FCC Chief Tells Apple To Turn on iPhone's FM Radio Chip (cnet.com)

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FCC Chief Tells Apple To Turn on iPhone's FM Radio Chip (cnet.com)

Posted by msmash on Thursday September 28, 2017 @08:45AM from the fair-concern dept.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai pushed Apple on Friday to activate the FM radio chips in the iPhone. From a report: In the wake of three major hurricanes that have wiped out communications for millions of people over the past month, Pai issued a statement urging Apple, one of the largest makers of cellphones in the US, to "reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria." FM radios that are already included in every phone could be used to access "life-saving information" during disasters, he said. For years the majority of smartphones sold in the US have included FM radios, but most of them have been turned off so that you couldn't use the function. Why? Mobile customers would be a lot less likely to subscribe to streaming music services if they could just listen to traditional, free broadcast radio. This incentive is especially true for Apple, which has a streaming music service. Apple said in a statement: "iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models do not have FM radio chips in them nor do they have antennas designed to support FM signals, so it is not possible to enable FM reception in these products."

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Turn it on, will not work by WillRobinson · 2017-09-28 08:50 · Score: 5, Informative

No internal antenna.
1. Re:Turn it on, will not work by freeze128 · 2017-09-28 08:52 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Head of FCC tells Apple to bring back the headphone jack. That's what the headline should say.
2. Re:Turn it on, will not work by TexasDiaz · 2017-09-28 08:58 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  When Apple removed the audio jack in the iPhone 7, they removed the ability to plug in an antenna to the device - in Android devices, you have to plug wired headphones into the audio jack to act as the antenna for the radio. But why would the FCC chairman blow smoke out his bunghole without speaking directly to them first? Is it some unwritten requirement that they have to publicly shame themselves rather than putting on their big-boy pants and actually directly talking to someone? It seems like if you're the head of the FCC you can find a technical contact at Apple to speak to before being an ass about it.
3. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:01 · Score: 0
  
  Dont get technical on a republican, he ordered apple to turn on the radio chip, not he's problem if it's not working.
4. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:11 · Score: 0
  
  My shit-tier cheap af android phone (LG L40) that I bought three years ago for like $50 (new, without carrier branding or any attached contract) does have an integrated FM antenna in addition to its by-default enabled FM radio chip, and the reception is surprisingly good (though I rarely use it).
  Come to think about it, it also has a removable battery, micro sd slot and a headphone jack.
5. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:17 · Score: 0
  
  No internal antenna.
  What about using the headphone cabl... oh, right: courage.
6. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:19 · Score: 0
  
  That is because the FM radio requires the headphone to be connected so that it can be used as an FM antenna. Try it with an older Nokia phone, you need the headset connected to start the FM radio, but you can yank it out after it's turned on and it will still work, but it will only pick up a local broadcast within about 2 miles.
  The iPhone 7 and 8 do not have the headphone jack, so no FM antenna is possible, it is still however possible to use ANY iPhone charging cable as the antenna if they so desired. There is nothing forbidding the enablement of the FM radio function. In fact, it would be viable to actually enable HD radio (digital subcarrier) to improve the broadcast.
  As for how often the FM radio is used, it is rare, even on Nokia phones of old. The reason is that the old phones were never used as media players. Smart phones do not have long enough battery life to be used as a FM radio in emergency conditions. So Apple should not be afraid of gutting it's Apple Music service in favor of Analog/Digital radio broadcasts. If anything it should innovate with it's own peer to peer FM broadcast capability / WiFi walkie talkie mode for emergencies.
7. Re:Turn it on, will not work by aussie_a · 2017-09-28 09:24 · Score: 0
  
  But iPhones are the most expensive device on the planet! That surely means They're the best.
8. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:24 · Score: 0
  
  Indeed. And remove all that flat dumb user interface elements in iOS, it distracts when there is an emergency and you are looking to press a button only to realize that was a plain text..
9. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:30 · Score: 0
  
  Actually no, they're not even close to the most expensive phone available.
10. Re:Turn it on, will not work by AmiMoJo · 2017-09-28 09:40 · Score: 1
  
  antenna dongle
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
11. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:43 · Score: 0
  
  not just broadcast FM...NOAA weather radio frequencies too!!
12. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:45 · Score: 0
  
  they could charge $30 for that!
13. Re:Turn it on, will not work by mikael · 2017-09-28 09:49 · Score: 1
  
  Android phones in Europe use the earphone socket cable as an antenna - No external antenna
  
  --
  Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
14. Re: Turn it on, will not work by mikael · 2017-09-28 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  I miss my old Saisho Walkman - for me, it was the iPod of the time, had detachable speakers, play music on cassettes, had FM/AM radio reception and could fit inside my pocket if I removed one speaker. Could wear headphones or listen to the music from the speaker.
  
  --
  Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
15. Re:Turn it on, will not work by reboot246 · 2017-09-28 09:58 · Score: 2
  
  Lots of people don't have the latest, greatest iPhones. They still own phones WITH the audio jack, so it would benefit millions.
  
  Apple's answer referred to the iPhone 8, like that's the only version out there. They wish.
16. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Solandri · 2017-09-28 10:05 · Score: 1
  
  Use the charging port. Apple is always saying how they can't comply with the EU's microUSB charger mandate because the Lightning charging port they use is so much more capable than USB. So it should be trivial for them to connect an FM antenna lead to it.
17. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Octorian · 2017-09-28 10:05 · Score: 1
  
  For some reason, these features (especially the FM part, but the others too) are common among shit-tier phones but quite uncommon among higher end models.
18. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:07 · Score: 0
  
  The headphone cable is still present. Itâ(TM)s just no longer a mini plug, itâ(TM)s a lightning connector.
19. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Mr.+Cancelled · 2017-09-28 10:11 · Score: 0
  
  My Samsung uses the headset as an antenna. It's do-able, but in this case the statement's correct: Apple prevented this in order to ensure that users had to pay for services.
  
  I'm not a fan of the FCC, but in this case they're right.
  
  And I imagine the reason it's not in the most recent Apple phones is that Apple foresaw this day possibly coming, and thought "Fuck them! If we don't put it in the phone (and we're not legally required to), then we eliminate the potential loss of revenue down the road if and when someone figures out how to enable these things"
  
  The sooner people realize Apple is in it solely for Apple, and not to elevate their users, the sooner this disaster of a company goes away.
  
  I've said it before... They started so good! Steve Jobs was brilliant and had good intentions, but somewhere along the way he sold his soul.
  
  Now that he's gone, Tim Cook, who appears to have little to offer the company, continues his masters work.
  
  Once that notebook of future plans that Steve left behind runs out, Apple isn't looking too good. The stagnant release of the latest iPhone and the continued decline of the Mac are evidence of what Tim's brought to the table. Removing features powers users want, and offering new features that competitors have been offering for years. Wow.
20. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Graymalkin · 2017-09-28 10:13 · Score: 1
  
  There's no amplifier on those phones with an analog audio jack. So even if the situation was as simple as enabling a software change (it isn't) the FM reception would be complete shit. You'd have to stand under the transmitter to get a usable signal.
  
  --
  I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
21. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Obfuscant · 2017-09-28 10:22 · Score: 1
  
  Android phones in Europe use the earphone socket cable as an antenna - No external antenna
  Most Android phones use the earphone ground as an antenna cable, which certainly is an external antenna. The fact that it is also the shield on the earphone audio doesn't mean it isn't also an antenna.
22. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:24 · Score: 0
  
  The FCC would have been right if they'd put legislation in place to make the FM radio a requirement for licensed use. They did not. Sure, Apple and others probably "persuaded" the FCC to not do that or remove it if it were there, but the FCC were, by the lack of such legislation, not right to ask for it now.
  And this administration is dead set against regulation. See all the people put in charge of departments they think should not exist.
  To that extent, the FCC are wrong.
23. Re:Turn it on, will not work by TimHunter · 2017-09-28 10:57 · Score: 1
  
  The sooner people realize Apple is in it solely for Apple, and not to elevate their users, the sooner this disaster of a company goes away.
  
  Except for Mr. Cancelled, who doesn't realize this? Is BMW in it for anything other than BMW? Is Tesla? Microsoft? Does Samsung sell phones to elevate their users? This shouldn't need explaining (except to Apple-haters). Businesses - including Apple - are in business to make a profit. Apple under Tim Cook is enormously successful at this.
  Cancelled, you wish you had stock in this "disaster of a company." I do, and it pays for my iPhone and Verizon contract.
24. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 11:36 · Score: 0
  
  Well, I guess they could plug in some kind of external wire into a standard electrical port of some kind that could serve as an antenna .... oh, right.
25. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anubis+IV · 2017-09-28 11:36 · Score: 0
  
  In fact, they can't even turn it on in the first place. Neither last year's iPhone 7 nor the brand new iPhone 8 even have the FM chip in them that the commissioner seems to think they have, and I suspect the same will be true for the iPhone X as well.
  Older iPhones still had the chip, since it was yet one more chip on a commodity component Apple used, but, as you pointed out, there was no FM antenna connected to the chip, so it couldn't actually receive a signal. And even if we ignored that problem, you'd still need to add hardware and software support for turning the chip on and off, tuning the antenna, and piping the signal through the speakers, none of which was ever baked into iOS.
  Asking Apple to simply "flip the switch" on a missing chip is like asking chairman Pai to simply "flip the switch" to begin acting in an ethical manner: it's an impossible request.
26. Re:Turn it on, will not work by jeremyp · 2017-09-28 11:49 · Score: 0
  
  I'm curious. How do you think Apple could turn on this alleged FM chip without pushing a software update? If you can receive a software update, hey, you've got the Internet. FM radio not required.
  Furthermore, in an area devastated by a hurricane, why are the FM radio transmitters magically immune to being blown down or cut off from power?
  
