DO NOT Buy Baofeng GMRS Radios from Amazon 🚫

#baofeng #gmrs #prepping

If you've recently purchased a Baofeng UV-5R or UV-9G GMRS Radio from Amazon (or any other model Baofeng for that matter), you too might be experiencing this same issue that I'm experiencing where the radio does not accept the tones that you program in.

In the video above, this Baofeng radio won't accept CTCSS Tones. I have also gotten a few other Baofeng radios where it won't transmit on specific channels. I have already returned at least five Baofeng radios because of these issues.

I'm pretty much done buying Baofeng until they can figure out what's going on. I recommend going with a Btech Radio instead.

And before you even say "Why can't you plug it into CHIRP and program it yourself" ... that's just unacceptable. I want to buy a radio and stand by products that work out of the box.

Are you having issues with @Baofeng radios from Amazon? Let me know in the comments.

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[citizensurvivalplan]

Some context here.

-These are GMRS radios you CAN program them right on channel mode unlike a HAM radio
-I did a factory reset
-IN the manual it says to program IN CHANNEL MODE
-I have the same radios that work CORRECTLY unlike the ones in the video
-We bought radios that should work out of the box these did not end of story.

[alabamasteve]

That's because you have to program them as a channel, with each channel exists different settings, like CTCSS, narrow or wide band, etc. So what you have to do is go to frequency mode, type in the desired frequency, select the settings you want for that frequency, like CTCSS, and then add it to memory, it will then be set. You do this with each channel you make, before saving it, so make sure before you add a channel that the correct settings are in place before storing it into memory. If you are having problems, try resetting the radio & trying again. Also there are some frequencies that are automatic set to a certain setting & cannot be altered, in this case, if you are trying to alter it and it is not then you are doing something wrong, or using a certain frequency in the wrong way.

[GordonRicketts]

Got mine from Amazon I work for railroad and they work great no issues st all

[Incindio]

Whatever will they do when you stop buying them?

[spkd]

thats how baofeng firmware work you have to setup tones in frequency mode and than save it as a channel

[steveloos]

I have had nothing but Excellent success from my 2 Baofeng radios purchase from Amazon. I am very pleased with them. 5 star

[nativetexan]

Baofeng makes a GMRS version of the UV5R. It is pre-programmed with GMRS and will not allow certain things that a regular UV5R will.

[sogent]

Bought uv5g+ with absolutely NO ISSUES. Love em and they work perfectly. Chirp compatible as well. Return them or exchange.

[gregorysloat]

None of my Baofeng radios have been a problem. However, other than my GMRS model which is only a couple of years old, the two ham UV-5R radios were purchased in 2013 and (I think) 2015, and both work perfectly to this day without any problems, and yes, they are both unlocked.

[gran_turismo_fan]

I ordered a baofeng UV-5R about a few months ago from amazon, and the radio's speaker got messed up and the volume was really quiet even when I try to crank up the volume on the radio.

I soon came to realize why after the fact after doing my research, that the radio itself had the speaker wires poorly soldered from the factory. Which explains why the speaker was so quiet even when I cranked the volume knob to the max.

At that point, I'd rather invest in a good decent radio instead of cheap radio that's either going to make or break of whether or not if it was worth the money for what you pay for.

[srdjanstevanovic]

you need to be on frequency mode to set tones

[alabamasteve]

QUESTION: Did you purchase your baofeng radios from amazon or directly from the baofeng website?

[Deraco]

Its because it's in channel mode, not frequency, channel mode will keep the settings to what you have set from the software...

[DeltaSgt]

Got a 1701 from Amazon. Second time I plugged in the proframing cord... the internal mic stopped working. snet it back. got a replacement.. that one lasted 3 plug ins of the programing cable before internal mic died. I'm a radio dork so I'm treating the radios very carefully. Bpth radios faulty.

[danonroof]

There's a process to the front panel programming.... It doesn't work the way your demonstrating as a safety feature.... Either use chirp and a programming cable to program it for watch a video on how to front panel program

[melstram]

I've gotten several radios from Amazon in the past. Some needed to be UNLOCKED because they were locked at the factory and sent like that per the FCC. Simple to unlock them.

[richardwang]

Wow. Thanks for the video. I was about to buy a couple of them. It would be my first time buying a radio so i would be SOL and not even know i had an issue or how to resolve it.

[Jorgeperez-qvrb]

My 8 watt uv5r wont screw in antenna how to fix?
..

[adamr-]

Had similar issues with mine, but it's because of the settings I had programmed via CHIRP. I'm guessing that Baofeng has started shipping them with a preconfigured setting to prevent people from making settings that they don't know what they're doing, and also to prevent people from basically transmitting on anything outside of the FRS channels at low power / narrow bands. I'm not an expert but my thought is anyone buying this radio and wanting those settings is more than capable of configuring them properly in CHIRP and then they are all set. But yes, out of the box does seem to be much more limited. As it probably should be. Forces people to get online and learn something before they just start using these radios without any knowledge of what they're doing.

[Jagdpanzer__t]

Never Get a GMRS locked HT, they always have issues, just use a HAM and program the GMRS Freq in. F the FCC's little rules. You're not hurting anyone.