Does your AM/FM radio work reliably? Mine does not

[AltadenaAir]

I was in the area affected by the recent fires, so for the first time in a while I really, really needed access to a local news source. Cell towers were out, so using an internet radio source wasn't going to cut it. I had previously noticed that AM/FM radio on my car was "flakey", but never got around to asking for it to be fixed. (By the way, being in LA and having worked on disaster preparedness for infrastructure, everyone should realize that AM/FM is likely to be the only mobile media that will reliably work after a major disaster. But you need a receiver that works.)

But in using AM/FM for a while in the last ten days, I found it to mostly not work. Occasionally, I get it to work, but only briefly. The UI comes up with a list of stations, but I can't "play" them - just the "stop playing" button (like that on CD player) is showing, not the "play" triangle button.

Do you other folks find your radio works well?

I'm guessing that radio on this car is part of an integrated SDR module that does all the radio stuff - BT, cellular, etc. But maybe it is a separate module? Does anyone know for a fact how it is implemented? I ask, because maybe fixing my AM/FM problems will also make the BT locks interface work better (he said hopefully).

 

[Bobby]

I was in the area affected by the recent fires, so for the first time in a while I really, really needed access to a local news source. Cell towers were out, so using an internet radio source wasn't going to cut it. I had previously noticed that AM/FM radio on my car was "flakey", but never got around to asking for it to be fixed. (By the way, being in LA and having worked on disaster preparedness for infrastructure, everyone should realize that AM/FM is likely to be the only mobile media that will reliably work after a major disaster. But you need a receiver that works.)

But in using AM/FM for a while in the last ten days, I found it to mostly not work. Occasionally, I get it to work, but only briefly. The UI comes up with a list of stations, but I can't "play" them - just the "stop playing" button (like that on CD player) is showing, not the "play" triangle button.

Do you other folks find your radio works well?

I'm guessing that radio on this car is part of an integrated SDR module that does all the radio stuff - BT, cellular, etc. But maybe it is a separate module? Does anyone know for a fact how it is implemented? I ask, because maybe fixing my AM/FM problems will also make the BT locks interface work better (he said hopefully).

I use IHeartRadio to listen to KFI through CarPlay.

 

[AltadenaAir]

Yeah, like I said, Internet-based services didn't work because cell towers were out. For more than 10 days!

 

[pyle112]

Maybe carlinkit makes an adapter?

 

[Amster]

I never thought about emergencies, but it is really important for that. I haven't even tried to listen to AM/FM since the day I picked up the car. I didn't have anything else set up, so that was the only option for the drive home. I remember it working okay.

 

[Ampere]

I gave up on the radio. The AM is terrible. On all of my previous cars I could easily receive Chicago 50kw stations 140 miles away, not on the Lucid. The FM is flaky. I had to disable the HD and go with straight analog. The HD kept switching back and forth between analog and digital, even in strong signal areas driving me crazy. As others have said, it's easier to simply choose broadcast stations through one of the apps, such as iHeartRadio. I wouldn't know about CarPlay, since I'm cold and lonely with an Android phone.

 

[DeaneG]

...I had previously noticed that AM/FM radio on my car was "flakey"...

My AM and FM work fine. Twice in 2.5 years, both in the last couple months, I've had a problem like you describe. The steering wheel reset fixed it once. The second time, resetting was of no help, but it started working again on its own a couple days later. Interestingly, Spotify streaming was also down at this time, but Tidal worked fine.

 

[petergottlieb]

I had radio/sirius/Apple Music all get flaky on me today twice - they either would play a couple of seconds of audio ever 10 seconds or so or just not work at all. I did a soft reset and now everything is working again. So strange.

 

[bill1745]

Sometimes when I charge my car (always Sunday nights at home), the next morning, sometimes the radio will not work. After I drive to work and the car is turned off and sits for the day, when I come back, the radio then works like normal. Its stays normal until I charge again, but sometimes it does work after charging. This started after 2.5 installed. 2023 Air Pure.

 

[larrycpa]

For me, in a major market, FM reception is very weak. Not my early as good as my other cars. Mobil tech told me that the antenna is in the trunk. Not sure if that is true. Doesn't really bother me since I use TuneIn anyway..

 

[AMG]

I was in the area affected by the recent fires, so for the first time in a while I really, really needed access to a local news source. Cell towers were out, so using an internet radio source wasn't going to cut it. I had previously noticed that AM/FM radio on my car was "flakey", but never got around to asking for it to be fixed. (By the way, being in LA and having worked on disaster preparedness for infrastructure, everyone should realize that AM/FM is likely to be the only mobile media that will reliably work after a major disaster. But you need a receiver that works.)

But in using AM/FM for a while in the last ten days, I found it to mostly not work. Occasionally, I get it to work, but only briefly. The UI comes up with a list of stations, but I can't "play" them - just the "stop playing" button (like that on CD player) is showing, not the "play" triangle button.

Do you other folks find your radio works well?

I'm guessing that radio on this car is part of an integrated SDR module that does all the radio stuff - BT, cellular, etc. But maybe it is a separate module? Does anyone know for a fact how it is implemented? I ask, because maybe fixing my AM/FM problems will also make the BT locks interface work better (he said hopefully).

I have the same issue... FM Radio would randomly not play anything. Would change sources and not work. Before, when i disconnected my BT on my phone, it would work again, but after an update, it didn't matter. So, i just reboot every time it happens.. Pull over, hold the "Air" logo, and reboot. It's a hassle.

 

[CCIVKing]

I also gave up trying to listen to AM so I can listen to my Lakers or Dodgers. The reception is god awful. And as a sports fanatic, listening to iheartradio is not a viable option since the live sports have a significant broadcast delay. FM reception has been OK. Overall pretty disappointed. One of the reasons I didn’t opt for SSP was because I told my SA “I don’t even listen to music, all I need is my local sports on AM radio”…

 

[Bobby]

I also gave up trying to listen to AM so I can listen to my Lakers or Dodgers. The reception is god awful. And as a sports fanatic, listening to iheartradio is not a viable option since the live sports have a significant broadcast delay. FM reception has been OK. Overall pretty disappointed. One of the reasons I didn’t opt for SSP was because I told my SA “I don’t even listen to music, all I need is my local sports on AM radio”…

I listen to my AM radio using iHeartRadio either through the native UI or CarPlay. It sounds great!

 

[borski]

I listen to my AM radio using iHeartRadio either through the native UI or CarPlay. It sounds great!

This is what I do too. I only use the native AM when I have no cell service.

I agree that the native radio is more annoying and doesn’t always work as well.

 

[pyle112]

This is what I do too. I only use the native AM when I have no cell service.

I agree that the native radio is more annoying and doesn’t always work as well.

I thought the native FM uses data from cell service too?

 

[CCIVKing]

I listen to my AM radio using iHeartRadio either through the native UI or CarPlay. It sounds great!

I hear ya. Iheartradio quality is great. It’s just that there’s a pretty bad broadcast delay (few minutes) which I can’t stand when listening to a live sporting event.

 

[borski]

I thought the native FM uses data from cell service too?

Nope, it’s HD Radio. Page 148 of the manual.

 

[Jono]

I love my Air GT, but the FM radio is embarrassingly bad. Terrible reception.

 

[scal_air]

The FM reception for me is OK, don't know about AM since I don't listen to AM. I used to listen to sports on FM then switched over to Sirius but still listen to NPR on the radio.

 

[Bobby]

I love my Air GT, but the FM radio is embarrassingly bad. Terrible reception.

Many stations have a streaming version on iHeartRadio or another service.