Tidradio TD-H3 Firmware Update

[tinman981]

Good Afternoon All,
could someone tell me what the newest Firmware update is for the Tidradio TD-H3 ? I currently have Firmware # 250317 installed on my radio . But when I googled newest firmware update it showed 250110 ? what's the correct update ? lol

thanks
Jeff 73's

 

[tinman981]

Good Afternoon All,
could someone tell me what the newest Firmware update is for the Tidradio TD-H3 ? I currently have Firmware # 250317 installed on my radio . But when I googled newest firmware update it showed 250110 ? what's the correct update ? lol

thanks
Jeff 73's

 

[AK9R]

Posting the same question in two different areas of the forum is known as cross-posting which is against the rules here. Please don't do it.

 

[K4EET]

Good Afternoon All,
could someone tell me what the newest Firmware update is for the Tidradio TD-H3 ? I currently have Firmware # 250317 installed on my radio . But when I googled newest firmware update it showed 250110 ? what's the correct update ? lol

thanks
Jeff 73's

Hi Jeff,

250317 is the latest update for the TIDRadio TD-H3. It is on the following webpage:

TD-H3 Unlocked

tidradio.com tid radio Walkie Talkies ham radio GMRS radio H3 plus 8 radio

walkietalkiesoftware.com

and “behind” the blue Download button.

73, Dave K4EET

P.S.: Have you seen Marcus Dudley’s nicFW firmware for the TD-H3? His firmware has a much better screen layout IMHO.



It is found in his Patreon group at:

Get more from nicsure on Patreon

Custom firmware and mods for HAM radios

www.patreon.com

Since the menus and button functions are much different than the OEM firmware, you will need to read the re-written manual. Here is where the firmware and installer files are found:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/nicfw-td-h3-v2-126657298

Keep in mind that this is free and experimental firmware. Do some Googling to become familiar with the history of this firmware. Being experimental firmware, you use it at your own risk. I have two TD-H3’s; one of which I test out the experimental firmware on. The other, I keep the OEM firmware on. That way, if the former HT gets bricked, I still have a working TD-H3. LOL

 

[kb9mwr]

Is the microcontroller fast enough to support real-time M17 (or any other digital flavor) of encoding/decoding?

 

[Wandosu]

Hello everylone:
Tidradio H3
1). In Niscure 2. 52. 14 when scanning a memory bank, e.g. A, the frequency on the display does not move.

2). And how to change to another scanning bank in the radio

3).How to change colors on TX display not red

 

[K4EET]

Hi @Wandosu and welcome to Radio Reference!

Those questions are best answered by reading the manual that Dustin Hawkes authored and found here.

Any unanswered questions can be asked in the nicFW Patreon group found here.

The current nicFW available for the TIDRADIO TD-H3 is firmware v2.52.21 on Patreon.

 

[Varatemon]

Hello everyone, I recently purchased a **Tidradio TD-H3** and am interested in flashing it with a custom/alternative firmware (like **nicFW** or similar builds).

My radio currently has the **Original Firmware Version: 250317**.
**Question 1:** Has anyone successfully installed the latest **nicFW (v2.52.21 or newer)** on a TD-H3 that came with the **250317** firmware?
**Question 2:** Are there any known issues, specific flashing procedures, or hardware revisions I need to be aware of when moving from this particular original version?

Any advice or confirmation of compatibility would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks and 73!

 

[K4EET]

Hello everyone, I recently purchased a **Tidradio TD-H3** and am interested in flashing it with a custom/alternative firmware (like **nicFW** or similar builds).

My radio currently has the **Original Firmware Version: 250317**.
**Question 1:** Has anyone successfully installed the latest **nicFW (v2.52.21 or newer)** on a TD-H3 that came with the **250317** firmware?
**Question 2:** Are there any known issues, specific flashing procedures, or hardware revisions I need to be aware of when moving from this particular original version?

Any advice or confirmation of compatibility would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks and 73!

Hi @Varatemon and welcome to Radio Reference!

On your TIDRadio, is the orange "V/M" button round or square?

 

[Varatemon]

Hi @Varatemon and welcome to Radio Reference!

On your TIDRadio, is the orange "V/M" button round or square?

Hi! and thanks for your answer...
the button V/M is round...

 

[K4EET]

Hi! and thanks for your answer...
the button V/M is round...

Great! Just wanted to make sure that you did not have the TIDRADIO TD-H3 Plus which is a newer model but NOT compatible with the "nicFW" firmware. For your HT, nicFW v2.52.22 is the latest revision from mid-July 2025. The developer is currently not working on this radio model. He may get back to it in the future however if he wants to. All of his development work is solely for his own enjoyment. He is currently developing firmware for another brand. As for the TIDRADIO TD-H3 firmware, see my Post #7 above. Before loading the nicFW firmware, it is imperative that you read and understand the following caveats based on the developer's own comments:

1. Read Dustin Hawkes' ENTIRE manual before asking any questions on the developer's nicFW Patreon Group.
2. Read ALL Release Notes carefully before attempting to load his firmware.
3. The developer stresses that the firmware is still in BETA testing and may damage your radio.

