Minok

You would think that any subscription service would make it relatively easy for a new subscriber to get activate. XM, it appears, does not subscribe to that school of thinking. They seem to want to only get those subscribers with enough stick-to-it-ness to get through their insane signup process.

Ok, maybe the dealer should have gone through the entire enabling process and verified it took before he sent me the car, but I still claim it should be easier.

The 997.2's manuals give no hint.. but thats ok, thats not where the instructions should be.

The XM display on the PCM shows the radio code and preview channel 1. It also notes my radio is not active and that I should tune to preview channel 1. I am... after a few minutes I'm tired of listening to some blurb about the ***** Nelson channel and pull the car back into the garage.

The xmradio.com website is no help either. If you manage to find your way through their crazy website to actually get to your account, you see there is nothing there at all about activating your radio.

Note to XM = by the way, requiring an account name of no more than 12 characters = stupid. That means my account name will not be something I will remember the next time I log in. Requiring my password have 1 upper case, 1 lower case and 1 number.... again ensures I'll probably forget my password by the next time I need it. Why? Because my chosen mechanism of getting a strong password is not their formula but one of long and with letters and (symbol or number).

So back to the online experience... I can add additional radios to my account, download a manual, view billing info, blah, blah... NOTHING about activating the radio. Good times.

So as a last resort, the 800 number for customer service at the bottom of the account info page. Its an automated system. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. Ah, there is an option for activate... so I say "activate"... good so far. That, however results in two choices, neither of which apply to activating your one and only receiver for the service. Argh. "Customer Service," I say.. now somewhat stressed. That takes. I'm informed there may be silence on the line while they connect me. I wait. I hear a spiel about the new availability of sirius programming on xm... I hear some clacking... disconnected. Hm.

Dial the 800 number again... this time, right off the bat "Customer Service!". Again the spiel about serious.. some silence... but, lo! Someone on the other end. From the background noise and the accent its clearly a call center on the east Indian subcontinent. The fact that she's reading from a script doesn't help. She tells me what to do. I ask a clarifying question. That completely boggles here.. its off script after all... she reads the script again. I say "thank you, I think I got it" and end the call.

So what I think is the right process is that you call them at the 800 number, or use the refresh.xmradio.com website (the website is NOT mentioned on the main website for your account as near as I can tell), enter your radio ID and then in the following 3 hours, your car needs to be outside with a view of the sky, and tuned to XM channel 1 (the preview channel and also the only xm channel you get I think)... until the radio gets its activation and channel lineup downloaded. Ok.. that I understand. As I'm not going to put the car outside for 3 hrs now, with the engine idling, thats something for tomorrow, when I take another drive.

Oh, XM, why are you so bass ackwards when it comes to your customer interface? It would make a good business school case study when Sirius-XM goes out of business. Any day now, based on how hard they make it for themselves to acquire customers.

ADias

Yeah there must be a code somewhere, can you scroll the screen? or perhaps the code is displayed on-and-off (just stare at the Ch 1 for a while and see if they display the code). I bet the XM operators are clueless. In my previous C6 I had to find the code myself and even on a C6 (GM car) they were no help.

BTW... when you order service do not give them a CC # - ask to be billed and pay with a check. XM's billing department is a mess - if you decide to cancel service, and they have your CC # on file, you have a hell of a time to cancel it. Also... XM's regular fee is about $145/year, but... if you go through the 3-months trial (you have one right?) and delay renewal, you can call them and ask them for the Web special at $77/year - their regular discounted subscription. To me XM is OK at $77/year, but not more. When I order a car it will not have XM, but it will have the iPod connection.

texas911

Dude, there is an "activate radio" button right on top of the web page, right next to listen online now. Right on xmradio.com.

Minok

Dude. Yeah, I know that. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
It says some helpfull stuff when I key in the radio id (ADias: the id is right on the only screen you get when the radio is not activated... no searching needed for that ):

"The radio ID you have entered is already activated. Please log in or create an account."

Ok, created the account... and that gets me to the stuff I first posted: I can see my billing info, add additional radios, etc.

Nothing anywhere obvious (to my thick head at least) about 'how to get this activated radio to actually start receiving XM service. On my brief drive out today, all I got, as when I was in the driveway this evening, was the ch1 preview station.

