Iphone and Kenwood DNX8120

i have an alpine system, i can be heard fine through alpine's bluetooth system...perhaps there maybe a problem with the microphone?

its an older model...meaning almost 2 years old...for the most part im happy with it...i have alpine's cda-9857 w/bluetooth adapter...it wasnt made with the iphone in mind though, so as soon as an aftermarket is perfect working with the iphone, i will probably replace it with that

i was thinking, i know you have heard the interfence from your phone on speakers, perhaps maybe that interfence from the iphone is affecting you stereo equipment and in turn making it hard to hear you...just a thought

I have the DNX 8120 and other people are hearing me through the blue tooth interface with my iPhone fine. Initially it broke up quite a bit but I sat in a conversation with my spouse for about 10 minutes and the longer we talked the better the reception got. It was as if the Kenwood unit needed to marry with the iPhone for a while to work it out. Now it sounds fine every time.

But I have a question: Has anyone managed to get SMS working through the iPhone into the DNX8120?

Magman, I also have the dnx-8120 and an iPhone and I was having the same problem but I believe I found the solution. Make a call through the headunit while it's connected to your iPhone via bluetooth. While you are connected, push the volume button up on your iPhone. On the phone it displays "Bluetooth Volume". I turned mine all the way up and it appears to have fixed the crackling problem. Let me know if this helps.....

Ok, apparently that wasn't a fix for it. I tried it again and i'm being told it's crackly again. But the more I though about it, the call I made that was clear was dialed through my iPhone. Normally I call through the headunit interface. I tried it again through iPhone this morning so far it's clear. If anybody else has a similar experience, whether it's through a Kenwood bluetooth unit, or any other hands free unit with the iPhone, feel free to post your experience. Thanks....

I have similar issues with my Iphone and Kenwood 8120. It has a crackling sound on the other end, and I get frequent disconnects. Sometimes my unit does not pick up the iphone when I enter the car.

Other phone ( Blackberry ) works great.

You must turn Wifi OFF in order to operate bluetooth with no interference.

I'm experiencing the same problem when using my DNX8120 with my iPhone. Turning WiFi off does not help. I've tried initiating the pairing from both directions. Seems to work fine with a Samsung phone, so it must be some incompatibility with the iPhone. Still waiting for a confirmed solution to this problem.

Just to add to the discussion. I too have the Kenwood 8120 and the iPhone.
Get the same deal you guys are getting. Sounds like you are in a cave or tunnel. I have found if you start the call or receive the call via the Kenwood radio it will sound bad on the other side, switch over to the iphone either by the radio/phone softkey or by the iphone itself. and then right back to the radio. You will get clear audio for both you and the caller. I am about to call both Kenwood and Parrot to see if they can shed some light as to why this corrects the issue.

Thanks for pointing out the trick of switching the call to the phone and back to the radio. I just tried it, and it does actually work. At least I have a way to use the speakerphone now until someone comes up with a permanent solution.

I have one other issue that I wouldn't mind finding a solution for. Since the iPhone does not seem allow the DNX8120 to download the phonebook, does anyone know how to get voice dialing working? That feature seems to require access to the phonebook.

I also the same problem as everyone else. I will try the trick by switching over to my phone and back to the radio later. I will report back my result.

I think there is something wrong with your setup. My phone book and call history all work beautifully. The only problem I have with the setup is the sound quality on the other end.

I know what works for me to get the phone book to sync was to make a phone call from the keypad on the radio. After you hang up the phone will try to sync with the radio.

I have no problem viewing the incoming and outgoing call logs. Is that what you're referring to, or does your entire phone book sync?

The trick really works - switch the call from radio to phone and back to radio fix the bluetooth sound problem on the other end. Thanks for the great trick. It is finally usable.

To use voice dial, you will need to record the keywords first. Go to Bluetooth Setup menu to do that. Afterwards you can voice tag to the contacts you want. You will see the voice calling button in your Telephone screen.

I can't record the keywords. On the keywords screen, the Record, Delete and Play buttons are grayed out. On the main handsfree screen, the SMS and phonebook icons are also grayed out, but the incoming and outgoing buttons work. The Direct Number and Voice buttons are also grayed out.