Spirit1, Spirit2 Real FM Radio General Thread
- Thread starter mikereidis
- Start date
anyways u can get this to work for non rooted htc one google play edition
i dont wanna root phone cuz i wanna get over the air updates
i dont wanna root phone cuz i wanna get over the air updates
Just wanted to add that I have Spirit UL working on an Xperia V (LT25i) using the most recent AOKP Kit-Kat nightly, from 20140216. Method is Digital QCOM OneXL/S/Sony/MoG.
I may have had a glitch with audio on phone calls after listening, though. A couple of hours after installing and getting it to work, I got a phone call and neither the other party or I could hear each other. Toggling speaker or mute did not work. Then I rebooted, and phone calls worked fine.
Glad, though, to have it back! Cheers, Mike!
I may have had a glitch with audio on phone calls after listening, though. A couple of hours after installing and getting it to work, I got a phone call and neither the other party or I could hear each other. Toggling speaker or mute did not work. Then I rebooted, and phone calls worked fine.
Glad, though, to have it back! Cheers, Mike!
The app popup message is correct.
Root is needed for HTC One GPE FM. AND so far Bluetooth must be off.
No way around these restrictions.
Google doesn't want us to have FM.
Digital Radio, the "Euro Chip Initiative" and "The Universal Smartphone Radio Project"
Was taking a "break" today and decided to check up on the latest news about Digital Radio (DAB/DAB+/DRM/HD/etc) and the NEW (& improved, LOL) efforts to spread digital & analog radio on smartphones via the "Euro Chip Initiative" and "The Universal Smartphone Radio Project".
My quick conclusion is that it's all doomed, as much as I'd like that not to be true.
The markets seem to indicate that efforts to promote digital radio are largely unsuccessful. There are some country markets doing better, but analog FM radio is still king, and rumors of analog shutoff in a country or 2 have no substance.
Basically, the proponents of digital radio are promoting it with "always upbeat" marketing messages, and almost no consumers are actually buying it. Now they seem to be "attacking" 4g/LTE/etc delivery methods as inefficient, which may have some truth, but it doesn't matter if nobody is buying it.
The "Euro Chip Initiative" and "The Universal Smartphone Radio Project" are trying to promote hybrid analog/digital radio chips in smart devices, and standard APIs to access them. Sony/ST-Ericcson started an effort to get a standard Android FM API at least 4 years ago. And it went nowhere and it's dead. I see no reason why new efforts would succeed while old ones failed.
IMO, it would be GREAT for me if these efforts bore fruit. I wish them (and myself) success. But I have no reason to expect success.
I hesitate to be "too full of myself"/cocky, but I think there's a good chance that nobody else in this world has had more experience with a wide variety of FM chips and APIs in use on the most popular (by far) smartphone platform of Android. I've become experienced in somewhere around 6 high level APIs and 6 low level FM APIs (I lost track, LOL). And on several generations of chips, Android versions, phones, ROMs, etc. Even the devs working for Samsung etc, only see Samsung phones, and likely have dealt with a more limited number of chips and APIs.
So, where the heck is this API ? And, given my experience, I'm feeling like it's hard to take seriously any attempt at another proposed standard FM/radio API, when nobody has even sent me an email about this. How many other written from scratch FM/real radio apps are on Google Play ? (Yes, there are a few minor ones if you dig deeply past the thousands of streaming apps.)
I've read that these people want to create an API for the hordes of developers who don't have an API to write to and don't want to deal with the minutiae of radio/RDS/etc technicalities. So you'd think they'd want to get feedback from devs. But I haven't heard from them.
Silence can be deafening.
So what's the future of radio ? In smartphones, I don't know. I have little idea of what deals will or will not be made, or how well they'll go between broadcasters, chip OEMs, phone OEMs, and all the other parties, including Google, Apple, MS, etc. Sooner or later, my little niche might be too small for me to continue. Hope not, but nothing lasts forever, and we'll see.
As far as radio broadcasting goes, I continue to think analog FM has at least 10 years of life left, maybe 20, and more so in less connected parts of the world.
And I think digital broadcasting will continue to limp along.
And the use of streaming services will continue to rise, particularly for the richer people and countries. 4g will give way to 5g and 6g etc.
Basically, I think the trends in place will continue. And no amount of hand wringing or proposals for hybrid chips or new APIs will go anywhere. The only things that matter will be the "votes" of countless people as they buy phones with or without usable analog FM chips (and standalone radios). Technology has to be PULLED by masses of people spending money. It can't be PUSHED.
The successful transition of TV from analog to digital does not translate into the same for radio.
Was taking a "break" today and decided to check up on the latest news about Digital Radio (DAB/DAB+/DRM/HD/etc) and the NEW (& improved, LOL) efforts to spread digital & analog radio on smartphones via the "Euro Chip Initiative" and "The Universal Smartphone Radio Project".
My quick conclusion is that it's all doomed, as much as I'd like that not to be true.
The markets seem to indicate that efforts to promote digital radio are largely unsuccessful. There are some country markets doing better, but analog FM radio is still king, and rumors of analog shutoff in a country or 2 have no substance.
Basically, the proponents of digital radio are promoting it with "always upbeat" marketing messages, and almost no consumers are actually buying it. Now they seem to be "attacking" 4g/LTE/etc delivery methods as inefficient, which may have some truth, but it doesn't matter if nobody is buying it.
