User Guide

Welcome to Antenna! The app is designed to be as simple as possible – open it, search for a station and start listening. No sign-up or account required.

On first launch, Antenna automatically uses German if your device is set to German – otherwise English. You can change the language in the settings at any time.

Antenna uses the public RadioBrowser database, which lists millions of internet radio stations worldwide.

How to search for a station

1. Tap the search field at the top of the Overview.
2. Enter a station name, a genre (e.g. “Jazz”, “Rock”) or a country.
3. The results appear automatically as you type.
4. Tap a station to start playback right away.

Recently played stations

The overview shows the stations you played most recently, so you can quickly get back to your favorites – without searching again.

When you tap a station, playback starts automatically and you switch to the Now Playing tab. There you'll see:

• Station logo and name
• The artist and title currently playing (if the station provides them)
• Play/pause button
• AirPlay output picker
• Button to open the song in a streaming service
• Lyrics button (if available)

Mini player

As soon as a station is playing, a mini player with the most important controls appears at the bottom of the screen. That way, playback is always within reach, no matter which tab you're in.

Switching or stopping a station

Simply tap another station in the search results or in your favorites to switch instantly. To stop, tap the pause button.

Save your favorite stations so you can start them with a single tap at any time.

Saving a station as a favorite

1. Start a station and open the Now Playing view.
2. Tap the star icon (⭐) in the station row or in the Now Playing view.
3. The station now appears in the Favorites tab.

Managing favorites

The Favorites tab shows all saved stations at a glance. Tap a station to start it directly. To remove a favorite, tap the star icon again.

Antenna can show synced lyrics for the song that is currently playing – live, line by line.

Showing lyrics

1. Start a station and wait until the artist and title are displayed.
2. Tap the lyrics button in the Now Playing view.
3. The lyrics are displayed in sync with the audio stream.

Adjusting the offset

When playing via AirPlay or HomePod, the lyrics may appear slightly out of sync. Use the offset slider to show the lyrics earlier or later and sync them perfectly.

HomePod/AirPlay correction

In the settings you'll find a HomePod/AirPlay correction that automatically adds an extra delay for AirPlay outputs.

Aligning a line manually

Tap any lyrics line to set it as the current line and adjust the sync manually.

Like a song that's playing on the radio right now? Open it directly in your preferred streaming service.

Opening a song

As soon as the artist and title are known, a button for opening the song in a streaming service appears in the Now Playing view. Tapping it starts a search in the respective app.

Choosing your preferred service

Go to Settings → Streaming service and choose your preferred service:

• Apple Music
• Spotify
• Tidal
• Deezer
• YouTube Music

Antenna remembers your choice and will always open this service from then on.

Send the radio stream to a HomePod, Apple TV or any other AirPlay speaker on your network.

Choosing an output device

1. Start a station.
2. In the Now Playing view, tap the AirPlay icon (🔊).
3. Choose your output device from the list.

Antenna fully supports CarPlay – control your radio safely while driving.

Using CarPlay

1. Connect your iPhone to your car via USB or wirelessly (wireless CarPlay).
2. Open Antenna from the CarPlay menu.
3. In CarPlay mode, your favorites and a station search are available.
4. Tap a station to start playback.

Antenna is fully integrated with the Shortcuts app. You can start favorite stations with a Siri command or a shortcut.

Available actions

• Play favorite station – starts a saved favorite of your choice.
• Stop playback – ends the current playback.

Creating a shortcut

1. Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone or Mac.
2. Tap + to create a new shortcut.
3. Search for Antenna in the list of actions.
4. Add “Play favorite station” and choose the station you want.
5. Give the shortcut a name (e.g. “Play BBC Radio 2”) and save it.
6. Run it with Siri or directly from the Shortcuts app.

On the Mac, Antenna runs as a native app with a few extra features.

Mini player

On the Mac, a mini player appears at the bottom of the window and keeps the current playback in view at all times. From the menu or the toolbar, you can also open the mini player as a separate floating window – it always stays on top without covering everything else.

Lyrics sidebar

If the window is wide enough (700 px or more), Antenna automatically shows the lyrics as a sidebar next to the Now Playing view. This saves switching tabs and is especially handy on large displays.

Keyboard shortcuts

On the Mac, the standard media keys are available to control playback (play/pause via keyboard).

You can reach the settings via the Settings tab (gear icon).

Language

Choose between System language, German and English. The change takes effect immediately.

Radio buffer

Set the buffer size between 1 and 30 seconds. A larger buffer reduces dropouts on slow connections but increases the time until playback starts.

Streaming service

Choose your preferred service for opening songs from the radio (Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, YouTube Music).

Lyrics settings

• Show lyrics – turns the lyrics feature on or off globally.
• Lyrics offset – fine-tunes the sync in seconds.
• HomePod/AirPlay correction – adds an extra delay for AirPlay outputs.

iCloud sync

Keeps favorites, recently played stations and settings in sync between your devices via iCloud (Premium). Details in the Premium & iCloud sync chapter.

Antenna is free. With Antenna Premium, a one-time in-app purchase unlocks two extra features – no subscription, no recurring fees:

• Unlimited favorites – the free version allows up to 3 favorites.
• iCloud sync – keep favorites, recently played stations and settings in sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV automatically.

Buying Premium

1. In the Favorites tab, tap Unlock unlimited favorites…, or in the settings under iCloud Sync, tap Unlock Premium.
2. Tap Buy Now and confirm the purchase in the App Store.
3. Premium is active right away.

Using your purchase on other devices

On other devices signed in with the same Apple ID, open the Premium screen and tap Restore Purchase. You don't need to buy it again.

Turning on iCloud sync

1. Make sure you are signed in to iCloud with your Apple ID on the device.
2. Open Settings → iCloud Sync and turn on Enable Sync.
3. If iCloud already contains data from another device, Antenna asks whether you want to import it or skip. If you skip, this device's data is uploaded.
4. Repeat this on every device you want to keep in sync.

What gets synced

• Favorites
• Recently played stations
• Language, preferred streaming service and lyrics setting

Station delay, lyrics offset and buffer time deliberately stay per device, because they depend on the speaker and the connection.

In the settings, you can see when the last sync happened and how many favorites and stations are stored in iCloud. Tap Sync Now to start a sync manually.

Copying artist and title

In the mini player and in the Now Playing view, you can touch and hold the displayed artist/title to copy it to the clipboard.

Opening the station homepage

In the station details, you'll find a link to the station's official website – if the station provides one.

Fixing connection problems

• Check your internet connection.
• Increase the buffer size in the settings.
• Sometimes a station changes its stream – in that case, search for the station again and pick a current result.
• Restart the app if the stream won't load.

Saving battery

Antenna runs in the background as an audio app and uses very little power – comparable to other music apps.