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XM Radio Reception

b1gted

By b1gted
in Troubleshooting & Recalls

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Silver space ship Enthusiast

Silver space ship

Posted
Posted

I've been thinking how good the signal is. I can get signal in my garage and my 04 wouldn't. I also have steel sheeting on the walls of the garage. Jut ran out and double checked and it works fine. I did have it loose signal in a heavy wooded area once.

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mzodarg Senior Enthusiast

mzodarg

Posted
Posted

I'm sure this all depends on your geographic location. Mine works great even in the garage and out in the woods. My Wife's 11 Honda Accord was absolutely terrible.

 

Mike

ShotgunZ71 Senior Enthusiast

ShotgunZ71

Posted
Posted

I think in general no newer satellite radios pick up as good as they used to, whether they are factory install or plug-n-play models. Nearly reminds me of the old cell phones. Nothing these days has the signal strength of the old bag phone. Don't have the bulk, either!

silveradol9h Enthusiast

silveradol9h

Posted
Posted

Have experience with two factory xm and two xm docking radios and none were as reliable as the portable sirius or the factory sirius in my daughters focus.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

 

MikeNH Senior Enthusiast

MikeNH

Posted
Posted
I think in general no newer satellite radios pick up as good as they used to, whether they are factory install or plug-n-play models. Nearly reminds me of the old cell phones. Nothing these days has the signal strength of the old bag phone. Don't have the bulk, either!

 

Gotta disagree. Aside from being inside large buildings, coverage is better than ever. At least with Verizon. I've been to 41 states now and never been without coverage on the road.

ShotgunZ71 Senior Enthusiast

ShotgunZ71

Posted
Posted

Gotta disagree. Aside from being inside large buildings, coverage is better than ever. At least with Verizon. I've been to 41 states now and never been without coverage on the road.

No, you're getting towers and phones mixed up. More coverage now because of towers. A bag phone back then picked up in places where there where few, if any, towers. Analog signals back then, too.

MikeNH Senior Enthusiast

MikeNH

Posted
Posted
Gotta disagree. Aside from being inside large buildings, coverage is better than ever. At least with Verizon. I've been to 41 states now and never been without coverage on the road.

No, you're getting towers and phones mixed up. More coverage now because of towers. A bag phone back then picked up in places where there where few, if any, towers. Analog signals back then, too.

 

But the end result is the same- my phone now works way better than the analog one I had back in the early 2000s.

 

But going back to XM, I've seen a general decline in the reliability of the signal. It seems to go out more often when normally this time of year things seemed to improve in the past as foliage came off the trees. I've read that there has been tons of solar activity this year so maybe that plays into it?

ShotgunZ71 Senior Enthusiast

ShotgunZ71

Posted
Posted

But the end result is the same- my phone now works way better than the analog one I had back in the early 2000s. But going back to XM, I've seen a general decline in the reliability of the signal. It seems to go out more often when normally this time of year things seemed to improve in the past as foliage came off the trees. I've read that there has been tons of solar activity this year so maybe that plays into it?

I heard the same about the solar activity, also. Usually there are some spotty time in spring and fall, but now it's year-round. Wonder if the radios signal strength had to be reduced for one reason or another?

MikeNH Senior Enthusiast

MikeNH

Posted
Posted
But the end result is the same- my phone now works way better than the analog one I had back in the early 2000s. But going back to XM, I've seen a general decline in the reliability of the signal. It seems to go out more often when normally this time of year things seemed to improve in the past as foliage came off the trees. I've read that there has been tons of solar activity this year so maybe that plays into it?

I heard the same about the solar activity, also. Usually there are some spotty time in spring and fall, but now it's year-round. Wonder if the radios signal strength had to be reduced for one reason or another?

 

That's another issue entirely. I know they had to launch a new bird sooner than planned a few years back due to one of the original satellites deteriorating at a rate quicker than expected. I got my renewal notice in the mail this week and I need to do some serious thinking if I want to keep it. $160 or so a year seems like a lot when I don't drive the truck for work trips like I used to. I used to do 3000+ miles a month and now I often don't break 1000.

ShotgunZ71 Senior Enthusiast

ShotgunZ71

Posted
Posted

That's another issue entirely. I know they had to launch a new bird sooner than planned a few years back due to one of the original satellites deteriorating at a rate quicker than expected. I got my renewal notice in the mail this week and I need to do some serious thinking if I want to keep it. $160 or so a year seems like a lot when I don't drive the truck for work trips like I used to. I used to do 3000+ miles a month and now I often don't break 1000.

I usually try to negotiate some when I go to renew. It will usually save a few bucks a month per receiver. I have 4, two plug-n-play Sirius units and 2 XM branded units in the Odyssey and Silverado.

  • 5 weeks later...
fondupot Senior Enthusiast

fondupot

Posted
Posted

Ive had to refresh my SiriusXM signal 3 times since I bought my 2014 Sierra in September. It will be working fine and dandy, a few little short cut outs here and there when I go by a tall building or under a bridge, I can deal with those.

 

The ones that get me annoyed are where I start the truck after its been in the garage all night and the screen shows all the channel information but there is no sound. If I switch to a normal FM or AM channel there is sound (so It's not the radio). Sometimes, if I let it sit outside for a while it will come back on fine. Other times I have to manually call the XM refresh line and have the automated service send a signal to my radio to refresh the signal.

 

This only happened once in my previous vehicle in two years, and NEVER in a vehicle I had a few years ago with an aftermarket antenna and XM adapter. Kind of annoying a 47k truck cant keep the damn signal from going out every few weeks.

 

I don't know if I should be complaining to SiriusXM or my dealership. Seems like its on both of them a little bit.

fondupot Senior Enthusiast

fondupot

Posted
Posted

what is all involved in refreshing the single? what number do you call, etc ?

 

There are two ways, you can do it online, or via telephone. Check out this link. You need your radio ID to do it online. But I think if you call the system knows the radio ID by the phone number. Or you can type it in if you know it.

 

https://listenercare.siriusxm.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4020

 

Like I said though, I've done this a few times, including just now...only helps for full outages, but hasn't solved the issue yet.

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