The "Euro Chip Initiative" and "The Universal Smartphone Radio Project" are trying to promote hybrid analog/digital radio chips in smart devices, and standard APIs to access them. Sony/ST-Ericcson started an effort to get a standard Android FM API at least 4 years ago. And it went nowhere and it's dead. I see no reason why new efforts would succeed while old ones failed.
IMO, it would be GREAT for me if these efforts bore fruit. I wish them (and myself) success. But I have no reason to expect success.
I hesitate to be "too full of myself"/cocky, but I think there's a good chance that nobody else in this world has had more experience with a wide variety of FM chips and APIs in use on the most popular (by far) smartphone platform of Android. I've become experienced in somewhere around 6 high level APIs and 6 low level FM APIs (I lost track, LOL). And on several generations of chips, Android versions, phones, ROMs, etc. Even the devs working for Samsung etc, only see Samsung phones, and likely have dealt with a more limited number of chips and APIs.
So, where the heck is this API ? And, given my experience, I'm feeling like it's hard to take seriously any attempt at another proposed standard FM/radio API, when nobody has even sent me an email about this. How many other written from scratch FM/real radio apps are on Google Play ? (Yes, there are a few minor ones if you dig deeply past the thousands of streaming apps.)
I've read that these people want to create an API for the hordes of developers who don't have an API to write to and don't want to deal with the minutiae of radio/RDS/etc technicalities. So you'd think they'd want to get feedback from devs. But I haven't heard from them.
Silence can be deafening.
So what's the future of radio ? In smartphones, I don't know. I have little idea of what deals will or will not be made, or how well they'll go between broadcasters, chip OEMs, phone OEMs, and all the other parties, including Google, Apple, MS, etc. Sooner or later, my little niche might be too small for me to continue. Hope not, but nothing lasts forever, and we'll see.
As far as radio broadcasting goes, I continue to think analog FM has at least 10 years of life left, maybe 20, and more so in less connected parts of the world.
And I think digital broadcasting will continue to limp along.
And the use of streaming services will continue to rise, particularly for the richer people and countries. 4g will give way to 5g and 6g etc.
Basically, I think the trends in place will continue. And no amount of hand wringing or proposals for hybrid chips or new APIs will go anywhere. The only things that matter will be the "votes" of countless people as they buy phones with or without usable analog FM chips (and standalone radios). Technology has to be PULLED by masses of people spending money. It can't be PUSHED.
The successful transition of TV from analog to digital does not translate into the same for radio.
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Xperia V I have little or no feedback on,with only 5 customers.
You can use Debug-> Power Restart Media to reset audio at FM off time.
Um, the post about Digital Radio, and all that . . .
I suspect that Digital Radio and Spirit both suffer from the same problem: a technology in search of a customer.
Customers want convenience (since we all think we're time poor) and content (we worship the One God, of competition); then some of us worry about quality and like a challenge. Digital streaming gets 3 out of 4. Spirit and DAB and its variants probably get about 1 out of 4. I'll leave you to sort out which.
DAB's biggest problem apart from coverage is that it never took off in cars, and for choice, quality and convenience is now supplanted by streaming. As one would expect really by a Government-mandated system, with a marketing budget in search of a product.
Spirit's problem IF your phone has FM, and IF you want an app instead of or in addition to that packaged, and IF you're willing to pay so much for it, and IF you can put up with the audio let alone IF FM meets your needs and IF you can get it working and keep it so and UNLESS you want to play with it rather than all the other things you can do with your phone ... so many IFs. Smartphones aren't made for FM. I'm a fan of both FM (but for a small specialised part of my listening) and of Spirit (when it works as it should), but I have no illusions that I'm part of a miniscule minority (of one, perhaps?).
I suspect that Digital Radio and Spirit both suffer from the same problem: a technology in search of a customer.
Customers want convenience (since we all think we're time poor) and content (we worship the One God, of competition); then some of us worry about quality and like a challenge. Digital streaming gets 3 out of 4. Spirit and DAB and its variants probably get about 1 out of 4. I'll leave you to sort out which.
DAB's biggest problem apart from coverage is that it never took off in cars, and for choice, quality and convenience is now supplanted by streaming. As one would expect really by a Government-mandated system, with a marketing budget in search of a product.
Spirit's problem IF your phone has FM, and IF you want an app instead of or in addition to that packaged, and IF you're willing to pay so much for it, and IF you can put up with the audio let alone IF FM meets your needs and IF you can get it working and keep it so and UNLESS you want to play with it rather than all the other things you can do with your phone ... so many IFs. Smartphones aren't made for FM. I'm a fan of both FM (but for a small specialised part of my listening) and of Spirit (when it works as it should), but I have no illusions that I'm part of a miniscule minority (of one, perhaps?).
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ok if i root htc one gpe can i still get updates?
i wanna be stock as possible incase need return you know
Sorry, I don't recall about updates.
I would just flash GPE ROMs found on XDA, but if I was just an average phone user I guess I'd keep it stock.
I've never or very rarely heard about return issues, and non-destructive soft-bricking can solve that issue anyway.
Maybe so for Digital Radio, but I have to disagree about Spirit, which was demand driven.
Spirit started as a response to some "desperate posts" asking for some dev to stand up and enable FM radio on CM on the HTC Legend. Here's the thread: "Cyanogenmod, Legend, FM Radio & MONEY" http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=947581
I scoured the forums in early 2011 and found thread after thread of people running CM or AOSP desperately looking for some way to enable FM. That convinced me to start Spirit and invest a year into it with almost no income, despite that the free and open source MIUI/CM/Qualcomm FM app existed on a phone or 2 already and was expanding to others.
