Questions

Why can’t I receive BBC Radio 5 live on an Akai radio?

I have just bought an AKAI digital radio and can get numerous stations except BBC Radio 5 live I can however get two BBC Radio 5 live extra pre set channels can you help? I have retuned several times without success!
– Steve

All of the BBC’s national digital radio stations are broadcast together in the BBC National DAB multiplex.

This means that if you can receive BBC Radio 5 live sports extra you should also receive BBC Radio 5 live, as well as BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music and so on.

Unfortunately we’ve not been able to find an online manual for the current Akai digital radios. However, it sounds like the radio may be in a preset mode. When radios do not have individual preset buttons (e.g. numbered one to five) there may be a mode in which the preset stations can be browsed.

If BBC Radio 5 live sports extra has been saved as a preset twice alongside other digital stations this may be why BBC Radio 5 live appears to be missing. You could try pressing the Preset button once or holding it down. There could also be an option in the menu or a Mode button.

Using the Factory Reset function

You mentioned retuning the radio which does often help solve issues. However, if BBC Radio 5 live is still not available alongside the other national BBC stations it could be worth restoring the radio to its factory settings.

In the menu there should be an option for a Factory Reset. This function will clear the stored stations, presets, alarms and other settings which have been changed. The radio will then scan for digital stations and you should be able to select any of the stations that are available to you.

If this still doesn’t work there could be a fault with the radio. We’ve previously seen a radio which only receive the BBC World Service on DAB and retuning or using the factory reset wouldn’t solve the issue. In this case it would be worth returning it to the retailer or seeing if it’s still under warranty.