Thanks for the time you put in. Saw the vid of the new Unidens, so I decided it was time to upgrade the R3. Got an R8w on the way, thanks for the link.
Excellent. If you don't mind me asking, would you be willing to share your order number? I'm curious to see if some things are working properly behind the scenes.
@@VortexRadar Mine was Order# 5032583. I received it 3 or 4 days after the purchase. So far very impressed. It's much quieter around the Dollar Generals. Much fewer spurious alerts in general from vehicle mounted radars.
I think this is an early foundation for wifi comms between devices like smartphone (more featured later), wireless jammers, cams and even the car someday (CarPlay/AAuto). It might be a little early is all
@@suresh0tI agree however the price point difference between the r8/r8w doesn’t make sense based on a hunch for future apps etc. a company that produces a new product with new functionality would also at least advertise those future goals to push sales. Uniden didn’t go that route so besides guessing there is no evidence and not worth the price difference, unless Vortex will leak like a sieve and I think there’s better chance of Theia being released before Vortex would ever do that.
@@Zeejay21not obsolete, performance are exactly the same. I honestly think paying that much extra only for auto updates isn’t much of a change, so the standard versions are still very much viable
I seen on eBay that they sell a lot of brand new vintage radar detectors like uniden LRD 8000W it would be a great video to compare those radars from the past to current radar in terms of features and performance long range I know that video would get a lot of views and be very entertaining to watch
@VortexRadar I know that it's a lot of effort especially editing part when you ever have time make that video it would definitely be a popular video because it peaks people's curiosity I know that video will do great in views 👍
Hey guys, have a question about uniden , I wanna buy an R8 And I want to see if any of you know if they do black Friday discount on their raider detectors
Content was a big play in me upgrading to the r8w have an old escort that I'm replacing. Thought the redline would be a no brainer but that doesn't seem to be the case. Used affiliate link...thanks
Yes I would see that since I live in MD and travel to DC and VA officially and often. The Redline Is what I use there but so Uniden would make the R8 Stealthy also.
besides the wifi, the new W line states it is faster. I am assuming the wifi combo chip would have better speed. So for 8w v 8 , you'd be getting more than just the wifi. yes?
It's not faster. I presume you're referencing the "dual DSP" comment? The DSP and performance is identical between models. It's just the WiFi that's been added, and the WiFi component is completely independent of the radar detection and performance.
Could i just purchase the wifi chip open it up and update i literally just bought the r8 after being super annoyed with the r7 and where the buttons are on it
Bought the Redline 360c about a month ago and have the latest firmware 1.5 on it, and Escort kinda went silent on fixing this update, so I got the R8 after reading and seeing all the recommendations about how it is better than the RL, and I definitely think for the price of the R8, the build quality would've been better, but what matters is what's inside. Now kinda in limbo with waiting on Escort for a fix and with Uniden falling back on their promise for laser jammer integration for the R8. Have you had any correspondence with Escort if they are working on an update and any news on your guns being recertified and retesting the Redline? Keep up the great work and thank you for all you do for the radar community, much appreciated.
Almost bought R8 for 650 from Best Buy a couple days ago… down to 635 today. Not sure how long to keep waiting. $350 BB gift card so I will buy from them
Need some advice, I work late nights so there’s almost no other cars out on the road. I don’t want a radar that filters out any signals, I won’t be dealing with false positives because of my work schedule. I am not looking for anything crazy, just want something that will save me when doing some spirited back road / main road driving late at night. Am usually working in Tri-state area. Recommendations?
LOL there's like a dozen tri-state areas. Way to be vague. Then just get the cheapest bottom shelf detector from the any of the big brands. They ALL filters signals. They have to. Don't overthink it.
Just purchased Uniden R8. Does the uniden r8 have dual dsp chips like the r8w? Thanks Im done with escort redline 360c. Just going to shelf it. Looking into alsongetting the ALP.
Hi there, Thank you for your videos. I bought my R8W after watching this video but for some reason I pass cops in Massachusetts especially State’s and my Radar stays silent. I have 2/4/5/6/8 turned on. What am I missing? Ps this is my first detector.
