Scanner Radio - Police Scanner

Live Breaking News & Alerts. Police, Fire, Weather Radios, Air Traffic, & more.

Scanner Radio - Police Scanner

App stats

Version: 8.6.5 (Last updated: 2024-11-11)
Creation date: 2010-04-25
Permissions
Location: approximate location (network-based), precise location (GPS and network-based)
Photos/Media/Files: read the contents of your USB storage, modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
Storage: read the contents of your USB storage, modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
Wi-Fi connection information: view Wi-Fi connections
Other:
  • receive data from Internet
  • view network connections
  • pair with Bluetooth devices
  • full network access
  • change your audio settings
  • run at startup
  • prevent device from sleeping
  • install shortcuts
  • read Google service configuration

Other platforms

Not available on Chrome
Not available on Firefox
Not available on Edge
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App summary

Listen to live audio from over 8,000 fire and police scanners, NOAA weather radio stations, ham radio repeaters, air traffic (ATC), and marine radios from around the world. Turn on notifications to receive alerts anytime a scanner has more than 2500 listeners (to find out about major events and breaking news).

FEATURES

• View scanners located near you.
• View the top 50 scanners (those that have the most listeners).
• View scanners added most recently (new scanners are being added all the time).
• Add scanners you listen to the most to your Favorites for quick access.
• Browse the directory by location or genre (public safety, aviation, railroad, marine, weather, etc).
• Turn on notifications to be notified when major events are happening (details below).
• Add Scanner Radio widgets and shortcuts to your home screen for quick access.

NOTIFICATION FEATURES

Receive a notification anytime:

• ...any scanner in the directory has more than 2500 listeners (configurable).
• ...a scanner near you has more than a certain number of listeners.
• ...a specific scanner has more than a certain number of listeners.
• ...a Broadcastify alert is posted for one of your favorites.
• ...a scanner near you is added to the directory.

Using the notifications feature is a great way to find out about breaking news events before they're covered in the media.

Below are the benefits of upgrading to Scanner Radio Pro:

• No ads.
• Access to all 7 theme colors.
• Ability to record what you're hearing.

The audio you're able to hear is provided by volunteers (and, in many cases, police and fire departments and 911 dispatch centers themselves) for Broadcastify and a few other sites using real police scanners, ham radios, weather radios, aviation radios, and marine radios and is the same as what you'd hear using your own police scanner.

Some of the more popular departments that you can listen to using the app include NYPD, FDNY, LAPD, Chicago Police, and Detroit Police. During hurricane season it can be useful to listen to ham radio "hurricane net" scanners which contain weather conditions and damage reports when hurricanes and tropical storms are approaching or making landfall as well as NOAA weather radio scanners. Browse the directory to find scanners from far away to hear what citizens in other parts of the country and the world are experiencing.

Interested in providing scanner radio audio for your area? If so, you'll need a real scanner radio, a computer, and a cable to get the audio from the scanner to the computer. Once you have that, program the scanner to monitor what you'd like to make available from your area (police dispatch channels, fire departments, 911 centers, ham radio repeaters, a NOAA weather radio station, air traffic control, etc). If someone near you is providing a feed that contains both police and fire you could provide a feed that contains only police, only fire, or one that covers only certain districts/precincts. Next, go to Broadcastify's web site and click on the Broadcast button to sign-up (it's completely free) to provide scanner audio for your area. As a provider you'll have complete access to the audio archives for all of the scanners they host.

Scanner Radio has been featured in:

• The "Amazing Android Apps for Dummies" book
• Android Police's "7 best police scanner apps" article
• Android Authority's "5 Best Police Scanner Apps for Android" article
• The Droid Guy's "7 Best Police Scanner Apps for Free on Android" article
• Make Tech Easier's "4 of the Best Police Scanner Apps for Android" article

The Scanner Radio app is a perfect companion to the Pulse Point, Mobile Patrol, and Citizen apps as well as weather, hurricane tracker, and breaking news apps.

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Google Play Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.
Pros
  • High-quality audio and reliable for emergencies
  • Great customer support for subscription issues
  • User-friendly interface and responsive design
  • Ability to control volume independently from media volume
  • Long-time user satisfaction
Cons
  • Excessive ads that interrupt usage
  • Issues with app functionality on some devices (e.g., Android Auto, GPS)
  • Problems with re-establishing previous subscriptions after losing the app
  • Limited options and clarity regarding location selection
  • Full-screen ads that disrupt the user experience
Most mentioned
  • Ads interfere with usage
  • Connection issues and app performance on some devices
  • Problems with subscription management
  • Quality of scanner feeds varies
  • Customer support is responsive and helpful
User reviews
I have used this app for over a decade and wouldn't want to be without it for emergencies or sometimes just entertainment. After stupidly bricking my phone, It appeared that I had lost my paid subscription. But, after I submitted a 'help' request, I was immediately contacted by the app's owner, who played a rapid fire game of email ping pong with me until my problem was resolved. This level of vigorous support, on top of a high quality app makes anything less than 5 stars a criminal act!

Excellent! Love that you can control the volume for the scanners without it affecting your phone's media volume settings. One suggestion: List the clips in chronological order starting with the most recent. I love listening to the clips, but I keep getting stuck with seeing some from days ago.
by Sunflower, 2024-11-23

I have been a long time user over 14 years ago when I started using this. As of right now I am beyond mad. In the beginning it was a one time purchase so if you did not want the ads. So I purchased the app because I didn't want the annoying ads, then I today to go use it and let me be very clear on this one, I have ads!! Lats week I had no ads. And you report your bugs have been fixed you say?? Im scratching my head saying "yeah sure if you say so"! Fix this but your not getting more money.
by Angela TorresStich, 2024-11-22
View all user reviews

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