You probably have a Pioneer stereo you love listening to while in your car. But, between different dials and screen interfaces, you may wonder how to set FM in a Pioneer car stereo.
FM radio is the most reliable radio channel with high fidelity sound production as it is less susceptible to interference, reducing static and popping sounds. At the same time, Pioneer stereos are some of the most common car stereos due to their compatibility.
Generally, setting FM is quite simple, depending on your car’s stereo interface and model. First, dial the source button multiple times until it displays “FM Radio.” Then, use the preset buttons to change the radio frequency on display. Long pressing seeks the next radio station. You can even save a radio station to a dedicated channel number so you can press it the next time you want to listen to the same FM radio station.
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Tip: Pioneer stereos with touchscreens like MVH1400NEX, use the touch screen or other buttons to set up the FM radio.
The first step you have is to head to the home page. You can head to the homepage by pressing the home button at the bottom of the Pioneer car stereo.
If there is no physical home button on the stereo, you can look for the home page icon on the screen, similar to the android home screen logo.
Once on the home screen, you will see multiple applications on the stereo. First, choose the radio icon, but you can select the music icon in its absence.
If you choose the music icon, you will have to pick the audio source. After this, you should select the radio icon, which will send you to the radio icon of the stereo.
In the article below, I will cover all information you may need to select the FM station on your Pioneer stereo correctly.
How Do I Set FM In Pioneer Car Stereo?
Frequency Modulation has been in existence since 1933 when it was invented by Edwin Armstrong.
Nowadays, FM is widely used in radio broadcasts, and pioneer car stereo incorporates it. So when you are driving your car or just sitting in it, you would want to listen to the radio, but first, you have to set FM in a Pioneer car stereo.
The stepwise procedure of setting up a radio channel in Pioneer car stereo
- The first step is going to the main menu and searching for a radio frequency
- Choose a channel number that you need to configure
- Search for the radio frequencies and save them to the channel numbers
- Choose your favorite radio preset
- Lastly, do the best stations memory
If you are used to FM radios, you will have that knowledge regardless of the technological advancement. The standard radio is slowly becoming outdated.
Years ago, some vehicles did not have radios; you had to carry one with you in the car, while others came without the FM option. However, the Pioneer car stereo is a force to reckon with because of its quality and performance.
How Are the Radio Channels Set?
It is very common to find Pioneer stereos in almost every vehicle. Car manufacturers have incorporated them in cars due to their seamless compatibility and flawless sound quality. In addition, they are commendable because their performance is outstanding.
Setting FM stations on most radios is manual and straightforward. However, configuring the radio channels on a Double Din with a touchscreen display can be tricky if you are new to it.
By following these steps on your Pioneer car stereo, you will be able to configure radio channels.
Pioneer stereos have multiple buttons that are located at the bottom. They help you navigate when the touch malfunctions or when you do not want to use the touchscreen.
Therefore, you can either use the small navigation buttons or the touchscreen to do radio configurations on a pioneer stereo.
Looking for a Radio Option
When you want to set a radio channel, the first step is to go to the main menu, which is found on the home page.
You will find a home button on the bottom of the pioneer car stereo for the home screen. Press the home button, which opens the home screen.
If you do not find a home screen, you can look for the touchscreen button with a home icon or app icons that resemble what you see in an Android. Then, by tapping on the home screen icon, it opens and gives you access.
After getting to the home screen or the menu, you will have access to many applications on the stereo, but you will select the radio icon. Tap on the radio icon on the home screen, and it will usher you to the radio configuration app.
When you fail to find the radio icon, recheck the home screen, and you will see a music icon. Tap to open it, and it will take you to the menu that permits you to select the audio source.
Choose the radio icon from that menu, which will lead you to the radio app of the pioneer stereo.
Choose a Channel Number to Configure
The pioneer stereo’s radio app will display multiple channel options, but you should choose FM because that is what you want.
Tap on the FM1 button to set the FM radio channels in your Pioneer stereo.
You will find six slots on the left-hand side of the display for channels that you want to save. All you have to do is touch or drag the arrow key against the numbers of the channel. This shows you the FM frequencies that are saved on the channel slots.
You may find that different frequencies have been previously saved on the stereo’s channels. Therefore, choose the channel you want to save and move to the next step.
Searching for Radio Frequencies and Saving Them to the Channel Numbers
To search for the radio frequencies and save them to the channels, you have to see the frequency section of the radio. It is located on the central bottom of the screen.
You will see a navigation button on either side of the pioneer car stereo. Tap on the forward navigation button time and again until you exhaust all the FM frequencies that have channels on them.
However, if you do not want to conduct a manual search, you can tap on the forward navigation button for 3 seconds until you see the frequency running.
The stereo will find a channel on the frequency on its own and stop searching after seeing it, and then it automatically starts playing the station of the found frequency that it searched.
If you still want to continue searching for other channels, tap on the navigation button for 3 or more seconds and let the Pioneer car stereo do the search.
After finding another channel, it will stop and play it. When you find all your desired channels, you will be left to determine which channel number you will allocate to the channel frequencies.
