LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

[juliesdroidsync]

LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

Why I'm Annoyed...

The Verizon LG v20 is the only version that does not support FM radio apparently, as it works on AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint.

Why doesn't it work on Verizon?

I've spent several days and a lot of long conversations trying to find out. I started my investigation with LG. I was told via chat that the FM chipset is in the phone but may have been disconnected from the motherboard, or it simply lacks software. But he was sure that the phone is capable of it.

The folks at NextRadio (an FM radio android app maker) say, in a nutshell, bug Verizon for sure; the ball is in their court.

Folks on the Verizon forum ferociously defend Verizon, and say that because they didn't "buy-in" (pay LG) society is better off as a whole and since they have found a way to be technically on the right side of the law, I just need to drop it and carry multiple devices...

The part that's interesting to me is that Verizon would not answer me on the Verizon community forum!

The answer I did get by contacting Verizon through their leadership website was pathetic at best...

Hello Ms. Raines,

Thank you for your patients in the resolution of this matter. Regrettably, we are unable to honor your request to enable FM radio on your devices. After thorough review, it has been determined that Verizon has not blocked FM radio capability in any phones that we sell. Additionally, most of the phones that Verizon sells do not have such capability.

Please advise if you have any additional questions or concerns related to this matter. Feel free to contact me via email or by phone at 800-779-2067 ext. 221066 Monday through Friday 8:00am-4:30pm MST.
Sincerely,
Latique G.
Analyst-Executive Relations​

What Have I Learned?
So, I did learn that the FCC does not allow carriers to block a "standard feature" on a phone. I learned that the way carriers get around this is by "buying in", or not, for certain features.

At the end of the day however, there are still actual human beings that decide what a standard feature is versus a feature that the carrier can buy into or not. Those actual human beings live at the FCC.

To my mind, if the hardware exists for feature in a phone, it would be considered standard. Supposedly the hardware is there. I realize I'm splitting hairs.

Summary

Since I can't get a straight answer from Verizon as to why it doesn't work or how I can get it to work, I guess an informal complaint through the FCC is next to determine if they are indeed obeying the spirit of the guidelines. If nothing else, at least it may prompt Verizon to give me a better and more complete answer.

If You Don't Care & Why I Do...

If you don't care, I respect that. I realize some people don't care about FM radio. I personally don't have FM radio stations I like where I live, but in the event of any kind of an emergency, I want to be able to listen to FM radio emergency broadcast, or even local broadcast without having to rely on cell towers being up to do it. and for people who do have FM radio station that they want to listen to? Their phones are capable of it so they should be allowed to do it, IMO. And apparently it is also the opinion of AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. On a personal note Verizon is the only carrier that has a decent signal where I live. I would jump ship in a minute if this were not the case.

What Do I Want You to Do? - Takes 2 minutes

If you're like me and you do care, please take less than 2 minutes and file an informal complaint with the FCC about the fact that Verizon is the only major carrier not supporting FM radio. You can do that here - https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us?return_to=/hc/en-us/requests

The FCC will not actually do anything other than pressure Verizon to give a better answer. That's all I want... But I do hope that somehow they will magically turn it on... Like they did after the fact for the Galaxy S7... After people griped... Not identical circumstances, but one can hope! Thanks.

 

[TheMarcus]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

I definitely want it for emergencies, too. I'd never need it for music, but would love to have it in my pocket in the event of an emergency.

 

[Brian Gottschalk]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

Us cellular disabled it as well. Not sure why. They didn't disable it on the note 7 I had.

 

[rushmore]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

I think the Verizon person told you everything they "know". The Note 7 FM worked after an update, but was short lived use due to the plight of the device.

Unlike the other V20 carriers, the FM app is not installed and does not work. The FM radio is disabled, per the Next Radio FM app. Seems Verizon had it deactivated, contrary to what told, else why deviate from the LG stock app? I give Verizon three Pinocchio's.

 

[juliesdroidsync]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

I think the Verizon person told you everything they "know". The Note 7 FM worked after an update, but was short lived use due to the plight of the device.

