Really really odd one here...

Just bought a new stereo (Kenwood KDC-W6541U), which uses a dock connector via USB to plug in your iPod / iPhone.

If I plug my iPhone in, I can access all the files on there, and it says it's charging (although from my experience, it still seems to drain - which i'll come back to in a sec).

However after ~5-10 mins of playing music, it reboots. This happens continually...

If it's plugged in, but not being used for music - it never reboots (or at least not in the ~30 minute drives I've been testing it with).

I have no idea if there are any iPhone logs that could help me track down the problem.

The only idea I have is that apparently the pins (and voltage) to charge it up changed - which might explain why it doesn't charge. But not why it says it does - and then reboot!

Connection wise, it goes from the USB port on the HU, into an extension, into another extension & then to a dock cable. I was using the same dock cable with a USB charger, charging with no issues.

The iPhone is on 4.2.1 and Jailbroken with Greenpois0n.

Any ideas?

1. Never, ever but EVER again buy any Apple product... Because that's what happens...
2. As you said, can you somehow check the voltage of the dock and compare it to the one on the iPhone's battery?
3. Maybe a software issue? Try contactiong Apple or updating software?
EDIT:... 4. For which iPhone is the dock made?

Should've bought a Golf.

Quote from matijapkc :

EDIT:... 4. For which iPhone is the dock made?

The cable is for any iPod / iPhone - I've got 4, all of them work fine for charging / syncing.

The USB connection just says "for iPod" and a list of old models - but the HU was released before any iPhone was released. I've seen an ad on eBay which claims someone used it (or one of it's sister-devices) with an iPhone 4.

maybe there is some overvoltage on the USB port and it cause the iphone to reboot?

Your stereo has a virus, i suggest formatting it.

Klutch...good joke

Quote from DEVIL 007 :

maybe there is some overvoltage on the USB port and it cause the iphone to reboot?

Could well be - but I have no idea how to measure the voltage on the pins (I have a multimeter, but the connections are TINY!)

Quote from Klutch :

Your stereo has a virus, i suggest formatting it.

I'm guessing your kidding, but just incase: http://gizmodo.com/#!5758330/f ... -give-car-stereos-viruses

Quote from Jakg :

The USB connection just says "for iPod" and a list of old models - but the HU was released before any iPhone was released. I've seen an ad on eBay which claims someone used it (or one of it's sister-devices) with an iPhone 4.

Old iPods (and 2G phones) used a 3.3 volt charging system, iPhones after 3G use 5 volts. Also the dock connector charging pins were changed on the phone as they dropped support for FireWire charging. Problem might be related to that.

Quote from Matrixi :

Old iPods (and 2G phones) used a 3.3 volt charging system, iPhones after 3G use 5 volts. Also the dock connector charging pins were changed on the phone as they dropped support for FireWire charging. Problem might be related to that.

Any way around it? Makes sense unfortunately

Quote from Matrixi :

Old iPods (and 2G phones) used a 3.3 volt charging system, iPhones after 3G use 5 volts. Also the dock connector charging pins were changed on the phone as they dropped support for FireWire charging. Problem might be related to that.

Good point, and true, but any newer iphone will not charge at all with any kind of hardware that uses the older style pin layout/firewire thing, you just get an error message of “charging is not supported with this accessory” as i tried to use mine (3GS 8GB) in an old dock thats lying around at work, hence why i am constantly pissing off the guy that works in the bricks showroom bit, as he is the only person that has an actual PC with useable USB ports that i can charge up from when it constantly dies because i keep leaving apps running by accident.

Quote from Matrixi :

Old iPods (and 2G phones) used a 3.3 volt charging system, iPhones after 3G use 5 volts. Also the dock connector charging pins were changed on the phone as they dropped support for FireWire charging. Problem might be related to that.

Actually been doing some more thinking.

Why would this cause it to THINK it's charging?

And why would this cause it not to reboot when not being used to play music?

No idea.

You could try finding some iPod and Kenwood dock connector diagrams and diagnosing it from there? Perhaps Kenwood uses a non-standard dock cable with their headunits that charges the devices with some trickery, although it would make sense for them to be standard atleast at the iPod end.

