M-Wavio
Need help updating your M-Wavio’s Firmware? Click here!
Description
The Mutant M-Wavio Pocket Size Internet & FM Radio allows you to enjoy over 12,000 radio stations from all over the world. You can sort stations by region, by country and even by genre. Within seconds, you could listen to a pop station in Paris, or BBC news in the United Kingdom. Follow your home town sports team wherever you are and wherever they are. Plus, the list of radio stations is automatically updated every time you turn it on. And with FM reception, you can even listen to local radio stations.
Personalize your M-Wavio with custom station lists, built using a web portal. With 15 hours of operation time, you’ll be able to amaze your friends all day. Simple wheel navigation makes it easy to get around the device, and the 3.5″ headphone jack makes the M-Wavio compatible with all the headphones and speakers you already own!
User Manual
76 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Dr. Bill: The Computer Curmudgeon » “The Mutant Radio Edition” of Dr. Bill Netcast #175 :: Dr. Bill makes pointed, and at times, controversial observations on Tech Life and the wild and wacky world of the web, computers, and all things g - [...] Mutant Radio [...]
- “The Mutant Radio Edition” OF Dr. Bill.TV Netcast #175 – TechPodcasts.tv - [...] Mutant Radio [...]
Follow Us!
Just picked up the M-Wavio MIG-PIR yesterday. Nice little radio. Noticed the the other branded identical radios from the manufacturer are running FW 5.1 at this time. Any plans to update your firmware?
Thanks,
Rob Innes
Yep! There’s a link at the top of this page for instructions for upgrading your M-Wavio’s firmware. Thanks!
ANY THING IN THE WORKS TO GET A PROTECTION COVER/SILICON COVER FOR UNIT.ANY SUGGESTIONS ON CURRENT AVAILABLE COVERS?
The M-Wavio includes a soft carrying pouch. Besides that, we currently do not have plans to make a silicon cover for it. If there’s enough demand for it, it is definitely something we can produce quickly! Share the M-Wavio around and make them all demand a cover!
Are you aware of the fact that, contrary to what is on its specs, this radio actually can not work with the Wi-Fi network that uses the WPA security? Is it possible to fix this big issue by the software update? If so, when?
Yeah, it’s good, very useful, thanks
Jusrt received one of these in the post yesterday and quite pleased with it so far – particularly with the BBC ‘listen again’ capability. One query though: in the product Features list it says: “Play media files from computer in the local network via UPnP”. I don’t think this is mentioned in the manual and it is not clear how to do this in the menus. Is this a feature which will appear in a future software upgrade?
Thanks for pointing this out Jim. We’re hoping to add it in later, but it’s causing some problems. We’ll keep you posted.
Regarding WPA problems: I have, by experimentation, discovered that the passkey can only be up to eleven characters. Indeed it is happier with ten. This key should be between eight and sixty-three characters. So, at present, you can only use a WPA key of 8,9,10, or at a push 11characters. I have informed Thomas and hopefully this flaw is now being corrected.
I am writing from Bosnia, Sarajevo. Do you plan on selling your products online and if so, would you ship to Bosnia? Thank you!
We unfortunately do not have plans to sell the products here just yet. If we do open up our site for sales, it’s about two years away. It’s great to know that we’re wanted though!
I have only one important question before I buy this product. What is the normal wifi range of the radio? I like your attitude very much and I wish you a great success with this radio!
Ante, our M-Wavio’s range is similar to any other WiFi device. The range depends more on the WiFi router’s strength to send than on the radio’s receiving strength. Basically, if your laptop gets reception, our radio should too.
Nice little internet radio… a little bright for night use. Needs a light off option. It also needs to be well ventilated. Mine got qhite hot under a pillow one day.
Mike, if you haven’t found this out already, simply plug a pillow speaker into the headphone jack and leave your radio on the nightstand. C. Crane Company makes a wonderful cushioned pillow speaker (http://www.amazon.com/Company-PS2-SoftSpeaker-Pillow-Speaker/dp/B000AL6NVO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312169821&sr=8-1) that works very well and can be obtained through Amazon.com (see link).
I just received the radio few days ago and I like it quite a lot. One question though. Why is the number of stations available on the menu and in the radio, for example for Croatia, much smaller than the number of the stations available on the main vtuner.com portal? Could some of those “left out” stations be added and how? Thanks much!
VTuner compiles a lot of stations! It would be a little overwhelming to list all the stations on the radio. You can easily add stations on VTuner to your M-Wavio by searching or browsing to the station you want to add, and click the “Add to favorite” button.
