Why can't Sirius radios pull in O&A?

Sirius advertises O&A for Sirius and XM on their site. I purchased a car and paid for Sirius to be installed by the manufacturer with lifetime subscription. I got my car and called up to get the Sirius + XM Package. I believe I paid $149 because I had to get a lifetime subscription to add onto my lifetime Sirius package. No problem - done.

It never worked for any XM stations. The channel lineup merger / cleanup that happened a week or two ago I thought might fix this issue. But still no dice.

What's the reasoning behind this? Right now they advertise the "Sirius Premier" package on their site as having O&A - but I guess that is not available on Sirius receivers for cars? I'm pretty confused.

I am sure the O&A issue gets brought up a bunch on this site but it really does annoy me. My 2010 Ford came with Sirius and I used to have XM. I am pretty sure I am stuck with Sirius. I wish I could switch to an XM package and not have to upgrade to the Sirius premier just to get The Virus channel. It sounds like you are stuck with me and tons of other people.

Side note: If anyone could confirm my noob question that the 2010 Ford Sync radios are Sirius only without the ability to switch to XM I would appreciate. Those savages at SiriusXM customer service can't seem the answer my question.

You can't switch to XM without changing the hardware. There is most likely a way to swap out the sirius receiver for an xm receiver. Check out TSS-Radio and tell them we sent you. Their staff is awesome with answering these kinds of questions.