Blog: Why isn’t my Baofeng FM radio working?

No FM radio on my UV-5R or UV-9G

Blog: Why isn’t my Baofeng FM radio working?

One of the most common questions that we have been receiving lately has been: ‘Why isn’t the FM radio working on my radio?’ First, before we dive into the topic, we will preface the answer by affirming that all BTECH distributed radios have fully functioning FM radios and no modifications have been made to our distributed radios or products.

As we are all aware there have many hurdles to manufacturing, including a chip shortage, ever since the pandemic’s start in 2020. Costs have been skyrocketing and there has been little relief to any aspect of distribution or logistics.

Due to these obstacles, most distributors of Baofeng products have decided to modify or cut back on features in their products to try and keep costs down. The most noticeable feature affected has been the FM radio.  While the removal of a feature might be understandable, the issue is those products are still advertised as being the same product they once were, and no mention of the cost-saving changes has been disclosed by those distributors. These changes are affecting all product lines from amateur radios to GMRS radios and are plaguing distributors around the world.

When you purchase from BTECH, you can be assured that it is the same product as it always has been. We have not removed any chips or features from our products to curb costs. We pride ourselves in our support and our reputation and we will continue to work with all our global partners to ensure that no shortcuts are taken to deliver the best radio to you! Shop from BTECH directly at: www.baofengtech.com/shop/

Contact

Do you have feedback on this article? We are always open to feedback from our loyal customers. If you have a suggestion or comment, please send it to us at: [email protected].

Comments (29)

  • kufi Reply

    The same problem the BTECH V1 have, you can’t have more than one gmrs repeter per frequency. I try but i dit not figure out yet,
    The probleme is when you try you will not have the Split 5000 without that you only have one repeter per frequency

    June 14, 2022 at 3:45 am
    • BTECH Radios Reply

      The GMRS-V2 has replaced the GMRS-V1 to support multiple repeaters

      June 27, 2022 at 2:28 pm
  • Jim Mooter Reply

    Can’t find UV9G

    June 20, 2022 at 6:27 pm
    • BTECH Radios Reply

      That is not a model we sell, but we know sellers have removed the FM radio on those, our GMRS-V2 still has the FM radio included

      June 27, 2022 at 2:25 pm
  • Tucker Reply

    So… Are you going to give any tops? I can switch to fm band, dial in a known good station and get nothing. This is on a Baofenh UV-9g.

    June 27, 2022 at 2:21 pm
    • BTECH Radios Reply

      We do not sell the UV-9G, as stated in the article – other sellers have cut back on features to save money. Our GMRS-V2 does not have the FM radio removed

      June 27, 2022 at 2:23 pm
  • Harry Reply

    I got a UV-9R plus.

    The two way VHF is working fine. But the FM is not working at all.

    Suggestions?

    July 7, 2022 at 3:37 am
    • BTECH Radios Reply

      The FM radio will not work as your supplier has removed the feature from the radio

      July 7, 2022 at 11:30 am
  • Fred Dettinger Reply

    Yes I have the same problem I just got the Uv 82 by baofeng as nd the fm chip is missing and I’m not happy

    September 29, 2022 at 2:56 pm
    • btech.radios Reply

      Any radios sold by BTECH/Baofeng Tech will still have FM chips – be careful of unscrupulous distributors that cut corners

      October 18, 2022 at 11:33 am
      • MD Reply

        Hi,
        I’ve bought 2x Baofeng UV25.
        Questions:
        1. Is this an official Bfeng model?
        2. If yes then why can I program one of them with CRISP and the other won’t respond?
        Best regards,
        MD

        March 16, 2024 at 7:12 am
  • Brian Reply

    I recently bought a UV5R from amazon and cannot receive an FM signal. How can you tell if there is no FM chip?