After that’s done, on your M-Wavio, browse to Menu > Favorites > Bookmarks , and the station(s) should be listed there!
I’ve read posts on several sites that it is impossible to replace the lithium battery. I understand it could still be connected via mains but that ruins its chief selling point: its portability. Is what I read true?
Unfortunately, the battery is internal, and cannot be replaced. The only option is to charge the radio through the USB port on it. However, the long battery life will hopefully be long enough to get you through your day!
I have this set now only 24 hours it works really perfect I charge it with a charger from an old blackberry you get it used for 2dol us.as an old manufacturer of communication equipment I know that removable battery can produce a lot of problems.look the i-phones.
regards from tenerife canaries.
Do you plan to introduce AAC and AAC+ formats in some future firmwares of this awesome radio?
The audio decoding is done in the hardware, and is something we can’t update with firmware. Any updates would have to be done in a later product update. It is definitely a strong possibility though!
I have had my radio for a week and am having trouble receiving the BBC Listen Again shows. I get an error streaming message. Is my radio faulty? I am using the latest firmware 5.1
Hi Daniel, Heather’s question below is very similar. Check my response there, as it applies to you as well! Let me test it out and I’ll get back to you via email soon.
I can’t get any of the RTE Irish radio stations in the UK – which we my prime reason for buying this product. Radio is great – but no good without my favourite RTE 2FM. Radio says URL is incorrect or doesn’t exist. What’s the problem?? HELP!!
Interesting. Let me get back to you soon. It may be that the station changed their stream URL or format, or that vTuner has changed something. You may want to check on the RTE 2FM website, and try to add the station manually. I’ll give this a shot and let you know!
Pre-purchase questions:
1) Can I add to favorites list at radio or must I go online at computer?
2) Can I access my Pandora accounts?
Hi John,
Thanks for your questions. You can add favorite using the vTuner webportal, which will then show up on your device. Unfortunately, our radio is currently not compatible with Pandora. We’re working on it though!
One more Pre-purchase question:
3) Is there a PDF manual I can download
Yep! There’s a link above (look for the PDF icon on the right)
Dear friends at Mutant!
Do you have a plan on launching the version 2 of your wonderful Mutant internet radio? Many regards from Bosnia!
Awesome little radio…been waiting for years for something like this, because I’ve been working on a project to promote unregulated local community radio broadcasting (offline, inTRAnet or in other words, locally broadcast from the studio computer via wi-fi without internet connection, as opposed to inTERnet or online which requires connection to the internet and a fast one at that).
Of the available unregulated wireless options, wi-fi is the best because of the worldwide spectrum allocation and more-or-less generous signal strength allowed in most jurisdictions-much more than traditional FM band, for example.
Anyway, the Mutant fills the bill perfectly…it’s essential for widespread adoption of this idea that the listener have a truly portable, relatively inexpensive device that provides a ‘traditional’ radio listening experience, and previous to this, that was not the case.
It works great online (via internet) too!
Only problem is that as a previous poster mentioned, it can’t accept more than +/-10 chars. in a WPA password so I can’t use it on my main wireless home network which has a much longer p/w (and for security I’m not willing to shorten it). So, I use it via a second, unsecured AP instead (same as used in my experimentation) when I want to listen to online stations.
Aside from this minor issue, I want to thank you profusely for introducing a great product, long-overdue in coming to the market, and wish you continued success…I believe that this could be the final piece of the puzzle needed to kickstart a ‘peoples’ media’ revolution and as I work to promote the project I’m sure that you will be selling many, many units as I will certainly recommend them and they will be the standard for my demonstrations.
Thanks again!
Is there a way to clear a particular preset station ?
Hi Bob! You can clear all, or selected presets by navigating to the Main Menu, selecting Settings, then Delete Presets. You can then either choose to delete all the presets by selecting “All”, or pick the ones you want to clear by picking “Selected”. Thanks for the great question!
I have WEP key of 26 characters which can be entered. As far as reception and router power capabilities, there is a website called windsurfer where you can construct a simple parabolic antenna to boost the output of the router a few db. This might help in some situations.
Thanks for the tip Frank! For reference, here’s the link referenced above.
So in order to listen to internet radio stations on this product, you have to add them to your favorites on the vTuner portal online first? you can’t search for them on the device?
I still love this product nonetheless!! =D
Hi Mandi! Actually, you can browse stations by Genre, Location, etc on the radio unit, and add stations to your favorites/presets straight from the radio, there’s no need to log onto the vTuner web portal. You only need to log in if you want to add a station not already included.
