What Happens With That Sirius Lifetime Subscription?
With the advent of Satellite Radio 2.0, I am frequently asked what this means for those that have a lifetime subscription from Sirius. Lifetime subscriptions were once made available to Sirius subscribers, and depending on how long your receiver lasts, might have been a good deal. The most frequent misconception with the Sirius XM lifetime subscription is the definition of the word “lifetime”.
The first thing readers need to understand is that with Sirius XM and nearly anytime you hear the term lifetime, it does not really mean lifetime. Lottery winners often learn that lifetime is defined as about 20 years. In our legal system “life in prison” does not always mean someone will be behind bars until they die.
Smart companies often clearly define what “lifetime” means. There are occasions where some companies offer “lifetime” subscriptions without very much of a definition. Consumers run the risk of thinking they have a certain level of service without much of any recourse if the party selling a “lifetime” subscription decides to limit their level of service, walk away from the business, or simply coast along giving the subscriber less and less over time. An undefined lifetime subscription can cause mass confusion. Services may get added that suddenly are not included in the lifetime subscription. The consumer is left wondering exactly what they bought.
With Sirius XM the lifetime subscription is clearly defined, but even with that many people are still confused over what they do and don’t get for service. Below are some points that may help people understand what their lifetime subscription will be going forward:
- The first thing to understand with a Sirius Lifetime subscription is that it is for the lifetime of the receiver, not the person. If your receiver lasts you 3.5 years, you are slightly ahead of the game. If not, you paid more than you perhaps should have. Lifetime subscribers can transfer their subscription to a new radio 3 times for a transfer fee of $75 each time. This only applies to a plug and play radio, and not a car radio. The problem is that Sirius XM is moving things over to the XM platform and Sirius branded radios such as the new Starmate 8 do not feature content like Satellite Radio 2.0. This could mean that you will be paying more to get certain content, like Howard Stern if you switch. Lifetime subscriptions come with Internet Radio included. The good news is that you will receive all of the new Internet Radio channels inclusive of the recent channels added via the Satellite Radio 2.0 technology. The bad news is that if you are trying to listen in your car you can not receive Satellite Radio 2.0 over the satellite feed. People who use the Sirius XM app to get their content are typically using the Internet feed (unless you have a SkyDock). The Lifetime subscription gives you versatility, but you are reliant on a data feed.
- Sirius XM only owes you certain content with a lifetime subscription. The user agreement does not guarantee you that you will receive premium content. For example Sirius Premier costs about $4 per month and allows users to access some content available on the XM platform. Lifetime subscribers do not get this content as part of their lifetime subscription. Let’s assume for a moment that Sirius XM lands a deal with Rush Limbaugh. The company can make that a premium channel, or put it on the XM platform, and Sirius subscribers may not receive the channel. Another example is that during the merger process Sirius lost the NBA and it went top XM. The only way a lifetime subscriber now gets the NBA is through paying more money. Sirius XM is not bound to give you all of the specific content that was offered when you signed up. They must only give you similar levels of content. You lost the NBA, but gained some soccer. Sirius XM was well within their rights to make that change, and a Lifetime subscriber must accept it.
- Satellite Radio 2.0 capabilities may never be available to Sirius Lifetime subscribers. The company is under no requirement to make your satellite radio experience the same as consumers with newer and more capable radios. If a new radio offers “On-Demand” features, but is on the XM platform, Sirius Lifetime subscribers will most likely be left out either with all or some of the new capabilities and channels or have to make the switch to the XM platform which will mean some Sirius content will not be available.
The lesson here is that while many received good value for their lifetime subscriptions, they may not get all of the bells and whistles going forward. As frustrating as this may be, it is simply the way it is. Sirius XM is in the business of trying to make money. If they had their druthers they would probably wish that the lifetime subscription no longer existed. One way to pare down the number of these subscriptions is to simply let the “lifetime” receivers die off and have consumers move over to subscription plans that generate revenue on a long term basis.
