XM radio static

Has anybody with a 3rd gen had any problems with the XM antenna or head unit not getting the signal? It does get it but it seems to cut out on days where there is no interference or clouds. Has anybody had a bad antenna yet?

 

Nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Sometimes going under trees or tall buildings it will go out.

 

When mine goes out there is silence. Have never heard static.

 

don't mean to hijack the thread but while on the subject of XM i have a 2016 in hawaii we do not get XM and it does not even show up on the head unit. question for 2016 owners is the where your XM shows up (see pic) reason, i will be shipping my truck to the mainland and will want to activate XM.

 

Under audio.

 

now if i push audio no XM button appears but now i know where to look for it when i try to connect however i do that i don't know. maybe update firm ware when i get it to the mainland?
thanks

 

Do you even have the XM receiver? (It’s an extra unit bolted under the headunit). Since there is no XM in hawaii, rather than disable it’s probably not even their since it’s an extra unit and not built in to the headunit.

 

interesting. my sales manager told me the trucks that ship to hawaii have not been altered, they are plucked off the lot on the mainland and shipped to hawaii. what you are saying is interesting this is the first i have herd of this. guess i would have to get that "extra unit" form toyota on the mainland. don't all the entune premium vehicles come with XM capability's?

 

so after posting above i did some googling and found this, thank you for enlightening me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvfJqC1ZxiE

 

yes they all come with it. But flashing specific firmware is a lot more costly than simply pulling a part. You can’t just enable / disable XM from the menu, you’d need to flash specific firmware. Toyota could do either, but I bet it’s cheaper for them to simply pull the XM receiver. (Or not even put it in)

 

yup, that’s the XM receiver I was talking about.

 

My reception is terrible on all bands. I had my head replaced under warranty and have experimented with three aftermarket and properly tuned antennas. I’ve removed extraneous RF and even disconnected power to run the radio only. I’ve double checked grounds and spent countless hours triaging for solutions. I got credit from XM for months of terrible service and have given up trying to get my head to work. I’m reduced to streaming low quality Bluetooth audio services and podcasts. The dealer ultimately admitted I should have gotten the cheapest audio system instead of the best and replaced it day one aftermarket. Problem is aftermarkets does not cover wireless features completely. My plan is to wait for the zipper heads to start totaling their 2020s and harvest one from a junkyard hopefully it not only is better but maybe it will actually work.

 

somewhere along the line it apparently got pulled out. to be sue i guess i better pull the head unit and make sure it is not in there before i spend money.
what about the antenna if the truck had it and i got pulled out think there will be a hook up for the antenna? i assume all you that have XM the antenna is incorporated into the shark fin?

 

I never had static but I did notice the signal would cut out every now and then, it was pretty annoying. I rented a Jeep last year on the opposite side of the country and had the same experience. I think its just the way it is, accept it or not.

Having said that, call XM, they have a good techincal support department and will be able to help if you're having issues outside normal signal losses

 

I will have to reword my original post, I have static right before it cuts out and it seems to cut out alot lately. I have had other cars with XM and have never had problems like this. I was wondering if people are having bad xm receivers or faulty xm antennas I guess.

 

Just before my XM trial was up they called me to sell me a subscription. I told him I wasnt interested cause it always cuts out. I forget the details but there was something he could do on his end to troubleshoot. Like you give him your radio ID and he can ping the truck to see if its receiving good signal. I dont know but call XM, they can help.