R8 Companion
Developed by Angela Mcarthur | Last updated: June 2, 2024
R8 Companion is an utilities app, developed by Angela Mcarthur, available on iOS and Android since its release in August 2023. The updated version 1.08.13 is now available to download, compatible with iOS 12.0+ and Android 10+. Before downloading this app, let's quickly review what R8 Companion has to offer.
About R8 Companion
R8 Companion™ is a feature rich app, designed to give you the most out of your R8 radar detector, while enhancing your driving experience along the way. Featuring intelligent alerts and advanced muting! R8 Companion™ is the COMPLETE solution to enjoying your R8.
The R8 Companion™ app leverages years of optimizations and features from V1 Companion™ (Available separately on the app store for owners of the Valentine One radar locator).
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.
NOTE: R8 Companion™ requires a Uniden R8 radar detector with US Version 127 firmware to function correctly.
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 meters 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. The HUD is color coded between real threats & muted false signals.
• 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 (See below list, more detector settings coming in free future upgrades). *Requires US Version 127 firmware:
All Threat
Quiet Ride
Limit Speed
K BLK 1
K BLK 2
Rear K Mute
Units
Laser
X Band
K Band
K Pop
K Filter
K Scans
TSF
Ka Band
Ka Pop
Ka Filter
Ka Scans (Narrow, Wide, Segmented)
Ka 1-9 Segments
Auto Mute Volume
Change Alert Display NOTE: A bug in firmware makes it so you have to select #3 from the detector.
Display Color
Display Brightness
Priority Band
Auto Mute Memory ON/OFF
Select Auto Mute Memory Bands
• '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.
What's new in version 1.08.13
"Feels like a new detector!", -e This is what people are saying after using R8 Companion™ - See what all the fuss is about, try it for yourself!
If you liked R8 Companion before this release, you are going to LOVE it after! This update features the ability to modify the most popular settings on your R8 radar detector right from the app! See the list below for a complete list of the settings you can modify (more settings coming in future updates). Spread the word, it is only going to get better. If you have an idea / suggestion you would like included in a future update, please visit https://crackedpixel.com/contact-us to let us know. Thanks!
Version 1.08 Updates:
• Fixed bug when "Detector Tones" are enabled to play through the app and the laser tone would not play.
• Various improvements and enhancements to voice announcements.
Other recent updates prior to 1.08:
• Added the option to have the radar detector's alert tones play through the app. The new setting is found in the 'Audio Settings' of R8 Companion.
• The app will read your detector's settings for each signal type's alert tone (1-12) and use the associated alert tone within the app for alerts.
• Fixed issue when using the largest system and/or bold font would cut off/wrap some UI text.
***TIP: Setting the main volume for the detector to 0 on the main alert screen and enabling the detector alert tones, will eliminate the brief audio "blips" you would normally hear when a mute command is first sent to the detector. Only potential threats will then trigger audio through your speaker or audio system providing an extremely quiet ride.
• Improved Bluetooth connection speed (now up to 60% faster) and re-connection reliability.
• New 'Alert History' formatting.
• Improved 'quiet ride' / 'GPS mute' system.
• If GPS is turned off/doesn't connect on the detector, the app will default to the iPhone GPS providing a more precise GPS experience.
• New 'GPS Warmup' feature that keeps the detector quiet for a 'user set' number of seconds or until a GPS connection is established with your detector and/or iPhone. Useful for parking garages etc.
• New ability to unlock a Ka 'mute mem' or 'auto mem' from within the app.
• Added ability to turn ON/OFF announcements for when the SpotLocks system locks a location (New setting can be found on the audio settings screen).
• Tuned existing K-Notch for Acuras/Hondas based on historical data.
• Added ability to tun ON/OFF the function of SpotLocks automatically writing the location to your detector's "manual mute" memory when a locked SpotLock is created (This setting is found on the map screen).
• Added volume adjustment sliders for the detector's main and mute volume levels to the main alert screen.
• Added the ability view and change the R8 mode between Advanced, Highway, City and Auto to the main alert screen.
• Added a new state for the 'mute button' on the main alert screen. It will now show when the detector is no longer receiving a signal, but is still displaying it on the detector (known as 'signal latch'). The 'mute button' will show "Sig Latch" to signify the signal is no longer being detected.
• Added a new R8 settings screen to modify some of the more popular R8 settings (more to come in future updates). The list of settings that can be modified are as follows:
• Laser ON/OFF
• X Band ON/OFF
• K Band ON/OFF
• K Pop ON/OFF
• K Filter ON/OFF
• K Scans (Narrow, Wide, Extended)
• TSF ON/OFF
• Ka Band ON/OFF
• Ka Pop ON/OFF
• Ka Filter ON/OFF
• Ka Scans (Narrow, Wide, Segmented)
• Ka 1-9 Segs ON/OFF
• Auto Mute Volume ON/OFF
• Change Alert Display (#1, #2, #3 - NOTE: Bug in firmware makes it so you have to select #3 from the detector. The firmware won't read or write display option #3).
• Select Display Color
• Select Display Brightness
• Select Priority Band
• Auto Mute Memory ON/OFF
• Select Auto Mute Memory Bands
Download the R8 Companion App
R8 Companion has an IPA/APK download size of 10 MB on its latest version. R8 Companion costs $9.99 to download. Ready to install? Ensure you have at least 12 MB of storage space available, then tap the button or scan the QR code below to start the download process!
Ranking History in App Store (U.S)
Changelog
Compatibility
- iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 Pro
- Old devices: iPhone X/SE/8/7/6
- iPad Pro
- iPad Mini
Review: Very responsive
Developer is very responsive to my questions and suggestions. Much appreciated. App is terrific! Makes Uniden's R8 far more useable....
By Seetom
Review: Extremely happy
I’ve been very happy with R8 Companion, makes my r8 much quieter. I do have 2 features I’d like...
By Phillip Le
Review: Absolutely the best app for the R8
Can’t drive without this app.
By HeyItsJosh'
Review: Must have.
I’m really enjoying this app so far. It does seem like it is a must have app that will...
By gpsBrad
Review: My R8's Best Friend
Handy to use and packed with settings to tune your experience. I manually close my apps when done with them...
By mrstinkypantstoyou