Noise when listening offline FM radio

[Omarin]

One of the reasons I bought an S7 Edge is because of its FM radio capability (T-Mobile). But when I use it, I get a very loud noise (like a beep), not really consistent, but seems to be related to other signals/electronics around. My previous phone, and HTC One 8, never had this problem. I asked Samsung, T-Mobile, and NextRadio (the only app that can be used to listen FM radio on this phone), and none of them could tell me what it was.
Does anyone know about this, or has experienced this?
Thanks

 

[N4Newbie]

Just out of curiosity, are you in a vehicle when this happens?

Does it happen in random locations, or always in the same place (at home, in your car, ...)

 

[N4Newbie]

BTW, what did you mean by "offline" FM radio?

 

[Javier P]

Hello Omarin, welcome to the forums. Have you already tried using different headphones? They act as an antenna.

 

[chanchan05]

BTW, what did you mean by "offline" FM radio?

Because FM radio is actually supposed to be offline. No internet connection.

 

[Omarin]

Thank you all for the prompt response. To answer your questions:
- I tried several places, and it happens at home, work, in the car, or walking
- I indicated "offline" to make sure it is clear that this is NOT when I stream FM radio (using data) but when I listen through the built int FM radio receiver
- I tried 3 types of headphones
The thing is, if there would be another app (other than NextRadio) I could test whether it is the app or the device that are causing the problem; but so far everybody I asked has told me that NextRadio is the only one. HTC One phones come with a pre-loaded app.
The folks at NextRadio support told me that "The S7/S7 Edge has a known audio quality/reception issue in certain areas of the country. Unfortunately, it appears that your area is one of those. This issue is being worked on by Samsung as it is an issue with the FM chip itself."
Sorry the lengthy reply

 

[N4Newbie]

Best bet might be to ask NextRadio directly: https://nextradioapp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=72149

 

[Omarin]

Thank you N4Newbie. I did that already. See last part of my last post. The only problem is that their info cannot be verified anywhere. And I am not sure how can Samsung fix this if it's a problem with "the FM chip itself."

 

[Javier P]

Oh well. It seems that there's not much you can do about this problem then. Just in case, have you tried switching aeroplane mode on to eliminate any possible interference from your phone radios? I'll check with the Ambassadors team and see if there's a workaround.

 

[N4Newbie]

Since NextRadio claims to be S7 compatible, the only thought I would have is that you have a conflicting app running.

Perhaps try running in Safe Mode and see if the problem persists. Turn phone on -> Press and hold power button for several seconds until Power Off banner appears -> Press and hold Power Off banner until Restart in Safe Mode button appears.

 

[N4Newbie]

Because FM radio is actually supposed to be offline. No internet connection.

Yeah, I got that. Believe me, I am old enough to know what "FM radio" means.

That's why I was confused by the "offline" comment. For all I knew, he was recording live radio and then listening to it "offline".

 

[chanchan05]

Yeah, I got that. Believe me, I am old enough to know what "FM radio" means.

That's why I was confused by the "offline" comment. For all I knew, he was recording live radio and then listening to it "offline".

Ah. Then the answer should have been a little different. Many radio stations nowadays also stream their content, so basically, that would be online FM radio.

 

[Gator352]

The S7 is fm capable but as far as i know, sprint is the only carrier that supports it officially. And yes, you have to use wired headphones to use it as it acts as the antenna.

 

[Michael MCATEE]

AT&T supports this..works fine on mine.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Gator352]

AT&T supports this..works fine on mine.

Posted via the Android Central App

Ok. They said at&t and tmo were going to get it soon but that was a while ago. Glad to know!

 

[Omarin]

An update on this problem: I returned the device thinking it was just a defective unit, and ordered another one (also a S7 edge), got it today, installed NextRadio, and same problem!!! It may be that it is only T-Mobile, as Michael MCATEE said he has ATT and doe snot have the problem. It seems to get worse when I move the cell up and down or sideways, but it also produces the loud noise when standing on a surface.

 

[N4Newbie]

I can't help but wonder if it is T-Mobile's way of keeping you from using the radio receiver; after all, they already decided to not make it easily available (they could have included their own app). They have a vested interest in getting you to burn through data, not "free" over the air transmissions.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

An update on this problem: I returned the device thinking it was just a defective unit, and ordered another one (also a S7 edge), got it today, installed NextRadio, and same problem!!! It may be that it is only T-Mobile, as Michael MCATEE said he has ATT and doe snot have the problem. It seems to get worse when I move the cell up and down or sideways, but it also produces the loud noise when standing on a surface.

It could also be geography. It could also be that FM radio reception was very low on the totem pole for Samsung to debug/optimize for the best performance.

I can't help but wonder if it is T-Mobile's way of keeping you from using the radio receiver; after all, they already decided to not make it easily available (they could have included their own app). They have a vested interest in getting you to burn through data, not "free" over the air transmissions.

I typically don't buy into these conspiracy theories. T-Mobile doesn't make the FM receiver in the phone. If they wanted you to "burn through data" they would have turned the feature off entirely.

 

[N4Newbie]

It could also be geography. It could also be that FM radio reception was very low on the totem pole for Samsung to debug/optimize for the best performance.



I typically don't buy into these conspiracy theories. T-Mobile doesn't make the FM receiver in the phone. If they wanted you to "burn through data" they would have turned the feature off entirely.

They effectively did just that - by choosing to not provide a player app, thus giving the owner few options to access the radio hardware, such as the NextRadio app he is trying to use.

Having said that, I wonder if Jerry Hildenbrand is on to something when, in this post http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s7-edge/688875-i-wrong.html#post5220123, he mentions, "Samsung just didn't do enough on the mainboard to compensate for electrical noise and the audio is pretty crummy on the Snapdragon 820 models." Now, he is referring to audio in general on the S7, but lack of adequate shielding could certainly impact the FM radio receiver.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

They effectively did just that - by choosing to not provide a player app, thus giving the owner few options to access the radio hardware, such as the NextRadio app he is trying to use.

Having said that, I wonder if Jerry Hildenbrand is on to something when, in this post http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s7-edge/688875-i-wrong.html#post5220123, he mentions, "Samsung just didn't do enough on the mainboard to compensate for electrical noise and the audio is pretty crummy on the Snapdragon 820 models." Now, he is referring to audio in general on the S7, but lack of adequate shielding could certainly impact the FM radio receiver.

I'm confused. Are you blaming T-Mobile for not making an app for a feature that was implemented by Samsung? I would blame Samsung for not including an app to use a feature they built-in to the phone, not the carrier.

Yes, definitely possible that a poor audio path inside the device could cause some reception issues. I don't have the means to test that though nor the expertise to say whether the electrical cross-talk in the device is enough to even affect the FM reception (it may or may not be).