FM Radio Dying On Anyone?

NateM · 02-06-2007

Hi,

I've had the 4gb, black SP model, (bought in China), for about a month and a half now. For the most part, I'm pretty happy with it. However, I've been having a big problem with the FM Radio. For some reason, it just died on me completely. It wouldn't get any reception, and couldn't pick up any stations when scanning for them. I took it back and had it replaced about 3 weeks ago. Now it's happened again! Seriously, I can't be the only one this has happened to. I almost wonder if it's some sort of firmware problem, as I can't think of anything physical I've done that should knock out 2 radios in less than 2 months. I don't want to have to keep taking it in for replacements, (especially because that will become very difficult if I leave China), so I'm curious as to whether anyone else has had this problem before, and how it was solved. Thanks in advance.

aeonrush · 02-06-2007

Can you hear anything at all when you listen to FM? Even static? Or is it dead silent?

NateM · 02-07-2007

I hear static. Lots of it. But it isn't able to pick up any stations.

Lambo · 02-07-2007

mp3 players fm tuners wont be good as a car's. i have a mobiblu cube and the only way i can pick up a radio station sometimes is to hold in covered in 1 hand and keep it by my waist

. this still gives me static too.

Its not that the radio is dying. its just theres no stations strong enough to be broadcasted to your player. something small things may get in the way of frequencies too. its annoying :P

It also depends on the headphones your using as they act as an antenna.

glacier · 02-07-2007

i've found that scanning for stations using the m6 can be pretty much useless, especially if you're in an area with weak reception. perhaps what you can do is create an fm.ini file of the stations available in your area and use that to listen to the fm radio. you can find more information about the fm.ini file here and here.

good luck!

aside: whoah! just made the 200 posts mark. :D

NateM · 02-07-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lambo

mp3 players fm tuners wont be good as a car's. i have a mobiblu cube and the only way i can pick up a radio station sometimes is to hold in covered in 1 hand and keep it by my waist

. this still gives me static too.

Its not that the radio is dying. its just theres no stations strong enough to be broadcasted to your player. something small things may get in the way of frequencies too. its annoying :P

It also depends on the headphones your using as they act as an antenna.

No, this is most certainly not what is happening here. I live in an area with very strong radio reception, and it was fine for a few weeks. Then all of a sudden it just stopped working and I could only get static. Not poor reception of broadcasts, just static. It won't pick up any stations at all, and manual scanning won't pick them up either, not even a hint of them. I've taken it in once and they acknowledged that it wasn't functioning properly and replaced it with a new one. The new one also worked for a week or two and then stopped working and I could only get static. I'll try to take it in to Meizu again and see if I can get a definate answer from them, but it will have to wait awhile, as I'm in Korea this week.

Tred · 02-07-2007

What are you using to listen to your player?
Do you experience any problems when listening to your music files?
Have you tried the radio with another listening device? If so what happened?

This might sound really dumb but make sure the plug which goes into the meizu is fully in. Also, manually tune into a major station in your area and let us know how it sounds. Also, tell us how many bars (top left corner) you are getting for this station. I was trying auto tune last night but it didnt work out too well. Manual tune or the fm.ini might also do the trick.

NateM · 02-07-2007

I've done all of that. I've listened to the radio with other devices, (no problems there), I don't have any problems with audio files, other than those already mentioned in the forum, such as the occasional end of sound file skip. I've checked all the connections on the outside. I'm getting zero bars reception, no matter what the radio is tuned to. It's really bizarre. The only thing I can think of is that either:

A. There is a firmware problem that is being triggered by something I'm doing.
B. USB charging or charging through the official Meizu charger I have is somehow shorting out the reciever.
C. I just have really bad luck, and have gotten two shoddy units.

Tred · 02-09-2007

Maybe the answer is B if you used the same charger for your first unit. Or maybe its a voltage problem coming from your computers USB ports.

Also try testing out the radio function in another area if you havent already.

If that doesnt work I would suggest getting in touch with Meizu to send it back. Once they fix it and send you a "fixed" unit, try the radio function straight out of the box. Dont upload or plug it into anything before you do this. Hopefully, it works!!!

RTNY · 12-02-2007

I've had the same problem. All the other functions on my player work and I can hear static on the default radio stations. My signal strength is zero

I've tried installing a new fm.ini list. I've tried installing new firmware. I've tried different locations -- NYC and Washington DC. I haven't tried a different headphone set yet. I haven't tried DFU.

I'm quite attached to my Meizu, so I'm disappointed at this problem.