R8 Companion Customer ServiceAngela Mcarthur

R8 Companion Customer Service

  1. R8 Companion Customer Service
  2. R8 Companion App Comments & Reviews (2026)
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The R8 Companion™ app leverages 5+ years of historical data in its acclaimed 'Advanced False Assist' filtering engine, detector optimizations and shared features from the Radar Companion™ series of apps. (Available separately for owners of the V1, R4, R9, & DS1 radar detectors). The filtering engine is updated on a regular basis from accumulated real world usage data for better filtering against falses, and protection against real threats.

R8 Companion™ is a feature rich app, designed to give you the most out of your R8, while enhancing your driving experience along the way. It is extremely easy to get up and running. Featuring intelligent alerts and advanced muting! R8 Companion™ is the COMPLETE solution to enjoying your R8.

NOTE: R8 Companion™ requires a Uniden R8 or R8w radar detector with US Version 141 (R8) or 137 (R8w) firmware (or earlier) to function correctly. R8 Companion will NOT function correctly without the appropriate firmware for each detector.

Enhanced GPS location based 'false muting' via SpotLocks - All future updates to this app are free to purchasers of R8 Companion.

R8 Companion's alerting and muting systems are fully optimized for the R8 platform. Intelligent voice announcements and on-screen visuals will always keep you informed and aware of the situation around you.

R8 Companion full feature list:
• SpotLocks - Location based false silencing has never been this good or easy. Turn on the intelligent location-based learning and let R8 Companion™ do the rest. Or you can manually 'lock' or 'unlock' locations with ease from the main alert screen.
• SpotLocks works seamlessly with your R8’s built in 'auto mute memory' locations. If you create or delete a location from the app it will apply the changes to your R8 at the same time.
• Option to play detector tones in app.
• 'Proximity' meter - leverages the high resolution signal strength and direction information provided by the detector to show you a better representation of the signal's source.
• 'K & X falses in area' meter shows you how many possible false alerts exist in the area you are travelling based on the accumulated SpotLock data™.
• 'Custom Phrases' for a given threat's audio announcements.
• High resolution meter for the priority alert (Not limited to the # of bars on the R8 display).
• Customizable heads-up display (HUD).
• HUD displays the priority alert's band, signal strength, frequency, & direction.
• HUD of the secondary alerts' bands, signal strengths, frequencies, bogey counts & directions.
• Mute rear K & X band signals independently.
• Advanced BSM/CAS/Ka False Muting (Optimized for the R8 platform).
• Ability to set the R8’s internal detector settings from within the app. No need for different apps to modify your detector settings. Do it all from the companion app.
• 'Ghost' muting quiets false alerts when you are stuck traveling near a false emitting vehicle.
• "Passive Mute™"- Quiets the R8 below user set speeds & during weak K & X signals.
• Bogey count display showing total number of threats.
• Vehicle speed (MPH or KMH) display. Speed is color coded for each alert type.
• Mute status with the ability to manually mute/unmute alerts as you need.
• Detailed & intelligent voice announcements of direction, band, frequency, strength, number of alerts, occurrences of mixed signals and more.
• Automatic muting of Ka, K, and X bands ('Time before mute' set for each band).
• 'Reduce Speed' notification for user set speed.
• ‘Urgency Alerts™’ - Unmutes growing threats & announces these alerts via voice & notifications.
• ‘Alert History’ - View your past alerts with detailed information about each encounter.
• Compass heading.
• Imperial/metric units.
• Detailed trip summary at the end of your ride including duration, distance, alerts, muting stats, battery, and more.
• iPhone & Apple Watch notifications of direction, band, & frequency of each alert.
• Tips/Help system.

Speed limit data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)

R8 Companion App Comments & Reviews

R8 Companion Positive Reviews

Fantastic AppI'm really surprised reading some of the problems people have with this app. I NEVER leave app reviews. I'm not a radar detector enthusiast. In fact I got here after getting fed up with Escort which was all I ever used all the way back to the original Passport days. When I switched to the R8, the performance was a little better than my Escort it was replacing, but not enough to make up for how chatty the R8 was out of the box. I did my research. I started making the recommended setting changes (which was a PITA doing it on the detector), then I found this app. Most apps designed to work with a product are bells and whistles to wow you a little bit more about your new toy but do nothing to improve it (think the factory Uniden App). This app not only makes the R8 the product it should have been out of the box by way of user interface and display but it SIGNIFICANTLY improves the performance of the detector while making false alerts nearly non existent. Uniden should make the developer of this app a wealthy person and buy the rights to it to include with all of their products and get rid of the app they developed. This is THAT good..Version: 1.25.9