Spirit is an OTA broadcast app, and I don't expect that to ever change; IE I don't expect to ever add streaming. Spirit may die at some point and I might tackle new apps, but Spirit is pretty much defined as for OTA audio broadcasts; analog or digital if popular digital devices come out.
I don't advocate for analog or OTA broadcasts, other than that they may be what some people are looking for and need, while others are better served with streaming. Streaming over IP data connections is the way forward I think, but for some it will take some time to make sense. Conditions in low pop density and lower wage countries are very different than in dense urban centres of the 1st world.
There's an article here I think is good: "Why Radio is Stuck in the Middle of a Streaming Pincer Movement" http://musicindustryblog.wordpress....in-the-middle-of-a-streaming-pincer-movement/
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Trust you realise I'm not critising the concept or execution of Spirit! I've got it working beautifully. But things change quickly in the digital world and perhaps 2011 seems like ancient history? Interesting article but I think much of traditional radio is embracing streaming services and are only too aware of the music industry fate and are determined to learn the lesson. Only question if Spirit isn't embracing streaming too. Why not?
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
Early 2011 is ancient history now in Smartphone time. It was a time when Android 2.3 Gingerbread was new, CM7 was just coming out and when the first real Nexus device, the Nexus One (HTC Desire) was still pretty shiny at just under 1 year old.
Regardless, I still see "enough"* interest in FM; I get around 5 emails every day asking if their device can support FM (Sadly mostly requests for impossible devices).
*: "Enough" meaning I can still continue to make a "decent" income with Spirit sales alone. Income was "just barely enough" and declining, but thankfully Spirit2 is stepping in now, raising income about 30% to make me a bit more comfortable again.
There seems like more than a thousand streaming apps out there, though some are just copies of a standard app, for a specific station or whatever. And some very big companies are involved. I can't and don't want to compete in such a crowded market.
I prefer a nice quiet niche, and charging somewhat "boutique" prices for the best support I can provide.
If/when I can't make a live-able income from SpiritX, I'd likely open source the code completely and move on to something new. I don't know what exactly; things move so fast that it'd be hard to predict, but audio enhancements for AOSP ROMs is something I've considered.
LG G2 d802 on CM 10.2 - no audio?
hey mike. thanks for your work.
i have used your app on i9300 before. now i have a lg g2 on cm10.2 app starts and finds station but i don't hear anything. can you maybe help? i have browsed/searched this thread and couldn't find any advice. found an entry talking about reboot on start. but i don't have reboots. also the audio is set to automatic.
br, mila
hey mike. thanks for your work.
i have used your app on i9300 before. now i have a lg g2 on cm10.2 app starts and finds station but i don't hear anything. can you maybe help? i have browsed/searched this thread and couldn't find any advice. found an entry talking about reboot on start. but i don't have reboots. also the audio is set to automatic.
br, mila
You have TWO d802s, one stock and one CM11 ?? Good opportunity to test...
If this is just a soft mute issue, you should be able to test them next to each other. Tune a strong station and verify/adjust so volume is the same. Compare RSSI, though the OEM API will use some different scale.
If you now tune both to a weak station, I'd guess one should have much lower volume.
Do you see "BC OEM" flash at startup on stock ? Does Spirit show the problem with BC OEM, but the stock app on that phone doesn't ?
Had some more time to play with the Stock LG G2 d802 (and, off topic, the CM11 one is becoming a Royal pain in terms of ROM stability and funnies).
Spirit 1 works fine on Stock 10F. When it starts (and it starts quickly), a toast appears with "FM: BC OEM". No settings needed touching at all. The Radio then works as well as, and exactly like, Stock. No silly soft-muting. And it pulls stations in like a champ. The RSSI shows a lower figure on Stock running Spirit 1 than CM11 running Spirit 1, as you suggested, so just scaling. If only this performance could be the same on CM11 (should CM11 for the G2 ever become reliable!!)
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497Spirit1 and Spirit2 are real, tuned, over-the-air FM radio apps for Android. They do not require Internet access.
Android 6+ Marshmallow Speaker mode and HTC One M8/Qualcomm startup problems: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=64465957&postcount=9434
Dec 2, 2015: I'm going to close this thread for now at least, because sadly, too many "non customers" are coming here asking for support for paid versions and I've become very tired of it. Customers please email me mikereidis@gmail.com for support. Thanks !
