BUYER BEWARE! 2021 Chevy Tahoe Rear Entertainment Package 

I hooked up Fire sticks in ours, one for each of my kids (ages 9 and 4). I used a small surge protector in the outlet so I could power both Fire sticks, and just used zip ties to keep everything neat. Each kid has their own profile on Fire TV and they each have a remote and wireless headphones, and they love it. Initial setup definitely took a minute, but once that was done I think it’s awesome! They can watch anything we would watch at home now, and I don’t have to listen to the same DVD’s a million times.😂

There is a reason Blockbuster is out of business. No one is buying DVD/Blurays anymore. Is the system finicky? Yes. But once I slapped a Fire stick in and set it up everything works perfectly. You set it up once and your pretty much done. There used to be cassettes and CD players in cars we don't have those now. Technology evolves 😄 stop fighting it and learn it.

Y’all are making this wayyyy more difficult than it needs to be. Two fire sticks and boom, my kids are able to watch anything they can watch at home including live TV as we stream at home. I hated the DVD’s; my kids don’t watch the same movies and who the heck even owns DVDs anymore? I love that we no longer have to bring iPads in the car as we always had to carry them into wherever we went (for security purposes) in regards to babies…they should be rear facing anyhow until at a mimimim the age of 2, longer with newer car seats, so they can’t watch these screens or an old DVD player screen anyhow. Seriously ditch the phones and get two fire sticks! I bought mine in July 2020 and there were zero how to’s, videos etc…even GMC had no idea. I figured it out though

We bought our 2021 Suburban in November and I have tried all the exact same things you talked about in this video and bought all the different things from apple TV and so on. But it's all a pain to have to do, instead of just popping in a video. Finally have 2 portable bluray players and longer HDMI cables so anyone can control what's being watched and it's simple, just put it in and push play! I have 4 boys ages 1 to 12.

Was told at a Chevy dealership yesterday, that the rear entertainment system will not work unless you pay for the onboard WiFi package which runs about $250/ yr. Absolute incredible waste of money.

Completely agree!!! I opted NOT to get this read entertainment center when I found out it had no DVD. You can get aftermarket installed for much cheaper than this anyway! I am glad I did my research on this and found this out from folks like you before i added this on. We travel a lot and it is fun to stop and get a redbox for the kids to watch together on the ride. HORRIBLE SET UP for any car but when you look at how much a Tahoe is, this is NOT an improvement! Thx for the info. Its good to know I am not alone out there.

My 11 year old and 5 year love this system. We hooked up the firestick and hooked to Hot spot. Easy set up. The remote control worked perfect. You guys are making this harder than it needs to be

2021 Escalade I purchased two Fire Sticks one for each HDMI. Ran the wires through the center console trim each cord line one per side. Then plugged into 2 port USB car charger. Works great and remotes work No problems. Will admit was a pain to get it setup but this makes it simple for the kids to stream.

Agree with all of this. Another thing I noticed, unrelated to the operation of the system, is that if the person in the front seat has their seat back just a little too far, when you lower the second row seats, the headrest collides with the screen!!!! And those seats don’t fold slowly, they slam down!

This is the best system I’ve ever had in a car. Now a days nobody uses dvds no more. This is all I need. With those 2 hdmi ports content is unlimited.

Thanks a bunch, very good info

I’m loving all the diff ideas people got 🤔got my wheels spinning lol

I think this set up is better suited for teenagers, not small children. Also, the stop/start issue is a huge oversight, considering in some vehicles the a/c can still be on when the engine is off let alone all the other electronics.

We just added a $25 Roku Premier player and power off of the USB C port. I'm also guessing that GM will add an app store to put the apps directly on the screens in the near future.

If you are planning a road trip I see it as a luxury feature to have, but you have to be the type of buyer that needs that type of setup for their family. Or it could be a setup for small kids who don’t have tablets but parents want to setup a screen to keep them entertained. If the kids already have tablets then I don’t see much of a need for more screens. New cars can’t never keep up with the latest phones. That’s why the aftermarket for stereos help pave the way for innovation.

Miracast works off of the wifi network and the devices connected to the same network can use it. It's WINDOWS based feature. Apple is a little bit hassle to use Miracast everywhere.

