
Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
7-12 Infotainment System
Adding and Removing Categories
Categories cannot be added or
removed while the vehicle is moving
faster than 8 km/h (5 mph).
To add or remove a category:
1. Press the MENU button.
2. Press the softkey located belowthe XM CAT tab.
3. Turn the
fknob to display the
category to add or remove.
4. Press the softkey located under the Add or Remove tab.
To restore all removed
categories, press the softkey
under the Restore All tab.
5. Repeat the steps to remove more categories.
Storing XM Channels
Drivers are encouraged to store
XM channels while the vehicle is
parked; see Defensive Driving on
page 9‑3. Tune to stored radio
stations using the presets, favorites
button, and steering wheel controls,
if the vehicle has this feature.
Up to 36 stations can be
programmed as favorites using the
six softkeys below the radio station
frequency tabs and by using the
FAV button. Press the FAV button
to go through up to six pages of
favorites, each having six favorite
stations available per page. Each
page of favorites can contain any
combination of AM, FM, or XM,
if equipped, stations. Storing an XM Channel as a
Favorite
To store a station as a favorite:
1. Tune to an XM channel.
2. Press the FAV button to display
the page where the station will
be stored.
3. Press and hold one of the six softkeys until a beep sounds.
4. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to store additional radio stations.
The number of favorites pages can
be set up using the MENU button.
To set up the number of favorites
pages:
1. Press the MENU button.
2. Press the softkey located below the FAV 1-6 tab.

Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
Infotainment System 7-13
3. Select the number of favoritespages by pressing the softkey
located below the displayed
page numbers.
4. Press the FAV button, or let the menu time out, to return to the
original main radio screen
showing the radio station
frequency tabs and to begin
the process of programming
favorites.
XM Radio Messages
XL (Explicit Language
Channels): These channels,
or any others, can be blocked at a
customer's request, by calling
1-800-929-2100 in the U.S. and
1-877-438-9677 in Canada.
XM Updating: The encryption
code in the receiver is being
updated, and no action is required.
This process should take no longer
than 30 seconds. No XM Signal:
The system is
functioning correctly, but the vehicle
is in a location that is blocking the
XM signal. When the vehicle is
moved into an open area, the signal
should return.
Loading XM: The audio system is
acquiring and processing audio and
text data. No action is needed.
This message should disappear
shortly.
Channel Off Air: This channel is
not currently in service. Tune in to
another channel.
Channel Unauth: This channel is
blocked or cannot be received with
your XM subscription package.
Channel Unavail: This previously
assigned channel is no longer
assigned. Tune to another station.
If this station was one of the
presets, choose another station
for that preset button. No Artist Info:
No artist
information is available at this time
on this channel. The system is
working properly.
No Title Info: No song title
information is available at this
time on this channel. The system
is working properly.
No CAT Info: No category
information is available at this time
on this channel. The system is
working properly.
No Information: No text or
informational messages are
available at this time on this
channel. The system is working
properly.
No Subscription Please Renew:
The XM subscription needs to
be reactivated. Contact XM at
www.xmradio.com or call
1-800-929-2100 in the U.S.
and www.xmradio.ca or call
1-877-438-9677 in Canada.

Black plate (16,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
7-16 Infotainment System
Audio Players
CD Player
Care of the CD Player
Do not add any label to a CD.
It could get caught in the CD. If a
CD is recorded on a personal
computer and a description label is
needed, try labeling the top of the
recorded CD with a marking pen.
The use of CD lens cleaners is
not advised, due to the risk of
contaminating the lens of the CD
optics with lubricants internal to the
CD player mechanism.
Notice:If a label is added to a
CD, more than one CD is inserted
into the slot at a time, or an
attempt is made to play scratched
or damaged CDs, the CD player
could be damaged. While using
the CD player, use only CDs in good condition without any label,
load one CD at a time, and keep
the CD player and the loading slot
free of foreign materials, liquids,
and debris.
If an error displays, see
“CD Player
Messages” later in this section.
Care of CDs
If playing a CD-R, the sound quality
can be reduced due to CD-R or
CD-RW quality, the method of
recording, the quality of the music
that has been recorded, and the
way the CD-R or CD-RW has been
handled. Handle them carefully.
Store CD-Rs or CD-RWs in their
original cases or other protective
cases and away from direct sunlight
and dust. The CD player scans the
bottom surface of the disc. If the
surface of a CD is damaged, such
as cracked, broken, or scratched, the CD does not play properly or not
at all. Do not touch the bottom side
of a CD while handling it; this could
damage the surface. Pick up CDs
by grasping the outer edges or the
edge of the hole and the outer edge.
If the surface of a CD is soiled,
clean it with a soft, lint‐free cloth or
dampen a clean, soft cloth in a mild,
neutral detergent solution mixed
with water. Make sure the wiping
process starts from the center to
the edge.
Inserting a CD
(Single CD Player)
Insert a CD partway into the slot,
label side up. The player pulls it in
and the CD should begin playing.