But that depends on your personal tastes and preference. For instance, you can allocate channel numbers to the frequencies using the following formula:
Search a channel frequency and when the channel is playing, but the voice is not clear, find another frequency where the voice is loud and clear.
However, the pioneer car stereo sometimes fails to find a perfect channel frequency. It is not only related to the stereo but also to the signal strength for the particular station.
It may even find a greater or smaller number of frequencies than the original one.
Accuracy and Correctness of the Frequency
Ensure that you find the correct and accurate frequency that is loud and clear so that you can hear what is being said.
When you fail to do this, the voice you will hear is distorted and noisy. You may even find that a particular frequency is tuned to a specific radio station, and then you hear another radio station speaking in the background simultaneously.
Others are noisy, and you will not be able to hear, while some are not stable, sometimes they are loud and clear, and sometimes they are low and distorted.
When you find the most suitable channel frequency, let it play. Then tap and hold the channel number for 5 seconds. This number is displayed on the left side of the display.
By following this, the stereo saves the channel number, and when you tap on the channel next time, it plays the radio channel you have saved.
Choose Your Desired Radio Preset
It is equally important to select your preferred radio preset on your Pioneer car stereo when setting up radio channels.
The radio has a whopping 18 channels because it has three FM presets that it operates and saves channels. For instance, the FM1 preset displays six-channel options on the left-hand side of the display.
You can also change that preset to two more options and save the frequencies on the new channels of the 2nd and 3rd preset.
The channel’s preset settings depend on your location. If you have received too many channels, you require another FM preset to accommodate the stations you could not have saved.
When the first preset (FM1) is filled up, proceed to the next one by tapping on the touchscreen’s FM1 button, and so on.
Best Station Memory in Pioneer Car Stereo
There is a feature in the pioneer car stereo called the best station memory that has galore advantages for travelers.
The best station memory searches for the best available frequency channels when activated. When it searches the frequencies, it automatically saves the channels one after the other on the opened preset’s channel numbers.
If you have opened the FM1 preset and you are not interested in searching out the frequencies, just tap the BSM button, and it will do the work for you. It locks the six strongest stations on the preset.
When you travel to different destinations, you can save their respective FM frequencies in your stereo by using this function. Alternatively, you can keep a separate preset for this purpose to avoid tampering with the settings.
How to Select a Channel
Pioneer stereos often have three to four bands, FM1, FM2, FM4, and FM3 which can store up to 6 preset FM channels.
Once you are on the FM, it is easy to go through different channels using the seek button, which takes you through all the FM channel’s signals in the area. A long press skips to a working FM channel.
On the manual stereo, you can tap the FM1 button, for instance, to choose the first band. There are six slots on the left side for the channels you can save in one round.
It is also easy to check the frequency. If you drag or touch the channel numbers, the stereo will display the channel frequencies of the saved channels on the band. Once you select the desired channel, you can save the radio frequencies.
Searching and Saving Radio Frequencies
You can quickly check the radio’s frequency section, located in the middle of the screen.
There is a navigation button or preset button that you can use to increase or reduce the FM frequency. You can tap the forward navigation button over and over again till you get your desired channel.
The FM frequency ranges from 88 MHz to 108 MHz, meaning that once you reach the maximum frequency, it loops back to the minimum, or you have to use the back navigation button to seek channels.
As mentioned earlier, you can skip the headache of listening to empty FM frequencies by long-pressing the navigation button for at least three seconds to get to the subsequent functioning frequency.
You can stop seeking and listen to your favorite radio station when you get to a working frequency.
You can agree that seeking a channel each time you listen to the radio is pretty hectic. However, pioneer radio has a trick to reduce this hassle the next time you need to listen to the radio.
Remember the FM bands I mentioned? Well, you can save your favorite channels so you can listen at any time. You can allocate up to 24 channels with each band holding.
A single radio channel can play under closely related frequencies, but only one is very clear with minor distortions. So if you are listening to the stereo and feel that the audio is distorted, feel free to seek and adjust it to the right frequency.
Tap and hold a channel number displayed on the left side for at least 5 seconds to allocate the channel to the particular number. Once you are done, the stereo will save the channel number for the next time you need to play the same track at that frequency.
Different radio stations may operate on different frequencies in other areas. That can make it wise to set different frequency channels on various bands depending on how often you use the specific station and the places you visit.
The 18 to 24 channels you can save on the stereo are great if you need to listen to many radio stations or save the same radio station frequencies for different locations.
You can set your first six channels on FM1 and the next to FM2 and so on. This gives you control over the channels you listen to and makes accessing them easy.
Many presets on the FM channels come in handy when you exhaust the number of channels on one band or preset.
The procedure for setting channels is the same for all presets or bands. Therefore, it is easy to select between different presets and access the desired radio channel.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading this comprehensive and reliable procedure for setting FM in the Pioneer car stereo. For better understanding, you can watch the short video below.
These stereos also integrate multitudinous features that are all meant to make your car’s audio superb! In addition, it can be synchronized with other gadgets like phones via Bluetooth connectivity.
Generally, Pioneer car stereos are not more complicated than other radios and offer superb quality, and all you have to do is to set it right.