Ah yeah. Super normal. The R8w is a radar detector, not a police car detector. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/cQW_jrgmf7g/видео.htmlsi=vjjrRChV-IMxCuqR
So i have an aftermarket carplay adapter that i use to wirelessly connect my iPhone. I door dash and lift so the convenience of not having to use a cord makes it so much easier. The issue is anytime i try to connect many devices to my phone through wifi (dashcam, go pros, etc) it tends to disconnect the WiFi connection to those devices. It’s like my car play adapter say nanana not enough room for yall. Can you test to see if this device conflicts with carplay?
Usually CarPlay will aggressively grab the WiFi connection to your phone, preventing your phone from connecting to other devices via WiFi, but not via BT. It’s only the detector that connects to a hotspot for WiFi. The phone still connects via BT which is why there’s no issue.
@VortexRadar I’m thinking of tethering the R8w to my iPhone hotspot for the updates (I don’t have wifi in the garage or the car). I saw in your R/TACH video that the firmware update takes place over wifi (or a PC/Mac) and not via the R/TACH app, so I’m thinking that it should be possible to use my iPhone as a hotspot for the R8w to get updated. Do you know if this is correct/possible?
@@VortexRadar Thanks. That might be reason enough for me to pay the extra $200 for the R8w, since I'd prob pay close to that for a PC (am a Mac user, and the recent issues aren't encouraging) just to be able to do the updates over time, plus this would mean I won't have to remove the radar detector everytime I want to do an update.
Seems like just a convenience upgrade with no performance added. One thing I would be concerned with is that if wifi signal is disconnected during upgrade process the unit might get bricked
I recently got the R8 with no way to update the firmware because I'm on a Mac and don't have a PC, haven't used one in several decades. The R8w would be great except it's just way too expensive just so I could more easily update the firmware, so it's a pass. But I personally feel that laser jamming should be illegal in every State, not just mine. It just encourages breaking the limit laws because there is no other reason to have laser jamming hardware.
I contacted Uniden via email to let them know how displeased I was about the laser jammer situation with the R4 and R8. I mentioned the additional port on the detectors and per Uniden that port isn't and never was meant for a laser jammer. They made it sound like I was misinformed by other sources that had no idea what they were talking about.
Yeah this is what happens when not everyone is on the same page. They have since changed their mind and decided to release them for the R4 and R8 afterwards, but apparently only after a significant amount of pushback from the community.
so your telling me that they released a whole new radar detector that looks and performs the same just for the wifi?? why couldn't they just release the software update for the original r4 and r8 to add wifi????
Imsgine how annoying itll be to try and pair it with the radar detector each time you get inside the car before your trips. Im good with the first model R8
@@sir.636 Didn't even think about it. I figured it would be some future upgrade. Since I already run ALP, I don't care about laser detecting from the R8. Anything that deals with laser I rely upon my ALP set up to deal with. R8 is just for radar, specifically Ka.
Why even have the regular r4 and r8 at this point? Who wouldn't want the added benefit of wifi for these devices? There's just too many options in the world of radar detectors from what i'm discovering. When you're being hit with radar/laser, beep go off, slow down. It should be that simple no?
@@VortexRadar - Yeah, but having to connect the device to a computer to do updates? That seems archaic in this day and age or am i mistaken and updates can be done via BT?
@@VortexRadarI just wanted to bring something to your attention. I contacted Uniden via email just to let them know how I felt having a R4 and a R8 that would not be compatible with their laser jammer. I addressed the additional port on the detectors and their response was that the additional port is not and never was meant for a laser jammer. That's straight from their mouths. So if the port looks identical to the one on the R4W and R8W and it's not meant for a laser jammer then how is it going to connect to the detector? I think they fed me a bunch of BS.
Congrats! If you don't mind me asking, did you happen to use my links when ordering? and if so, would you be okay sharing your order number so we can doublecheck that some things are working properly behind the scenes?
Let's hope they keep their promise and update the old R4 and R8 for laser jammers.
Honestly every time I see a new video about uniden thats all I can think about and it pisses me off
Great news! I just heard from Uniden that they will now continue supporting the jammers on the R4 and R8.
@VortexRadar great! Thank you for advocating for all us r8 and r4 owners
@@VortexRadar that is awesome! Thank you for having a popular platform that we can voice our concerns.
@@VortexRadar Lmao, maybe my nasty email worked lol
Thanks for the time you put in. Saw the vid of the new Unidens, so I decided it was time to upgrade the R3. Got an R8w on the way, thanks for the link.
