Top positive review
122 people found this helpful
It’s a solid weather radio, and everyone should have one.
By Phoenix Lain on Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2023
I able to figure out how to program it without even reading the directions, but I did go back and read up all the details to see if I missed anything. It actually has a lot of different alert options from visual, sound, and voice. The AM/FM works, although I imagine your reception has more to do with your location and surroundings than it does the radio. I see people complaining about it not giving off alerts, did you not choose your state and county? There’s no way it doesn’t go off unless somehow you screwed up when you were programming it. It’s not a smart radio, it doesn’t have GPS to locate your exact coordinates, so it won’t give you alerts without programming it. As long as you choose your state and county, you can know with certainty it’ll work. The S.A.M.E stations are pretty easy to check as there’s only handful of national codes, and depending on your region, the same codes can/will be different for someone in New York vs someone in Texas. I was able to pick up around 4-5 different codes (areas) within my state by moving the antenna around. I found most of them to be pretty similar in content outside of one that is located around 200+ miles away. The others were all about the same as far as areas covered and updates given. Check out the NOAA website and you can input your exact address. It’ll show you an interactive map, and show you the closest stations to you, the areas that your location is part of, and other relevant information. I suggest keeping batteries in it, and leaving it plugged in; as in the batteries should only power this radio whenever you’re without power. Some reviews complain about battery life, but if you have power, why would you ever waste batteries? I just don’t understand. It’s 4 AA batteries, not 4 C or D cell batteries. You can’t expect months out of a radio with this many features powered only by 4 AA batteries. That should be common sense. I spent a few hours messing with it, and left it on after setting it up. After about 5 hours, it still shows a full battery. (Batteries used: Duracell Optimum AA) After that I decided to plug it in, and leave it on my kitchen counter. That way when the power does go out, it’ll have batteries already in it, and it’ll be ready to go. At the end of the day, this is a weather radio.. with FM/AM radio/alarm clock features. Meaning this is a weather radio first and foremost, I don’t really care about the alarm clock, the AM/FM radio is a nice bonus, but I probably won’t use it for that to be honest. Living close to the Gulf of Mexico, I believe it’s a must to have weather radio for hurricane/tropical storm preparation. Hopefully I never have to use it, but if I do, then I’ll certainly be glad to have it. I don’t think you really put a price on peace of mind, but for me I’d say it’s worth it. Not only for peace of mind, but all things considered, it feels quality, and it performs well through the number of tests I ran it through. The alerts are loud. I’d suggest not keeping this in your bedroom, and especially not by your nightstand. I keep mine in my kitchen, and I can easily hear it from my bedroom; so just something to keep in mind. PS: To those upset about it shipping in the manufactures box; check before you buy. Amazon will warn you if the item ships in the manufacturers box. It’s literally right above the “place order” button, and it’s hard to miss. For something like this I don’t mind much to be honest. It arrived safely. Sometimes it gets thrown around more when it’s put into a larger Amazon box, so I only make sure to hide what’s inside when the item noticeably valuable, like a printer, security cameras, or a PS5. Mark the item as a gift if you wish to hide the contents, and it’ll ship in an Amazon box.
Top critical review
68 people found this helpful
Don't Purchase Without Reading First - You May Not Want this Any Longer
By Andrew Scott on Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2024
I have previously owned the Midland WR300 for almost 20 years before it finally died so I decided to purchase the WR400 as this seemed like a refined version of my previous model. On the surface, it's the same size and weight, uses the same (4) AA batteries for backup power (User Supplied) and the same antenna. The power supply has gone from the old transformer power supply to a lightweight switching supply. Programming was super easy. I never needed to touch the user manual and was able to setup the radio in less than 5 minutes including programming AM/FM presets. What I absolutely hate about this radio are the following: 1) The rotary volume knob on the right side of the radio is VERY hard to adjust to low volume levels. I could have gotten by this if this was the only item but then there are (2) more. 2) The LCD display, while very nice to look at, the backlighting cannot be turned off. Your only options are several different levels of brightness. The backlight will eventually burn out if left on 24x7. 3) The final and a total deal breaker for me is that the Alert Tone volume CANNOT be lowered. The Alert Tone volume as measured on my Triplett SoniCheck PRO Sound Meter is 92-99db. This is in the hearing damaging range! At 20 feet away, it's still 82-85db and again, still in the hearing damaging range of over 70db. My first day unboxing this I had 9 weather alerts and the first one about knocked me out of my chair. I'm sorry, this along is a major deal breaker for me, even if this was the only thing wrong with the design. I also had a few issues were after the radio was programmed and working, the radio stopped receiving the weather and when I pressed the button on the top of the radio, it would not switch to open squelch to allow me to hear the weather broadcast even know the signal strength meter showed full signal. I tested the NOAA broadcast on my regular VHF marine radio and it received it perfect right along side of it so it wasn't a reception issue. Removing the batteries and unplugging the unit, then reprogramming resolved that issue but it happened again 2 more times. Also the alert feature trying to set the radio to visual or voice alert did not change anything and still the loud alert tone was there on all (3) settings. I was going to opt for a replacement radio but these other items were deal breakers for me even if these items were resolved on a replacement radio. I tried contacting Midland Radio by phone and they no longer answer their phone and only have a recording that directs you to their website where you have to open a ticket through email or on their support portal. This is another deal breaker for me. Midland has always had great phone support that you can actually talk to someone. No more! I submitted an email to support and they did respond in 2 hours & 16 minutes of my message. That they did well. Their response to the Alert tone not being able to be adjusted with the volume knob was, "1. The WR400 does not have the ability to lower the alert volume. We are hoping this feature comes back on future models, but for now, the one alert tone is all we have. ". Note to Midland Radio: 1) Allow for Alert Tone volume to be adjusted by the user from levels barely heard to as loud as you want, but do not just give a user 2 or 5 options. This should be able to be set to as low as the user wants. 2) Allow an option for NO Alert Tone and allow the radio to simply just turn on and play the NOAA weather alert tones that they transmit before the warning is spoken over the NOAA broadcast. This volume would be at the user selected volume with the volume control dial. 3) Allow for the displays backlighting to be able to not only be dimmed, but be able to be set to "Off" until a button is pressed or an alert is received. This not only saves the backlighting lamp but also saves power which is essential if you are running in battery backup mode. Some people also have their radios in a bedroom and having a constant on light is not conducive to sleeping. 4) Something which should really be considered is either a user replaceable standard size lithium ion battery such as (2) 18650 protected batteries, or at least be able to allow the user to select a switch to opt for NiMH batteries and have them able to be re-charged in the unit. I mean come on, using Alkaline batteries these days? They ALWAYS leak and damage our devices. I will end my review with this. I am returning this radio. Since there is no other decent weather alert radio in my opinion to purchase anywhere, I've opted to do without one. I recommend NOT purchasing this new radio and will re-evaluate once Midland redesigns this radio to incorporate what I've suggested. Midland, Please re-enable your phone support. Having no phone support is a sign of a company who does not care about it's customers. You just turned a 40+ year customer into "no longer a customer" and I write a lot of reviews! Midland, if you wish to reach out to me, please do so and I will be happy to re-evaluate your updated version of this radio or your replacement and update this review.
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