Sirius XM or Pandora via Entune?

hi all. Had SiriusXM for about 7 years or so and the truck I just bought had the free trial. Free trial has run out. What would be a better idea, paying for a SiriusXM subscription OR going with a Pandora premium account and streaming it through Entune on the head unit? Do you have to have cell reception for Pandora to work? What's everyone's thoughts on this? What is everyone else doing? Thanks in advance!

 

I love my XM, works everywhere I've gone so far.

 

Pandora is a pain in the ass for me. Love the app, but won't start 2 or 3 out of 10 times in etune. Sometimes restarting the head unit works (3 or 4 seconds on the power button), other times I have to do that, then disconnect the vehicle from the etune app on the phone and reconnect. Every once in a while if that doesn't work, a phone restart will do it. Frustrating.

I don't think anyone using slacker radio has these issues, and am planning on playing around with that when I've got time.

Not a huge fan of siriusXM, but have it for now for when I'm out in the sticks with no phone reception (and for listening to packer games I miss while out hunting in the fall).

 

Pandora for sure. Has trouble every now and then getting connected, but for the most part that is all I every listen to

 

I don't subscribe to Pandora, but do subscribe to Sirius XM. Not an important amenity in my truck, although there are a few channels I want to listen to. Recommendations: Negotiate the XM price down until you think it won't go any lower, then redouble your effort and knock it down even further. My rate is $30 / 6 months, about $5 / mo. Also, don't do the 'auto renew', which requires a credit card # they will hold on file. Invariably the renewal rate will be back up to their asking price, whatever that is ($200 / yr? $300 / yr). I tell them I won't renew without an invoice, that I won't pay more than I'm currently paying, and that I will pay by check.

Be ruthless with them!

 

I don't use XM. I'm more of a podcast kind of person.

 

Stay away from xm, they're like a crazy stalker ex-girlfriend, no exaggeration

 

I have a Pandora premium account and like others said about every 3rd time I have to disconnect and reconnect . Only other issue I have is when I listen through entune I don't get any adds but I hit skip limits which I shouldn't have any with premium.

 

I missed XM for about a week as I got used to the DJs, but then I said "wait, I don't want commercials and this all pre-recorded (mostly) so I pay $4.95 a month and get Pandora.

I was having some consistency problems with Pandora, but then I realized to LAUNCH ENTUNE beforehand every time and NO PROBLEMS. I keep making new channels and I dig it. I think the $4.95 per month is worth it. I have yet to play with iHeart Radio, but look forward to that too. No XM for me, no loss.

RZ Rob

 

I don't want to sound like an idiot but what do you mean you launch it beforehand?

 

XM it's worth the cost to you. Reliability is simply far superior. Yes you do need a phone teathered through the etune app for pandora, it'll use the phones data, so yes a cell data signal is required.

 

I go to my phone and launch the Entune app. I think somehow that reestablishes the connection. Sort of like a bluetooth handshake thing.

RZ Rob

 

Doesnt using Pandora (or similar) use a lot of data if you use it most of your drive time?

 

Before you start your truck?

 

Surprisingly no. I actually checked with AT&T and they said I really shouldn't pay the extra for unlimited data as I'm not using much. I'm sorry I don't have specifics. But, I ride a motorcycle a lot and have a Sena S20 and always listen to Pandora on my street bike and even my dirt bike. I'm a rocker.

RZ Rob

 

No, just before I select Pandora on the car stereo.

RZ Rob

 

Cool, thanks for the feedback

 

I'm at 1 call a day, between 3 different numbers. All XM begging for a renewal. They just don't ever go away.

 

I us the xm but have pandora thru my phone

 

I paid for a lifetime subscription when I got my 2013 VW JSW TDI. At the time I'd thought I'd have it for longer, but the buyback got me back into a Taco. Anyways, I was able to switch my lifetime to my Taco due to the buyback. So happy. Inquire about it with the SiriusXM folks, they should be able to hook you up. For my first unit that I got back in 2004 I paid like ~$700. For the VW, I think I paid like $1k? To my understanding, it's usually not transferable for vehicles but is for their units. I plan on keeping the Taco for a long time and I know in the long run that I'll be good to go in savings. Also, I run Spotify and pay premium for it. I can save songs to my phone or stream. So b/w SiriusXM, Spotify, and other free apps and the radio, I'm good to go on long road trips!