Cobra RAD 480i Laser Radar Detector – Long Range Detection, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Compatible, LaserEye Front and Rear Detection, Digital Signal Processing, Black

I just came back from a 1600 miles roundtrip to southern texas. The Cobra 700i worked like a charm. I'm not the speed racer, so I usually drive between 5 and 10 miles over the speed limit. The Scanner gives you advanced warnings and there werent many false alarms (I think I might have NOT spotted the Police). The only thing, it could be a bit louder but it's also very visible (Blinking orange) when it catches an alert.. Overall, I like the Scanner, it was at a decent price and it does what I wanted it to do. The Window mount is solid and easy, even at 103 deg F.. The Cord could be a bit longer, but doesn't bother me.

Other than adjusting sensitivity and preference in alerts this radar has exceeded my expectations, to say the least. It has saved me from multiple possible speeding tickets and has zero interference with police radars which I tested personally. I highly recommend anyone looking for a radar under $200 consider this product if they are looking for a highly reliable and customizable radar scanner. I will leave my details of operating the device below for anyone who might find it helpful. I recommend reading all details below if you are brand new or unfamiliar with using a radar scanner.Radar alerts (only ones that I recommend having enabled):Ka band, K band, low K band, LASER(all others can be disabled unless you know your local police use other radars such as SPECTRE or VG-2 (radar scanner detectors), X band(outdated),Sensitivity:I highly recommend using the Cobra App on your phone. I ALWAYS use "auto" sensitivity. What "auto" does is change the sensitivity from low, medium, or high depending on your speed. Low: 20MPH or lower. Medium: 20-60MPH. High: 60MPH+.If you are out in the middle of nowhere and just like knowing if there is any cop near, I recommend leaving it on high. Keep in mind, radar scanners ONLY detect active-seeking police radars. The scanner will not alert you simply of a police presence near by.Good all-round volume level:5-7 (volume scroll) If you have music on and/or big subs, definitely use max volumeCommunity Alerts/road construction/red-light cameras:Leave all enabled (very rarely pop up unless you live around a lot of red-light cameras, then it will most certainly annoy you)Other preferences that I find useful:Smart power: offVoltage display: onLow-voltage warning: on (12V or lower)Auto-mute: on (does not actually mute unless it's K band, just lowers the volume to a tolerable level for Ka)Screensaver: on (more gentle in low-light conditions)Phone notifications: Off (radar alerts can be forwarded to your phone, or stay on the radar for audible alerts, it cannot be both)Mounting position:Just below the center rear-view mirror but not so that the rear LASER detector is blocked.Image: https://i.imgur.com/XsUByVh.jpeg (copy & paste link into browser).I personally had to sync my radar before making any adjustments to the device. After the phone is set up to connect whenever you turn the radar & app on, it will auto-sync (except for sensitivity preferences, you will have to switch to auto manually after turning it on). I have app GPS usage to "Only when app is open".I hope other customers find this review helpful!Edit: Nothing is perfect. There are times when if there is nothing for the radar waves to bounce off of you might be in for a surprise full-alert warning. This radar can detect police radars sometimes miles ahead, and other times it won't go off until you're at the same stoplight as them. The way radar scanners work is very dependable on your surroundings and it is key that you not only know what is going on around you (for any reason you might need a police radar detector) to maximize the detector's efficiency and your chance at being "caught".

This radar detector works amazingly, it detects the KA band at least half a mile or less. Although it seems to throw many false K band alerts, it was easy to configure it in the settings. I love the LED screen that it works on, it makes it a lot easier to identify band is alerting at night! Very good product, I've recommended it to many of my friends!

Replaced my old Cobra with this. The detector works great but the app needs alot of work.

I wanted so badly to like this detector but ultimately I think it will get returned. I picked up a used version and immediately ran into an issue. This device was linked to someone else's account so I couldn't use it with the Drive Smarter app. But Cobra support was able to fix this for me and I got it setup.The detector itself seems pretty good. I would say range seems to be on par with a Uniden R3 I had but it seems to false less than that detector even without turning off features or blocking parts of bands. The buttons on the top are easy to use and in a weird way I kind of like the old school volume wheel. The magnetic mount is amazing!But unfortunately I picked this up for the app integration with AA and it is downright terrible. The first issue is this is the only AA app I have used that I have to first open on my phone for it to work. At first I thought I could just leave it open to avoid this issue but the detector connects to the phone and doesn't reconnect when I return to the car. At least not for me. But often the detector just discounts during a drive. So you no longer get radar details on your AA screen or speed limit info on the device. Though I will say the later barely works even when connected. But the deal breaker for me is the mapping software. Cedar opted to go with Mapbox and in my area these maps are super outdated and the routing is suspect. I first noticed that some routes were strange, then I realized you have no control like you do with Google maps or Waze. So you can't say avoid freeways, toll roads etc...you get what you get and it isn't always right. Further when I would deviate from its route it seemed to take a while to reroute me. 95% of the time this would be ok since I don't need guidance to get to and from work but those other times it is annoying. To give you an idea how old their data is, these maps show a gas station that closed pre pandemic. I was really hoping this app was going to be a better option than Waze and tie in the detectors alerts but it just doesn't cut it. If you are looking for a budget detector that has decent range and you don't care about the app... maybe this is good for you but you may want to look for an R3. For me I will likely get an R4 or R8 and use a third party app for integration though not to AA.