Dec 2, 2015: Spirit apps now available via Paypal through the new Alpha level Official XDA App: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=64109123&postcount=9431
Spirit2 2015_03_25_lollipop & KitKat slow rollout: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=59681989#post59681989
Mar 18/19, 2015: New Spirit2 release for Lollipop+: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=904#post59544280
Feb 21, 2015: Spirit's 4th birthday, Spirit2 analog mode & other New features: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=58992351#post58992351
GOOGLE BAN on the Spirit apps (SELinux, lifted). http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=59810554&postcount=9046
DAMMIT Google ! DAMMIT new EU VAT policies ! : http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=58184929&postcount=8824
LG G3 official support ?: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=57367265&postcount=8710
Spirit2 Lollipop HTC One M7 & M8 GPE with root: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=872#post57367616
Spirit2 Open/Free now on Play for "buy me a cheap beer" price, and free XDA download: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=57261604&postcount=8694
Spirit1 Light resurrected on Play for "buy me a coffee" price, and free XDA download: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=57261804&postcount=8695
Spirit2 Beta releases on Play for customers, updated sign up info: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=57079402&postcount=795
Spirit2 11_24/11_25 pre-mature Lollipop re-design release bugs on some ROMs prompt re-org of Spirit2 variants: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=57057763&postcount=8664
Spirit2 Free: Open Source Real FM Radio for AOSP & Root: http://xdaforums.com/apps/spirit-fm/app-spirit2-free-source-real-fm-radio-t2951455
Spirit2 RC2 beta for Lollipop: November 24 / 141124: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=57006262
Spirit2 November 21 (141121): Beta Re-architecture for Android Lollipop 5.0: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=56930903&postcount=8631
Spirit2 November 12 (141112): Experimental Re-architecture for Android 5: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=861
Spirit2 October 29 (141029): Experimental Re-architecture for Android 5: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=56376931&postcount=8571
Nexus 6, 9, Player & Android 5.0: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=854#post56094758
Spirit2 October 1 (141001): Extremely Experimental Re-architecture for Android L: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=55771652&postcount=8499
Android L: Spirit1 and Spirit2: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=55733853#post55733853
Spirit2 0920 HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL Audio mods, in preparation for Android L: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=55560963&postcount=8455 APK: http://d-h.st/0z9
Spirit Transmit v2 0915: ONLY works on ROOTED Sony Xperia T and Z class; NOT Z2: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=845#post55456171
Download Experimental Spirit2 September 10-12: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=55397310&postcount=8427
Official Sony Z series support coming: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=54229607
LG G2 Mahdi & FM friendly kernels: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=54067863&postcount=8037
LG G2 FM friendly kernel patches: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=54068182&postcount=8038
Android ONE = Google FM Radio ?? !! http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=53677209&postcount=781
Spirit2: Hi Mike, I am still enjoying Spirit 1, is there any reason to pay again for Spirit 2? : http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=52304938&postcount=7787
HTC One M8 Verizon ! http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=51904224
Spirit2 is officially released ! New thread for Spirit2: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2537861
The Death of access to stock, unrooted OEM proprietary FM APIs:http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=50954346
New 30 day refund policy: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=50889714
Digital Radio, the "Euro Chip Initiative" and "The Universal Smartphone Radio Project":http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=50416866&postcount=7511
Permissions problems on recent ROMs: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=48749760#post48749760
--------------------
Spirit name: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=45326547&postcount=6771
New phones: Note 3 LTE, HTC One Mini, Xperia Z Ultra & Z1/Honami: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=673
Broadcom OEM API for unrooted changes on Android 4.3 HTC One: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=44953912#post44953912
Nexus 7 2013: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=44800402#post44800402
Meh... Emmis NextRadio app is underwhelming: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=44669987#post44669987
BT headsets: RDS PS & station info, pause/play, previous + next with AVRCP 1.3+: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=44463541&postcount=6619
HTC One GPE Android 4.3 solution: Use Spirit August 5 or later version: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=44298000&postcount=6585 apk: http://d-h.st/gWe
Android 4.3 may break FM on devices using Broadcom FM/combo chips: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=44233922&postcount=6571
"Spying" on FM radio usage stats: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=44018032&postcount=6522
Effem FM app in some CM ROMs ? : http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=43795132#post43795132
HTC One GPE + digital audio (Unlocked): http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=43071149&postcount=6332
HTC One first AOSP/Google support: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=42922397#post42922397
HTC One Nexus Experience phone: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=42060507&postcount=6156
Galaxy S4 MINI GT-I9190 FM: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=42061724&postcount=6157
Galaxy S4 = No OTA FM: "In with a bang, and out with a whimper." http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=40952026&postcount=6001
Where has all the FM gone ? Gone to streaming, every one ? http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=40952008&postcount=6000
See Supported Device List in post #2 below.
Variants:
- Spirit Free: Basic & Mono. Digital audio on Galaxy S. See post #3.
- Spirit Two Free Alpha: Digital Audio & other Unlocked features.
- Spirit Light: (supported but no longer sold.)
- Spirit Unlocked: RDS, Media Buttons, Lockscreen & much more.
Spirit is the ONLY fully digital FM app:
- Bluetooth A2DP headsets in CD quality stereo.
- Recording in CD quality stereo.
- External visualizers, equalizers and effects.
- Internal Wave and FFT visual: 5x8 dB & log2 43 - 22,050 Hz.
Digital audio support:
- Rooted HTC One, One XL, One S, Evo 4G LTE, Sony Xperia T.
- Rooted International non-US Galaxy S, S2, S3, Note, Note2.
- Most stock Sony 2012-2013 devices.
Record only support:
- Stock International Galaxy S2 Jelly-Bean, S3, Note, Note2.
Download:
- Spirit Unlocked: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mikersmicros.fm_unlock
- Spirit UL Paypal: Email me.