Unlike the other V20 carriers, the FM app is not installed and does not work. The FM radio is disabled, per the Next Radio FM app. Seems Verizon had it deactivated, contrary to what told, else why deviate from the LG stock app? I give Verizon three Pinocchio's.

That's why I'm asking everyone to take 2 minutes and file that informal complaint with the FCC. If nothing else, we will get accurate answers; something I'm relatively sure I'm not getting now. I may not get answers I like, but they will at least be accurate.

 

[juliesdroidsync]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

Us cellular disabled it as well. Not sure why. They didn't disable it on the note 7 I had.

Yes, it currently works on my Note 7 on Verizon... what an irony considering Verizon is forcing me to return it... you know, for my "safety"... <sigh>

 

[tribbleorlfl]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

Thank you for your patients in the resolution of this matter. Regrettably, we are unable to honor your request to enable FM radio on your devices. After thorough review, it has been determined that Verizon has not blocked FM radio capability in any phones that we sell. Additionally, most of the phones that Verizon sells do not have such capability.

I don't care whether the FM radio is considered a standard feature or not, for VZW to claim the V20 they're selling doesn't have FM capabilities and that they don't block FM in any of their phones is insulting.

Up until September, my S7edge didn't have FM and then after their OTA update, voila it did.

 

[juliesdroidsync]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

I don't care whether the FM radio is considered a standard feature or not, for VZW to claim the V20 they're selling doesn't have FM capabilities and that they don't block FM in any of their phones is insulting.

Up until September, my S7edge didn't have FM and then after their OTA update, voila it did.

Exactly! They're getting around it legally somehow... but at the end of the day, it is just not true.

 

[jim2112]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

I was camping last week when a fire broke out on a mountain near our camp site. I had my Sony Xperia z4 and used the fm radio on it to monitor to see if the fire was heading our way. Ranger stopped by to let us know one was nearby and to monitor for updates. I am wanting to get the Verizon LG V20 and hate the carrier crippling a function of my smart device. Can I get one unlocked and install my chip?

 

[juliesdroidsync]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

I was camping last week when a fire broke out on a mountain near our camp site. I had my Sony Xperia z4 and used the fm radio on it to monitor to see if the fire was heading our way. Ranger stopped by to let us know one was nearby and to monitor for updates. I am wanting to get the Verizon LG V20 and hate the carrier crippling a function of my smart device. Can I get one unlocked and install my chip?

I wish I knew the answer to that... Verizon won't tell me. The only one that can probably tell you for sure is LG. You might want to try there. If you do find out, please let me know.

It should be ILLEGAL to refuse to tell you when you ask questions like this!!!

Will FM radio work on the unlocked version on any major carrier? Will it work on just Verizon? What about some of the smaller carriers? It should not be this hard to get an answer.

Personally, I've heard that overseas, carriers don't have any say in what works or not on a phone. It's all set by the manufacturer. That's how it should be here. The manufacturer builds a phone and every carrier supports every feature - done. It kind of answers for me just WHY the USA doesn't get phones as good as the rest of the world... OH! you didn't hear about the waterproof LG v34? That's my point... <sigh>

 

[ajb1965]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

I wish I knew the answer to that... Verizon won't tell me. The only one that can probably tell you for sure is LG. You might want to try there. If you do find out, please let me know.

It should be ILLEGAL to refuse to tell you when you ask questions like this!!!

Will FM radio work on the unlocked version on any major carrier? Will it work on just Verizon? What about some of the smaller carriers? It should not be this hard to get an answer.

Personally, I've heard that overseas, carriers don't have any say in what works or not on a phone. It's all set by the manufacturer. That's how it should be here. The manufacturer builds a phone and every carrier supports every feature - done. It kind of answers for me just WHY the USA doesn't get phones as good as the rest of the world... OH! you didn't hear about the waterproof LG v34? That's my point... <sigh>

From what I've read, the manufacturers charge carriers for the features on the device. Considering the cost of the V20 on Verizon vs other carriers, and the amount of features that are disabled, this makes sense. Now if there's any truth to that, who knows..

