FCC chairman Ajit Pai asks Apple to finally enable the FM radio in the iPhone

Why it matters to you

The FM radio can be pretty important in an emergency. While phones are physically capable of using the radio, the chips aren’t enabled in many devices.

The FM radio has long been absent from most smartphones but lately, it seems as though more and more manufacturers are enabling the FM radio chip in their devices. Now, the Federal Communications Commission is urging one of the biggest holdouts, Apple, to enable the FM radio. The news comes after new pressure from the National Association of Broadcasters.

Why is it important to enable the radio? Well, in the event of a disaster like Hurricanes Harvey or Maria, cellular connectivity can be easily wiped out. Over-the-air radio can then step in to provide invaluable and sometimes life-saving information like weather alerts to the millions of people who cannot get online.

Many might not be aware of this, but the vast majority of smartphones have an FM chip built in. In Apple phones, the chip is built on to the Qualcomm and Intel Wi-Fi and cellular chips in every single iPhone. The reason you can’t use it, however, is that manufacturers don’t enable the chip to work.

“In recent years, I have repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones sold in the United States. And I’ve specifically pointed out the public safety benefits of doing so,” FCC chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. “Apple is the one major phone manufacturer that has resisted doing so. But I hope the company will reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. That’s why I am asking Apple to activate the FM chips that are in its iPhones.”

While Pai has advocated for the enabling of the FM radio in the past, it has refrained from calling Apple out by name, despite the fact that Apple has been one of the main holdouts in implementing the feature. The company has not revealed exactly why it keeps the radio disabled — though some suggest that it could be to avoid losing Apple Music subscribers. We don’t know if that’s the real reason, but either way it’s safe to say that iPhone users could benefit from the feature.