Install OpenPOC on your radio

OpenPOC is free and open source and has no listing in the Google Play Store, so getting it onto a handheld radio means installing the file directly -- this is called "sideloading". Most of these radios have no web browser of their own, so the steps below install it from a computer over a USB cable, using a small free tool called adb. It sounds more technical than it is: three commands, no account needed.

The download is temporarily unavailable while the current build is being checked; the steps below are unchanged.

  1. Install adb on your computer

    adb is a small command-line tool Google publishes for talking to Android devices over USB. It is free and does not require a Google account.

    • Windows: download "SDK Platform-Tools" from Google's Android developer site and unzip it anywhere.
    • Mac: install Homebrew if you do not have it, then run brew install android-platform-tools.
    • Linux: install the android-tools-adb or adb package with your distribution's package manager.
    • Chromebook: turn on the Linux developer environment in Settings, then follow the Linux instructions above inside it.

  2. Plug in the radio

    Connect the radio to your computer with a USB cable. Open a terminal (Command Prompt or PowerShell on Windows) and run:

    adb devices

    You should see one line with the radio's serial number and the word device. The radio's screen may show a prompt asking whether to allow this computer -- select Allow (on a radio with no touchscreen, use the arrow keys to move the highlight and the center or select key to confirm; a long press on an arrow key moves sideways on keypads that have no left/right keys of their own). If nothing appears in the list at all, see "If something goes wrong" below.

  3. Install the app

    In the same terminal, run:

    adb install openpoc.apk

    (replace openpoc.apk with wherever you saved the file from step above, for example adb install ~/Downloads/openpoc.apk). This installs it directly -- there is no "unknown sources" setting to find and no on-screen warning to click past, because adb install does not go through the app-store gate that a downloaded file normally would. When you upgrade to a newer version later, run adb install -r instead, so your existing settings are kept.

  4. Open OpenPOC and finish setup

    Start OpenPOC from the radio's app list. The first time it runs it asks for the microphone permission -- allow it, or you will not be able to transmit. The app then shows a short radio code and a QR code on screen. Give that code to whoever manages your OpenPOC account, or scan it yourself if that is you, to add this radio to a channel.

If your radio has its own web browser

A minority of these radios ship a browser. If yours does, you can skip the computer and open a copy of the APK file on the radio itself. Android will block the install by default: on Android 8 and newer it shows a warning naming whichever app you opened the file with and offers a Settings link to allow that one app; on Android 5, 6 and 7 there is no per-app prompt -- turn on Unknown sources first, under Settings, then Security. A warning that the app is "unrecognized" or "blocked" is expected, since OpenPOC has no Play Store listing; look for More details or Install anyway and continue.

If something goes wrong

adb devices shows an empty list

On Windows this is a common, silent failure: no error message, the list is just empty, usually because Windows has not recognized the radio's USB driver. We are not going to recommend third-party driver-replacement tools here, since they can affect other USB devices on your machine. If this happens, try a different USB cable and port first; if it still fails, the most reliable option is to run the same steps from a Mac, a Linux machine, a Chromebook, or a Linux live-USB stick on the same PC.

The radio asks to allow the computer but I can't select Allow

On a radio with a keypad and no touchscreen, the prompt still has a focusable Allow (or OK) button even though nothing may visibly highlight as you move. Try the arrow keys to change focus and the center or select key to confirm; if your radio's keypad has only up and down keys, holding one down briefly is often what moves focus sideways rather than a quick tap. If you genuinely cannot confirm the prompt, disconnect, reconnect, and try again -- some radios accept the second attempt.

My computer's browser blocks or warns about the download

Some desktop and phone browsers flag any APK file as risky by default, even though it is only being saved to your own computer, not installed there. Look for an option to keep or download anyway.

Installation fails, or says "App not installed"

The two common causes are running low on storage, and a leftover older copy of OpenPOC that was installed from a different source or signing key. If an older OpenPOC is already on the radio and the install refuses to proceed, remove the old copy first (adb uninstall org.openpoc.client), then try again.

My radio has a dedicated PTT or POC key that opens Zello, not OpenPOC

Some radio ROMs wire a dedicated key, or a fixed slot in the radio's app list, to open one hardcoded app: the package name com.loudtalks, which belongs to Zello. On those radios that key opens Zello, or does nothing at all if Zello was never installed, and the ROM gives you no setting to point it somewhere else. For them OpenPOC publishes a small companion app, openpoc-zello-shim.apk, which registers under that package name and does exactly one thing: when it is opened it immediately opens OpenPOC and closes itself. It has no screen of its own, it asks for no permissions, and it does not transmit. You only need it if your radio has such a key or slot -- if your PTT key already works in OpenPOC, skip this and do not install it.

Android allows only one installed app per package name, and the companion app is signed with OpenPOC's key rather than Zello's, so it cannot take over from a real Zello install in place. If Zello is on the radio, it has to be removed first. Uninstalling Zello also deletes that app's data on the radio, including its sign-in and its settings. There is no way to keep both apps on one radio.

Check whether Zello is there with adb shell pm list packages and look for com.loudtalks in the list. If it is present, remove it with adb uninstall com.loudtalks and wait for the word Success. Then install the companion app the same way as the app itself: adb install openpoc-zello-shim.apk.

If you skip the uninstall, the install fails with INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE and the radio is left exactly as it was -- nothing is removed, nothing is half-installed, and the Zello that is already there keeps working. That message does not contain the word "signature", so the cause is easy to misread: it means only that another app already owns that package name.

If adb uninstall com.loudtalks answers Failure instead of Success, then on that radio Zello is built into the system image rather than being a normal installed app, and adb cannot remove it. You can confirm that with adb shell pm list packages -s, which lists only the system ones. On a radio like that the companion app cannot be installed.

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