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Help FM radio not working

njbianco

Android Enthusiast
Nov 5, 2009
433
8
36
metro detroit
I cant get the FM radio to work at all when i plug in headphones and turn it on all i hear is static no matter what station i goto. It would be real nice to get it working so i can use it wile i'm walking. If i don't find a solution eventually im going to take it into sprint and see if its defective and get and exchange for another Evo. I was wondering if anyone else has this problem or has a solution it would be greatly appreciated if so.
 
3g radio ... FM radio ... they're both radios and they both drain your battery. I don't know that the difference is material.

The difference between an FM receiver and your 3G receiver are HUGE. An FM Receiver takes almost no battery to run, in fact you can use one of those old science kits and use no battery at all with proper grounding and some metal wire :)

However, that all said... since most people are not going to turn off thier 3G antenna when using the FM, the point is moot, as you're still going to be draining battery life the same with or without running FM.

For those having problems, I'd suggest you try a normal radio at the same location where you're getting no signal.. it'd be interesting to see if a normal stereo, boombox or walkman get a better signal with a metal antenna.

For my experience, I got PERFECT signal sitting in the middle of my couch, it was amazing.. then I leaned over and the signal disappeared. Sat back straight and it was back... seems FM is extremely directional in my home :)
My Stereo has the same problem... took me ages to find where I could the antenna wires to pick up a station.. they are now tacked to the walls.
 
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Try this... Plug your headphones in when prompted; wait for the "FM turning on" to complete and then pull your headphone plug OUT PARTIALLY... if you do it too much, the FM will turn off but you pull it out slightly and it works as it should.

I'm not sure exactly what the flaw is - whether it's the design of the jack or what. It doesn't use your headphones as antenna when the plug is fully inserted but it does make contact when you pull it out a bit, as if the antenna contact in the jack is slightly off...
 
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I tried pulling the headphones out a bit, and it works great. The only problem is any time i wiggle the jack, it cuts in and out. so that wont be an option if i want the phone in my pocket while running or something. I will be taking my phone back to sprint today to get a new one. you shouldnt have to pull the headphones out to make a good connection.
 
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I initially tried my Sony headphones and all i got was static; but today i decided to try the headphones that came with my Palm Pre and they work real well. I was able to listen to pretty much all the stations. Nevertheless, I tried them home, and have yet to try them walking in the streets, but hopefully they will work just as well. Let's see. Sprint sells them separately in the store so you might want to try them.
 
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