No real AM or FM radio in the R2

[oregonridet]

Not true. I just streamed KLCC on my Android tablet using TuneIn radio and KLCC on my phone using their web interface (recommended per their web site) and heard identical streams. So I assume I hearing the live stream on both devices.

You are right! I just “TuneIn’d” KLCC and played live simultaneously. Same stream.
If I can setup a preset in the R2 my problem may be solved.

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[RivianRocks25]

Will iheart radio be free for the life of the car? Maybe. Or it failes and loose this backdoor. Or it goes subscription. So sick of those. Pretty sure my FM will be working for free in 10 years.

 

[Yusef the eternal soul]

Í

 

[Yusef the eternal soul]

For me this is like the discussion of what I am “missing” by not having legacy tv at home. No Fox, no ABC, NBC, CNN, CBS OR ESPN. These days that makes me a much happier person. The last time I actually listened to an actual radio station was to hear my local NPR/TPR station here in San Antonio. Both IHeart and TuneIn carry that station. On drives where we hit the occasional dead zone, we just talk to one another. Or reflect on our good foftunes. Zen.

 

[Jccoryell]

Lotta weird people in this thread getting upset about a really outdated piece of technology…

New technology is not necessarily better. We are seeing this a lot with music. The CD was not better than the LP. The biggest audiophiles prefer records. The same goes with bluetooth and cell phone speakers. They aren't even stereo. With streaming, it isn't better than FM. FM is instant, not dependent on apps or cell phone signals. Not better, therefore not FM is not outdated.

 

[Dustyshades]

But 2025 study says 56% of all car drivers use radio, so NOT obsolete.

Just because you have moved to a different deliver method, Radio is still the choice for over 1/2 the drivers. For some of us, cell based really sucks.

Sure Rivian saves $25 bucks (est) on radio hardware and loose sales. That's your choice. My choice it to tell people about this and spend my money somewhere else.

just because there’s a lot of old people still driving who shouldn’t be anymore doesn’t mean it’s not obsole

 

[Dustyshades]

New technology is not necessarily better. We are seeing this a lot with music. The CD was not better than the LP. The biggest audiophiles prefer records. The same goes with bluetooth and cell phone speakers. They aren't even stereo. With streaming, it isn't better than FM. FM is instant, not dependent on apps or cell phone signals. Not better, therefore not FM is not outdated.

it’s weird that you would use the example of audio fidelity at the beginning and then somehow try to frame that to support your argument for FM radio

 

[Mos Eisley]

A little extra data to better frame that 56% stat. For better or worse, Rivian is not alone in aiding/speeding radio’s “demise”
—
“Radio’s New Challenge: Being Found
Not all the news is rosy for broadcasters, however. A separate 2026 industry report from Quu examined the 100 best-selling vehicle models in the United States and found that while AM/FM radio is technically present in all of them, it is becoming increasingly harder to find. Only 26% of those top-selling models now feature a physical radio button on the dashboard, down from 36% just a year earlier. Meanwhile, built-in streaming apps now appear in 53% of vehicles — more than double the 20% recorded in 2024.

The Quu report also identifies what it calls the “last touch” problem: because most modern vehicles default to the last audio source used when the engine is restarted, whichever platform earns a driver’s final listen at the end of a trip automatically wins the first listen at the start of the next one. In some newer models, returning to radio after another source was last used requires two or more button presses through an infotainment menu — a small friction that can quietly chip away at listening habits over time.”

 

[hoys]

While I am disappointed in not having AM or FM, there are lots of cheap AM/FM Bluetooth tuners for 50-60 bucks that could be paired to the car and give the functionality back. I’m sure their omission has to do with finding a place to put the antenna.

 

[SwampNut]

The CD was not better than the LP.

It is. Early ones were not.

With streaming, it isn't better than FM.

Nearly all streaming is vastly better than all FM, including HD. And the built-in Apple streaming is phenomenal, no CD, record, or especially radio station can come close.

not dependent on apps or cell phone signals.

FM in the R1 is still an app, and dependent on...FM signals...

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

Eleven pages for this. Did someone mention it was a safety matter, ala CP, AA arguments??

But, well to each their own.

 

[Jccoryell]

it’s weird that you would use the example of audio fidelity at the beginning and then somehow try to frame that to support your argument for FM radio

FM analog has better sound quality than iheartradio or tuned in. Add in their obnoxious ads and they're terrible. You can't compare pay to stream services because they are not free and require a paid data signal.

 

[SwampNut]

FM analog has better sound quality than iheartradio or tuned in. Add in their obnoxious ads and they're terrible.

Sure, you can always point to specific products being better or worse than other specific products.

You can't compare pay to stream services because they are not free and require a paid data signal.

LOL! Then you can't compare CDs and records either. Paying for media and paying to avoid ads are perfectly valid comparisons and choices. Speaking of ads...the amount on FM radio...jeez. You can't compare FM to streaming though, it has ads.

 

[Jccoryell]

Sure, you can always point to specific products being better or worse than other specific products.



LOL! Then you can't compare CDs and records either. Paying for media and paying to avoid ads are perfectly valid comparisons and choices. Speaking of ads...the amount on FM radio...jeez. You can't compare FM to streaming though, it has ads.

You are trying so hard to win your argument for whatever reason, I dont know. Im stating my opinion. I like FM and stated the reasons why. Streaming doesn't work on my frequent drives thru ADK, im not getting suckered into more subscription services and I like the locality of FM. Many people feel the same. You see no need for any of that. Fine, great, wonderful. No need to troll to get that mike drop moment

 

[TexasBob]

So development costs to change from 400v to 800v are zero? Seems like a huge change that they obviously didn't plan from the beginning without an existing 800v platform to even go off of. Rivian obviously prioritized other items like autonomy too.

I think that is a per vehicle cost. There is no reason to believe that developing an 800V would have been more expensive. If you are saying that it will be costly and difficult to rectify this mistake then 100% agree. But mark my words, when Tesla finally upgrades at the end of 2027 to stay competitive in China and Europe, the must-do time will arrive. And yes, I agree, Rivian put its money in proprietary Autonomy instead.

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