Black plate (17,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
Infotainment System 7-17
Inserting a CD(s)
(Six-Disc CD Player)
LOAD^:Press to load CDs into
the CD player. This CD player holds
up to six CDs.
To insert one CD:
1. Press and release the LOAD button.
2. Wait for the message to insert the disc.
3. Load a CD. Insert the CD partway into the slot, label side
up. The player pulls the CD in.
To insert multiple CDs:
1. Press and hold the LOAD button for two seconds. A beep sounds
and Load All Discs displays.
2. Wait for the message on when to insert the discs. The CD player
takes up to six CDs.
3. Press the LOAD button again to cancel loading more CDs.
Ejecting a CD
(Single CD Player)
ZEJECT: Press and release to
eject the disc. Remove the CD
when Remove Disc displays. If the
disc is not removed, after several
seconds the disc is automatically
pulled back into the player.
Ejecting a CD
(Six-Disc CD Player)
ZEJECT : Press and release
to eject the disc that is currently
playing. Remove the CD when
Remove Disc displays. If the disc is
not removed, after several seconds
the disc is automatically pulled back
into the player.
To eject all CDs, press and hold
the
ZEJECT button for
two seconds.
Playing a CD
If the ignition or radio is turned off
with a CD in the player, it stays in
the player. When the ignition or
radio is turned on, the CD starts
playing where it stopped, if it was
the last selected audio source.
The CD is controlled by the buttons
on the radio faceplate or by the RSA
unit. See Rear Seat Audio (RSA)
System on page 7‑50 for more
information.
When a CD is inserted, the CD
symbol displays on the left side of
the radio display. As each new track
starts to play, the track number
displays.
The CD player can play the smaller
8 cm (3 in) single CDs with an
adapter ring. Full-size CDs and the
smaller CDs are loaded in the same
manner.

Black plate (18,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
7-18 Infotainment System
CD/AUX (CD/Auxiliary):Press to
cycle between CD or Auxiliary when
listening to the radio. The CD icon
and a message showing the disc
and/or track number will display
when a CD is in the player. Press
again and the system automatically
searches for an auxiliary input
device; see Auxiliary Devices on
page 7‑34 for more information.
If a portable audio player is not
connected, “No Input Device Found”
displays.
4(Information): Press to display
additional text information related to
the current song. If information is
available, the song title information
displays on the top line of the
display and artist information
displays on the bottom line.
When information is not available,
“NO INFO” displays.
f(Tune):Turn to select tracks on
the CD that is currently playing.
©SEEK: Press to go to the start of
the current track if more than
10 seconds on the CD have played.
Press to go to the previous track if
less than 10 seconds on the CD
have played.
Press and hold, or press multiple
times, to continue moving backward
through the tracks on the CD.
¨SEEK: Press to go to the next
track.
Press and hold, or press multiple
times, to continue moving forward
through the tracks on the CD.
sREV (Fast Reverse): Press
and hold to reverse playback quickly
within a track.
\FWD (Fast Forward): Press
and hold to advance playback
quickly within a track. RPT (Repeat):
For the AM-FM
Radio with CD, press and release
the RPT button to repeat the current
track. Press RPT again to turn off
repeat play.
RDM (Random): Press to listen
to tracks in random, rather than
sequential order. To use random,
do one of the following:
For the AM-FM Radio with CD:
1. Press the RDM button until the random icon displays.
2. Press the RDM button again until the random icon disappears
from the display.
For the Radio with CD (MP3) and
Radio with USB and CD (MP3):
1. Press the softkey positioned under the RDM tab until Random
Current Disc displays.
2. Press the softkey again to turn off random play.

