Customer Reviews

Escort Passport 9500i Radar and Laser Detector

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

The first thing I want to say is that I ALMOST bought the passport 8500 because of what I read from one of the other reviews about a side by side test between the 9500i and the 8500. I read more about the topic and discovered that you can not compare the sensitivity of radar detectors by sticking both of them on your windshield and driving down the road. When they are that close to each other, they interfere with each other.

Boy am I glad I got the 9500i. The GPS functionality is great and I have blocked out all the false alarms on the usual routes I travel. So easy to do it, just hit the mute button on the device or the smart cord three times and you never have to hear that false alarm again. Sweet.

This thing has great range too. It picked up radar up to 5 miles away from one particularly well hidden detector along the Ohio turnpike.

Also, with the GPS function, it displays the speed you were going when you got "pinged" with the radar, so you can tell if you need to slow down or not. I know what you are thinking, but just because the detector is going off doesn't mean that someone with a radar gun can tell your speed. For a radar gun to detect speed, it must hit your vehicle then bounce back. This is only good for a mile at the most and under prime conditions. The detector just has to pick up the radar reaching it, so it can pick up from much farther away.

When you first get the alarm, it is usually with one bar on the detector. You can safely slow down (No slamming on the brakes) before you pass the radar source and the 9500i will keep you informed about how strong the signals are.

Another great thing about the GPS function, you can mark those pesky vascar spots. See, vascar doesn't use radar...so with any other detector, you are not protected when you pass over the white lines on the road. With this device, you can mark that spot so you know where it is next time, and it will warn you that it is coming in the appropriate amount of time depending on your speed. Sweet again.

The only down side that I can find in the 9500i after taking it around where I live and down the highway about 20 hours worth is that when the first warning shows up you can never be sure if it is a false alarm or not. You have to wait and see if it goes up high, or just stays a low signal...false alarms are almost always low signals. However, once you pass that low signal and it goes out of range, you can not...after the fact...still mark it as a fake signal to be blocked. It would have been nice if the device would allow you to still mark the most recent alarm a minute or two after you pass it. Obviously, you can mark it the next time past, but I'm just saying.

Mounts easy, comes with a nice case, extra suction cups, smart cord is awesome, and the dark feature (audio only, no light) can't be beat at night.

Overall, a GREAT device, can't recommend it enough. It has already saved me a ticket and I've only had it 2 weeks. Paid for itself.

p.s. Just so you know, radar detectors are legal in pretty much the entire country except for a few states (as long as you don't have a commercial driver's license). You can read about it on the Escort website.

This is an amazing device. Everyone knows the protection you get from owning a Passport radar detector, but let's face it, it can also be a pain in the rear around town. There are WAY too many false alarms.

Well, this can virtually eleminate them. Whenever you encounter what you know if a false alarm (be sure!) you can program the unit to know this signal in this location is a false alarm (total of 3 keystrokes, not hard). You will never again get that alarm in that spot. Amazing.

It is also "smart" and knows how fast you are going, auto adjusting the sensativity on the unit, again reducing false alarms.

If you drive much and want to avoid "revenue generation" tickets, this is a virtual must have purchase.

Have used the 9500i for about a month now, and appears to be a lot more sensitive than my "top of the line" Bell detector I bought 3 years ago. I still like Bell, but the GPS features of this unit made it a must have.

Pros:
* Wow!, I have detected constant scans, instant, and pop radars, sometimes a mile before I see the patrol car. I almost think I have a false scan, but when I see the patrol car I know the 9500i was not lying to me. (One time I got hit, so I shut it down, the guy behind me really didn't like that, so I let him by and he passed me like I was standing still, he got nailed, see, radar detectors can be fun).
* Allows you to see your speed on the detector, so you can use it as a "heads up" display.
* Allows you to lock out false signals from a certain area. (Nice, but see Cons).

Cons:
* A Lot more false scans than my Bell unit. On the upside, you can lock these out, so basically it's "trial and error" until you determine you have a false signal and decide to lock it out.
* At it's lowest brightness level, it's still to bright (compared to my Bell). I don't like advertising to everyone around that I have a radar detector, cops really don't like them, and will pull you over for something else if they can't get you speeding.

