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Mototrbo Ion programming question

Vinman21

Newbie
Joined
Jun 19, 2023
Messages
2
Hello, I purchased a motorola Ion at the Dayton hamvention and the seller told me it could be programmed with RM based on it's firmware revision, when I tried to read the radio it doesn't register on rm but does register on the USB as connecting to the computer.
I have found that there is a check box in the configuration to allow local programming via rm however I can't get into radio central to check that box.
Does anybody have any ideas? I do have the latest version of rm.
Thanks in advance.
 

TampaTyron

Beep Boop, Beep Boop
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
1,133
Location
Phoenix, AZ
It will need to be moved to your radio central account or whoever has it on their account needs to enable that feature for you in the config. Also, the firmware must be above a certain lever to use RM (and use RM out of the box). TT
 

ElectricalFlo

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 26, 2019
Messages
8
Location
New York, NY
Hello, I purchased a motorola Ion at the Dayton hamvention and the seller told me it could be programmed with RM based on it's firmware revision, when I tried to read the radio it doesn't register on rm but does register on the USB as connecting to the computer.
I have found that there is a check box in the configuration to allow local programming via rm however I can't get into radio central to check that box.
Does anybody have any ideas? I do have the latest version of rm.
Thanks in advance.
I am currently in the same damn boat. I also acquired an ION under the same idea. I was supposed to be able to program the radio the radio with RM but like you, my computer detects it but RM does not.
Did you ever find a solution for your problem?
It will need to be moved to your radio central account or whoever has it on their account needs to enable that feature for you in the config. Also, the firmware must be above a certain lever to use RM (and use RM out of the box). TT
Would you happen to know what firmware version it would have to be for the radio to be allowed to be locally programmed?
 

Vinman21

Newbie
Joined
Jun 19, 2023
Messages
2
I am currently in the same damn boat. I also acquired an ION under the same idea. I was supposed to be able to program the radio the radio with RM but like you, my computer detects it but RM does not.
Did you ever find a solution for your problem?

Would you happen to know what firmware version it would have to be for the radio to be allowed to be locally programmed?
No, I still haven't found a workaround.. The radio has never been moved to my radio central and the guy I purchased it from vanished. I did find that the radio originated from an internet based Motorola provider that went out of business so the radio never regionalized and in motorola's records doesn't exist. So I'm stuck with a brick that will never read to my RM so I can be able to check the box to do local programming.
So if anyone can hack the thing, I'm open for suggestions ..
 

ElectricalFlo

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 26, 2019
Messages
8
Location
New York, NY
No, I still haven't found a workaround.. The radio has never been moved to my radio central and the guy I purchased it from vanished. I did find that the radio originated from an internet based Motorola provider that went out of business so the radio never regionalized and in motorola's records doesn't exist. So I'm stuck with a brick that will never read to my RM so I can be able to check the box to do local programming.
So if anyone can hack the thing, I'm open for suggestions ..
oof! I am sorry to hear that. May I ask, how hard was it to get access to radio central? I have a very small chance to be able to get the radio transfered to me but I need to gain access to radio central. My initial attempt at talking to Motorola today was a fail so I'm trying to see what approach I need to take to gain access.
 

Firebuff880

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2006
Messages
694
Location
Boynton Beach, FL
Getting access to Radio Central means buying something from MSI that is Radio Central supported I believe. When I purchased my first ION the Radio Central license came with the ION and even then getting the serial number into it so I could provision it was a pain. By the way, RC is Radio Management with some features removed and a few added.

IONs are very new subscribers, 18 months, and I would be very suspicious that these might have been stolen or kept when someone left a job. The source disappearing leaves me even more suspicious. Do you have a bill of sale?

Find a local reputable dealer and see if they can help you validate it's not stolen and maybe get it added to their RC so they can enable the RM option. Otherwise, wait for the next major release for the ION which may have some changes in how this works. In the meantime, you should be able to use it as an Android.
 

ElectricalFlo

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 26, 2019
Messages
8
Location
New York, NY
Getting access to Radio Central means buying something from MSI that is Radio Central supported I believe. When I purchased my first ION the Radio Central license came with the ION and even then getting the serial number into it so I could provision it was a pain. By the way, RC is Radio Management with some features removed and a few added.

IONs are very new subscribers, 18 months, and I would be very suspicious that these might have been stolen or kept when someone left a job. The source disappearing leaves me even more suspicious. Do you have a bill of sale?

Find a local reputable dealer and see if they can help you validate it's not stolen and maybe get it added to their RC so they can enable the RM option. Otherwise, wait for the next major release for the ION which may have some changes in how this works. In the meantime, you should be able to use it as an Android.
Hmm, this might be a good idea. I have a local dealer here in NYC who might be able to help.

Question about Motorola releasing an update- even if they did release an update wouldn't we still have to get the radio connected to RM or CPS in order to run the update? It's so frustrating to have such a great piece of equipment and not be able to use it.
 

Firebuff880

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2006
Messages
694
Location
Boynton Beach, FL
UPDATE -- There is not currently, nor is there anything in the plan, that would allow you to set the " Programming Connection" option outside of a Radio Central Connection for the ION - Don't buy used gear without verifying that this option has been set and you can connect to a local / your RM.
 

ElectricalFlo

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 26, 2019
Messages
8
Location
New York, NY
No, I still haven't found a workaround.. The radio has never been moved to my radio central and the guy I purchased it from vanished. I did find that the radio originated from an internet based Motorola provider that went out of business so the radio never regionalized and in motorola's records doesn't exist. So I'm stuck with a brick that will never read to my RM so I can be able to check the box to do local programming.
So if anyone can hack the thing, I'm open for suggestions ..
Just wanted to provide you with an update. I was able to successfully get my Motorola ION added to my agency and now I can use Radio Central to program the radio.

My suggestion to you, if you haven't done so already, is to reach out to Motorola and tell them that you purchased the radio from someone directly and have no way of contacting that person. They will open a ticket and do an investigation to make sure that the ION has not been flagged for being stolen. Once that clears they will add the radio to your agency (assuming you already have an agency).

If you don't have an agency, you need to email the onboarding team and request for an agency to be created on your account so you can use Radio Central.

Hope this helps, good luck.


edit: Also to add.

There is in fact an option that has to be enabled in the CPS of the ION in order for you to be able to program the radio locally using RM instead of needing Radio Central.

General> Network> General> Programming Connection: On-Premises and Cloud

However, if the seller decides to do a factory reset on the radio and wipes the codeplug before selling it then they are disabling that feature from the radio and this is why you are unable to read the radio using RM.

For anyone reading this and thinking about buying a Motorola ION from someone who claims that you can use RM to program the radio, make sure they DO NOT WIPE the codeplug in the radio before selling it otherwise they are disabling this option.
 
Last edited:

George_Alex

Newbie
Joined
Oct 30, 2024
Messages
1
Для всех, кто читает это и думает о покупке Motorola ION у кого-то, кто утверждает, что вы можете использовать RM для программирования магнитолы, убедитесь, что они НЕ СТЕРЛИ кодовый разъем в магнитоле перед ее продажей, иначе они отключат эту опцию.
Good afternoon! Please tell me where to find this code in the radio station?
 
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