SiriusXM Volume Scratchy

[AidanR]

I save all my stations from the TuneIn app, and on my presets/ favourites it says that they are from TuneIn, rather than dab. You can have a favourite/preset that is the same station in dab and TuneIn, so make sure they all say ‘TuneIn’ like in this pic, otherwise you could accidentally select a dab station and have the scratching return lol.

 

[crackers8199]

this has gotten worse over the past few weeks for me, not better. the last two updates have made SXM almost unlistenable at times.

 

[seclinton]

I can report now that my XM/Radio does not even tune to any stations. I am assuming the module has now failed. $500 for another Gen 1 POS. Well I have an appointment for 3/15 to fix a broken tail light, door handle, under body skirt, and now this. Ugg $1300 + maybe another $500 for the damn radio, MCU2 has been a slog upgrade process on legacy cars. Up side, TuneIn radio is working for the news I want, but I miss my XM stations something awful right now. Yeah I know BT, but while driving? Uh no thanks.

Software: V11.1 (2023,2,12 a734fb860b32)
Nav: NA-2022-28-14046

Miles 106281 Vin P44124

 

[JW500]

Update/solution- So thanks to Daves post above it got me thinking about this scratching/buffering appearing for me around the time I cancelled premium connectivity- in the UK teslas have ‘TuneIn’ radio, I’m not sure if other countries have the same app?… but anyway, tunein has all the dab/fm radio stations that I listen to, plus lots of ones you can’t get on DAB/FM, but it uses data rather than a traditional aerial, and is only available with premium subscription.

I’ve re-subscribed to premium and Tune-In doesn’t have any of the scratching/buffering that DAB/FM has, even adjusting volume is completely problem free. So for me the £9.99 a month to get crystal clear audio again is my solution, not perfect as it costs, but at least it works!

Thinking back, I always used TuneIn instead of DAB / FM before I cancelled premium a few months ago, so the dab scratching could have always been there, but as I never used it, I’d have never heard it.

I hope this helps someone else in the same situation

I have always been a $9.99 premium connectivity subscriber in the USA but still suffered the disappearing Sirius XM source, the unpinnable XM favorites and now the scratchiness on XM & radio sources. So, that's not it.

Also, Tune-In is available and does not have the problem but it uses cellular connection. If my cellular connection was reliable on road trips (especially in the mountains) I would not subscribe to XM in the first place.

 

[seclinton]

XM radio began working again but scratchyness is still present. Not fixed

 

[scruzloose33]

I was told by Tesla support that this is targeted to be fixed in 2023.12. No ETA for this release.

 

[crackers8199]

I was told by Tesla support that this is targeted to be fixed in 2023.12. No ETA for this release.

i will be legit shocked if they actually fix it that fast. more likely they'll just make it less noticeable like it used to be before they messed it up in one of the recent releases.

 

[Pedro Mendes]

This is what I got from Tesla service after trying to repair the issue

(https://toolbox.teslamotors.com/articles/3192400) which states "The Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), FM Radio, and/or XM Radio audio stutters / crackles and sometimes drops out completely due to the audio buffer being overrun or underrun.
This issue can be observed and reproduced more easily by adjusting the volume or equalizer settings via the scroll wheel or the touchscreen.
Info-Atom vehicles do not have a dedicated audio Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The Audio Weaver runs on the main SoC. The audio symptoms may be related to SoC performance, audio buffer or audio bridge configuration. It is still under investigation."

 

[crackers8199]

This is what I got from Tesla service after trying to repair the issue

(https://toolbox.teslamotors.com/articles/3192400) which states "The Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), FM Radio, and/or XM Radio audio stutters / crackles and sometimes drops out completely due to the audio buffer being overrun or underrun.
This issue can be observed and reproduced more easily by adjusting the volume or equalizer settings via the scroll wheel or the touchscreen.
Info-Atom vehicles do not have a dedicated audio Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The Audio Weaver runs on the main SoC. The audio symptoms may be related to SoC performance, audio buffer or audio bridge configuration. It is still under investigation."

they are so useless - i rented a 2023 model 3 a few weeks ago that also had the issue. new cars all have the ryzen processor, as far as i know...

