Your smartphone is equipped with an FM radio tuner that you can't use

[Puiu]

Just read that Norway is shutting down FM radio by Jan 2017.
DAB coverage exceeds FM coverage now.

from what I understand, local radio stations will still be allowed to broadcast FM.
there are also many conditions that can push back the shutdown date by a few years.
we'll just have to wait and see if norway's experiment will be successful.

 

[Guest]

My phones always have FM, even if I have to import unlocked ones. It's a b.f.d.

 

[Kitty91]

What grind my gears (maybe others) is that the FM needs antenna which is a headset cord. It will be useful if it is cordless anyway!

 

[trgz]

Works fine on my HTC Desire C (if the headphones are in) - Tesco (O2) Mobile in UK

 

[tipstir]

I hardly use FM anymore in my SUV nor do I use that XMX service either. I have my music on SD card or iPod that's it for me. Cell phone I only use for notes, pictures, video, text, voice. I don't see the need to use FM radio in it.

 

[Adhmuz]

Features I had grown a custom to with Sony phones over the past decade, it was only when I got my LG G3 that I realized this standard hardware ain't so standard after all, at least, activated by default. It was a great feature, my phone always picked up FM better than most purpose built radios and in many cases would be used as the tuner connected via a 3.5mm to dual RCA aux, nice 12 foot cable made for a really good antenna. I'll miss the feature a little but it's by no means a deal breaker, with a 128GB SD card I can put all the music I could ever want to listen to on my phone now.

 

[Guest]

"I can't really believe that there are people who support the locking of hardware that they already bought from companies that only care how to charge them more. I wonder if these people work at those companies."

Exactly. These people buy smartphones for all it's hardware capabilities, then practically applaud these phone makers for locking a hardware capability. Why? Because they do not/would not use a certain feature themselves????

WOOOOW.

 

[Guest]

They are like isheep but for all smartphones lol

 

[cliffordcooley]

Exactly. These people buy smartphones for all it's hardware capabilities, then practically applaud these phone makers for locking a hardware capability. Why? Because they do not/would not use a certain feature themselves????

I guess you also complain about software unlocks when people buy the cheapest version. Or when software code is found that will never be used because the author decided not to use it. You do realize that OEM's disable hardware features of PC's in system BIOS all the time. Because it is their prerogative to sell a configuration however they see fit.

It's not just Smartphone makers doing this and there is nothing wrong with it. However the option to enable any feature should be available, if the device is capable. Even if that means there are additional fees for unlocks.

 

[Perhaps]

How do I enable the FM reciever to work on my smartphone????

 

[Darth Shiv]

I love the FM on my old SGS2. When I got a Note 3, was extremely disappointed this function was not available. It's a crock. Pretty obvious it's a low money grab.

 

[Guest]

My HTC One X has an FM tuner and a simple App that came with the phone - AT&T is my carrier. It does require a headset to be plugged in which obviously serves as the antenna. There is a setting that enables/disables the speaker so I can listen via the headset or speaker. I think this is great since in spite of the fact that this is 'old' tech, if my local cell towers should fail after some catastrophic event I can still have potential access to the world. Never hurts to have a little redundancy.

 

[Puiu]

I guess you also complain about software unlocks when people buy the cheapest version. Or when software code is found that will never be used because the author decided not to use it. You do realize that OEM's disable hardware features of PC's in system BIOS all the time. Because it is their prerogative to sell a configuration however they see fit.

It's not just Smartphone makers doing this and there is nothing wrong with it. However the option to enable any feature should be available, if the device is capable. Even if that means there are additional fees for unlocks.

even if it's something that many do, it's still something that should be looked at as a bad practise. where I live the FM is never restricted on phones, something I'm grateful for.

 

[Laf904]

I use the app TuneIn Radio to listen to local FM radio stations. Sound quality is very good and you can listen to radio stations from all around the world. All my local FM stations are listed in the app.

