Develop Bugs

Kenwood DNN990HD - Android 4.0.4 car stereo - How to get started with rooting?

There is a new line of Kenwood car stereos ("DNN" series) including the DNN990HD and DNN790HD.
They are running Android and another thread suggests it's running the following version:
Code:
Kernal version
3.0.8-tcc
[email protected] #2
Mon apr 22 16:36:28 jst 2013
Build number
Binks_v8-userdebug 4.0.4 IMM76D eng.root.20130422 test-keys
How can I get started with trying to install the Play Store and/or root the device?
There are two female USB ports on the back but I don't think it has any other ports.
Should I purchase a USB male-to-male cable and try to connect both ports to my PC? ...and then run "adb devices" ?
Can anybody give me any other tips?

I did notice that there're is a 4 pin connector hidden under a clear plactic tab on the right side of the unit. It is either a J-tag or a proprietary USB connector. The older models with WindowsCE core had a 6 pin connector under the same plastic tab. I have a feeling that's a clue to adb access. On a side note, I tried almosst every possible button press/hold combo upon reset/boot to try to find recovery with no success. And while the android version is build 8 the Kenwood build is version is 1.0. I have a feeling that the only other way in will involve modifying an update file.
-Sent from a secret place in an unknown location.

siralsmooth said:
I did notice that there're is a 4 pin connector hidden under a clear plactic tab on the right side of the unit. It is either a J-tag or a proprietary USB connector. The older models with WindowsCE core had a 6 pin connector under the same plastic tab. I have a feeling that's a clue to adb access. On a side note, I tried almosst every possible button press/hold combo upon reset/boot to try to find recovery with no success. And while the android version is build 8 the Kenwood build is version is 1.0. I have a feeling that the only other way in will involve modifying an update file.
-Sent from a secret place in an unknown location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the information!
Do you have a picture of the connector?
USB is 4 pins so maybe it's just a different connector on one side of the cable? (to prevent people from "easily" plugging in a USB A-to-B cable)
...or maybe it's a serial port requiring a USB-to-RS232 cable? (like what is used to update the Metra Axxess ASWX-1 steering wheel adapter)

Here is a photo of the connector as well as a couple of other photos. If it is a rs232 like the flashlogic or xk loader, then it's essentially J-tag. Been a while since I did any J-tag modding though. I also tried plugging in the flashlogic/idatalink loader to the back plug and got nowhere as well. So far, I've found that you can plug in a usb keyboard and mouse for full easy control. I tried to use the browser for a file tree listing but it returns nothing. I was unable to figure out the mount path for the usb flash when connected, or I otherwise would have tried to run/install an apk directly. I also accessed gmail via the web window, changed the UA string for desktop, and tried to download an apk I sent myself with no luck, download showed up, but never started.

So I just downloaded the Google play store.apk file online (did a google search and downloaded the APK) and then uploaded the apk to my dropbox account. I then opened the browser in the DNN990HD and went to the dropbox.com website, logged in, and downloaded the apk file. It downloaded fine and I then launched it. I then got an error message saying "Install Blocked For security, your tablet is set to block installation of applications not obtained from Android Market."
Normally this is no big deal because you just go to applications and allow unknown sources to be installed on your device but Kenwood has hidden or gotten rid of that menu item so I can't access it. It looks like the next step is to figure out some sort of update.zip file but I haven't figured out if there's a way to get into the android bootloader on this thing.
Any other ideas out there yet?

I don't have anything to contribute, but I really, really hope some of the XDA guys can figure this out...

yeah this is a sweet radio, Installed it last weekend and love it,I used the Idatalink Maestro RR and i have all of my vehicle info on the radio screen it a sweet set-up, would be nice to install a regular gmail app and the play store, i`m wonder how much processor it has to run all of this stuff already. I wish I could figure out how to keep the Sirius replay off permanently.

Need to find a developer and probably enough donations raised to accomplish this.

I just put one of these in my car, it's pretty nice. I already noticed a force close on the launcher, lol. It only happened once I have since updated the BT firmware & software. What pisses me off it was suppose to have spotify support out of the box and I can't find any information on it really. I'm hoping this gets added with an update.I also wish they would have included OTA update support, you have to download it manually from kenwood & use a flashdrive.