 

[Nifty]

I'm having this problem on my 2015 Model S. I bought it new with the high-end sound system. I have purchased all upgrades (Upgraded MCU with FM radio). Problem started last year after a FW update. Initial problem was poor response by the thumb controls on the steering wheel. Another FW update seemed to fix that but the radio static started. Each FW update seems to make it a little worse. I've even had the audio stream interrupted a few times with a loud buzz for about 1-2 seconds. Tune-in and Spotify have occasional drop-outs. Similarly anything via Bluetooth has drop-outs, including phone calls. Thumb wheel controls work now but there is a significant lag in their effect. Also pause/play functions have significant lag/latency regardless of being initiated from the thumb wheel controls on on the display.
I've done the two thumb reboot - no help. Also confirmed the problem occurs both when parked and during operation although it seems worse when driving. I have nothing plugged into my USB so that's not the problem or solution.
I've loved this car but I'm really disappointed in these problems.
What's to prevent Tesla FW updates from further degrading the Tesla experience?
FYI, my current FW is 2023.2.12.

 

[crackers8199]

Took car into service center today. Technician heard the scratchiness and checked his records and confirmed this is a known defect with audio sources from FM antenna and SiriusXM antenna. Said nothing they can do, will have to be fixed in firmware update.

Interestingly I already have an open arbitration case pending against Tesla for the bricking of SiriusXM favorites feature, so I will just add this to the case if not resolved very soon.

have you added this to your arbitration case? if not, please do. it's pretty clear at this point that a legal judgment against them is the only way we're ever going to get any of this stuff fixed.

 

[tezco]

Just shelled out the $500 for the radio "upgrade" and noticed the crackling/static issue right out of the gate. You'd think they'd pause new installations until this issue is fixed. But I guess this is no surprise from a company that sells a car with a "radio", and then deletes the feature. Next I suppose you will have to pay for the accelerator pedal upgrade in order to resume driving your car after one of their over-the-air "upgrades".

 

[Ren001]

According to a sound studio engineer and SW developer in the German TFT forum the problem is the audio buffer for low latency is a little bit to small.
As soon as the CPU/GPU is under heavy load (like viewing dashcam in parallel to sound source or changing volume to fast, ...) digital artifacts are produced and can be heard as "scratching".

Its a problem of the old CPU's (in my case AP2.5 in a model 3). The CPU is busy because of an interrupt or video stream and cannot react fast enough to fill the buffer of the soundchip. The buffer is running empty for a short time until being refilled with new data. The interrupt in the middle of wave 0 and the restart again in the middle of the wave sounds like a short scratch. If you look at the frequency spectrum you see a completely filled overtone spectrum to form two rectangles.

Simple solution would be to enlarge the size of the soundchip buffer - but this will lead to a delay for the sound of appr. 10 millisec. You might notice this when you change the volume and it takes 10 millisec until you hear it. Otherwise, in a car, it would have no impact.
It would be different if you use your Tesla mainly as a synthesizer - in this case a delay in sound might be inacceptable.

The problem has nothing to do with attached USB devices.

I will try to transport this information to the Tesla firmware developer via the Tesla Club Austria - if anyone of you has other ways to forward it - feel free...

 

[crackers8199]

Its a problem of the old CPU's (in my case AP2.5 in a model 3).

it has nothing to do with the old CPUs. i rented a ryzen model 3 a few weeks ago and that also had the issue on FM.

The CPU is busy because of an interrupt or video stream and cannot react fast enough to fill the buffer of the soundchip. The buffer is running empty for a short time until being refilled with new data. The interrupt in the middle of wave 0 and the restart again in the middle of the wave sounds like a short scratch. If you look at the frequency spectrum you see a completely filled overtone spectrum to form two rectangles.

i'm curious then why it doesn't recover, ever? once the static starts, it's there permanently (occasionally) until...some time later? on the first drive of every day, my SXM is usually crystal clear...at some point, i'll change the volume in one direction or the other, enough to trigger the static. once i do that, it's there again for the long haul...neither a reboot nor power off changes it. the car has to sit for some period of time to completely power down to get it back to being clear again. i haven't been able to figure out a pattern as to how long that is.

but my question still remains: if it's just a temporary buffer glitch, why wouldn't it just be static-y for a second then go back to being normal again as the buffer fills? i would have far less of a problem with the static if it were just on volume or EQ changes...but it's not. the volume change triggers it, but then once it's there it never clears up fully.

