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Ermine · ‎04-18-2021

Hi folks,

I'm wondering if it's possible to activate the FM receiver in my Galaxy A5 (2017). I would like to pick up the local radio stations.

Thanks.

Korth · ‎07-07-2021

Problem: FM radio doesn't work because phone manufacturer has disabled it or restricted certain regions from accessing it.

Solution: Buy a separate FM radio or buy a phone from a different manufacturer.

CellphoneuserPM · ‎07-07-2021

If you go to Samsung members forum you will find that the phone app exists but samsung refuses to provide it to there users in North america but Austrialia and India they have the app.

softech · ‎07-04-2021

interesting someone was asking for FM radio in another thread..

Yes, it harder and harder to find this feature these days.. it's never common with North American version of the phone anyway.. And someone said it.. Apple only has it on one version of iPod.. so, if Apple not giving their "blessing" on something.. i guess no one cares to keep it.

.. and without headphone jack.. this is useless.. i wonder of USB-C - headset adapter would work as the antenna.

darlicious · ‎07-03-2021

@Anonymous

The international version is probably the defining factor with the A3. I just set mine up and it works fine as it does on my moto g7+.

Anonymous · ‎07-01-2021

@CellphoneuserPM: As I said earlier...it works fine. No internet, headphones in...local CBC 🙂 Realize too that it's an international version apparently for the UAE market.

Samsung Pay makes all kinds of complaints about location. So I just use Google Pay.

CellphoneuserPM · ‎07-01-2021

Does it work? If not go to Samsung members forum and let them know you want it

Anonymous · ‎07-01-2021

I have the Samsung app. It was there when I got the phone on A10. It stayed there when it went to A11.

Radio - version 12.0.00.35

Although I can't seem to find it in the Google or Galaxy stores. It says it's all up to date and all.

CellphoneuserPM · ‎07-01-2021

If Samsung doesn't activate the built in radio with their own radio app then people can make a decision as to if they continue with their product. By letting people know that a radio app is available and the app could be installed then users will wonder about other apps Samsung provides that they don't want.

computergeek541 · ‎07-01-2021

@CellphoneuserPM wrote:
You missed the FM radio operation. It was stopped by Samsung with the update of Android 11 and UI 3. Samsung does provide a radio app for other countries such as India and Australia.
https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/using-the-radio/

I would recommend you notify Samsung you want the radio app installed.

Samung won't install the radio app on current models on Canadian models. They've made it pretty clear that it's being left up to user to figure out how to find a way to get this feature to work. Samsung enabled the FM receiver feature on some models from a few years ago, only to break the feature in a future Android versions. After months of customers likely displaying dissatisfaction about this, they re-enabled the feature, but still did not provide an app for customers to make use of it. Samsung and/or the carriers don't seem to want customers to be aware of this feature.

Anonymous · ‎07-01-2021

@CellphoneuserPM : A31 on 3.1 on A11 - radio app still there and works.

CellphoneuserPM · ‎07-01-2021

You missed the FM radio operation. It was stopped by Samsung with the update of Android 11 and UI 3. Samsung does provide a radio app for other countries such as India and Australia.

https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/using-the-radio/

I would recommend you notify Samsung you want the radio app installed.

Korth · ‎04-19-2021

The provider can enable/disable phone features ... when a new phone is purchased through the provider. Providers might rebrand and reconfigure whatever they like, they sometimes remove built-in software, they often install their own bloat to replace it.

If you bought this phone from Public Mobile then maybe Public Mobile can do (or undo) something to make the FM radio work. If you didn't buy this phone from Public Mobile then there's nothing they can do (or undo) for you, regardless what some half-informed or out-of-context website advice might claim.

You can try installing different FM radio software. You may have to root the device to install different FM radio software, if it's configured in such a way that user privileges are denied.

You can try asking Samsung (or some kind of Samsung support forum) for a working fix.

Anonymous · ‎04-19-2021

Well that was fun. Coincidentally, I just watched Pirate Radio. Great soundtrack. Fun, anti-authoritarian, sub-culture story.

computergeek541 · ‎04-18-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
My old Blackberry's had radio. Then they didn't after an update. My old Samsung S7 did. Then it didn't. My Samsung A31 has radio. It works. Currently. I don't know why they bother having it and then don't.

