those I all absolutely agree with, but the one major downfall (does not work without cell service) remains. that is still the one major overarching reason for installing it with the satellite antenna. that was more my point.
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Getting XM in Model Y
- Thread starter Valentin
- Start date
those I all absolutely agree with, but the one major downfall (does not work without cell service) remains. that is still the one major overarching reason for installing it with the satellite antenna. that was more my point.
rxlawdude
Active Member
Yep, and this has been (my) criticism of Tesla since they dropped AM from the MX, M3 and MY, plus dropping XM from the latter two.
If you have the SiriusXM app and an SXM account with streaming service ($9.99/mo vs $20-something for an actual radio account), you can setup shortcuts in iOS for your favorite stations and then just say "Hey Siri, Howard 100" (for example) and it will change to any station you setup in a shortcut - totally hands free. If you change the settings (in the XM App) to "Tune to audio in Mini Player" and "Screen Lock Override", it will stay open while charging so you never have to use touch/faceID to access it. Just leave it on the charger and tell Siri to change the stations and it works very well.
Setting up an iOS shortcut for the S/XM app is really easy:
1. create a new shortcut with the "+" button in the Shortcuts app
2. press "Add Action"
3. press "Web"
3. find "Safari" section and then press "Open URLs"
4. the URL will look like (case-sensitive): "SIRIUSXM://player.siriusxm.com/live/PearlJamRadio".
5. Name it something like "Pearl Jam Radio" (or whatever you want, make it easy to say so Siri doesn't get confused).
Once you create a shortcut, you can long-press on it to get the options to "Duplicate" it, then just select the duplicate and modify the station name at the end of the above URL and save it to a new shortcut name to create additional station shortcuts.
Setting up an iOS shortcut for the S/XM app is really easy:
1. create a new shortcut with the "+" button in the Shortcuts app
2. press "Add Action"
3. press "Web"
3. find "Safari" section and then press "Open URLs"
4. the URL will look like (case-sensitive): "SIRIUSXM://player.siriusxm.com/live/PearlJamRadio".
5. Name it something like "Pearl Jam Radio" (or whatever you want, make it easy to say so Siri doesn't get confused).
Once you create a shortcut, you can long-press on it to get the options to "Duplicate" it, then just select the duplicate and modify the station name at the end of the above URL and save it to a new shortcut name to create additional station shortcuts.
how well does that work when there's no cell service?
Obviously, not well at all. But, I live in a major metro area and even when I travel to rural areas I rarely encounter areas of NO cell service for very long. It's a tradeoff I can live with.
danaleighton
Member
I imagine the Tesla engineers who designed the infotainment system to rely on cell service have never lived out here in the flyover states with dodgy or no cell service. Even driving around town in my medium sized city with two interstates, I frequently drop my streaming stations, and there is a part of town that is so bad that the data rate is too slow to support streaming. If I drive 30 miles north, I will be in no cell service land for 20-30 minutes.
danaleighton
Member
i live in a major metro area too, and i drop cell service all the time. it's not at all uncommon to lose cell service as you drive through the canyons of so cal.
So worst case, your music stops for a little bit. The point of this isn't to debate the quality of cellular coverage, I just wanted to share my solution for hearing XM in the car and being able to change stations hands-free. This works well for me in the DC Metro area, but YMMV if your cell coverage sucks. Even with a "real" satellite antenna and and actual SXM radio, there are still dead spots so the overall experience isn't much different.
that's the thing, though...the point of this IS to debate cellular coverage. as in, it doesn't work everywhere...the actual satellite antenna does.
every time someone asks this question, the OP is presented with the usual influx of "just use your phone" when that's often not what they asked. in this case, the OP specifically mentioned that he wanted a portable unit and NOT to use his phone. yet, still, every other response is "just use your phone." not trying to be hard on you specifically, it's just frustrating because i remember going through this before i installed my own XM unit in my model 3. it's harder to help people who want to do the same when they are forced to sift through all the "just use your phone" answers that are a majority of the replies. literally half of the replies on page 1 in a thread where the OP SPECIFICALLY SAID HE DOESN'T WANT TO USE HIS PHONE are replies talking about using your phone. it's maddening.
the number of dead spots when connected via the satellite antenna isn't anywhere near the number of areas across the country where there is no or limited cell service. that's a pretty huge false equivalency.
i know, because i've driven my model 3 from coast to coast twice already, and halfway across the country and back once. there are plenty of areas where i had no streaming, but my satellite radio (via the actual satellite antenna) kept on trucking. far more of the former. not even close.
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yes, i know this, thanks. that doesn't change the fact that there are far more areas where you will encounter no cell service than spots where the satellite signal is blocked.
again, i'm speaking from personal experience. i drove through the area in and around sedona, AZ and the grand canyon in march of this year, and there was literally maybe one or two spots near sedona where satellite dropped in some of the deep canyons around sedona. other than that, it stayed on for almost the entire time. had i been trying to use streaming, i would have been sitting in silence for HOURS on that trip.
My bad for glossing over the OPs original request. I ended up in this thread looking for some workarounds for the lack of SXM integration. Im still hoping eventually they add it as a 1st class streaming option to the menu similar to Spotify, Tidal, etc.