Sounds like a solid upgrade! I’d love to hear your experiences once you get some sleep time with it.
@@VortexRadar The R3 has served me very well over the years. Looking forward to the new features of the R8w.
Excellent. If you don't mind me asking, would you be willing to share your order number? I'm curious to see if some things are working properly behind the scenes.
@@VortexRadar Mine was Order# 5032583. I received it 3 or 4 days after the purchase.
So far very impressed. It's much quieter around the Dollar Generals. Much fewer spurious alerts in general from vehicle mounted radars.
Dang, was hoping for type C power. An inexpensive change, but would make the ‘w versions more appealing.
If the W series isn't substantially improved in speed/distance of signals produced, then this upgrade is primarily useless...😊
Performance is the same
I think this is an early foundation for wifi comms between devices like smartphone (more featured later), wireless jammers, cams and even the car someday (CarPlay/AAuto). It might be a little early is all
@@suresh0tI agree however the price point difference between the r8/r8w doesn’t make sense based on a hunch for future apps etc. a company that produces a new product with new functionality would also at least advertise those future goals to push sales. Uniden didn’t go that route so besides guessing there is no evidence and not worth the price difference, unless Vortex will leak like a sieve and I think there’s better chance of Theia being released before Vortex would ever do that.
Uniden advertised it as having 50% longer range, but I find that hard to believe.
And my question is are they comparing it to the r8 or the r7? Because the r8w is just the r8 with a Wifi chip.
Really wish we could've got this on the regular Uniden R8 and R4, Uniden is missing out on alot of sales
They making sales from both but now since the w’s are out the others are obsolete
@@Zeejay21 obsolete due to their own doing, V1 would have offered an upgrade via mail in.
@@JonTheTeaMan true I do agree there should be some type of upgrade incentive
@@Zeejay21not obsolete, performance are exactly the same. I honestly think paying that much extra only for auto updates isn’t much of a change, so the standard versions are still very much viable
I don’t see any advantages, thanks for the update anyway.
I seen on eBay that they sell a lot of brand new vintage radar detectors like uniden LRD 8000W it would be a great video to compare those radars from the past to current radar in terms of features and performance long range I know that video would get a lot of views and be very entertaining to watch
I’ve had a drawer full of them for years, but no extra time to devote to testing them.
@VortexRadar I know that it's a lot of effort especially editing part when you ever have time make that video it would definitely be a popular video because it peaks people's curiosity I know that video will do great in views 👍
Excellent video!
Hey guys, have a question about uniden , I wanna buy an R8 And I want to see if any of you know if they do black Friday discount on their raider detectors
Awesome video!
Content was a big play in me upgrading to the r8w have an old escort that I'm replacing. Thought the redline would be a no brainer but that doesn't seem to be the case. Used affiliate link...thanks
Congrats!
You should do a Black Friday list on rader.
www.vortexradar.com/2024/11/black-friday-2024-deals-radar-detectors-dash-cameras/
Do you think the regular r8 will get discounted for christmas
Can we see Spectre testing for these or do you think they would be same as the usual R4&R8?
Testing Spectre stuff is really low on the priority list since very few people need that. It should be the same as the non-WiFi versions.
Yes I would see that since I live in MD and travel to DC and VA officially and often. The Redline Is what I use there but so Uniden would make the R8 Stealthy also.
I’ll keep faith that they’ll bring the laser jamming functionality back to the original r8.
🤞👍
besides the wifi, the new W line states it is faster. I am assuming the wifi combo chip would have better speed. So for 8w v 8 , you'd be getting more than just the wifi. yes?
It's not faster. I presume you're referencing the "dual DSP" comment? The DSP and performance is identical between models. It's just the WiFi that's been added, and the WiFi component is completely independent of the radar detection and performance.
Did you know if uniden would be able to refurbished the R8 to the R8w
You can not
Not impressed with the W models. Thanks for sharing though. Love watching your videos.
Could i just purchase the wifi chip open it up and update i literally just bought the r8 after being super annoyed with the r7 and where the buttons are on it
Is the Unidentified R8 better than the Escort Redline 360 C?
After connecting one’s mobile phone via Bluetooth can you use the same phone as a hotspot and connect with WiFi?