The bottom line is that consumers need to be a bit cautious anytime they hear the term lifetime. Before buying anything “lifetime” read the terms and understand them. Lifetime typically does not mean until the day you die. Sirius XM may change some of these policies, they have the right to modify them at any time, but I would not hold my breath. There are simply not enough lifetime subscribers to make a material difference in the “complaints” department.
Four years ago I purchased several sirius radios, One for my new jeep, 1 for a boom box,(portable)one for my sons truck and one for my boat The one I purchased for the boom box is a lifetime subscription and the others were yearly ones. I decided to just let the one for my boat just expire because I had no interest in renewing it. Well sirius has continued to bill me for 2 years now telling me that I had to call and cancel the subscription that it just doesnt run out.
My lifetime subscription is still working(portable, I use it in and around the pool and poolhouse during the summer) we have cancelled my jeep and my sons truck.
Every month I still get a bill from sirius for the 2 months overage for my not cancelling. It started out around $20+ dollars and now has grown to $90+. I refuse to pay it. My point is that this company should be investigated to the point of prosecution. Every time a call is made to them there is a different answer given. I have just given up and everytime they send me that bill, I send it back to them in their self address stamped envelope..so in essence everytime they bill me it cost them twice the postage………
I have been a lifetime subscriber since 2010 with the Stilletto system. Does my lifetime subscription mean I cam use Sirius’s internet system, because I was under the impression I couldn’t?
It cannot. You could in the past but,w hen they upgraded the internet stream to a “premium” 128k, lifetime subs were no longer able to access it for free.
Actually, I just logged in to Sirius website and can stream it just fine. I have a lifetime sub as well from 2005. I can’t use the smartphone app without paying, and I can’t get the higher bitrate stream, but I can still stream over the net and get my Hair Nation or Howard Stern fix. We don’t get Sirius Premier (nothing on it that I want, so no loss) or the use of the app, but otherwise our service still works.
Sadly my Streamer GTR can’t be fixed, so I am trying to find out if my lifetime sub will transfer to a Lynx.
Sirius is joke with the lifetime. I guess according to this article I’m one of those ahead of the game. I can’t even remember when I bought my lifetime subscription. I’m pretty sure it was about 10 years ago for about $300. I’ve switched my receiver twice maybe and once because it was stolen. They charged me $15 to transfer. Now all of a sudden it’s $75 and you can only transfer 3 times. That’s a new rule. Nobody ever told me that before. I can see my days with Sirius are numbered.
Update: I’ve sold all of my Sirius shares. Based on the comments above and the spread of cell coverage, I believe that Sirius’ days are numbered. It won’t be long until someone is able to offer the “Sirius” service for cheap over 3g networks. The kindle offers you service over a 3g network and the service is bundled into the price of the kindle. I predict something similar. Howard Stern can only last so long and once he’s gone, sirius will just be another music service. He’s down to 3 days a week with constant replays. I’m finding my incentive to listen to sirius / subscribe/ re-up waining. Thats why I sold all my shares. I’d encourage other dissatisfied customers to do the same. Providing us with a way to use our lifetime subscriptions on new models would have helped them to retain their “fan base” and made a profit for the company by selling new units.
I agree with Durango regarding the cell coverage and Sirius last days. When I first got Sirius I was excited to hear music that was not on the radio, and love the traffic reports. Now with my smart phone, I can listen to all the MLB games, no XM required. Iheart radio and Pandora and so on provide music to my liking. I do like the stability of the satellite feed though, driving across country quite a bit it is rock stable, where phones get flaky. Still, I feel the writing is on the wall. Especially because Sirius/XM seems to have no vision and innovation. Each radio is getting worse, less pre-set stations, no jump button, less artist favorites, shorter rewind. And so on and soon. How do you expect to attract new customers and encourage current ones to upgrade when you have provided nothing better?
