FM radio, Does it work for you?

[ExPalm]

At my desk, my 5th gen Ipod Nano's scan function finds 24 perfectly clear stations.
The Evo's scan finds NO stations.
If I manually tune the stations found by the ipod on the Evo, I can find 9 out of the 24 with acceptable reception. And, the radio app occasionally hangs up while tuning, and must be restarted before it works again.

Do I have a defective unit with respect to FM radio, or are they all like this?

(not a big deal, since I didn't even know it had FM when I bought it, and I still have the ipod for this purpose.

 

[htcevolee]

There are alot of posts about this issue: http://androidforums.com/support-tr...jack-thats-why-your-fm-radio-doesnt-work.html

TRRS Pinouts for Desire-like proper headphones without issues of direct plugging in - xda-developers

 

[BenChase7]

You realize you must have headphones connected right? It uses the headphones (wires) as an antenna.

I just thought of something, maybe this is an iPhone fix!! I am going to be rich!

 

[BenChase7]

Ohh, and yes, mine works.

 

[sikclown]

You realize you must have headphones connected right? It uses the headphones (wires) as an antenna.

I just thought of something, maybe this is an iPhone fix!! I am going to be rich!

Bwahahaha.

 

[WaSTeLaNd]

Mine hasn't worked at all dosent pick up anuthing, and heaving have head phones plugged in

 

[sikclown]

At my desk, my 5th gen Ipod Nano's scan function finds 24 perfectly clear stations.
The Evo's scan finds NO stations.
If I manually tune the stations found by the ipod on the Evo, I can find 9 out of the 24 with acceptable reception. And, the radio app occasionally hangs up while tuning, and must be restarted before it works again.

Do I have a defective unit with respect to FM radio, or are they all like this?

(not a big deal, since I didn't even know it had FM when I bought it, and I still have the ipod for this purpose.

As Ben pointed out you must have head phones plugged in because it uses them as the antenna. Mine works perfectly with every set I have plugged in so far... Including my car stereo audio in connection

 

[sikclown]

Mine hasn't worked at all dosent pick up anuthing, and heaving have head phones plugged in

Umm what? Heaving?

 

[peepeesea]

i use mine but the reception blows

 

[EarlyMon]

You realize you must have headphones connected right?

I think everyone must - it give a dialog if headphones aren't plugged in on startup.

As noted above by htcevolee, check out the headset links - mighty important.

Mine gets weak stations well, so in theory, it's not a bad radio.

 

[AppleR112]

Make sure that the headphone plug clicks and seats well into the jack... The jack is tight.

 

[mattjlomax]

Mine works perfect. Picks up every station in the area clear. Love this feature!!

 

[kiz88]

If your using TRS headphone your reception will be almost non existant you need TRRS headphones to get reception in FM radio.

 

[BenChase7]

If your using TRS headphone your reception will be almost non existant you need TRRS headphones to get reception in FM radio.

good to know, whats the difference? Do they cost much more?
Thx

 

[kiz88]

good to know, whats the difference? Do they cost much more?
Thx

Long story short TRS is not made to be used as an antenna and TRRS is.

 

[Minjin]

I reported the same experience with my radio here (and received some of the same BS responses):

http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/113816-radio-evo.html

The FM radio is lousy on this phone. That's all there is to it.

 

[gwap]

works perfect for me in nyc, better than streaming hot 97

 

[thunder18]

Guys, like Kiz88 said, just use TRRS type headphones. To determine if your headphones are TRRS type look at the headphone jack. Does it have 4 metallic sections separated by the black bands, or just 3 metallic sections separated by 2 black bands? You want ones with 4 metallic sections. Typically, the TRRS type headphones will also have an inline mic. I have 3 of these types of headphones from previous Samsung phones i've owned and i'd never even taken them out of the box.

Basically, the contact in the Evo's headphone socket that acts as a lead for the antenna signal has to touch a specific metal band on your headphones. Standard headphones that have no inline mic, thus only 3 metallic bands, don't line up in the correct spot to act as an antenna for the FM tuner.

 

[EarlyMon]

Do they cost much more?

FWIW - I got the $15 monobud at my local Sprint store - it _sounds_ spectacular as a mic (everyone tells me I've never sounded so good - better than talking into the phone without it is what I'm told) and works great as an antenna.

Sprint sells at least two kinds of these puppies - I've tried to look them up on the web for everyone, but can't seem to narrow them down. There's only one I recommend.

Black cord, silver bud and mic, and the cord is not cheesy vinyl, it a soft woven synthetic cloth. The other Sprint ones I've seen have a vinyl cord are all cheap - as in "just a monobud."

Lousy for stereo (obviously), but tip-top for calls and an antenna.

And per usual with this sort of thing - the button on the mic serves no purpose on this phone.

 

[kingtheproducer]

My Radio works perfect. Even when i plug it into my shower speakers. haha

 

[ExPalm]

Basically, the contact in the Evo's headphone socket that acts as a lead for the antenna signal has to touch a specific metal band on your headphones. Standard headphones that have no inline mic, thus only 3 metallic bands, don't line up in the correct spot to act as an antenna for the FM tuner.

Hmm, doesn't sound right, since this would eliminate virtually every personal audio player headphone on the market.. Still, I'll try to find a cheap set and see if it makes a difference. If it does, I may have to do a plug transplant (or build an adapter ) for my Sony earbuds.

In addition to the poor reception, most times when I do a scan. it just says scanning for a while, then it will not tune anything, even from the list, until I turn the radio off and on again.

Meh.. This thing would make a lousy radio/music player anyway, given it's battery life.

 

[NeoEVO]

I couldn't get anything other than static so I migrated to Sprint Radio.

 

[rsa]

Just like "Thunder18" said you've got to use TRRS type headsets or the radio will work like crap. At least that's been my experience. I plugged in a standard pair of "earbuds" into the phone and the radio reception was crap. Bought a cheap pair of earbud/mic combo (TRRS type) and the radio works great!!!!!!!!

End of story!

 

[81_]

i tried once, and it was junk.

pearljam radio works fine tho.

 

[skpd]

for people like me that need more info on the TRS vs TRRS plugs see here:

TRS connector - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and if you want to keep using your existing headphones I think something like this would do the trick:
Amazon.com: Griffin SmartTalk Headphone Adapter with Control and Mic for iPhone 1G: Cell Phones & Service