[wjones14]

Originally Posted by nikman011

Ahhhh, ok, ........ yes, there is morning where I live, ......
in all seriousness, I can't not remember the last time I listened to terrestrial radio in/on any device, let alone in the car, all Sirius for over 10 years, and streaming Amazon Music or Spotify for the last year or so.

That's fine that you prefer paying for all those services. AM/FM is the free alternative that some others may prefer.

[p912guy]

I'll admit to being a Neanderthal and still listing to AM and FM radio at times. I am also a somewhat modern man in that I prefer Pandora for music, along with my favorite Sirius/XM channels such as Margaritaville and Seriously Sinatra, with some occasional Pit Bull too.

[morphomeman]

AFAIK, no one has attempted to help OP with his problem. If the car is indeed brand new, OP should get in touch with the dealer and ask for assistance. I would speak with a 'genius'. They are pretty good at walking people through stuff like this. After all, that is what they are paid to do.
The 2015 235 was my first automatic BMW ever. The genius showed me the trick of moving the shift lever to the left just to move the shift points up, even without using the paddles. I never would have known that without his prompting. They can be very helpful.
German machines can be like that. When we got a new Bosch dishwasher a year or so ago, they sent a guy over to give us a lesson. Again, very helpful.

[kz1000]

morphomeman-

The dealer was as confused about it as I was. I sent an email to BMW Genius, waiting on a reply. It makes no sense since the car has an AM/FM button on the dash.

[morphomeman]

There should be employees at the dealer who have the Genius title. Their job is to know this shit.

[RacerDad]

Originally Posted by kz1000

morphomeman-

The dealer was as confused about it as I was. I sent an email to BMW Genius, waiting on a reply. It makes no sense since the car has an AM/FM button on the dash.

When you select Media next to the iDrive knob, what sources are listed? It should show AM,FM, Satellite, and Music Collection. To get to this point you have to press the Media button twice.

This video is for a 2018 4-series, but it is the same system.

https://youtu.be/IqTMpVp6ejc?t=3m36s

[kz1000]

Found it. DEEP in iDrive menu.

[Maynard]

Curious if that has a CD player? I was told those are also on the chopping block of progress. It is that slot under the buttons that you can also fit a phone-holder in .

[19bis]

Yup, has a CD player, though my 2018 230i did not come with an 8-track :-( AM/FM button toggles between AM, FM, and last other source. Don't know what the OP's problem was.

[rich8566]

Originally Posted by morphomeman

AFAIK, no one has attempted to help OP with his problem. If the car is indeed brand new, OP should get in touch with the dealer and ask for assistance. I would speak with a 'genius'. They are pretty good at walking people through stuff like this. After all, that is what they are paid to do.
The 2015 235 was my first automatic BMW ever. The genius showed me the trick of moving the shift lever to the left just to move the shift points up, even without using the paddles. I never would have known that without his prompting. They can be very helpful.
German machines can be like that. When we got a new Bosch dishwasher a year or so ago, they sent a guy over to give us a lesson. Again, very helpful.

Sir - I answered the OP's question back on page one of this thread.

[bimmerfile]

Originally Posted by morphomeman

There should be employees at the dealer who have the Genius title. Their job is to know this shit.

If only BMW would supply each owner with a Navigation, Entertainment & Communications Owner's Manual, people could figure this shit out for themselves.

[pz619]

Originally Posted by Maynard

Curious if that has a CD player? I was told those are also on the chopping block of progress. It is that slot under the buttons that you can also fit a phone-holder in .

Interesting enough my m235i has AM radio and a CD player, but my i3 lacks both of these features.

[Maynard]

They actually do have a manual specific for this, or they did for my '16, but it was like a hidden secret, and when I asked for one they were 'out of print'. I didn't get the tech package so it wasn't a big deal, but I bet if you dig about online there is something more specific. I kept this link, looks like they've updated the site some though, used to be a list of options and one was s/t like 'audio and electronics':

https://www.bmwusa.com/owners-manuals.html

[cangenBMW]

I was a BMW Product Genius for 3 years.

On the newer versions of iDrive that the 2018's have, there is an option to configure the source list to only show the sources that you choose to display. I'm guessing someone has edited your source list to not display AM, for whatever reason. In the media menu, scroll down to the bottom and there should be an option to configure the source list. AM is probably unchecked.

AFAIK, the only BMW's without AM are the EV's and PHEV's.

[kz1000]

Originally Posted by cangenBMW

I was a BMW Product Genius for 3 years.

On the newer versions of iDrive that the 2018's have, there is an option to configure the source list to only show the sources that you choose to display. I'm guessing someone has edited your source list to not display AM, for whatever reason. In the media menu, scroll down to the bottom and there should be an option to configure the source list. AM is probably unchecked.

AFAIK, the only BMW's without AM are the EV's and PHEV's.

This was EXACTLY the issue.

[Lew Carrum]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Way back when I was an electronics technician, we had a joke
about AM/FM radios:

AM: American Music
FM: Foreign Music

In the UK it was different:
AM: Awful Music
FM: Fantastic Music

[Troppo]

Originally Posted by nikman011

What is AM, actually, what do you mean by radio?

Amplitude Modulation. As opposed to
Frequency Modulation.

[FX TR8R]

Mine has AM. (US)

[VIN240i13]

Originally Posted by kz1000

I need 700WLW for my traffic & weather together...

Get you AM fix without an AM Radio, many AM radio stations stream on iHeart

https://700wlw.iheart.com/

[Elvisfan]

Originally Posted by nikman011

Ahhhh, ok, ........ yes, there is morning where I live, ......
in all seriousness, I can't not remember the last time I listened to terrestrial radio in/on any device, let alone in the car, all Sirius for over 10 years, and streaming Amazon Music or Spotify for the last year or so.

The Chicago Cubs are only broadcast on AM radio. A local news station is simulcast on FM. But not the Cubs.

[snaketh]

I’m surprised how many people sub to Sirius XM. I got the trial. The audio quality is terrible. Like 48kb/sec. The cost seems kinda nuts for what you get.

[VIN240i13]

Originally Posted by snaketh

I’m surprised how many people sub to Sirius XM. I got the trial. The audio quality is terrible. Like 48kb/sec. The cost seems kinda nuts for what you get.

That's a shame, I have been a subscriber (and stockholder) of Sirius XM prior to the merger, I have radios in all three vehicles, I have a home receiver and I stream online from work via my cell phone and have had few issues with sound quality, everything usually depend on the Internet connection speed.