Although I do not agree with the yearly simcard charge of $50 per radio, Rapid Radio was able to work with our company to adjust the price in order to help us with the fee, which we appreciate. A lot... See more
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Rapid Radios is the only 2-way radio walkie-talkie with nationwide range and no monthly fees. Enjoy crystal clear, private communications with Rapid Radios!
829 Forest Hill Ave SE, 49546, Grand Rapids, United States
Replied to 95% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 24 hours
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RAPIDLY RUN AWAY!
Rapid Radios completely failed to deliver on their own promises. I paid for expedited shipping—1 to 2 business days—and not only did nothing ship by then, but a full week later, my event day has arrived and my order still hasn’t left their warehouse. Despite their listing, they claimed it was about “processing”—but even that wasn’t done. They gave me a tracking number that never got to UPS. i thought they would be better than an overseas fly by night company but they are worse! If you want reliability, do yourself a favor—run from “Rapid” Radios, because there’s nothing rapid about them.

Reply from Rapid Radios
To bad i can't give a negative 10 stars
I didn’t misunderstand Rapid Radios — I was misled.
There is a clear and repeated pattern in their advertising and responses: they avoid plain language and rely on technical wordplay to obscure material facts that would obviously reduce sales if stated honestly upfront.
Here are the facts, stripped of spin:
• These “radios” REQUIRE a cellular SIM card
• They REQUIRE active LTE/4G infrastructure
• If cellular networks go down, these radios DO NOT WORK
• That fact is not clearly disclosed in their advertising
• “No monthly fees” is technically true but deliberately misleading, because a mandatory annual SIM renewal exists after year one
• Contacts and functionality can be remotely controlled or disabled by the company
• This is not independent radio communication — it is a locked, talk-only cellular device
Rapid Radios repeatedly uses phrases like:
“not the same as cell phones,”
“different infrastructure,”
“nationwide coverage,”
“no monthly fees,”
—all while carefully avoiding the one sentence that actually matters to consumers:
These devices are useless without cell towers.
I purchased these specifically for emergency preparedness — when networks fail. That use case is exactly what their marketing strongly implies, while quietly excluding the critical dependency that defeats the purpose entirely.
Reading through dozens of reviews shows the same response pattern over and over:
• deny deception
• redefine words
• redirect to fine print
• claim transparency without practicing it
This is not honest marketing — it is semantic manipulation.
In my opinion, this crosses from aggressive advertising into deception. A reasonable consumer would absolutely believe these radios function independently during outages. The company knows that clarifying the cellular dependency would drastically reduce sales — and that is precisely why it is buried, minimized, or framed in evasive language.
People should know exactly what they are buying:
A proprietary, subscription-dependent, cellular push-to-talk device — not an emergency radio, not a prepper solution, and not a network-independent communication tool.
I regret the purchase, and I regret trusting a company that relies on word games instead of transparency.
“These Are Not Radios — They’re Locked Cellular Devices”
“Emergency Radios That Don’t Work Without Cell Towers”
“Misleading by Design: Read This Before You Buy”
“Not What Reasonable Buyers Are Led to Believe”
“This Product Fails the One Scenario It’s Marketed For”
“Requires Cell Towers — That Fact Changes Everything”
“Works Only If Cellular Networks Are Up”
“Critical Dependency Not Clearly Disclosed”
“Marketing Relies on Wordplay, Not Transparency”
“Read the Fine Print Before Trusting Your Safety”
“When ‘No Monthly Fees’ and ‘Nationwide’ Don’t Mean What You Think”
“Semantics Over Substance”
“This Is a Cellular Service Disguised as a Radio”
“Confidence in Advertising, Silence on Reality”
“If You’re Buying for Emergencies, Read This First”
“This Is Not Emergency Communication — Period”
“False Sense of Security Is Worse Than No Radio at All”
“Selling Safety While Hiding the Catch”

Reply from Rapid Radios
I saw an ad for these and made the purchase. I actually have tested them out from Nevada to California, and Nevada to New Orleans and the clarity is awesome! Almost more clear than my actual cell phone. Not crazy about the yearly subscription, but it doesn't seem to crazy.

