satellite antenna

[BMW665]

Has anyone tapped into the satellite antenna that I assume is hidden in the trunk under the shark fin? I looked at my VIN and found it comes with the following.

S693A Vorbereitung BMW Satellitenradio - Preparation BMW satellite radio

Does this mean I can connect a 3rd party satellite radio to it?

[jparnes1]

BMW isn't a sat radio content provider so if by third party you mean Sirius, yes that's exactly what you're supposed to do. Just call them up and get a subscription.

[BMW665]

sorry should have asked more precisely . Is the Shark Fin antenna already set up so all you have to do is call Sirius and turn on the service. I don't see any satellite option on my radio so its not as easy as calling Sirius and giving them my SN#. What does the pre satellite option mean?

[HerrK]

Originally Posted by BMW665

sorry should have asked more precisely . Is the Shark Fin antenna already set up so all you have to do is call Sirius and turn on the service. I don't see any satellite option on my radio so its not as easy as calling Sirius and giving them my SN#. What does the pre satellite option mean?

If you have satellite radio prep you should be able to get to "option" and find your Sat Radio ESN. What year and model is your car? Do you have iDrive? Sat radios were standard with Premium Sound option starting with MY 2011. Sat Radios were optional prior to that. Eventually Premium Sound was standard equip on the IS starting in MY2013.

[pete_z89]

Originally Posted by BMW665

Does this mean I can connect a 3rd party satellite radio to it?

Yes, but it needs to be "activated" first... I'll explain further below.

Originally Posted by jparnes1

BMW isn't a sat radio content provider so if by third party you mean Sirius, yes that's exactly what you're supposed to do. Just call them up and get a subscription.

You cannot just call them up and get a subscription, unless the satellite service has been activated by yourself, or a previous owner.

Originally Posted by BMW665

sorry should have asked more precisely . Is the Shark Fin antenna already set up so all you have to do is call Sirius and turn on the service. I don't see any satellite option on my radio so its not as easy as calling Sirius and giving them my SN#. What does the pre satellite option mean?

The pre-satellite option is exactly that...it means that if you get it activated, you can get Sirius XM service.

Originally Posted by HerrK

If you have satellite radio prep you should be able to get to "option" and find your Sat Radio ESN. What year and model is your car? Do you have iDrive? Sat radios were standard with Premium Sound option starting with MY 2011. Sat Radios were optional prior to that. Eventually Premium Sound was standard equip on the IS starting in MY2013.

You will not be able to see any Sirius XM radio option in your menus until you get the radio "activated". Once you get your radio activated, then you will be able to get your radio's ESN number.



Now, I've mentioned getting your radio "activated" four times.

You have two options, really:

(1) Go to the dealer and pay $375+tax to get it activated (comes with one year subscription to Sirius XM)

(2) http://www.bimmer-tech.net/shop/bmw-...radio-retrofit and pay $275+NO tax to get it activated (comes with one year subscription to Sirius XM AND you get a $99 cable that connects your laptop to your OBDII port)

Here's my writeup on the process:

http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showpost...96&postcount=6

The only difference is the price is now $275 as opposed to $320.

Lemme know if you have any questions. It's very easy.

[STR3T]

Hey Pete,
Picking up a 2009 and that bimmerfest link indicates it's for 2010+ only.

My car description says "satellite radio prep". So very curious...

[BMW665]

I would like to take advantage of the Bemmerfest option to activate the satellite but also a little hesitant to do so. Has anyone else used Bemmerfest to activate the satellite? If so share your experience

[pete_z89]

Originally Posted by STR3T

Hey Pete,
Picking up a 2009 and that bimmerfest link indicates it's for 2010+ only.

My car description says "satellite radio prep". So very curious...

If you open the link, the title of the page should say BMW E89 2009+. So that should nullify your concerns. Also, if you have the SA693 package on your car (the satellite radio prep), then that should also nullify your concerns.

[pete_z89]

Originally Posted by BMW665

I would like to take advantage of the Bemmerfest option to activate the satellite but also a little hesitant to do so. Has anyone else used Bemmerfest to activate the satellite? If so share your experience

I'm sure plenty of other people have done it. Check out their thread: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=618328

[STR3T]

Looks like I am an early model, seeing S663A and S645A for my radio at the VIN decoder site.

[pete_z89]

Originally Posted by STR3T

Looks like I am an early model, seeing S663A and S645A for my radio at the VIN decoder site.

Hmm, I would guess that means you don't have the tuner in your car...you'd probably have to buy it and then get it activated. Not sure how much it would cost, or if it's even possible.