Best app on the marketI bought an R8 after owning a R3 for 3+years and I love my R3. After seeing the reviews on the 8 I decided to try it out. Noticed it was very chatty at first but after adjusting some settings it was much better. I found this app looking for Uniden items in the App Store. Noticed it was not free so originally was very hesitant to purchase this app. Best decision I ever made. I drive 4 hours a day round trip and it’s mostly highway I am on. I do speed enough to get pulled over 10 to 15 mph over. My R3 has saved me many times but was chatty. This new R8 with this app is silent the whole way home now. Friday night on the way home a highway patrol car was going in the opposite direction and I was getting a KA warning so I decided to slow down. About 2 miles for driving I passed him and was doing 5 over. Highly recommend this app. The price point is definitely worth it if you want a silent ride and ease of use..Version: 1.11.26

Absolute Masterpiece. A Top 3 App Out of 700+ on My iPhone.I rarely feel compelled to leave reviews, but after extensive testing and keeping over 700 apps on my device, R8 Companion stands firmly in my top three of all time. If you are serious about radar detection and own a Uniden R8, this is not just an optional accessory—it is an absolute necessity. What Angela Mcarthur has built here completely transforms the R8 platform. Out of the box, the R8 is an incredible detector, while better than most, it can be notoriously noisy with false alerts. This app fixes that flawlessly. The Advanced False Assist engine, Ghost Muting, and the incredibly intelligent, bidirectional SpotLocks function seamlessly. It gives you a quiet ride without sacrificing a single inch of long-range protection. The high-resolution proximity meter, the brand new MyRadarIQ threat assessment graphics, and the background voice announcements provide vastly superior situational awareness compared to the stock screen. The only true way to improve this app is the exact feature we need most: full Apple CarPlay integration. With the developer’s recent promise to bring a dedicated CarPlay layout to an upcoming update, my expectations are incredibly high. Bringing this level of developer dedication directly to the in-dash screen will make an already flawless experience completely unbeatable. I would have never imagined saying something like this, but, as much as I detest subscription-based apps, I would gladly pay a monthly or annual subscription fee if that’s what it took to keep this app fresh and updated! To the dev: Thank you for your relentless work, the consistent real-world data updates, and for keeping future updates free. You didn't just build a companion app; you built the definitive R8 experience. Simply phenomenal work..Version: 1.31.7

Fixes the R8I've used this now for over a year and I'd be lying if I said this wasn't worth the money. I always have this app open in the background on my phone and it makes the detector far more bearable than without. the best feature this offers besides the improved Spotlock auto-lockout system is the auto-mute settings with options to select how long the signal warning sounds play based on strength and frequency. i basically cant run the detector without this apps functions running alongside it. I only wish there was a firmware version of it as it would be nice to have the features onboard the unit, seeing as Uniden doesn't seem to prioritize functional updates lately..Version: 1.22.14

Giant speedometerI’ve been using this app for a while it works great. I really have only one thing I would like to see changed… Please make it to where we can either disable or change that giant speedometer in the middle of the screen to something else, it’s visible from every car around me, including what could be a potential police car not running radar I would love to be able to either turn it off or switch it to something else. When an alert goes off the speedometer shrinks to the corner of the screen, which seems to be a perfect place for it. Other than that, it’s been great!.Version: 1.28.2

Fantastic App!This app takes the already stellar R8 detector to a whole new level! I’m still learning everything this app can do, but straight out of the gate it adds tremendous functionality with barely any need to learn the features, as the default settings are perfect for my needs. As you start investigating the app you will find a plethora of functionality that simply works as it should. The app is stable and connects reliably every time. I absolutely love it and actually get excited to hop in the truck with the R8 detector and R8 Companion! I know it sounds silly, but it’s true!😂.Version: 1.09.9

