WiFi Question

Ill be receiving my BCD536 in a couple of days. I have a question on the WiFi function. First right out of the box will I need to upgrade the firmware on the WiFi dongle? Also will I be able to listen to the scanner away from my home similar to how I view my home security cameras by forwarding ports? Or will the WiFi only work around my home. If yes are there directions to do that?

tonya said:

Ill be receiving my BCD536 in a couple of days. I have a question on the WiFi function. First right out of the box will I need to upgrade the firmware on the WiFi dongle? Also will I be able to listen to the scanner away from my home similar to how I view my home security cameras by forwarding ports? Or will the WiFi only work around my home. If yes are there directions to do that?

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Hi Tonya--- you're going to love the 536---- it's a great unit. It's one of the best scanners that I have ever owned, and I've been monitoring police and fire calls for some 60+ years. I'm pretty sure that you'll get some replies here, and you may not understand this right now, but I just wanted to mention that I suddenly feel like I'm watching Charlton Heston in "The Naked Jungle" just as he's about to open the floodgates.

You are referring of course to the Siren application. My understanding is that the iPhone version of that application is available in the iPhone store; exactly how well it has been working and what hardware requirements are necessary, I will leave to those who have experienced the application.

For those of us with Android phones, we have been waiting some 18 months now for our version of the application, and it appears that there is nothing on the horizon.

Has anyone heard anything more about the siren app for Android? It has been a long time since we have got an update.

Tonya, Yes, I think you should update the scanner firmware right out of the box. This is easy to do using the Sentinel software and straight-forward. My advice is that you should also update the WiFi dongle firmware immediately by attaching the dongle's USB directly to your computer. (I had to do a lot of research on forums to discover that piece.) Once done, you should be able to access, listen to and interact with the scanner over an iPhone on you own local local network. If you create a VPN (I'm using OpenVPN app from the App Store) and adjust your router settings for the app, you should be able to access, listen to, and interact with the scanner from anywhere you have internet access. (Yes-it really does work!) My router had a wizard to help create the VPN (Asus RT-AC66U). If your's doesn't, it may be worth the expense to buy one that does. There are a lot of posts from frustrated users on the subject, unfortunately there are not a lot of posts that document how to fix the problem. I'm no expert, just someone that spent a significant amount of time reading previous posts and putting the pieces together. Hope this helps!

tonya said:

Ill be receiving my BCD536 in a couple of days. I have a question on the WiFi function. First right out of the box will I need to upgrade the firmware on the WiFi dongle? Also will I be able to listen to the scanner away from my home similar to how I view my home security cameras by forwarding ports? Or will the WiFi only work around my home. If yes are there directions to do that?

Click to expand...

Info for firmware updates on the dongle is right here:

BCD536HPFirmwareUpdate < UnidenMan4 < TWiki

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