Digital radio station Radio X has switched from DAB to DAB+.
The change was announced on-air earlier this week. It means that digital radios may need to be rescanned to continue receiving the station.
Although Radio X will now be available in stereo, many listeners without a compatible DAB+ radio will find that they can no longer receive the station.
DAB+ is a newer version of DAB and several stations have switched to DAB+ this year, such as Gold UK and Capital XTRA. Other stations have launched in the last few months with DAB+, including Heart 90s and Capital XTRA Reloaded.
Radio X launched across the UK on DAB in September 2015, taking over from XFM. As XFM the station was only available in some parts of the UK.
The change means the majority of digital radio stations on the Digital One multiplex are now using DAB+. All three of the stations which were part of the original line up – Absolute Radio (was Virgin Radio), talkSPORT and Classic FM – are still broadcasting in the original DAB format.
The switch to DAB+ will create the capacity needed for Radio X’s owners to launch LBC News next week.
Why have I lost Radio X?
If your radio does not currently receive Radio X you can try using the re-scan or retune function in your DAB radio.
After rescanning if Radio X still doesn’t work your radio may not be compatible with DAB+ radio stations. Try tuning to KISSTORY (a DAB station) and then CapXTRA Reloaded or Radio X (DAB+ stations). If you can receive the DAB station, but not the DAB+ stations, your radio may not be compatible with the newer standard.
A small number of Pure digital radios can be upgraded to receive DAB+ stations, but many older radios cannot be upgraded. In this case it will be necessary to buy a new radio.
When buying a digital radio always look for the digital radio tick mark. This indicates that the radio can receive DAB, DAB+ and FM radio stations.
Many radios available in supermarkets do not receive DAB+ stations, and you still won’t be able to receive Radio X.
The station is still available on 104.9FM in London and 97.7FM in Manchester. It’s also available in the Global Player app, online and on Sky, Freesat and Virgin Media.