DNN990HD Bluetooth Pairing
Has anyone had problems pairing their device with the DNN990HD? After installing the Kenwood firmware update I can't get the Pandora app on the head unit to connect to my Galaxy S4. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

So Could we maybe use this "USB UPDATE" method to gain install or root access?

I just installed one of these as well. Love it. I'd be willing to try almost anything to help get it rooted and have the Play store on it.
Scott

Okay guys I just tried editing the update for the radio by injecting the play story and a couple other apps I like into the update itself. The file structure is incredibly similar to a phone update. Unfortunately it did not go well. As it was updating it started to work but then the dead android icon appeared like a E: signature verification failed but it did not say that. I am only an amateur but it seems like we need a custom recovery or a way to adb either wired or maybe by wifi? I'm here to learn too so please any input would help.

Looking for hack into DNN 990 also... plus bluetooth issues...
LOL glad to see my favorite forums are on the DNN990 mission! Any progress on full access/root?
As well, I am having issues using bluetooth media with the device. The phone option works great (although it took several attempts to pair - those having trouble with this might like to know the unit won't pair if you have media source set to Pandora). The problem I'm having is with Ankidroid - I can't get the unit to broadcast my flashcards using text-to-speech, even though my present setup works on other hands-free devices. I tried playing audio file over bluetooth as well and it wouldn't work either. Any solutions?
Thanks!

APP Store
ScottyMCSE said:
I just installed one of these as well. Love it. I'd be willing to try almost anything to help get it rooted and have the Play store on it.
Scott
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google search: Amazon app store download. Should be the first link
Download and install
---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:57 AM ----------
LostinCanada said:
LOL glad to see my favorite forums are on the DNN990 mission! Any progress on full access/root?
As well, I am having issues using bluetooth media with the device. The phone option works great (although it took several attempts to pair - those having trouble with this might like to know the unit won't pair if you have media source set to Pandora). The problem I'm having is with Ankidroid - I can't get the unit to broadcast my flashcards using text-to-speech, even though my present setup works on other hands-free devices. I tried playing audio file over bluetooth as well and it wouldn't work either. Any solutions?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check and see what firmware version you are running. They released an update on the 31st of last month that corrected such issues. Ver 1.2.0 is the most recent release. If you need to download it check out the kenwood website and look under the support tab -> car entertainment for Firmware updates.

Google search: Amazon app store download. Should be the first link
Download and install
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we're looking for Google Play store - so we can install apps - but we're locked out. I asked Kenwood tech support if there are plans for more apps and/or the Play store and the guy said not at this time. So any help to break in would be greatly appreciated!
Check and see what firmware version you are running. They released an update on the 31st of last month that corrected such issues. Ver 1.2.0 is the most recent release. If you need to download it check out the kenwood website and look under the support tab -> car entertainment for Firmware updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the firmware and the bluetooth update and so far no joy. However I'm now having a problem getting text-to-speech working on Ankidroid minus the bluetooth so must fix this problem first.

I wonder what processor runs this unit. If we can find it out by software or opening the unit, it might give us some clues on how we could root it and unleash it's full potential.

IGO2UA said:
Has anyone had problems pairing their device with the DNN990HD? After installing the Kenwood firmware update I can't get the Pandora app on the head unit to connect to my Galaxy S4. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check BT settings on the deck, pandora has to be enabled. Took me a few minutes to figure it out the first time I set it up. It works great though, the BT control is fantastic don't even have to open the app. It just works. I will say after having the deck now for a few weeks, it's extremely nice however my HTC one is a much more powerful machine. You could put a top of line 4G ipad in would be a much more power machine. The resolution on the deck sucks and I don't wanna call it laggy but it's certainly not as fast as my HTC One. Granted a tablet is not made to control audio in a car. I'm sure a lot of the price take is the R&D that went into it, also certain car only functions a phone can't do. Like SiriusXM that you can pause from a satellite feed. Backup camera support which is nice which even works when the deck isn't booted yet. HD radio is absolutely fantastic. I never listed to the radio in the past but all my pre-sets now are HD only. Those thinking about the deck, yes it's cool but it's not the worth the money they are asking for it in my opinion. The built in Garmin Nav is pretty good, like I said a lot of the price tag your paying for the R&D that went into the thing since it's made specifically to work in a car but at the end of the day it's just android.
2003vstrom said:
yeah this is a sweet radio, Installed it last weekend and love it,I used the Idatalink Maestro RR and i have all of my vehicle info on the radio screen it a sweet set-up, would be nice to install a regular gmail app and the play store, i`m wonder how much processor it has to run all of this stuff already. I wish I could figure out how to keep the Sirius replay off permanently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look around in the settings, I wanna say I saw some where to shut it off by default. It's actually kinda a neat feature but can be annoying at times. One thing that pisses me off is when scrolling through channel list, it doesn't show what is currently playing. I had an old Sirius radio with boombox attachment that it use to do that years ago. Also changing your preset banks is a hassle if you don't have list view up which I also find annoying. I'm getting use to it though.