I agree with everything you are saying, and I have ran into all those problems. I bought a DVD player from Amazon that had really good reviews on Amazon, but it rarely works in the car. I put a Roku in and now I can’t figure out how to get my iPhone hotspot to work for the car for the Roku to work. I can’t just throw my kids in the car and run somewhere. I have to have a good 15 minutes before we leave to get the car set up with the TV going correctly and making sure to always remember to turn auto stop off. we had an Infiniti QX 60 before this Tahoe so I could control all the movies in the DVD player from the driver seat but now that I can’t, I have to make sure it’s all set up before I leave any issues happen while I am driving, I have to pull over and tend to the TV screens since they cannot be controlled from the front.

The pouches on the back of the seats are perfect for tablets, Apple or not. That way they're mobile and the kids can load them with hours of games and movies. And I believe you can get the nav separately from the entertainment system. At least I hope so.

Interesting. I just bought a 21 Suburban with rear “entertainment “ system. Its a joke. It would be nice to know why Apple was excluded from the rear when I use Apple Play up front?!

I just got a 2022 Tahoe with the rear entertainment system. I am not seeing the 'navigation' option on the screens.Do you know if that is available on the new models? Also, can I play something from my iPhone to my front screen and send it to the back screens?

Yes, very frustrating set up. I have a roku player that I set up and it re boots every 10 seconds, says 'no signal' and reboots. Anyone else have that issue or how to resolve this?

Your 100% correct. Were dealing with the same issue, after spending $70k.

I wouldn’t find the Xbox being a tripping hazard. Seems it would be used more for a road trip and not a quick stop for the store. But I do agree with the steps to even using the monitor to be excessive.

Had same aggravation but after 2 months of trial and error best way to do it is Firestick in HDMI and pay the $25/month for cars WiFi. Works good. Takes about 3 minutes to get a movie in for the kids.

Very excited about our Yukon with the rear entertainment. But my nine-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter do miss our Odyssey minivan where the DVD system was right in the back and the kids could just plug-in a DVD and watch it on demand. Our kids have been bringing their electronics with them instead of the rear entertainment system usage. It’s a shame because it looks great, but the functionalities just not there without the built-in DVD system. And yes, I am tech savvy and have plugged in the Amazon fire stick with the HDMI cords but it’s just a hassle because they keep getting knocked out and you have to restart the whole system and it’s just a pain in the butt.

I kinda agree with you ,not having the ability or option of putting a DVD ir bluesy disc is crazy. A xbox I the middle is a hazard even a switch .they should ve a drop in floor to put the game system in so it wouldn't be a hazard. Sometimes the engineers forget about the usability of the product. Also st 2500 the screen is thin enough to a Blu ray disc on the side .

Great. I just got a 21 suburban high country. Love it so far. Apple household. Not looking forward dealing with this. I didn’t want entertainment package, but not to many suburbans available to choose from. Thought about ordering one. Didn’t want to wait. Oh well, it’ll be good for my aging brain to try and figure out entertainment system.

I'm looking to a buy a 2023 Tahoe so I'm researching the option. While I don't use DVD's and my 7 year doesn't even know what they are.. lol. I see you frustration; I've worked in software quality and User experience testing for almost 20 years. And if it a application is harder to use than it's predecessors or alternatives it doesn't work. Hopefully the new generation is better. Thanks for the video.

You are 100% correct! My opinion system not designed for external devices just pay $$$ and subscriptions and go.

We use Roku, works perfect and no hassel

I have the 2021 tahoe z71 with media package. I have an external hard drive and put about 500 movies on it and I connect it to the USB in arm rest. It is great cause you can watch 2 different movies at the same time with no internet. So that's another option. So just so your aware that's another option. Just letting you know.

not full of it totally agree ty

Not if they just upgraded since this video or what, but i got a 22 Suburban with the rear media with no issues at all. Netflix, hulu, and youtube kids streams with no issue.

Works fine with Samsung s20, already has Smartview option in top drop down menu.

We used the Amazon fire stick, but could not get the sound to come through the car speakers. The headphones that came with the Yukon Denali did not work 🤦‍♀️ or would not connect to Bluetooth, even after we changed out the batteries…. We had to connect our own speaker

Bro this is the future we dont use DVD anymore. If you got a 65k truck you got to get with the program and and download the app's and get the necessary cords needed. I have the 2021 Yukon denali xl ultimate package and my kids love the new screens over our 2012 denali DVD system

I just got a 2021 Yukon with these, I think it’s great for teenagers. One was watching movie from iPhone using adaptor. Other was playing Xbox. I can see it being hard with little kids

I just purchased a new $60,000 Z71 Tahoe it has no navigation on it no music need to pay for Wi-Fi or Bluetooth it has no blind spot mirrors on it! My daughters have Toyota and Kias and they have all this stuff as standard equipment I cannot believe GM makes you pay for all of these extras after spending $60,000 it is total BS in my opinion!