 

[Guest]

FM is here is stay. Nowadays, our phones have a camera, video and sound recorder, internet phones and all the indispensable useful features. Add FM to it and you have it all. I use FM Radio on my cellphone when I go jogging and cycling daily in the mornings. It is free and an internet connection is not required. A lot of people look for FM function in a phone. I for one would bot buy a phone without FM function.

 

[EClyde]

This isn't news. If you want a radio, buy a radio. I understand the phone I have in my pocket exists because someone made it, and if they don't want it to have a radio who I'm I to complain? You can't always get what you want, when you want, and how you want it. Suck it up bucko.

Richie.....you are funny but not like you want to be

 

[Guest]

If I pay for something, I want it's functionality. I like all the services the internet has to offer; however, I refuse to be forced to use those services if it forces me into data overages. When emergencies occur, even minor ones, good luck making voice calls or connecting to the net. Having an FM tuner as a backup would be a huge safety issue in moments like those. And if the reduced battery consumption is anywhere near accurate as mentioned, then all the more reason to not restrict access to the FM tuner - especially during those emergencies, or even just to stretch things during extended power outages or trips when you can only take so much supplemental portable power with you.
I'll gladly pay a couple hundred dollars more for a phone with an accessible (and/or unlocked) FM tuner to save me from exceeding the modest amount included in my already expensive data plan.

 

[DriverJ]

I'm in the camp of if I am paying for a device. I should have access to every feature it includes. I should be able to load what I want to it, and do what I want with it. I did purchase it after all. Seeing carriers disable anything on a device is disturbing.
Now I do understand locking it to a specific service, for when one carrier gets a stellar hardware deal and wants users to stay with their carrier if they buy a device.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Richie.....you are funny but not like you want to be

I was being totally serious. When I had the original Galaxy S way back I remember flashing a custom ROM and downloading an app called Spirit1: Real FM Radio that enabled/unlocked the FM tuner and it was great. I used it quite often. And then when I got an LG P930 there was no radio and the Spirit1 app wasn't compatible with it, and I remember thinking, that sucked. And then I noticed Apple was pushing digital downloads with iTunes and iPhones didn't have radios either. I then realized Android was pushing their music service too, and it made total sense for Android phones to stop offering/enabling an OTA FM Tuner function.

What I am a little upset about is that Android 4.1.3 had a native Data toggle in the notification panel, and when I updated to 4.3 it was gone. I still can't come up with a reason why Samsung did that, but I wasn't about to stop using their product (now on 4.4.2 on that same phone) because I felt I had some entitlement to the function and Samsung was a horrible company for doing it.

Sure you can complain about something, but you do have a choice to use another product, and sometimes you just have to accept things the way they are. Life isn't always fair...

 

[marveroluis]

"What do you think? Would you like to have the FM chip in your smartphone activated or do you not really care much? Let us know in the comments section below."

I couldn't care less if there is a deactivated FM chip in my phone. The statistical likelihood of me using my smartphone for FM radio is less than winning the lottery - twice.

Do you have the capacity to think of others? or is it only you and the world

 

[davislane1]

Do you have the capacity to think of others? or is it only you and the world

Do you have the capacity to read, or do you only launch into ad hominem attacks when someone voices an opinion you disagree with?

 

[hrowder]

It is irrational, insulting, and incomprehensible that I would have hardware in a phone I paid for that I cannot use because some corporation wanted to disable it so it could sell me something else. The ability to use the FM chip at any time, including emergencies, is obviously better than having the capability but not being able to use it under any circumstances. And like some other folks mentioned, FM is not always about music. There are NPR and other "talk" presentations that may be of interest to users of "smartphones" that are looking a bit less smart when hardware features already there are disabled. Hopefully there is a way around this and perhaps TechSpot should present it to us.

 

[Guest]

I am an avid radio listener, so a built-in fm radio in a smartphone is a major feature for me. If it doesn't have a radio, I don't buy it.

 

[Badvok]

Well, if I paid for - and received - the hardware, I'd damn well like the ability to use it.
Whether I'd actually use it or not is not the question.
I want the ability to use what's already mine.

LOL, well you could always sue the provider/manufacturer to recover the $0.001 that you paid for the hardware you can't use.