Buying guide

Radar Detectors

Our pick

Uniden R8

Choose the Uniden R8 for automatic GPS lockouts, directional arrows and explicitly supported MRCD/MRCT detection.¹²³

Why this one

Its built-in GPS and manual or automatic lockouts let you manage recurring alerts, while arrows show the detected signal direction.¹²
Its exact manual identifies MRCD/MRCT support; that capability is distinct from a database of camera locations.³

Read the review

Compare the alternatives

For a quiet ride on roads you drive every day

Choose the Uniden R8 when you want built-in GPS with automatic lockouts for recurring alert locations.¹²

For knowing whether the signal is ahead or behind

The Uniden R8 combines directional arrows with a dual-antenna system; the arrows report detected signal direction rather than guaranteeing advance warning.²

For routes using MRCD or MRCT radar

Choose the Uniden R8 where MRCD or MRCT support matters, after checking the actual enforcement signals used on your route; its manual explicitly lists those capabilities.³

For drivers who would rather silence each false alert themselves

Choose the Uniden R3 for manual GPS lockouts and built-in GPS when you want to mark recurring locations yourself.²⁵²⁷ The Valentine V1 Gen2 is another option with directional arrows, but its location lockouts require a paired smartphone and it has no built-in GPS.⁸²²

Compare models side by side

Models in this comparison

Specification	Uniden R8	Cobra RAD 380	Cobra RAD 390	Cobra RAD 490i	Cobra RAD 700i	Escort MAX 3	Escort Max 4	Escort MAX 360	Escort MAX 360 MKII	Escort MAX 360c	Escort MAX 360c MKII	Escort Redline 360c	Radenso DS1	Radenso XP	Uniden R3	Uniden R4w	Uniden R7	Uniden R8w	Valentine V1 Gen2
Forward range	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	0.9 mi (Reported test result)¹⁴	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published
GPS lockouts	Automatic¹	None⁴	None⁵	None⁸	Automatic¹⁰	Automatic¹²	Automatic¹⁴	Automatic¹⁶	Automatic¹⁸	Automatic¹⁹	Automatic²¹	Automatic²²	Automatic²³	Manual⁸	Manual²⁵	Automatic⁸	Automatic²⁹	Automatic²²	Manual⁸
Directional arrows	Yes²	No⁴	No⁶	No⁸	No¹⁰	No¹³	No¹⁴	Yes¹⁷	Yes¹⁸	Yes²⁰	Yes²¹	Yes²²	No²⁴	No⁸	No²⁶	No²²	Yes²⁹	Yes³⁰	Yes²²
Rear range	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published
MultaRadar detection	Yes³	Not published	Not published	Not published	Yes¹⁰	Yes¹³	Yes¹⁴	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Yes²³	Not published	Yes²⁶	Not published	Not published	Yes³¹	Not published
Smartphone app	Yes²	Not published	No⁷	Yes⁹	Yes¹⁰	Yes¹²	Yes¹⁴	Not published	Yes¹⁸	Not published	Yes²¹	Not published	Not published	Not published	No²⁷	Yes²⁸	Not published	Yes³⁰	Not published
Bluetooth	Not published	Not published	No⁷	Yes⁹	Yes¹¹	Yes¹²	Yes¹⁵	Not published	Yes¹⁸	Yes¹⁹	Yes²¹	Not published	Yes²³	Not published	No²⁷	Yes²⁸	Not published	Yes³⁰	Not published
Voice alerts	Yes²	Not published	Not published	Yes⁹	Not published	Yes³²	Yes¹⁵	Not published	Yes¹⁸	Yes¹⁹	Yes²¹	Not published	Not published	Yes³³	Yes²⁷	Yes²⁸	Not published	Yes³¹	Not published
Radar bands detected	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm²	x, k, ka, laser⁴	X, K, and Ka radar bands, as well as laser⁷	X, K, and Ka radar bands, as well as laser³⁴	X, K, and Ka radar bands, laser (lidar) guns, and MultaRadar CD and CT¹⁰	X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz K-band 24.100 GHz ± 150 MHz Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth¹²	X, K, and Ka radar bands and laser (lidar) guns¹⁴	X, K and KA¹⁷	X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz K-band 24.150 GHz ± 100 MHz Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth³⁵	X-band, K-band, Ka-band, Laser²⁰	X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz K-band 24.150 GHz ± 100 MHz Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth³⁶	X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz K-band 24.100 GHz ± 150 MHz Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth³⁷	X, K, Ka, Gatso, MultaRadar Detection (MRCD, MRCT) Laser (LIDAR) Detection²³	Selectable X, K and Ka radar bands³³	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm²⁷	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm²⁸	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm²⁹	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm³⁰	X, K, Ka, and laser³⁸
Built-in GPS	Yes²	No⁴	No⁶	No³⁹	Yes¹⁰	Yes¹²	Yes¹⁴	Yes¹⁶	Yes¹⁸	Yes⁴⁰	Yes²¹	Yes²⁶	Yes⁴¹	Yes³³	Yes²⁷	Yes²⁸	Yes²⁹	Yes³¹	No⁸

