Likemystoppie?

Not sure why or if this helps; but a Representitive from XM came and enabled our cars; stating that it should have been done at the VPC.

I do think XM is full on retarded with the way they activate. (*hint to XM, why not follow the SIRIUS layout for Activation?*)

Minok

Ok, finally got my radio set up. Requested from the website, took the car out of the garage (Yes, I must have it out of the garage, because there is no XM signal inside my garage, and the signal must be received to get the thing turned on).

It happened somewhere between instantly and 15 minutes after I requested a new activation from the website. (I was busy installing the front license bracket and removing dealer stickers in the interim).

T951

I am a huge XM fan, NEVER have experienced an issue or bad service. I am not liking the changes now that XM/Sirius have merged, but still 100% satisfied with XM. I will NEVER listen to FM again. Constant commercials, and annoying DJs. Plus, if you drive you lose the signal, have to find another similar station, etc.

I listen to only music channels and stand up comedy. I have had it since 2002 and won't even rent a car without it.

Minok

Having lived with XM on a few commutes now I will add this:
The signal dropouts of 1/2 to 2 seconds from mountains and trees (up here in the foothills of the Cascade mountains east of Seattle) can get to be a bit annoying... no such issues with FM... but I agree, not having the chatter and commercials is great.


The nav-traffic data... is sorta useful for now, but not ideal. I can get the list of incidents, which are sorted by proximity to my current location. Clicking on an issue in the list brings up a small map of the area, which contains the roads color coded by flow data for the region (puget sound has road sensors to measure this in select major highways). If I could get the flow data overlayed with the normal full-screen map as well, I'd really be happy. As it is, on a 1/2 screen map only focused around the incident, its not as useful as I'd like.

daddyscar

If you have an iphone, than try using google maps for traffic congestion data. It works pretty well here in the Bay Area. One time we had a jumper on the golden gate and a quick peak showed that going around the bay looked like a good bet. It was.

I used the trial version of XM on my civic and Sirius in our GL450. I liked the idea of satellite radio for better sound and no commercials while listening to more channels to discover new music. I'm sure many channels are commercial free but many of them ones I tried out weren't at least at the time. XM sounded good. Sirius seemed to have weaker signals in SF. I'd lose the signal going under a large tree in the middle of the city! I found Pandora during this time. For me, Pandora was a better source for finding music. I thought using the subscription fees from XM and Sirius were better used buying itunes and cd's from what I found on Pandora. Now that Pandora is available on the iphone is another plus.

Gaspasser19

I've activated 2 different XM radios. Neither was anywhere near as complicated as you've described. Perhaps it was your mountain location that caused the problem.

Minok

That seems quite likely.

Oddly enough, when I drive into a tunnel near work (in Bellevue), I get a good 20 yards into the tunnel before the XM signal drops out. When I drive into my garage, the signal drops as soon as the antenna goes into the garage (which would put it in the house and blocked by a hill behind the house, from seeing south).

texas911

XM uses ground repeaters in major metropolitan areas, so the coverage is good even in parking garages and overpasses. Maybe you live far from a repeater? I live in the middle of Houston and I get XM in my closed garage.

docjackson1

i gotta say-anyone who wishes that someone's business goes "belly up" is an a-hole, and in this situation, an unsophisticated one at that. people are losing their jobs and their homes-you understand that? xm and sirius are good products that are enjoyed by many people.

leneuromancer

there really is no issue registering/activating XM and/or Sirius ...the programming, for mine, less Howard, (which really just means Alt Nation), seems to have gone down hill a little since the merger, but is early days right now (better one one sat. radio company than no sat. radio company)

worth every penny to me (and I only have two Sirius subscriptions)