My 12 Mini Hardtop has Sirius built into the radio. I was considering having it activated but when I select the Satellite mode on my radio I get a message that says "acquiring" that never goes away on previous vehicles that I let the subscription expire on they always played a preview station that gave samples of what Sirius offered....this one doesn't.

Is it likely my antenna/receiver is bad or is it just a Mini thing? Do I just need an activation signal or something along those lines?

 

Sadly, my recently acquired MCS was factory optioned without the Sirius tuner already enabled. I inquired with the dealer (MINI CPO) about paying to just have it enabled w/o the 1-year subscription fee but he essentially told me no dice. On mine, the Sirius (or sat radio) icon doesn't display as a selectable choice. If yours does, it has been enabled at some point (check VIN decoder to see if it was a factory option rather than just "satellite ready" like mine). If yes, you should be able to listen to the Sirius preview channel. Sounds like the antenna is disconnected or faulty? If you're not sure where that is, do a forum search. I read one thread where a forum member used the Sirius antenna in combo with a separate receiver plugged into aux input port (as I might do too).

Some here might say, why hassle with SiriusXM's outrageous pricing and sales tactics? For me, I live far from all but a couple local small town FM stations. I currently have 3 devices (2 Sirius and 1 XM) synchronized on same billing cycle wherein I pay their unadvertised promo price of $24.99/device plus royalty fees for each device (together on one single paper invoice - not with credit card). I can justify that amount but not more.

 

The decoder doesn't work with my VIN....it just gives me a message that displays sorry something went wrong

 

Enter only last 7 characters of your VIN plus "I'm not a robot" image test and it should work fine. If you see the sat icon on your MINI audio display, the Sirius tuner has already been enabled (even if no subscription currently in effect).

 

How long of a period does the $24.99 run for 6 months/1 year?

 

That's what I did....Mini USA's website recognized my VIN but the decoder does not. In 2012 I believe satellite radio was standard then in 2013 it was an option you had to pay extra for

 

Its not advertised - you must speak to a SiriusXM rep (ideally, USA based) and insist on it with sincere threat to cancel otherwise. I've been doing it that way for several years and have told friends to do likewise with same results. One neighbor nearby had 5 devices on a plan and got a bill for over $1200 IIRC. Told him what he should do and now he has all devices in synch at $24.99 + fees for 6 months service. One note of caution: you must set a reminder to call them a few days before 6 months elapses, otherwise subscription will automatically revert to normal full rate, with very painful consequences to get them to credit and adjust at the promo rate. I enjoy having the service but hate the company and their sales tactics!

 

Don't bother, the sound quality sux. I had it for a while, was a real pain to cancel it. Horrible company..

 

^^^
Audio frequency range (if that's your complaint) is a non-issue for me, since I primarily listen to news and related talk shows as well as some comedy stuff. But then you do have more AM/FM choices in Phx area than do I prox 100 miles NE...