No real AM or FM radio in the R2

[strykerwsu]

99% wont notice. Where is my cd player argument when R1's were coming out lol. And yes im old.

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[Oakwood]

Couldn't agree more. The air waves were public as any kid with a wire, crystal set and a box spring mattress could attest.
Now grabbing public air waves, packaging them with other programs I have little or no interest in, and then charging a fee is considered progress. (Oh, I know, I know iHeart, just fresh out of bankruptcy is currently offering its stuff free) Same idea some rich bloke had to take National Weather Service Data, restrict assess, and charge a fee for that which acquired for nothing.
My late uncle was a ham radio operator (W9GSV) and as a kid I listened in with him and chatted with operators around the world.
I mostly listen to Public radio and community based radio all the time which I won't be to do in the R2.
We need to start a pressure campaign to get Rivian to give us access to public air waves.

 

[Jeremy3292]

Idk guys I'd usually give a pass to an OEM on this, but Rivian literally markets themselves as an adventure vehicle that goes where other EVs can't. Their charging network is put in the middle of nowhere so you can off road and go places. If any OEM should have FM/AM receiver in the car, it's a Rivian.

Not a dealbreaker for me but I get why people are upset about it.

 

[macb00kemdanno]

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.

https://riviantrackr.com/news/the-rivian-r2-drops-fm-radio-for-iheartradio/

But when I asked Rivian about FM usage on the R1, the number they came back with was in the single digits. And that lines up with what I see from owners.

 

[KRIV_ian]

I agree with many of you here that this is a bad decision. I drive routes that have little to no cell signal but I can get radio stations. I listen to the radio on all my drives and don't pay for any streaming service so this stings. It will sting even more if you have to pay for connect+ to listen to the "fake" radio.

@RivianTrackr just read your article and I find it hard to believe that only single digits (presumably percentage) of users have ever listened to the radio in their vehicle. I guess 90+% never take the adventure vehicle out of cell reception. So thanks for mentioning this in your article.

 

[DevSecOps]

Just strap a starlink mini with roam to the roof rail. You can get far more from that than AM or FM anywhere in the world. The mini is an amazing device and essential for the camping and traveling I do.

 

[oregonridet]

No radio? This is disappointing. My wife listens to our local NPR station and it’s not available on iHeart. This may be a dealbreaker.

 

[RivianTrackr]

I agree with many of you here that this is a bad decision. I drive routes that have little to no cell signal but I can get radio stations. I listen to the radio on all my drives and don't pay for any streaming service so this stings. It will sting even more if you have to pay for connect+ to listen to the "fake" radio.

@RivianTrackr just read your article and I find it hard to believe that only single digits (presumably percentage) of users have ever listened to the radio in their vehicle. I guess 90+% never take the adventure vehicle out of cell reception. So thanks for mentioning this in your article.

I also don’t truly believe it but I asked Rivian and this is the stat they provided, especially since the general population is closer to 50%

 

[VandalSibs]

I also don’t truly believe it but I asked Rivian and this is the stat they provided, especially since the general population is closer to 50%

Since it shows up in the R2 as just "Radio" and not an iHeart Radio app, did Rivian say it requires a Connect+ subscription or not?

 

[RivianTrackr]

Since it shows up in the R2 as just "Radio" and not an iHeart Radio app, did Rivian say it requires a Connect+ subscription or not?

it does not require Connect+

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I don’t like this. I get saving money, but the local news/weather/traffic station is on my FM radio every time as soon as I sit in *any* car. Don’t need another streaming service playing ads over-top of when I want to hear the traffic report or glitching the stream because the data signal is weak, for example.

I get that I’ll need to learn to live without FM radio someday. Just like how my wife won’t buy any new car because she’s not ready to give up her CD player yet. But this definitely knocks my opinion on this vehicle down a notch.

I will continue to keep my emergency AM/FM/Shortwave/Weather radio in every vehicle I own for emergencies.

 

[iamnid]

I also don’t truly believe it but I asked Rivian and this is the stat they provided, especially since the general population is closer to 50%

Count me among those that have literally NEVER used the radio in my R1S -- I've had it for almost 2 years now.

 

[chrismc]

We have a day one reservation for an R2, but I'm going to order one as long as there's no real FM radio. Its simply not a safe vehicle for my family with that omission.

 

[OutdoorsMA]

This is annoying. Especially since I'm really not in the market to have yet another company (iHeartRadio in this case) start tracking everything I listen to. At the end of the day, all these digital services are about gathering more data from people.

I don't use FM all that often but enough that I would miss it (sports and NPR). This means I won't be able to listen to those stations when I am camping.

I guess at least they aren't charging for it but I wonder if paying for all the data will end up costing Rivian more money that putting in a radio antenna. Assuming that this vehicle will be the mass-market vehicle Rivian hopes it will be I would think that the interest in FM radio would increase too. Although, I suppose Rivian might be making money off of the data that it is enable iHeartRadio to gather on drivers.

 

[strykerwsu]

I love local radio and radio in other markets I follow. In 5 years of combined ownership the only time I have used radio is after the software updates Wipeout my connections to apps and have already started driving.

When Im out adventuring I just listen to music that is on my phone as I dont randomly try to find terrestrial radio in other markets.

So I do contribute to stats Rivian has presented. My kids, now adults, dont have favorite local radio stations as never listen to it.

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