Additional Features EquestrianI’m in the process of upgrading my detector from an R7 to the R8. Main reason is I own several Mac computers and it is a real hassle to upgrade firmware. For this reason I was looking at the Escort 360c because it has automatic downloads, apparently via the iPhone to the web. A real good upgrade to your software would be to add the ability to download Uniden upgrade via wireless or BTB. I’d be willing to pay more for your app. In the meantime, I decided to spend more money tp buy a cheap PC which I probably won’t use for at least a year. An affition to an auto download to your app. Would have saved me $$. Re: BT, does the R8 show up on iPhone BT? Don’t see anything listed on iPhone..Version: 1.13.3

Phenomenal AppI’ve never written a review for an app before but this single app has forced me to change that. I had my R8 for around a year before bluetooth support for iOS was added to the radar. Since I got the app, it really is like a whole new radar. It fixed almost every single issue I had with it. At first i was skeptical about spending another $10 after I spent $700 on the device itself, but without a doubt it is worth it. Great job and great app. Please stay on top of making new updates and not forgetting about the r8 community!.Version: 1.25.9

Better than bad, it’s goodWorks great and makes the detector even quieter. Setup was a breeze and so far it has connected to the detector every time without issue. It takes a few minutes to understand the capabilities added by the app. I like the trip overviews when the detector disconnects. I’m not sure if there’s a way to bring a trip summary back up however. There’s a detection log but there’s info in the summary popup not in the log (distance, time, spotlocks added, etc). Interface is a bit clunky/unrefined but the functionality is excellent..Version: 1.06.28

Works Very Well with my R8!I have been using this app for about 2 weeks and love it. Set my speed alert to 80 and it just works. This app had blocked out a lot of the annoying fake alerts and has made the R8 even quieter. The only issue I have had is that is does not consistently connect to the R8. I need to close the app and restart it. Other than that no other issues. Well worth the purchase!.Version: 1.05.7

One major thing I don’t like.So, app is fine, does what I’d expect. But, what I do hate about it is that I don’t want my speed flashing at me the whole time. I have my dash, I have my heads-up, and the changing speed on the phone is actually distracting. If there is a way to eliminate that, I can’t find it .i don’t want yet another map in front of me so, the interface main screen, can’t stand it. I like have the app open for the feedback when something is picked up but, I just don’t use it be side of the main screen. Am I missing someway to configure the speed to be off?.Version: 1.25.9

It turns my music down on AlertsI have the volume of the app to 0 and whenever the radar picks something up it’s turns my music volume down on my car to about 20% and than it goes back up to 100% volume to what I had my music playing so the problem isn’t the voice app speaking it’s just I have it muted and it still turns my music down as if where speaking which it’s not it’s just annoying if you have a fix let me know I’ll change it to 5 stars.Version: 1.09.9

Inadvertent purchaseTrying to send a message to Angela. I inadvertently purchased the R8 app and should have purchased the R4 which I also did. I just received the Uniden R4W and inadvertently selected and purchased the R8 app. I quickly realized I should have purchased the R4 app. I am very happy with the R4 app, which I am keeping. I deleted the R8 app and requested a refund for the R8 app through Apple. Thank for your help in advance. I will review the R4 app through there..Version: 1.22.14

Upgrades an already amazing radar!The uniden R8 was already powerful enough but thanks to this app, it makes its use seamless for the average user. I am a noob to radars so I needed an app that made my life easier to understand alerts and set the advanced settings up for me. This is THE app to get. The only thing I would ask is that they one day expand beyond the apple App Store for other devices. Highly recommended 👍🏼.Version: 1.21.1

Great appHelps me get the most out of my R8 and very easy to use. I've been using for awhile now and while I enjoy a quiet ride, I haven't missed any real alerts. Appreciate that it has audio through carplay. Fingers crossed you'll be able to have a carplay app some day. I've read your response to this previously. Just adding my vote. And I would also pay an in app fee for it to help offset your dev costs..Version: 1.09.9

Expert Level SettingsFor $10 you can save yourself a day or a few learning and understanding RF and the environment unique to law enforcement. Even seasoned experts could learn a thing or two after running this apps settings brought ChatGPT for analysis- Chat basically called it genius. Buy it and forget it. Run the app during use and the settings change based on GPS input, state by state and even Canada..Version: 1.25.9

Is this really my R8???I have been a Uniden guy since the R3. Upgraded to the R7 and loved it! Then upgraded to the R8 and loved it even more. Now that I have this app, it takes the R8 to a whole new level and it’s worth its weight in gold! If you haven’t purchased this app, you will never know what you’re missing. Total game changer and thankful for this developer for doing it right without bugs!!!.Version: 1.07.21

