Kenwood DDX9907XR Settings Help

This will more than likely be a running thread as I struggle through the copious amount of settings. I recently installed a Kenwood DDX9907XR, but I am having issues with getting some things to work as they did or as well as they did with the stock HU.

Right now I have everything installed and mostly working. AA was a little bit of a pain to initially get setup, but I think I have it.

The first issue I am currently working on is that text messages don't show up anywhere nor do I get a notification that I have received a text message through the HU. I haven't found anything in the manual that would help either.

The second is a lack of volume. The system was louder with the stock entune HU hooked up to a Kicker Key for the door speakers. I had previously tapped off the front speakers to go to an LC2i which in turn went to an amp and 10" sub. I had some pretty decent booming bass. Now, while the clarity is vastly improved to the door speakers, the overall loudness has gone down and I barely get anything coming out of the sub. I ran low levels from the new HU to the Kicker Key and to the amp (removed the LC2i from the system). In the HU I have the subwoofer level turned up, loudness is on low (didn't make much of a difference when it was on high), and bass boost off (by suggestion of 5 star audio). I have not made any changes to the amp settings. You can barely feel the sub doing anything which subsequently results in an extreme minimal amount of sound coming from it.

 

I have managed to figure most of it out.

For the sub I went back and checked the gains. I had it turned down pretty much all the way. In the old setup I vaguely remember setting up the LC2i first which meant the gains for the sub amp were pretty low. A quick turn of the gains dial and things were back to normal. I re-did the Kicker Key auto program thing and that seemed to make a slight difference in volume. However, when setting the gains on it I noticed they were a bit lower than before. They are at 9 and 10 o'clock for the front and rear speakers respectively. Before they were at 10 and 11. Normal listening volume on the HU is just below the 1/2 way mark, where on the stock HU it was at a tick above the 1/4 way up mark. I still get better clarity and it is louder when I push the volume up to 3/4 of the way up than before, but it just has me scratching my head as to why the volume is lower until I start to push it.

Now for the text messages. After checking every setting I could find I still wasn't receiving anything from the test texts the wife was sending. I am fairly certain I have to have AA connected to receive messages. I don't necessarily like that, because if I am just making quick trips around town I don't always enable AA. I figured that since bluetooth automatically connects that should suffice. I was running some errands the other day and a buddy sent me a text that came through. I received an audible notification and a visual notification on the Waze display. I instantly had the wife text me (she was in the truck with me) and nothing. It comes through on my phone (Samsung S9+), but not on the HU. I had my daughter text me, which I received through the HU. However, I was not on an AA screen at that time and all I received was an audible notification. Nothing visual popped up on the HU. Which is another thing I don't like.

I have no clue as to why texts from the wife won't come through.

 

Don't mean to sound obvious or as a smarta55.

Have you worked through the Kenwood manual set up section?

 

Numerous times. As far as I can tell my wife's phone is the only one that won't send texts through the radio. Daughter, son, friends using Android and iPhone all come through, just not the wife’s. It's weird.

 

Check the software versions....

of the wife's phone.

 

And, look for firmware updates on the Kenwood site. They may have fixed a bug that you're messing with.

 

I will check the wife's phone tonight.
There is an update on Kenwood's site so I will give that a shot as well.

 

I guess I can also try and send myself a text from my phone to my phone to see what happens. I never thought about sending myself a text before.

 

Well I don't get messages from my phone either. The wife and I have the same phone (SamsungS9+). Going through the settings in the phones I don't see anything that would prevent messages from coming through. My son has a Motorola Moto G Stylus. Comparing the settings in his phone to mine didn't reveal anything either.

I will try and update the radio tomorrow and see what happens.

 

You could call Kenwood Tech Service for assistance.

 

That is the plan if the update doesn't work. I figure I should exhaust all resources and make sure everything is as up to date as possible before I call the manufacturer.

 

Did you give the radio permission to access contacts and messages? Open the seeing for that connection on the phone and make sure everything is checked.
As you can see, I don't.

The first screenshot is for the radio bluetooth connection. The 2nd is in settings/privacy/permissions. This is a Pixel 2XL, so you're screens may look different.

Good luck

 

I was just in the truck going through the stuff Larzzzz sent screenshots of when my wife texted me. That text popped up and gave me an audible notification. We sent a number of test texts. I still don't get a visual notification unless I am on an AA screen, but I will get an audible notification. Voice to text works pretty well also. I changed absolutely nothing in any setting. All I did was open the bluetooth settings on the phone for the radio connection.

I am at a loss as to why it all of a sudden started working, but I am definitely not going to complain about it. I do still wonder why I have to be fully connected to AA for any texts to come through. I don't understand why just being connected via bluetooth doesn't suffice.

 

Oh, and thanks for all of the help! It was greatly appreciated.