PoC Radios

A PoC (Push-to-talk over Cellular) radio is an Android handset in a radio body: a real PTT button under your thumb, a front-firing speaker, usually a channel knob or rocker, and often a small screen with no touch input. VoxDMR installs on them like any other Android app, and adapts itself when it recognises the hardware.

Everything on this page is Android only — none of it applies to the desktop build.

Looking for whether your radio works? The radio compatibility list has the per-model test results, tips and enabler downloads. This page covers what to expect from a PoC radio in general.

What adapts automatically

You don’t configure any of this — the app adjusts on its own.

Compact layout. On the small, low-density panels these radios use, VoxDMR switches to a tighter layout with larger tap targets, and opens pop-ups full-screen so they fit. Ordinary phones are unaffected, including small ones.

D-pad navigation. Most PoC radios have no touchscreen. The app runs in directional navigation mode, so the D-pad moves focus between controls and adjusts sliders rather than skipping past them.

What you have to check: 32-bit

Many PoC radios have 32-bit-only processors. The standard Android build will not install on them at all — you need the separate 32-bit APK.

Getting the PTT button working

The PTT button on a PoC radio does not always reach apps the way an ordinary button would. Which of these you need depends on the radio — check your model on the compatibility list.

It just works. On many radios VoxDMR receives the PTT button directly. Bind it on the PTT Modes screen and you’re done.

It needs an enabler app. Some radios only hand their PTT button to a companion app. Where one is needed, the compatibility list links the download for that model. Install it, and VoxDMR picks the button up from there.

It only works in the foreground. On some radios the button reaches VoxDMR only while it is the app on screen. Others deliver it whatever you’re doing, so PTT keeps working with VoxDMR in the background. The compatibility list records which.

It stops at the lock screen. On some radios a secure lock screen blocks hardware buttons from reaching apps, so PTT goes dead whenever the radio locks. VoxDMR includes an optional accessibility service that keeps bound keys working while locked — enable it in Android’s accessibility settings. Without it, everything still works with the screen unlocked.

If your PTT sometimes registers as a double press, you likely have both the radio’s own support and an enabler app forwarding the same button. VoxDMR filters most duplicates, but the clean fix is to remove one of the two.

Channel knobs and rockers

A knob step moves through your favourites, in the order you arranged them on the Talkgroups screen — so you can change talkgroup without looking at the radio.

• Rotary knobs move one favourite per click, and a fast spin moves as many as you turned.
• Channel rockers (up/down buttons rather than a knob) do the same thing. On some radios these need the enabler app, same as the PTT button.
• Bluetooth speaker-mics with channel buttons work too.

Not every radio’s knob is reachable — some are wired to the vendor’s own app and never reach VoxDMR. The compatibility list records this per model.

Bluetooth PTT accessories

Speaker-mics with a PTT button, like the Inrico B01, work as a remote PTT for VoxDMR. Their button, channel buttons and SOS button are all picked up.

Pair the accessory in Android’s Bluetooth settings first. VoxDMR finds it from the paired list on its own — there is nothing to select inside the app.

Radios with extra hardware support

A few radios expose hardware that ordinary Android apps can’t reach — status LEDs, launcher integration, physical softkeys. Where VoxDMR can drive that hardware, it does:

• Hytera — status LED, home-screen call card, right softkey, and volume keys that control the audio you’re actually hearing. See Hytera P50.

These extras are recognised per model. On a radio VoxDMR doesn’t recognise they simply don’t appear, and nothing else is affected — there is no risk in installing on an untested radio.

Next steps

• Hytera P50 — the best-supported radio, documented in full.
• Radio compatibility list — per-model test results and enabler downloads.
• PTT Modes — binding keys and choosing hold-to-talk or toggle.
• Car Mode — the driving screen, with a keypad-friendly variant for small-panel radios.