.

Confirmed it was the firmware. Had iOS 10.3 beta, and everything worked fine again after I downgraded to 10.2 public. If anyone has ever had to downgrade iOS, or get out of their beta program, you know what a pain in the ass this is, so lesson learned.

Key word here: beta :o

Maybe. When 10.3 public is released I'll try it on my iPad and see what happens with the Kenwood. My experience with the iOS beta's is that they're just about final releases, and the public versions are functionally identical. It may just be that the DDX-470 will need to be replaced soon with one of their newer CarPlay head units, since I'm getting close to wanting a newer iPhone. I've had that head unit in the car for at least 4 years, maybe 5, so I've gotten my money's worth from it.

Hey dcains, I got the same radio based on your recommendation about 4 years ago.
It still works like a champ and it pains me to get rid of it.
I did purchase a newer Kenwood, but the UI was beyond slow I returned it.

Anyways, are you having any issues with newer iOS updates?
I have a Galaxy S8 and Pandora wont turn on unless I unlock the phone. With my S3, S4, S6, and S7, the radio would boot Pandora regardless if its locked or not.
Also, at times when I'm on a call, the phone would go to speakerphone and disconnect from bluetooth.

I have a feeling its the phones "better" security, and not the aging radio. :bang:

Still working great after 10 years.

One possible solution could be to check for any available firmware updates for your head unit. Manufacturers often release updates to address compatibility issues and improve functionality. It's worth visiting the Kenwood website or contacting their support for assistance. Additionally, you mentioned that this issue occurred after a recent iOS update. It's not uncommon for new software updates to introduce compatibility challenges with third-party devices. You might want to consider reaching out to Apple support or searching online forums to see if others have experienced similar issues and if there are any suggested solutions or workarounds. Remember to provide as much detail as possible when seeking support, including the specific model numbers, software versions, and any troubleshooting steps you have already taken. This will help the support team or community members better understand and assist you with resolving the issue. While I can't directly troubleshoot your car audio connectivity problem, I hope these suggestions help you in finding a resolution.