Note: If your alone on the road, speeding, and get scanned, there is no radar detector in the world that will save you. The cop units are good, some are very good. Your only hope is that when you detect a scan, the cop is scanning another vehicle, not you, if it is you, forget it, your getting a ticket. Just thought I would throw this in here if anyone thought radar detectors are a perfect solution.

This is certainly every bit of and should have been a 5 star rating on this product. I spent well over a month reading everything I could find on all detectors out there and this was hands done the one all that research left me buying. Since buying it I've logged a lot of drive hours into using it and getting to know it intimately and it's been just extraordinary. "Ka Band" Radar is what most people are going to find they run into and the Ka detection of the 9500i has been perfectly tuned to not over extend it's range, while still giving you plenty of warning time. The GPS capabilities to lockout false signals (very common) has worked flawlessly for me. I have numerous X and K band false signals locked out so they don't annoy me, while an actual police radar in the area still triggers an alert. GPS location marking of the 9500i is also your only defense against VASCAR speed traps where aircraft and stop watches are used with markings on the road side, other detectors can't do either of these GPS must have features for you.

I knocked them 1 star on my rating though not because of a problem with the device, but because 1 year after being on the market now Escort still does not have the software available to allow use of the built in USB port on this detector. I considered knocking them a second star as well because if you buy this on Amazon or that other popular auction site the manufacturer, escortradar dot com, will void your warranty. Search around and you'll see the real reason why, this manufacturer practices price fixing, anyone (like Amazon) selling this product for less than the set price finds their name on the manufacturers "Do Not Buy From, Warranty Will Be Void", list which can be found at their website.

I have owned this detector for about a year and a half now. When it works, it is simply awesome.

I've driven with a couple BEL's, an old-school Passport (Circa 1989), and a Valentine One.

The V1 has the best build quality and the coolest Bogey counter, but it has a major downfall - it squawks so much because it is so sensitive that you learn to ignore it.

That is where the 9500i takes the cake - especially when you drive the same route over and over - you "train it" where the false alarms are, and the GPS that is built in ignores the false alarms. So...if a Police Officer parks next to one of your "trained" locations - it will still go off! It is so smart it knows there are two RADAR signals there and not just one.

I have two beefs with the device and I have had to send it back to Escort twice already for repair. This is unsatisfactory.

One of its downfalls (but I guess they all do this, even the Valentine One) is they false alarm for LASER. The V1 falses when you are behind a vehicle with really bright LED taillights - like a Cadillac Escalade. This will do that as well - but this also false alarms in bright sunlight. I asked Escort about this and they said it could be the light is being reflected so that it is hitting the frequency of the Laser. Hmmm.

Either way, it is annoying.

But...the reason I sent mine back twice is the GPS tracking failed. It would say "GPS SIGNAL ACQUIRED" and then a minute or so later it says "GPS SIGNAL IS LOST". And repeat. And repeat. Very annoying. This is in clear skies with good satellite coverage - my Garmin Zumo which was also in the car / motorcycle with it had no problem tracking.

The first time I sent it back they fixed it up...and it worked great again for another 4 months, and then it started happening again. It went back again this week, and I paid the extra $125 for the 9500ix upgrade, so we'll see what that does.

Anyway, when this thing works, there is nothing better - because when it goes off, it is the real deal (except for the aforementioned bright sunlight LASER false alarms).

My advice - Buy the extended warranty just in case, based on my experience. It is called the "Escort Service Plan" - ESP. In my case, it gets me a fixed detector, vs. a $450 paper weight since I am beyond my one year warranty period.

UPDATE 10/11/2008:

Just got it back...paid an extra $125 to get it upgraded to the 9500ix version...and....drumroll please...it still will not get and hold a lock on the GPS satellites...so it is going back again on Monday. So...as of this point, it is now a $575 doorstop until they get me a working version.

I have used radar detectors for 22 years, and the introduction of a gps is the best. I the first week in school zone I was watching my speed and got lasered the 9500 showed me 27 mph 2 over i new i was safe!! On the way to work i pass 3 false, now i have marked and removed the noise. I have marked speed traps all over Greater Denver. I think it's the best.