That being said, I am currently running nicFW v2.52.22 which may not have been released to the public. I think I downloaded it from his nicFW Patreon Group. What he did is this. He was answering questions in the public but he was also getting many complaints about his firmware. Since he was simply being "nice" by releasing his firmware that he developed for his own enjoyment, he decided to create his nicFW Patreon Group where members pay $5 USD per month to have direct access to him for questions and access to the latest firmware. While most of his work is in the Public Domain, I believe that nicFW v2.52.22 is only released to paying Patreon members. He had mentioned that one day he may release nicFW v3.0 for the TIDRADIO TD-H3 but made no commitment since again, this is his hobby for his own enjoyment and may or may not do any further development on the nicFW firmware for the TIDRADIO TD-H3.

Sooooooo... With all of that being said, you obviously proceed at your own risk. Nobody, especially the developer, is responsible if you blow up your HT. I actually have two TIDRADIO TD-H3 HTs. One is kept up-to-date with TIDRADIO's official firmware and the other is for nicFW's developmental firmware. While I have not found any bugs in the nicFW v2.52.22 firmware and like it very much over TIDRADIO's version, there may still be bugs in the firmware.

To answer your specific questions:

• QUESTION 1: Yes and no. As I stated above, I am currently running nicFW v2.52.22 firmware from the paid member's Patreon side of the house. The caveat is I did NOT install it over the TIDRADIO firmware. I was an early adopter of nicFW's developmental firmware and must have installed over 20 revisions of his firmware. So I do not know if any bad things will happen if you try installing nicFW v2.52.21 firmware directly over the factory firmware.
• QUESTION 2: YES! Numerous important procedures including calibration procedures of the TIDRADIO TD-H3 HT. Read ALL of the available documentation BEFORE attempting a change to the nicFW firmware. If your radio does not "blow up" but does exhibit flakey operations, you can try erasing the EEPROM completely and reinstalling the latest factory firmware. Again, this is why I have two TIDRADIO TD-H3 HTs. One is for experimentation with non-factory authorized firmware. I cannot stress enough the developer's own words, "Proceed at your own risk."

Bottom line, the nicFW firmware is a nice improvement over factory firmware but may have unintended consequences if TIDRADIO changes something on their TD-H3 radio on subsequent production runs of their HT. You just never know...

 

[Varatemon]

hi!
thank you for the clear and detailed reply. Your explanation about the current nicFW versions, the risks involved, and the importance of reading the documentation first was exactly what I needed. I was quite eager to start experimenting right away, and your message helped me slow down and approach this more carefully.

For now, I’ll follow your advice:

1. Read the full manual and release notes carefully.
2. Take my time to understand the calibration and recovery procedures.
3. Only then decide if I want to jump into nicFW on my unit.

Again, thanks a lot for sharing your experience and for the clear warnings. It’s really helpful for those of us just getting into this particular radio and firmware ecosystem. I really appreciate you taking the time to clarify these points.


73!!

 

[K4EET]

hi!
thank you for the clear and detailed reply. Your explanation about the current nicFW versions, the risks involved, and the importance of reading the documentation first was exactly what I needed. I was quite eager to start experimenting right away, and your message helped me slow down and approach this more carefully.

For now, I’ll follow your advice:

1. Read the full manual and release notes carefully.
2. Take my time to understand the calibration and recovery procedures.
3. Only then decide if I want to jump into nicFW on my unit.

Again, thanks a lot for sharing your experience and for the clear warnings. It’s really helpful for those of us just getting into this particular radio and firmware ecosystem. I really appreciate you taking the time to clarify these points.


73!!

I wish you the best. If you are able to get the firmware installed, I think you will like it better than the factory firmware. The nicFW developer made some really nice changes but did complicate things a tad bit. I forgot to mention a few things:

1. With the nicFW firmware, the markings on the buttons become invalid to some extent. The developer made access to features different than the key labels. This is all explained in the manual by Dustin Hawke.
2. During calibration, always use a fully charged battery. The power output drops as the battery voltage drops.
3. The final amplifier is rated at a maximum of 6 watts. During the power calibration phase, I was able to tweak the output power up to about 8 watts. Of course, that is too much for the final amplifier. The transistor would probably blow in a relatively short period of time. In the end, I set the maximum power out to exactly 5.09 watts with a fully charged battery at 8.5 VDC.

Enjoy experimenting! 73 my friend. Dave K4EET

 

[K4EET]

Here is what the VHF Power Out does with respect to Battery Voltage. I did not test the UHF side.