SUMMARY for IOS:
- Desktop shortcut to formatting link
- 5-0 Radio Police Scanner By Smartest Apps LLC
- Scanner Radio Deluxe By GordonEdwards.net LLC
- Police Scanner+ Free By Rego Apps
SUMMARY FOR ANDROID:
- Desktop shortcut to formatting link
- Scanner Radio Deluxe By GordonEdwards.net LLC
DETAILS:
Here's a preliminary answer to the question of which free police/fire scanner works best on iOS and Android.
In the past, the main recommendation was "5-0 Scanner" but a recent (accidental) test of (a copycat) version on Android showed the copycat to be unusable due to ads, lack of background, lack of working with the screen off, etc.
However, a test of version 39.0 of 5-0 Scanner on iOS worked fine.
- It played the frequency I wanted (CalFire SCU)
- It worked in the background
- It worked with the screen blanked
- And the ads were acceptably unobtrusive
So, I'll still *list* 5-0 Scanner, even though it doesn't seem to be on Android, although "similarly" named (but horrid) apps exist with "5-0 Scanner" in their name!
*iOS* 5-0 Radio Police Scanner By Smartest Apps LLC*Android:* Do not use any Android app named "5-0 Scanner" as they are horrid copycats.
- Police Scanner 5-0 by Logicord LLC (horrid)
My favorite "app" for KISS operation, is "Scanner Radio", which uses "volunteers" to host the stations and whose ads are not obtrusive:
*iOS:* Scanner Radio Deluxe By GordonEdwards.net LLC*Android:* Scanner Radio by GordonEdwards.net LLC
Honorable mention goes to "Police Scanner +" which meets the original 4 requirements plus adds two features:
- It records the output
- It can start and stop on a timer
*iOS:* Police Scanner+ Free By Rego AppsLastly, simply putting a *desktop shortcut* of the broadcastify URL is probably the *simplest* solution, which works on *all platforms*:
So to test it out, I created a pin on my desktop to that link above:
On Android, you can pin a link to the desktop using this procedure: a. Open up the URL in Firefox b. Bookmark the URL c. Open the Bookmarks editor d. Long press on the bookmark d. Select the save to desktop option (
Once I pinned that link to the desktop, I selected that "Santa Cruz County Fire and CalFire" desktop link. (
Once at that suggested web page, I hit the "play" button on: "Santa Cruz County Fire and CalFire"
That started the scanner working.
In summary, the iOS 5-0 Scanner app is fine. I was fooled by the fact that, on Android, someone "copied" the name and made a horrid app that is useless, but there were great apps on both Android and iOS (as listed above).
Thanks! I hope everyone benefits from the value added by all.