After i thought my blue passport 8500 x50 was stolen ( turns out a friend was playing a joke...ha...) i went out and bought the newest passport that escort had to offer. The gps thing was cool and being able to lock out signals. Marking locations is a diff story...the thing is if you mark a location in the your local area, you ALREADY know everytime you go by it that you should be careful, so having the escort tell you that its coming up in 2400 ft.is superfluous. I was told the the antenna was the same as the 8500 x50 therefor the sensitivity should be up to par to the 8500. However, i experienced alot of lag on the the k and ka bands. It doesnt start reporting till about 2 or 3 bars in. To tell you the truth, i bit my first speeding ticket using this radar a couple days ago. I was going up a hill and coming down, i saw the cop, and at the same instant my radar goes full blast. It was error on my part to be speeding by myself, but i was disappointed by the useless warning. Regardless i never got a ticket in the 3 yrs i used the 8500.

when i got my 8500 back from my friend, i tested them side my side in my car, and indeed, the 8500 was more sensative to signals by a good 2 seconds. sometimes more. This convinced me enough to return the 9500i and keep my old 8500 x50. i am disappointed in Escort's new 9500i.

My last detector was a Cobra 9930 and it was great for the money. For a great portion of the time, the Cobra served me well; the Ka band detection was at 80% of what the 9500i could do. But the big difference is the 9930 would have 1 bar up to right when I pass the cop before going into 5 bar, the 9500i was much more confident in showing the range of signal. The last time I encountered Ka band, it was over several incline and decline straight road. The Ka band went from 1 to 5 in a matter of seconds, then drop back to 3 when I was in the lower end of the road, then 5 when I was on top. Then it stopped. I thought to myself at that moment that it maybe have been a false alarm, but it was too rhymically synchronized that it couldn't be. that's when I passed the cop who has already pulled someone to the side of the road and stepping out of his cruser.

The other reason I upgrade to the 9500i was it's range in both X and K band. But that would have been a double edged sword as in the case of the X50, which I owned briefly via eBay buy and then sell, because there are so many false alarms. The GPS feature of the 9500i make it bearable.

Up till now, I've been pretty positive about this device. And don't get me wrong, I think it's the best detector out there. But the achilles' heel for my 9500i is the laser detection. This topic is of course about false alarms. The Cobra 9930 gave me a good dose of false pop alerts, but this Escort 9500i gives a lot of false laser detection. And it's not random. I get a laser detection every time I accelerate hard from a dead stop. If I pull some G higher than a certain point, it'll go off. I push on the gas, beep! I enter the freeway, beep! damn that laser. Although I can't imagine that it's the electronics that reacts to acceleration. I really don't know what it is. My latest theory is that it's the clear suction cups acts like a prism and refract the light next to the senor at the top. But it's just a guess.

Overall, I would still recommend it. I like it so much I bought one for my wife. Market rate when I purchased brand new on EBay and Craigslist is $340.

I've had the 9500i for over a year now and it works fabulously as advertised. It is quite simply the best radar detector ever made. The GPS lockout feature is worth the price. I live in a police state (Ohio, where this detector is made by the way) and the cops use every band of radar, lidar, and airplanes to keep us citizens in line (under their thumb). The GPS lockout feature on the 9500 keeps my daily commute quiet while I keep all bands up and running. It only beeps when there is a cop. I also have the ZR3 Laser Shifters and they work as advertised and integrate flawlessly with the 9500.

The down side however is big. It took me this long to figure it out and Escort doesn't seem to know anything about it. This, to me means they have no intention of addressing it. The problem is, it interferes with XM Radio reception to the point of making XM virtually useless. Over the last year since I've had the 9500 I've experienced dramatic XM signal loss that is incredibly irritating. I've replaced my XM receiver and the antennae twice and harassed the poor Punjabi customer support guy from XM to the point that I think he cried. Only recently did I discover that the problem with my XM Radio is in fact caused by my radar detector.

When I turn the radar detector off, I instantly regain my XM Radio signal. When I turn the 9500 back on, I instantly lose XM reception. It is crystal clear, undeniable, unacceptable, and needs to be addressed by Escort.

Bought the 9500 to replace an older Whistler. The old one was OK, did not give a ton of warning a lot of the time. Totally untrue of the 9500. Great range. I adore the lockout feature. That damn gas station where the cop hides out no longer forces me to alter my pace unless he is there. It also does a remarkable job picking up scattered laser shots. Saved my bacon once already. Only knock is that it usually takes a block or 2 to pick up the GPS signal.