Update (June 26):

The June security update contains FM radio support for unlocked Galaxy S9/S9+ units. More info here.

Update (March 28):

NextRadio has confirmed to us that Samsung will be fixing the glitch in the next system update. Here’s their exact statement:

The unlocked S9 and S9+ are supposed to be FM-enabled, but we’ve recently discovered that they are not. Samsung has confirmed that this will be corrected in the next system update. At this time, they are not able to provide a date for the release.

Original story

Many Samsung fans were happy when the South Korean company and NextRadio announced earlier this year that all upcoming Samsung phones in the US and Canada will have their FM chips unlocked. However, a lot of those who went ahead and purchased unlocked Galaxy S9/S9+ are now complaining they can’t access FM radio on their device.

So does that mean Samsung didn’t honor the promise of unlocking FM chips on unlocked units? Well, no. Multiple users (1,2,3) have confirmed that they’ve heard back from NextRadio or Samsung on the matter, with the companies saying there is a software issue (bug) that is currently preventing unlocked Galaxy S9/S9+ users from accessing FM radio (streaming works fine though).

I have the unlocked US version and have the same issues. I emailed NextRadio and got this response: “We have been made aware recently and are in talks with our contacts trying to get this worked out.”

There are missing drivers for some variants (like the SM-G965U1), which Samsung said they’d fix

the Samsung rep I spoke with said all variants have the chip, unlocked devices without being carrier specific have a bug disabling the chip which will be corrected soon.

I also spoke with a representative from NextRadio that concurred and the two companies are working on the fix.

there is apparently a bug disabling it that NextRadio knows of and is working with Samsung to fix

It’s allegedly going to be corrected in the next update

At-least one user confirmed on XDA that when they flashed a carrier firmware on their unlocked Galaxy S9 unit, they were able to access the FM radio functionality. This suggests, there’s indeed an issue with firmware on unlocked units. Hopefully, Samsung/NextRadio will fix the problem soon.

Stay connected with us on Twitter (@PiunikaWeb) to hear about all related developments as and when they occur