 

[Nifty]

I'm having this problem on my 2015 Model S. I bought it new with the high-end sound system. I have purchased all upgrades (Upgraded MCU with FM radio). Problem started last year after a FW update. Initial problem was poor response by the thumb controls on the steering wheel. Another FW update seemed to fix that but the radio static started. Each FW update seems to make it a little worse. I've even had the audio stream interrupted a few times with a loud buzz for about 1-2 seconds. Tune-in and Spotify have occasional drop-outs. Similarly anything via Bluetooth has drop-outs, including phone calls. Thumb wheel controls work now but there is a significant lag in their effect. Also pause/play functions have significant lag/latency regardless of being initiated from the thumb wheel controls on on the display.
I've done the two thumb reboot - no help. Also confirmed the problem occurs both when parked and during operation although it seems worse when driving. I have nothing plugged into my USB so that's not the problem or solution.
I've loved this car but I'm really disappointed in these problems.
What's to prevent Tesla FW updates from further degrading the Tesla experience?
FYI, my current FW is 2023.2.12.

I went to the Tesla office today to inquire about this problem. I don't think I spoke to a "Tech" so I'll call him a "Rep". He hadn't heard of this problem but after about 5 minutes looking on his computer, he confirmed that others were having this problem - static and drop-outs. He said there was no resolution but speculated that a future FW update would fix the issue. I hope so.
I agree with the person who posted about the buffer size and latency issue. I have some background with FW and this make sense. But why did this suddenly pop up as a problem? I'm guessing they added additional priority tasks to the kernel. Maybe these priority tasks have something to do with improving auto pilot. There has been some noise in the news lately regarding some "over the air recall" related to an AP issue. While this recall may not specifically address older vehicles, it is likely Tesla uses common code as much as possible, to simplify support. So, it's possible this FW issue now affecting some of us - perhaps only those of us with slower CPUs in combination with AP, even though our vehicles were not part of the recall (I have AP and a slower CPU). All just speculation but that's all we can do if Tesla doesn't provide any transparency. BTW, I noticed today while charging at a SuperCharger and watching HBO, that I didn't have any dropouts. Just another data point for those interested.

 

[crackers8199]

I went to the Tesla office today to inquire about this problem. I don't think I spoke to a "Tech" so I'll call him a "Rep". He hadn't heard of this problem but after about 5 minutes looking on his computer, he confirmed that others were having this problem - static and drop-outs. He said there was no resolution but speculated that a future FW update would fix the issue. I hope so.
I agree with the person who posted about the buffer size and latency issue. I have some background with FW and this make sense. But why did this suddenly pop up as a problem? I'm guessing they added additional priority tasks to the kernel. Maybe these priority tasks have something to do with improving auto pilot. There has been some noise in the news lately regarding some "over the air recall" related to an AP issue. While this recall may not specifically address older vehicles, it is likely Tesla uses common code as much as possible, to simplify support. So, it's possible this FW issue now affecting some of us - perhaps only those of us with slower CPUs in combination with AP, even though our vehicles were not part of the recall (I have AP and a slower CPU). All just speculation but that's all we can do if Tesla doesn't provide any transparency. BTW, I noticed today while charging at a SuperCharger and watching HBO, that I didn't have any dropouts. Just another data point for those interested.

this isn't a recent issue, it has been going on for over a year. look at the date on the first post in this thread.

and when watching HBO, of course you wouldn't see any issues. this is with the radio only (FM/SXM). it has never been an issue on streaming (or at least if it is, that's a different issue). i've never been able to reproduce this in this manner (volume / EQ changes) on streaming or bluetooth. i've tried, many times. it only happens on radio inputs.

and while the buffer issue makes some sense, i still don't understand how if it's just a buffer issue why it wouldn't eventually recover...or at the very least, recover when you change the channel and it clears / fills the buffer again. that's not the case, though...once this starts, it's there until the car sits long enough to completely power it down (some unknown period of time, based on my experience). if i get out of the car and back in a few minutes later after a trip inside a store, when i come back out it's still got the static...even if i don't change the volume. if this were strictly a buffer issue, changing channels or getting out and back into the car (or even just allowing it to recover) should make the static go away, but that's not the case. the only time i ever notice it is completely gone is on the first drive of every day...but at some point, i'll change the volume or make an EQ change and that'll trigger the static, which is then there for the long haul.

once it has started, nothing gets rid of it, except letting the car sit for a long time. lather, rinse, repeat.

also, i've already said multiple times in this thread (including the post directly above yours) but i'll say it again since everyone seems to want to act as if this is an intel issue...it's not. i rented a 2023 model 3 (which all have the ryzen processor, AFAIK) in early february, and that also had the issue on FM.

