Customer Ratings & Reviews

It picks up radar 2 miles away! I love it. Pick yours up now

It does what it is designed to do, the app seems like a good tool but difficult to use while driving.

Raider is Good but isn’t consistent on reading raider

Best thing i bought already got me out some speed tickets

Disappointed in this item. The readout is unreadable during daytime. It's a little better at night. My car has a start-stop function, and this unit shuts down after about one minute. The mounting bracket falls off the windshield at least once a week. Accuracy is a little suspect. It detects red light cameras and some speed cameras, but I have yet to detect any radar or lasar traps. I also used this in a rental in Las Vegas and the collision avoidance signal limited where I could mount this. I would not buy this again.

I've been in the market to upgrade my radar detector for a while, just looking for that right device to make the move. I have to say I've found and settled on the right device. There's a lot of devices in this market and they run the gambit between cheap and extremely expensive, with varying levels of sensitivity and features to come along with it. The Cobra RAD 700i really bridges that gap, offering some of the more expensive features and excellent range without compromising accuracy or quality. To start, it's packaged well, about as you'd expect, nestled in a cardboard box covered with a thinner printed jacket. It comes with everything you need to get rolling, the 12v car adapter, a magnetic suction cup mount, the radar detector and some literature. The one thing I would recommend doing is getting a magnetic mirror mount, whether or not you have a car that is capable of powering a radar detector from the mirror, I've found that it reduces the vibration in the radar detector significantly to go with a mirror mount, and it get's it up and out of the way of your line of sight. Setup is easy, the app is downloadable from the apple and google play stores, set up your account and you're off. The newest version of the app is a dramatic improvement over previous versions that I've dealt with, so be sure you update. It keeps track of speed traps, red light cameras and more. Connection is more stable and all around it does a good job. The radar detector itself is very straight forward, set the mode and you're good to go. The backlit display is easy to read in any light and the reduction in false positives over my previous detector is a major improvement. As I mentioned it comes with a suction cup magnetic mount, which is an improvement over previous generations with the clip mount, however I'd still recommend a rearview mount and if your mirror supports it, the pigtail to power it from the mirror. In testing, it appears to catch radar at an excellent distance, I haven't yet had it pick up laser, but I imagine it'll function as previous models have, since the eye needs to be hit to pick up the laser. It will be interesting to see if certain types of brake lights set it off as well, although they have not yet. The long and short of it is this. If you're in the market for a radar detector and don't need the specific features of some of the ultra-high end and very expensive ones, this is an excellent option, providing great range, app connectivity and reduced false positives without breaking the bank.

This product was okay when it wanted to connect through Bluetooth. Sometimes though it wouldn’t pick up on cops even ones sitting next to us.

After 9 months of ownership, battery went out already. Thankfully its still under manufacturer’s warranty but I have to pay for my own shipping to send the unit back. They don’t even provide a prepaid return label.

Starting at the beginning, installing the Cobra RAD 700i detector is simple. The suction cup sticks confidently to the windshield, and a magnetic mount holds the detector firmly in place. Connect power to the unit, and you’re ready to go. The Cobra comes with a choice of five colors for the display, making it simple to match your interior lighting. When you leave the vehicle, the magnetic mount allows you to easily remove the detector, and its small size and low weight means it will slip into a pocket or bag. If, like me, you live in one of the two states that prohibits windshield mounts, then an anti-slip dash mat will also work. While you can use it straight out of the box like this, before hitting the road you’ll also want to update to the latest software and install the Drive Smarter app from Cobra. The ability to install software updates means you can take advantage of improved features without replacing your unit, a very useful feature. Using Bluetooth connectivity to the RAD 700i, Drive Smarter allows you to control all of your settings on the unit and share information about speed cameras, red-light cameras, and other speed traps with other Drive Smarter users. It also allows you to share alerts with other drivers, giving you the potential for much greater range. On the road, the RAD 700i does a great job of alerting to radar and laser. Driving across four states, I had a single false positive, and the range that it alerted me to radar/laser/cameras allowed more than enough time for me to respond. With its speed-based alert system, the RAD 700i determines how sensitive it needs to be to signals based on the time you’ll need to react. It’s been a long time since I’ve used a radar/laser detector. The RAD 700i was a revelation to me about how much the technology has improved. I travel a lot, and the Cobra is now an essential part of my travel kit. I highly recommend this unit.