Well I don't think I have to say how I feel about too much tech in a vehicle. Love electronics but putting tablets in vehicles etc. Is just asking for more issues/ headaches. I'm pretty content with my personal smartphone or tablet.

I agree 100%. It's a pain in the butt. Though you can use a fire stick with the remote and the talk into the remote to select movies which helps, but it's not a fool proof plan since you can't see the screen. My kids are 1 and 3 so this is really not practical for them. Super disappointed.

Do your research. Could be simple or difficult, depending on your needs. I have a 2, 5, 11, and 13 yr old. We hooked up a Roku stick which powers using the c port. Gives us access to a huge plethora of apps. We share what kids are watching on both screens. Reduces needs of more than one device etc. keep it simple… Netflix, Disney+, etc. we only use the screens when we are on trips. Nothing local as kids don’t need that much screen time anyway. Does cost to have wifi just like with any other internet service. Don’t want to pay, bring your compact dvd player and hook it up. Or, don’t get the package.

I TOTALLY agree with you! We just spent $107,000.00 on a new 2021 Escalade and I cannot believe how useless this package is. I am all things Apple and like Apple products BUT Apple is getting ridiculous. I agree with the person that Said Cadillac would have been better attaching 2 iPad Pro to the back seat headrest for this $2500 package. I’m pretty tech savvy and this is a step back in the wrong direction in my opinion. My grand daughters jumped in thinking that the screen would work like an iPad since we purchased WiFi service. GOT THAT WRONG. they had to run back in and get their iPads. So what’s the purpose of the entertainment system? So so frustrated. I really think this is a step backwards. Apple should be ashamed. Guess I’m on my way to get a firestick and 2 HMDI to usbc cables. I agree with you 100%.

You’re better off to ditch that option and buy them iPads. I know you said your kids don’t have them but you could not get that 2500 dollar option and go buy them a 1000k iPad each and still come out better and cheaper.

I think your video was very helpful with providing clarity 👌

"Sommmebody is GETTING OLDS!!🙃😂

I tell my kids to see if they can find any cows in the fields out the window Tim. Sounds like a better option than this screen.

for the iphone, you can use an adapter for HDMI. you don't need apple tv and all that...

As a father of 4 , ages from 10- 15 we travel a lot. As to respect your opinion I have to disagree with you on this matter. We are a iPhone family and we find the media package very user friendly, concise and convenient. This was one of the main reason we converted from Ford to GMC. I say, if you are able to operate a smart phone, the media in the GM SUV should be no issue. As for the20lb projectile, it will sit on the floor and if a sudden Hot occurred than if will fly low toward the lower end of the center consul

What Samsung do you have? I am willing to buy a dedicated phone to avoid the wires…my kids have broke two HDMI cords and a Roku…and we are iPhone people.

I loved this system in our 2023 Yukon. People still use DVDs 😂. I use Roku or Fire stick. This is by far the best Rear seat entertainment I've had. I love having the HDMI so kids can play their game consoles. It's definitely not for people that don't understand streaming and basic controls and functions. I honestly can't believe what the fuss is about. Much better than packing tablets and discs around and more capable. It's best for older kids and adults. It has amazon, youtube, and Hulu built in can start watching in seconds. In my other car I have two 15.6" led monitors ran by mini-pc. Can stream anything I want and can also remotely access my home media server. Where there is tons of music and movies copied from discs. Or play computer games or consoles while traveling. It's the bees knees.

How is the third row seat people supposed to watch like before when it was in the ceiling ??

These systems are met for road trips. This go for any rear seat media from any manufacturer.

Love that you checked this Tim! Miracast used to be built into some Android devices - it is no longer and you can't use an app for it - Pixel phones after the 2 all removed it and Mira is all FCA uses (Samsung still supports Mira because they don't want to give Google the keys to castle with Chromecast) Such a frustrating mess

The kids can look for wildlife out the windows and listen to my great tunes or they can ride on top the luggage rack with Aunt Edna...good talk Russ....

You can play DVD the portable DVD work hdmi it works

Guess what? To get Yukon Denali 2023 with reserved package you need to have that "strange" system, otherwise no Denali reserves (my dealer told me that). And the system is even more like a joke. My two screens have only HDMI 1 and 2 selection as a source...no usb or mirorcast like you have here. You are lucky my friend!

