Trade in our phones or carry a separate FM Radio?

@syaoran Ya, I tried those FM apps. Apparently Google has FM completely disabled on their Pixel phones including the 3a XL and 4a. Or at least on the 4a, the phone I use. It looks like some Samsung, Motorola, Nokia and others still have the FM capability with the right app.

@itdefbechill Do you use your phone for gaming? I don't game on my phone and also don't see the point in having such specs on a phone for me personally. To me that's like having a Ferrari that can do 180mph (or whatever Ferrari's do) when all I need is a daily driver to get me to and from work over 25-35mph streets.

Speaking of cars, I don't spend much time in my car. My line of work requires lots of walking. No time to run all the way back out to the car and listen to the radio. At times I also bike to work and haven't quite gotten around to fitting an alternator onto my bike to run an FM car radio. 😅

I also NEED a headphone jack, not just for FM capability, but because I don't trust myself with a pair of earbuds that cost over $10. The last time I got a pair of earbuds that were over $50 I lost them after just a week of use (actually I think someone stole them but can't prove it) and I went without buying another pair for 3 months. I have enough time keeping my phone, wallet and keys safe and undamaged. Adding more fragile electronics to my list of responsibilities just isn't practical for me.

If you are that worried though fm radio isnt very helpful in emerngy anything. You want to get a satilite modem for your car, and house. No ones gonna give you helpful information over fm. In your emergency senerios the person running the station would most likely flee.

You also cant communicate with it, you would be better off with a police scanner, and a antenna on your car, that would pick up all local chatter for miles, and give you a better idea of what is going on around you. They also make ones handheld, amd can be switched. 

I beg your pardon, but when the valley did lose all other communication for several days the radio towers were broadcasting what was going on, what was being done about it, and what people could do to help. In one instance there was a terrible snow storm with downed trees and power lines and lots of car accidents. The radio had broadcast where these things were happening and the areas where people needed to stay away from and were it was safe to be. I only found this information out (and kind of late) from a couple people who did have FM radios on hand. Also note that one of the messages was to stay OUT of our parked cars since lots of cars were being crushed by falling trees. Going out to the car to listen to the radio or police scanner  would have been the very risk the authorities were wanting people not to do.

Also, even if there were a major disaster that made all the radio broadcasters flee I'm sure they'd either leave an emergency message playing or there'd be silence. Not being able to tune into a single station would be a good signal that something very wrong is happening. Again, an FM radio is a common emergency kit item recommended by experts. I've never seen an emergency kit list that recommends not taking an FM radio, nor one that recommends having a satellite phone or police scanner.

Although I have thought about getting a satellite phone. But then again who would I call if all the normal lines are down? I guess I could call someone in another county or state to google it for me. But that's a lot of extra money for something I'm sure they'd be broadcasting on the FM radio towers anyway.