As far as unlocked devices on VZW, in the past the short answer was usually no. Unless things have drastically changed in the last year, most unlocked phones are designed for GSM networks like T-Mobile and AT&T. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA radios. All phones have GSM radios, not all have CDMA. Even if it's a phone that Verizon has in their inventory, if it wasn't specifically designed for VZW you would need to ensure the phone had the correct radios, frequencies and bands that Verizon supports. Even then, some features may not work correctly. If you want to use an unlocked device, you would have much better luck on a GSM carrier.

 

[juliesdroidsync]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

From what I've read, the manufacturers charge carriers for the features on the device. Considering the cost of the V20 on Verizon vs other carriers, and the amount of features that are disabled, this makes sense. Now if there's any truth to that, who knows..

As far as unlocked devices on VZW, in the past the short answer was usually no. Unless things have drastically changed in the last year, most unlocked phones are designed for GSM networks like T-Mobile and AT&T. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA radios. All phones have GSM radios, not all have CDMA. Even if it's a phone that Verizon has in their inventory, if it wasn't specifically designed for VZW you would need to ensure the phone had the correct radios, frequencies and bands that Verizon supports. Even then, some features may not work correctly. If you want to use an unlocked device, you would have much better luck on a GSM carrier.

Yes... I did another post where I asked the community if they thought I'd be better off with an unlocked version or the Verizon version of the phone... the overall (not 100%) consensus was to stick with the Verizon model.

As far as the cost difference... the Verizon forum pretty much roasted me because they said I should have researched better first, and I should have known because Verizon's price was cheaper...

1.) I honestly thought Verizon's price was cheaper because they probably just negotiated a better price for a larger quantity; as I have NEVER had so many features non-functional on a phone from them in the 10 or so years I've been a Verizon customer.

2.) I tried to research... NOWHERE can I find a place where Verizon says, "Hey! This is what won't work on the LG v20 if you're using Verizon".

It is so frustrating... and there is truth to the whole buy-in thing. What kills me is that the manufacturers can legally advertise ALL the things their phone can do, but then knowingly provide those phones without the functionality if the carriers won't pay extra for them.

And NO ONE, neither the manufacturer OR the carrier, is required to inform the consumer. That is WRONG, IMO.

 

[Mike Dee]

Yes... I did another post where I asked the community if they thought I'd be better off with an unlocked version or the Verizon version of the phone... the overall (not 100%) consensus was to stick with the Verizon model.

As far as the cost difference... the Verizon forum pretty much roasted me because they said I should have researched better first, and I should have known because Verizon's price was cheaper...

1.) I honestly thought Verizon's price was cheaper because they probably just negotiated a better price for a larger quantity; as I have NEVER had so many features non-functional on a phone from them in the 10 or so years I've been a Verizon customer.

2.) I tried to research... NOWHERE can I find a place where Verizon says, "Hey! This is what won't work on the LG v20 if you're using Verizon".

It is so frustrating... and there is truth to the whole buy-in thing. What kills me is that the manufacturers can legally advertise ALL the things their phone can do, but then knowingly provide those phones without the functionality if the carriers won't pay extra for them.

And NO ONE, neither the manufacturer OR the carrier, is required to inform the consumer. That is WRONG, IMO.

I don't think disabling an FM radio reduces cost as the hardware is still there. I had a Moto droid X that lost FM during an update so Verizon disabled it intentionally because they decided to screw the customer.

 

[juliesdroidsync]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

Just an update for everyone... I just got off the phone with the lady from Verizon who was initially assigned my question about FM radio. She's the one that gave me the really weak answer but I shared with you above.

She called me to say that she was in receipt of my FCC complaint and that after thorough review they have determined that FM radio is not a feature available on this phone.

I asked her why it was not available considering LG told me that the phone has the FM chip set inside and other carriers are supporting this?

She didn't know. She didn't know if it was because the hardware was missing or if it was because Verizon was choosing not to push software update to enable it.