RE: Bluetooth
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I think I may have caused the problem when I rooted my Galaxy S 4 and flashed a new rom. I have working now. I have agree with you on the lagging of the head unit. The could have put a little faster processor in the unit, especially for what they cost.
Sim-X said:
Check BT settings on the deck, pandora has to be enabled. Took me a few minutes to figure it out the first time I set it up. It works great though, the BT control is fantastic don't even have to open the app. It just works. I will say after having the deck now for a few weeks, it's extremely nice however my HTC one is a much more powerful machine. You could put a top of line 4G ipad in would be a much more power machine. The resolution on the deck sucks and I don't wanna call it laggy but it's certainly not as fast as my HTC One. Granted a tablet is not made to control audio in a car. I'm sure a lot of the price take is the R&D that went into it, also certain car only functions a phone can't do. Like SiriusXM that you can pause from a satellite feed. Backup camera support which is nice which even works when the deck isn't booted yet. HD radio is absolutely fantastic. I never listed to the radio in the past but all my pre-sets now are HD only. Those thinking about the deck, yes it's cool but it's not the worth the money they are asking for it in my opinion. The built in Garmin Nav is pretty good, like I said a lot of the price tag your paying for the R&D that went into the thing since it's made specifically to work in a car but at the end of the day it's just android.
Look around in the settings, I wanna say I saw some where to shut it off by default. It's actually kinda a neat feature but can be annoying at times. One thing that pisses me off is when scrolling through channel list, it doesn't show what is currently playing. I had an old Sirius radio with boombox attachment that it use to do that years ago. Also changing your preset banks is a hassle if you don't have list view up which I also find annoying. I'm getting use to it though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

IGO2UA said:
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I think I may have caused the problem when I rooted my Galaxy S 4 and flashed a new rom. I have working now. I have agree with you on the lagging of the head unit. The could have put a little faster processor in the unit, especially for what they cost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For sure but it's still a great deck hopefully a few more firmware updates will get it even smoother. I have a paid Pandora subscription but there is no way to select bit rate but it sounds decent in the car. I use a rooted htc one with hacked apk and the unlimited skips works perfectly even through the deck which is great. Only bottleneck is sprints net zero 3g network. LTE isn't done yet in my area but it's getting there. Pandora is pretty fast over bt to the deck on LTE.
Sent from my HTCONE using xda premium

[MOD Request] Spotify as daemon

Hey guys.
I use spotify every day and find it really annoying that Android is not able to start it automatically when connected to handsfree Bluetooth like music.apk does.
So i have to start it myself every time.
Is there any way to mod it that way?
Would be very great
THX in advance to this great community

Tasker maybe? You should be able to setup a "on Bluetooth connect launch spotify" function if I'm not mistaken. May be a bit expensive of an app if you don't have it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

I was hoping there is some easy trick to do it
Coz its not only that you have to start spotify. You even have to select a playlist you want
So it would need to open it up and run the previous playlist. Or if it would run as a service, spotify remembers last played when not closed
Thats my idea... But i am not a coder

BT meta data not working

I use my phone to stream music to my car using BT. Note 3 worked great. So did my one plus one. The note 4 will either show no info or it will show one ong and never update. Im still testing apps but was wondering if this is a phone software problems or does the apps need to be updated to suppoer the note 4?

rfs830 said:
I use my phone to stream music to my car using BT. Note 3 worked great. So did my one plus one. The note 4 will either show no info or it will show one ong and never update. Im still testing apps but was wondering if this is a phone software problems or does the apps need to be updated to suppoer the note 4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works fine. I've only used Spotify so far.

