I don't think I posted this before, but if I did, then here it is again.

I have an XM radio that likes to take a break occasionally, so I use the XM ports in my Fit for music. I have eight hours of music on a 16 GB flash drive about the size of my thumbnail. I put it into the slot on the lower dash and close the little door. For music, I run Pandora on my computer and record music with Free PC Audio Recorder. Then use the free version of WavePad Sound Editor to remove commercials and tighten up the spacing between songs. Those eight hours take up only 518 MB, so I could have other folders on there with different kinds of music.

https://smile.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ult...cont06-20&th=1

 

That is a great idea - thanks for sharing!

 

I like the XM radio, but since it stops working occasionally, I wanted an alternative. The radio is ten years old, and it has a Lifetime subscription. I transferred the subscription once, and that's all I'm allowed. If this one dies completely, I have no intention to start a monthly payment again. The radios are cheap. The subscriptions aren't.

 

My Sirius radio in my RX-8 has horrible reception - it might be that the 2009-era receiver has limited antennae and little buffering on that stock Bose/Mazda unit. The reason below were why I stopped paying for a subscription:
* tinny sound as compared to USB music or BT-Aux port
* poor reception in tree lined roads and when there isn't ~160 ° field of view
* limited channels of music I like to listen - I found myself switching channels constantly

 

I've been using a USB memory stick with mp3 loaded music since day one. Also from my ipod gen 7. The only difference is I can't close the little door due to their larger size than your thumbnail memory stick.

 

My radio and subscription date from 2009. For several years, the radio says it doesn't have an antenna - or something like that. I've tried three different antennas and two or three different cradles. This fault is completely random There is nothing I can do do to cause it or to cure it. I paid $476 for the subscription ten years ago, so that's less than $4.00/month - so far.

 

I would call SirusXM - there might be some diagnostics they can run (reset your transmission ID that's linked to your radio). There are flow charts offered by S-XM off this page:

https://shop.siriusxm.com/radio-supp...sxm-radio.html

 

I run two 16 GB thumb drives in the two USB ports and that allows me to carry almost my entire music library with me.

 

Thanks. My phone experience with SiriusXM has been awful.

EDIT: I just looked at the chart, and I've not only tried those suggestions, I've used other antennas and cradles. I even bought a new cradle - and it worked...for a very short time. I have a couple of old radios I could plug in, although they don't have a subscription. I think I would receive advertising from XM, so I could see if the problem is with the radio.