- Spirit Free September 18: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=45682432#post45682432 apk: http://d-h.st/H4x
- Warning ! Galaxy S speaker risk: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=13380066&postcount=3
- For phones with no FM audio support: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=42510412&postcount=6215
- Galaxy S digital chipmunks: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=39383252&postcount=5696
- FAQ: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=447
- Doc 2012: https://googledrive.com/host/0B7UP2cIqyQXGZVZYZHItaC1ZWk0/spirit_doc.html or download from: http://d-h.st/TxN
- Prior post #1: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=571
- Dongle FM SDR: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2108053 my notes: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=38887290&postcount=5603
News:
- The Death of access to stock, unrooted OEM proprietary FM APIs:http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=50954346
- New 30 day refund policy: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=50889714
- Broadcom OEM API for unrooted changes on Android 4.3 HTC One: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=44953912#post44953912
- Meh... Emmis NextRadio app is underwhelming: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=44669987#post44669987
- BT headsets: RDS PS & station info, pause/play, previous + next with AVRCP 1.3+: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=44463541&postcount=6619
- Galaxy S4 stock ROM FM strings explained by new GT-I9300 FM voice commands: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=41651659&postcount=6078
- Galaxy S4 = No OTA FM: "In with a bang, and out with a whimper." http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=40952026&postcount=6001
- Where has all the FM gone ? Gone to streaming, every one ? http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=40952008&postcount=6000
- Sprint Ransom for FM: $15 Million + 30%: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=37641690
- US carriers Ransom for FM: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=36567961&postcount=5154
- Spirit2: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=34526627&postcount=4882
- Spirit2 design: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=35571087
Please purchase Spirit Unlocked for full features, excellent support, and help Android FM.
Thanks !
Mike.92Compatibility
Edit August 18, 2015: I haven't updated this list since June 29, 2013 largely because FM has been dying on Android devices. Samsung hasn't supported FM on flagships since the International GS3 GT-I9300 and Note2 GT-N7100 and never supported FM on US flagships except for some rare Sprint devices.
If there is no stock working FM app on your device, chances are close to zero these days, especially on Samsungs.
The only additions I have made in over 2 years are: Sony Xperia Z2/Z3 or compatible, rooted LG G2 International or Sprint, and rooted devices with Qualcomm FM/combo and audio chips, such as the HTC One M8, Xperia Z1 and similar, and some lesser known devices.
November 12, 2012 compatibility list with more info on older devices: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=480
No FM:
These devices, and many more, are not physically capable of FM, except as noted:
- Samsung Galaxy S4/S5/S6/Note3/Note4/Note5 & most US/LTE models of Galaxy S, S2, S3, Note, Note2.
- All Google Nexus's except Nexus One w/ custom kernel.
- Motorola Verizon Razr HD & M / Maxx. (Australia variant has FM.)
- Motorola Verizon Razr I XT890 (JB update disables FM. May 8 worked w/ root, but no audio.)
- HTC Verizon Droid Incredible 4G LTE.
- Samsung: 70 %
- HTC: 23 %
- Motorola: 4 %
- Sony: 1.3 %
- Huawei: 1.0 %
- LG: 0.8 %
Devices:
As of April 7, 2013: 69 devices supported, except as noted.
Other devices may work, but I can't support them.
By 2013 popularity: most to least. I own the most popular and can support them much better.
Samsung (14):
- Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 / M / T
- Galaxy S3 GT-I9300
- Galaxy S GT-I9000 / M / B / 9010
- Galaxy Note GT-N7000
- Galaxy S Plus
- Galaxy Note2 3G GT-N7100
- Galaxy W / Wonder / GT-I8150 / B
- Galaxy Cooper GT-S5830 / L / D / B
- Galaxy S2 GT-I9100G
- Galaxy Gio GT-S5660 / M
- Galaxy 5 / Europa / 550 / i5500 / i5503
- Galaxy SL GT-I9003
- Galaxy Mini / Dart SGH-T499 / Tass GT-S5570
- Galaxy Player / S WI-FI
HTC (30):
- One Stock, Google Play Edition & AOSP
- One X LTE (AT&T) / XL / Evo 4G LTE / One S
- One X International S720e
- Sensation 4G / XE Z715e
- Desire HD / Inspire 4G
- Desire
- Nexus One (need root & non-stock kernel)
- One V (Virgin Mobile variant needs root)
- Desire Z / G2 / Evo Shift 4G (G2 needs root)
- Desire S
- Wildfire S A510e / PG762
- One X+ LTE (AT&T) (Not on custom ROMs)
- Droid Incredible 2 / S S710E
- HD2 / Leo / T8585 / T9193
- Explorer a310e / a310b (No RDS unless rooted)
- Velocity 4G
- Evo 4G / Supersonic (2010)
- Evo Design 4G / Kingdom / Acquire / HeroS
- Aria / Liberty / Intruder A6366
- Glacier / T-Mobile myTouch 4G
- myTouch 4G Slide
- One X+ 3G (Not on custom ROMs ; disabled pending confirmation)
- ThunderBolt / Scorpion ADR6400L
- Wildfire
- Droid Incredible ADR6300
- Amaze 4G / Ruby
- Legend
- Sensation XL X315e
- Chacha / Status
- Desire X (1 confirmation stock un-rooted)
- Defy A8210 / MB525
- Droid 4 (need root)
- Droid Bionic (JB update need root: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2256439)
- Photon 4G MB855
- Droid X2
- Droid 3
- Droid X
- Milestone 3 XT860 / ME863
- Pro Plus ME632 / MB632
- Droid2 A955 CDMA (need root & mono)
- Atrix 2 MB865
- Bravo MB520
Sony (11) (Most only work stock for now):
- Xperia S / SL LT22i / ii
- Xperia Acro S LT26w
- Xperia Ion LT28h / at / i
- Xperia P LT22i
- Xperia Sola MT27i
- Xperia Go ST27a / i
- Xperia U ST25i
- Xperia T LT30a / at / p
- Xperia V LT25i
- Xperia TX LT29i
- Xperia Z C6603 / C6602 (no speaker ?). ZL & Tablet Z may work with Audio-> Method = "Qualcomm Intent".