I have to agree with y’all. Spotify’s selection is amazing, IHeart and Pandora are too, and I have unlimited data through Verizon just about everywhere. I even have access to podcasts on demand vice missing a show and being SOL. If it hadn’t broken, my ancient Streamer GTR is still better than the current radios due to presets/artist/buffer. Sirius couldn’t even give me a straight answer when I asked about switching my lifetime Sirius sub to a Lynx or Edge. They also didn’t answer my question when I asked why the site says I can added “premier” streaming for $3.50, but the site wanted to charge me $10 a month or switch to paying monthly. I worry for their long term survival with bad habits like they are showing.
Lifetime is a total rip off and XM does not disclose fine print when you purchase. They simply state you can transfer radios three times and thats it. They also don’t explain it costs $75 to switch per radio.
I seriously hate people that bitch about the fine print…its called fine print for a reason you should probably read something before you purchase it and trust me I know I do not read the fine print on everything but you should probably at least skim it which I highly doubt you do. When setting up services if we disclosed everything that is in the fine print it would take hours to get through everything so if you are going to agree to pay for something look into it!!
Yeah and if you are lied to or deceivingly mislead while sold over the phone, never told about the fees or restrictions, never signed a contract, and no record that adequate effort was taken to ensure that I had received said copy of fine print etc etc etc.
That “fine print read it moron” argument doesn’t hold up. It’s just a poorly run customer service platform, organization, and overall abysmal execution of (or lack thereof) anything resembling a commitment to redeeming corporate values.
Actually such businesses do not need you to sign a contract or send a copy the exact statement when you sign up that is legally stated is Your subsription is governed by the siriusxm customer agreement which you can find on our website please be sure to read it…which means the terms and conditions are located at siriusxm.com and you can read them there and all of siriusxm’s calls are recorded which is also a part of that VERBAL CONTRACT not written.
First, you really should take some lessons in writing the English language. Your writing is horrible.
Next, you need to put yourself in the position of the customer. On every single point, Sirius reads things so that they are 100% in their favor. There is zero consideration for the customer from this firm and that is why they are doomed to fail in the long run.
As others have stated, once Howard Stern is gone, there is really nothing that you can’t get elsewhere for less money with less aggravation.
Look up a successful business model such as L.L.Bean, where you can bring back a pair of shoes a year later if you’re not happy with them. Sirius is a short term company doomed to failure.
Ya I know exactly how i type and i dont give a shit if i did i would type correctly but i dont care…and as for siriusxm being doomed no its not because there is a bunch of idiotic people in this world that still keeps using their services after all the complaints haha…and ur right i do keep saying things in their favor considering i previously worked for them and was simply stating their terms and conditions which i stated in all the previous paragraphs if you would go back and read them…but i really dont care about that company anymore soooo done with them the reason they are going into the ground is they would rather hire criminals and people overseas to fuck up everyones account and hang up on people and transfer them to departments customers dont even need to go to than to hire or even appreciate the people that work hard to satisfy the customers such as myself. I always tried to make our customers happy but once the other employees got to their accounts there was nothing i could really do with how pissed off people get and i am merely stating all of this because siriusxm ideas are really good yes you can get music on pandora and all those other stupid radio thingys but you have to search for the song you want and you cant always remember the names of the songs. All the ideas siriusxm has are very good ideas for todays society if they just hire people in the u.s. the company would be 90 percent better off. If you are really taking the time out to talk shit about my typing by the way go get a fucken life the internet is one place you can type your feelings and be free i am not looking to please anybody on here nor do i care if you cant understand english if you have enough common sense you will still be able to read this
If your speaking skills are as careless as your writing, then I see why Sirius/XM shipped your job overseas.
I love Underground Garage. Breakfast with the Beatles. Andrew Loog Oldham. Little Steven. I like listening to the DJ comments, stories, history. I don’t get that from Pandora, etc. Plus I don’t own a smartphone to get programming in my car. Worth the money to me. I’ve had lifetime for 6 years. But I’m old and used to paying for things.
