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TYT TH-UV88 Firmware Update

A few weeks ago we were excited about the release of the TYT TH-UV88 radio. This "Baofeng killer" has taken the ham radio community by storm. With new radios, bugs are ALWAYS expected and the TH-UV88 is no different.

A few days ago a customer pointed out that they were having trouble with scan not receiving. We tested this with several radios and were able to confirm that there was indeed a problem. We made TYT aware of this and they immediately jumped in to action and had a solution within 24 hours!

The turnaround time was impressive, but maybe even more impressive is that a radio in this price range has upgradeable firmware!  

A programming cable and a PC running Windows is needed for installation. The only change in this update is the scan fix, so if scan is not something you need or use, you do not need to install the update.

Installing the Firmware

TYT Firmware Update Tool

  1. Download the firmware update and extract the contents of the .zip file into a folder.
  2. Connect the radio to your PC using the programming cable.
  3. With the radio OFF, hold down the PTT button AND the top programmable side key (P1) while turning on the radio. Depending on your radio version the indicator light will be steady green or red to indicate the firmware is ready to update.
  4. Double-click the file named UV88_98_UpData.exe to launch the TYT firmware update tool.
  5. In the update tool, choose UV88 for the Model and 57600 for the Baud Rate. Also select the Port that corresponds to your programming cable.
  6. Click Open and select the file UV88_Eng_BQ1_25_20200430.hex, which was included in the .zip file.
  7. Be sure that you have plenty of battery life before starting the update, and do not power off the radio during the update!
  8. Click the Updata button to perform the firmware update. 
  9. If an error occurs during the update, do not turn off the radio. Instead, close and restart the software, then click the Reset! button in the software. After the reset, try the update again.

36 thoughts on “TYT TH-UV88 Firmware Update”

  • David Joseph Ford
    David Joseph Ford January 18, 2022 at 12:22 pm

    I am in need of new firmware and new software to program my TYT-MD380 DMR portable transceiver. Please reply by providing me with a link to the download site for Tytera's radios for a personal computer(64-bit). Thank you Regard, David Joseph Ford KN4LVM.

    Reply
  • jim

    Hi does RT Systems programing software support apple computers ?

    Reply
  • Paul

    Did anyone knows what to do if CPU dindnt connect with radio ?
    I still have a message
    Communication timed out, please check the com and baud rate correct or not!
    Pls help
    Cps works correctly

    Reply
  • Greg

    Would be interested in seeing a firmware mode that would allow you to disable the VFO. This could be either a software enabled feature or even better, something that could be enabled or disabled by power-on key sequence. Thanks!

    Reply
  • Serkan

    Uv88 yazılım anında program kapandı ve yazılım ne yaptıysam atamadım.Simdi ise cihazım açılmıyor ne yapabilirim.

    Uv88 software instantly closed the program and I could not assign what I did. Now my device does not turn on, what can I do.

    Reply
    • Rick

      Hi Serkan, if you are located in the US and your TH-UV88 was purchased from Buy Two Way Radios, contact us and we will be happy to assist in troubleshooting the issue. If you are located in another country and it was purchased from another dealer, you may need to contact the company or TYT directly for support.

      Reply
  • Alex

    I believe there was a problem in the software update and everything froze. I turned off the radio and back on to get it out of update mode as nothing was working.

    What should I do now, did I brick the device and rendered it useless?

    Reply
    • Rick

      In most cases, the radio can be recovered by either performing a full reset and attempting to update it again or loading the previous version of the firmware. If all else fails, contact the dealer for support. Of course, if it was purchased from us, give us a call at 1-800-584-1445 from 8 AM to 6 PM weekdays and we will be happy to help you resolve the issue.

      Reply
  • Derek

    I did everything as you described, but I still receive the following error:
    "Communication timed out, please check the com and baud rate correct or not!"

    I did buy the radio from you guys. Some help would be much appreciated!

    Reply
    • Rick

      If you tried everything else and are still having an issue, please give us a call weekdays at 1-800-584-1445 so we can help you troubleshoot it further.

