NAB Says Apple Deliberately Disables FM-Chip

In a new blog posting, NAB Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny attempts to set the record straight concerning Apple's refusal to voluntarily equip iPhones with FM radio reception.

Sam Matheny

Citing recent months in the Southeast U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, these areas have been pummeled by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The wildfires in California have been equally devastating. These storms and fires have wreaked havoc on communications networks and challenged public safety officials' ability to get lifeline information to affected residents.

At a time when many Americans have come to rely on their smartphones, massive cellular outages were suffered from Texas to Florida on an even greater scale than in Superstorm Sandy five years ago, and California has also suffered major outages  in key locations. In Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, it may take weeks and even months to fully restore cellular service because of the damage to the electric grid. In the wake of these storms, a passionate discussion about activating FM radio in smartphones and, specifically, Apple's  iPhone has emerged.

According to The Morning Mouth, this discussion was started by those most impacted by Irma when the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorialized on the issue and Senator Bill Nelson (D) of Florida called for activating FM chips in smartphones. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai also issued a public statement calling for Apple to activate FM chips to promote public safety and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also weighed in with her support.

Among the details, Matheny says Apple deliberately disables FM. Apple has chosen to only use the WiFi and Bluetooth aspects of the communications module. They have admitted as much for all phones through the iPhone 6 series, at which point they claim FM capability was removed from the 7 series and 8 series. Yet, tear-down reports indicate the iPhone 8 contains the same 4357 chip family, which manufacturer Broadcom clearly states includes an integrated FM radio core.