I was going to get an iPod dock cable for my (rather old) Alpine HU too, but after reading about these very same compatibility issues, I simply kept using my USB memory stick until I can be bothered to get a newer HU that supports the iPhone out of the box.

Jack, There are dongles I think that convert the FW to USB charging. I forget where though.

can u not connect the phone to the stereo without the dock and see if it works that way?

If it just acts as a mass storage device then it will work straight into the headunit with the phones usb wire. Takes up less space too.

Also, would a wrong type dock even plug into the wrong type phone? Is there no difference in the connector style/shape at all between 3 and 5v??

It might just be a dodgy extension cable, But what size of car do u have that u need 2x lol.

I just skimmed the thread - but have you tried this without the extensions?

Sensitive connections can be affected by extension cables quite frequently. Just a nominal increase in impedance could cause either your HU or the dreadful Apple device to freak out. I know for example that one of my digital cameras will not not create connection to my PC using a 6 foot cable which is identical in harness to the 1.5 foot cable the camera shipped with.

Anyway, just a thought that may or may not help out - best of luck with your ultra-user-friendly Apple "thing"

(sorry just had to hassle)

Hmm... I've had the same issue. It's a two part thing
1.) Had bought a pioneer aftermarket stereo that was built for ipod and my VW jetta had a voltage issue which caused finicky charging on my 32gb iphone 4. And since the unit was built before iphones, the voltages were insufficient but I asked my friend who worked at a local car repair shop to add a few caps to raise the volts to 5v and added a regulator of some sort(not really good with electrics).
2.)The Amp output was also low btw. Iphone 4 requires 1A to charge properly(you can see the amps in the wall charger itself). So I went back to my bud to get that fixed too.

bottom line: Low volts+low amps+shoddy car volt spikes= unhappy Iphone.

BTW mine did the same thing OP's Iphone had done.

edit-Forgot to add one more thing. After the spikes the iphone's battery drained unusually. Since I bought it from Canada, thought they would not honor the warranty but they did. Got a new replacement but still unlocked :3. Check if your battery lasts the daily life-cycle you normally put it through.

edit-2 mine has applecare extended warranty fyi.

Quote from Foilpact :

If it just acts as a mass storage device then it will work straight into the headunit with the phones usb wire. Takes up less space too.

Unfortunately it doesn't, would be far to easy for Apple.

Quote from Foilpact :

It might just be a dodgy extension cable, But what size of car do u have that u need 2x lol.

I've done it that way so that the cable comes out in the central cubby hole and goes back in again - as the HU has one USB input, and it's being used for the iPhone, it means I can easily unplug it and put something else in instead.

Quote from Foilpact :

can u not connect the phone to the stereo without the dock and see if it works that way?

How would I do that? It works fine via 3.5mm, but I want to use the controls on the steering wheel to skip tracks etc.

The USB connection on the stereo supports plugging an iPod cable in for direct iPod control - it's the only way you can do it (and what the manual suggests).

By "dock" I mean the 30-pin dock cable that you need to use to plug it in - not an actual drop-in dock.

Quote from anik360 :

2.)The Amp output was also low btw. Iphone 4 requires 1A to charge properly(you can see the amps in the wall charger itself). So I went back to my bud to get that fixed too.

Have to disagree there - it will charge from 1A (it's what my old car charger was), but USB ports on a PC are only 500mA, which is what the port on my HU is, and my iPhone always charges from my PC.

Quote from hrtburnout :

should've bought a golf.

+1

Seems i've fixed it (bypassed the extension, and now using the OEM Apple cable)

However, getting loads of interference, so i'm going to give up

I have an old Alpine headunit, came out before the iPhones but has an extension cable from the back of it to play music through ipods.
On iPods it works fine, and charges them. But with my iPhone 3G it doesn't charge but still works fine, i dont get any of the problems that you're getting.

Shitty headunit maybe?

double

Quote from Jakg :

Seems i've fixed it (bypassed the extension, and now using the OEM Apple cable)

However, getting loads of interference, so i'm going to give up

Ah, So the dock is just the phones standard pc usb cable?

Does it sound liek low bitrate audio or just loads of static n etc etc...

Does the iphone save music as mp3 or some Apple format?

iPhone can play MP3, WAV, AAC (apple lossless).