  --
  All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
27. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Maury+Markowitz · 2017-09-28 11:50 · Score: 1
  
  > Apple prevented this in order to ensure that users had to pay for services.
  Right, like the hundreds and hundreds of app I can download to get any of those services without paying Apple.
  And it's impressive how they figured out a decade ago how they were going to remove the headphone jack in the future *so they could turn off FM*.
  Yeah, like that.
28. Re:Turn it on, will not work by tepples · 2017-09-28 12:51 · Score: 1
  
  Receiving an update means you have Internet access for an hour, not for a whole month.
29. Re:Turn it on, will not work by tepples · 2017-09-28 12:52 · Score: 1
  
  Good luck getting those apps to connect to their respective services without paying a recurring fee to Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or MVNOs that use their networks.
30. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 13:34 · Score: 0
  
  My Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has FM radio and headphone jack. Nice set of AKG headphoones too. Not exactly "shit tier".
31. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 13:42 · Score: 0
  
  The Chairman of the FCC is a dope, just like the guy who hired him.
  The rest of your post is the same regurgitated nonsense that gets bounced around the Slashdot echo chamber by people with an irrational fixation on Apple.
32. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 14:12 · Score: 0
  
  WTF are you babbling about? There is no hardware in modern iPhones to receive FM broadcasts. How can the FCC be right when the capability doesn't exist?
  Facepalm.
33. Re:Turn it on, will not work by rtb61 · 2017-09-28 14:16 · Score: 2
  
  So simply require that they put it back for emergency purpose, it's called regulation in the public interest. Why would you think it would be bad for the government to be able to broadcast to the public in times of emergency. It's kind of common sense, especially in light of the growing number of weather based disasters. Instead you applaud, it cost $5, people should shut up and die instead, that's GOD blessed profit, just ask the majority of US politicians.
  
  --
  Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
34. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Mr.+Cancelled · 2017-09-28 15:21 · Score: 1
  
  Cancelled, you wish you had stock in this "disaster of a company." I do, and it pays for my iPhone and Verizon contract.
  
  More money? Sure... Why not?
  
  But explain again the rationale of putting the profits from your Apple stock, which you paid for, back into the company paying you dividends?
  
  You buy their stock.
  
  You buy their products with the profit from their stock (this is a one way road btw, you're not making money on this "investment")
  
  I mean... If you make lots of money from your stock and have other play things, great! It sounds more like you have just enough stock to pay for your phone and contract (which again goes directly to Apple for the phone, a portion of your Verizon contract is also shared w/Apple, I believe), which is cool I guess, but does not overly impress me.
  
  It's actually kind of fanboy'ish. But to each their own...
  
  I see a morally bankrupt company who's lost their direction, forgot their mission, and are out of original ideas.
  
  You see an easy way to save $100 a month and get a "free" iPhone.
  
  C'est la vie
35. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Mr.+Cancelled · 2017-09-28 15:26 · Score: 1
  
  And it's impressive how they figured out a decade ago how they were going to remove the headphone jack in the future *so they could turn off FM*.
  
  No... They planned to remove the headphone jac ka decade ago as that's about the time they thought the market would be saturated with products that utilized the headphone jack, and the profits would have dried up.
  
  So the move was more of a way to ensure a steady income as consumers who wanted to stick with a familiar product upgraded all of their peripherals.
  
  You should understand this... It speak volumes about what motivates them these days. (Hint: It's not what's best for the consumer!)
36. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Mr.+Cancelled · 2017-09-28 15:37 · Score: 1
  
  I wasn't saying that modern iPhones have this hardware. Older versions did via the wifi chip, but Apple never built in the additional features that would be needed to enable it.
  
  I agree, based on how they've built the things, turning your phone into a radio via a software update is just not possible.
37. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 15:53 · Score: 0
  
  It's true they are the best, but it's because they're the most valuable. You can easily spend the same amount on an Android flagship device, but then you've got a shitty overpriced Android running Android, if that's not enough of a deal breaker, there's a battery that falls out and needs replacing every year, a shit camera and a headphone jack that only works when you press on it. You've just spent a lot of money on nothing and have to spend it again to get a proper phone from Apple.
38. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Grishnakh · 2017-09-28 16:29 · Score: 1, Troll
  
  The people at Apple have already proven themselves to be asses, so why should he bother?
  I'm not a fan of this Pai guy at all so far, but I'd become his biggest fan if he made a ruling that all smartphones needed to have FM radio capability, even if that means bringing back the headphone jack. Even better if he made it retroactive, and Apple was forced to recall and replace all their shitty jack-less phones. (And another bonus if, as the other poster said, they forced them to change iOS to change the shitty flat UI.)
39. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Dog-Cow · 2017-09-28 18:17 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps it's because Apple isn't a radio manufacturer. If people need a radio receiver, they can buy one. Every corner drug store in the US sells FM radios in some form or another.
40. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Dog-Cow · 2017-09-28 18:18 · Score: 1
  
  I'd be a fan if Pai issues a ruling that all shits going by the moniker Grishnakh had to gargle with hydrochloric acid every morning.
41. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Dog-Cow · 2017-09-28 18:23 · Score: 1
  
  I see a morally bankrupt company who's lost their direction, forgot their mission, and are out of original ideas.
  That could describe any of a million corporation in the world.
  What you really see is a washed-up shit who hates people who does things he doesn't like because he feels left out. But that's because you spend too much time in front of a mirror.
42. Re:Turn it on, will not work by JonBoy47 · 2017-09-28 18:36 · Score: 0
  
  Someone finally points out the gating issue! 90% of the cell phone towers in Puerto Rico are inoperative. There's precious little ability to make phone calls or text, let alone download the OTA update that would be needed to activate the latent FM capability. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico has 125 terrestrial radio stations. Even if 90% of them are inoperative, the 10% that are left cover the entire island.
  In an emergency where large amounts of telecommunications infrastructure (i.e, Internet service, cell phone towers) is inoperable, a single FM station covers orders of magnitude greater land area than any cell tower or Internet point of presence, requires zero infrastructure between the transmitter and receiver, has infinite capacity for receivers, and the receivers are simple, low-cost and low-power. FM stations provide incredible resiliency and capacity for mass dissemination of information compared to any alternative method.
43. Re:Turn it on, will not work by JonBoy47 · 2017-09-28 18:38 · Score: 1
  
  You're undoubtedly referring to the single PCB trace, from the FM antenna pin of the Qualcomm modem to the Lightning jack. And some software, which has no incremental cost beyond the initial development.
44. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 18:39 · Score: 0
  
  PERFECT example of why people shopuld buy Android phones instead of iPhones...
  Android phones are for the most part, made for the people... if an Anddroid phone does not feature the stuff you want more or less, then you buy from a competitor...
  With Apple... the iPhones are made PURELY to ensure as high a revenue as possible for Apple... FUCK the users... thats the Apple motto!
45. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 18:53 · Score: 0
  
  One can pick up a competent, tiny AM/FM & weather alert radio for about 5-10 dollars. Smartphone, meet Gorilla Glue.
46. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Plumpaquatsch · 2017-09-28 19:34 · Score: 1
  
  When Apple removed the audio jack in the iPhone 7, they removed the ability to plug in an antenna to the device
  
  If you believed the had the audio jack wired to the never enabled FM receiver, you are a fucking moron.
  
  --
  Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
47. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 19:55 · Score: 1
  
  Dead cat on the table, I suspect. Get everyone riled up/distracted about something other than net neutrality?
48. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Plumpaquatsch · 2017-09-28 20:02 · Score: 2
  
  Use the charging port. Apple is always saying how they can't comply with the EU's microUSB charger mandate because
  
  ... there is no such thing. Stop pretending.
  
  --
  Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
49. Re:Turn it on, will not work by hcs_$reboot · 2017-09-28 20:33 · Score: 1
  
  No internal antenna.
  Just connect something to the headphones jack, and here is your antenna.
  
  --
  Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
50. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 20:49 · Score: 0
  
  And add a buggy whip connector while you are at it. I so miss it.
51. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 23:06 · Score: 0
  
  This proposal is meant to address future fisasters, and not just in Puerto Rico, dumbass.
  PR is just the occurrence that revealed the problem to be addressed.
52. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 00:58 · Score: 0
  
  Perhaps it's because Apple isn't a radio manufacturer. ...
  And here I thought cell phones used RADIO frequencies to communicate.
53. Re:Turn it on, will not work by oh_my_080980980 · 2017-09-29 02:44 · Score: 1
  
  And they and all other manufacturers included them. Ass-hole.
54. Re: Turn it on, will not work by oh_my_080980980 · 2017-09-29 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  No it doesn't jackass.
55. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 03:55 · Score: 0
  
  My android lets me use my fm chip without headphones plugged in. The reception is non existent but it lets me try.
56. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 04:10 · Score: 0
  
  Trolling, trolling, trolling... All day long you're trolling.
  So much hate to your post, yet so little substance. But you feel that he's the one feeling left out in front of the mirror?
  Lol! Come back once you grow a set, boy. You are definitely not in touch with yourself...
57. Re:Turn it on, will not work by Shirley+Marquez · 2017-09-29 04:53 · Score: 1
  
  If you leave out ridiculous status symbol devices like diamond-encrusted phones and ultra-secure models made for the high security niche, iPhones are in the top tier of pricing. The upcoming iPhone X raises the bar for flagship phone pricing.
58. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 08:27 · Score: 0
  
  Don't drink the Kool-aid from concentrate!
59. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Brockmire · 2017-09-29 08:31 · Score: 1
  
  You're embarrassing yourself.
60. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Brockmire · 2017-09-29 08:37 · Score: 1
  
  That's internal antenna. External means outside and connectored.
61. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Brockmire · 2017-09-29 08:42 · Score: 1
  
  He's clearly touching himself.
62. Re: Turn it on, will not work by Brockmire · 2017-09-29 08:46 · Score: 1
  
  Do you have reading comprehension problems? The whole paragraph was generally "this makes sense and is a good idea" . The first paragraph explained there's a fucking reason to do it. What the fuck is your problem? Get a new bowl if someone pissed in your Cornflakes.
63. Re: Turn it on, will not work by interstellarsurfer · 2017-09-29 08:58 · Score: 1
  
  Apparently a piece of wire with a 3.5mm TRS connector doesn't meet your definition of an external antenna.
64. Re:Turn it on, will not work by slashdotwannabe · 2017-09-29 11:48 · Score: 1
  
  Ducking FUH. That doesn't make it an FM radio any more than my wifi router is.
  