I have a Sirius lifetime subscription and recently purchased a Sonos system. Found out today that I’d now have to pay for access to stream content from Sirius that was free for years. Additionally, I bought a car with an XM receiver, and previously paid the fee for an additional receiver in my Ford vehicle (which was Sirius-antenna based). I thought I could actitvate my XM car at the same rate. Wrong. They want to charge for XM and then add the Sirius premium content. I told them I don’t want any XM channels, but would like access to Howard Stern. Again, no help unless I wanted to pay about triple the cost. Since then, I would have to think that they are using the merger as a ploy to generate revenue; when in fact, they are pushing more people away because they can’t get it together and offer a seamless and simple solution. From a consumer standpoint in 2012, I don’t see them lasting much longer with similar free services and think they did it to themselves.
One more thing that the “Lifetime” plan doesn’t cover – Sirius Travel Link. I was just told that if I want Travel Link I need to “downgrade” my Lifetime plan to a 3-year subscription. They would credit me for 3 years but then I’d have to start paying regular subscription rates again. So much for the Lifetime plan.
That is BS! If the verbal contract is recorded why then could Sirus XM NOT FIND MY life time subscription on the computer never mind finding any recorded conversation. I purchased a new vehicle & requested to transfer my life time subscription OMG what a night mare!!!! I spent 1hr & 20 minutes on the phone with their INTERNATIONAL support & basically got no where. First the lifetime was on the wrong vehicle it was on my husband’s truck & not my Envoy as it was suppose to b when purchased, then the representative said she would transfer it to my new Sonata this is finally after an hour. I even went out to my Sonata & gave her the receiver #. I then pd for a one year subscription on my husbands truck (previously paying 1/4ly). Before hanking up I reiterated the agreement to transfer my life time to the my Sonata & that I now had a one year on my husbands truck. She said correct then she says I’m going to have to call you back in a few days on the life time. I said to her ARE KIDDING ME!!!!! I said, We have been on the phone for almost an hour & a half & u r now telling me that this is NOT resolved. Boy was I POed!!!! Well of course I never received the call back. Last week I called Sirus again after a month waiting for them to return my call as I received a letter stating my free trail on my Sonata was going to expire. Fuming I called & spoke with again international customer support. after telling my issues I was transferred told the problem all over again & this rep said the life time was transferred to the Envoy in 3/2012. Yup u got it right the Sirus rep I originally spoke with transferred the sub from my husband vehicle to my old Envoy that I didn’t even have any more! YES REALLY!!!!! Talk about DISSATISFIED CUSTOMER & COMPLETELY POOR BUSINESS ETHICS THAT WOULD BE SIRUS XM RADIO CUSTOMER CARE & BUSINESS. So the second rep spoke w over a week ago was to call me back well of course that did not happen. This past week my Sonata free trail expired & as much as I like my XM radio unless Sirus at a bare minimum transfers the life time subscription back to my husband’s vehicle & transfers his one year subscription to my Sonata then I & my husband will both be done with Sirus and I will past the word on to every contact I have, post it on every network that I am a member of. Yeah agreed Sirus radio does not have a clue about customer satisfaction & this comes from a person (myself) who has owned her own business in the service industry for 23 years. Come on Sirus step it up!!!!
I concur about the companies stability, a few years ago we purchased a Ford with 6 month free Sirius radio, once the six months was up I renewed for 2 years. After the two years was done we started receiving bills that were already 30 days past due. Then started getting calls from a collection agency for $42 dollars they claimed was owned. Crazy I thought, spend more getting the $42 then $42, not worth Sirius or the collection agency time. They were vary rude and not the collection agency or Sirius would even lessen about the bills received being already past due and the fact that I never received any notice or new statements and the radio had not worked in the last few months. Said there was not way to test that but that was a lie. I just paid the $42 dollars and was done with them, will never do that again. Would advance everyone to be careful, billing department is horrible and the billing statement then showed absolutely no info except what they thought you owned. Terrible business ethic!!! They will most likely go under unless change the way they do business.
In my opinion, sirius will continue to cut it’s own throat by deception, fine print and extremely poor customer service. Definitely would not buy stock in sirius/xm.