Undetectable Radar Detectors | From the Oldest to Newest

Updated: January 22, 2023
By: Ivan Gordiyenko

If you live in a place that prohibits the use of radar detectors, you KNOW the feeling of being “blind” when going around a corner. Overall, radar detector laws in the United States are in your favor, but not so much for residents of Virginia, D.C., and all of Canadian (except for British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan), this equates to over 30 million residents.

Undetectable radar detectors have been in need for a long time, and it wasn’t until the late 2000’s when Escort and Beltronics released their first, solid, long range detectors that were not just immune to the VG-2, but also the more popular Spectre brand of RDD.

What is the list of undetectable radar detectors?

If you asked this question 10 years ago, it would be safe to say that no more than 2 (maybe 3) radar detectors were the recommended choices for being stealthy to RDD’s.

After about 2015, companies like Uniden, Stinger, and Redenso took the market by storm by their great performing detectors that also, had some that were 100% undetectable. Below is the list from oldest to newest radar detectors that are 100% undetectable, or at least undetectable enough to where it’s within just a few feet where it still makes virtually no difference.

Let’s start with the first undetectable radar detectors that came to the market.

Escort Redline & Redline XR (2009)

If you asked this question 10 years ago, it would be safe to say that no more than 2 (maybe 3) radar detectors were the recommended choices for being stealthy to RDD’s.

Let’s start with the first undetectable radar detectors that came to the market.

Beltronics STi Magnum (2011)

Both the Redline and the STi Magnum were undetectable and had similar performance figures. When it came down to it, one would have to narrow it down to whether they preferred the different alert tones and lower prices with the STi Magnum, or the slightly higher price and performance and get the Redline.

At the end of the day, the STi Magnum was a great choice for solid performance and stealth.

Beltronics STiR Plus (2013)

Since both Escort and Beltronics were the same company at one point, they released the remote installed detector that was able to provide comparable performance to the Redline, undetectable to all RDD’s, but at almost 4x the price tag.

The only downside of this detector was there were no significant filtering options, such as BSM Filtering. Places that K-band was hardly used at, the STiR Plus was an excellent choice.

Stinger VIP (2016)

Some would say the Stinger VIP was the “Ferrari” of radar detectors. It is expensive, but full of features that many detectors from back in the day did not have. The place where the Stinger VIP was truly amazing was the performance against K and Ka-band. In addition to segmenting for better filtering, it was completely undetectable to radar detector detectors.

While I would recommended getting this detector, in 2023, there are far too many that have comparable performance for 1/4th of the price.

Redenso XP (2016)

One of the niche spots Redenso filled with the XP model was providing a fairly priced radar detector with solid performance figures. Being release late 2016, the Redenso XP is known for being very quiet against false alerts, give plenty of time to slow down, and on top of all that, its undetectable to RDD’s (specifically the VG-2).

Uniden R1 & R3 (2017)

Up until this point, the Escort Redline was the best performing, and best for the buck radar detector you could buy. After it was discontinued with a promise of a better one, there was a period of silence in the market, until… Uniden released their R1 & R3.

This set of radar detectors are virtually the same in performance and stealthy against the VG-2 and Spectre Elite, but with GPS being the only difference between the two.

The R1 had exceptional K and Ka-band range, it gave you the ability to segment the frequencies, and you could customize everything from tones, colors, and much more.

The R3 had the GPS function which allowed you to spot red light cameras using an extensive database, mark locations as false alerts, and everything else the R1 could do.

Escort Redline EX (2017)

To no surprise, the Uniden became a big hit, not only more electronically reliable, but also beating the Redline by miles.

The Redline EX got an upgraded interface, improved tone sounds, and more/less better performance from the original redline. Good news for users in troublesome areas, this new Redline was and is undetectable. Despite that, Escort made this detector more expensive with worse performance than the R1/R3. Today this detector is more reasonably priced, but again, there are better options.

Escort Max Ci 360 (2018)

We all wondered when would Escort come back with their remote style radar detector. Since the STiR Plus was a huge hit, it would make sense for the high performance, undetectable RD to get an update. They managed to do so and the results don’t disappoint.

The Max Ci 360 gives you the ability to detect police from all directions. With antennas you install in both the front grill and rear bumper, once hardwired, the small screen and buttons can be placed anywhere for a the stealthiest setup. This unit is currently on sale and it’s on-par with the Stinger VIP for price. This one I’d go with only because of the brand recognition.

Redenso Pro M (2018)

The Redenso Pro M was released to compete with the high performers like the R1, R3 and some Escort products. While not quite up to par with the R3 and R1, the Pro M (along with the remote version, the RC M), are exceptional at filtering out false K-band alerts. In addition, this detector is undetectable to VG-2 and Spectre RDD’s as close as 10 feet.

Uniden R7 (2019)

After all the detectors mentioned, no one managed to beat the Uniden R3 and R1 in the performance category, until Uniden made the all new R7. This 100% undetectable detector not only had slightly better performance, it also has ARROWS. The big selling point of the Valentine One detector for decades, once the patent ran out, Uniden went full steam ahead and made some of the best radar detectors for the money. According to sites like Amazon, after almost 4 years (as of 2023) of being on the market, they had over 2,000 4.5+ star reviews.

Escort Redline 360c (2020)

Trying to catch up to the R7, Escort did really well with the Redline 360c. This detector combines all the great aspects of the Max360c and the Redline, into one package. However, they went above and beyond with this detector in a few different areas (with one being bad).

The detector outperforms the Uniden R7 slightly in K and Ka band. In addition, its far more plug-and-play than the R7. Sticking to the Redline roots, you can use this detector in Virginia, DC and most of Canada without getting caught (see tips on hiding your radar detector).

The price is one of the highest windshield mounted ones I’ve seen so far, ranging between 750 and 800 dollars. This is one of the main reasons why many decide to go with the R7 at almost 300 dollars less.

Uniden R4 (2021)

As if Uniden didn’t think they somewhat cornered the market already, they released a better version of the R3, actually, the R7 as well (in some areas). While one of the priciest detectors on the list, the R4 has slightly better range than the R7, but it does not have arrows.

This detector is stealthy to all RDD’s and it’s a great performer in areas where radar is easily absorbed by obstacles (mountainous and hilly regions).

Uniden R8 (2022)

As of last year, the Uniden R8 is the new flagship detector to buy. It checks most of the boxes, especially in areas that matter for everyday users.

The R8 outperforms the R4 and Escort Redline 360c. In addition, it has better false alert filtering that makes it a quieter, user friendly detector to use. Lastly, it is still in fact undetectable to RDD’s.

While priced about 15% less than the Redline 360c, it’s not cheap, but its worth it. If you can swing the cost, it will likely last you a long time.