How to Listen to AM Radio On Your Phone (iPhone + Android)

Have you ever wondered how to listen to AM radio on your phone? These days, there are numerous ways to listen to your favorite radio stations wherever you are.

You can tune into online streams hosted on a channel’s official website or download a convenient smartphone app.

However, it’s worth noting that many solutions designed to bring radio accessibility to your smartphone primarily focus on FM stations. In many parts of the world, AM radio is becoming less common as stations switch from AM frequencies to FM and DAB technology.

Fortunately, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t listen to AM radio on your smartphone. However, your options may be a little limited.

Two Options for Listening to AM Radio on a Phone

Many smartphones come with an embedded FM chip, which allows users to listen to FM radio anywhere. These chips can capture FM frequencies similar to the radio systems you have in your car and home.

However, not all smartphones can capture and convert AM frequencies.

Android users can sometimes listen to AM radio offline through an FM radio app if they switch their chip on. While many Android devices have FM chips, they’re often switched off by default.

You’ll need to enable your chip using an app like NextRadio on the Google Play store. Once you download the app, you can listen to the radio in FM-only mode by activating your chip.

Unfortunately, you can’t activate an FM chip on your Apple device. This means you’ll only be able to access the radio with an internet connection on an iPhone.

Fortunately, there are still ways you can do this. The first option is to search for your favorite station’s website or a radio website directory.

The second option is to download an app onto your phone that provides access to one or multiple AM radio channels.

Accessing AM Radio on a Website

Most modern radio stations have a dedicated website where you can search for and listen to live streams or download previous playlists straight to your phone.

If your preferred station doesn’t have its own website, you can consider using one of the following sites to access radio streams from a range of different channels instead:

• Streema: A website hosting free and premium internet, AM, and FM station broadcasts from around the globe. You can filter through stations by location and genre.
• Radio.net: An online website and app offering access to thousands of national and international radio stations, including AM streams.
• TuneIn: A convenient all-in-one radio directory hosting streams from hundreds of international and national radio stations worldwide.

If you plan on using a website to access AM radio, ensure you can access the internet on your smartphone.

While you can use your mobile data to listen to radio content, we’d recommend connecting to Wi-Fi when possible.

Streaming large amounts of radio to your phone could mean you use more data than expected on your phone plan.

It’s also worth noting the quality of your internet connection will influence how smooth the radio transmission is. If your internet connection drops, you may lose access to your station.

Some websites allow you to download streams you can listen to later if you’re concerned you might not have consistent internet access when needed.

Listening to AM Radio with Smartphone Apps

The simplest way to listen to AM radio on a smartphone is with a dedicated app.

There are dozens of options designed for iPhone and Android users. Alongside giving you an easy way to browse through AM channels and streams, apps often come with additional features.

Some will allow you to create a favorites tab to find your preferred channels in one place quickly. Some can also send notifications to your phone to let you know when specific programs are starting or new streams are available.

If you’re committed to listening exclusively to AM radio, you can search for the name of the station you want to hear to in the app store for your phone or search for the term AM radio.

Here are some great AM radio apps for both Android and Apple devices:

Apple AM Radio Apps

• Simple Radio: Simple Radio is a convenient AM/FM radio app with more than 50,000 worldwide stations. It also includes access to talk radio, breaking news, and trending music suggestions.
• TuneIn Radio: Produced by the TuneIn radio company, the TuneIn Radio app supports everything from AM and FM radio stations to news broadcasts, podcasts, and music playlists. There are more than 100,000 radio stations to choose from, taken from 197 countries.
• Top Radio: Featuring DAB, AM, and FM stations, Top Radio covers all of the biggest stations in regions worldwide, from the UK to Italy, the USA, and beyond. You can even submit requests for radio stations you don’t find on the platform.
• Radio: Live AM FM: This simple radio app lets users listen to stations worldwide. It has a sleep timer to automatically switch your broadcast off for you, a station search bar, and a favorites list to keep track of your top stations.

Many of these options are also available to download on the Google Play store, such as Simple Radio and TuneIn Radio.

Android AM Radio Apps

• Radio FM: While the Radio FM app focuses primarily on FM stations, you can find a variety of AM and local radio stations on the platform too. The easy-to-use app comes with a simple search function and filters to help you sort through content based on genre or location.
• Radio Me: Another excellent choice for AM radio lovers, the Radio Me app supports broadcasts from FM and AM stations across the globe. You can listen to live shows, news reports, and sports sessions from virtually any country at the touch of a button.
• Radioline: Suitable for podcast and radio streaming, Radioline is an all-in-one application for audio lovers. You can access more than 110,000 streams from local, national, and international catalogs and even find recommended stations in your area.
• iHeartMusic: Created by one of the biggest radio parent companies in the world, the iHeartMusic app combines AM and FM radio stations with music playlists and podcasts. There are thousands of shows and streams to explore, and you can even download your favorite music to play it offline later.

Can You Listen to AM Radio on Your Phone?

While listening to AM radio on your phone might be more complex than listening to FM stations, there are still plenty of ways to do it.

Whether you choose to tune into a playlist by searching for a station’s website or downloading an app, you should have no problem tuning into your favorite channels.

Just make sure you know how much data your apps or website visits consume so you don’t spend a fortune on your mobile bill!