Bought the Redline 360c about a month ago and have the latest firmware 1.5 on it, and Escort kinda went silent on fixing this update, so I got the R8 after reading and seeing all the recommendations about how it is better than the RL, and I definitely think for the price of the R8, the build quality would've been better, but what matters is what's inside. Now kinda in limbo with waiting on Escort for a fix and with Uniden falling back on their promise for laser jammer integration for the R8. Have you had any correspondence with Escort if they are working on an update and any news on your guns being recertified and retesting the Redline? Keep up the great work and thank you for all you do for the radar community, much appreciated.
I was gonna chat with Escort about it at SEMA, but would up staying at home sick. My guns arrived at the shop this Monday and should take a few weeks.
@VortexRadar Ok, thanks.. appreciate the reply. Saw that you were all packed to go and got COVID at the last minute, hope you are feeling better. 👍
Hopefully Black Friday deals
To be politically correct you must refer to Black Friday as, "Friday of color" now. lol -DEI management
on the Ws highly likely not. the regular duos its already slowly creeping down on major retailers (US)
Almost bought R8 for 650 from Best Buy a couple days ago… down to 635 today. Not sure how long to keep waiting. $350 BB gift card so I will buy from them
Need some advice, I work late nights so there’s almost no other cars out on the road. I don’t want a radar that filters out any signals, I won’t be dealing with false positives because of my work schedule. I am not looking for anything crazy, just want something that will save me when doing some spirited back road / main road driving late at night. Am usually working in Tri-state area. Recommendations?
LOL there's like a dozen tri-state areas. Way to be vague.
Then just get the cheapest bottom shelf detector from the any of the big brands. They ALL filters signals. They have to. Don't overthink it.
Is the original R8 going to be discontinued or do they plan to offer both?
Does this detector have stealth mode ?
Just purchased Uniden R8. Does the uniden r8 have dual dsp chips like the r8w? Thanks
Im done with escort redline 360c. Just going to shelf it. Looking into alsongetting the ALP.
Exact same DSP and performance. The dual DSP note is mostly confusing marketing messaging IMO.
Hi there,
Thank you for your videos. I bought my R8W after watching this video but for some reason I pass cops in Massachusetts especially State’s and my Radar stays silent. I have 2/4/5/6/8 turned on.
What am I missing? Ps this is my first detector.
Ah yeah. Super normal. The R8w is a radar detector, not a police car detector. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/cQW_jrgmf7g/видео.htmlsi=vjjrRChV-IMxCuqR
@ thank you so much, it was sad when I saw one behind me and drove past without anything out of my detector.
So i have an aftermarket carplay adapter that i use to wirelessly connect my iPhone. I door dash and lift so the convenience of not having to use a cord makes it so much easier. The issue is anytime i try to connect many devices to my phone through wifi (dashcam, go pros, etc) it tends to disconnect the WiFi connection to those devices. It’s like my car play adapter say nanana not enough room for yall. Can you test to see if this device conflicts with carplay?
Usually CarPlay will aggressively grab the WiFi connection to your phone, preventing your phone from connecting to other devices via WiFi, but not via BT. It’s only the detector that connects to a hotspot for WiFi. The phone still connects via BT which is why there’s no issue.
shoutout to vortex for spending 1200 for this video.
Do you recommend using the same R8 general settings for the
R8w that you posted on your website?
Yep
Any solutions yet for Mac update tool?
Not until Uniden releases updated update software.
Why did they remove the laser jammer option on the r4 r8 ?
Just heard from Uniden that they will now continue supporting it on the R4 and R8.
Any detectors that interface with Waze?
Waze doesn’t allow that
That's like asking if IOS interfaces with android or windows
@VortexRadar I’m thinking of tethering the R8w to my iPhone hotspot for the updates (I don’t have wifi in the garage or the car). I saw in your R/TACH video that the firmware update takes place over wifi (or a PC/Mac) and not via the R/TACH app, so I’m thinking that it should be possible to use my iPhone as a hotspot for the R8w to get updated. Do you know if this is correct/possible?
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not.
@@VortexRadar Thanks. That might be reason enough for me to pay the extra $200 for the R8w, since I'd prob pay close to that for a PC (am a Mac user, and the recent issues aren't encouraging) just to be able to do the updates over time, plus this would mean I won't have to remove the radar detector everytime I want to do an update.
Do you have to reboot? (Factory settings)……… Every time the new update on the Uniden R8w…..Vortex
Just follow Uniden’s recommendations. Anything I would say is just repeating what they say.