      Reply
  • Jose

    Hello OM.
    I am in France.
    the scanner does not detect the Operator's Voice on Fréquency occuped.
    the Scanner does not stop on fréquency occuped.
    in VFO mode the voice is present on fréquency
    curious

    Firmware: MCU BQ1 15
    73
    Jose

    Reply
  • Brad Hollis

    My TYT TH-UV88 came with a programming cable and software disc. Are these worth using or am I better of buying the RT Systems cable and disc? Or, could they be one and the same?

    How about CHIRP? How and when will we know if CHIRP supports this radio? My tyt th9800 is supported, it's peculiar the TH-uv88 is not.

    Reply
    • Rick

      It's really your choice, depending on what you feel comfortable using. As for CHIRP, the developers are all volunteers, and building support for these radios into the app takes time. The good news is that the latest version of CHIRP does now support the TYT TH-UV88.

      Reply
  • Matt

    Is there a way to move a whole row down within the software? For example, if I entered 10 memory slots and then I wanted to save a new frequency as number 5 and move the original numbers 5-10 down one slot to 6-11?
    Chirp allows this but I can’t figure it out with the tyt cps.

    Reply
    • Rick

      The TYT software is pretty much a nuts-and-bolts app that sticks to the core function of programming the radio. It was created for function over form, so while it does its primary job well, it wasn't designed with a lot of user-friendly features like moving rows or inserting new rows between existing rows.

      Reply
  • Tommy

    Hello, has anyone figured out how to re-enable the VFO lock so that VFO is no longer accessible? That way an end-user only has access to the CH mode. Thanks!

    Reply
  • James

    TYT have an even newer firmware version on their site tyt888.com

    Reply
  • Giov8

    I did all as described, but got the following error:
    "Communication timed out, please check the com and baud rate correct or not!"
    I have no idea what else to do to fix the scan bug

    Reply
  • Konrad

    I just bought mine. Seems to be recent handheld but I also have an memory scan issue. This update doesn’t change anything (: I am forced to send it back to my seller. Good radio but poor software. Better to buy something else like Yaesu FT-4X.

    Reply
  • Marco

    I currently have v1.5, any information on what other functions are updated/affected?

    Reply
  • Shawn Dunbrack
    Shawn Dunbrack June 16, 2020 at 7:49 am

    After using the Firmware update to correct the no rx on scan issue, my second line of the display is missing characters. I've tried powering off and on as well as removing the battery and still have the same issue. The display shows all characters just fine when scanning, but if you stop scan and put on a single named channel the display may show something like PC SPR which should read PCEMS SPR. I've tried reprogramming as well with no fix.

    Reply
  • Mark

    Tried the firmware update for over an hour. Every time I get a communication error. Radio reads to the programming software just fine. Not sure what is going on.

    Reply
  • Justin

    I am wondering if others are having this issue.... one of my radios does not scan stored channels. I can scan VFO just fine, but if I select "menu, scan, menu" in channel mode, I can see the little "Z" at top indicating it is scanning, but nothing happens... the radio shows "scan" on the screen and after a few seconds it will go back to the home screen in channel mode.
    I have 2 of these radios and I have updated both to the firmware mentioned in the article, but my issue still exists on the oldest radio.

    summary: I have 2 radios, both are updated to v.1.26 4/30/20 - one radio (newest) scans and stops on VFO and scans stored channels. The other (older) scans VFO and stops (always has) but I have never been able to scan stored channels.

    Reply
  • Roger R

    I am not licensed yet. I have the Bao Feng UV5 and after seeing the TYT UV88 on Ham Radio In Action's Youtube channel I ordered.
    As of this posting, I've only had it for a little over 24 hours. Following your instructions, I've updated the firmware and unlocked VFO mode. However, I cannot manually enter a frequency. When sitting in VFO mode, if I try to manually enter the local NOAA frequency, it just tries to access the memory channel.
    How do I manually enter a frequency?

    Reply
  • WD0JIM

    The radio is perfect except there is no way to set memory channel SKIP/ALLOW scan function from the keypad. This can only be set through the software. This option should be able to turn on/off in the field without a computer. Please ask to get this feature added to an almost perfect radio.
    Thanks, 73
    WD0JIM

    Reply

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