Reply from Rapid Radios

Reply from Rapid Radios
We have been using rapid radios in our tow company now for about a week. 2 of us have purchased a combined 8 radios and they work amazing and work flawlessly. We have 6 of the regular radios and I ordered a base/car unit and the new Rad1 unit. Being 2 of us order we have 2 different groups but rapid radios has a super simple form to group them all together so we can all be on 1 group and talk to each other! Their customer service is super fast and super helpful even through email! I recommend this company 1000% and I think we are going to order radios for all of our drivers to be able to communicate easily

Reply from Rapid Radios
Patsy was great! The form auto populated with a friend’s information by mistake and I didn’t catch it until afterwards. I threw a hail mary and emailed the company and she got right back to me and changed the shipping address! Wow! That’s never happened to me before! Great customer service!!!

Reply from Rapid Radios
We go to a lot of Jeep events where everyone has a CB or something similar. Rapid Radios gives the group I’m with to communicate with each other without dealing with all the other people. Many times we don’t have cell service when out on the trails.

Reply from Rapid Radios
If you are a prepper, don’t waste your money. They get around saying that the radios will work when s*** hits the fan, but if all cell networks go down, they will not work. To truly ensure your family’s safety when the time comes, get a different radio.

Reply from Rapid Radios
Rapid radio is quick to help. I highly recommend this company for your radio needs. Great customer service Great product

Reply from Rapid Radios
There's a yearly fee of $50 per unit. Not to mention the fact that rapid Radios states there's 0 lag between 2 or more units when in fact there is a delay during transmission. In fact it has such a delay that I went back to Motorola setups and dont have any lag whatsoever. Sold my rapid Radios base units and have 2 handheld units in the process of selling.

Reply from Rapid Radios
I purchased these walkie talkies so my grandson and I can always stay in touch with each other. He absolutely loves them so much. It the perfect first cell phone.

Reply from Rapid Radios
Great Radios.
These radios are great. Our school program have always had trouble with typical walkie talkies. They never seem to work fully within the building. The purchase of these radios was a great addition to the program and now we are able to talk when needed and we can understand each other. I highly recommend getting the warranty.
My only suggestion would be to put the warranty availability before check-out. I had to submit a requisition to my school and did not know about the warranty option or the cost for the warranty. I was not able to put it on the request because it did not become an option until you go to check out.

Reply from Rapid Radios
My experience has been outstanding. We love the radios we run a large landscape and nursery operation. We have a total of 10 radios. We recently had an issue with our radios after they sat unactivated over the winter. I called customer support snd they were very helpful but after being unable to resolve issue remotely they shipped us all brand new radios, even know they were 2+ years old. That customer service is unheard of. Patsy was amazing and we are a customer for life.

Reply from Rapid Radios
We’ve had the radios for a year. There’s one in California, one in Florida, 2 in Michigan, and 2 in Mississippi. We have always been able to get ahold of each other. We have clear communication on calls, great reception and they are always reliable. Totally recommend!

Reply from Rapid Radios
Patrick fixed the issue quickly and professionally!

Reply from Rapid Radios
One of my new PPT was defective and reached out for support and Patsy M. From customer care took care of it that day! WOW! That doesn’t happen anymore more.
Thank you !!!!! And much appreciated! What a great Company
Mitch

Reply from Rapid Radios
Great small company, great product! As an Emergency Manager having the ability to communicate is key and just as important, or more, when it comes to your family. I bought these radios to keep in touch with family across the US. I've bought them twice and expect to buy more for other family members and our small business.

Reply from Rapid Radios
I ordered four for my family. Two for my wife and I, one for our son who is 30 miles away. The real test was for our
daughter 500 miles away. All work great! Conversations as if in the same room! I recommend Rapid Radios!

Reply from Rapid Radios
Outstanding Experience with Rapid Radios
As a long-time user of Rapid Radios, I can confidently say that these PTT over cellular (PoC) radios perform exceptionally well, and the customer service is truly top-notch. After seeing some mixed reviews online, I was curious about the negative feedback, but my experiences have been nothing but positive—I honestly wonder what issues others might have encountered.
Every time I’ve reached out to customer support, they’ve responded promptly and resolved any questions or concerns efficiently. We use numerous radios across our team, including for employees and even some family members on a separate group channel, and everyone is thrilled with the reliability and clarity.
If you’re in the market for long-range communication devices at a fair price, Rapid Radios is the company to choose. I’ve seen cheaper PoC alternatives out there, and I know people who’ve tried them—unfortunately, they often turn out to be low-quality and unreliable. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.
I highly recommend trying a few Rapid Radios yourself—you won’t be disappointed! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Reply from Rapid Radios
I was able to take these bad boys from Decatur Texas all the way to Davy Crockett national forest thats 230 miles away with 0 cell service and hear my wife perfectly fine, it was awesome they are very compact easy to use and a durable too.

Reply from Rapid Radios
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