At least it has rear ac vents

For what you pay for these vehicles the tech should be much simpler to hook up. Shouldnt have to buy more “adapters and cords” to get going. The tech exists to be much better so not sure why they are so behind. I agree 100%

Thanks for the video. I just ordered my suburban with this set up. I actually like the set up. Seems better than the previous drop down screens. More options which is cool but with that said, I too feel it was a huge step back to remove the DVD/blu-ray drive. Keeping that feature would have really made this system fantastic. I believe they did this because dvd/bluray are becoming obsolete. But it doesn't hurt to have it. I am curious, do you have to have a wifi service for these to work? If so, do u pay seperate monthly or is it included in the lease/finance? As far as the phone connectivity. I dont blame GM. It's Apple to blame. Connecting a iPhone, iPad or even a apple TV is a pain because of the ios system. Thats why I switched to android many many years ago. Apple is such a pain in the ass. So far behind and yet still claim to be the best. Hopefully once mines arrives we can figure it out. Thanks again and good luck, we are against tablets/phones on the road, we prefer the kids talk, or watch a movie altogether on road trips rather than be in thier own zone with faces stuck to a tablet. Happy holidays!!

Tim here's a good one for you. I just use an aftermarket 10.1" screens on both with dual movies or separate for $ 200 Your kids are the same age as mine Also mine are bluetooth as well to headsets

This system set up was a huge fail by GM. We cant figure out how to turn off the headphones so we can play the sound through the speakers. Would have been better to have a DVD option.

A lot of these new cars have all the options, but you have to pay for the service to use. We have the Tahoe RST and couldn’t get the phones to go through them even after hooking up the USB-C. And none of the rear USB-C ports charge the phones. Very frustrating.

I opted for aftermarket with tablets and Bluetooth head sets same ones from home there 5g all the streaming they need, remove them when the kids aren't in the truck takes 2 seconds, ran the charging cords right up through the back of the seats no mess no fuss..

Just buy an accessory that attaches and hangs the iPad in the same spot as the screen and voilà there’s your rear entertainment package.

Has anyone felt it’s hard to see around the screens???

I have been griping about this since I got my 21 XL. No apple support - a rats nest of cables, expensive ones at that - I really am so let down by this system on a whole. My 5 and 7 year old have moved to the third row and we have Velcro iPad headrest holders. Problem solved. Then force me into a hotspot plan to use anything worth plugging in, and then, bam the power dies on anything plugged in. This combined with the brake system recall and the service restraint system messages at 1000 miles makes me furious!!!! Thanks for making this, they have been my exact sentiments for months!!!!

Rather have a straight FM radio with a cd, maybe navigation

I cannot get a small Blu-ray player to work. Anyone know if it should?

Just buy an accessory that attaches and hangs the iPad in the same spot as the screen and voilà there’s your rear entertainment package. Probably spend less than 30 bucks on eBay for those things instead of 2500 for this navigation screen basically

Tim, you made my head hurt by minute #5. 'Boomer' or not, user friendly that system is not. My guess: the ways this new system excels are: 1) cheaper to build (hardware & software), and 2) during the warrantee period, subject to fewer failures (especially if the customer avoids using it).

I love mine. Load mp4 movies to a usb drive and we are good to go

I agree. I think it’s a poor design. I bought my 2021 Tahoe used and was super excited to use the rear entertainment system but I’ve been unsuccessful. It’s frustrating, I’ve tried for hours. I’ve been trying to use a fire stick and it will just not work.

the point is to force you to use onstar which is 2500 fee for three years... it is a business move...

Kids won’t do all this and most older adults don’t know how. Kids (mine anyway ) are content with the phones.

Fire stick works on it like normal with remote

We have a similar system in the 2019 traverse premier. Way to complicated for a 8 and 6 year old to operate.

I wish my wife had watched this before buying a 2024 suburban

To make matters worse. Could you imagine if that Xbox was damaged from losing power immediately? Nice $400 coffee coaster. 😱

What about a lightning to hdmi adapter for iPhone? Can you just put a movie on a flash drive and plug it in? Not a very well thought out system. In such an expensive vehicle they should’ve just put a disc drive in there. GM should’ve just put two iPads or android tablets on the headrests or pretty much anything better than what they did. Good luck

So plug a DVD player in the hdmi and turn off auto stop Start

What is a DVD?

