# KENWOOD Remote — user reviews > 144 indexed App Store user reviews of KENWOOD Remote by JVCKENWOOD Corporation, rated 1.90/5 from 263 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kenwood-remote/id1154883752/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kenwood-remote/id1154883752.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 31 · 4★ 18 · 3★ 15 · 2★ 21 · 1★ 178 ## What do users think of KENWOOD Remote? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🚀 Works great when connected - 👍 Useful for controlling receiver settings **Cons** - 🐛 Frequently disconnects - 🔍 Poor user interface and navigation - 🔌 Compatibility issues with newer devices - 🕰️ Resets clock on receiver - 🔀 Struggles to control USB playback **Commonly reported bugs** - Fails to connect consistently - Randomly starts playing audio - Displays incorrect album art - Crashes and freezes frequently **Most requested features** - Landscape mode support for iPad - Gesture controls for volume and scanning - Faster, real-time EQ adjustments - Ability to browse music library on connected devices ## Newest reviews (17 of 144) ### 1/5 — A real embarrassment *2025-08-25, version 1.9.4* If I was jvc I’d pull the app quickly. ### 1/5 — Junk *2025-08-10, version 1.9.4* Will not connect. Plays random music from my phone not the music I’m playing. I’m deleting it ### 1/5 — Dreadful *2025-07-20, version 1.9.4* The app feels unfinished and clunky. It lacks proper iOS integration and prompts to reconnect accessories every time it’s opened. Key features like a station list or media library are missing. Overall, it needs a complete design and functionality overhaul to be usable. ### 1/5 — Useless *2025-07-07, version 1.9.4* Average app. Not user friendly and doesn’t really do anything the phone can’t ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work on later iPhones *2025-06-01, version 1.9.4* I have an iPhone 16 running 18.x. It almost never connects. And when it does it doesn’t do anything. The remote doesn’t work settings don’t work. Can’t control anything. It’s garbage. Doesn’t work at all. ### 2/5 — App *2025-03-03, version 1.9.4* Absolutely garbage. Unstable and hard to connect. Would be nice if it worked. ### 1/5 — App *2025-02-25, version 1.9.4* Absolutely garbage. ### 1/5 — Appalling *2025-01-23, version 1.9.4* Kenwood - how are you not listening to all the YEARS of negative feedback about this appalling non user friendly app? Do something about it please!! I need this app to control a hidden stereo in a classic car - and it still requires me to press buttons on the unit - Which I can’t get to? Come on! Bring back the physical remote. ### 1/5 — おすすめ出来ない *2025-01-09* ペアリングがまずしにくいです。リモートでカーステに音楽流せるなら、便利が良いなってインストールしたけど… 再起動したり、アプリをインストールし直ししても、全く使い物にならず…カーステに繋いで音楽聴くなら直にケーブル接続にした方がいい。 残念です。 ### 1/5 — Terrible *2024-12-03, version 1.9.4* If you can get it to connect that’s a big if btw. If you get lucky and establish connection it will never actually load anything for you to tune this app is a huge failure and whom ever is in charge of the integrity of the app in its entirety should be on his way to the unemployment office today. A 3 year old could of done a better job 💯😑 ### 2/5 — Not so much a remote - more like a brick. *2024-11-10, version 1.9.4* Very basic controls. You can’t pick from your music library on the phone, you need to start playing from your phone then start the Kenwood app. Each time you go back to choose another song, the app needs a restart to connect again! Can’t see music in a list form when using USB. Won’t change track… My head unit is in a caravan and I wanted to sit and select tracks but I can’t within the Kenwood app. ### 1/5 — Sucks *2024-09-16* Doesn’t connect, function at all. Totally useless. Using with KENWOOD DPX503BT. ### 2/5 — Opens Up Automatically *2024-09-13, version 1.9.4* There’s a setting to disable the Auto-Open when you connect via Bluetooth, but it actually does nothing. Super annoying when I turn my car on, try to use my phone for something only to have it automatically open the app and take me out of anything I was doing. Genuinely kills the app for me. Please fix. ### 1/5 — Repeatedly disconnecting *2024-06-01, version 1.9.4* This is a very poorly engineered app. A huge embarrassment for purportedly a quality electronics company like Kenwood. Using an IPhone 12 running ios17.5.1 the app repeatedly disconnects and won’t stay connected in the background so if you try doing anything else on your phone you lose connection to the kenwood digital receiver!! Glitchy and only limited controls for SiriusXM. Also no Att or mute button on face of radio so Only way to access Att/mute without a steering wheel control is the disconnected app! Annoying at best and no way to win over customers!! Kenwood needs to get serious about decent app engineering and updates!! ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work *2024-04-14, version 1.9.4* Never connects. ### 2/5 — Needs improvement *2024-03-21, version 1.9.4* The app has to be shutdown and reopened if you leave the Kenwood remote app, or switch between apps. For example- I use Spotify and when I switch between the two apps, the kenwood app loses connection. ### 1/5 — Dose not work *2023-11-19, version 1.9.4* Don’t waist you data or time not worth it it half way works just connect ur radio to blue tooth and don’t worry about a app ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Absolutely non functional *2026-07-06, version 1.9.4* Won’t connect, constant issues. Waste of an app and honestly I might get a whole new radio because of it ### 1/5 — Is this real? *2026-06-29, version 1.9.4* This app is so bad it’s basically useless, constant disconnects and even when it’s connected it’s so complicated to navigate, needs major work ### 1/5 — Brutally frustrating *2026-06-21, version 1.9.4* So glitchy. Very difficult