how do I enable the FM receiver on my iPhone 6

Carbonium wrote:

Courcoul you're incorrect. Most Smart phones and even previous iPhones had FM circuitry inside and even Apple admits this. The iPhone 7's and 8's finally had them omitted.

Here's a current story on it:

FCC asks Apple to activate the iPhone’s hidden FM radio to aid public safety - The Verge

Here's a list of Cell phones that still have FM Chips inside. http://nextradioapp.com/supported-devices/

What you and most of the other posters don't get is that there is a huge difference between having FM circuitry inside and being able to actually USE that FM circuitry. It's definitely there. But THERE ARE NO CONNECTIONS TO IT, SO THERE IS NO WAY TO CONNECT AN INPUT ( ANTENNA) TO IT, NO WAY TO CONTROL (TUNE) IT, AND NO WAY TO GET AUDIO OUT OF IT. There are no connections to the FM leads on the chip. So how can software somehow enable something that the software cannot control? Why is this so hard to grasp?

Take an FM radio. Put it in a sealed metal box. That's the equivalent of what is in an iPhone regarding FM.

Yes, It's Relevant if his goal is to have FM. Others have stated the Iphones don't have the ability to Receive FM but it didn't really solve his problem. Many people have numerous Apple products. I have over 20 of them. The OP might not know the tiny Nano's do have FM built in and anyone with a compatible nano could use this feature that many forget even exists. At about 1/7th the weight with 24 hour run time in a tiny package it solves the problem for me.

They do not have it activated... and no they don’t from the iPhone 7 forward. In times of emergency like we had with the hurricanes this is a real disadvantage. Being able to get some use out of the phone while the network is down would be most advantageous.

JDHeron wrote:

They do not have it activated... and no they don’t from the iPhone 7 forward. In times of emergency like we had with the hurricanes this is a real disadvantage. Being able to get some use out of the phone while the network is down would be most advantageous.

It was never possible to activate it in any existing iPhone. So forget that. But the irony is that in the most recent emergencies - Houston, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the other islands in the path of the most recent storms, there were no FM radio stations working. All of their antennas were destroyed, as well as their power sources. However, there was cellular service in Houston, some in Puerto Rico. Because all cell sites have backup generators and backup communications. The truth is the cellular networks in the US are much more reliable than FM radio stations. It's also much easier and faster to set up emergency cell sites than it is FM radio stations, as is happening in Puerto Rico at this very moment. So forget the "real disadvantage" - it isn't a disadvantage. There are better emergency communication systems than FM radios today.

Even if you think there may be a situation where FM radio might help, remember that everyone has FM radios, independent of their cell phones. In their cars. In their homes (most battery powered). Where everyone should be in an emergency. And they will be useable for days, not the few hours until the cell phone battery runs out.

This is a non-issue promoted by greedy radio broadcasters who are terrified that no one will want to listen to radio anymore with all of the streaming services available.

Lawrence Finch wrote:

This is a non-issue promoted by greedy radio broadcasters who are terrified that no one will want to listen to radio anymore with all of the streaming services available.

Yup.

There is NO FM receiver in any iPhone ever, including the iPhone 6. You can install a variety of apps that enable you to connect to and receive music broadcasts from Internet "radio" stations, but never from your local disk jockey (unless, of course, they transmit over the Internet).

The FM receiver is there, as its part of the Hardware. but its inaccessible, and not connected to anything. Even if you could enable it, the lack of an external antenna would render it useless.

There are groups that will open the Phone (voiding the warranty in the process) and enable the Fm antenna and maybe even attach it to the external casing, but as has been amply mentioned already in another thread, FM requires a pretty long antenna (i.e wired earphones) to work even remotely well.

So there would have to be some major reworking of the iPhones internals to even begin to get it to work.

You can read Lawrence Finch's excellent explanation on the subject here:

FM radio for iPhone!, FM radio for iPhone!

In short, its not something easily accomplished, nor is the end result really worth all the trouble.

Perhaps rather than just posting a link to that website, you should actually read it. Its a carrarier decision. Contact you carrier.

You are free to believe in any quack that springs out of the woodwork in the Internet. If you check the specific iPhone 6 specs you will find that it has oodles of sensors, ports and components. But NO FM analog radio receiver.

That really isn't accurate, Apple has never chosen to activate the FM part of their radio chip on any carrier.

warrens50 wrote:

I do understand your answer, however, there is an organization "freeradioonmyphone.org" that claims every phone has a FM receiver chip and that it can be enabled.

Have you asked this organization how it can be done?

Yes, the radio chip in the iPhone can be used for FM Radio (receiving and transmitting) if Apple chose to implement it. They aren't quoting quack information they are just falling for a misguided attempt by NPR and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to use the FM capability in the chip. Apple has never enabled it, Samsung hasn't done so in this country since the Galaxy S2 (with a limited exception for Sprint) but HTC does so in their lines. Hasn't really boosted their sales.

As suggested, read Lawrence's posts in that thread.

I don't have the answer to this question but am really disappointed that it actually has an FM receiver. Just that it is not activated. Even if it doesn't, I'm still feeling disappointed. What is Apple's issue? Really, it is not logical. I need to rely on apps to listen to the radio. Often, what you hear is a few second late. It is impossible to participate in any radio show. And if you transition between wifi and data, you get cut off. Just activate it or put the receiver in. Is it that big a deal?

leaping wrote:

I don't have the answer to this question

Which is fine because the question has been answered. Read Lawrence's posts in the thread cited above.