Need help with Stiletto 100

[LageNomAi]

Newbie here, so please be kind.

My Stiletto is 2.5 years old and except for the occasional random shut-down, I've had no problems. I use it only in my home docking station and switch back and forth between satellite and internet as needed (my reception is so-so).

In the past week or two, it has suddenly started shutting down frequently. I did some research, found the old Sirius forum, and read up on overheating. I took the battery out, which didn't seem to help. Then I tried putting an ice pack against the radio while it was playing. :shock: The first two times it seemed to help, but I've since had shutdown problems. I've also covered the radio with a towel to keep the sun off of it, since it sits in a window, but this doesn't seem to make a difference. Finally, I moved it out of the window, but again, no difference.

The radio doesn't feel hot or even necessarily warm to me when it shuts down, and I'm not 100% convinced that it's an overheating issue. FWIW, sometimes the device shows a lock and then shuts down; one time it said it was overheating and shut down; and usually it just goes blank and shuts down.

Does this sound like something that the device recovery software would help? Any other suggestions? Thanks for any guidance!

 

[HecticArt]

Welcome to the DRC.

A recovery may help.

Did you get an extended warranty with it?

 

[LageNomAi]

Welcome to the DRC.

A recovery may help.

Did you get an extended warranty with it?

Nope, no warranty.

BTW, I don't know if this matters, but there seems to be little rhyme or reason to why the radio shuts down. This morning I had it in the dock with no battery attached and it shut down twice, both times after playing for 5-10 minutes in satellite mode. Then I put a battery back on, docked it, and turned it on in internet mode, and it's now been playing for a good half hour or so. Fun with electronics, yes?

 

[HecticArt]

I don't think that word "Fun" means what I think you think it means. . . .

Try the recovery. You'll lose any content that you've recorded, but it may help your shutdowns. . . .

I had the extended warranty, I was lucky enough to find the old Backstage forum, and everybody recommended it for the S50, which got me my SL100. My SL100 went crazy about a month before the extended expired, so I upgraded to the SL2. It's been a great radio.

If that doesn't help, you may be hosed. I think there are some deals on SL2's these days. . . .
Try TSS.

 

[ClubSteeler]

Heat is not your problem. The SL100 is designed to work fine up to 104 degrees F.

The frequent shutdowns could be you radio dying, or software / memory corruption. On Sirius.com you can find the device recovery software and a PDF with instructions. It will erase everything, and reinstall the latest software on to your device.

This may fix everything. If not, be prepared to buy a new radio. 2.5 years is actually pretty much the average life for some of these newer poorly designed radios.

 

[ClubSteeler]

Here's a link for you:
SIRIUS Satellite Radio - Stiletto Device Recovery

 

[LageNomAi]

Here's a link for you:
SIRIUS Satellite Radio - Stiletto Device Recovery

Thanks very much.

So if I'm reading you guys correctly, in the event I have to get a new radio, I should get an extended warranty. Do I have that right? I usually don't get warranties on anything since they tend to be a waste of money, but based upon all the reading I've done on this board, it sounds as though it's a wise investment for the portables.

 

[LageNomAi]

I don't think that word "Fun" means what I think you think it means. . . .

I temporarily forgot that sarcasm doesn't translate well online. By "fun," I meant "colossal PITA."

 

[ClubSteeler]

Thanks very much.

So if I'm reading you guys correctly, in the event I have to get a new radio, I should get an extended warranty. Do I have that right? I usually don't get warranties on anything since they tend to be a waste of money, but based upon all the reading I've done on this board, it sounds as though it's a wise investment for the portables.

The extended warranty provides piece of mind, and also gets you the new model when your is obsoleted.

That said, I usually buy my stuff here or on ebay because I can buy another and still have spent less. For example, I got my SL100 here, with complete home and car kits included for just $125.

The one problem with the extended warranty... If the store can only give you a SL2 as a replacement, all of your SL100 docks will need to be replaced.

 

[HecticArt]

The satellite radios are the only thins I'll buy the extended warrant for. They are kind of delicate. For the $40 bucks or whatever they are, they are a good piece of mind.

If you're handy, you can modify your old SL100 docks to fit your new SL2. It just takes an X-Acto knife and a few minutes of patience. I modified my car dock and 2 docks at my house. I did buy an new SL2 dock for work though. If you go that rout, there is a link floating around that will take you to Me Rubin's post (with pictures) on how to do the modification. It's easy, and will save you some decent coin.

Let us know what happens.

 

[LageNomAi]

I used the device recovery software and it seems to have made things worse because now I can't even get my radio to play. It's stuck in an endless loop - I turn it on, it shows me the main screen, I scroll to "satellite," select the station I want, get perhaps 10 seconds of music, and then it shuts down.

Any suggestions as to where to go from here, short of buying a new one? I can't believe this money is sunk.

 

[HecticArt]

Find the thread on device recovery. You should be able to see if others found a way around your situation. I remember that it took a couple of people a few tries to get it to recover properly.

Good luck!

 

[nafddur]

The satellite radios are the only thins I'll buy the extended warrant for. They are kind of delicate. For the $40 bucks or whatever they are, they are a good piece of mind.