I have used the xm app and doubletwist. Going to try Google music next. All these apps worked on my note 3 and one plus one. That's why I asked if the apps need to be updated.

Power Amp/Stock Music Player and Chevy Volt combination works, Power Amp and Honda Odyssey doesn't...haven't tried stock player on the van just yet

I have a 2014 accord.

I get that sometimes on my Note 4 in my BRZ too. This is using Google Play Music. However, the connection is more reliable than my S4 and S5 were, so I'm okay if the song titles don't come over all the time. When I use Pandora, they always update properly.

Hey its good to see someone else having this same issue, I also came from a (rooted) GS4, and everything worked flawlessly through BT, but same as yourself, I have no track info showing up for spotify or tunein radio, like I used to on my s4.
And one other thing, the buttons on my steering wheel that skipped tracks always worked for skipping tracks through anything played through BT on my s4, this no longer works on my note 4.
One other thing I did just want to mention, the track info on the car stereo screen didnt always work, for streaming apps like spotify, that is, until I believe my S4 was updated to 4.3. Never knew why. Track info on players like poweramp just playing track form phone sd card always displayed track info.

me too
Mine does this too but only with google music. Pandora and others work fine.

Pandora also works for me. I will try google music on the way home today.

I had that happen a lot on my Samsung Galaxy S5 too. But only when using Google Play Music.
So I don't think it is a Note specific issue.
Either a 4.4.4 issue (my S5 was on Verizon and on 4.4.4) or a Google Play Music issue.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app

stock music player and jet audio works fine on 2013 Honda Accord EXL V6

A lot more people are reporting problems with the Bluetooth and meta data, mine has been doing the same thing since day one. Also its the same with all services, rdio, Spotify, play music, tune in radio, sound cloud. I have tested in 8 cars and on my Sonos and other Bluetooth enabled devices and it's the same. I am starting to believe it's the phone. My S4, S5, and Note 1 and 3 all work without issue.

I wonder if all versions of the Note4 have this problem or if it just the ATT version. If all are having this problem then maybe samsung needs to send out and update to fix this.

Mine doesn't have this issue. In my 2012 Ford Focus with Sync, Metadata works perfectly with the stock music player and Play Music.

I used Bluetooth in my car yesterday with 3 different apps. The meta data worked 100% correctly all day.
The new version of Play Music I downloaded yesterday must have had some fixes in it, because Monday that particular app was screwing up the meta data constantly.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A

Maybe its a problem with my car radio. Only app that works for me still is pandora. I may need to see if there is and firmware upgrade for my cars radio. 2014 Accord Ex

Can't skip songs on alpine car stereo and no metadata...UPDATE: RESOLVED

Just realized on my note 4 I can't skip songs or rewind when I am connected to my alpine stereo. I had no issues with my note 3, s3, and even friends iPhones.
This phine has sooo many glitches it's driving me crazy! Also who decided to put the speaker on the back instead of the bottom! So now I can't hear ringtones or music unless my phone is speaker side up. Argh...I think this is going back and I'm staying with my note 3 until the note 5 I guess.
Resolved by updating the firmware on alpine using mac since my PC laptop wouldn't cooperate. More info below...

Weird man mines been working okay on my kenwood BT it just has random song lag. My meta data was coming up though. What app are you using to play music? Im using poweramp

I'm using Google music and if i play an album the data displayed stays as the first songs name but the time works. if its a random playlist the song names update normally. weird

I am using Google music but also tried Samsung music player same thing, couldn't skip. I also tried friends note 4 with spotifa and also didn't skip. Argh. Moved back to my note 3 until an update comes out to fix it or I might sell it and get nexus 6, this is a huge problem.

use Power Amp. the stock apps suck.
Solid Explorer for files, QuickPic for pics, Nova for launcher, MX Player for videos, and you'll figure out your own preferences from there. iphone to Android must be foreign experience stepping out of the walled garden. we've all been there.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app