Wow, that was fast!
I have another question: When I bought mines on amazon, it doesn’t say that it is a Mutant product, only stating that is a Internet Radio, with no Mutant logo on the device. I want to know if the device I have is the same device shown on this site.
On another note, its not working! I go to a university, so I am currently trying to connect it using the university network. Is that possible at all? Also, under the scan for networks thingy, it lists the university’s network name multiple times, so I do not know if this is a technical difficulty or if I need to choose the right one in order for the device to work. Sorry about the lengthy inquiry!
here is the link that I bought the radio from:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003B0J11K/ref=oss_product
and is it true if I have my device next to my laptop, that it will interfere with the device’s connection to the wifi network? Thanks a bunch!
I bought this radio for my wife’s birthday. She loves it! Works great, and is very solid! Best “tech toy” I every got her!
Glad it was such a hit! Your wife is very lucky! Thanks for sharing with us!!
Re below – any news on RTE 2FM yet please? Thanks
Heather Cooper-Harris says:
August 16, 2010 at 9:00 am I can’t get any of the RTE Irish radio stations in the UK – which we my prime reason for buying this product. Radio is great – but no good without my favourite RTE 2FM. Radio says URL is incorrect or doesn’t exist. What’s the problem?? HELP!!
Reply
Mutant says:
August 16, 2010 at 1:11 pm Interesting. Let me get back to you soon. It may be that the station changed their stream URL or format, or that vTuner has changed something. You may want to check on the RTE 2FM website, and try to add the station manually. I’ll give this a shot and let you know!
If it helps the stream, regardless of using preconfigured or adding manually, is identified on the radio itself as an MP3 stream even though it’s a WMA stream.
Just for information I have gotten RTE to work by manually configuring the real audio stream on http://csr.vtuner.com rather than the wma stream which doesn’t appear to work.
RTE Radio 1 is rtsp://live2.rte.ie/redundant/radio1.ra
For Heather above I tested radio 2 and it’s working grand.
RTE Radio 2 is rtsp://live1.rte.ie/redundant/2fm.ra
Cheers
Ciaran
Thanks Ciaran,
Just to clarify, the trick appears to be to copy the URL above, log in to vTuner and click Add Station, then paste in the URL. Choose Real Audio instead of WMA, and it should work out! I just tested it out in our office and it worked beautifully.
Hi
Is there any way of using the mlb.com gameday audio on the M-Wavio? I have subscribed but can only see how to use it on the computer. There system requirement page is at
http://www.mlb.com/mlb/help/faq_system_requirements.jsp#q6
Thanks for any help.
Don K
Hi Don, It appears like the subscription service for MLB Gameday will not work with our M-Wavio. You need to have a device that will support Flash (unless MLB provides a direct URL to the stream source). Also, there wouldn’t be a way to validate the login information that I’m sure is required as well.
Hi – any tricks for getting KFIG 1430AM Fresno, CA to play? Its at
. Plays OK on vtuner but radio gives “ERROR cannot play stream”.
Hi John,
I haven’t been able to find a way just yet. Looks like the stream is running through Microsoft Silverlight. I can’t even get it to reliably play through their site! The best way to add the station’s stream is to find a direct URL (not /player.php, but .pls/wma most likely). I’ll keep looking for one!
Thanks for checking it out. This is the URL in vtuner: and its selected as Windows Media for type. The stream is pretty reliable when you play it from vtuner site. Windows Media Player opens when you click it and it plays. Thanks again. This is the only site I’ve been able to find that has SFGiants broadcasts live.
How/where do I get a wall charging adapter?
Hi Andy,
You can get wall chargers from Amazon (we don’t sell them ourselves). We use this one in the office, and it has never given us an ounce of trouble:
http://www.amazon.com/USB-AC-MP3-Players-White/dp/B000A2BLEC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1308160474&sr=8-4
Also, you can’t beat that price!
Hello. On the web site selling your radio, it says it is am/fm, however, in the manual, which I read from the link above, it doesn’t mention getting am stations. Does it get these and do I load them as I would the fm stations? thanks and blessings.
Hi John! Unfortunately, this was an oversight, and the radio only picks up FM stations directly. Of course, you can also play the AM stations through WiFi, if they have a stream available, but then of course you need a WiFi network in range. Thanks!
Have the WPA problems been solved for this device? I am interested in buying the Mutant M-Wavio but I have a home WiFi that uses a WPA passphrase that is over 25 characters in length (and I don’t want to convert to WEP for security reasons). Did the firmware update fix this? Can Mutant or someone else confirm either way?