Compare features

GPS lockoutsDirectional arrowsSmartphone appBluetoothReset requirements

19 products

Uniden R8

GPS lockouts: Automatic¹
Directional arrows: Yes²
Smartphone app: Yes²
Bluetooth: Not published

Cobra RAD 380

GPS lockouts: None⁴
Directional arrows: No⁴
Smartphone app: Not published
Bluetooth: Not published

Cobra RAD 390

GPS lockouts: None⁵
Directional arrows: No⁶
Smartphone app: No⁷
Bluetooth: No⁷

Cobra RAD 490i

GPS lockouts: None⁸
Directional arrows: No⁸
Smartphone app: Yes⁹
Bluetooth: Yes⁹

Cobra RAD 700i

GPS lockouts: Automatic¹⁰
Directional arrows: No¹⁰
Smartphone app: Yes¹⁰
Bluetooth: Yes¹¹

Escort MAX 3

GPS lockouts: Automatic¹²
Directional arrows: No¹³
Smartphone app: Yes¹²
Bluetooth: Yes¹²

Escort Max 4

GPS lockouts: Automatic¹⁴
Directional arrows: No¹⁴
Smartphone app: Yes¹⁴
Bluetooth: Yes¹⁵

Escort MAX 360

GPS lockouts: Automatic¹⁶
Directional arrows: Yes¹⁷
Smartphone app: Not published
Bluetooth: Not published

Escort MAX 360 MKII

GPS lockouts: Automatic¹⁸
Directional arrows: Yes¹⁸
Smartphone app: Yes¹⁸
Bluetooth: Yes¹⁸

Escort MAX 360c

GPS lockouts: Automatic¹⁹
Directional arrows: Yes²⁰
Smartphone app: Not published
Bluetooth: Yes¹⁹

Escort MAX 360c MKII

GPS lockouts: Automatic²¹
Directional arrows: Yes²¹
Smartphone app: Yes²¹
Bluetooth: Yes²¹

Escort Redline 360c

GPS lockouts: Automatic²²
Directional arrows: Yes²²
Smartphone app: Not published
Bluetooth: Not published

Radenso DS1

GPS lockouts: Automatic²³
Directional arrows: No²⁴
Smartphone app: Not published
Bluetooth: Yes²³

Radenso XP

GPS lockouts: Manual⁸
Directional arrows: No⁸
Smartphone app: Not published
Bluetooth: Not published

Uniden R3

GPS lockouts: Manual²⁵
Directional arrows: No²⁶
Smartphone app: No²⁷
Bluetooth: No²⁷

Uniden R4w

GPS lockouts: Automatic⁸
Directional arrows: No²²
Smartphone app: Yes²⁸
Bluetooth: Yes²⁸

Uniden R7

GPS lockouts: Automatic²⁹
Directional arrows: Yes²⁹
Smartphone app: Not published
Bluetooth: Not published

Uniden R8w

GPS lockouts: Automatic²²
Directional arrows: Yes³⁰
Smartphone app: Yes³⁰
Bluetooth: Yes³⁰

Valentine V1 Gen2

GPS lockouts: Manual⁸
Directional arrows: Yes²²
Smartphone app: Not published
Bluetooth: Not published

How they compare

Scroll the table to see every product and specification.