  --
  This comment is my opinion and does not represent an official position of Donald Trump or others I do not work for
Television? by CohibaVancouver · 2017-09-28 08:52 · Score: 4, Interesting

When I was in Korea a few years back I was intrigued to see everyone on the subway watching OTA broadcast TV on their phones. This wasn't "streaming" video coming in over their data plan - The phones and tablets had antennas that extended from them and they were watching broadcast TV.
1. Re:Television? by FudRucker · 2017-09-28 09:08 · Score: 2
  
  in the USA they want everyone to buy subscriptions to everything, satellite radio, streaming music by paid subscription, netflix, everything is being geared to milk the consumer for money, i refuse to play their cash cow game fuck em they can FOAD for all i care
  
  --
  Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
2. Re:Television? by yo303 · 2017-09-28 09:10 · Score: 1
  
  In Korea only old people stream video.
3. Re:Television? by Kristoph · 2017-09-28 09:16 · Score: 1
  
  I pay a small fortune for cable television I don't use. I recently went to just having local channels and I am still paying though the nose for the stupid 'FIOS triple pack'. When I call them and tell them I want just have internet they tell me I will have a 'cool down period' where I will have no internet if I do this.
  It's a rip off.
  I'll take: HBO - for GoT and Westworls, Startz - for American Gods, and now CBS All Access - for ST: Discovery and iTunes - for everything else any day. At least I know why I have these services and if I don't like them I just cancel them ( and I can even cancel them off season when the shows I watch are now available ).
4. Re:Television? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:16 · Score: 0
  
  Comparing apples to oranges. The US is sparsely distributed. This makes broadcast TV relatively ineffective. Works great in cities, but not so much in the flyover states. And the US would really, really like to use that huge amount of bandwidth for something else.
  I have a feeling that in Korea, they want everyone to buy subscriptions too. But widely available broadcast tv fills the need.
5. Re:Television? by Mr+D+from+63 · 2017-09-28 09:30 · Score: 1
  
  When I was in Korea a few years back I was intrigued to see everyone on the subway watching OTA broadcast TV on their phones. This wasn't "streaming" video coming in over their data plan - The phones and tablets had antennas that extended from them and they were watching broadcast TV.
  There are only a couple of manufacturers of Android ATSC tuners that can plug into a phones usb port, I suppose because the demand is low. You can find a few more options for DVB-T
6. Re:Television? by AmiMoJo · 2017-09-28 09:44 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  This is called 1seg. Started in Japan, it's low quality 12 FPS video but easier and more reliable to receive on the move. Many cars have it, I was really surprised to see people watching TV while driving.
  The name of because it uses one segment of the available digital TV spectrum. It trades quality for extra error correction and redundancy.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
7. Re:Television? by nitehawk214 · 2017-09-28 09:49 · Score: 1
  
  You are not kidding: https://community.verizonwirel...
  You can't even change your service. Fuck Verizon and fuck all cable companies right up their asses.
  
  --
  I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
8. Re:Television? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:51 · Score: 0
  
  When I call them and tell them I want just have internet they tell me I will have a 'cool down period' where I will have no internet if I do this.
  That can't possibly be legal. Isn't there someone (with teeth) you can complain to?
9. Re:Television? by Graymalkin · 2017-09-28 10:09 · Score: 2
  
  The South Korean version of this is called DMB and is distinct from but similar in concept to 1seg. The US might see this some day in the form of ATSC-M/H.
  All of them are similar in they use H.264 for video and HE-AAC for audio multiplexed in an MPEG transport stream.
  
  --
  I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
10. Re:Television? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:10 · Score: 0
  
  They are a "regulated" monopoly. You should be able to complain to the regulatory body, most likely called the "utilities" something or other.
11. Re:Television? by Swave+An+deBwoner · 2017-09-28 10:23 · Score: 1
  
  I'll just leave this here:
  
  https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
12. Re:Television? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:31 · Score: 1
  
  The US is sparsely distributed. This makes broadcast TV relatively ineffective. Works great in cities, but not so much in the flyover states.
  "The flyover states" are filled with translators that get the TV signal to tiny 100-person towns only Wikipedia knows about.
  
  And the US would really, really like to use that huge amount of bandwidth for something else.
  They already did that; why don't you remember?
  Current broadcast TV uses a tiny fraction of the spectrum that was allocated to the good old analog version.
  .
13. Re:Television? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:38 · Score: 0
  
  Most of the people ARE in cities. And usually bigger towns than Europe have.
14. Re:Television? by Ark42 · 2017-09-28 10:42 · Score: 1
  
  But if you have a 1seg-capable phone, the NHK man can come collect fees from you, even if you never use it. I'm glad my phone doesn't have 1seg because I bought it from the states.
  
  --
  Morphing Software
15. Re:Television? by whatever_01 · 2017-09-28 13:32 · Score: 1
  
  I have that for my laptop but I don't know if you would get any reception on a cell phone without a regular antenna attached to it
16. Re:Television? by Trogre · 2017-09-28 14:44 · Score: 1
  
  My no-name Android tablet came with an inbuilt TV antenna and analogue receiver. It worked fine for three months before my country moved to digital TV and re-allocated the analogue TV frequencies to cell phone carriers.
  
  --
  "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
17. Re:Television? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 15:36 · Score: 0
  
  Same here, I use a basic cell plan with texting and pay-as-i-go data, which i keep turned off most of the time.
18. Re: Television? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 00:40 · Score: 0
  
  And most of the pigs are in crowded smelly feedlots. There are still free wild boars out living happy natural lives...
19. Re:Television? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 05:36 · Score: 0
  
  Mod parent up. U.S. oligopolies have crushed competition. Ireland (population ~5 million) has more mobile phone carriers and a more competitive market than the U.S. (population ~300 million.) The FCC failed by allowing incompatible cell phone standards to fragment the market into siloed monopolies, not unlike the war of the currents more than a century ago.
  Yes I can watch OTA TV on my phone in Europe. My unlocked GSM phone is compatible with networks in all of Europe, much of the Mideast and Asia. I can listen to FM even on the occasions when I'm out of the range of a working cell phone tower. Unlimited data is $25/month.
  U.S. mobile phone service has become much more expensive, less coverage than I had on analog in the mid 1990s. And it's vulnerable to storms and other natural disasters.
20. Re:Television? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 05:40 · Score: 0
  
  This is called 1seg. Started in Japan, it's low quality 12 FPS video but easier and more reliable to receive on the move. Many cars have it, I was really surprised to see people watching TV while driving.
  The name of because it uses one segment of the available digital TV spectrum. It trades quality for extra error correction and redundancy.
  Not necessarily. I can plug-in an adapter and get DVB-T high definition video on any android phone or tablet. It wouldn't take much for Samsung or Huaweii to integrate the DVB-T adapter's chipset into their phones or tables. Bonus, it would also pick up FM.
interesting by Osgeld · 2017-09-28 08:54 · Score: 1

my LG G6, which I hate and its a slow chunk of crap, just tells you to plug in a set of headphones for an antenna cause FM radio is not that hard to pick up
That doesn't really help if the receiver part of the chipset is just terminated, but it really wouldn't kill anyone to enable that feature in the future
1. Re:interesting by fisted · 2017-09-28 09:18 · Score: 1
  
  My LG L40 can receive FM without connecting an external antenna. I wonder why this isn't possible in a device that costs many times that from the same manufacturer...
  
  --
  CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
2. Re:interesting by Osgeld · 2017-09-28 11:25 · Score: 1
  
  I dunno but they botched everything IMO, I thought it would be a decent phone with my previous experiences with LG, but its lethargic in everything it does, the LCD screen is nothing to write home about either
3. Re:interesting by Xenx · 2017-09-28 11:30 · Score: 1
  
  My first guess, and I'm not knocking the phone, the LG L40 is a bulkier cheap plastic phone. Most people don't care about FM radio, so why bother making room for it in the premium devices where they're striving for minimize everything but the display?
4. Re:interesting by fisted · 2017-09-28 20:25 · Score: 1
  
  Could be, though the G6 is substantially bigger (a bit thinner though) and has 8.7 cm^3 more volume than the L40
  
  --
  CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
Free markets rule by Dorianny · 2017-09-28 08:55 · Score: 1

He could try to shame the tech companies to support his plan or he could use the FCC authority to do so. But of course to Pai that would be a outrageous attempt at interference with the free markets, no matter how many lives it saves
Yeah, but at least make it usable by dargaud · 2017-09-28 08:56 · Score: 1

Having an FM tuner is one of the requirements when I change my Android phone (the others being 4G, USA+Europe frequencies, 3.5mm headphone jack, SDXC >64Gb, screen >=1920x, screen >=5.5", removable battery, >2Go mem, >16Go onboard, 150g). This being said the last 3 phones I've had had shitty radios that kept on changing channel by themselves. I have no idea why. I suspected that the cabling of the earphones had something wrong and sent some fake 'next channel' signal, but it happens with different earphones and some phones are worse than others.

--
Non-Linux Penguins ?
1. Re:Yeah, but at least make it usable by Frederic54 · 2017-09-29 00:29 · Score: 1
  
  Strange, the phones I have (Galaxy SII, Moto G2, Zenfone 2) all have FM radio and I never had a problem with channel changing, maybe if it's in your pocket the touchscreen is getting touched. I'm a bit like you and always buy unlocked phone with audio jack and SD card, and $300.
  
  --
  "Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
2. Re:Yeah, but at least make it usable by iampiti · 2017-09-29 14:06 · Score: 1
  
  Which models can you buy these days that still have a removable battery? I'm having trouble with my current phone and the only one I could find in the 200 - 300 € range is last year's lg g5
3. Re:Yeah, but at least make it usable by dargaud · 2017-09-30 05:47 · Score: 1
  
  Well, in this case it's an ARCHOS 50b Cobalt/Lite, 32Gb, I got 2 weeks ago for 140€ and quite usable I must say.
  
