Free XM Again

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cwerdna said:
It's going on again: http://www.siriusxm.com/sxmlp216. Some channels are free from May 18 to 31.
Thanks, I never really push the XM button so I'd have never known :)
I have been getting a barrage of emails lately though, same ole same ole, cheap for 5 months(if you give them your CC#) and then agree to regular automatic payments at their regular rates, unless you call that 800 number than no one answers or they put you on hold for 30 minutes + only to disconnect you :x Nope, never going through that again!
I only once tried one of those trials and the only reason was it was free for 3?? months just by calling, no CC required. They made the mistake though of suggesting I call the 800 number after my free trial to cancel but again without a CC I wasn't too worried. Sure enough when my free period was almost up I tried calling to tell them to cancel. I spend the better part of a morning trying to get someone at that 800 number but either gave up after 30 minutes on hold, got disconnected after 25 minutes or got a hold of someone who transferred me to another department where I also got disconnected :x I did get a few warning letters within the next few days saying my trial would expire and I'd be billed the normal rate but again without my CC and not signing any contract I wasn't too worried. Sure enough at the end of my free trial period my XM stopped working and no more warning letters, NEVER again! But I still do get frequent emails and letters tempting me with those cheap 5 or so months.
Truthfully I'd probably pay $5-$8 for a minimum number of channels(basically all I listened to where channels 5-10(50s-00s music) and a few of the album rock channels, the vast vast majority of channels I could care less about, but like cable/pay TV, ala carte isn't an option :(
 
ElectricEddy said:
Tried it today and shut it off after a few minutes. Now I remember the other reason why I like the USB. XM = 32 to 64 Kbps, super compressed :x
Is that why some channels seem so shrill? I've often wondered why. Are you just guessing or is it truly just 32-64 Kbps? If so thats really awful IMO. I never use less than 128Kbps for my CD rips and oftentimes better.
 
jjeff said:
cwerdna said:
It's going on again: http://www.siriusxm.com/sxmlp216. Some channels are free from May 18 to 31.
Thanks, I never really push the XM button so I'd have never known :)
I have been getting a barrage of emails lately though, same ole same ole, cheap for 5 months(if you give them your CC#) and then agree to regular automatic payments at their regular rates, unless you call that 800 number than no one answers or they put you on hold for 30 minutes + only to disconnect you :x Nope, never going through that again!
I only once tried one of those trials and the only reason was it was free for 3?? months just by calling, no CC required. They made the mistake though of suggesting I call the 800 number after my free trial to cancel but again without a CC I wasn't too worried. Sure enough when my free period was almost up I tried calling to tell them to cancel. I spend the better part of a morning trying to get someone at that 800 number but either gave up after 30 minutes on hold, got disconnected after 25 minutes or got a hold of someone who transferred me to another department where I also got disconnected :x I did get a few warning letters within the next few days saying my trial would expire and I'd be billed the normal rate but again without my CC and not signing any contract I wasn't too worried. Sure enough at the end of my free trial period my XM stopped working and no more warning letters, NEVER again! But I still do get frequent emails and letters tempting me with those cheap 5 or so months.
Truthfully I'd probably pay $5-$8 for a minimum number of channels(basically all I listened to where channels 5-10(50s-00s music) and a few of the album rock channels, the vast vast majority of channels I could care less about, but like cable/pay TV, ala carte isn't an option :(

Stuff like this. Don't need or want anything from a company with such a scummy business model. Free or otherwise. Their mails go straight to the shredder unopened.
 
jjeff said:
ElectricEddy said:
Tried it today and shut it off after a few minutes. Now I remember the other reason why I like the USB. XM = 32 to 64 Kbps, super compressed :x
Is that why some channels seem so shrill? I've often wondered why. Are you just guessing or is it truly just 32-64 Kbps? If so thats really awful IMO. I never use less than 128Kbps for my CD rips and oftentimes better.

some songs come out OK but the majority just don't sound right. Its why I wouldn't pay more than a $1 or $2 a month for XM.

I'd rather they cut the number of channels and up the bitrate on each.
 
