User Guide

The search page lets you find any station in the world (almost). Type a station name, a genre (e.g. "jazz"), a country, or a language and select Search. Click on any station to start listening immediately.

By default, Zinnia Radio Player searches the curated offline station database, which you can refresh at any time from Settings → Search. To use the online live database instead, turn off Use curated search from the same screen. The live database provides real-time updates and access to the latest stations, but may contain duplicates or less reliable data.

Open the Discover stations page to browse pre-built lists of popular and trending stations.

To save a station, select the star icon next to its name in the search results or on the Now Playing bar at the bottom of the app. Select the star again to remove it. All favourited stations are listed on the Favourites page — select any entry to tune in straight away.

While a station is playing, the current song title and artist name update automatically on the Now Playing screen. This is powered by the station's own metadata stream — no action required on your part. Note that not all stations provide this information and it can be turned off under Settings → Playback.

When a song title is detected, Zinnia Radio Player looks up the album artwork and displays it on the Now Playing bar at the bottom of the app. The art updates each time the track changes. Selecting the album art will open a larger view of the artwork and detailed song info: track name, artist, duration, genre, and release year.

On the Now Playing screen, select the Apple Music button to open the current track directly in Apple Music.

Select the song name on the Now Playing bar to instantly open a web search for the current song. Useful for finding lyrics, more tracks by the same artist, the song's music videos, or where to buy the music.

The play, pause, next, and previous buttons on your headset, keyboard, or Bluetooth speaker work with Zinnia Radio Player out of the box — no setup required. Press play/pause to toggle the stream, and use next/previous to navigate between the currently visible station list (see Walk Away Listening).

Hover over the Zinnia Radio Player icon in the Windows taskbar to see a thumbnail preview with play/pause and skip controls. This lets you manage playback without switching away from whatever you're working on.

Zinnia Radio Player integrates with Universal Media Controls, providing a convenient alternative way to control playback.

Minimize the app and your station continues playing uninterrupted. You can control playback from the taskbar thumbnail or the Windows media overlay without bringing the app back into focus.

Pressing the next or previous button on your headset or speaker moves to the next or previous station in the currently visible station list (for example favourites) — no need to touch your PC.

Each time you switch stations or resume play, the app speaks the station name aloud using Windows text-to-speech. To toggle this on/off or to adjust the voice settings, go to Settings → Playback.

Go to Settings → Playback and turn on Prevent computer sleep while app is open. When this is on, your PC will not go to sleep which is great when you want to keep listening without interruptions.

Zinnia Radio Player is free to download and use with some feature limitations. With a subscription you have access to full favourites, search, and explore functionality. To subscribe follow the in-app prompts. Subscriptions include a free trial and can be cancelled at any time. By subscribing you help support the development of Zinnia Radio Player. If your budget is tight but you'd still like to support us, then please consider sharing the app with your friends and leaving a positive review on Microsoft Store.

Go to Settings → Playback and enable Automatically play the most recent station upon app start. The next time you launch Zinnia Radio Player it will automatically tune in to the last station you were listening to.

Go to Settings → Theming to choose between Light, Dark, or Custom themes.

Zinnia Radio Player does not track what you listen to, does not build a listening profile, and does not require a sign-in. Your favorites list and settings are stored locally on your device only.

The app makes no unnecessary network requests. There are no third-party analytics SDKs, no advertising frameworks, and no data collection beyond what is strictly required to stream the station you choose.

This guide is accessible directly inside the app. To open it, go to User Guide page.