By
eHow Electronics Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Step1
Decide on the receiver you want to buy. This depends on where and how you will use it. You have various options for home, car and travel.
Step2
Shop for your chosen XM receiver. You can buy online (see Resources below) or from any XM retailer listed on XM Radio’s website.
Step3
Choose a plan that suits you best, once you have the receiver. XM offers a variety of plans such as Basic Service Plan which requires you to pay a monthly fee, and Multi-year Service Packages wherein you get a prepaid subscription with options of yearly and multi-year payment. This option gives you extremely low subscription rates. Should you decide to cancel your subscription, you will be refunded the prorated balance of your amount. There is also the Family Plan, offering up to 4 additional radios on one subscription and for discounted rates, and the Business Plan, which offers affordable pricing, freedom from contracts, channel blocking facility and easy installation. You can choose your billing period monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual.
Step4
Make certain the hardware is working once you receive it. You can do this by tuning into the XM Preview Channel 1.
Step5
Tune into Channel 0 on your XM radio and get your activation code. After getting this code, you can activate your service online by creating a simple account and paying through your credit card. Alternatively, you can activate your service by calling the XM Listener Care (1-800-XM-RADIO).