Thanks for the tip. I tried it and indeed got all the channels on my S but after a few minutes went back to FM.....
Is it just the radio in my S or does all XM sound like crap? Very little bass and tinny/shrill. I have my audio controls set to the middle as I do with FM but FM sounds worlds better, is the sound quality due to the compression of XM or just the radio in my Leaf?
I think I've noticed it before but I didn't remember it sounding quite this bad :(
 
jake14mw said:
It's not you, it's definitely a tinny sound.
Thanks, it's just I've never heard XM on anything other than my car stereo so I didn't know. I mean I'm not a hardcore audiophile but how can people pay for something of that quality :? I'm guessing to get better quality they'd only have to drop 20%?? of their channels, I know I'd never miss the vast majority of what I've heard, but I suppose they are going for the masses and more channels=more potential customers :idea:
 
Seems like it's free again thru May 29th and this time, it includes their app.

https://www.siriusxm.com/listenfree
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/deals-shopping/fl-bz-free-preview-siriusxm-20180514-story.html

Someone else on a Leaf FB group noticed that traffic suddenly started showing up on their nav system. Sure enough, SiriusXM traffic was showing up on mine even though I've never paid for it. I've only had it during the free trials on my Leafs.
 
cwerdna said:
Seems like it's free again thru March 29th and this time, it includes their app.

https://www.siriusxm.com/listenfree
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/deals-shopping/fl-bz-free-preview-siriusxm-20180514-story.html

Someone else on a Leaf FB group noticed that traffic suddenly started showing up on their nav system. Sure enough, SiriusXM traffic was showing up on mine even though I've never paid for it. I've only had it during the free trials on my Leafs.

OK, I thought maybe it had something to do with me purchasing the lease but this makes more sense. Easy-come easy-go.
 
The last time it was free, I checked it out - I wasn't impressed...

I can't imagine paying anything for this type of service, since it loses signal far too often and there's a lot of mediocre content too. Are there any subscribers out there who find value in it? Just curious, as perhaps my experience with it is atypical...

My guess is that millennials are completely uninterested in SiriusXM, which doesn't bode well for the company. However, I'm not a millennial, so maybe I haven't a clue :)
 
alozzy said:
The last time it was free, I checked it out - I wasn't impressed...

I can't imagine paying anything for this type of service, since it loses signal far too often and there's a lot of mediocre content too. Are there any subscribers out there who find value in it? Just curious, as perhaps my experience with it is atypical...

My guess is that millennials are completely uninterested in SiriusXM, which doesn't bode well for the company. However, I'm not a millennial, so maybe I haven't a clue :)
I'm not a millennial either but to make a long story short, after getting enough nag snail mail and finally a low enough price, I gave in.

There is NO WAY I'd pay the full price of $15.99 + taxes and fees for XM Select (https://www.siriusxm.com/ourmostpopularpackages?). The service is NOT worth that $ for the so-so sound quality. But, it almost never drops out for me. About the only places that happens are when going under overpasses.

But, when I got deals like $20 + taxes and royalties = $22.77 for 5 months, that's ok. That was long ago and the prices have gone up since. My most recent re-subscription was for $24.99 + taxes and royalties = $28.46. That's ok with me. When my subscription is about to auto-renew at full price, it means I have to call them to ask them for the same or similar deal or I'm canceling. People on Tivocommunity do that all the time. There's a long running thread there: https://www.tivocommunity.com/community/index.php?threads/soak-getting-deal-on-xm.473941/. (You need to be a free member to see it.) Apparently, we have a similar thread here but it's not as active: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13664.

If it eventually rises to much above $6/mo with fees, then I'd think twice about it or look into turning it off at certain points (e.g. vacation, not restarting until I'm thru the TWiT podcast for the week, etc.)

I do like having the instant access to certain genres I like, variety and music discovery. I found quite a few songs I like thanks to SiriusXM. Some I've bought thru other means (e.g. iTunes, Amazon) and others I've added to a Spotify playlist.

It looks like I've renewed for 5 or 6 months subscriptions at least 5 or 6 times. I took advantage of the free trial on my original Leaf. On my current used Leaf, somehow the previous driver/dealer never activated the free trial, so the CSR set me up with free unused month at one point when I was nearing cancellation.
 
cwerdna said:
Seems like it's free again thru March 29th and this time, it includes their app.

https://www.siriusxm.com/listenfree
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/deals-shopping/fl-bz-free-preview-siriusxm-20180514-story.html

Someone else on a Leaf FB group noticed that traffic suddenly started showing up on their nav system. Sure enough, SiriusXM traffic was showing up on mine even though I've never paid for it. I've only had it during the free trials on my Leafs.

March 29, 2019 or May 29, 2018? I noticed the map had traffic recently and then tried the radio and it was working. I don't listen to the radio much, but the traffic info on the screen is nice.
 
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