I loved this radio from the get go when I bought it in November 2024. It is easy to use and program, both from the IPhone and within the radio itself, even for a non-tech person like me. All went well until I traded my IPhone 13 to an IPhone 17 Pro. On my new phone, the app was there, but when I tried to pair up all I got is all memory in my radio gone, and the IPhone saying this device is incompatible with this phone. delete it. I tried it on an older phone I had, same thing. I think it was an update, besides the transfer of info between the old and new phones. I contacted immediately VGC and Cathy answered the call. The engineers were behind her, and I received prompt and good service, but it seemed nothing worked. Frustrated, I let the radio be and bought a cheap $25 as a back up. But then retrying again with a friend a few weeks later (and pushing buttons again), the new phone and radio paired up and talked to each other again as nothing happened. I cannot say how it happened, but I was able to reprogram it and use it perfectly (the APRS code was the only things that had survived and was not lost. Cathy told me that the phone hides the user's identity way below in the memory so that no update/change of phone can reach). Cathy and her team of engineers have been very helpful and responsive, and I much appreciate them. Not only a great product (this radio does the same things that a $750 radio does, and costs much less and it is much more beautiful), but also a great service. Here is a tip they shared that might be helpful to all: Our engineers wanted me to share a useful pro-tip with you for the future, just in case you or your friend ever run into this synchronization glitch again:

There is actually an easier hidden fix: If the radio stops syncing after a phone upgrade, you just need to go into your iPhone's standard Settings -> Bluetooth, find the VR-N76 in the device list, and tap Forget This Device to completely delete its cache from the phone. After that, simply open the HT App and pair them again from scratch. Once re-paired, all the settings and data previously stored inside the radio will instantly pop right back up!
Thank you, VGC Team! Y'all are great!

I bought the VR-N76 radio and wireless microphone on a reference from a radio buddy.
The variety of features in a handheld radio are terrific.
APRS, WinLink, Satellite, USB C charging. The ease of programming the radio, using a phone app to access the various features. The IP67 water proof design. I've also suggested this radio to a few of my club members.

This is my daily driver, a truly fantastic radio. This thing is packed with features, GPS tracking, text messaging, satellite tracking, mapping, text messaging, kiss TNP, aprs, and bridging internet channels as a kind of repeater. It can send pictures, and share/track location data.

It's a fantastic radio, and I would recommend it to anyone.

I've become a big fan of VGC. I'm a long time APRS and Satellite operator and own several high end big name HTS and Mobiles. Their firmware updates are few and between. The VGC team responds to feature requests and makes several improvements a year. I now own several VGC products, the microphone , 2 HTs, a 7500 and 7600. Keep up the good work!

Accidentally left it on top of my car. It was up there for about 10 miles before it finally fell off at 45mph or so on a turn. It suffered some cosmetic damage, including a partially cracked case probably internal bending, as the antenna port and top knob are a bit bent. The battery is still intact, and charges fine. The little bits on the body that hold it in place busted though. Will have to think about what to do about that. The unit still powers on, though fails POST (I assume) and shuts off. I'm going to try to disassemble and see if I can make a repair if it just some broken connectors or component damage. Anything that took that abuse and didn't explode is pretty great. I'll probably buy another or the 7600 for my car if I can repair this one to working, even if no longer watertight.

ottimo apparato radio pochi passaggi e sei in APRS.

The N76 is the most often used from my handhelds. I use it mostly for talking. The radio itself is OK. It still has problems with user interface (does not go along with logics of my thinking). As I use the iPhone mobile, I must praise recently introduced version of HT software. The older one was horrible, the current one works acceptably. I tried the satellite mode, with success. I only wish that the software would know radio frequencies of satellites which it lists. APRS works fine. New firmware versions come a few times a year, bringing fixes and new features. Internet support does exist in reality, one can expect a reply to enquiry (sooner or later...). My overall impression is a solid 4 out of 5.

Out of my entire zoo of gear, the VR-N76 is my second most-utilized handheld. I primarily use it as an APRS beacon while traveling, and I have to say, it performs flawlessly. The FM quality on V/UHF is excellent, and I’m a huge fan of the wireless Android app integration - it works seamlessly across all my mobile devices.

I would have given this radio 5 stars if it weren't for the Airband reception. Living near the border of a country at war, our local airport has become a major logistics hub for military supplies. Monitoring the Airband here has become as essential as monitoring NOAA channels in the US.

Unfortunately, the VR-N76 (at least my unit) isn't the best tool for this. At shorter distances, Airband signals constantly overload and distort. Furthermore, reception is capped at 136 MHz, even though the band extends to 137 MHz. This means I can’t program it for my local airport at 136.430 MHz. If Vero wants to market Airband as a feature, they need to address these issues via firmware AGC fixes or in a V2 model.

Overall, I’m very happy with it and highly recommend it - as long as Airband isn't your priority.

I don't use HTs much, but like most amateur radio operators, I need to have them all. If I were to start over, this would be the only one I need. The battery life is incredible. Most people will get several days of operation. That said, buy the extra battery since it can only ship with the radio. The radio is substantial and robust. It is NOT your typical cheap imported radio. There are several videos you can watch demonstrating the features so I won't list them here. The firmware is evolving at a rapid pace, so features are unlocked every month or two. Excited to now have a Bluetooth TNC! I highly recommend this radio.

I was surprise how easy to program it. As i already have the N7500, i push my CFG to this one, and bingo !

The APRS from the radio without phone is super handy.
The price is very interesting, and clearly competitive compare to other device on the market.... It's my choice # 1 for handheld now !

Great radio. Really having fun with APRS, this HT makes it so easy. Recommend +

Very robust radio for the price.
Can do APRS without the phone app. Having multiple options like APRS/SSTV/Morse decode in the app is great tho.

Some of the features are still a little bit hard to use.
I wish there was an option to scan the frequencies with 1 button pressed, like on Baofeng/Quansheng etc... For now this option is only available for saved frequencies and I don't see them on the screen while it scans (just showing Scanning ).

APRS can be a little tedious on the keyboard cause the 1st press of the keys on the keypad will input the number and not the letter, which is the opposite of everything we had back in 2000's with the first phones (ex: you press the ABC key to get B : you need to press 3 times instead of 2 cause is goes like 1 then A then B ).

APRS messages on the phone NEED to have a To field with the following syntax:

callsign-to-send-the-message-to:message

Ex:

AB123:This is a message.

If you don't specify a recipient/contact/target/callsign then the message is scrambled/gibberish in other apps and does not have the correct format.
I'm unsure for the Reply function when using the radio to respond to a message tho. Could be mandatory (but I don't see why it would...).

The battery lasts for days, which is great for long way trip. Onboard GPS is working fine, you need to move a little bit sometimes to get a signal.

Of the bad point is your Saved Frequencies . It's split in packs of 16 channels per groups and you need to switch groups manually if you want to scan all saved frequencies, which is annoying if you want to quickly scan 50+ frequencies for example.

Regarding the UI on the radio it's simple and easily readable even under direct sunlight.

It would be awesome to have a spectrum analyzer like the one on the custom Quansheng firmware by aarmel (see attached screen).

A very good all around analog radio still! I hope the next firmware updates will add more features.