If you're handy, you can modify your old SL100 docks to fit your new SL2. It just takes an X-Acto knife and a few minutes of patience. I modified my car dock and 2 docks at my house. I did buy an new SL2 dock for work though. If you go that rout, there is a link floating around that will take you to Me Rubin's post (with pictures) on how to do the modification. It's easy, and will save you some decent coin.

I too learned from those S50 days that the $40 Best Buy PSP was a cheap way to make sure you are only without Sirius for a few minutes - or as long as it takes to drive to BB, get a new receiver, and call Sirius to activate your warranty exchanged one.

And while the procedure (I believe it was Me Rubins step-by-step) to super glue new plastic guides onto the SL100 docks for the S2 was pretty slick, it's really not necessary. Just slicing the old guides off is all you need to do. I've been using my old SL100 car and home docks with the guides just cut off for the past 16 months, and my S2 still works fine in them.

 

[xan_user]

Heat is not your problem. The SL100 is designed to work fine up to 104 degrees F.

Sorry, but i have to disagree.

@OP

All 3 of the S100 iv'e had the same overheating problem if left for more than one+ hrs in direct sunlight. Even as low as 75*f.
I found them nearly useless in anything but temporary full sun. This was in the boombox.

Cooling with icepacks might cause a shutdown from condensation.

Get it in the shade, or see if a fan helps. If it still shuts down you can eliminate the window's temp as the source of your problem.

 

[LageNomAi]

I don't know if anyone is interested in this much detail, but for those who are, here's an update: I called customer service. The guy had to pull out a manual simply to find out where the power switch on the SL100 is, which tells me they don't really deal with these anymore. So that got me nowhere.

I erased everything and rebooted. No improvement.

I used the device recovery software for a second time. No improvement.

I've pretty much concluded it's not an overheating situation because these problems are happening first thing in the morning, when it's 30 degrees outside and the unit has been sitting in the window all night long.

I talked to my husband about it, and after walking him through everything I've done, his assessment was that it's a battery problem. In a nutshell, he thinks the unit is misreading the battery situation and deciding there is no power, even when I've got the radio docked and no battery is needed.

So I discovered I could get the unit to actually power on if I had the battery attached while docked, and then it would continue to play. If the battery wasn't attached, the unit wouldn't power on, even when docked. So I think he's onto something there. Unfortunately, as he surmised, it seems to be a problem with the unit, not the battery, since I tried a new battery that I've used perhaps once, and it didn't make a difference. Thus, it doesn't appear that buying a new battery is going to help.

In the end, the problem is that I can't get the unit to keep playing, no matter what. With or without a battery attached, it will go 15 minutes max and then I must reboot. This just isn't worth the effort, so it looks as though I'll be shelling out for a new radio.

I appreciate all the help and welcome any other suggestions before I whip out the credit card.

 

[ClubSteeler]

That stinks.... Check out ebay and put an ad in the hardware exchange on this site. Also, check tss-radio and sirius.com for refurbs where you can get the receiver only and not have to repay for docks and power cords.

I would try one last thing.
Make sure the 4 gold prongs are making solid contact with the battery. Majke sure they are not bent in too far, and clean the prongs and the contacts on the battery. Try cleaning with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol. You could have an occasional disconnect between the battery and the radio, just for a split second, but long enough to cause a powerdown.

 

[ClubSteeler]

This is a major gamble , but... if this guy is honest, and you have the remote, you can simply not use the wheel.

I'd certainly contact teh seller and ask questions.

SIRIUS STILETTO 100--AS IS-RECEIVERS ONLY-READ - eBay (item 130297394377 end time Apr-05-09 13:08:03 PDT)

 

[LageNomAi]

Thanks very much, Club, I really appreciate the input and help.

Ironically, the darn thing has done pretty well today. I got about an hour of play out of it this morning before it shut down, and so far this afternoon we're at 1 hour 11 minutes and counting. I think I'm caught in a seriously dysfunctional love/hate relationship with my radio at this point. Gah.

 

[Schmidty]

My Stiletto has gotten into a continuous loop that "powers up", then gets to a screen that says "restarting, please wait...." and retries. I can't power down to try a recovery process, so I'm kind of stuck. Any tips out there? P.S. I do have an extended warranty through Circuit City (or their warranty company, now) for the unit.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

My Stiletto has gotten into a continuous loop that "powers up", then gets to a screen that says "restarting, please wait...." and retries. I can't power down to try a recovery process, so I'm kind of stuck. Any tips out there? P.S. I do have an extended warranty through Circuit City (or their warranty company, now) for the unit.

I had this happen too. Mine got the error about 3 seconds after it said "MicroSD Card Detected". I was able to get it to shutdown in that window and then did the 3 finger salute to do a restart.

If that doesn't work try pulling the battery and when re-inserting it use your 3rd hand to do the 3 finger salute. It may work or may not.

Another option is to send it to Sirius. I believe they will do a Device Recovery for you and send it back. You may have to pay the shipping. They offer this for people without WiFi or computers.