I still have a Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018). The original sotware from the device's iniitial release did work with Nextradio. When Samsung updated it from Android 8 to Android 9, Samsung disabled the feature. Many people complained and the disabling of the feature wasn't related to the carrier you were with. It was disabled for everyone. Samsung issued an update a few months later and re-enabled the FM radio.

In summary, a carrier can't just enable the feature.The device's software needs to be updated by the device manufactuer.

Anonymous · ‎04-18-2021

My old Blackberry's had radio. Then they didn't after an update. My old Samsung S7 did. Then it didn't. My Samsung A31 has radio. It works. Currently. I don't know why they bother having it and then don't.

computergeek541 · ‎04-18-2021

@Ermine wrote:
Thanks people,
The articles I've read say the provider can enable/disable the receiver, the app I installed is Nextradio.
When I open the app it says ask the provider to enable the FM.
I'll keep researching, thanks.

Nextradio is just plain wrong. The feature can only be enabled by the device maker. In cases of the hardware being present for FM, this is purely a software issue.

computergeek541 · ‎04-18-2021

@HALIMACS wrote:
@computergeek541

I believe the carriers do absolutely have a hand in this.

Why would the manufacturer put a feature in a device that it doesn't intend the end user to use, unless they are selling mass quantities of the device to a particular carrier who would rather THEIR purchasers use data ( that they're selling) to access streamed music, news, sports sources which are freely available by FM radio.

EDIT: I would agree with you that the manufacturers are complicit when dealing with large sale volumes to carriers.

Sure, but that doesn't explain why, in the past, some Samsung devices in Canada did have the FM radio. It also doesn't explain why some device manufactuers, notably HTC, Motorola, and Nokia had FM radio receiveers enabled in most devices sold by Canadian carriers at one point. I have also seen some LG and Blackberry devices that had it enabled, and even had the necesssary software installed with a shortcut in the app drawer. In thie end, Samsung isn't going to release any software updated to enable a feature in a 2017 model.

Ermine · ‎04-18-2021

Thanks people,

The articles I've read say the provider can enable/disable the receiver, the app I installed is Nextradio.

When I open the app it says ask the provider to enable the FM.

I'll keep researching, thanks.

HALIMACS · ‎04-18-2021

@computergeek541

I believe the carriers do absolutely have a hand in this.

Why would the manufacturer put a feature in a device that it doesn't intend the end user to use, unless they are selling mass quantities of the device to a particular carrier who would rather THEIR purchasers use data ( that they're selling) to access streamed music, news, sports sources which are freely available by FM radio.

EDIT: I would agree with you that the manufacturers are complicit when dealing with large sale volumes to carriers.

computergeek541 · ‎04-18-2021

@HALIMACS wrote:
@Ermine

Where did the phone come from?

Some Canadian carriers have deactivated the FM antenna in devices they have provided.

Popular belief is that they do that too try to coax users into purchasing data plans as opposed to having free access to a built-in tuner.

The carriers themselves didn't deactivate anything. This is a device manufactuer issue, althoguh the manufactuers like to blame the carriers. The programming of the software in a phone, Samsung in this case, is done entirely by Samsung. As to whether the carriers requested that the feature be disabled, that's a matter of debate.

HALIMACS · ‎04-18-2021

@Ermine

Where did the phone come from?

Some Canadian carriers have deactivated the FM tuner services in devices they have provided.

Popular belief is that they do that too try to coax users into purchasing data plans as opposed to having free access to a built-in tuner.

computergeek541 · ‎04-18-2021

@Ermine wrote:
Hi,
Yes I did all that, it tells me the FM has to be activated.
I guess Public Mobile has to do that.
Thanks

This is a not a Public Mobile issue. Public Mobile can't enable the FM radio. Samsung did not enable FM radio in many devices, even ones that have the compatible hardware. And, in many others that did have the feature enabled, the software was never included that was needed to use the radio. The Canadian variant of the Galaxy A5 (2017) doesn't have FM radio.