How to Connect & Fix Spotify on Kenwood

The beauty of streaming Spotify songs in the car with a wireless connection is that you can control whatever you want to play from your mobile device and realize it on your car stereo. And the good news is Kenwood, the professional car stereo system maker has integrated with Spotify with a built-in app.

With Kenwood Spotify connect, you can take control of the Spotify app and enjoy music whenever you're in the car. In the following parts, I'm going to show you how to use Spotify on Kenwood and troubleshoot connection issues you may have confronted.

Part 1. How to Connect Spotify to Kenwood

#1. Why Can't I Connect the Spotify App on My Kenwood?

IMPORTANT: As it stands now, it's no longer available to launch the built-in Spotify app on the Kenwood car stereo.

This is how Spotify explains:

We can confirm that support for Pioneer and JVC-Kenwood car audio head units has been deprecated. This means it will no longer be possible to launch the built-in Spotify app from the interface, but you should still be able to play audio from your mobile devices via Bluetooth or through a USB cable.

Because Spotify is a third-party service, the specifications are subject to change without prior notice. Accordingly, compatibility may be impaired or some or all of the services may become unavailable.

#2. How Can I Connect Spotify to My Kenwood?

However, this won't be a loss for cars that work with the following methods to connect Spotify to your Kenwood car stereo. Please go through these methods to use Spotify with your Kenwood device.

Option 1. Connect via Bluetooth

Each Kenwood stereo head unit comes with a Bluetooth connect feature. You can connect your phone to the speaker and control over the Spotify playback on your phone.

For iOS device:

1. On the iOS device, go to Settings > Bluetooth.

2. Tap to turn on the Bluetooth and then tap the Kenwood stereo model.

3 If CarPlay is on, please turn it off. On the Kenwood's interface, go to Setup > System > CarPlay Connection > OFF .

4. Repeat some steps to go to Setup > System > Bluetooth Setup > Enter > Pair Device List, then select [Your iOS device's name] > Connection.

5. Select [Your iOS device's name] > Next > Bluetooth > Next > Done. You'll see the device is connected via Bluetooth, use the ALL SRC to stream music.

For Android device:

1. On the iOS device, go to Settings > Bluetooth.

2. Tap to turn on the Bluetooth and then tap the Kenwood stereo model.

4. On the Kenwood's interface, go to Setup > System > Bluetooth Setup > Enter > Pair Device List, then select [Your Android device's name] > Connection.

5. Select [Your Android device's name] > Next > Bluetooth > Next > Done. You'll see the device is connected via Bluetooth, use the ALL SRC to stream music.

If you find the control buttons on your phone are not big enough, you can enable Car Mode on Spotify:

1. Go to Settings > Car mode.

2. Next to Switch to car mode, choose a car mode option and then tap TRY IT NOW.

Option 2. Connect with Apps

For Android or Android users, both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are familiar apps where Spotify offers an official app.

For Android Auto:

1. On Android device, open Android Auto.

2. Under General settings, select Customize launcher described as "Choose which apps show in Android Auto and how they appear in the car screen launcher."

3. From here there's a list of compatible apps, scroll to Spotify.

4. Pair the Android device with the Android app installed on the Kenwood car stereo.

5. On the Android device, play and stream your favorite Spotify playlists to the connected Android Auto app on the Kenwood car stereo.

For Apple CarPlay:

1. On iOS device, use voice commend: "Hey, Siri" to make sure Siri is on. You should also make sure one device setting is enabled for "Hey, Siri": Settings > Siri & Search > Listen for "Hey Siri".

2. From the Home Screen, use Settings > General > CarPlay, then select your car device.

3. On the Kenwood's interface, go to Setup > System > CarPlay Connection > ON to pair the iOS device with the app installed in the Kenwood car stereo .

4. From the iOS device, stream the Spotify songs to the connected Apple CarPlay app on the Kenwood car stereo.

With these apps on your phone, not only you can control the Spotify playback in the car, but your friends can also play their Spotify playlists on your Kenwood stereo. This is a fantastic way to stream Spotify songs in the car while you are road-tripping with your friends or family.

Alternatives to Kenwood: how to use Spotify app with Car Thing

As the alternative to Kenwood, Car Thing is now available to purchase for $89.99 and requires a Spotify Premium subscription plan along with a phone with a mobile data connection. You can find more details about how to use the device at carthing.spotify.com, but this product is SOLD OUT when we're writing this post.

To Use Car Thing with Spotify:

To control Car Thing with your voice, start each request with “Hey Spotify”. For example:

“Hey Spotify...

• ... play driving music”
• ...show my playlists”
• ...skip this song”
• ...save this album”
• ...recommend something”
• ...

Part 3. How to Fix Kenwood Not Connecting to Spotify

However, Car Thing won't be the perfect solution for the Kenwood car stereo that won't connected to Spotify app, even for some old non-Bluetooth cars. In this case, we'd like to introduce the best method to enable Spotify in a car with even no Premium required - using ViWizard Music Converter to play actual Spotify music files offline.

The best part of this ViWizard Music Converter is that it Spotify users can download your favorite Spotify songs to your computer device, even you are on Spotify Free. There're 6 file format options: MP3, M4A, M4B, WAV, AAC and FLAC.

You just need to customize some most basic format settings then this powerful software will download and convert the selected contents into files - like MP3s. After that, you can put these songs on your phone and choose to play them on your disconnected Kenwood stereo with Spotify through Bluetooth offline.

 

1Launch ViWizard and Import Songs from Spotify

Open ViWizard software and the Spotify will be launched simultaneously. Then drag and drop tracks from Spotify into the ViWizard interface.

2 Set Up Output Parameters

After adding music tracks from Spotify to ViWizard, you can choose the output audio format. There're six options including MP3, M4A, M4B, AAC, WAV and FLAC. And then you can adjust the audio quality by selecting the output channel, bit rate, and sample rate.

3 Start the Conversion

Once all the setting is finished, click the "Convert" button to start loading Spotify music tracks. After the conversion, all the files will be saved to your specified folder. You could browse all the converted songs by clicking "Converted" and navigate to the output folder.

4Play Spotify on Kenwood Offline through Bluetooth

Not that you've downloaded Spotify songs to your computer, and the next step you're going to put these songs on your phone with a USB cable or wirelessly. Then you can play them on Kenwood stereo in the car through Bluetooth even without the internet.

More Options for Car Devices: how to activate Spotify in a Car

We've discussed a lot about how drivers listen to Spotify in a car, and for many users, how the driving companion on their phone devices - such as the Android Auto (Android) and Apple CarPlay (iOS) can help improve the listening experience with Spotify mobile app. Besides these 2 smart driving companions, there're more options user can access Spotify in a car, please read this post:

Spotify in a Car - Unexpected Errors

"I use a new Kenwood Headunit which besides Android Auto also has the ability to use the Build in Spotify App to use via Bluetooth.

But when I want to use the Spotify App on the Headunit, the Spotify App shows "no connection". When I watch the Option Sliders/Switch for Bluetooth Connections on my Phone, I can't turn on the Media Option. But when going back on the Headunit to Bluetooth Media, the Media Option on my Phone goes on. Switching back to the Spotify App on the Headunit, and its Off again."

However, we also receive some very similar reports about issue with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay from device owners, which haven't been answered by Spotify. From time to time, Spotify won't work on Apple CarPlay. Leaving the customer with malfunctioning apps is certainly not a good choice, so we recommend using ViWizard Spotify Music Converter to have the actual music files and enable them in a device via Bluetooth or a USB cable. What's your thoughts? Share with us!