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Can "XM Internet Radio" play through Entune? (Phone Apps problematic)

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by davekro, Jan 15, 2014.

  1. davekro

    davekro Member

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    I am not asking about the dedicated XM radio that is built into the car which is free for 3 mos. I currently have two XM radio subscriptions and am thinking of dropping those for "XM Internet Radio". But the reviews in the AppStore for the iPhone App average 2 stars and trash it big time. They say is crashes all the time, etc, etc, so I was wondering if the Prius can receive XM via their "Internet Radio" subscription, rather than struggling with a very bad App that has not been updated in 3 years!

    My wife has an Android*. Google Play rates 'SiriusXM Internet Radio' App 3.6 stars (2.6.2.44 last updated 9/14/13). This App does not get too much praise either.

    Other than using the paid (or 3 mo free) dedicated XM radio subscription, what is your experience of listening to your 'XM Internet Radio' subscription via iOS, Android (or Entune if it can bypass the smartphone crappy Apps)?

    * For multiple reasons, I may jump the iShip and get Samsung G4 when I am up for a new contract in 2 months.
     
  2. -1-

    -1- Don

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    :)My wife & I have five XM/Sirius accounts. Three cars, work, and my phone. I can stream XM from my Samsung android phone through Entune with no problem. With multiple accounts we pay $13.99 for one and around 6.99 for the other four. So I pay about fifteen cents per day for my Prius account. We have XM radio and DirecTV. I consider both to be cheap entertainment. Even at 13.99 per month, a dedicated car account isn't a bad deal if satellite radio is right for you. Life is short, enjoy it.
     
  3. Alan Claver

    Alan Claver Junior Member

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    You don't need Entune to stream audio from your iPhone - as a matter of fact it doesn't work. Entune only works with it's own dedicated apps.

    Most any app which outputs audio on iPhone can send it's audio output via Bluetooth streaming. Works best with iOS 6 and 7. Naturally you need Bluetooth A2DP support in your Prius.

    I use TuneIn Radio and Tunemark to listen to Internet radio stations all the time.
     
  4. jdk2

    jdk2 Active Member

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    I picked up a Nexus 5 and put it on AT&T goPhone plan for $60/mo. TMO doesn't have very good coverage where I live and we travel too much to consider them at the moment. No problems with bluetooth at all. No problems with Entune apps and the contacts all sync properly. Might want to at least consider it and get out of the eternal contract loop. Sell your old phone on Swappa when you're ready to switch.
     
  5. davekro

    davekro Member

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    So you normally use one of your dedicated XM radio subscr. in the Prius, but when you do use your Android App, it streams fine and you have not noticed crashing or disconnects by the Android App, right?

    So $13.99 for the Internet account and $6.99 each for the other four dedicated radio subscriptions, or about $42/mo combined.

    :confused:.15ยข/ day would be about $4.50/mo


    Life is too short! But watching my Rupies for the best value for my situation is kind of in my DNA. ;)

    Thanks for letting me know that the Android App is not problematic for you.
     
  6. davekro

    davekro Member

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    I guess not Entune, but the other car audio software is used to stream from smartphones then. So I misspoke. I was trying to find out if a smartphone App was needed to be able stream audio from the phone through the car's audio system. I'm guessing the answer is yes. The native 'Music' App on my iPhone 4S plays my phones music, Pandora App plays their content, so an XM App is needed to play XM content (assuming in this case you do not have a radio subscription, but DO have an 'XM Internet Radio' subscription.

    I remain with iOS 5.1.1 on my 4S (due to risk of losing WiFi with 6.0 or 7.0 for 4S's. 5.1 works fine. I was looking to find if our Prius community had better luck with the AppleStore and GoogleStore XM Apps than their ratings on those sites indicated. I'd hate to base my change from dedicated two (& poss. adding a 3rd for Prius) radio XM subscriptions on a cost savings that failed if the Apps to connect to XM Internet Radio were too wiggy for everyday use.


    I do like the certain XM talk programming that I have come to like. Just trying to keep XM as inexpensively as I can.:)
     
  7. Alan Claver

    Alan Claver Junior Member

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    Your 4S will have no issues upgrading to iOS 7. I've done it with multiple iPhones. The Bluetooth profiles are greatly expanded with iOS 6/7 so it should have no trouble streaming any audio from any app to any Prius head unit.

    As I said, almost all iOS apps will send their audio output to Bluetooth streaming. Of course this includes the Music application.

    I have an XM subscription so I don't use the XM iOS app but it will work fine. You could always purchase only 1 month to test it out. You should check carefully that the particular channel you want is offered via XM Internet - the list of channels is different between XM satellite and XM Internet.
     
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    -1- Don

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    :)XM/Sirius allow a free trial period for their internet service. I believe it's thirty days. I normally listen to the 50s-80s music channels amongst a few others. The channel numbers maybe different between the two services, but I'm not sure. Their internet service is only $4,99 per month which can be used on multiple internet devices.
     
  9. ftl

    ftl Explicator

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    Even my iPhone 4 works fine on iOS 7, although I did turn off all the fancy graphics to keep the speed up.
     
  10. davekro

    davekro Member

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    I found that the Internet XM free trial is only for people who do not already have an XM account. I signed up for the $4/ mo Internet service this afternoon. I was then told over and over my password or user name did not match. Fast forward my reseting passwords multiple times then 2+ hours on the phone with advanced tech support. Ended call with him needing to start a 'ticket' to have the back end work on solving the issue. I'm told I'll get a call back in 5 -7 bus. Days.

    Is that a business model for success or what. Tomorrow, my wife will try to sign up for a free Internet XM account with another address so we can test it out on iPhone, android and stream thru Denon AVR for the house... Hopefully.
     
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    -1- Don

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    :confused:Good XM, bad XM. When everything works right, it's great. I've been a subscriber since 2003, and signed up for the free XM internet trial last summer with no problem. I was happy with the trial period and added the internet service to our account. With multiple accounts we were receiving notices that we needed to renew. Once I was able to consolidate all five accounts into one fixed yearly amount plan, same expiration date, it's been smooth.
     
  12. Alan Claver

    Alan Claver Junior Member

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    I have to say that XM customer support was good when I was transfering my service from my stand-along device to my Toyota XM headunit. They even made some changes without prompting that lowered my bill.

    I keep the full service because I like to listen to sporting events which aren't offered on the Internet subscription. I was disappointed when they starting charging however. Seems to me I pay enough for the sat service that they should throw in the Internet for free. Oh well. Plenty of other Internet radio available.
     
  13. davekro

    davekro Member

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    We got a one month XM Internet subscription. It seems to work OK on both the iPhone 4s (5.1.1 and Android 4.1). Only bugs are:
    1) is hard to get it started. Lots of connecting, reconnecting BT to get it to play, or maybe slecting a different station to get it to come thru Prius spkrs.
    2) After Entune 3.1, I still have the issue of the smartphone audio initiating after any other sound source is activated (map directions or phone call made or rec'd). Although today after using XM INternet, I was not able to hear Nav App instructions over car. Or I heard it VERY low (might have been from phone itself??).

    It seems a while back I had found a way to increase volume of phone and map 'talking', but I cannot find where I had done that.
     
  14. Alan Claver

    Alan Claver Junior Member

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    Why the heck are you still running iOS 5.x? You'll find 7.x much more reliable WRT Bluetooth streaming. My 4s connected instantly when I entered the car and if I had been playing streaming audio it started right up without any intervention.