 

[Nifty]

this isn't a recent issue, it has been going on for over a year. look at the date on the first post in this thread.

and when watching HBO, of course you wouldn't see any issues. this is with the radio only (FM/SXM). it has never been an issue on streaming (or at least if it is, that's a different issue). i've never been able to reproduce this in this manner (volume / EQ changes) on streaming or bluetooth. i've tried, many times. it only happens on radio inputs.

and while the buffer issue makes some sense, i still don't understand how if it's just a buffer issue why it wouldn't eventually recover...or at the very least, recover when you change the channel and it clears / fills the buffer again. that's not the case, though...once this starts, it's there until the car sits long enough to completely power it down (some unknown period of time, based on my experience). if i get out of the car and back in a few minutes later after a trip inside a store, when i come back out it's still got the static...even if i don't change the volume. if this were strictly a buffer issue, changing channels or getting out and back into the car (or even just allowing it to recover) should make the static go away, but that's not the case. the only time i ever notice it is completely gone is on the first drive of every day...but at some point, i'll change the volume or make an EQ change and that'll trigger the static, which is then there for the long haul.

once it has started, nothing gets rid of it, except letting the car sit for a long time. lather, rinse, repeat.

also, i've already said multiple times in this thread (including the post directly above yours) but i'll say it again since everyone seems to want to act as if this is an intel issue...it's not. i rented a 2023 model 3 (which all have the ryzen processor, AFAIK) in early february, and that also had the issue on FM.

The issue (at least with my car) is more than the FM radio. There are drop-outs with Spotify, Tune-In, and any Bluetooth audio - streaming audio from my phone including phone calls. In my case, the problem is always there - it never goes away, even with sitting for a long time. The FM radio problem is definitely 10x more annoying than the other audio drop-outs. I don't have Sirius so can't comment on that.

 

[crackers8199]

The issue (at least with my car) is more than the FM radio. There are drop-outs with Spotify, Tune-In, and any Bluetooth audio - streaming audio from my phone including phone calls. In my case, the problem is always there - it never goes away, even with sitting for a long time. The FM radio problem is definitely 10x more annoying than the other audio drop-outs. I don't have Sirius so can't comment on that.

right, but as i said that's a different and separate issue. the issue we're talking about here can be easily reproduced on either FM or SXM by changing the volume rapidly or trying to change the EQ while audio is playing. i have never been able to duplicate the same issue by doing the same thing on streaming or bluetooth, and i've tried many times. they're separate issues.

 

[tezco]

Ren001 wrote:
Its a problem of the old CPU's (in my case AP2.5 in a model 3). The CPU is busy because of an interrupt or video stream and cannot react fast enough to fill the buffer of the soundchip. The buffer is running empty for a short time until being refilled with new data. The interrupt in the middle of wave 0 and the restart again in the middle of the wave sounds like a short scratch. If you look at the frequency spectrum you see a completely filled overtone spectrum to form two rectangles."

I'm on my third touch screen replacement and/or major update, the latest one after the old "black screen of death". Apparently now Intel (rather than Tegra) driven according to the repair invoice. So hopefully I received a decent CPU. Shortly following that installation I came back for more and opted for the cracklry radio upgrade, so I'm not sure that the CPU is necessarily the culprit. You'd think they would pause the radio upgrades until this is sorted out.

Correction: Infotainment Upgrade FromTegra MCU To Intel MCU, AP ECU 1.0 OrPre-AP, And Retrofit Emergency Chime(With SIM Extender)
Price
Adjustment
Subtotal
302.25
0.00
302.25
Parts Replaced or Added
Part
Quantity
Unit Price
Price
Adjustment
Subtotal
MCU INTEL UPGRADE-FORTEGRAPREAP - NORTHAMERICA(9874565-00-A)
1.00
1,500.00
1,500.00
0.00
1,500.00
NUT HF M6-1.00[8]ZNAL.(2007207)

 

[DerbyDave]

It is happening in the newest cars produced today. They would need to cease production. The radio upgrade is not the problem or solution.