Baofeng UV 25x2 "killed"

[k7mdv]

Howdy all,

I'm not real educated in this technology but I mean well.
My good old Beofeng UV25x2 recently acquired a new message on the screen.
Cannot find anything that even defines "killed", let alone how it happened or how to correct it.

Keying the mic gives me a series of fast beeps....no transmit though.
Cannot change channels either.

I'm reaching out to all you smarter than me people hoping for an answer.

 

[cg]

Typically, Killed means a system manager killed the radio for being unauthorized on a network or system. I don't know if the Dung-Flung radios can be killed by a certain DTMF sequence like other CCR's but it wouldn't surprise me.
A different radio by the same company has this in a manual I found online:
Kill Code: When this command is received the radio will be disabled from transmitting or receiving until it is revived by the “Revive Command”. The user will have limited abilities to change channels and menu options; but will not be able to transmit or receive. * Since the user is able to have limited access to edit menus, it would be advised to disable the reset menu in software. With the reset menu still accessible in the *Killed mode*, the user would be able to manually allow transmitting and receiving with a forced menu reset (but this would also clear programmed channel information and DTMF information)

 

[k7mdv]

Well what-da-ya-know.

Thank you, a starting place and far more than I knew before.

 

[bharvey2]

You may be able to restore it with the CPS software. Look for setting related to "Kill" or "Stun". You can probably restore it to a functioning radio from there.

 

[k7mdv]

Still working but encouraged.
Learning a lot of words and acronyms.

Is this a deliberate but random cyber type attack or what's the root cause of stun or kill?

 

[nd5y]

what's the root cause of stun or kill?

So probably what happend was your radio received a DTMF code somebody sent and disabled itself because the radio has the stun or kill function enabled. That requires setting a DTMF code for stun or kill.

When the radio receives the DTMF code the radio is diabled.
What exactly happens when the radio is stunned or killed depends on the model and manufacturer. Refer to the manual for your radio. I don't know how a UV25x2 works or how to reset it. Depending on the radio you might be able to turn off stun/kill from the keypad or menus or you might have to use the programming software.

The stun/kill code in your radio could happen to be the same code used for legitimate repeater or node commands in your area.

The radio could have shipped with that function enabled and a default code programmed. It's your fault for not removing the code and/or disabling the function when you programmed the radio.

 

[mmckenna]

Is this a deliberate but random cyber type attack or what's the root cause of stun or kill?

Well, if "killed" means that the radio received a kill command, then you need to look at how that happened.

The owners manual shows that they can be set up with DTMF stun and kill commands. That would be set up in programming.
If you programmed in a stun or kill DTMF code, or it came with one populated from the factory, then it's possible it's been remotely killed via DTMF.

Question would be "who did it?". They'd have to know the code, and if it ships with that field already filled in, then someone knew what they were doing.

Might want to read the manual starting at Page 39: https://baofengtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/secondgenmobile2022.pdf

I don't think I've ever heard of a radio getting randomly killed on the ham bands. Not saying it's not possible, it wouldn't surprise me at all. Especially if the radio shipped with a common DTMF code already in it.

Every time I've heard of a radio getting remotely stunned or killed, it was because the radio was transmitting somewhere it wasn't supposed to be. On commercial radios, this is usually done with MDC1200, which I don't think these radios support.

Other thing I would not rule out:
These are squarely in the "Cheap Chinese Radio" arena. I wouldn't rule out that the radio has failed for no good reason and this is how the failure is presenting itself.

 

[k7mdv]

All you folks have made good sense and I now have a feel for the cause, effect and fix.
Yep it's a cheap set but now I know what to look for when I upgrade which I think will be sooner than I had anticipated.
So, you-all truly helped, thanks.

 

[cg]

One of the CCR manuals had a default Stun DTMF code listed of 123456. All it would take is someone playing with a keypad and it could stun a batch of radios on common channels like GMRS.

 

[bharvey2]

One of the CCR manuals had a default Stun DTMF code listed of 123456. All it would take is someone playing with a keypad and it could stun a batch of radios on common channels like GMRS.

I was wondering if it was something like that or even just "1". To be honest, had the OP's screen not shown the word "killed" I would have been surprised that the Baofengs even had the kill/stun feature. Once it gets cleared, it's best to disable it altogether.

 

[nd5y]

I would have been surprised that the Baofengs even had the kill/stun feature.

OP has a UV-25X2. That's not Baofeng. It's a Btech branded radio probably made by AnyTone.

 

[bharvey2]

OP has a UV-25X2. That's not Baofeng. It's a Btech branded radio probably made by AnyTone.

His first post stated it was a Baofeng and as I'm not a Baofeng guy, I assumed that he was correct. Thanks for the lesson.

 

[mmckenna]

One of the CCR manuals had a default Stun DTMF code listed of 123456. All it would take is someone playing with a keypad and it could stun a batch of radios on common channels like GMRS.

I'm going to file that away and maybe put it in our dispatch console and just send it out every now and then…..

 

[KD8DVR]

OP has a UV-25X2. That's not Baofeng. It's a Btech branded radio probably made by AnyTone.

They are made by QYT.