FM sound in the car - the end is near!
The end of FM will come at the beginning of the new year, at least partially. From January 1, 2025, SRG stations can no longer be received via FM. So anyone who still wants to listen to the radio in future will need an adapter or a costly full integration.
SRG will switch off the broadcasting of its radio stations via FM by 2025. Private radio stations are also expected to cease broadcasting at the end of 2026. As urgent traffic and congestion information is crucial for road safety, it is essential that it is transmitted quickly and reliably to all road users - this currently happens 2,600 times a year. In future, however, the approximately 1.8 million vehicles without DAB+ reception will be excluded from this information, which will affect a good 38 % of all passenger cars in 2024. To put it bluntly: a switch from pure FM reception to DAB+ is therefore necessary, otherwise radio will remain dead.
TCS therefore recommends retrofitting via an adapter or full integration if you do not yet have DAB+ radio reception in your car. Four simple adapters and two FM transmitters were tested by TCS - DAB+ reception works well with all four adapters, but transmission into the existing car radio works particularly well if it has an Aux input. Priced between 50 and 70 francs, all adapters search for an alternative frequency when the signal weakens and recognize traffic reports. If you want to listen to the radio via the on-board loudspeakers using a smartphone app, you can fall back on FM transmitters. However, the aux connection of an FM transmitter only worked in one of two cars tested! And the device also transmitted an annoying noise via Aux into the car radio while the ventilation was running.
The positive aspect: Both devices only need a cigarette lighter for the power supply and an FM radio, so even very old vehicles can be easily upgraded and converted. However, it should be noted that the signal strength of an FM transmitter has a legal limit, which is why some FM radios (two out of four tested) switch to a different frequency, that of a regular radio station, after 1-2 minutes with these two devices.