  --
  Non-Linux Penguins ?
Nothing to do with streaming services by Guspaz · 2017-09-28 08:56 · Score: 3, Insightful

iPhones were shipping with the FM support disabled long before Apple Music or Spotify existed.
1. Re:Nothing to do with streaming services by DontBeAMoran · 2017-09-28 09:10 · Score: 2
  
  The iTunes Store still existed, though.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
2. Re:Nothing to do with streaming services by eclectro · 2017-09-28 09:32 · Score: 1
  
  i beg to differ. Other countries have FM support for their cellphones. It's just in the US big corporations and special interests expect complete control of their platforms and what there is on them.
  
  --
  Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
3. Re:Nothing to do with streaming services by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:09 · Score: 1
  
  Some Apple iPod devices included FM Radio. Apple intentionally disabled. And now that Apple is designing their own chips; they are excluding the FM Radio chips on purpose.
4. Re: Nothing to do with streaming services by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:16 · Score: 0
  
  This is specifically about iPhones. So you're wrong.
5. Re:Nothing to do with streaming services by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 15:38 · Score: 0
  
  True. I think in the Steve Jobs days, he wouldn't have wanted FM because it wouldn't be clear, premium experience. If there was a feature, he wanted it to work 100%. I both love and hate that about the Jobs Apple time.
6. Re:Nothing to do with streaming services by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 20:53 · Score: 0
  
  FM radio? So they could read off things I could more easily find on the Internet?
  No, the reality is that this is radio station owners desperately searching for a reason to force people to buy FM radios. the FCC here is just reflecting the views of the radio networks, desperately trying to be relevant.
  FM radios are buggy whips. Let them die.
on a side comment on all in one functions by WillRobinson · 2017-09-28 08:59 · Score: 2

Why not just buy like a transistor radio with solar cell charging, their very cheep. Where's my Swiss knife pop out of my Iphone, that would be more useful.
1. Re:on a side comment on all in one functions by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:16 · Score: 0
  
  iPhone, not Iphone.
  they're very cheap, not their very cheep
2. Re:on a side comment on all in one functions by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:41 · Score: 1
  
  Why not just buy like a transistor radio with solar cell charging, their very cheep. Where's my Swiss knife pop out of my Iphone, that would be more useful.
  Or get a hand cranked radio/flashlight/iPhone charger for emergencies.
3. Re:on a side comment on all in one functions by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:00 · Score: 0
  
  So you carry around with you at all times:
  
  A cell phone
  an MP3 player
  a digital camera
  a flashlight
  a GPS
  a compass
  an FM radio
  
  Who are you, Dilbert?
4. Re:on a side comment on all in one functions by thegarbz · 2017-09-28 19:53 · Score: 1
  
  Why not just buy like a transistor radio with solar cell charging, their very cheep. Where's my Swiss knife pop out of my Iphone, that would be more useful.
  It's ironic that you mention a single purpose built device in the same post as a multipurpose tool, and compare the two.
  The only thing useful is the device you have with you. That is precisely why the Swiss army knife is great in a pinch but not a very good knife, or scissors, or nail file, or (insert other function here). What good is the solar power transistor radio if it's somewhere else in a box I can't find when I need it?
  What good is my Miyabi pearing knife in my kitchen when I'm at work?
5. Re: on a side comment on all in one functions by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 00:47 · Score: 0
  
  Applephone. We don't have to revere their trademark like slavish epsilon consumers.
Pffffft by sit1963nz · 2017-09-28 09:01 · Score: 1

In an emergency my pocket radio powered by 2 AA batteries will significantly outlast any smartphone. And last time I checked you could even get them with a crank handle that recharges batteries using a dynamo . Emergency, what a dumb excuse.
1. Re:Pffffft by cfalcon · 2017-09-28 13:10 · Score: 1
  
  > In an emergency my pocket radio powered by 2 AA batteries will significantly outlast any smartphone.
  Does that go with you to work? Is it on your person right now?
2. Re:Pffffft by sit1963nz · 2017-09-28 13:38 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, yes.
  I also have ethernet cables, USB-Serial Adaptors, Bootable USB sticks (OSX), Various Mac cables (USB-C, Thunderbolt, Firewire, etc) A Torch, a Multitool , my laptop, etc etc etc
  
  Plus there is another radio in my car (as well as phone charger) and another LED based emergency torch, etc + water, first aid kit, and a toolkit.
3. Re:Pffffft by narcc · 2017-09-28 16:32 · Score: 1
  
  I keep one in the house, one in each car, and one on my desk at work.
  They're inexpensive, often less than $20, and could very well prove invaluable in an emergency.
  It's the same reason you likely keep a first aid kit all of those places, like I do.
  Of course, unlike the first aid kit, the hand-crank/solar radio doesn't require regular replacement. They're essentially a one-time cost. The one I have next to me is more than 10 years old and still works as well as the day I bought it. It just seems foolish not to make those a part of your normal emergency planning.
  That doesn't mean you should give up your phone. After all, you can charge it with your emergency radio.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by GerryGilmore · 2017-09-28 09:01 · Score: 2

As Apple pointed out, their phones truly just do not support OTA radio broadcasts. But Pai could not be bothered to uncover this little technical fact first....Now, if he were really serious about this "life-saving" stuff, he could use his R majority on the FCC to mandate that - after, say, 2020 - all smartphones sold in America must be able to receive and play OTA broadcasts but the chances of THAT happening are below zero.
1. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by idontusenumbers · 2017-09-28 09:11 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe they could include a migration from the wasteful analog FM we have today to digital.
2. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by Bartles · 2017-09-28 09:25 · Score: 2
  
  Pai didn't specify iPhone 7's and 8's now, did he?
3. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by Known+Nutter · 2017-09-28 09:42 · Score: 1
  
  He said "flip the switch" which could reasonably be interpreted to mean existing products. Regardless, specific models of iPhones would be a technical detail. His statement was without any technical detail whatsoever (beyond 'switch'). There is an ulterior motive here and it has nothing to do FM broadcasts for hurricane victims and more likely to do with the FCC poking Apple on behalf of the NSA. I know that sounds like tin-foil hat talk, but these days, nothing is outside the realm of possibility and nothing seems to matter anyway.
  
  --
  Beware of the Leopard.
4. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by ilsaloving · 2017-09-28 10:01 · Score: 0
  
  That sounds an awful lot like... like... REGULATION.
  Why do you hate Amaerica?
5. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:23 · Score: 0
  
  the newer phones don't support fm radio ONLY because there's no headphone jack. headphone cables are typically the fm radio for handheld devices without an 'internal' fm antenna.
  the qualcomm radios (perhaps intel's, too) still support fm radio because those same chips are used globally and in most other places, the feature is on, enabled, and available to users... it's apple's desire to sell $200 wireless headphones that killed the radio on iphones. even still, an internal fm radio would add like 5 cents to the cost to make the fucking phones.
6. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by PPH · 2017-09-28 11:55 · Score: 1
  
  wasteful analog FM we have today to digital
  There is already support for digital (HD) radio. And you can buy a receiver today. Problem: FCC selected a proprietary format, owned by iBiquity. The licensing terms are such that a couple of local FM stations have dropped their HD simulcasts and gone back to analog only.
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
7. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 12:09 · Score: 0
  
  Ajit Pai, one dumb fucking cunt.
  Maybe if he pulled his head out of Donald's ass for a secondly he'd catch a breath and know what the fuckn he is talking about.
  Have fun munching that rufous taint.
  Now that is a real garbage human.
8. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by idontusenumbers · 2017-09-28 12:12 · Score: 1
  
  Looks like it's all owned by DTS now.
9. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 12:13 · Score: 0
  
  Wasteful? Analog radio is still understandable to humans at 15% signal. Digital is as good at static under 90%. When people in disaster areas, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, forest fires, that difference can save lives.
10. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 14:00 · Score: 0
  
  and DTS was purchased by patent litigators Xperi
  HD radio has transitioned to the "collect royalties" portion of it's life.
11. Re:Again, Pai demonstrates his stupidity by jandrese · 2017-09-29 02:30 · Score: 1
  
  iBiquity is one of the most shameful examples of regulatory capture I have ever seen. Their system is entirely proprietary and protected by DRM and yet they are mandated as the only option for these chunks of the public spectrum. As you might expect the takeup has been slow and unenthusiastic. It's a tremendous waste of precious bandwidth.
  
  --
  
  I read the internet for the articles.
tell them ALL to do it by FudRucker · 2017-09-28 09:03 · Score: 2

Tell Samsung, Tell Pixel, Tell Motorola, tell ALL the smartphone manufactures to turn on the FM radio chip so i can at least get local broadcast FM radio music, news and weather

--
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
1. Re:tell them ALL to do it by fahrbot-bot · 2017-09-28 09:15 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Tell Samsung, Tell Pixel, Tell Motorola, tell ALL the smartphone manufactures to turn on the FM radio chip so i can at least get local broadcast FM radio music, news and weather
  Many of those devices already to have their FM radios enabled, but lack software to drive them. I use the free NextRadio app on my Kyocera Hydro Vibe and it works great. It uses the headphone wire as an antenna, so they (or a speaker) must be plugged it, but you can also output through the built-in speaker.
  Here's the official list of supported devices. Note that my device wasn't listed when I first installed the app, but it worked anyway. I sent some feed back telling them it worked and my device is now listed.
  
  --
  It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
2. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:26 · Score: 0
  
  tell ALL the smartphone manufactures to turn on the FM radio chip so i can at least get local broadcast FM radio music
  Heck, around here the local FM radio station is constantly nagging listeners to install an app instead of using the FM radio in order to listen to them.
3. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Obfuscant · 2017-09-28 09:51 · Score: 1
  
  I use the free NextRadio app
  
  NextRadio demands to know where you are so it can ... "look up" local radio stations, before it will allow you to use the tuner to find your own. It makes you go through two opt-out pop-ups just to keep it from tracking you using GPS, and then sits at a "zip code" entry page with no way past.
  It is probably not a good choice for FM tuner in an emergency, since the network will be down and it won't be able to look up stations for you.
4. Re:tell them ALL to do it by spire3661 · 2017-09-28 09:55 · Score: 2
  
  My Moto G1, G4 and G5 all have FM hardware and software by default.
  