Huawei (1):
- Ascend G300 u8815
LG (2):
- Optimus One P500
- Optimus 2X P990 re-enabled on Play & semi-official for AOSP ROMs as of June 29
35This is an early document, for further details see: "Dec 19 Spirit2 design details": http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=35571087
Next Gen: Spirit2
After almost 2 years, Spirit FM (Spirit1 or version 1) is "mature". Among over 10,000 paid customers, many have been happy to run Spirit on 2-4 generations of phones.
From HTC Legends, Desires and Nexus1's running Android 2.1 Eclair, to OneX, Galaxy S, S2, and now S3 & Note2 running Android 4.2 Jellybean.
Spirit1 was not designed much, it was rapidly built using an open source app as it's base. This enabled a quick implementation on many phones, ROMs, etc.
A lot of quick hacks has accumulated, and now it's difficult to change or cleanup many sections of code without creating bugs on some phone and ROM combinations.
It's time to start fresh and design and build Spirit2 "properly".
I'll create a system to enable new settings/options in a few minutes, instead of an hour or more, editing 5 or 6 different files.
The code will be much cleaner, efficient and bug free when it doesn't have to support 7 different versions of Android, 200 different phones and 10 different FM APIs.
Spirit1 Future
Spirit1 will not disappear. Support will continue, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to make it work on old (3-4 year) phones running Android 4.2 JellyBean, for example.
No major new functions will likely be added to Spirit1. For example, FM record may remain an experimental test option, but will not be supported.
I will continue to make and release some minor bug and compatibility fixes; timing & extent to be determined. My focus will be on Spirit2, the future.
I hope those disappointed will eventually appreciate my decision to focus on the future when they get a new device.
I expect to cease sales of Spirit1 at some time; maybe in months or maybe years. At present, Google doesn't provide a good way to do this, and still allow
existing customers to re-download. AFAICT we can only set the price to high values, such as $99.99 or $249. If you ever see such a price on Spirit1 Light,
or Light & Unlocked, don't be appalled. It just means I wish to stop new sales while keeping existing customers happy.
In the short term, Spirit1 might even become a testing ground for Spirit2. Before a device is officially supported by Spirit2, it may be enabled on Spirit1.
Sometimes I get several reports that a new phone works OK. Then after some time, major problems become evident that make me regret calling the device supported,
especially for rarer devices.
Spirit2 Plans
Plans are always subject to change. Gotta be nimble.
Spirit2 will be available on Google Play around January, 2013. Beta versions will be available earlier, linked on a new XDA thread.
No Light version is planned, but a free version may be. Price should be the same as Spirit1 Unlocked.
Existing Spirit1 Unlocked customers can upgrade at no cost to Spirit2. Spirit2 isn't about making you pay twice.
But if you feel generous and appreciative of my support over the last few years, I'd be happy if you made a 2nd purchase.
Or as some appreciative users have, a 3rd, via Light or an additional tip/donation.
The upgrade path from Light to Spirit1 Unlocked, or to Spirit2, or from Unlocked to Spirit2 is the same. I cancel your original order, even 2 years later, and you get
a full refund. Then you simply buy the new version. You can email me for special needs, such as needing 2 versions for different phones.
I cancel any order at any time on request anyway, so this is nothing new.
Spirit2 will focus on a smaller number of popular phones among custom ROM developers and users. I will only support phones that I own for testing, and those with
very similar architectures. The 80/20 rule applies here, and focusing on 20% of the phones, for 80% coverage just makes sense.
If you want to run Spirit2, I recommend popular high end devices, mostly from Samsung and HTC. I'll be happy to make exceptions for other OEMs with popular higher end
phones, or phones with a similar architecture. For example, LG Optimus G and some Motorola devices have the same S3/S4/+ Qualcomm FM/audio architecture as HTC OneX LTE.
Spirit2 Design
Spirit2 design started November, 2012, after a 12 month delay from original plans.
Spirit2 will support digital audio features, such as FM recording, Bluetooth, VU meters and who knows what, possibly including visualizations and audio analysis.
Phones that are not capable of digital audio features likely won't be supported. Thankfully, the wildly popular GS2 GT-i9100 is now proven to support digital FM audio.
Unchanged from my original 2011 plan, Spirit will use and support the ST-Ericsson proposed Android FM API, hereafter referred to as "Android FM API", despite it's
mere "proposed" status. The Android FM API was first proposed over 2 years ago now, and seems to slowly be making it's way into AOSP. It's slow progress,
and uncertain future, has disappointed me. I hope that Spirit2 will help this FM API gain support from
phone and FM chip OEMs, as well as other 3rd party app developers.
Many Sony 2012 phones support this API already, on devices based on ST-Ericsson, Broadcom and Qualcomm FM chips at least. So stock, unrooted Sony devices should be
well supported, in theory at least. I'm not committing to official Sony support at this time however.
This API is similar to other "OEM Proprietary FM APIa" that don't need SU/root. But it's not proprietary, it's openly documented & uses open source code.
Other "OEM Proprietary" APIs will likely not be supported. Spirit2 will retain a focus on custom AOSP type ROMs that are incapable of running stock FM apps.
