What should I know about the FM radio on my Moto G?

Tip: To enable all features and get optimized performance, visit the Play Store to ensure you are running the latest version of Motorola FM Radio.

Do I need to have a wired headset plugged in to use FM Radio?

Yes, it acts as the antenna and is needed to receive the transmissions from nearby broadcasting stations.

Do I need a specific brand of wired headset?

No.

Can I receive AM stations?

No this only receives FM broadcast stations.

Why do I need to select my region (in the Settings menu) and scan?

Some parts of the world have different frequency bands than other regions. The typical step between stations may also differ. E.g. Japan and Brazil have different portions of the spectrum on which radio stations are allowed to broadcast.

When you first launch the application it will automatically scan based on what it understands to be the phone's location. If you travel to a different region/country, you can change the region and perform a scan to see what stations are available.

Do I have to keep the FM Radio application in the foreground (visible)?

No, you can listen while using other applications. A small icon will show in the top status bar and you can swipe down to see the FM Radio control in the notification curtain (also known as the 'notification shade'). On this control you can pause/play, or tap the control to bring the FM Radio application back to the foreground. You can also tap the 'recent apps' control on the bottom right of your device and select FM Radio from that list.

Favourites

How do I add a favourite station?

Tap on the star symbol next to the frequency - from any view (mini-player, full-player, favourites tab, all stations tab). The star will turn blue and be listed in the favourites tab.

How do I delete a station from my Favourites list?

Tap the blue star symbol next to the frequency (it will turn dark). If you are currently in the "Favourites" tab, the station will not be removed until you change the view (swipe into the "All Stations" view, or expand the mini player, or navigate away from the FM Radio application.

One of my favourites is greyed out - why is that?

This frequency is from a station scanned while you had a different region selected and is one that isn't valid in your current region. Example: you saved a favourite at 105.3 MHz while home; while you are in Japan on a trip, this favourite is greyed out because the FM broadcast band is from 76-90 MHz.

What is the difference between the Favourites and All Stations views?

All stations is populated when you scan for stations that are available at your location. Favourites are a subset that you can mark - only those you have picked will show in the Favourites view.

Reception

Why can't I hear a station that I previously tuned (successfully)?

Reception of an FM broadcast station can be altered by many factors - hills, buildings, trees, other transmission sources. If you have not travelled a significant distance from where you first tuned the station, try altering how you are holding the headset and phone. Extend the headset as much as you can to increase the size of the antenna. You may be blocked by other factors so you can try moving a short distance - towards windows if you are inside, or away from buildings if outside.

Why do I hear static with some stations?

Depending on where you are physically, reception may be degraded by other objects (hills, buildings), other sources of transmission, and even weather conditions.

Mini-Player, Full Player

How do I expand or shrink the player view?

Tap anywhere on the mini-player (except for the pause button or favourite star) to expand it to the full-screen player. This operates in a manner very similar to Play Music.

When in the full player, tap anywhere in the top half of the view to shrink it. You can also drag it down.

How do I mute and resume playing?

In any view, tap the button with the dark square to mute the radio. The icon will turn into a triangle; when you are ready to resume playing, tap this 'play' icon.

Where is the on/off button in the FM Radio application?

There isn't one! When you mute, we turn off the transceiver chip to save power; when you resume playing we turn it back on quickly. You might be familiar with on/off buttons in other FM radio applications on other phones, but we don't need one here as we can turn on/off rapidly.

How do I seek a station?

In the full player view, use the left or right seek buttons (double triangles) to find the closest station that the phone can tune.

How do I tune a specific frequency?

In the full player view, tap and drag your finger on the red indicator in the 'tuner bar' - the black band in the middle of the screen that looks like a traditional radio band. The current frequency will be displayed in the top section and you can drag left or right to a specific station. Note that if you cannot 'seek' to the frequency you desire, reception will be weak or non-existent (the tuner found it too weak to auto-tune).

When I manually tune, why can't I select a specific frequency?

The spacing between station frequencies differ depending on region. For instance, in the U.S. you cannot select 99.2 MHz - you can only select 99.1 or 99.3MHz. If you are travelling, check via the menu (three vertical dots) that your current region settings are appropriate. If not, change them and re-scan to find all available stations.

Song/Station Data [RDS Data]

I do not see information about the currently playing song on some stations - why?

Some radio stations broadcast data in addition to the audio signal. This is called Radio Data System (RDS) data globally, or the Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) in the United States. Usage of these systems varies station by station (and region by region). The most common elements are station call signs and the name of the currently playing song.

However, this varies widely. If available in a broadcast by the station - and if the signal is strong enough - the application will display Program Service (PS) and/or Radio Text (RT) data. This usually includes the name of the currently playing song and station, but again this varies by station.

Why does some of the song text rotate or change and only shows 8 characters?

The RDS standard for the Program Service (PS) field specifies that this should be a static - not changing - eight character field. However, many radio stations attempt to pack more information into this field by alternating different sets of eight characters. This was fine for older, limited car radios, but is awkward on more modern devices. It is not a bug - it is what the radio stations are providing as part of their broadcast.

I see a strange character in the song or station text field - why is that?

Once in a while, it may be possible to have radio interference or reception issues that cause the tuner to mistakenly identify one character as another. This will usually clear shortly on the next station transmission.