I used to have the FM Remote for my iPod, I can't say I used the FM tune all that option. Same reason I opt to listen to Apple Music over FM radio in my car. So Apple really oughta enable it for emergencies.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Faces Renewed Pressure to Enable FM Radio Chip in iPhones Amid Strong Hurricane Season [Updated]
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Anyone else here thinking it’s at least a little bit fishy when lobbying groups use catastrophes to push their agenda..?
(Just saying - not that I wouldn’t mind Apple to enable FM radio in iPhones)
(Just saying - not that I wouldn’t mind Apple to enable FM radio in iPhones)
Plenty of examples have been provided, like antenna and its connection and use of it. It seems like it's just an assumption that some sort of simple software update can just enable it for people and it would just work.
FM radio does not use the phones antenna . You use the headphone jack. You need to enable the hardware feature, so yeah, u can do it via firmware.
Clutching at straws that iPhones have a hardware limitation that prevents it, if so , please explain a credible one. It's not the antenna .
That's basically what it comes down to: what shows that all it takes is a simple software update to get it all working on all the exiting iPhones? And to extend that, what shows that the only reasoning behind it not be activated is just profit and nothing else?
According to Apple the newer iPhones lacks the required hardware:
https://twitter.com/reneritchie/status/913497056374853634
https://twitter.com/reneritchie/status/913497056374853634
Well, without a headphone jack, there's likely no antenna connection at all to the Murata RF chip (*) that connects to the Qualcomm/Intel baseband modem.
Which means there wouldn't be an antenna matching network (a coil, capacitor, etc) either, between the antenna and the Murata chip.
Which means a software update won't do anything.
(*) iFixit says the Murata RF chip is a combination WiFi, BT and FM module. I can't find any evidence that Murata makes such a combination, but that doesn't mean they don't.
Last edited:
Wait did I just really read that Ajit Pai of all people is trying to call someone else out on doing what is right for the public?
Lol....think I’m hungover, forgot the iPhone 7 onwards lost their headphones jacks....
[doublepost=1506631509][/doublepost]
Older phones. New ones are missing headphone jacks..... complicates things, I actually forgot apple removed the headphone jack....my bad
I would definitely like to have FM enabled. I know traditional radio is a dying breed but when it comes to your favorite local talk shows or emergency news you can’t beat good old FM.
Plus I hate having to depend on 3rd party streams to listen to the radio. Sometimes the servers go down and then you’re out of luck.
Plus I hate having to depend on 3rd party streams to listen to the radio. Sometimes the servers go down and then you’re out of luck.
All of that is now handled by the Qualcomm (or Intel on some iPhones) modem...
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+8+Teardown/97481
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon/modems/4g-lte/x16
Cellular
X16 LTE (download: Cat 16, up to 1000 Mbit/s; upload: Cat 13, up to 150 Mbit/s)
Other wireless functions
802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wave 2(MU-MIMO)/ad; Bluetooth 5; GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS
So buying an iPhone and a current Mac and not being able to connect them out of the box is ok and "user experience", but enabling the fm receiver that you can use with any 2$ headphones with the included adapter is not?
Yes, the modems can decode FM, but they don't have the RF head end piece. It's separate.
Check the teardowns for "WiFi/Bluetooth/FM radio module".
Cheers!
Last edited:
Yeah. We need fm radio in phones. No more Spotify would be great. No more skipping songs. Just flicking stations. And no data loss. And it would be cool to ski and listen to the local stations. That's why I'm considering buying an iPod nano.
A series of powerful storms over the past six weeks, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, has placed renewed pressure on Apple to enable the FM radio capabilities of the wireless modem in every iPhone.
The biggest push continues to come from the National Association of Broadcasters, a lobbying group that represents over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States, according to Bloomberg.Both the Qualcomm and Intel chips that enable Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity in every iPhone have a built-in FM tuner that would allow people to listen to FM radio over the air. Apple has not enabled the functionality, forcing users to use an app to stream FM radio over Wi-Fi or cellular data.
Powerful storms can leave thousands or millions of people without power or cellular service for weeks or even months, however, which can make it difficult or impossible to listen to FM radio over Wi-Fi or cellular.
FCC chairman Ajit Pai also renewed his calls for smartphone manufacturers to enable the chip during a recent trip to areas of southern Florida devastated by Hurricane Irma earlier this month, according to the report.
Pai, speaking with ABC affiliate WPBF 25 in West Palm Beach, said the chip is especially valuable "when it's an emergency."In February, at the Future of Radio and Audio Symposium in Washington D.C., Pai said "radio is vital" when disaster strikes.He added that most consumers would enjoy the ability to access free content over the air, like music on FM radio stations, which some critics believe is a key reason why Apple hasn't enabled the functionality.Pai noted that he is a believer in free markets and the rule of law, and he thereby cannot support a government mandate requiring activation of these chips, nor does he believe the FCC has the power to issue such a mandate.
Apple declined to comment on the report, and its stance on the activation of FM receivers in iPhones remains unclear.
Update: FCC chairman Ajit Pai has issued a statement that directly calls on Apple to "step up to the plate and put the safety of the American people first" by activating the FM radio chip in iPhones, in light of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.We'll update this article if Apple responds.
Article Link: Apple Faces Renewed Pressure to Enable FM Radio Chip in iPhones Amid Strong Hurricane Season
As I said before, radio, with its ads and talk (sometimes over the end of songs), has NEVER stopped people from buying music in any format.
Well, no point having it without a headphone jack as phones use the jack as an antenna. Yet another reason why removing the headphone jack is user hostile and stupid.
Same here was without power for a almost 2weeks it would be nice to have a fm capability.
If people prepared for disasters (by and large they don't) there would be no need for FM capable handsets.
A few years back I went through an ice storm for the second time in 20 years. I lost electric power (in a large city) for 5 - 6 days each time. After the second event I installed a gas powered electric generator that produces 40 amps/hour, enough to run just about everything in my house if I'm careful about what I turn on. Total cost was less than $3000. The only thing about the system I don't like is that even with a stabilizer I must cycle out my reserve gasoline supply (two 5 gallon containers) every other year.
My point is that I have prepared (belatedly) for 20 year events. Along the Gulf and East coasts MULTIPLE hurricanes are an ANNUAL event. When an emergency radio (with extra batteries) costs less than $20, just how stupid can you be to not prepare for that?
A few years back I went through an ice storm for the second time in 20 years. I lost electric power (in a large city) for 5 - 6 days each time. After the second event I installed a gas powered electric generator that produces 40 amps/hour, enough to run just about everything in my house if I'm careful about what I turn on. Total cost was less than $3000. The only thing about the system I don't like is that even with a stabilizer I must cycle out my reserve gasoline supply (two 5 gallon containers) every other year.
My point is that I have prepared (belatedly) for 20 year events. Along the Gulf and East coasts MULTIPLE hurricanes are an ANNUAL event. When an emergency radio (with extra batteries) costs less than $20, just how stupid can you be to not prepare for that?
Gee... is it bc people are abandoning over commercialized radio in droves just like TV????? Noooooooo