  --
  Good-bye
5. Re:tell them ALL to do it by jwhyche · 2017-09-28 10:23 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I have a samsung S7 and I can't believe that actually worked.
  
  --
  I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
6. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Nethemas+the+Great · 2017-09-28 10:43 · Score: 1
  
  Just install the software, e.g. NextRadio. Or can't you be bothered to go to the app store? FM radio works perfectly well on my S8+ (US model).
  
  --
  Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
7. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Nethemas+the+Great · 2017-09-28 10:46 · Score: 1
  
  One might think you'd have already installed the software prior to the cataclysm. Also, nothing prevents you from saying "no" to the GPS request, nor from providing an alternative ZIP if you really don't want to offer your real one. It simply assists with station presets.
  
  --
  Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
8. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 11:21 · Score: 0
  
  In India (at least), FM is enabled by default in all the smartphones I have used. (Motorola, Xiaomi etc..)
9. Re:tell them ALL to do it by freeze128 · 2017-09-28 15:44 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  I was curious about NextRadio so I installed it. My device (LG G2) wasn't on the supported list, but it detected my location, and showed me my local FM stations. They played great.... I was suspicious.
  
  So I turned off WiFi and Mobile data, and the stations stopped dead. This fucker was ***STREAMING*** audio to my phone over a data connection, not using the FM tuner. Also, for some reason, it needs access to your files and photos.
  
  Unsurprisingly, I uninstalled it.
10. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 18:44 · Score: 0
  
  My grandpa has an old LG G2 that he uses as a radio while on morning walks, it doesn't even have a sim card in it so I'm sure it isn't using data. Going by the other replies it sounds like US providers deliberately removed the stock FM radio apps - might be worth checking xda to see if someone have uploaded the stock radio app that you can side load back into your device?
11. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 19:03 · Score: 0
  
  All the Samsung phone around here (HK) not only have the radio chip on, they also come with the FM radio app out of the box. Same for Sony, LG. HTC is the only manufacturer that doesn't come with FM app (not sure if enabled or not since no one I know have used them for the past few years.) Motorola and Pixel are unfortunately not available here.
  Tell your providers to stop making it difficult to access available features on the phones people purchased.
12. Re:tell them ALL to do it by fahrbot-bot · 2017-09-28 19:29 · Score: 1
  
  So I turned off WiFi and Mobile data, and the stations stopped dead. This fucker was ***STREAMING*** audio to my phone over a data connection, not using the FM tuner. Also, for some reason, it needs access to your files and photos.
  Previously the app only provided FM usage. Looks like the app has been updated in version 4 to add a streaming mode and use more data in FM mode. In streaming mode, it works like any other streaming app. In FM mode, there are now two levels of functionality: enhanced and basic. When a data connection is available (WiFi or mobile) it uses some data to get your location, local station information and download tiles of the current songs playing. Without a data connection it is simply a manual FM tuner.
  Previously there was only enhanced FM and basic FM - I've only used basic before the version 4 updates. I just tried the updated version and am less pleased. Sorry for the confusion, and that the app has been updated like this.
  
  --
  It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
13. Re:tell them ALL to do it by fahrbot-bot · 2017-09-28 19:30 · Score: 1
  
  I use the free NextRadio app
  NextRadio demands to know where you are so it can ... "look up" local radio stations, before it will allow you to use the tuner to find your own. It makes you go through two opt-out pop-ups just to keep it from tracking you using GPS, and then sits at a "zip code" entry page with no way past.
  It is probably not a good choice for FM tuner in an emergency, since the network will be down and it won't be able to look up stations for you.
  Previously the app only provided FM usage. Looks like the app has been updated in version 4 to add a streaming mode and use more data in FM mode. In streaming mode, it works like any other streaming app. In FM mode, there are now two levels of functionality: enhanced and basic. When a data connection is available (WiFi or mobile) it uses some data to get your location, local station information and download tiles of the current songs playing. Without a data connection it is simply a manual FM tuner.
  Previously there was only enhanced FM and basic FM - I've only used basic before the version 4 updates. I just tried the updated version and am less pleased. Sorry for the confusion and that the app has been updated like this.
  
  --
  It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
14. Re:tell them ALL to do it by blindseer · 2017-09-28 20:11 · Score: 1
  
  There's two possible explanations for this behavior that come to mind for me.
  First, the FM receiver is so tightly integrated into the WiFi/Bluetooth/cellular chip that it is impossible to disable one without also disabling the other. This may in fact be desired behavior to comply with "airplane mode" requirements.
  Second, the software developers decided to include the ability to stream the radio station audio to make up for poor FM reception when cellular or WiFi is available.
  I don't use NextRadio but I've heard their advertisements. They don't hide the fact that it uses data, they just say it uses *LESS* data than the competition, with the competition being those apps that don't take advantage of the FM radio. Your comments and others like it make me think that my phone not having an FM chip isn't so bad. If someone cannot offer an app that gives me access to FM radio and not also need internet access then the FM radio is effectively worthless.
  
  --
  I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
15. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 20:23 · Score: 0
  
  Actually most Android phone comes with a stock FM radio app that doesn't use data by default, except in the US it seems. I suspect you can find the stock apk from XDA board for each phone and side load that instead of using NextRadio. And going by other replies, NextRadio can work without data as well, they just use data where available to enhance the sound quality (which I think is stupid especially if they don't provide a easy way to turn it off, but whatever.)
  My S8's radio works just fine even while on airplane mode.
16. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Frederic54 · 2017-09-29 00:32 · Score: 1
  
  My Samsung Galaxy SII and my Motorola G2 both have FM radio, unlocked.
  
  --
  "Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
17. Re:tell them ALL to do it by freeze128 · 2017-09-29 02:19 · Score: 1
  
  I didn't disable the radio chip, I disabled WiFi and Mobile data only. Voice calls are still active, as was bluetooth.
  
  What really ticks me off is that the app didn't give me any kind of warning that I was going to be using data for its service. I would expect an app not to misrepresent itself.
18. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Goetterdaemmerung · 2017-09-29 04:32 · Score: 1
  
  One might think you'd have already installed the software prior to the cataclysm.
  Why would you think this?
  Separately I've been burned a few times by apps that I downloaded in advance of going to a remote area. When I get there I find I can't use them because they need a network connection to register.
  Apps are designed for always-on connectivity. Expecting them to work in a disaster is wishful thinking.
19. Re:tell them ALL to do it by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 04:59 · Score: 0
  
  Tell Motorola
  My third generation Moto G plays FM radio just fine.
  It also has a headphones jack.
Assuming Apple could do this... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:05 · Score: 1

How are people going to download the updated firmware to enable the FM radio? If they were in a position to do so, they wouldn't need to anyway.
Tells =! calls on by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:06 · Score: 0

I feel so old. I actually remember when Slashdot pretended to have editors...
The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-28 09:06 · Score: 4, Insightful

In order to get FCC Approval, Apple has to submit not only samples of their "production-ready" Phones; but full documentation, including SCHEMATICS and SPECIFICATIONS...
TO THE FUCKING FCC!!!
But now, that same Clue-Free MORON has the temerity to attempt to make Apple look like "Bad Guys" that have simply REFUSED to "turn on" that which does not exist!
And he Bloody-Well SHOULD have known that, BEFORE he even made his "Demand"!!!
FFS! Our Tax Dollars at Work...
1. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by kaatochacha · 2017-09-28 09:43 · Score: 1
  
  But...how do you know it doesn't actually exist? Have you seen the full schematics? Do you work for apple.
  Sure, apple told you it doesn't exist. But they also produce the iTunes application, and anyone responsible for that monstrosity has no clue whatsoever as to what's real and what's not.
2. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:46 · Score: 0
  
  You've obviously never seen Kingsman...
3. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by jwhyche · 2017-09-28 10:32 · Score: 2
  
  But now, that same Clue-Free MORON has the temerity to attempt to make Apple look like "Bad Guys" that have simply REFUSED to "turn on" that which does not exist!
  And we should just trust apple because they say it doesn't have one? Both AT&T and Samsung have told me that my S7 doesn't have a radio chip in it. An i trusted them and left it at that. Well turns out it does. I just tested it myself..
  
  --
  I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
4. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:37 · Score: 0
  
  It's really not that hard to Google it. Apple's devices usually get torn down within hours of them going on sale, and every chip and vendor identified, with product spec sheets following shortly after. With the iPhone 7, Apple started dual-sourcing their baseband chips in an attempt to diversify from Qualcomm. The Intel version has been identified as the XMM 7360 (http://download.intel.com/newsroom/kits/mobileworld/2015/pdfs/Intel_7360_factsheet.pdf) and no spec sheet I can find on the part shows any indication of FM capabilities even if an FM antenna was attached, which it's not.
5. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by PPH · 2017-09-28 10:52 · Score: 2
  
  REFUSED to "turn on" that which does not exist!
  Maybe. Maybe not.
  Does Apple have a different hardware model for the Indian market? Because FM radio in your phone is a pretty important over there. Don't have one and you won't be selling any phones in India.
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
6. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 13:08 · Score: 0
  
  Not everybody has an iPhone 7 or 8. I have a 5s which is very similar to the current production iPhone SE. Plenty of my firneds have iPhone 6's and all of these could play FM radio if only the firmware allowed it.
  Best argument for jailbreaking I've seen.
7. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 14:15 · Score: 1
  
  Except Apple only stated iPhone 7 and 8. Therefore it's reasonable to assume other models of iPhones DO have the ability and Apple has come up with this misleading statement until otherwise. Most people don't have either a 7 or 8 model of iPhone yet.
8. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-28 16:33 · Score: 1
  