to get it to connect with the receiver. Once I finally got it to connect I wanted all my time back. Doesn’t refresh live, freezes and requires restarts, doesn’t seem to control the volume, can’t skip songs on Spotify or pandora. Basically useless. ### 1/5 — Difficult to use *2026-06-20, version 1.9.4* Having trouble with sound. It’s connected but sound is not coming through ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work at all *2026-04-08, version 1.9.4* Just doesn’t work at all. No part of it works. ### 1/5 — Worst app ever *2026-04-04, version 1.9.4* What’s the point of this app? It’s worse than useless. It has trouble connecting to the unit and when it does connect it is such a basic remote and the functions rarely work if at all. ### 1/5 — Useless *2026-01-23, version 1.9.4* Even though Kenwood is a great brand, this app is useless… highly disappointed… giving one star just cause it doesn’t let me choose zero ### 1/5 — Needs a LOT of work, largely unusable. *2026-01-20, version 1.9.4* First off, this app is very unstable with the Kenwood BT connection requiring you to frequently restart the deck to use the app to adjust controls, cycling the app is ineffective, has to be a receiver restart. Then the EQ isnt real time, you have to go into each frequency set it, hit save, it kicks you back to start screen THEN it applies your change, requiring you to renavigate back to the EQ and then to the proper frequency to readjust. Same with balance and fade, you have to select, then hit save, kicks you back to menu THEN it makes your change, requiring you to renavigate to further adjust. Would be MUCH better if your adjustments just adjusted on the spot without saving and renavigating after each save. No matter, the BT is so bad that it will disconnect from the receiver before you can get much done, requiring a powerdown to get it to work again. No, its not my BT, cause my streaming music continues to work fine while this terrible app continually disconnects. JVC/Kenwood should be embarrassed with such a poor app attached to their product! ### 1/5 — Seriously useless *2026-01-18, version 1.9.4* Needs to manually paired to receiver and most of the time that doesn’t work or takes minutes! Won’t run minimised and if you do reopen it have to go through connection again. Would be a good app if it connected properly and permanently ### 1/5 — iPhone 15 Broken App *2025-11-26, version 1.9.4* Broke on an iPhone 15 iOS 18.x.x ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Use ipod setting to connect *2025-06-18, version 1.9.4* Use the ipod setting to get this poor instruction inst to actually work. Yes it doesn’t deserve 5 stars but hope people with check out this review and may get this app to work. ### 5/5 — It’s no supercomputer, but it works great. *2020-03-09, version 1.8.7* So I see that many other reviews on this are kinda bad as the app has two stars, don’t trust them, I own a brand new kenwood KDC-BT378U deck, and brand new speakers to go with it, as for the app itself it wasn’t too difficult to get it to correlate with the headset itself, I had to try twice I admit, but it’s probably because I wasn’t sure how the app worked. After I got it connected through the app (only took about 30-40 seconds to figure out) it had the correct settings I had already previously set on my trucks stereo system. And I played with the app and through the app made the experience for rear passengers much better as I was able to sit in the backseat with this app and happily change the sounds of my system to favor the rear of the vehicle without sounding uncomfortable or too much treble or base. While the front of the vehicle is also perfectly balanced and still sounds just as fantastic. If you have a kenwood deck I actually highly advise you give the app a try and I bet you’ll be just as satisfied as I. ### 5/5 — It does work read me *2020-02-13, version 1.8.7* The App works great with IPhone, AFTER, you connect with the USB cable and set your radio to USB. At first I was connecting Bluetooth, I could play music, but not connect to radio App. Connect USB, works flawlessly on IPhone 8. ### 5/5 — Ipad support *2017-05-08, version 1.7.0* Pleaseeeeeee ### 4/5 — Almost perfect *2025-04-02, version 1.9.4* The problem with the app is thatnit gets lost in its own steps via Bluetooth. If the Bluetooth comms can be rectified, it would be a lot better. My receiver's menu is layers and levels deep. This makes it a lot easier to navigate. I spent 2 days using the receiver's menu, and an hour using the app to tweak the unit. If it stays stable, you can tweak the unit and then drive to remote control it. Only limited to your Bluetooth range. Would have been 5 stars had the app been a little more responsive. Could use a reset receiver function to start over. I'm good with it ### 4/5 — Works on iPhone 15 2023 but WIRED ONLY *2023-10-25, version 1.9.4* App works fine on KMM BT728HD but deck must be set up to accept the 'Remote App' for iOS or Android and it will show 'R.APP' in the display when it works. Does crash sometimes but made setting up time alignment mich easier ### 4/5 — Works for me. *2020-07-17, version 1.8.7* Lots of comments that it doesn’t work, but seems fine. I haven’t decided it it’s better that the stereo controls, but may get me in trouble with the cops it they think I’m texting ### 4/5 — Artwork *2017-07-16, version 1.7.0* Great app to get your album art on the home screen of your kenwood stereo 👍 ### 3/5 — Works sometimes *2025-08-07, version 1.9.4* Great when it works but only works 38% of the time sooooo 3 stars ### 3/5 — Manuel du propriétaire Owners guide *2020-02-05, version 1.8.7* Ca serai bien d ajouter les livres d instruction Des syst audio de kenwood supporter par cette aps Possible to ad owner manuel of the radio ? Could be good --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*