Repetitive change log gets annoyingOkay so the app is fantastic, but the developer repeatedly spamming the update log with an irrelevant quote from one specific review for like a year now is getting insanely old. We get it, that’s what that person had to say. Put it in the description of the app itself and let it go. Update notes are for changes and fixes, not to grab attention for potential users..Version: 1.20.2

Great App and worth the money.Feature request: my r8 always has power through mirror tap. Don't have accessories tap in this location unfortunately. Therefore, I have the r8 to auto shutdown after 1hour to conserve car battery. While I'm home during this 1 hour, the r8 app keeps connecting and disconnecting. Any possibility to avoid this?.Version: 1.11.26

Great app… when it worksI recently started using this app and it’s great, however, there have been many times recently where I have to turn Bluetooth on and off on my Uniden R8 for it to actually connect again. (EDIT: Deleted other r/tach app from Uniden off my phone and issue is still occurring every week or so randomly. Never had issue with that app. Connection still dropping randomly with R8 Companion app. No other apps connecting to detector.).Version: 1.20.2

Awesome but one thingReally great job with the app. Much needed for my R8. I initially installed on an older iPhone 6 and it worked but it kept blinking and cutting connection to the radar. I then installed on an iPhone 11 and issues were resolved. I have this app running on my spare phone and I run Waze on my primary phone. Love it! Thank you for creating this app..Version: 1.06.28

A great companionThis app connects effortlessly, provides a lot of information, and controls the detector when you want to make a quick change to the settings. Thank you developers for adding speed limit to the screen. It's a work in progress but adds to the value!.Version: 1.26.31

Awesome Uniden R8 App !!!!!!!!!!Finally someone Made a App for iso users to use with there Uniden R8 Thank you soooooooo much the App is awesome and a love it …. I’m sure you’ll be adding new features and stuff as time goes on . It was super easy to hook up to the Uniden R8 . Whoever made this, you are a genius !!!!! You took the uniden R8 to a whole Nother level. Wish I could give you 100 star review..Version: 1.08.13

Bluetooth ConnectivityI sent a massage to app support and never received a response, so I will post the issue I’m having here. Looks like app support is responding here. My Bluetooth only randomly connects to the app. Maybe around 20% of the time. Rest of the time I have to open the app to connect to the device via Bluetooth which is annoying. The app used to connect seamlessly in the background prior to the last update..Version: 1.22.14

Really nice app, only one thing would make it better.Love using this app, great interface & it gives you the ability to set many options, also quiets false alerts well. Only thing missing would be CarPlay integration where you could see alerts on your infotainment screen. Maybe they will include that in a future update..Version: 1.21.1

Audio needs help tuningOverall the app is great but I noticed that while my phone is Bluetooth connected to the car, and I go ahead and mute a false alert, the music would soften a bit and stay soften after the app reads aloud that I muted the alert. I like that I can hear the alerts while I’m listening to my music but would like the volume to resume back after the audio alert finishes talking.Version: 1.18.2

R8 radar detectorI'm really impressed with the radar pretty nice decent little radar. nice app as well giving the details of each way and really helpful that i can make changes and adjustments just from my phone really easy to hook up connection as well highly recommend.Version: 1.17.2

Great work with a suggestionLove the app! Would love to have better control over which push notifications I get… there are only certain ones I care about. Would love to see a more organized UI too. Great app functionality though!!.Version: 1.20.2

Worth the purchaseThe R8 is a good detector, but way too ‘busy’ with alerts on weak signals. This app filters the junk out and mostly only alerts on the real signals. Really improves situational awareness. One star off due to an audio glitch with CarPlay (sometimes music stays muted after an alert, workaround is to select ‘test audio’ in the app, then the music will resume).Version: 1.26.31

MUST HAVEI just bought my r8 and I know nothing about radar detectors, this app knocks down your false alerts by probably 80 percent it’s a must have if your tired of getting false alerts, plus there’s a bunch of cool and useful settings much easier than using the detector..Version: 1.09.9

Extremely happyI’ve been very happy with R8 Companion, makes my r8 much quieter. I do have 2 features I’d like to request. 1. Toggle to disable connection/disconnect notifications. 2. Option to force audio to play on phone speaker even with Bluetooth device connected.Version: 1.08.13

