FM Radio disabled after Android 9.0 update

[Arthur210]

When I purchased my phone last September, I picked the Samsung A8 because it offered offline FM radio (using the NextRadio app). I've used it successfully for all those months...

...until the last Android update to 9.0, which occured about 2 weeks ago. Since the update, the FM radio no longer works. The NextRadio app says that the FM radio receiver is not accessible. What the hell?!?

How come this no longer works? How can I roll back the Android version so I can again use *the* major reason I selected this phone?

[Arthur210]

So... we are now 3 weeks later. Any update on Fido's "looking into this"?

[FidoNick]

Hey @Arthur210! We're still looking into it for you. As soon as we have an update we'll let you know  

[FidoNick]

Hey @Arthur210 !

We have some information to share

After looking into this, what you're experiencing is not related to the Android 9.0 update. 

The FM Chip in the Samsung A8 is enabled to work with NextRadio and the update hasn't changed this. What's happened though is that NextRadio has ended their support for some Android phones and your phone is, unfortunately, one of these. This information can be confirmed on their site, the Samsung A8 is not in their list of compatible phones.

Keep in mind that NextRadio is a third party app, you can always reach out to them directly for more information. 

I hope this helps clear this up! 

[Arthur210]

Your answer makes no sense.

The last update of NextRadio was on January 1st, 2019 and it was working without a problem until the Android 9.0 update. So saying that it has nothing to do with the Android update is demonstrably untrue.

[Cawtau]

Hello Arthur210,

  Welcome to the community!

  Are you able to use any of the other FM radio apps available? If you are, that might suggest that NextRadio discontinued support for that device. On the other hand, if you are not, that would suggest that the FM radio functionality had somehow been disabled.

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers

[Arthur210]

@Cawtau , I haven't found any other radio app that works offline (without consuming data). Do you have any suggestion?

There are plenty of FM radio apps, but they all seem to be streaming apps. I'd like a radio app that uses the antenna built into my phone, so I don't end up eating up all of my data to listen to radio.

Thanks,

Arthur

[Cawtau]

Hello again,

  Hmm, there used to be more FM tuner options available. I guess NextRadio beat out the competition?

  There might be some hardware analysis apps which might indicate whether the FM radio is still functional or not.

  Have you contacted NextRadio to determine whether they continue to support your device? You might also consider contacting Samsung Canada to ask them whether their Android 9 update should have affected the FM radio or not.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but hope some of this helps 😀

Cheers

[Arthur210]

I've tried contacting NextRadio, but I never got an answer.

Thanks for your efforts, Cawtau!

[Arthur210]

I contacted Samsung and here is their response:

Thank you for contacting Samsung Customer Care.

I understand that you want to use the FM radio app on the Samsung Galaxy A8.

All the Canadian Samsung phones come without an FM radio app and it was not available prior to Pie update as well. Since you used an app called "Next radio" which is not working now, I suggest that you contact the app developer to check if they are any alternatives available to use the app or if they are updating the app to optimize with Pie OS.

However, you could still use internet radio apps available on the Google play store to listen to the radio or online streaming apps like Spotify, etc.

Please feel free to contact us anytime for assistance on Samsung products.

Thank you for being a Samsung Customer.

Yeah, right. That was *really* helpful...

[Cawtau]

Hello again,

  I understand Samsung's response does not resolve your issue. However, it does confirm that the Android 9 update should not have disabled the FM functionality. Troubleshooting requires eliminating other possible reasons one step at a time. Contacting Samsung Canada was only one step. Next step would be to wait for a response from NextRadio. If NextRadio gets back to you saying they haven't discontinued support for that phone, then they need to contact Samsung Canada to determine what has happened. They have the partnership; they need to sort it out.

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers

[Sulphur]

My FM player stopped working after a andoid update - was actually that permissions had been removed from the app in system settings.

[FidoStephen]

Hi @Arthur210 Wanted to share that Next Radio will be reintroduced with the July security update coming on August 12. 

[Arthur210]

It does indeed! I had pretty much given up on this. Thank you!

[petemj · Accepted solution]

I can confirm that NextRadio does work after downloading the July security patch on my A8

[FidoNick]

Hey @Arthur210!

We're looking into this and we'll post an update once we have more news