As an authorized Baofeng dealer, Buy Two Way Radios provides genuine Baofeng radios and accessories, such as the Baofeng UV-5R Series USB Programming Cable. Unfortunately, the official cable driver and software provided by the manufacturer are not very intuitive. However, to better serve our customers, we provided a solution. The programming cable we offer comes with a disc we created in-house that includes an improved working driver that is tested to work with Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. The CD also includes the latest stable version of CHIRP, which is tested to work with the UV-5R and other Baofeng amateur two way radios.

More information about CHIRP, including complete installation instructions and user manual, is available online at http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home .  Complete instructions for programming the Baofeng radio from software or directly from the keypad are available at http://www.miklor.com.

Baofeng USB Cable Driver Installation Instructions

1. To start, the computer should be on and radio should be off.

2. Locate the USB programming driver. If you purchased the Baofeng UV Series USB Programming Cable from Buy Two Way Radios, the driver will be on the CD included with the cable in the USB Cable Driver folder. Insert the CD and go to USB Cable Driver > - USB Cable Driver Prolific 3.2.0.0.exe. This is the correct driver.

3. Install the USB programming cable driver. Do NOT connect the USB cable at this time.

4. Locate the CHIRP Programming Software on the CD. For computers with Windows installed go to CHIRP Programming Software > Windows > chirp-daily-20160329-installer.exe. For Mac or Linux go to the appropriate folder. Install the program but do not run it yet.

5. Plug the USB programming cable into the USB port on your computer. Plug the other end of the cable into your radio and turn on the radio.

* Additional steps for Windows *

- There may or may not be a notification after connection. To verify the connection, check the Windows Device Manager. Access to the Device Manager will depend on your version of Windows. Once in Device Manager, click on Ports (COM and LPT). It should be listed as Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COMX). X denotes the COM port number. Note the number and write it down if necessary, as you will need to know it when configuring the programming software.

- If there is a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark next to the USB device, Windows did not install the driver correctly. To correct the issue, right-click on the device and choose Update Driver Software on the pop-up menu. Choose Browse My Computer to install the driver manually. Choose Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer. Choose Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port Version: 3.2.0.0 and click NEXT. The correct driver should install and the yellow notification should disappear from the Device Manager. Note the COM Port number.

6. Run the CHIRP Programming Software. Click Go to Radio on the menu bar and choose Download From Radio. Choose the COM Port number for the USB cable, the Vendor (Baofeng) and the model of the radio (such as UV-5R) from the drop down lists in the pop-up box. Your radio should be connected to the computer and CHIRP should now be able to communicate with it.

* Additional Instructions for Windows laptops *

On some laptops, the device manager may indicate the cable is installed correctly, but CHIRP may not detect the COM Port. This may occur if Windows Power Management is enabled on the device. To activate the cable, go to the Device Manager and right click on Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COMX). X denotes the COM port number. Click Properties on the pop-up menu. Click the Power Management tab. Remove the check from the box next to Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power and click Apply or Save.

To verify the connection, Run the CHIRP Programming Software. Click Go to Radio on the menu bar and choose Download From Radio. Choose the COM Port number for the USB cable, the Vendor (Baofeng) and the model of the radio (such as the UV-5R) from the drop down lists in the pop-up box. The program should download the frequencies from the radio. When it completes the data transfer, the frequency table will appear on the screen. The radio is now ready to program through your computer.

If these instructions are followed correctly, you should not have any difficulty connecting the Baofeng radio to your computer. After the initial setup, future connection to the computer should be a matter of simply plugging the USB programming cable into your radio and computer and running CHIRP.