It’s been a while since I used a radar detector. For highway driving, I use my GPS’s MPH function to monitor my speed. That permitted me to drive in a usually “safe zone” of 2 or 3 miles over the limit. Before GPS was readily available, I mostly used Cobra detectors. Their alarm tones saved me on several occasions when I had slipped into a danger zone. This new 700i offers so much more functionality, including GPS, than I have experienced before. Removing the 700i from its box, I was pleasantly surprised to see a space age sleek looking device. It has so many more features that it takes some time to get familiar with them. These include: *Extended detection range provides an earlier opportunity to slow down. Detection includes Laser, X-Band, K-Band, Ka Radar, Ka Photo, and Ka Wideband, and Red-light. City/Highway modes are included. *Autolearn Intelligence uses GPS to remember location of false alert locations. *5-color OLED display shows alert types and other data as needed. The screen is small, of course, but the display is sharp enough to assist in proper viewing. Further assistance is provided by voice alerts, so you don’t necessarily have to take your eyes off the road. *The detector connects magnetically to its windshield mount, permitting easy attachment/detachment. This is quite handy. *The 700i can be utilized as it comes out of the box; however, if you download the Drive Smarter app from Google Play or Apple Store, you can open additional features. These assist with better control of operational features, alerts, etc. The only issue I have with the device is the plug fits so tightly in the outlet, it takes a hard pull to get it out and feels as if it wants to take the outlet out with it. That aside, the RAD 700i provides lots of bangs for the bucks. It is an excellent example of Cobra’s continuing production of first-class products.

The radar seems to work okay. The mapping app/ software is horrible. It needs to be integrated with Google maps!!! Nobody will use the radar interface with mapping because it can't find the best route.

Accurate and on target with picking up and warning in advance. If in a city area, you’ll find the radar detector will alert you very often as it’s very sensitive and can pick up signals even when not installed on the windshield, even from the back seat. It’s long range will alert you on a timely basis, although you may start to react sooner until you get accustomed to the alerts coming in. A turn dial volume button is conveniently located on the side of the detector. You may want to adjust for volume if you have sleeping children in the car, or anyone who is sensitive to sudden startling sounds. At first you’ll find yourself looking around trying to locate cameras, and police, as the voice prompts alert you to various laser/radar detection, while also informing you of red light and speed cameras. After using Cobra consistently, you’ll basically start to drive and just allow cobra to handle the job and guide you to slow down and pay more attention to areas on the road that may trigger a ticket. Like anything else, it takes getting used to having a device on the windshield while driving. You should mount on the lower part of your windshield so it doesn’t obstruct your view while driving. The mount has a sticky part that goes on the windshield and clips to tighten onto the windshield. The radar then has a magnetic part that attaches strongly to the mount on the windshield, so removal of the radar is quick and easy. I would recommend Cobra. It’s a very useful device.

Ok for the price. didnt like the fact the screen was blank most of the time. That just me.

Bad it only lasted me 6months before thw speaker went out

When I received the Cobra RAD 700i it was for a second vehicle that I use for work. I already had an Escort 360 Mk 2 that I have been very pleased with in my primary truck. The good thing about already having a top end radar detector was that I could compare them side by side. First of all, the Cobra RAD 700i is a mid priced radar detector made by the same parent company as the Escort. The Cobra is a simple to use, almost plug and play, radar detector that allows you enough adjustability to tailor it to your liking, but not enough to get lost in all the settings. You can turn on and off a screen saver and battery saver, change screen colors, turn on and off the different bands such as X,K and KA as well as some specialty K band frequencies. The detector tuns on with a rotary wheel on the side, which also adjusts volume. This unit comes with autolearn so frequent false alarms will be automatically added for a quieter ride. It also contains a defender database that has preprogrammed stoplight cameras and other speed trap type areas. This unit also connects to the same drive smarter app that Escort uses which allow you to change settings on the radar detector from your phone if you choose. Since I have been using the Cobra, I have had very few false alarms. The filtering capability of this unit is outstanding, especially for one in this price range. The other amazing discovery is how sensitive this detector is. When placed side by side, there was very little difference in the reaction time between this detector and the Escort costing twice as much. In fact, I still have trouble believing how close they are on both K band and KA band radars. If you are in the market for a good radar detector and can't make yourself shell out the bucks for the top tier radar detectors, you might want to give the Cobra 700i a good look. If it has the features you are looking for, it certainly, at least in my case, has the range you need in everyday driving situations.