Support for different FM chips will be via plugins, exactly as specified for use with the Android FM API.
Unless and until phone or chip OEMs supply suitable FM chip plugins, Spirit2 will provide them. Sony has at least 3 plugins, but it's not clear if Sony can or would
allow their free re-distribution for other devices.
Third party developers will be able to write apps using the open, rich & documented Android FM API.
They will be able to run as standalone apps, widgets, etc. without Spirit2, on devices such as the Sony's that support this API (or a slight derivative).
On devices that do not support this API natively, 3rd party apps will be able to call compatible functions in the bottom-half, service portion of Spirit2.
They won't have to bother with tedious, boring stuff such as configuration, as the top-half, app/GUI portion of Spirit2 can handle that.
Or they could provide their own configuration mechanisms and do anything that Spirit2 does.
I hope that custom ROMs will be built using the Android FM API AOSP code, and support FM natively within their audio libraries and frameworks.
But I can't count on this anytime soon, so Spirit2 will do it's best to emulate functionality that is ideally done in the internals of a ROM.
This is the current situation with Spirit1 on many custom ROMs and it requires LOTS of effort and can never be perfect.
"FM Chip control" is just one part of the Android FM API. The other major component is audio routing and control. Audio has been the major challenge of Spirit1.
The FM chip/API code has changed very little during 2012.
A device that fully supports the Android FM API makes audio issues quite simple. The app can simply start or stop the audio with easy functions. Complexities like
volume control, headset cable media buttons, lockscreen controls, and possibly A2DP Bluetooth support can be taken care of by the framework of the ROM.
Even FM recording should be simple, on devices that support it. Spirit1 supports a simple FM record function, but it only works on devices like GS3 at present.
But Spirit2 will remain a more or less normal SU/root app, as Spirit1 is. I'm one person & don't have the resources to get involved in building kernels, libraries,
frameworks and ROMs. So Spirit2 will have components that replicate, as best it can, a proper system service for handling FM and FM related audio.
It seems to make sense to design & build a plugin mechanism for handling FM audio, similar in concept to the FM chip plugin for the Android FM API.
The Android FM API chip plugin, a library file such as libfmradio.cg2900.so, is oriented to code at the C/C++/JNI layer of Android/Java.
The Spirit2 audio system plugin is more likely to be done at the Java level, as there are many Android Java APIs that are required or useful.
Hypothetically, Spirit2 could run even on officially unsupported phones, if someone has or writes an FM plugin and an audio plugin.
Many FM chips could be supported, with at least basic features, by a single generic V4L FM plugin. A simple generic audio plugin could be created
that would rely on configurable "reflected" Java APIs or shell scripts etc. The "real world" however, is messier than this might imply.
Some portions of Spirit2 will be open sourced. Details to be determined.
EDIT: Which phones/architectures will Spirit2 support ?
Tentative, but:
Galaxy S3/Note2
Galaxy S2/Note
OneX International
OneS/X LTE, Evo 4G LTE & similar S3/S4/+ + WCN3660 + WCD9310. Might include Optimus G, Motorola.
Any Nexus capable of FM. Nexus 4 ? 10 ?
Sony 2012's maybe, since they support this API when stock.
I'm keeping an eye on popularity & compatibility of Motorola Razr I.34Galaxy S GT-I9000 speaker damage risk:
EDIT Feb 12, 2014: I still get occasional reports of speaker damage, about 1 every 3-4 months. Nothing can be done I'm afraid...
EDIT May 20, 2013: One person has reported damage with digital audio mode. Virtually everything is different in this mode, so I can't imagine why it would happen. The only audio commonality is the analog outputs feeding into the inputs of the audio chip.
There is a risk of speaker damage on Galaxy S GT-i9000 when running custom ICS or JB ROMs.
If you've been running Spirit for at least 10-40 hours with no problem, your risk is minimal. I think this is hardware related and about 1-5 % are susceptible. I get about 1 report every 3 weeks now.
Avoiding use of the speaker or keeping volume low does not help. Risk may increase when using USB cables to PCs or chargers or external amplifiers.
If you are worried about Galaxy S speaker damage, then DO NOT use Spirit, unless on CM7 or a stock derived ROM. Use GB ROMs with proven safe FM, get a new phone, or just live without FM.
Unless you are familar with ALSA programming, Ioctls and low level Linux/Android kernel stuff, as well as DC servos in amplifiers, please do not think you have useful technical advice to give about what I should study. I've spent at least 400 hours on this problem, with no analog solution.
Have Damage ?:
If you've had GalaxyS speaker damage, and are a BRAVE do it yourselfer, here are some Ebay links for speakers and instructions on replacing them: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=23014977&postcount=2355 All responsibility for any problems doing this is yours.
Ringer/Buzzer Speakers are available on Ebay new for $6 shipped, or $8 refurbished shipped from the US to the US.
I'm very sorry for any problems. I had no idea this problem would happen or go on this long. It's rare that software causes hardware damage.
If you're angry, or think my dev skills are sub-par, please refer me to the secret documents for FM audio via Galaxy S ALSA controls. There is none. I've read the code for various audio libraries, and the ALSA drivers, many times, and though the March 4th, 2012 attempt seemed a virtual duplicate of the CM7 audio lib, the problem continued.
If you've been affected, please email me at mikereidis@gmail.com to report.
Thanks, and sorry for any troubles.
