No real AM or FM radio in the R2

[Alan in Tempe]

The R2 has no AM or FM radio receiver. It uses internet streaming services iHeart and TuneIn apps to stream radio and also satellite radio. I am minimally peeved about no grab handles above the doors, slightly upset at no CarPlay, holding my breath to see how well the still undelivered Homelink-like garage door remote SW will function, but really pissed about having no real radio.

My summer home in the mountains has terrible cellular connectivity which makes streaming radio worthless. The local community station I support and listen to mostly when there isn’t available on iHeart and TuneIn starts with minutes of commercial after commercial of their own before starting the actual stream, and that stream is far from real time. I can’t tell how many hours behind it is, or even if is the actual programming of my station after the last few tries on their website. I have no use for the poor audio quality of the satellite services, nor have I found very satisfying programming in any of my many favored genres, so have never renewed the free introductory service I had in my last three cars . When I am not in the mountains, I love the local HD FM stations with their high quality audio and excellent programming.

I really love the ride and handling and build quality and overall specs and features of the R2, but first I will have to get over not having a radio before buying.

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[sparked]

The R2 has no AM or FM radio receiver. It uses internet streaming services iHeart and TuneIn apps to stream radio and also satellite radio.

Maybe some portable radio can be connected via bluetooth? Maybe Rivian should make one available as an accessory?

 

[Oakwood]

I hope I'm reading this wrong: I won't be able to just turn on the radio and listen to my public radio stations without going through some third party app? I'm already paying a "fee". (donation) every month to access public access.
What am I supposed to do: find a 1950's whip antenna to attach to the R2 to get free radio?
Bummed.

 

[VandalSibs]

It might be some random app on backend, but in the interface it just presents as "Radio"

Hat tip to @RivianTrackr having this up in his R2/RivianOS 2.0 video.

 

[RivianTrackr]

It might be some random app on backend, but in the interface it just presents as "Radio"

Hat tip to @RivianTrackr having this up in his R2/RivianOS 2.0 video.

Part of iHeartRadio!

 

[VandalSibs]

Part of iHeartRadio!

Good to have that info, thanks!

 

[Falcon73]

We already have a small portable radio in our Tesla Model 3 as it lacks AM radio, but to lack FM radio too is disappointing to hear.

Raising dependency even further on the cell network is a significant concern of mine as a ham radio operator. Even cell service at our suburbia house has always been borderline, especially for AT&T. Does Rivian also use AT&T for their IP Radio/in vehicle connectivity?

 

[Zeba]

This is getting very close to being a deal breaker for me no matter how much I otherwise love the R2. Although I live in the middle of San Diego county, cell coverage is almost dead at my house (I have to use WiFi calling on my iPhone) and very spotty in the immediate neighborhood, and encounter a lot of dead zones driving around the county. Going to a pure app-based cellular solutions is quite handicapped.

On top of that, I find that iHeart has only a minimal selection of the San Diego area FM stations, and omitted are a couple of stations I listen to the most, KPBS public radio and the excellent KSDS jazz and blues station. It appears that pretty much any of the actual live radio channels around here are not on iHeart, and the stations they do carry are all those pre-packaged stations that are mass produced elsewhere in studios and passed off as “local” radio. Check the iHeart directory to see what is carried in your area; you may be very disappointed.

For those of us who live in areas where wildfires are common, sometimes the local radio has been critical for health and safety. There was one fire where we were evacuated and numerous homes in our neighborhood were lost, and the fire took out many cell sites and remaining network was completely swamped with traffic, rendering data service unusable. Live radio coverage was essential. I’m sure people in other parts of the country prone to natural disasters have similar experience.

It is ironic that Rivian keeps touting the off road and adventure nature of the R2, but then equips it in a way that requires cellular service for almost everything like navigation and entertainment. This is really another classic example of “enshitification”, where the early promise of tech (in this case streaming) is becoming ruined by ill-advised evolutionary directions. It seems absurd that the ”fully featured” vehicle I might buy today has much less entertainment capability than any car I’ve owned in the last dozen years.

 

[Blitzjb]

Get a GMRS radio

 

[Alan in Tempe]

I hope I'm reading this wrong: I won't be able to just turn on the radio and listen to my public radio stations without going through some third party app? I'm already paying a "fee". (donation) every month to access public access.
What am I supposed to do: find a 1950's whip antenna to attach to the R2 to get free radio?
Bummed.

You will be able to get many, if not most, but NOT all, AM and FM stations by first going into the iHeart or TuneIn app in the audio screen, and search for your desired stations. Each app has a different set of stations offered, with some overlap. Once selected, those stations will appear on the FM or AM "dial" in the radio screen as vertical gray bars at the frequency of the respective stations. Tapping on the bar will start the station streaming. Scanning up/down in the radio selector will only jump from bar to bar, and not play any station that hasn't been preselected. Tapping away from any bar will select the closest bar, no matter how far away on the dial it is. Not sure how real-time any of the streams are, but I know the ones I listen to are not real time streams. For now, both radio apps are free. I know that TuneIn is ad supported, as their ads play first before the streaming begins. I do not know if either app will remain free, or what paid options there are for eliminating or reducing the ads.

I assume the satellite tuners come with free trail subscriptions, but will require paid subscriptions to keep. If the satellite services were free, I would listen to them less than 10% of the time as their audio quality is sub-par, and I find their programming poor. If you turn down renewing satellite service, you can count on receiving another offer to renew within a month or so, at a greatly reduced price. Just cancel at the next renewal to get the greatly discounted offer repeated again.

 

[Tony S]

Does anyone know if local FM HD channels are received. This was added to my Polestar 2 in the latest OTA OS update Last year. This is how I listen to npr and excellent Classical music commercial free.

 

[CharonPDX]

This is shocking. Especially since this means it will require a Connect+ subscription to listen to anything other than Bluetooth.

My old used Tesla is missing AM+FM because it got the MCU2 upgrade but *NOT* the radio upgrade (MCU2 uses a different radio module than MCU1, and upgrading the radio is an additional cost.) But it also has free data, so I can at least use TuneIn to listen to radio stations free. It's annoying, because TuneIn adds their own ads, but hey, I don't have to pay Tesla a monthly fee or a $500 FM radio add-on.

Without free data? This would suck. I hope Rivian at least lets R2 use "streaming FM replacement services" without paying for Connect+.

 

[macb00kemdanno]

Just saw this on Facebook. Well, opens up a spot for the rest of us If emergencies are that frequent and important, can't you just carry a portable radio in the car????

 

[CharonPDX]

With no FM receiver, no. HD Radio is an add-on to FM, not a streaming service.

R1 can receive HD Radio.

 

[Thedude]

It seems like a weird choice but I guess somewhere a bean counter weighed the slight cost savings of no radio hardware against the odds of reducing sales and the math worked out favorably for the company.

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