I asked her if she could find out. I told her the reason I wanted to know was so Maybe I could go get an unlocked model and try to bring it back to Verizon and see if it would work?

I said, "So, would you please go back and ask more questions and get me some specifics?"

She said that she could not ask any more questions! And that the answer she has given me is the final answer in regards to this issue!

Now I'm not really mad at her... It's not her fault. She was polite. But I could tell she was very intimidated at the prospect of going back and asking more questions like maybe she would get in trouble if she did.

So, there you have it! A flat-out refusal for more information.

I also mentioned to her that there should be a list of things that they don't support that are available for public dissemination...

 

[KwantemMekanik]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

If you are like me, this would bother me to no end. I would return it, on the grounds that I was not happy with the device and the service as it is. If they told me it's too late, I would threaten to switch carriers.

 

[juliesdroidsync]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

If you are like me, this would bother me to no end. I would return it, on the grounds that I was not happy with the device and the service as it is. If they told me it's too late, I would threaten to switch carriers.

It does bother me to no end... I do think they will let me... I'm going to sleep on it.

Here's the real problem... What's any better if you're totally stuck w/ Verizon?

The Pixel? It has a weak antenna... I live in a more remote area, so that is a real problem for me.

The S7 Edge? If it wasn't for the 32GB, I might've already chosen that. The SD card is nice, but many of my apps either can't load to an SD card or won't work right from it. I have about 15GB of just music I like to have with me. I'm already around 36GB on this LG v20 and I don't have everything on it yet that I usually have...

The other thing I really object to is paying full price for a 7 month old phone. If you didn't know, ALL new devices on a new Verizon payment plan must be paid off 100% before you can upgrade again... Yes, that's right. The Edge up program is totally gone. It was 50%, then went to 60% I believe, but now is 100%. So, I'll pay 100% of the price of the S7 Edge. Sammy will give me $100 loyalty credit, and there will be another $25 credit for turning in my Note 7. So, $125 off for a 7 month old phone is not enough under these circumstances, IMO.

The other choices? <sound of crickets chirping...>

And as much as I've posted on their forums, etc., they already know I can't switch carriers because they're the only ones that have decent coverage here. Honestly, I'm kind of stuck. I may just try to ride my Note 7 till the bitter end, but am pretty sure they're just going to shut them off by IMEI.

 

[recDNA]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

Email VZW again and hope for a different rep.

 

[cynth.hgn]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

I have international unlocked version and it has FM radio

 

[rushmore]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

Just an update for everyone... I just got off the phone with the lady from Verizon who was initially assigned my question about FM radio. She's the one that gave me the really weak answer but I shared with you above.

She called me to say that she was in receipt of my FCC complaint and that after thorough review they have determined that FM radio is not a feature available on this phone.

I asked her why it was not available considering LG told me that the phone has the FM chip set inside and other carriers are supporting this?

She didn't know. She didn't know if it was because the hardware was missing or if it was because Verizon was choosing not to push software update to enable it.

I asked her if she could find out. I told her the reason I wanted to know was so Maybe I could go get an unlocked model and try to bring it back to Verizon and see if it would work?

I said, "So, would you please go back and ask more questions and get me some specifics?"

She said that she could not ask any more questions! And that the answer she has given me is the final answer in regards to this issue!

Now I'm not really mad at her... It's not her fault. She was polite. But I could tell she was very intimidated at the prospect of going back and asking more questions like maybe she would get in trouble if she did.

So, there you have it! A flat-out refusal for more information.

I also mentioned to her that there should be a list of things that they don't support that are available for public dissemination...

She is one of these:

A. Ignorant of the device
B. Lying
C. Parsing fact (lying) by saying "Not a feature". Of course it isn't, since Verizon had it disabled.
D. All of the above

 

[Almeuit]

Re: LG v20 - No FM Radio; A Verizon "Get The Runaround" Special! Help Me if You're Annoyed, too.

To be honest they won't ever give you a real answer. Until Verizon claims an actual stance most reps are just guessing or grasping at ideas they have. I highly doubt Verizon tells them why they disabled certain things.