Hopeful Digital Audio Solution:
Using digital audio mode likely reduces or eliminates the risk. As of March 23, 2013, it's too early to tell.
EDIT May 20: One person has reported damage with digital audio mode. Virtually everything is different in this mode, so I can't imagine why it would happen. The only audio commonality is the analog outputs feeding into the inputs of the audio chip.
On first Spirit startup, or after clearing app data, you are presented with a choice of "Digital" or "Danger". Choose "Digital". If running Unlocked, restart Spirit to enable Visualizations and a record button.
You can also set Menu-> Settings-> Audio-> Method to "Digital Auto" or "Digital GS1", both near the end of the list.
If you hear interrupted high frequency "chipmunk" sounds, rebooting may help, at least until the microphone is used (but phone calls OK ?).
If a reboot doesn't help, you can disable Digital-> Stereo and do Pause / Play. Audio is now mono of course, so you might as well set Audio-> Output Mode (or Channels next release) to "Mono Force".
More chipmunk info: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=39383252&postcount=5696
Battery consumption may be a bit higher using digital. Unlocked uses substantially more CPU & battery when visualization is on screen, and when equalizers, effects and Bluetooth are in use.31I'm taking a MUCH needed break from Spirit and will restart work on Spirit2 in late October.
After 2.7 years and over 9,000 hours spent developing, supporting and otherwise dealing with Spirit FM:
- I need to draw a line in the sand here and take a week off to "detox" from the Internet.
- Then I need a month for doing taxes and pressing family, household and personal tasks.
- Then I need at least a few months to explore where Spirit is going with Spirit2 and/or some other FM app related stuff I'm considering.
So,... given that I endeavour to be as honest and open as I can: I regret that going forward, I'm not going to be able to provide the high level of support
I've been providing and been struggling to maintain.
As always, if anyone has purchased Spirit and feel they haven't had sufficient enjoyment: I cancel any order at any time on request.
For answers to most questions about Spirit, use the search feature on this XDA thread. If you can't find an answer, post, and hopefully some helpful person will answer,
maybe even me occasionally. I previously answered every question on this thread, but I have to let that go now.
I appreciate if anyone helps anyone else here, but ask that you be nice. I think it's probably better to ignore a poster than respond with an angry "Read the FAQ !".
If Spirit doesn't work with default settings, maybe alternative settings will work. But this is the exception now. If it doesn't work by default, it probably won't.
As time goes on, stock and custom ROMs will update/change and something may break in the FM access. I've hypothesized that for custom ROMs, within 3 months as many as 50%
of ROMs will have a role in some problem with Spirit. If Spirit has 0 or just a few small updates in the next 3 months, I'll be interested to see the result.
This breakage rate is largely the nature of the fast pace of change in ROMs, but change happens in stock ROMs too. The bluetooth stack has undergone major revisions in
Android 4.2-4.3. I've dealt with that, and Android 4.3 related issues, so hopefully Spirit will run well on new or recent phones for a while.
Since I'm looking at other "projects" in the Android FM app area, there's a reasonable chance that Spirit will continue to have related updates. But since I may
(or may not) be concentrating on stock FM support, improvements may be restricted to stock support. The beta access for Spirit Unlocked and Light may be a way to deal with that.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sidebar:
It's been a constant struggle to reverse engineer FM chip/API details as they change from chip to chip, phone to phone, OEM-OEM, Android version, API version, custom ROM, and more.
Google isn't helping the cause any, nor are many of the phone OEMs, chip OEMs and carriers. Nobody else has been "crazy enough" to try what I'm doing with FM.
Gee, even the top FM apps from Sony and Samsung don't do most of the digital audio features that Spirit can, even on an ancient GT-I9000 Galaxy S.
But despite the work and crazy hours I put in, there are still some nasty & effectively unsolvable problems, like audio on Desire HD, a UI that needs serious improvement,
and annoying things like 87.5 on startup with stock Broadcom API.
The code for Spirit is a horrible mess, and deserves to be replaced with a (properly) designed Spirit2 or whatever.
----------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not going to be monitoring my usual email address mikereidis@gmail.com as much, and not at all during any Internet "detox" week.
This email will auto-respond that:
- Purchase cancel requests (Only !) be sent to spirit.fm.unlocked.cancel@gmail.com, or perhaps to the normal email with "CANCEL"
spelled out in capitals in the subject. And be patient please, even Google can be glacially slow handling these.
I may or may not respond to any emails or posts. Sorry, I kinda hate to become "that kind of dev", but this is essential for me, and for Spirit, at this time.
I appreciate all the appreciation for Spirit, and feel satisfied with the 4.7 out of 5 rating that Spirit Unlocked has on Play, from thousands of people.
I hate to see that rating drop because I can't provide the same level of support, but I guess that would be fair and should be expected. I'd be more likely to drop a rating if I was the
customer and there was little or no support for some problem.
----------------------------------------------------------------
So, in the next few months, there is the potential for Spirit to re-continue, as it has for 2.7 years now. Or it may take a new form; remains to be seen.
It's important for me to be honest and say that, instead of pretending I absolutely will return to Spirit if you can just wait. I refuse to be that kind of sales / business man.
Business-wise, for Spirit as it exists now, some might see this as "burning a bridge". I see it more as a bridge in urgent need of repair/replacement to prevent loss of life. Need to replace the old wooden bridge with a modern steel structure...
Thank you everyone for all your support, and see you on "the other side" !
