Earlier this year, Xiaomi and Google surprised everyone by launching the Mi A1, an Android One handset. While the Mi A1 was essentially a rebranded Mi 5X, it ran a near-stock build of Android Nougat which is what many power users have long asked from a Xiaomi handset.

On the flip side, since the Mi A1 runs a stock build of Nougat, it also lacks a number of features that many users have become accustomed to in Xiaomi handsets. One such little feature is FM radio. While streaming music services might be gaining popularity, a lot of consumers in India and other parts of the world continue to listen to FM radio on a daily basis.

From a hardware viewpoint, since the Mi A1 is based on the Mi 5X, it does feature the necessary hardware for FM radio. However, since the OS itself lacks the necessary framework and app, there is no way one could listen to FM radio on the Mi A1. But then as they say, where there is will, there’s always a way. Turns out, if you are willing to take that extra step, you can easily listen to FM radio on your Mi A1.

How To Activate and Listen to FM Radio on the Xiaomi Mi A1

The below method does not require root access but is far from ideal and has a number of limitations.

Step 1: On your Xiaomi Mi A1, open the Phone/Dialer app and key in the following code: *#*#6484#*#*

Step 2: Scroll to the very bottom of the list and select the FM Radio option. Insert your earphones and you will now be able to listen to FM radio on your Mi A1.

While you can tune to different stations, there are a lot of downsides to this method. You cannot turn off the display of your Mi A1, minimise the app or change the volume in this mode. Doing any of the three things will lead to the FM radio playback being stopped. Worse, every time you want to listen to FM radio, you will have to follow the above steps and key in the code in the dialer app of your Mi A1.

Root Method:

If you are willing to root your Mi A1 in your quest to listen to FM radio, you can have it a little easy. On your rooted Mi A1, all you need to do is download the Spirit2 FM radio app from the Play Store and you will be able to easily able to listen to FM radio on it. Not only does the app features an easy to use interface, the other caveats that are present with the non-root method don’t apply here which makes it a far better option overall.

Considering the Mi A1 already comes with the necessary FM radio hardware, Xiaomi should ideally just make the necessary changes to allow users to listen to FM radio on their handset without jumping through such hoops.

Read: Best Xiaomi Mi A1 Tips and Tricks

Do you miss the FM radio functionality on your Xiaomi Mi A1?