How to enter a Alpine radio code

Which buttons set the numbers, which one finishes, and what the screen does if it is wrong.

Before you start

Get the code right first time if you can. Most radios allow a set number of tries and then lock themselves for an hour or more — and a few stop for good. If you are not certain of the code, stop and check the serial against the label rather than guessing.

Jaguar Alpine

Units: Alpine cassette, CD and MiniDisc radios
Fitted to: Jaguar X-Type, S-Type, XJ and XK.

Getting the serial first

You need the code before any of this is any use, and the code comes from the serial.

  1. Try this free trick first: hold SEEK ▶, PTY and A.MEM together.
  2. To see the serial, press PTY and EJECT together. 5 numbers appear.
  3. Cars with Premium Sound: press buttons 2 and 6 instead.
  4. See an M and 6 numbers? That is a Ford-made radio: type it in for an instant code.

What it looks like: 5 numbers

Putting the code in

  1. Press the button with each number on it (the 9 buttons work like a phone keypad).
  2. A beep means it worked.

If it refuses the code: PLEASE WAIT — leave the radio on for at least 30 minutes.

Check whether this is the radio you have →

If the code is refused

Nine times in ten it is one of three things. The code belongs to a different radio, because the serial was misread — an O taken for a zero, or a 1 for an I. The numbers went in in the wrong order. Or the radio is already counting down from an earlier attempt and will not take anything until it clears.

Stop before you use up the tries. Read what the display is telling you first: LOCKED, WAIT, SAFE and ERR each mean something different, and most of them just want the ignition left on for an hour.

Still stuck?

If the code came from us and the radio will not take it, say so on your order page and we will put it right or refund you. That is the whole point of the guarantee: a code that does not work is not a code you paid for.