Rivian Customer Service: SiriusXM Radio will not be native part of the entertainment system

[Autolycus]

The iPhone satellite capability is never going to be anything capable of the bandwidth needed for streaming music. It’s going to be like Garmin’s inReach. Two-way text, emergency notifications, occasional location updates (as opposed to real-time), and weather information.

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[Deleted member 7086]

Not being one to give up - nor wait for Rivian to act I have found a workaround. I installed a Sirius/XM Onyx Plus under the center dash next to the cigarette power socket and placed the magnetic antenna inside the vehicle centered on top of the dash by the front windshield. I ran the antenna lead between the windshield and dash (there is a foam strip there) to the passenger door pillar and down behind the plastic side of the dash. Fishing the antenna lead from there was a little more difficult. I needed to remove the passenger side fuse box cover and thread the lead back to the center and behind the plastic trim to attach it to the Sirius/XM receiver. Because I tried a Bluetooth cradle for the receiver and the Rivian infotainment center would not recognize let alone pair with the Sirius BT cradle I bought a Kindrm 2 in 1 USB BT 5.0 aux receiver/trans to see if it would work. The Rivian infotainment center would not recognize it either. So I bought a DOSS Soundbox portable BT speaker and did a direct AUX connection from the Sirius/XM receiver to the Soundbox. Forgot to mention I also used an Ainope 4.8A USB flush charger and a Sirius/XM 5V USB charger cable in putting this together. The pluses- if you don’t use the AUX direct connection to the Soundbox and use BT transmitters you can connect the Sirius/XM receiver to the Rivian camp speaker or the Soundbox by BT. Contrary to the Rivian infotainment center they will recognize and pair with the BT transmitters. By using satellite radio you don’t have Tunein constantly loading a new song in the middle of the song you are listening to nor needing to rely on ATT’s marginal cell tower coverage. The downside - you don’t have access to Rivian’s infotainment system to control the music nor the Meridian sound system. But surprisingly for being so small, the Soundbox does deliver an OK experience. The antenna placement on the dash provides an acceptable signal. Lastly, none of this modifies the Rivian in any way and is completely removable. As an aside the organizer in the photo is from Walmart. I attached the Soundbox to it by Velcro. One last comment the cigarette socket does time out when not in use so no need to power off the receiver. But the Soundbox has rechargeable batteries and stays on unless you power it down.

 

[Athena]

Hey all, I just took delivery of my R1S and the Kevin (amazing!) informed me that if enough people request Sirius XM then Rivian will add it. Rivian just needs to get a gage of how many would be interested in having it, so request away I say!

 

[voltz]

How do we request Rivian for new features? Sirius XM is one I am definitely interested-in.

 

[Deleted member 7086]

I do not remember whether it was this thread or another one but an individual who sounded credible (?) indicated the Rivian vehicles do not have satellite antennas. If true, then Rivian would merely be adding an app which would be tied to the ATT cell towers like Tunein which is terrible reception wise and freezes up. I suppose it would be an improvement over using a cell phone to access SMX but really does not solve the underlying problem, lack of radio reception outside the city limits. What Rivian needs to do is finally indicate whether their infotainment unit has AUX in capability and if so how can it be accessed to add a SMX receiver.

 

[VGA]

Not being one to give up - nor wait for Rivian to act I have found a workaround. I installed a Sirius/XM Onyx Plus under the center dash next to the cigarette power socket and placed the magnetic antenna inside the vehicle centered on top of the dash by the front windshield. I ran the antenna lead between the windshield and dash (there is a foam strip there) to the passenger door pillar and down behind the plastic side of the dash. Fishing the antenna lead from there was a little more difficult. I needed to remove the passenger side fuse box cover and thread the lead back to the center and behind the plastic trim to attach it to the Sirius/XM receiver. Because I tried a Bluetooth cradle for the receiver and the Rivian infotainment center would not recognize let alone pair with the Sirius BT cradle I bought a Kindrm 2 in 1 USB BT 5.0 aux receiver/trans to see if it would work. The Rivian infotainment center would not recognize it either. So I bought a DOSS Soundbox portable BT speaker and did a direct AUX connection from the Sirius/XM receiver to the Soundbox. Forgot to mention I also used an Ainope 4.8A USB flush charger and a Sirius/XM 5V USB charger cable in putting this together. The pluses- if you don’t use the AUX direct connection to the Soundbox and use BT transmitters you can connect the Sirius/XM receiver to the Rivian camp speaker or the Soundbox by BT. Contrary to the Rivian infotainment center they will recognize and pair with the BT transmitters. By using satellite radio you don’t have Tunein constantly loading a new song in the middle of the song you are listening to nor needing to rely on ATT’s marginal cell tower coverage. The downside - you don’t have access to Rivian’s infotainment system to control the music nor the Meridian sound system. But surprisingly for being so small, the Soundbox does deliver an OK experience. The antenna placement on the dash provides an acceptable signal. Lastly, none of this modifies the Rivian in any way and is completely removable. As an aside the organizer in the photo is from Walmart. I attached the Soundbox to it by Velcro. One last comment the cigarette socket does time out when not in use so no need to power off the receiver. But the Soundbox has rechargeable batteries and stays on unless you power it down.

That's an amazing setup....would not have been necessary if Rivian just decides to add the app just like they have Spotify/Tidal...that's an easy ask...so many owners requesting it.

I don't have the numbers but the music apps with most subscribers would be Sirius, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon music and then Tidal etc....

So asking for Sirius and/or Apple music doesn't sound like an unreasonable request.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

For those that are chomping at the bit for SXM, I fear that Rivian's implementation will follow the SXM implementation on Lucid. You can't log in with your existing SXM account to treat the car as a streaming/internet device (even thought that's exactly what it is). Instead, you are presented with a Radio ID (same as physical hardware SXM implementation) and must "add" it as a separate radio and pay. So no free ride if you are already subscribing to SXM in another vehicle. SXM is looking at this as another revenue stream. Guess I'll just continue to use my phone, SXM app and BT.

 

[COdogman]

IMO without the actual satellite antenna there is no benefit to having it as a vehicle app. Using the wireless connection of the vehicle vs. using the wireless connection of your phone is the same thing.

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