  But now, that same Clue-Free MORON has the temerity to attempt to make Apple look like "Bad Guys" that have simply REFUSED to "turn on" that which does not exist!
  And we should just trust apple because they say it doesn't have one? Both AT&T and Samsung have told me that my S7 doesn't have a radio chip in it. An i trusted them and left it at that. Well turns out it does. I just tested it myself..
  Well, as someone else posted, due to iFixit teardowns, you don't have to take Apple's word for it; that is, assuming you can read a part number and a datasheet.
9. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-28 16:35 · Score: 1
  
  REFUSED to "turn on" that which does not exist!
  Maybe. Maybe not.
  Does Apple have a different hardware model for the Indian market? Because FM radio in your phone is a pretty important over there. Don't have one and you won't be selling any phones in India.
  Strawman.
  TFA was about the FCC, which means it only pertains to iPhones for the US market.
  Can't speak to the Indian model; for some reason, there doesn't seem to be an iFixit teardowns of that one...
10. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 18:30 · Score: 0
  
  iFixit didn't decap the Wifi/Bluetooth module to see what chips were inside, but most likely candidate is CYW/BCM4354, which does feature an FM tuner. But generally, as with some of the Nexus phones, if the FM tuner was not intended as a feature in the original design, the antenna pin is probably not connected, or grounded, so a software update to enable the drivers and add an API to control it is not going to help.
11. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by Plumpaquatsch · 2017-09-29 00:49 · Score: 1
  
  Not everybody has an iPhone 7 or 8. I have a 5s which is very similar to the current production iPhone SE. Plenty of my firneds have iPhone 6's and all of these could play FM radio if only the firmware allowed it.
  Best argument for jailbreaking I've seen.
  Interesting point. So does jailbreaking give you FM radio on an iPhone? Answer: NO.
  So what does that tell you? Right: the jailbreakers are in cahoots with Apple so they can sell you streaming. Any other "explanation" simply doesn't make sense.
  
  --
  Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
12. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by hondo77 · 2017-09-29 07:12 · Score: 1
  
  Yup: Apple would like to remind the FCC that it can't activate imaginary FM radios that iPhones don't have.
  
  --
  I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
13. Re:The Cluelessness of the FCC Chair is Amazing! by TheFakeTimCook · 2017-09-29 11:59 · Score: 1
  
  Yup: Apple would like to remind the FCC that it can't activate imaginary FM radios that iPhones don't have.
  Watch the Haters say "Of COURSE they would say that."
  Watch.
Sorry, not possible by viperidaenz · 2017-09-28 09:15 · Score: 1

Sure, most of the wifi/bt chips have an FM radio built in too.
It enable the feature it requires an antenna. It's usually done via the headphone cable, as you can't really make a decent antenna for ~100MHz signals inside a phone. The optimal length is around 1.7m. The headphone jack needs low-pass filters so it can be used an antenna. It can't be electrically connected to the metal body of a phone without a filter.
1. Re:Sorry, not possible by tlhIngan · 2017-09-28 09:50 · Score: 1
  
  Sure, most of the wifi/bt chips have an FM radio built in too.
  It enable the feature it requires an antenna. It's usually done via the headphone cable, as you can't really make a decent antenna for ~100MHz signals inside a phone. The optimal length is around 1.7m. The headphone jack needs low-pass filters so it can be used an antenna. It can't be electrically connected to the metal body of a phone without a filter.
  More than that, really. You need an antenna, and you need a I2S connection to your CODEC chip (for the audio). After all, FM receiption is pointless if you can't actually hear the audio, so the chips include an ADC to digitize the audio and make it available as an audio source. Turning the chip on is useless if the antenna and audio lines are not hooked up at all.
  And yes, I'll go with transistor radio, because those can get AM radio, which is where I'd go for my news. FM is full of Clearchannel crapola so even in an emergency I probably won't think to turn on FM radio.
2. Re:Sorry, not possible by jwhyche · 2017-09-28 10:36 · Score: 2
  
  And yes, I'll go with transistor radio, because those can get AM radio, which is where I'd go for my news. FM is full of Clearchannel crapola so even in an emergency I probably won't think to turn on FM radio.
  Don't just top at AM if you are getting one for emergency. Get one that handles the shortwave bands too. The shortwave bands can pick up radio from all around the world so the can get signals that are come from outside of a disaster area. If the disaster is big enough it might take out all the AM stations in range of your radio.
  
  --
  I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
3. Re:Sorry, not possible by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:49 · Score: 0
  
  Get one that handles the shortwave bands too.
  So you can listen to all the bat-shit crazy Xtian preachers. Pretty much all that's left on the SW bands in the USA.
4. Re:Sorry, not possible by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 04:58 · Score: 0
  
  Holy crap, this thread almost got useful. Here's more stuff. iPhone 8: "Apple/USI 170804 339S00397 WiFi/Bluetooth module" (Some sources say Wifi/Bluetooth/FM radio module)
  http://www.usish.com/english/products_wifi.php#w3
  USI would be able to answer if the module can *easily* support FM radio. (Whether or not it's connected to go anywhere is a different issue entirely and I don't have iPhone 8 schematics at hand.) Even if it can't easily support FM radio, it's an SDR.... Give it the right firmware and it will tune into anything. Now whether the front end will filter out anything not intended for it is a different thing entirely.
5. Re:Sorry, not possible by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 05:00 · Score: 0
  
  Hell don't just stop at AM and shortband if it's for an emergency. You probably want one that tunes into police freqs too. Heck, you probably might want to read the multiplexer too. Heck, you might want one that also can transmit also. Heck, 5 watts is nice. Heck, for all of that, might as well carry around a HackRF with you, lol.
Re:FM a threat to streaming? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:17 · Score: 0

ClearChannel owns and operates billboards and doesn't have the radio business anymore. You should really update your slashbot talking points.
Re:FM a threat to streaming? by MountainLogic · 2017-09-28 09:20 · Score: 1

I could not agree more about what unclearchannel consolidation has done to homogenize our community media. Of greater risk is the destruction to our communities' resiliency. It used to be that broadcast radio was a critical infrastructure in times of disaster. I remember ("kids, get off my lawn") power and towers going down and the station techs/DJs and maybe a ham driving out to back-up transmitters winging it live and helping to coordinate communications and resources when needed. I assume these days most of these corporate stations are just an unmanned transmitter attached to DSL line without a local tech to be seen in the same city. At least we do have NPR with real engineer, tech and talent that knows the phone numbers for local resources.
The fact that the handset vendors are selling $k phones without such a simple, basic lifesaving resources as an FM receiver + weather radio (~162 MHz) is criminal.
Then again, I gess we are all just consumers so who need real community.
Re:FM a threat to streaming? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:21 · Score: 0

It depends on where you are. Many college towns have independent student-run stations and some of them are very good. NorCal has a thriving "community radio" scene, often with a bunch of far-left politics but then if you tune in an hour later there's some good music too.
Re:FM a threat to streaming? by TigerPlish · 2017-09-28 09:21 · Score: 0

ClearChannel owns and operates billboards and doesn't have the radio business anymore. You should really update your slashbot talking points.
So now they're called iheartmedia. a rose, by any other name. You should really become more resilient to Silly Name Changes to Obscure Piss Poor Performance.

--
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
FM is a threat to streaming? by hawguy · 2017-09-28 09:22 · Score: 1

Why? Mobile customers would be a lot less likely to subscribe to streaming music services if they could just listen to traditional, free broadcast radio
Is that really the justification? Seems pretty weak. My car has an FM radio, yet I still choose to pair it with my phone so I can listen to streaming stations -- radio is not a substitute for a station where I get to pick the music.
And since cellular providers are always whining that their customers are eating up valuable cellular bandwidth with streaming (which forces them to cap "unlimited" plans), seems like they'd be *happy* to reduce streaming.
1. Re:FM is a threat to streaming? by bluefoxlucid · 2017-09-28 09:39 · Score: 1
  
  Radio signal wobbles in and out. Even FM is shit quality. I don't understand why people want the buzzing, crackling, and volume-swaying experience of FM instead of the crisp, clear, consistent experience of BlueTooth.
  Even AM radio is better-quality than FM. The signal has better reach and better power; it responds really poorly to electrical interference (FM doesn't).
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
2. Re:FM is a threat to streaming? by Obfuscant · 2017-09-28 10:00 · Score: 1
  
  I don't understand why people want the buzzing, crackling, and volume-swaying experience of FM instead of the crisp, clear, consistent experience of BlueTooth.
  
  Because I can pick up FM stations from 50 miles away, and the bluetooth signal fails at 50 feet. And that "consistent" bluetooth "experience" has failed while walking around the campus here, where 2.4GHz wifi is swamping everything else on the band. The phone is about 8 inches from the headset and it drops out. But you're comparing apples and oranges.
  
  Even AM radio is better-quality than FM.
  Wow. It must be radio hell where you live for AM to be better than FM.
  
  The signal has better reach and better power;
  "Better reach" is a side-effect of the frequency band being used and depends a lot on time of day. "Better power" is a function of the transmitter, not the receiver.
3. Re:FM is a threat to streaming? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:37 · Score: 0
  
  Sounds like the OP has AM and FM backwards. Or just doesn't have a clue. ;-)
4. Re:FM is a threat to streaming? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 13:52 · Score: 0
  
  A weak justification is all that's required when your objective is to whine about Apple.
5. Re:FM is a threat to streaming? by bluefoxlucid · 2017-09-29 02:38 · Score: 1
  
  Nope. My car comes up with FM music stations that buzz and fuzz; the AM 1090 talk radio station is clear the whole ride to work. FM just doesn't like distortion; it's fine with electrical interference. AM is fine with distortion, but not great with electrical interference. This is because FM relies on modulation of frequency (hence FM) across a small range of frequencies (channel) and so can handle EM noise close to those frequencies raising the amplitude across them; while AM relies on modulation of amplitude and so simply plays noise as noise. AM is less-vulnerable to attenuation (and reflection off buildings) due in part to the frequency ranges used, and in part due to bouncing off the ionosphere and raining from the sky instead of traveling line-of-sight from the transmitter.
  AM generally loses its quality when you have radio interference, e.g. thunderstorm.
  It amazes me anyone finds FM listenable at all, considering the short range of the stations, the tendency to overlap stations in between regions (interference in large areas, lots of fading in and out), and the amount of fading in and out that happens in terrain that's hilly or near tall buildings.
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
6. Re:FM is a threat to streaming? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 04:25 · Score: 0
  
  Your description is the exact opposite of my experience. It very much sounds like you have AM and FM confused.
  n.b. I'm not saying you actually have them confused, only that it's an understandable conclusion for a reader to draw, based on experience.
  AM radio is noisy and fuzzy-sounding, enough so that I don't bother.
  FM is clear listening for the most part (I can think of one channel -- just one! -- that tends to be fuzzy, depending on whether I'm closer to work or home).
  I don't live in the mountains, so I really don't notice any terrain-based fading in and out.
  It amazes me that anyone finds AM preferable to FM.
7. Re:FM is a threat to streaming? by Obfuscant · 2017-09-29 07:33 · Score: 1
  
  Nope. My car comes up with FM music stations that buzz and fuzz; the AM 1090 talk radio station is clear the whole ride to work.
  
