SATELLITE RADIO

Our Experts will answer all of your questions

“How do I add this to my factory sterero?”

“If I buy a new radio, can I add it on?”

“I heard that sometime there is static?”

“How does it mount in my car?” 

SiriusXM Satellite Radio System

Monitor on the dashboard of the car in FM receiver

Satellite radio subscription service offers hundreds of commercial free channels with all kinds of programming. Music channels are arranged by genre. Talk radio, sports programming and news is available too. Although satellite radio offers specialized programming and hundreds of channels, just like cable at home, your local AM and FM channels aren’t available via satellite. You’ll need to use the traditional radio in your car to access those.

Many radios, including the factory installed radio in your car are “satellite ready”. That means you can add satellite radio without having to replace the head unit. In some cases, an additional tuner is required, and that tuner can simply be plugged in and controlled by the head unit once your subscription is active. If your head unit isn’t satellite ready, you can add satellite radio with a satellite vehicle kit. The vehicle kit includes a satellite tuner and antenna that are installed in addition to your head unit. The audio signal from the vehicle kit is connected to the car’s audio system by plugging it into an available aux input jack. Alternately, an FM transmitter can be used to send the sound from the satellite kit to the factory installed radio. This connection scheme should be considered a last resort, especially in areas where the FM band is full of stations as sound quality is often not stellar.

You can also access satellite radio programming with your smartphone using an app. See more about this in the subsequent section, “Connecting Your Phone”.

If you’re a satellite radio enthusiast, opt for the dedicated satellite tuner designed to work with your head unit, whether it’s the factory installed unit or an aftermarket unit. Sound quality and signal reliability will be best and using it will be more convenient.