Thanks!
Hi Arun,
Using a WPA password at least 25 characters should work just fine. It runs into trouble with long encryption like my home’s 63-character passphrase, but works with 25-characters. Thanks!
I posted previously concerning the limitation of 10 characters for a WPA passkey. I am running 5.1 firmware. In view of your posting that “Using a WPA password at least 25 characters should work just fine.” I disabled my security and connected the radio; check for firmware update; seems I am running the current firmware. just to be sure I entered my WPA 18 character alphnumeric passkey and lo and behold … “enter correct passkey” … failure again. I was not really surprised.
So PLEASE what is the answer? As far as I can discern nothing has altered in the past year, and I want to use this radio without dropping my WPA2 security.
Just got my Radio yesterday, love it. Any chance of adding a sleep timer to next firmware release?
Thanks for the feedback. We’re working on adding a sleep timer via firmware. We’ll post an announcement here when it’s updated. Thanks!
Let me second that!! A sleep timer would be a great additional feature. Another place to use the radio…I look forward to that update.
HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY 9 MONTH OLD MUTANT.THE FM WORKED FINE BUT WHEN USING THE WIFI SECTION THE MUTANT WOULD TURN ITSELF OFF,OR OCCASIONALY WOULD PLAY FOR 30 MINUTES TO AN HOUR THEN TURN ITSELF OFF.I CONTACTED STI FOR REPAIR.ALL WAS SET TO RETURN UNIT,WHEN ONE DAY I TURN THE MUTANT ON AND WAS NOTIFIED THEN , DOWNLOADED A FIRMWARE UPDATE,SINCE THEN ABOUT A MONTH AGO ALL IS NORMAL AGAIN! AMAZING BUT THANKS STI CUSTOMER SUPPORT! I LOVE MY MUTANT,MY FAVORITE OVER MY OTHER TWO RADIOS!
So . . will it or will it not work with at 10 digit wep password?
Yep! 10-digit WEP passwords will work just fine. Thanks!
The charcoal version of this radio is in very short supply (e.g not currently available at Amazon.com or Walmart.com) . Any estimate on when more radios in this color will be produced ? Also any update on when this product might be available for purchase at retail (e.g Best Buy)
Hi Craig, We’ll getting more of the charcoal color in Friday, and Amazon/Walmart/etc will be restocked next week. There was a delay in the factory, which put the gap in our supply! It’s nice to have such strong demand though!!
I just received my radio yesterday and so far it has performed very well !!
My only long term concern is the battery as I know it is not replaceable by myself. Do you recommend letting the battery occasionally drain completely and then recharge(as sometimes advised for devices with lithium batteries) ? Also assuming it is charged periodically, what is the projected lifespan for the battery ?
I have a subscription with XM/Sirus internet streaming. Is there a way to hook up the Mutant with that. I cannot connect the radio to the computer? Can’t find a way to subscribe to XM.
OOOPS to all. It was me who goofed. WPA2 worked with WiFi on my Mutant.
I retried to enter the Network setting into my WPA2 wifi again. This time to complete entry, I Held Down On The Enter Button until the WPA2 key got entered. (Previously I did not hold the enter button down, just pressed-and-release. Holding the button down til it catched.)
So now I am listing to BBC Radio 4 from here in the States.
My apologies to miraculous MUTANT wifi radio.
Will the radio work with WiFi connections that need you need to “Click here to agree to our terms and conditions” disclaimer page ? My employer uses this scheme.
Thanks,
Hi Brian,
Generally, no, as this requires a browser for you to “click here”. The M-Wavio has no web browser built in. However there are two work-arounds:
1)Get your employer’s IT department to add your radio’s MAC address to the whitelist
2)Accept the terms on a computer, and broadcast a new WiFi network from that computer that your radio can connect to. You should check that this doesn’t clash with any terms and conditions though!
can i use sirius radio with this-if i have the web service?thanks for the info
Hi Oliver, the M-Wavio is not compatible with Sirius. Thanks.
I’m ready to buy one of your Internet radios, but I’m confused by the many different models (I’m reminded of Apple before Steve Jobs cut down the choices). Do you have a comparison chart or other means by which I can sort them all out?
Hi Warren, we only make one model of the M-Wavio, but it comes in a few colors. The only difference in the model numbers you see are the colors (-1 for black, -3 for white, -5 for orange, etc). Otherwise, the internal workings are all exactly the same. Thanks!