Specification	Our pickUniden R8	Cobra RAD 380	Cobra RAD 390	Cobra RAD 490i	Cobra RAD 700i	Escort MAX 3	Escort Max 4	Escort MAX 360	Escort MAX 360 MKII	Escort MAX 360c	Escort MAX 360c MKII	Escort Redline 360c	Radenso DS1	Radenso XP	Uniden R3	Uniden R4w	Uniden R7	Uniden R8w	Valentine V1 Gen2
Forward range	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	0.9 mi (Reported test result)¹⁴	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published
GPS lockouts	Automatic¹	None⁴	None⁵	None⁸	Automatic¹⁰	Automatic¹²	Automatic¹⁴	Automatic¹⁶	Automatic¹⁸	Automatic¹⁹	Automatic²¹	Automatic²²	Automatic²³	Manual⁸	Manual²⁵	Automatic⁸	Automatic²⁹	Automatic²²	Manual⁸
Directional arrows	Yes²	No⁴	No⁶	No⁸	No¹⁰	No¹³	No¹⁴	Yes¹⁷	Yes¹⁸	Yes²⁰	Yes²¹	Yes²²	No²⁴	No⁸	No²⁶	No²²	Yes²⁹	Yes³⁰	Yes²²
Rear range	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published
MultaRadar detection	Yes³	Not published	Not published	Not published	Yes¹⁰	Yes¹³	Yes¹⁴	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	Yes²³	Not published	Yes²⁶	Not published	Not published	Yes³¹	Not published
Smartphone app	Yes²	Not published	No⁷	Yes⁹	Yes¹⁰	Yes¹²	Yes¹⁴	Not published	Yes¹⁸	Not published	Yes²¹	Not published	Not published	Not published	No²⁷	Yes²⁸	Not published	Yes³⁰	Not published
Bluetooth	Not published	Not published	No⁷	Yes⁹	Yes¹¹	Yes¹²	Yes¹⁵	Not published	Yes¹⁸	Yes¹⁹	Yes²¹	Not published	Yes²³	Not published	No²⁷	Yes²⁸	Not published	Yes³⁰	Not published
Voice alerts	Yes²	Not published	Not published	Yes⁹	Not published	Yes³²	Yes¹⁵	Not published	Yes¹⁸	Yes¹⁹	Yes²¹	Not published	Not published	Yes³³	Yes²⁷	Yes²⁸	Not published	Yes³¹	Not published
Radar bands detected	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm²	x, k, ka, laser⁴	X, K, and Ka radar bands, as well as laser⁷	X, K, and Ka radar bands, as well as laser³⁴	X, K, and Ka radar bands, laser (lidar) guns, and MultaRadar CD and CT¹⁰	X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz K-band 24.100 GHz ± 150 MHz Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth¹²	X, K, and Ka radar bands and laser (lidar) guns¹⁴	X, K and KA¹⁷	X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz K-band 24.150 GHz ± 100 MHz Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth³⁵	X-band, K-band, Ka-band, Laser²⁰	X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz K-band 24.150 GHz ± 100 MHz Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth³⁶	X-band 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz K-band 24.100 GHz ± 150 MHz Ka-band 34.700 GHz ± 1300 MHz Laser 904nm, 33 MHz Bandwidth³⁷	X, K, Ka, Gatso, MultaRadar Detection (MRCD, MRCT) Laser (LIDAR) Detection²³	Selectable X, K and Ka radar bands³³	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm²⁷	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm²⁸	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm²⁹	X 10.525 GHz K 24.150GHz Ka 33.400 - 35.700 GHz Laser 800 nm - 1,100 nm³⁰	X, K, Ka, and laser³⁸
Built-in GPS	Yes²	No⁴	No⁶	No³⁹	Yes¹⁰	Yes¹²	Yes¹⁴	Yes¹⁶	Yes¹⁸	Yes⁴⁰	Yes²¹	Yes²⁶	Yes⁴¹	Yes³³	Yes²⁷	Yes²⁸	Yes²⁹	Yes³¹	No⁸