  Your car radio is fucked. You're basing your evaluation of FM on a moving car radio and pretending that that's the only way anyone ever listens.
  
  It amazes me anyone finds FM listenable at all,
  Like I said, you must live in radio hell. And thanks for the lecture after comparing FM to Bluetooth.
8. Re:FM is a threat to streaming? by bluefoxlucid · 2017-09-29 08:05 · Score: 1
  
  Bluetooth's transmission tower is like a meter from the receiver and has line-of-site and digital error correction.
  Who listens to the radio outside their car? Does anyone actually own a radio anymore?
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
Why not just use Pandora/Spotify? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:23 · Score: 0

NT?
1. Re:Why not just use Pandora/Spotify? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:29 · Score: 0
  
  Because when there is a hurricane the first thing to go are the cell towers that provide the data streaming. DOH!!!
2. Re:Why not just use Pandora/Spotify? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:03 · Score: 0
  
  Those things require Internet access.
  (Did you really not know this?)
3. Re:Why not just use Pandora/Spotify? by SeaFox · 2017-09-28 10:58 · Score: 1
  
  Try reading the summary, dumbass. Cell phone system are knocked out in natural disasters. A radio station only needs power for one transmitter for a large geographic area.
4. Re:Why not just use Pandora/Spotify? by Swave+An+deBwoner · 2017-09-28 11:36 · Score: 2
  
  Just download the emergency broadcasts before the hurricane starts and listen to them later in the comfort of your soon to be destroyed home.
  
  All you smart people and you can't come up with this obvious solution! Come on guys!
If they have sent in portable info stations. by deviated_prevert · 2017-09-28 09:29 · Score: 1

To help deal with the disaster then it makes sense. Yes still having radio functions on a cell is a very good idea in situations like what has happened in the Caribbean islands. My cheap ass Polaroid branded android phone has the function. Apple disabling the feature was rather short sighted on their part. Obviously herding the sheep to mostly get their tunes from an iTunes subscription was a big part of the equation in Apples move to disable the function.
One question will the radio function still work with any wire set connected to the lightning connector? Or does it only detect lightning not modulated rf? Maybe if the function is reactivated then the red cross can send in emergency head phone adapters for all the poor disconnect iPhone users on the islands, along with a hack to reactivate all the disconnected iOS radio software. Either way I don't see an easy solution to getting newer iPhones to pick up radio stations again. By the time Apple reacts and releases an update to activate the function most likely full cell service will have been restored.

--
This message was not sent from an iPhone because Peter Sellers really was a deviated prevert without a dime for the call
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:34 · Score: 0

There you are you disgusting fat sexist tube of lard, Christopher Dale Reimer!
You can be sure I will be watching this fake account too. I know this is you because you told me you were working on your freepass 11 file server and you are so dumb that you can't even masquerade yourself properly.
Now, I told you I was out of meds last week and you didn't even care to contact me you lazy fucker.
How many time do I have to express the emergency of the situation??????
The python click script you wrote for my pheromone revenue stream web site suddenly stopped to work!!!!!!
You fucking incompetent python script writer!!!
When it works, I get 4000+ clicks a day on my pheromone revenue stream web site but only 5 or 6 without it!!!!
Now, it seems like you dont care and that you have abandoned me you heartless fucking pig!
Bonus:
Here is a story that creimer told me when convincing me what a hard life he had:
The tree was him and the tree knot was his butt hole!
So, his uncle packed his fat ass with lard and with his cock! Not that it makes much of a difference but anyway, there it is!
Signed:
The girl that used to love you and now hates you, burn in hell where you belong you sexist pig!
Q: Why? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:43 · Score: 0

A: Antennas not installed.
1. Re:Q: Why? by PPH · 2017-09-28 12:00 · Score: 2
  
  Most pocket-sized radios use the headphone cable as an antenna. So just plug your headphones into your iPhone ...... Oh.
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:54 · Score: 0

Hey Creimy Dumpty!
Creimy Dumpty sat on the wall,
Creimy Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses
And all the king's men
Couldn't put Creimy Dumpty
Together again.
Creimy's siblings video and theme song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Creimy's real picture:
https://ibb.co/gVad65
Creimy's chair:
http://www.keynamics.com/image...
Creimy's head:
https://school.discoveryeducat...
Creimy acting in educational resource document:
http://www.sccoe.org/depts/stu...
A few questions by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 09:55 · Score: 0

I have a few questions about this.
Why single out Apple? The same criticism applies to many Android devices as well. It would be nice to be able to tune FM radio on Android phones, too.
Would the transmitters be powered for many of the stations? If the islands are largely without power, and even two out of three of the NOAA weather radio transmitters in PR and the USVI are down, would anything still be transmitting at this time?
Also, speaking of NOAA weather radio stations, what are these tuners capable of? NOAA weather radio stations are between 162.4 and 162.55 MHz, and have much less bandwidth than commercial FM stations. I'd also expect that the 2-meter band (144-148 MHz) is useful for amateur radio operators. Could a phone FM radio tuner even tune these stations?
Re: FM a threat to streaming? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:07 · Score: 0

Yeah! You tell that bootlicker!
He falls for the oldest trick in the book and thinks he's can chastise people? Puhleeeze.
He's a moron by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:15 · Score: 0

You need more than a demodulation unit in the SOC, you need an antennae that can tune to FM wavelengths, but such a large antennae will not fit into modern phone form factors. This is what happens when you appoint a political hack to run a technical agency.
Re:FM a threat to streaming? by Obfuscant · 2017-09-28 10:17 · Score: 2

I could not agree more about what unclearchannel consolidation has done to homogenize our community media.
If a community doesn't support its local radio station to the point that the station needs to sell out to a national chain in order to exist, then was it truly community radio to begin with? Is it better for the station to close down and have the equipment removed, or to be in place so that it can be used do disseminate emergency information when necessary? Why does it matter what it plays at other times?

At least we do have NPR with real engineer, tech and talent that knows the phone numbers for local resources.

Our "NPR" tech/engineer works in the big city 60 miles away and has the numbers for resources 60 miles away. That's not local. There are places where that 60 miles is more like 180 and a four or five hour drive.

The fact that the handset vendors are selling $k phones without such a simple, basic lifesaving resources as an FM receiver + weather radio (~162 MHz) is criminal.
For those to be "lifesaving", they need to be listened to. Most people don't know about NOAA radio, and even most of those that do don't listen on a regular basis. How many people have a properly configured and working weather radio where they are? I have one and I have yet to hear it alert on anything, including the alleged regular tests. It's basically useless.
Therefore not a headphone cable. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:21 · Score: 0

It's a headphone cable into the lightning adaptor. The phone needs the headphone because the wire acts like an FM antenna. If that antenna stops at the adaptor, it doesn't act like one for the phone.
Dumbass.
1. Re:Therefore not a headphone cable. by Plumpaquatsch · 2017-09-28 19:58 · Score: 1
  
  It's a headphone cable into the lightning adaptor. The phone needs the headphone because the wire acts like an FM antenna. If that antenna stops at the adaptor, it doesn't act like one for the phone.
  Dumbass.
  If that antenna stops at the headphone jack, it doesn't act like one for the phone either, you bloody imbecile.
  
  --
  Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
2. Re: Therefore not a headphone cable. by Brockmire · 2017-09-29 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  You do know you're wrong and look stupid, right?
3. Re: Therefore not a headphone cable. by Plumpaquatsch · 2017-09-30 01:06 · Score: 1
  
  You do know you're wrong and look stupid, right?
  Talking to yourself again, you retard?
  
  --
  Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
4. Re: Therefore not a headphone cable. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-10-01 02:29 · Score: 0
  
  I know you are but what am I?
  PS my dad could totally kick your dad's ass.
Okay, um, what about all the OLD iPhones?!? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:25 · Score: 0

Also, why not require Apple to integrate an FM antenna into the Lightning (or USB C when they go that way,) dongle?
This is nothing but a BS excuse. All the FCC has to do is withhold approval for any radio transmitter or receiver sold unless it contains the ability to act as an FM radio, and includes an ad-free, free-to-use app that will allow users to access it, and have full access to stereo features, etc.
Frankly, I'd love to see Apple forced to produce a "AM/FM/WXR" app that lets you use any/all the radios as SDR, or whatever. Why? Courage. :)
Apple, enable the goddamned radio on the phone. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:31 · Score: 0

Apple, enable the goddamned radio on the phone.
It shouldn't take a FCC action to do it.
That's the issue. Not that the FCC chairman requested it.
Enable. The. Fucking. Radio.
1. Re:Apple, enable the goddamned radio on the phone. by Pieroxy · 2017-09-29 21:14 · Score: 1
  
  Enable. The. Fucking. Radio.
  Didn't you get the memo? There is no radio to be enabled.
  