Black plate (19,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
Infotainment System 7-19
For the Radio with USB and
Six-Disc CD (MP3):
1. Press the softkey positionedunder the RDM tab until
Randomize All Discs displays to
play tracks from all CDs loaded
in random order.
2. Press the softkey positioned under the RDM tab until Random
Current Disc displays to play
tracks from a single CD in
random order.
3. Press the same softkey again to turn off random play.
MP3‐Supported Files
The Radio with CD (MP3), Radio
with USB and CD (MP3), and Radio
with USB and Six-Disc CD (MP3)
have the capability of playing an
MP3 CD-R or CD-RW disc. Format
Radios that have the capability of
playing MP3s can play .mp3 or
.wma files that were recorded onto a
CD-R or CD-RW disc. The files can
be recorded with the following fixed
bit rates: 32 kbps, 40 kbps, 56 kbps,
64 kbps, 80 kbps, 96 kbps, 112 kbps,
128 kbps, 160 kbps, 192 kbps,
224 kbps, 256 kbps, and 320 kbps or
a variable bit rate.
Compressed Audio or Mixed
Mode Discs
The radio can play discs that
contain both uncompressed CD
audio and MP3 files. If both formats
are on the disc, the radio reads
all MP3 files first, then the
uncompressed CD audio files.
CD‐R‐
or CD‐RW‐Supported File
and Folder Structure
The radio supports:
.Up to 50 folders.
.Up to 8 folders in depth.
.Up to 50 playlists.
.Up to 255 files.
.Playlists with an .m3u or .wpl
extension.
.Files with an .mp3, .wma, or .cda
file extension.
Root Directory
The root directory is treated as a
folder. Files are stored in the root
directory when the disc or storage
device does not contain folders.
Files accessed from the root
directory of a CD display as
F1 ROOT.

Black plate (20,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
7-20 Infotainment System
Empty Folder
Folders that do not contain files are
skipped, and the player advances to
the next folder that contains files.
Order of Play
Compressed audio files are
accessed in the following order:
.Playlists (Px).
.Files stored in the root directory.
.Files stored in folders in the root
directory.
Tracks are played in the following
order:
.Play begins from the first track in
the first playlist and continues
sequentially through all tracks in
each playlist. When the last
track of the last playlist has
played, play continues from the
first track of the first playlist.
.Play begins from the first track
in the first folder and continues
sequentially through all tracks in
each folder. When the last track
of the last folder has played,
play continues from the first
track of the first folder.
File System and Naming
The song name that displays is the
song name that is contained in the
ID3 tag. If the song name is not
present in the ID3 tag, then the
radio displays the file name without
the extension (such as .mp3) as the
track name.
Track names longer than
32 characters or 4 pages are
shortened. The display does not
show parts of words on the last
page of text and the extension of
the file name is not displayed. Preprogrammed Playlists
CDs that have preprogrammed
playlists reated using WinAmp™,
MusicMatch™, or Real Jukebox™
software can be accessed; however,
there is no playlist‐editing capability
using the radio. These playlists are
treated as special folders containing
compressed audio song files.
Playlists that have an .m3u or .pls
file extension and are stored on a
USB device may be supported by
the radio with a USB port.
Playlists can be changed by using
the softkeys below the
S
c
andc Ttabs, thefknob,
the
©SEEK button, or the¨SEEK
button. An MP3 CD-R or CD-RW
that has been recorded without
using file folders can be played.
If a CD-R or CD-RW contains more
than the maximum of 50 folders,

Black plate (21,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
Infotainment System 7-21
15 playlists, and 512 folders and
files, the player allows access and
navigates up to the maximum, but
all items over the maximum are not
accessible.
Playing an MP3
4(Information):Press to display
additional text information related to
the current song. If information is
available, the song title information
displays on the top line of the
display and artist information
displays on the bottom line.
When information is not available,
“NO INFO” displays.
f(Tune):Turn to select MP3s on
the CD currently playing.
©SEEK: Press to go to the start of
the track, if more than 10 seconds
have played. Press and hold or
press multiple times to continue
moving backward through tracks.
¨SEEK: Press to go to the next
track. Press and hold or press
multiple times to continue moving
forward through tracks.
sREV (Reverse): Press and hold
to reverse playback quickly. Sound
is heard at a reduced volume and
the elapsed time of the file displays.
Release
sREV to resume playing.
\FWD (Fast Forward): Press
and hold to advance playback
quickly. Sound is heard at a reduced
volume and the elapsed time of the
file displays. Release
\FWD to
resume playing. The elapsed time of
the file displays.
S c(Previous Folder): Press
the softkey below the
S ctab to
go to the first track in the previous
folder.
c T(Next Folder): Press the
softkey below the
c Ttab to go to
the first track in the next folder. RDM (Random):
Press to listen
to tracks in random, rather than
sequential order. To use random,
do one of the following:
For the Radio with CD (MP3) and
Radio with USB and CD (MP3):
1. Press the softkey positioned
under the RDM tab until Random
Current Disc displays.
2. Press the softkey again to turn off random play.
For the Radio with USB and
Six-Disc CD (MP3):
1. Press the softkey positioned under the RDM tab until
Randomize All Discs displays to
play tracks from all CDs loaded
in random order.
2. Press the softkey positioned under the RDM tab until Random
Current Disc displays to play
tracks from a single CD in
random order.
3. Press the same softkey again to turn off random play.