US XM Sub on a New Car in Canada

[rangersfan]

Would anyone be so kind to offer me some assistance on how to activate a US XM Account on a factory installed XM radio in my new Toyota here in Canada? I will be taking delivery of the vehicle about 10 days from now. Any help and guidance would be most appreciated by this forum newcomer!

Thanks.

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

First, wait for your first 3 free months from XM Canada to expire ... then sub in the usual way for a US sub.

[Chris_inTO]

I'm in a similar situation. Bought a new car (Honda), and just today my 3 month trail has expired. I only get the preview and weather station now.

After reviewing various posts/FAQ's on this site, I believe my next steps are as follows:

- purchase US gift card from xmfanstore, using my CDN credit card
- create account (using US address/phone #) and register radio id on xmus site
- select sub package and apply US gift card

Somehow this all sounds too easy

If by chance I'm missing something I'd really appreciate any tips/guidance.

Thanks in advance.

[northern_skypilot]

[Chris_inTO]

Well - I'm not off to a good start

I went to the XM US site to create my account... entered my 8-digit Radio ID (I'm 100% sure I entered it correctly) and billing zip code (from my US address ) and received the following error:
*The radio ID you have entered is incorrect. Please check and re-enter below.

Perhaps they are getting wise and associating the Radio ID with the country it was destined for? My car is an 2009 Honda Accord; I wonder if other Canadian's with 2009 vehicles, or more specifically 2009 Honda Accords, have had success?

Any suggestions?

[northern_skypilot]

[Chris_inTO]

Update: I called XM US Customer Service this afternoon and informed the CSR of my problem. She asked for the Radio ID and immediately came back saying the reason I can't register on the site is because the radio/car is from Canada. I explained to her that I purchased the car from Canada but have since brought it (home) back with me to the US. She said I will need to call the XM Canada Customer Service because the radio/car is from Canada and that XM CAN will need to activate for me. I acknowledged but expressed that by calling XM CAN, I wasn't interested in the Canadian service; I want the US service. She said that XM CAN can activate my radio with the US package/service.

Perhaps she is an inexperienced CSR? Or could this be true?

Wonder what to do next? Maybe call XM CAN, tell them the situation ( bought car from CAN and since brought/shipped it home to the US) and now want to activate US Service. Or is this just a dead end?

Help/suggestions anyone

On a side note: It does seem that they have (recently?) incorporated functionality on their website (when registering) to recognize the corresponding country-of-origin for the Radio ID.

[starchoice]

Call their bluff. Call XM Canada and tell them you are interested in activating your radio but you live in the U.S. When they tell you to call XM U.S., give them the rest of the story about what XM U.S. told you and that XM Canada has the ability to activate a U.S. package. When she says they can't do that, you can cal back XM U.S. and raise hell.

[JaysToronto]

Had a similar problem before changing from CDN to US service. XM Canada had to "release the radio ID" - US technical service for XM managed to get the issue resolved for me. Prior to this happening, XM US could not activate the radio.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: This was a portable and not an OEM radio - I am not sure if that makes a difference.

[VT_hawkeye]

[Wildthing]

[starchoice]

I'm not sure this is the issue. JaysToronto indicated in his edit that he had a portable radio, not OEM. The only issue I see with your situation is that you had an active XM Canada subscription in which case XM U.S. cannot do anything with your service.

All my radios were bought in Canada. All but one is on XM U.S. One of them was even previously on a Canadian sub and I had no problem putting it on a U.S. sub.

I'm pretty sure that the "release" of the serial number pertains only to whether there is an active subscription. I don't believe there is any bank of serial numbers indicating the origin of the radio.

[IdRatherBeSkiing]