Installation is very easy when setting this up. You get the single cup magnetic mount, which, surprisingly, holds the detector up very well. It also allows you to remove the detector on the fly to make changes to your settings. This is a breeze to set up, btw. Now, instructions in the packaging is severely lacking. I am not a fan of having to go online to read how to set up your equipment. I feel that there should be at lease a small quick start guide with descriptions of the settings. However, playing around I was able to get it done in a few minutes. Now, the recommendations are to turn off X band and low K band (Europe) but I left everything on to test sensitivity and falsing. I was surprised to find that, in the first few days, I was hardly getting any alerts at all. In fact, I would drive by the neighborhood speed signs and even one stationary police speed sign, no alerts at all. After a week, I am starting to see some X band and some K band alerts from BSM on hondas. But, still nothing from the stationary speed signs mentioned before. I have had 2 or 3 Ka alerts that ending up being true police radars and I will say for a budget detector, it gave me plenty of time to slow down and be compliant with the limit. I use the white OLED setting and I have had no trouble seeing the display. I have turned off the speed alert as I found this kinda annoying and not useful. The app, so far, hasn't really done anything for me. No issues using it or for it to connect to the detector. I do miss the arrows for direction which leads me to this detector does NOT have a rear antennae. This only will detect radar in front of you. With all that being said, I am comfortable using it and would trust it out on the road. If you are on a budget, it is worth looking at.

Installation and use of this radar detector is very simple and straightforward. The windshield mount is a suction cup which installs easily and stays in place but is also easily removed if needed. The radar detector attaches to the mount with a hook and magnet which holds it securely in place. The power cord plugs into your car's 12V outlet. Unlike other power cords I've used, unfortunately the power cord plug that comes with this radar detector does not have a USB port built into it. This radar detector can be used stand alone or in conjunction with Cobra's Drive Smarter app, which will provide additional functionality including Red Light Camera alerts, and an Over Speed Limit warning that can be set from off to up to 25 MPH over the speed limit. Without the Drive Smarter app you only get the radar and laser alerts. This radar detector works very well, it has good range and sensitivity. I used it side by side with a highly rated radar detector from a different manufacturer for comparison purposes and they were identical in identifying and giving alerts to radar and red-light cameras, giving me confidence that this Cobra was picking up every signal it should. This detector also auto learns false alerts in commercial settings. When the same stationary signal is detected in the same location on three different occasions the system will lock out those alerts. That seems to work very well as I noticed fewer alerts in those settings after driving the same routes for a week. Radar, redlight, and other alerts are given by audio tones and visual display on the radar screen, which can be set to any one of several color choices. The one negative I found with this radar detector is that the display, which is adjustable for brightness, is too dim during bright sunny days on its brightest setting. You can't see very well what it's displaying. I tried all the colors, none was any more visible than the others. A lot of radar signals are just noise from commercial areas, and without going into a lot of technical details there are specific bands that can be turned off or on through the menu to filter out the noise. Usually what you want to be alerted to is Ka band radar which is what most police use. When you get a Ka band alert that's definitely police radar. In the city, turn off the others, in rural areas you may want to have all bands turned on. This radar detector has some additional features including setting Detail amount for radar signals, Mute, Quiet Drive that turns off audio alerts, Voice on/off, Screen Saver, Language- English/Spanish, Smart Power auto turn off after 15 minutes, and car voltage display. I like this radar detector, but I'm frustrated by not being able to very easily see what was on the display during bright sunny days due to it being too dim. Therefore, I cannot recommend it.

I was really taken aback by how easy and simple the Cobra RAD 700i Radar Detector was to setup and begin using. It is truly 100% plug-in and begin using. Because I own an Escort radar detector, even the app was already pre-installed on my phone. A couple of clicks and it was paired and ready. The most difficult part of the entire setup experience was trying to figure out exactly where I wanted to mount it on the windshield. The RAD 700i detects Laser, X-Band, K-Band, Ka Photo, and Ka Wideband Radar. As well, it has both City and Highway modes. Because most of my driving is on the highway, I leave it on highway mode. The difference between the two is the city mode greatly reduces the range of detection as it filters out almost all of the garbage signals from garage door openers, automatic door openers, and all the other sources that utilize radar to operate. Highway mode picks up every little signal pretty much, but when traveling at much higher speeds on the highway, it is best to be safe, not sorry. Since I have been using the RAD 700i, I have been majorly impressed with how much chatter is eliminated, which makes for a quieter ride. I like having the ability to manually filter hits that I know are not police radar, and not having to deal with them when I pass through again. But the real test of a radar detector isn't in filtering out errant signals, but whether it picks up legitimate signals. I live in a rural setting, and driving to work entails driving through a couple of small towns, notorious for stopping speeders. So far the 700i has hit on every speed trap, way in advance. I appreciate this a lot because the speed traps are not an every day occurrence, so its nice to know if they are active or not. So, as far as detecting radar and laser, the RAD 700i seems to be at the top of its game. Call me a minimalist, but in the end the only thing I really care about is if it will keep me from getting a speeding ticket. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the ability to be part of a community awareness group to help others know what is going on via the app. Knowing what might be ahead, and also being able to let others know what to expect is fantastic. But trying to use an app while driving creates a whole list of issues. The one and only thing I do not like about the 700i is that the display brightness is abysmal. I have the display brightness turned up all the way, and I cannot see it if the sun is out. I don't know if this is an issue with only my unit, but if not, I think Cobra should revisit this issue. All in all, I really like the Cobra RAD 700i Radar Detector. It does its job, and it does it well. If you are looking for a great radar detector that will keep you safe in most situations, this is the one to get. It's priced great, has all the functions you need!