Do you have to pay for unidens app? I bought an escorts some years ago and I’m not paying a monthly fee
Nope, it's free
Do you think the r8 will be discounted due to new model? Maybe for primeday
Hello...for europe, what do you recommend?
Hello, I recommend you ask a European. What applies here in the US doesn’t necessarily apply in various European countries, and vice versa.
@VortexRadar over here, we don't have a vortex radar guy 😅 sadly....
Seems like just a convenience upgrade with no performance added. One thing I would be concerned with is that if wifi signal is disconnected during upgrade process the unit might get bricked
My guess is it does it in two stages where it first downloads and caches the file and then starts the update with or without WiFi.
I recently got the R8 with no way to update the firmware because I'm on a Mac and don't have a PC, haven't used one in several decades. The R8w would be great except it's just way too expensive just so I could more easily update the firmware, so it's a pass.
But I personally feel that laser jamming should be illegal in every State, not just mine. It just encourages breaking the limit laws because there is no other reason to have laser jamming hardware.
I contacted Uniden via email to let them know how displeased I was about the laser jammer situation with the R4 and R8. I mentioned the additional port on the detectors and per Uniden that port isn't and never was meant for a laser jammer. They made it sound like I was misinformed by other sources that had no idea what they were talking about.
Yeah this is what happens when not everyone is on the same page. They have since changed their mind and decided to release them for the R4 and R8 afterwards, but apparently only after a significant amount of pushback from the community.
Do you think the laser jammers in the new uniden can block police speed guns?
We’ve tested them quite a bit with the R9 and yeah, they perform very well.
@vortexradar Did you hear anything back from Uniden regarding the laser jamming integration on the R4/R8?
so your telling me that they released a whole new radar detector that looks and performs the same just for the wifi?? why couldn't they just release the software update for the original r4 and r8 to add wifi????
Software updates don’t change the hardware like adding a WiFi chip
❤❤❤😊
Imsgine how annoying itll be to try and pair it with the radar detector each time you get inside the car before your trips. Im good with the first model R8
You don’t have to pair it each time you get in, just the first time, but sure
Its no Valentine 1. RIP Mike Valentine.
Should standardize USB-C. Its pathetic that manufactures are still using RJ-11 connectors that easily break off.
the early 2000s called, and they want their micro-usb back…
I didn't even realize that functionality was available on the R8 about laser jamming. I think l disabled laser when I first got it. The more you know.
First thing I said as well! 😂
what did you think the other port was for then?
@sir.636 Not everyone has spare time to inspect every port available on a pretty straightforward product.
@@fedor7695 Bruh cmon
@@sir.636 Didn't even think about it. I figured it would be some future upgrade. Since I already run ALP, I don't care about laser detecting from the R8. Anything that deals with laser I rely upon my ALP set up to deal with. R8 is just for radar, specifically Ka.
Many times chip makes add wifi/BT on one chip. I bet you any money they just neutered it on the R8.
Ill take that bet
Yep.
Why even have the regular r4 and r8 at this point? Who wouldn't want the added benefit of wifi for these devices? There's just too many options in the world of radar detectors from what i'm discovering. When you're being hit with radar/laser, beep go off, slow down. It should be that simple no?
If you don’t need WiFi, the BT only version is $50 cheaper.
@@VortexRadar - Yeah, but having to connect the device to a computer to do updates? That seems archaic in this day and age or am i mistaken and updates can be done via BT?
@@VortexRadarI just wanted to bring something to your attention. I contacted Uniden via email just to let them know how I felt having a R4 and a R8 that would not be compatible with their laser jammer. I addressed the additional port on the detectors and their response was that the additional port is not and never was meant for a laser jammer. That's straight from their mouths. So if the port looks identical to the one on the R4W and R8W and it's not meant for a laser jammer then how is it going to connect to the detector? I think they fed me a bunch of BS.
Sounds like the rep doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Because a ton of people have already rolled out hard earned $$ on the first r4,r8 😠
I ordered a R8w
Congrats! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
@@VortexRadar as soon as I get it I will let you know
Congrats! If you don't mind me asking, did you happen to use my links when ordering? and if so, would you be okay sharing your order number so we can doublecheck that some things are working properly behind the scenes?
2025 and it still uses micro usb
this seems....dumb.