What You Need to Enable the FM Radio Tuner in Your Phone
You’ll need a few things to listen to FM radio on your phone without a data connection:
A phone with a built-in FM radio chip: Your phone needs FM radio capability, and that capability needs to be switched on. This requires the manufacturer to activate the functionality, and the carrier to accept the feature. Wired earbuds or headphones: FM radio only works with an antenna. When you listen to an FM radio broadcast on your phone, it uses the wires in your earbuds or headphones as the antenna. An FM radio app: Even if your phone has an FM radio chip, you need an app that’s capable of accessing the chip, such as NextRadio.
How to Listen to FM Radio Without Data in NextRadio
NextRadio is an ad-supported radio app that you can download from the Google Play store. It has similar functionality to other radio apps that stream radio stations over the internet. It’s also capable of tapping into your phone’s FM radio receiver chip. If you have an active data connection, you can listen to streaming radio stations or local FM broadcasts. When you lose your data connection, activate the FM only mode. To activate the FM only mode in NextRadio: With FM only mode activated, NextRadio defaults to the built-in FM receiver chip instead of streaming local stations over the internet. If your local data service goes down or you lose cell service, you’ll still be able to listen to any FM station that’s in range.
How to Listen to Local FM Radio Stations in NextRadio
After you activate FM only mode in the NextRadio app, you’re ready to listen to local FM radio on your phone without using your data plan. To accomplish this, you’ll need wired headphones or earbuds. Wireless headphones won’t work because the phone needs to use the wires as an antenna. To listen to local radio with the NextRadio app: If you have an active data connection and the station supports it, NextRadio displays a logo for the station and information about the song or program that you’re listening to. Otherwise, you’ll have to identify the station you’re looking for by its call letters.
How to Use the Basic Tuner in NextRadio
NextRadio also includes a basic tuner function that works like any other FM radio. Instead of looking for a station in a list of local stations, this function presents you with a tuner that you can use to search for local stations. Either go to the station you want or use the seek function to see what’s available. To use the basic tuner in NextRadio without an internet connection:
Are FM Radios Built Into Smartphones?
FM radio isn’t a feature that any smartphone manufacturer intentionally builds into their phones. It’s a byproduct of some of the chips manufacturers use, which have built-in FM receivers in addition to the features that the smartphone manufacturers are interested in.
Tap the - and + buttons to adjust the frequency.Tap the back and forward buttons to use the seek functionality. When you tune into an active station, it plays automatically.
Which Phones Have FM Radio Receivers?
Smartphone manufacturers often disable built-in FM radio receivers. In some cases, carriers have requested the feature be disabled, possibly to encourage the use of data-hungry radio apps or to avoid consumer complaints about poor radio reception. While the FM chips for many phones are turned off, this feature is available on many handsets. Manufacturers, including HTC, LG, Motorola, and Samsung, offer a handful of phones with working FM chips. Every major cellular provider in the United States is compatible with at least one FM-enabled phone. The major exception is Apple, as there are no iPhones with activated FM chips. While the iPhone 6 and older models included FM chips, Apple says there is no way to connect an antenna to the chip.
Can You Listen to FM Radio on an iPhone?
The only way to listen to FM radio on an iPhone is with a radio app, and radio apps only work when you have a decent data connection. That means you can’t rely on your iPhone for FM radio during emergencies. The FCC urged Apple to enable the FM chips in their phones in 2017, but Apple responded with a claim that their latest phones don’t have FM chips. Even if they did have FM chips, they don’t have headphone jacks. FM chips typically aren’t capable of receiving signals without headphone wires to act as an antenna. While iPhone owners can listen to FM radio with radio apps for iOS, you can’t count on the local cellular and data networks remaining up during a disaster. Radio apps are great for regular entertainment use, but if you need to access crucial information during a disaster like a hurricane, invest in a battery-powered or emergency radio.
