# Sirius XM is really starting to suck **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** radio-podcast\ **Created:** [March 31, 2021, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071 "2021-03-31T06:48:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/61 "2021-04-01T18:20:15Z")
I can’t abide talk over the music, paying for subscriptions and endless repetition so I just got a 128GB memory card for my phone, downloaded the free app Folder Player and loaded about 2500 or so songs on there. I put the player on shuffle and the phone hooks up to my Bluetooth stereo automatically so if the sound hasn’t started by the time I’m ready to go it means I forgot my phone and need to go get it. Every so often I swap in new albums or take out anything that isn’t working for me any more. It can take weeks if not months before I hear the same song again and if I’m in the mood to just hear a specific album I turn the shuffle off and point Folder Player to the right album folder. Boom, perfectly curated music that’s only stuff I like without a single word that isn’t part of the music in some way. I also download podcasts sometimes and have some audiobooks on the phone as well in case I want to do something a little different. There’s still over half the room on the data card unfilled. Seems like way more the economical way to go since the card only cost me about twenty bucks one time if I recall correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/62 "2021-04-01T19:28:51Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > so I just got a 128GB memory card Same here, but it’s a thumb drive. Plugs into the USB port in the car, and perfection. No talk, no commercials, no bad songs. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/63 "2021-04-01T19:43:48Z")
I did that for a while too (previous decks not BT equipped) but found the USB sticks to be a bit unhappy with the range of heat and cold experienced by the average vehicle. They wore out a lot faster than I’d expected. The phone only goes in the car when I do so it’s more protected from the elements. Plus it’s easier to load music onto the phone than remembering to pull the drive out of the car–plus I like those teensy ones that just look like a little button once plugged in and it’s really easy to lose those. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/64 "2021-04-01T23:44:31Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > I did that for a while too (previous decks not BT equipped) but found the USB sticks to be a bit unhappy with the range of heat and cold experienced by the average vehicle. They wore out a lot faster than I’d expected. Wait, really? I had a few thousand songs on a jump drive that lived in the USB port in my car for years. At one point, I started noticing more and more songs getting corrupted so I transferred them to a new drive (and backed them up, because that WAS the back up for a computer I no longer had). Over the years I found myself replacing it from time to time as songs would stop working. I just assumed it was from being accessed non-stop for a few hours almost every day. Can heat/cold do that? Like to the point where you can just assume it’ll happen (As opposed to just being a fluke)? Not that I ever really gave it any though, the things are so cheap that I wasn’t worried about it, but I didn’t know that. I used to keep a backup of my work computer (including ALL of our book keeping going back about 20 years) on jump drives that lived in my car (actually, several backups on several drives, there was a bit of redundancy), but now I just have my computer set to automatically back up to the cloud in real time plus a separate back up of all that financial data once a day. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/65 "2021-04-02T00:54:16Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Can heat/cold do that? Like to the point where you can just assume it’ll happen (As opposed to just being a fluke)? I’ve had a 4GB USB drive in my car for several years now in the Midwest Chicago weather, freezing in winter and baking in a closed car in summer, and haven’t had any problems with it. I imagine it probably depends a bit on the quality of the drive and smaller capacity drives perhaps less delicate than very high capacity drives. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/66 "2021-04-02T01:43:04Z")
I think it’s a combination of factors–the smaller capacity ones definitely tend to be tougher and the larger form factors more durable than the ultratiny all metal ones. Probably manufacturer plays a part too. I don’t really pay a lot of attention because USB drives are the kind of thing I usually have laying around still in the blister pack from when I nabbed up a few on sale. Never know when you’re gonna need one of the stupidy little things, right? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/67 "2021-04-05T17:49:59Z")
I have to admit, the new channel (Guitar Greats on 105) is pretty tolerable. We checked it out today and it has a mix of rock and blues that my husband and I can both deal with for the amount of time we share in the car. It’s a temporary channel, of course! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2021, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/68 "2021-04-05T20:50:55Z")
I tried it for about a week (it’s on DishTV) and quit. Too much talking. I can’t take it. In the cars, I just jam a USB that I randomly loaded with a few hours of music, Listen a while, change sticks or reload with different stuff. Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/69 "2021-04-05T21:58:08Z")