As I said, the key, which is not clearly stated, is that when you request an activation, the car has to be 1) outside 2) tuned in to XM ch 1, 3) stay that way for during the 3 hrs following the activation request until it receives its activation signal from the satellites and gets its programing information.

A simple link about "I've activated my radio but only receive ch. 1 preview" with the above instructions would be so much more helpful than talking to a tech in India reading a script.

BTW ADias, thanks for the tip on not giving them my CC#. Yes, my account is currently in 'billing' mode, and there it will stay.

PMD 993

I went throught the same living hell that is XM this past Monday AND Tuesday. Most of the same problems, except I was trying to activate the radio on my wifes Acura and a PNP XpressRC unit that I had just purchased. After about 3 phone calls (hung up on twice) I finally got my wife's car activated. Then I requested to activate my XpressRC on the family plan for $6.99 a month. After being put on hold for 10 minutes the rep came back on the line and told me there was a glitch in the computer system with my account and I would have to call back in 24 hrs and try again. I called back 2 hours later and activated it without a problem.

Two hints:
1. You can call 1800XMRADIO and request to have the activation signal resent when it's convenient for you.
2. Avoid the $14.99 activation fee by using the promotion code XMSCION03

gota911

XM was free for three months on my Accord. I knew I didn't want it after the free trial, so I never even turned to XM, eventhough there is a XM button as big as a credit card on the center console.

daddyscar

XM and Sirius have the worst commercials, constant loan consolidation and ridiculous business opportunity offers. I wouldn't bother.

mooty

this is precisely why i hate XM radio. i dont pay money to torture myself. anything that's harder than breathing is well... not really worth paying for...

i hope they go belly up in this econ mess soon.

good old FM is great. turn it on and you are done.

Minok

Well, I tried to take advantage of the activation signal the phone rep said was sent.. got out on the road for about 1.5hrs of seat time... which is always fun. Up to the pass and back in a night time drizzle. Great opportunity to see the new headlights in action. The adaptive headlights work great. You really see the benefit when driving slowly in a dark neighborhood making sharp bends and turns. When the road straightens out, I could see the headlights re-centering straight from a good level of deflection (based on the corner in the low-beam pattern). Very nice. The overall lighting also much better than the old car.. but when heading up I-90 to Snoqualmie Pass in a drizzle, the road is so poorly painted in many sections, with no reflectors to speak of, that staying in the land is almost a sporting event.

But, after the drive.. still no XM joy. Maybe on the commute on Monday. I'll request activation right before I head out of the door.. and see if the 35 minutes after the request is the magic time when one needs to have the radio out and on.

I'm not sure I'll be interested in the XM general channels... though having another option when the FM's all seem to go to a coordinated 10 minute commercial break, is nice. The navtraffic feed is what I'm even in this mess for... to get that traffic congestion and incident data overlay on the nav is what its about for me.... if I can ever get that damn radio to start decoding things other than the preview channel.

Chris from Cali

I don't understand the hatred... Maybe it's just XM, but I only get commercials on Sirius with the Howard Stern channel. I listen to LedZep Radio all the time.

Jlangmd

At least the antennae is an attractive addition to the smooth lines of the car.

Moose

I must be backward.. after having xm, i can't stand to listen to regular radio. Comercials and talk drive me nuts... The channels I listen to don't have comercials.. Except for CNBC (I realize the irony of the talk comment..)

I only wish there was a clean interface for an 08 car..

Also, I've never had an issue - just call the 800 number and give them your radio number.

Good luck.

Minok

Moose,

If only it were as simple as call the 800 number and give them the radio number. That I did.

The problem is the "and then have the car outside of the garage with the radio tuned to xm preview channel 1 for the next 3 hrs or until it gets its signal". If I could park the car, leave the radio on and it would stay that way, thats one thing, but the PCM shuts it down after some few minutes to 'save the battery'.

Does anyone know how soon after you issue a request for a refresh of the activation signal, that the signal actually comes down? Is it within 10 minutes? Is it anytime in the 3 hr window?

texas911

Instantly.

ADias

You do not need to have the car outside, unless your garage is a Faraday cage. You need to call them and they set up the authorization download. Typically they do it during a 30 min period following your call. Once you receive the authorization you are good to go - you can shut the radio off. No need to have the engine running either - use a battery maintainer if you must.