While the sound quality of Tesla’s premium sound system gets a fair amount of praise, the user interface of its infotainment system leaves a bit to be desired. The system offers a great selection of music streaming choices, including the basic version of Slacker built-in, Spotify, Tidal and soon Apple Music (possibly even with Dolby Atmos), but it’s not always easy to find what you’re looking for (cue U2 song here). One thing I myself have struggled with on more than one occasion is being able to find specific Podcasts and streaming stations on TuneIn Radio.
TuneIn Radio is one of the services included in Tesla’s infotainment system. TuneIn offers free access to thousands of online streaming radio stations (like my favorite “Radio Paradise”) and Podcasts. But trying to search for specific stations or Podcasts on TuneIn has always been a challenge. Two Podcasts that I like to listen to regularly are “My Favorite Murder” (a true crime podcast – Yes, I’m a “Murderino”) and “eCoustics” (a HiFi A/V podcast). But every time I search for either podcast in the Tesla system, I get mixed results. Sometimes song or album titles show up in the search which are close to the names of the podcasts. Sometimes (but rarely) the actual Podcast does show up in the search. This is not something you really want to be messing around with while you’re driving.
If you’ve ever experienced this issue, there’s a pretty simple workaround. It just takes a little bit of advance planning (in other words, do this before you take the wheel). It’s possible to create a free or premium account on TuneIn Radio from your phone, laptop or desktop computer. Once you set up and log into that account, you can search for your favorite stations and podcasts on your phone or computer and save them as favorites.
To setup a TuneIn account, go to: tunein.com/login – again a free account will do. You don’t need to sign up for the premium account nor even a free trial of the premium account. Once logged in, search for those podcast and streaming stations you like and save them as favorites.
Next time you get in your Tesla, Click the “TI” (TuneIn) logo at the bottom of the screen or go into TuneIn via the drop-down in the Tesla media player, then click the option to sign in to TuneIn. This will give you a QR code you can scan from your phone to login to TuneIn and authorize your Tesla to access your account. Once logged in, you will find all of your TuneIn favorites right on the main screen.
It took me over four years to figure out I could do this. I guess I’m a slow learner. Hopefully new owners will find this tip and be able to save themselves a bit of frustration.
Got any other quick tips for Tesla owners? Let us know in the comments.
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Source: Clean Technica