Most smartphones can pick up radio frequencies, but how you do it depends on your phone model and what kind of radio signals you’re after. Some Android phones have a built-in FM radio chip that works without any internet connection. Others need an external USB dongle to receive a wider range of frequencies. iPhones have no FM hardware at all and are limited to streaming radio over the internet.
Check if Your Phone Has a Built-in FM Chip
Many Android phones ship with an FM radio receiver already inside. Brands like Motorola, Samsung, Xiaomi, Sony, Poco, TCL, Infinix, Tecno, and vivo have included FM chips in various models. Rugged phone makers like Ulefone, Blackview, Doogee, and Oukitel include them in nearly every device. If your phone has the chip and it’s enabled, you can listen to local FM stations (88 to 108 MHz) without using mobile data or Wi-Fi.
To find out, search your phone’s app drawer for a pre-installed “FM Radio” app. If one exists, you’re set. If not, try downloading a free FM radio app from the Play Store, but keep in mind that these apps only work if the hardware is actually present. No app can create an FM receiver from software alone.
There’s one catch that surprises most people: you need wired headphones plugged in. The headphone cable acts as your antenna. A standard headphone cord is roughly one to one-and-a-half meters long, which happens to be about half the wavelength of an FM broadcast signal. That makes it naturally resonant in the FM band. The phone’s internal circuitry separates the FM signal picked up by the headphone wire from the audio playing through the earbuds, so the same cable does double duty. Without it plugged in, the FM tuner has no antenna and won’t pick up anything. USB-C to 3.5mm adapters may or may not pass the antenna signal through depending on the adapter’s design, so a direct headphone jack connection is most reliable.
Why iPhones Can’t Receive FM Radio
No current iPhone has FM radio hardware. Apple confirmed that starting with the iPhone 7, the FM radio block was removed from the wireless chip entirely. Even in older models that technically contained an FM module inside a combo chip, the module was never connected to an antenna, never wired to supporting components, and could not be activated by software. The removal of the headphone jack compounded the issue, since there’s no built-in antenna path for FM signals.
If you’re on an iPhone and want to listen to radio stations, your only option without external hardware is streaming through apps like iHeartRadio, TuneIn, or individual station apps. These require an internet connection and aren’t true radio reception.
Pick Up More Frequencies With an SDR Dongle
If you want to go beyond FM broadcast and listen to a wide range of radio signals, you can turn your Android phone into a software-defined radio (SDR) receiver. This requires a small USB dongle and a free or inexpensive app.
The most common setup is an RTL-SDR dongle, which is a thumb-drive-sized USB device originally designed for TV reception but repurposed by the radio community. Companies like NooElec sell versions specifically packaged for Android use, bundled with a small antenna and USB OTG adapters so the dongle can plug into your phone’s charging port. These kits typically cost between $25 and $40.
Once connected, an app like SDR Touch lets you tune across a huge swath of the radio spectrum. Depending on the dongle you use, coverage spans from about 20 MHz up to 2.2 GHz. That range includes:
- FM broadcast radio (88–108 MHz)
- VHF aircraft communications (118–137 MHz)
- Weather radio (162.4–162.55 MHz)
- Marine VHF (156–162 MHz)
- Amateur (ham) radio bands across VHF and UHF
- Public safety and emergency services (various VHF/UHF frequencies)
- Satellite signals in the UHF range
SDR Touch supports several dongle types including RTL-SDR, NeSDR, SDRplay, and HackRF. The RTL-SDR and NeSDR models are the cheapest entry point. HackRF One is a more advanced (and expensive) option that covers a broader frequency range. Your phone needs to support USB OTG, which most modern Android phones do. Check by plugging in any USB device through an OTG adapter and seeing if your phone recognizes it.
One limitation: standard RTL-SDR dongles bottom out around 20–25 MHz, which means they can’t receive AM broadcast radio (530–1700 kHz) or shortwave/HF signals without an additional upconverter accessory. AM reception on a phone is impractical for another reason, too. The screens, processors, and other digital components inside smartphones generate significant electromagnetic interference right in the AM frequency range, which would drown out incoming signals.
Internet Radio Apps vs. Actual Radio Reception
Most “radio” apps in the App Store and Play Store are internet streaming apps, not actual radio receivers. Apps like TuneIn, iHeartRadio, and Radio Garden connect you to thousands of stations worldwide, but they’re pulling audio streams over your data connection. If you lose cell service or Wi-Fi, they stop working.
True radio reception, whether through a built-in FM chip or an SDR dongle, works independently of your phone’s internet connection. The signals travel directly from the broadcast tower to your device. This matters most during emergencies and power outages when cell networks become congested or go down entirely.
Your phone does receive one type of alert signal without any apps or radio hardware. Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are pushed to compatible phones through a system separate from regular text messages and voice calls. These geographically targeted alerts cover severe weather, AMBER alerts, and presidential notifications, delivered through participating carriers to any WEA-capable phone that’s powered on and connected to a cell tower. But WEA only sends short text-like messages. It doesn’t provide the continuous audio coverage you’d get from an FM broadcast during an extended emergency.
Getting the Best Reception
For built-in FM radio, reception quality depends almost entirely on your headphone cable. Fully extend the cord rather than bunching it up. Moving near a window or outdoors makes a noticeable difference, since building materials attenuate FM signals. If you’re in a fringe coverage area, try repositioning yourself or draping the headphone wire in different orientations.
For SDR dongles, the included stub antennas work for strong local signals but aren’t ideal. A telescoping antenna or a purpose-built antenna for your target frequency range will dramatically improve what you can hear. Many SDR enthusiasts connect a simple dipole antenna made from wire, which costs almost nothing and outperforms the stock antenna by a wide margin. The dongle’s antenna connector is typically an SMA or MCX type, and adapters are widely available.
Location matters just as much as equipment. Radio signals in the VHF and UHF range travel by line of sight, so elevation helps. Standing on a hill, upper floor, or rooftop with an SDR dongle and a decent antenna can open up signals from surprisingly far away.