I agree with you videos it's a pain in the ass

So agree with you! Put in a DVD player and be done w it. Biggest waste of money- wish I would not have ordered this option and saved $2000. I have hotspot on my phone that is part of my unlimited data package - I don’t feel like paying more $$ a month to pay for the suburban’s wifi

From the looks of it GM hasn't changed anything... I bet those USB-C ports since they are connected to the entertainment system, isn't USB-PD. They could easily add a few more 12V outlets to the vehicle. I don't know why they don't. Ford does it. Also all 120V outlets should include a switch to turn it on near the outlet. Don't know why they keep putting it on the drivers side. I'm hoping for 2024 model year, Ford will figure it out and offer ProPower and the Powerboost on the Expedition. People take these SUVs camping too. Would power up a campsite with the AC outlets if it was the case.

Fire stick or Roku that's it works great

Thank you for such a thorough and informative video. We’ve had our 2021 Tahoe for a week and we have recently run into this issue. They definitely dropped the ball on this. I really wish I had seen this video before making that purchase. We love the WiFi capabilities though, so we’ll be better off just having them stream on their tablets. I just wish we hadn’t paid for those screens.

This is actually way more user friendly than this video leads you to believe. You do not have to pay for vehicle WiFi. You just need someone to show you how to use it properly.

All I saw was the sun and not the outlets. GM really need to make it more user friendly.

Why on earth do you need to hook up an X box or a Playstation inside of a vehicle? Just give them a smartphone so they can entertain themself in the car. It ain't a cutting-edge vehicle if you find features on the vehicle that just doesn't make any sense. Cutting edge means zero frustration, and everything just works minus the headache.

I can see all this tech crap reducing new vehicle sales as people go out and find less complicated used vehicles. I had a high tech 2019 car for 9 months. So much grief with the tech I traded it off for a lower end new RAM classic to get away from all the tech.

They took away the DVD to force you to stream pay per view movies...kickbacks when the provider gets a movie request through a GM system address. The problem is when you play a free movie through Amazon Prime or Hulu or whoever, someone's phone may or may not be functional for what the kids really want to do, which is social media, like Snapchat. Kids will be content with their phone and the cell reception unless you live out west in the mountains, then you may want to get the in-car wifi that I assume is piggybacked on their On-Star system. I'm good with this kind of stuff and could figure it out in a few minutes. I used to build gaming computers. But, that still doesn't mean it's a "good" system. It could have many caveats such as a nonfunctional phone depending on the model. The USB-c ports sounds like Apples doing. Believe me this is all about sharing kickbacks, they are working together to maximize the money they are removing from your wallet.

We just spent 3 hours without any success. This is awful. I feel like returning the car that I just paid over $80,000 for!!!!

It works better with an Amazon Fire TV stick!! Small HDMI cord and it’s an easy hook up!

I just bought my z71 day before yesterday 2021. I didn’t realize how much a headache it would be after spending so much money. 🤦🏽‍♀️. So I took my fire stick from the living room into the truck and I didn’t realize the auto shut off needed to be turned off til your video. We was in middle of a movie and it cut off. I did order the lightning adapter from Apple. USB c to lightning cable. HDMI cable. Got a usb c wall adapter in case something didn’t work out... but that’s a lot! After buying a 70k vehicle! Can we use a roku?? I have my iPhone X. My kids both have iPads but they aren’t connected to our cell service they have to connect to WiFi. I had to connect the fire stick from the house to my personal hot spot it wouldn’t connect to my truck. Says it was connected but wouldn’t connect? 😩 also my speakers don’t sound right with the media package is sounds like the speaker is broken? The actually radio sound doesn’t sound that way though so I’m soo confused.

To make things worse, GM just got a huge gut punch from the government today. To the tune of 6 million recalls.

It’s not worth it. i waited 8 months just for the rims and the rear entertainment. the cup holders don’t hold anything spills on to wireless charging the heating and cooling system is weird bc of the way the sun roof. everything slides arround . the console not moving is stupid bc then everything is on the drivers elbow room . I would rather have my 2017 back. not worth 75,000 dollars at all. the cameras lag and i hate that the car cuts off in 15 mins. The best thing is probably the trunk space that’s it.

Also get a HDMI to I Phone connecter and my 11 year son hooks it to his I Phone and it works fine. No one wants to use DVDs anymore you guys are behind times thinking a DvD is better

can the monitors be removed ?

I wish I had found this video before we bought out 2021 Yukon Denali. I would not have bought the vehicle.

Skip the option and get tablets for sure