I just bought a new vehicle and, interestingly, Sirius XM was not even offered. I don’t care, but I’m a little surprised. Is this a trend? mmm ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/70 "2021-04-05T23:29:29Z")
Interesting. I haven’t started looking for a new car yet, but it’s soon. I do know they advertise incessantly about their streaming app. So I suppose a car company could choose to leave off the XM antenna, the wiring, the software to manage XM, etc., and just assume you’ll use the supercomputer you already have (AKA smartphone) to stream the music then send it to the car’s head end amp & speakers. Easier for them. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/71 "2021-04-06T00:33:21Z")
Never had, or wanted, satellite radio. I’m just here to follow up on the last couple of posts: When we bought a car at Carmax three years ago, they asked if we wanted it. We said no, and that was the end of it. We bought a motor home last summer, and they didn’t even ask. But I vaguely recall that there was something in the pile of paperwork that said how to get it if we wanted it. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/72 "2021-04-06T01:36:15Z")
I’m wondering if Sirius has cut back their budget for rewarding car dealers if they get a new subscriber? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/73 "2021-04-06T01:45:32Z")
Maybe it’s just Chevy? The last 2 Chevys I bought came with 1 year of Sirius. My brother also bought 2 Chevys over the past 6 years and he also got a year with each. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/74 "2021-04-06T02:17:49Z")
Our 2017 Chev came with one month free, our 2021 came with none, though it does have the option. We didnt want it, and the free trial didn’t change our minds. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/75 "2021-04-06T09:32:53Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I just bought a new vehicle and, interestingly, Sirius XM was not even offered. > > I don’t care, but I’m a little surprised. > > Is this a trend? > > mmm I should have mentioned that this vehicle is a 2021 Mazda. I wonder if the availability of Apple CarPlay (which I love) may have something to do with it. mmm ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/76 "2021-04-06T14:20:07Z")
Their subscriber base ([link here](https://www.statista.com/statistics/252812/number-of-sirius-xms-subscribers/)) has been pretty solid over the past couple of years, at around 34 million, though it’s also no longer growing the way it had been up until around 2018. (Honestly, it surprised me that their base is stable; I had suspected that it was begininng to decline.) But, as those of you who are listeners likely know, they have been really pushing streaming over the past couple of years, including offering a lot of extra streaming-only channels. It may well be that they are shifting their focus for getting new subscribers to selling them on streaming, which doesn’t require the satellite receiver in the car. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/77 "2021-04-06T15:21:27Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It may well be that they are shifting their focus for getting new subscribers to selling them on streaming, which doesn’t require the satellite receiver in the car. You may be correct, and it certainly makes sense. It’s got to be somewhat challenging to add and subtract subscribers as vehicles are bought and sold. On a somewhat-related topic, however, how much data is used to stream Sirius (or Pandora or Spotify or whatever service)? I wonder if I could stream Sirius for a month without exceeding my data plan? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/78 "2021-04-06T15:23:49Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > It’s got to be somewhat challenging to add and subtract subscribers as vehicles are bought and sold. At least you can now do that online, I think. Back in the day, upgrading to a new radio or getting a new car meant spending a half hour on the phone with them and paying a $15 transfer fee. Which you could, as usual, get out of by making empty threats to cancel the subscription. But still, everything is (or was) so much work with them. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/79 "2021-04-06T15:29:24Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > At least you can now do that online, I think. I bought a different car in December of 2019 and transferred my subscription from old car to new car. I did it via a phone call. It took about 15 minutes, if I recall, and I got 3 free months added to my contract. I think that online was an option, but I didn’t go that route. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071/80 "2021-04-06T15:45:42Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > On a somewhat-related topic, however, how much data is used to stream Sirius (or Pandora or Spotify or whatever service)? I wonder if I could stream Sirius for a month without exceeding my data plan? The internet says anywhere from 40-120 MB/hour depending on the quality of your stream. My phone tells me that Amazon Music used 500MB of data in the last one-month billing cycle. I estimate that covers about 10-12 hours of streaming, but it’s a real YMMV situation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-is-really-starting-to-suck/939071.md?page=5)