You’ve probably seen a friend or close relative listening to radio stations on their cell phones. The integration of FM/AM analog radio into smartphones has made it easy for people to listen to their favorite shows and music on the go. However, if you are a DAB radio enthusiast then you surely want to know if you can receive DAB radio on your phone.
You can stream DAB radio to your phone via third-party apps or live streaming online. For the live streaming option, you need to search the DAB radio station’s name in a browser like Chrome or Firefox to find its website. Once you have the website, click on it to start listening.
In the rest of this article, I will discuss the different ways you can receive DAB radio on your Android and iPhone devices. Let’s begin!
How to get DAB radio on an Android phone
Listening to DAB radio on your Android smartphone is easier than you might think. However, it requires a bit of technical knowledge, which I’m going to share with you today.
Luckily, some Android smartphones have one built-in DAB/DAB+ tuner.
On such versions, to get DAB radio, you need to launch the radio app and scan for available DAB stations. Once you find them, pick your favorite to listen to music and other shows.
LG was the first Android smartphone brand to launch a DAB/DAB+ supported smartphone in 2016 –The LG Stylus DAB+.
So if you have an LG phone, launch the Radio app and see if it supports DAB radio.
Does that mean you can’t receive DAB radio on your Android phone if it doesn’t have a built-in DAB/DAB+ tuner?
Absolutely not! You can still listen to DAB radio with such a phone using the following options.
Third Party Apps
You can enjoy DAB radio on your Android phone by downloading and installing third party apps.
In recent years, app developers have been developing free and premium DAB radio apps for Android phones.
To find them:
- Launch the Google Play Store.
- Search for “DAB Radio” or “DAB+ Radio”.
- Browse the apps and download the app you like.
- Install the downloaded app.
- Launch the app and search for your favorite DAB radio stations.
To make things easier for you, here are the best third-party apps for DAB radio on Android phones:
● DAB radio app
● Radio app
● TuneIn
● DAB Z
● BBC sounds
Live streaming through a browser
We live in a world where anything is possible. You can also stream DAB radio to your Android phone using a browser like Chrome or Firefox.
Find the station name in the browser and click on it to start listening. This method eliminates the need to install an app if you have one Internet connection and access to a web browser.
Are you confused between DAB and FM radio? If so, read this article for a simple comparison.
How to get DAB radio on an iPhone
There has been much controversy surrounding the use of analog and digital radios on Apple’s iPhone.
The most recent accusation was that the iPhone refuses to activate radio receivers, making it impossible to receive radio broadcasts.
The worst thing is that although previous versions of the iPhone had FM/AM receivers, the latest models don’t.
Additionally, Apple has no plans to launch DAB radios on its phones any time soon.
Does that mean you can’t receive DAB radio on your iPhone? Not quite!
Below are ways you can listen to DAB radio on your iPhone.
Third Party Apps
The App Store offers free and paid apps to stream DAB radio on your iPhone. Some popular apps are:
● TuneIn
● MyTuner radio
● Radio player
Live streaming through a browser
You can also listen to DAB radio broadcasts online from your favorite radio station’s website. All you need is an internet connection and access to a web browser.
I recommend Safari for the best results as it is Apple’s built-in browser. However, you can also try other browsers like Chrome and Firefox for streaming DAB radio shows.
A point worth noting is that streaming DAB radio online consumes amount of data in kilobits per second (Kbps).
In most cases, radio streaming services consume in between 64 and 320 kbps as follows:
● 64Kbps: 28.8MB per hour
● 128 Kbps: 57.6 MB per hour
● 256 Kbps: 115.2 MB per hour
● 320Kbps: 144MB per hour
Say you listen to your DAB radio for an hour a day, you’ll have an extra one 1.7 to 3.42 gigabytes (GB) of data on your phone bill.
So make sure you have a data plan to accommodate such usage before streaming DAB radio.
Can you connect your phone to a DAB radio?
You can upgrade your Android phone with a dongle such as B. connect to a DAB radio POPyourPHONE. This dongle plugs into your phone’s micro USB port and acts as an antenna for receiving DAB radio signals.
However, you can only use this approach if your Android phone supports an OTG (On-the-Go) connection.
If you are an iPhone user, you can connect your phone to a DAB radio iPhone based DAB dongles. Lingo iMini is an excellent example of an iPhone DAB dongle compatible with 3G, 3GS and 4GS.
Final Thoughts
The ever-increasing demand for Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) has enabled access to phone radio content.
Whether you have an Android or iPhone, you can use third party apps or online streaming services to receive DAB radio on your phone.
If you are an Android user, you can use a DAB dongle to connect your phone to a DAB radio if the phone supports an OTG adapter.
Now that you know how to listen to DAB radio on your phone, let’s see how to stop interference from a DAB radio.