I am using Google play music, power amp doesn't stream music and can't read the downloaded Google files. It's just a glitch in the note 4 software

Just wanted to update.... after installing the firmware update for alpine stereos, my note was able to work fine with the stereo, song info shows up and I can skip and fast forward again.
The link is here: http://www.alpine-usa.com/feeds/promo/13hubtupdate
But funny enough my pc laptop would not display the file browser for doing the update but on my MacBook, there was an option to browse files which allowed me to do the update.kinda funny since I am a PC person and bought the mac on a whim and it saved my butt with this update!

Saknice20 said:
Just wanted to update.... after installing the firmware update for alpine stereos, my note was able to work fine with the stereo, song info shows up and I can skip and fast forward again.
The link is here: http://www.alpine-usa.com/feeds/promo/13hubtupdate
But funny enough my pc laptop would not display the file browser for doing the update but on my MacBook, there was an option to browse files which allowed me to do the update.kinda funny since I am a PC person and bought the mac on a whim and it saved my butt with this update!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It must be nice to have a head unit that the manufacturer hasn't forgotten that it once made. Pioneer tends to drop support for units it's no longer selling.
This issue doesn't seem to have any real logic to it. While my Note pairs with the Pioneer and the steering controls work fine, there's no metadata displayed. Paired to my sister in law's 2013 Enclave, everything works. In my brother's 2014 Lacrosse, it works the same as on my Pioneer... pairing and steering wheel controls with no metadata.
I've read that there are a bunch of changes in how Lollipop handles Bluetooth. I hope the fix lies there.

From what I know..the note 4 uses a newer version of bluetooth, 1.4 or something like that. The note 3 uses 1.3. That update I installed on my stereo had 1.4 support so that's why it worked. I don't think an update to the phone will fix it, the stereo needs the update

[Q] audio books?

When I am at the gym or out running I normally listen to audio books or podcasts mp3 files. Does the music player on the watch handle resuming from last stopped positions? Can the positions be synced back to an audio player (any audio player) back to my smartphone? Thanks!

I did a lot of research on this and I don't think there are currently any out of the box solutions that do what you (and I) want. The closest thing I have found is to sideload "Material Audiobook Player" onto the watch and adb push your mp3 files there as I describe in this Github issue. The only thing missing is to sync back to the smartphone. This is a smart watch only solution. I love it though

Thanks for the work around! That was the last thing I wanted to know can be set up before taking the jump to buy the smartwatch!

Podcast mp3s should work no problem. You just have to upload them to Google music or download them to watch via Sony's software.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

soupflai said:
Thanks for the work around! That was the last thing I wanted to know can be set up before taking the jump to buy the smartwatch!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem, this was exactly the kind of information I was looking for when I was doing my research. I ended up buying anyway, and was worried for a bit that I wouldn't find anything. In the end, it's not a perfect solution but it works pretty well for me. Ideally, I would love it if Audible would sync the book onto the watch for offline listening but I seriously doubt that will ever happen.

soupflai said:
When I am at the gym or out running I normally listen to audio books or podcasts mp3 files. Does the music player on the watch handle resuming from last stopped positions? Can the positions be synced back to an audio player (any audio player) back to my smartphone? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is now a better way. There is an app called "Wear Media" that handles transferring the files as well as playback (and saving your position in files). It's a wonderfully helpful app.

bradpitcher said:
There is now a better way. There is an app called "Wear Media" that handles transferring the files as well as playback (and saving your position in files). It's a wonderfully helpful app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up! I will definitely give this a try, will be easier than using adb. Does it sync play position between phone and watch?

Wear Media works great
soupflai said:
Thanks for the heads up! I will definitely give this a try, will be easier than using adb. Does it sync play position between phone and watch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Wear Media to listen to books while I run and it is great! Unfortunately, I don't think it syncs play position between phone and watch.

To send a lot of files, install ES File Manager on your phone and sideload it on your watch, disable Bluetooth on your phone and use wifi to send files from your phone to your watch.
There are instructions to do the transfer on YouTube, just search "es file explorer wifi transfer".
Hope this is of some help!