Ranger Wifi

[Davidjc]

So my 2021 lariat came with 3 months free wifi and Sirius xm. They both just expired. I don't miss the xm and have no clue what the wifi did.
Do any of you use it? How?

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[IdahoRanger]

I've never used mine.

 

[SDXLT]

I tried to re-up the wife once because it is easier for keeping the kids connected on the iPads when traveling but ATT made it impossible to buy so I just hotspot my phone. SiriusXM is helpful when you are off the beaten path with no radio reception but AM stuff and it also gives you traffic in your gps which isn't a showstopper. I re-upped the satellite radio because I got another 3 months for $3 and figured what the heck. I'll keep taking that deal if I get it but otherwise it will be cancelled in short order.

 

[Frenchy]

The Wi-Fi is through AT&t. Personally I never found a use for it since I run Verizon for my phones anyways. As for XM it's hard to go away from it once you go to it. I enjoy it for my long road trips and for going off-road since most places I go there's no radio signal except for XM

 

[Davidjc]

The Wi-Fi is through AT&t. Personally I never found a use for it since I run Verizon for my phones anyways. As for XM it's hard to go away from it once you go to it. I enjoy it for my long road trips and for going off-road since most places I go there's no radio signal except for XM

Yeah, xm was convenient but I just stream pandira or YouTube music for free when I can't get local radio.
ATT being the provider for the wifi was a other turnoff fir me. I just can't justify the wifi cost with never have needed it in first three months.

 

[JesseS]

The Wi-Fi is through AT&t. Personally I never found a use for it since I run Verizon for my phones anyways. As for XM it's hard to go away from it once you go to it. I enjoy it for my long road trips and for going off-road since most places I go there's no radio signal except for XM

I turned off the AT&T but still use XM via apple carplay, as I have XM at home it's only $5 for the app on my phone, also use Pandora.

 

[Frenchy]

I turned off the AT&T but still use XM via apple carplay, as I have XM at home it's only $5 for the app on my phone, also use Pandora.

The only downside with that is the XM on your phone is limited to your cell service. I will go to places that my cell phone will not reach service at all.

 

[Peragrin]

I tried to re-up the wife once because it is easier for keeping the kids connected on the iPads when traveling but ATT made it impossible to buy so I just hotspot my phone. SiriusXM is helpful when you are off the beaten path with no radio reception but AM stuff and it also gives you traffic in your gps which isn't a showstopper. I re-upped the satellite radio because I got another 3 months for $3 and figured what the heck. I'll keep taking that deal if I get it but otherwise it will be cancelled in short order.

I continuously reup the sirius, several stations the wife and I both like. however you have to watch your dates. a week before it expires call to cancel. be firm , then be hesitant and then accept the third offer.

you can pay -$3-4 a month for what they normally charge $15 for. for the low low price of playing their game.

wifi? nope phone has hotspot that I can use. but prefer to download videos to the kids tablets and let them deal with no internet for a couple of hours.

 

[JesseS]

The only downside with that is the XM on your phone is limited to your cell service. I will go to places that my cell phone will not reach service at all.

True, as do I (boondocking) in which case I revert to the music stored on my phone and a thumb drive. But typically I don't listen to much music while 4-wheeling.

 

[RangerTX]

So my 2021 lariat came with 3 months free wifi and Sirius xm. They both just expired. I don't miss the xm and have no clue what the wifi did.
Do any of you use it? How?

I like XM... but I let my lapse also. Not worth the $ for me.

As for Wifi - no, never. Dont see the point. I have unlimited data with my phone.

 

[mtbikernate]

I was an early XM subscriber. back when XM and Sirius were separate companies. I had it for years and eventually cancelled it because the music stations were just too damn repetitive and I'd have to change stations pretty often to avoid getting bored.

never bothered with it on the Ranger.

The ATT hotspot is good for one thing. And that's if your phone does NOT have unlimited data, and you use it while driving (or a passenger does). When I bought my Ranger, I had a low data limit on my phone and I'd top out on long road trips. I did the math and paying for the ATT hotspot cost less than putting the 2 phones on my account on unlimited data.

Last summer I was getting ready for an international trip and when making sure international data was squared away, I saw that unlimited data was a much better deal than it had been. It was finally less expensive than the hotspot in the Ranger. So I let the ATT hotspot lapse and now rely on the phone's data for whatever I need on road trips.

When I'm in places where there's terrible reception, I rely on music stored on a thumb drive, so XM isn't so relevant for me there. To boot, in the east, if you can't get FM stations, there's a really good chance that the terrain is going to get in the way of the satellite radio, also. Back when I had it, driving through a deep, narrow valley with thick tree cover would result in the satellite radio either being completely lost, or broken up enough that it wasn't worth it. And this could happen even in places where regular radio channels came in just fine.

Where I live now, my preferred FM channel has several repeaters and it covers a big chunk of terrain, so I don't tend to run out of music options very quickly. I do get out of cellular data pretty regularly, so streaming music is more or less limited to drives on the interstate or in town. I'll alternate between streaming, stored music, and podcasts when I'm on a really long interstate drive.

 

[NoTacos]

Never used the hotspot on the truck - I actually never understood what it was. Before I got my kids on my plan we just used our phone as a hotspot for them. Now they have data on family plan and we have “unlimited” data.

As far Sirius. It was good as free trial but it didn’t offer me enough to actually purchase it

 

[DaveT]

I like the Sirius XM, but every year when the re-up your bill, it is way higher. I call in and tell them I'm canceling due to cost. They say just a minute, we're running deal right now, and suddenly the cost is one-half. Have done that three times.

 

[Milton Lee]

The Wi-Fi is through AT&t. Personally I never found a use for it since I run Verizon for my phones anyways. As for XM it's hard to go away from it once you go to it. I enjoy it for my long road trips and for going off-road since most places I go there's no radio signal except for XM

Same here

 

[got3fords]

I like the Sirius XM, but every year when the re-up your bill, it is way higher. I call in and tell them I'm canceling due to cost. They say just a minute, we're running deal right now, and suddenly the cost is one-half. Have done that three times.

Gonna have to try that. I love SiriusXM as I like knowing all my favorite channels no matter where I am. I find the comedy channels are a life saver on long drives where fatique and dozing off creeps up on you. Nothing keeps you awake like laughing your ass off.

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