I’m familiar with Cobra radar detectors because my husband has a Cobra Road Scout in his truck. The Road Scout model has a camera and an SD card for recording and is much more robust than the Rad 700i model. The Cobra Rad 700i does not have a camera or SD card and is strictly a radar/laser detector. It does have a USB cable included to download updates. The difference between the Rad 700i detector and other radar detectors and dash cameras I’ve looked at is that it attaches to the windshield mount magnetically. That makes it easy to remove it for the update downloads. There were no suggestions in the Quick Start Guide or on the website about what to do with the cord that goes from the detector to the 12V outlet. Similar products are designed to tuck the cord along the headliner and down the side of the windshield, but the Cobra’s 6 foot cord is too short to do that. The only option I could see is to let it hang down the windshield in the field of view. It’s irrelevant for me because I’m not going to mount it on the windshield. Having something on the windshield potentially obstructing my view or distracting me seems dangerous. Instead, I’m designing a box so it can sit on the dash. The initial setup requires downloading the app and plugging the detector into the car’s 12V battery source. The instructions say to “power on” the detector to connect to the app, but there is no power button. “Power on” means to turn the volume control from off to on. Initially the app tried to connect to the Road Scout instead but after several tries it connected to the right device. The Quick Start Guide has the basic start up and install instructions. Instructions on how to customize the settings are found on the Cobra website. Customization requires that the device be powered up in the car and I needed the instructions with me to do that. But the website manual is not in a printable format and I couldn’t access it on my phone. I had to copy and paste each page of the manual into a document so I could print it and take it to the car to customize the settings. The way the customizations and settings are organized is not intuitive and I needed the instructions in front of me to know which combination of buttons to push. The mute button will show vehicle battery voltage. I didn't initially understand the need for that feature, but now I do. Less than 5 minutes after I plugged the Rad 700i into my car in accessory mode to do the customizations, I got an alert that my car battery was going into battery saver mode. The next morning my car battery was dead. It seems like the battery voltage read out is there because the device is a drain on the battery. The instructions do advise turning the wheel to the off position or unplugging the Rad 700i when not in use. The detector will display both the posted speed limit and the vehicle speed. The app has a GPS screen where you can search for a location and get directions. It could be useful for someone who doesn’t have another GPS app on their phone. But it did seem to drain my phone battery. When using the Cobra GPS I went from a 98% to a 90% phone charge in 2 minutes. The Rad 700i is all plastic and not very high end looking. But the magnetic attachment is a nice feature. There is no camera, but we have one in the vehicle that is driven the most. I just wanted a basic radar detector for myself for those times I go faster than I know I should! It should work OK for that.

For starters this is not a cobra radar detector of old that goes off after the cop is handing you your ticket for speeding. This my friends is a Cobra RAD 700i and it is actually very very good. It has some features i have not seen on most cobra radar detectors like the lock out for instance. So what that is in a nutshell is you drive by the same store or speed radar sign letting you know how fast you are going every day and every day your radar detector goes off every day like clockwork you know as you get by the store or radar sign it is going to sound. But now you can click lock out so your radar detector will not go off warning you that there is a store nearby. So now when you are driving by the store or radar sign and it goes off it's actually a valid signal you are being clocked. You can also set it up via bluetooth with your phone to play with the settings and use the included driving software to chart a drive and as you drive you can click a button on your phone letting other users of the software know there is a actual cop or a false hit in a certain area. So you plan your route and if other users have reported police in that area you will know before you even take off to watch your speed. A couple other very nice features are it shows you what the speed is and if you go ever that speed the over speed alarm will sound letting you know hay it 25 mph and your doing 50 slow down. I am very impressed with its ability to learn where areas have false hits and mute it so it does not sound. Also i have noticed in areas were i would get false hits all the time this radar detector knows it's not really a real laser or radar signal and will not even go off to false hits. You can also in the settings turn off certain bands if you know the police do not use that band in your area so it won't hit like your being gunned for the local store's door opening. To be honest if i could give this radar detector 10 starts i would. For the money you are finally getting a radar detector you can trust.