  --
  Write boring code, not shiny code!
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:42 · Score: 0

Get a life, bitch!
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 10:45 · Score: 0

Get a life, asshole.
What about earlier iPhones? by rtfa0987 · 2017-09-28 10:47 · Score: 1

The Apple answer is not complete. What about earlier models?
Maybe just maybe... by Graymalkin · 2017-09-28 11:09 · Score: 2

Pai could read up on WEAs. They work with existing cell phones with no additional hardware necessary. They use out of band signaling so a flooded network does not affect them and cell sites don't actually need MSC connectivity to send them out.
Pai could also call out the CTIA et al, for dragging their feet and suing the government to not be required add backup power to cell sites. This was something the FCC mandated after Katrina but got thrown into legal limbo for years by the CTIA.

--
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
1. Re:Maybe just maybe... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 14:02 · Score: 0
  
  WEA doesn't work when the cell site is underwater
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 11:10 · Score: 0

Exactly! We, at Special Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education, couldn't agree more with you!
For the valuable /. users that might already have read the following, please note that there is an important update.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
Special Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education has invested money to buy Chris a new chair:
http://www.keynamics.com/image...
Information about Christopher Dale Reimer and autistic people:
Autistic people have obsessions about things normal people don't care. For example, one of our autistic patient went haywire when he realized that there was a penny missing in his pocket change.
To calm him down, one of our educator pretended to have found it on the floor and gave a penny to him.
The autistic patient condition went even worse because he realized it wasn't the same penny!
Chris has an obsession with budgeting every penny. He doesn't understand that most people do not budget to the penny and have a flexible amount they allow for miscellaneous items.
I am Nancy Guerrero and I am Director of Special Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education. We use Chris' (a.k.a. creimer,cdreimer) picture in our document because he is the hardest case we have ever had to handle:
http://www.sccoe.org/depts/stu...
Our artists were inspired by the low carb diet that Christopher follows scrupulously for the small lunch box and by the picture linked below for the rest. I am sure that you will notice the similarities such as the bump on the side of his chest and more:
https://ibb.co/gVad65
Please be easy on Christopher although, I am aware that some of our staff handling Chris post joke comments here and obvoiusly, the Santa Clara County Office of Education disapprove that behavior vehemently:
https://school.discoveryeducat...
But it isn't Chris' fault if he is the way he is. We do the best we can do with him and he is partially integrated into society. We try to cure his abnormal need for attention but he is kind of stubborn and won't listen to anybody.
Thank You dear users,
-Nancy Guerrero
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 11:15 · Score: 0

What's is wrong Creimy-Dumpty a.k.a. Christopher Dale Reimer?
Don't tell me that you ran out of posting quota on this fake account too and now need to post as AC.
Go fuck yourself fat tube of lard!
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 11:17 · Score: 0

Jesus Christ! Get a fucking life!
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 11:19 · Score: 0

Get your 97 trillion karma points back, Chris!
Ridiculous by ai4px · 2017-09-28 11:22 · Score: 1

If you happen to have an iPhone 6 and can get internet for the âoeupgradeâ to FM radio, you can get your news. How much is a FM radio these days? And a purpose built radio will work head and shoulders above a radio inside a cell phone with no antenna. Sheesh.
Hand crank emergency radio by spinitch · 2017-09-28 11:29 · Score: 1

Anyone who can afford a recent iPhone can afford an inexpensive emergency radio. In Japan, where earthquakes, floods, landslides have raised awareness for people to stock basic emergency supplies including hand crank charging radio/flashlights which are fairly inexpensive and more reliable in an emergency. Of course these are typically left at home. Phones usually with a person but unless on a hike should be near some place with a functional radio. Yes, would be helpful if iPhones offered FM radio. Apple stingy on this small feature should be explained. As others indicated an antenna adapter could be an accessory. Many folks would probably forgo and use the $20 for a more functional dedicated FM/AM radio. My Sony Walkman has FM radio though signal often poor but good enough for hearing voice warnings. Think Apple will wait for a calmer time to address this issue which is being amplified due to the emergency. iPhone scoped out the feature since rarely important to most. A water proof iPhone 7 could be argued more durable and useful when a hurricane rolls through. Sorry but I think the outrage is over blown on this feature missing in an iPhone. If important get an Android or a dedicated radio.
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 11:34 · Score: 0

Who the fuck is Chris? Why are you spamming Slashdot with this nonsense?
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 11:38 · Score: 0

You’re a sick bastard. Get psychological help.
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 12:05 · Score: 0

Christopher Dale Reimer, well known /. spammer. He spams to make money with affiliate amazon links while we do not spam as he does.
Also known as creimer and cdreimer.
See his real picture here:
https://ibb.co/gVad65
Creimy Dumpty sat on the wall,
Creimy Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses
And all the king's men
Couldn't put Creimy Dumpty
Together again.
Creimy's siblings video and theme song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Creimy's real picture:
https://ibb.co/gVad65
Creimy's chair:
http://www.keynamics.com/image...
Creimy's head:
https://school.discoveryeducat...
Creimy acting in educational resource document:
http://www.sccoe.org/depts/stu...
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 12:11 · Score: 0

Christopher Dale Reimer a.k.a. creimer, cdreimer is so dumb that he indeed thought that he had 97 trillion karma points!
He believed a python script that he wrote himself to count his karma points! What a dumb ass! He can't even count to ten by himself!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
See his real picture here, discretion advised:
https://ibb.co/gVad65
Re:Who knew... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 12:38 · Score: 0

He spams to make money with affiliate amazon links while we do not spam as he does.
As long as you're not spamming for money, then spamming everyone else is okay? Glad we got the cleared up. Carry on, citizen.
What would work... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-28 13:13 · Score: 0

Get whoever makes something like this: hd radio to make a bunch of them. If you believe the reviews, one set of batteries goes a long way.
Basically we need to stop relying on FM radio. It is obsolete, and those frequencies are going to go all digital sooner or later, hopefully. Television for most probably isn't feasible. They have better things to do than provide power to a bunch of tvs, and gas for generators is apparently very scarce. Even portable ones would require at least a moderately sized solar panel, and that would be better used to charge a phone.
1. Re:What would work... by Miamicanes · 2017-09-28 16:00 · Score: 1
  
  The problem is, in real-world use, so-called "HD Radio" sounds like over-compressed total SHIT compared to even mediocre analog FM. In terms of audio fidelity, digital radio is a HUGE step backwards. To me, at least, everything on "HD Radio" sounds like a bit-starved mp3 file (no channel separation, no sense of "spatiality", general "dead" sound... the higher-order audio artifacts that stick out like a sore thumb once you know what to listen for).
  The problem with TELEVISION in American phones & tablets isn't power, it's the fact that ATSC 1.x is damn-near IMPOSSIBLE to tune at all in a moving vehicle (somehow, the ATSC committee totally forgot about doppler-shift as a "something to care about" when evaluating 8VSB), and even the doppler-shift induced by an antenna swaying in hurricane-force winds is enough to render ATSC 1.x channels unwatchable.
  Continuing on the "power" theme, I think you'll find that right now, people in Puerto Rico fall into basically two categories:
  * People who don't own a generator, and for whom watching TV is probably the least of their real-world concerns right now.
  * People who own a generator. If the generator is running, the amount of extra power required by a modern LCD TV (or a wireless access point, HD-Homerun, and one or more phones or tablets running Silicon Dust's TV app) is minimal. If the generator isn't running, they're temporarily screwed anyway & probably too miserable in the heat & humidity to care about TV tonight.
  As far as I'm concerned, solar power doesn't even matter in this equation. Compared to a cheap gas generator, solar power is EXPENSIVE. Solar is for people who already own a generator, and have enough money to invest in a last-ditch backup power source to use when the generator isn't available.
Just Jailbreak by hcs_$reboot · 2017-09-28 13:22 · Score: 1

Just jailbreak your iPhone, then you can switch on the radio chip. I do it all the time, and switch on the microwave chip every time I need to reheat a coffee.

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Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
So how are you going to receive FM by guruevi · 2017-09-28 13:48 · Score: 1

With a system that's designed to only stay "alive" for ~120 hours in standby and has ~20 hours of low-power (like FM radio) usage. Puerto Rico is facing months of power loss, I'm pretty sure very few of the iPhone/Android devices on the island are powered at this point.
If you want people to listen to FM radios, provide them with them with one that doesn't require power, you know like a crystal radio, you can get them mass-produced under $0.50 - so for less than 1 year of Ajit's salary, you can provide the ENTIRE island of Puerto Rico with radios.

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Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
iTunes by dohzer · 2017-09-28 14:15 · Score: 1

What a dummy. Everyone knows you have to download your FM radio shows using iTunes at $1.99 per station.
FM wouldn't have helped by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-29 00:17 · Score: 0

If the FM stations in other parts of the state were like those in North Central Florida (Ocala, Gainesville), there was very little helpful information broadcast after the storm. So, even if phones had FM radios in them, it wouldn't have done much good. And, not everyone in the world has a cell phone (yours truly included).
Headline is Wrong by EndlessNameless · 2017-09-29 02:04 · Score: 1

It should read, "Idiot Bureaucrat Demands the Impossible."
It's almost like FCC Chairman Pai barely know what's going on in one of the industries he regulates.

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According to the latest ruleset, this post should be modded as Vorpal Flamebait +5.
1. Re:Headline is Wrong by oh_my_080980980 · 2017-09-29 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  Or change your response to ass-hole doesn't read article:
  
  "the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus introduced in 2015 do have an FM radio as part of its chipset, but the radio isn't activated nor is it attached to an antenna that would allow it to receive a signal. "
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2017-09-29 02:17 · Score: 0

Comment removed based on user account deletion
FCC Delicensed Puerto Rico Station Before Maria by An+dochasac · 2017-09-29 06:51 · Score: 1

If Ajit Pai is interested in emergency communications, he should ask his outgoing audio media chief if it was really a good idea to pull the license for 3 synchronous A.M. boosters for the only Puerto Rican radio station that continued to broadcast after Hurricane Maria.
Idiot! by martinfb · 2017-09-29 07:31 · Score: 1

Ajit is a total idiot! Period.

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Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.