    October 12, 2022 at 9:13 pm
    • btech.radios Reply

      If it doesn’t receive any FM stations, that would be the indicator that a distributor cut corners

      October 18, 2022 at 11:31 am
  • Ace Reply

    I bought a set from Amazon of uv-82p radios and it appears that this has been done to them.
    I know you guys are tied on it and cannot do anything about it since I got it on Amazon from a seller I already thought was shady before this business, but I am a Ham I and because of the nature of being one I am both capable and not afraid of cutting into, unscrewing, rewiring, modding and all the other things that can be done to this radio so is there a way that I can add this module/feature back into my radio? It has been a wonderfully well built and honestly highly sensitive powerful and capable radio for me with battery life well beyond what I expected with it lasting around a week of use on one charge but this little radio problem is really bugging me so as stated before, is there a way to fix this myself? I am willing to get messy.

    Thanks in advance. KL5IS, Ace

    November 25, 2022 at 3:11 am
    • BTECH Radios Reply

      If you purchased a Genuine UV-82HP, it will absolutely still have the FM radio, these are available on Amazon or direct at: baofengtech.com/uv-82hp (Amazon link on the same page as well)

      December 12, 2022 at 11:03 am
  • Matthew Reply

    I have the baofeng uv-s9 and when i got it every thing was working great and now when i went camping today i noticed it wont even power on

    December 5, 2022 at 7:50 pm
  • Gary Reply

    from Gary. Our securitiy group has about 30 baofeng 888 s radios . they have worked great for 8-10 years in our multi level building with concrete and steel with many rooms.. but recently the radios have started doing a power off and on while in use. I assume it is the rechargeable batteries that are orginal with the radios.. I found matching rechargeable batteries online. how can I tell if they are new and good replacements

    December 11, 2022 at 4:11 pm
  • mariano lw4eam Reply

    great explanation about it and thanks about millions of inexpensive radios for all the globe

    December 22, 2022 at 5:08 pm
  • Thomas Hadrava Reply

    When I switch to fm mode on my UV-5R it makes strange clicking noise and when I’m trying to seek any fm frequency it can’t find it.

    December 27, 2022 at 1:13 pm
    • BTECH Radios Reply

      The distributor of your radio removed the FM chip to reduce costs

      January 9, 2023 at 12:31 pm
  • David Anthony Reply

    I just got 2 Baofeng UV-9Gs from Amazon. FM and NOAA aren’t working on the radios. Does the mean my radios are from a fraudulent distributor?

    December 28, 2022 at 10:28 pm
  • David Anthony Reply

    Oh… I get it now BaofengTech is not the same as Baofeng.

    December 28, 2022 at 10:33 pm
  • Damian Reply

    That is a bummer! I love the fm radio feature!

    December 31, 2022 at 3:20 pm
  • John Reply

    I just bought a new Baofeng UV-5RTP, it also has the FM radio frequencies, I entered a few local stations but no sound from any of them. ☹️

    March 8, 2023 at 10:10 pm
    • BTECH Radios Reply

      Very common with third party listings, the BF-F8HP does not have these shortcuts taken and also is FCC Part 90 approved unlike the UV-5RTP

      March 9, 2023 at 9:07 am
  • FLOYD L GORE Reply

    I have a Boafeng UV82L. One day the screen froze. None of the buttons work. In the screen it shows 7 squares and on top of that it shows S VOX +-RN. Is there a fix for this ? Or is the radio not usable any longer?

    May 11, 2023 at 3:38 am
  • dwight yerger Reply

    i have the uv-82 model and i was able to down load channels the first time. but them i tried to down load some more the radio is no recognized by solfware
    it says radio not recognized
    i did two other s and it work fine now software does not recognize any

    August 9, 2023 at 6:21 am
  • ARK Reply

    My UV-5RTP fm radio not working. Why?
    It stuck with SEEK … while scan. And manual input frequency also not working. There is a continuous CRRRRRRRRRRRR noise in the speaker while in FM radio mode.

    November 6, 2023 at 9:08 am

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