Kenwood Firmware Update
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 2,217
Likes: 638
From: Port St Lucie Florida
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Kenwood Firmware Update
Kenwood rolled out an update for my receiver (DMX 9707S) in late April. Update procedure seems pretty simple. Download the file to a flash drive and transfer to the receiver.
Concern is this (taken from Kenwood’s update guide)
“If an error occurs while you are updating the firmware, the 2020
NAVIGATION/MULTIMEDIA receiver may become unusable. Be sure
to read the following procedure and precautions carefully before updating the firmware.”
The “precautions” basically say to be sure the engine continues to run while the update is in progress. No problem there - thinking more about an “error” that might make the unit “unusable”.
Has anyone had issues with a Kenwood update?
I know that 208vette also had a problem with a Kenwood update.
Concern is this (taken from Kenwood’s update guide)
“If an error occurs while you are updating the firmware, the 2020
NAVIGATION/MULTIMEDIA receiver may become unusable. Be sure
to read the following procedure and precautions carefully before updating the firmware.”
The “precautions” basically say to be sure the engine continues to run while the update is in progress. No problem there - thinking more about an “error” that might make the unit “unusable”.
Has anyone had issues with a Kenwood update?
I know that 208vette also had a problem with a Kenwood update.
Last edited by javaman; Jun 16, 2021 at 01:18 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,494
Likes: 124
From: Kissimme now from LI,NY
well unless the firmware upgrade fixes an issue that you're having, I personally wouldn't do it unless it automatically reverts to the previous firmware which is the way ALL firmware updates should do.. Not all do sadly.. I have the same HU btw but my FW is up to date since I bought it in may.. awesome car BTW, I'm not far away in kissimmee.. .
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 2,217
Likes: 638
From: Port St Lucie Florida
2025 C6 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2023 C6 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2022 C6 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2021 C6 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Thanks for the kind words on the car Joe.
You're right about whether it makes sense to do an upgrade when there is no real problem.
This upgrade reportedly addresses the items below.
I will probably hold off unless Kenwood can guarantee the unit won't self destruct if the upload crashes.
Kissimmee's just up the road apiece! Nice part of the state.
You're right about whether it makes sense to do an upgrade when there is no real problem.
This upgrade reportedly addresses the items below.
I will probably hold off unless Kenwood can guarantee the unit won't self destruct if the upload crashes.
Kissimmee's just up the road apiece! Nice part of the state.
- Improved Apple CarPlay Function.
- Improved stability of performance.
- Improved Wireless Mirroring Function.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 427
Likes: 142
From: Kingman AZ
I got mine sorted out and working again. If the update fails, it gets stuck in a reboot cycle, about 3 or 4 reboots and then it just says to turn off ignition and turn back on... to another 3-4 boot loop. There is no way to get out of it that I could find.
I picked up a cheap Memorex brand 16gb usb drive at Target. It was already formatted in fat32, so I didn't reformat it. Just unzipped the files directly to the drive and it worked like a charm. Apparently the Kenwood headunit is very particular about what used to on the usb drive even if it was reformatted. The drives I used were pretty old and used many times over.
I picked up a cheap Memorex brand 16gb usb drive at Target. It was already formatted in fat32, so I didn't reformat it. Just unzipped the files directly to the drive and it worked like a charm. Apparently the Kenwood headunit is very particular about what used to on the usb drive even if it was reformatted. The drives I used were pretty old and used many times over.