Outstanding App! But…Hopefully the app will let us update the R8 from the App directly. Like check to see if there has been an update from Uniden, and download the update to the iPhone, then upload the update into the R8. That would be the cherry on the cake. Hey, one can hope. 🙏😎.Version: 1.10.46

FabulousNew to the R8. It is so sensitive that it alerts almost constantly with superfluous radar alerts. The R8 Companion is a whole new level. All the annoying alerts are channeled elsewhere and the important ones receive priority. This is a must have app for your R8..Version: 1.13.3

Helpful AppHelpful app with a lot of features. Will help quiet your R8 with more options than the detector itself offers. Organization of functions and screen layout could be better. Would be nice to have more granular control over specific audio alerts that play over Bluetooth..Version: 1.11.26

Inaccurate GPS SpeedometerI like the app but the GOA speedometer is not accurate. When the speedometer on the vehicle reads 40 MPH and the GPS speedometer on the R8W reads 40 MPH the R8 Companion app says 45 MPH. When the speedometer on the vehicle and R8W both read 80 MPH the R8 Companion app reads 90 MPH. I have looked through the settings for a way to correct this but there does not appear to be a setting for this. I have no idea why this is happening..Version: 1.25.9

Great StartGreat start to this app. Really enjoying the ride. Makes everything more quiet and make the R8 feel like a new detector! I can’t wait to have some live activity’s and time sensitive notifications built in, so this can run in the background..Version: 1.03.14

Connected finallyAfter I updated my r8w I tried connecting and it wouldn’t connect… Until I turned it off and then turned it back on and it connected right away..Version: 1.32.4

R8 CompanionLove the R8 app. Also have this app for my V1G2. Too bad they wont open up the RL360c lol. Question on Spotlocks. If Spotlocks marks a location, and there happens to be a LEO shooting K band radar hidden at that location, will I still get an alert, or is the entire location locked out? Thanks!.Version: 1.24.21

Must have.I’m really enjoying this app so far. It does seem like it is a must have app that will make life simpler to configure the R8. One question I have is can this app handle multiple installations of the R8? We have two vehicles with an R8 in each vehicle..Version: 1.07.21

If you wan a very quiet r8 this is itWhen you first get a radar detector it can be very painful to get all of your mute memories in with the app I can confidently say it has been a breeze. Went from a noisy r7 to a silent r8 game changer..Version: 1.03.14

Great appI don’t use this app a lot, but the app make it easier for me to adjust my setting on my R8. Look forward to see when get could fully optimized for CarPlay where I could see map and setting on my infotainment.Version: 1.27.61

I love the RA My Son has the R7. It does get a little longer range not saying the RA is no slacker tI love my unit would never go back to escort. I had to escort I had to escort max 316 mark two unit RANR7 even R4 blows escort out of the water.Version: 1.25.9

Export log requestA fantastic, required app, if you own a Uniden R8. I am hoping the author will consider adding a way to easily export the log in .csv, so that reviewing events can be easily reviewed and saved on a pc..Version: 1.15.5

Works as intendedAuto mutes for you, good features, only gripe is in the car it plays the sound from the app as if it was music and not navigation..Version: 1.03.14

Awesome AppMakes the R8 just that much better. Would love to see a CarPlay function so I could display the data from the phone on the headunit!.Version: 1.26.31

A definite must have app with R8Definitely made the radar more user-friendly. And it quieted the radar down quite a bit..Version: 1.21.1

It works I haven’t mastered it yet.It works. It’s complicated there’s a lot of instructions. I’m very satisfied but it’s like learning a mini course or from the school of life..Version: 1.09.9

R8 CompanionMakes my R8 feel like a brand new detector. Love the voice alerts over the sound system in my vehicle. I enjoy listening to music at higher volumes so I don’t always hear my detector. Also makes it super easy to change settings and every single setting has an information tab so you know exactly what it does. Spot lock gets smarter and smarter every time you drive and the app has blocked out every weak K band alert since I got it. Awesome app and I’m sure it’ll only get better. Totally worth the price.Version: 1.06.28

Great addition for the R8This is a must have app for R8 users. Makes your ride much more soothing by helping quiet down all those extra K signals..Version: 1.02.13

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R8 Companion iPhone Images
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