Review of the Choyong WT2 Multi-Functional Transceiver

[Andrei]

To be truly honest, I have to say that when I heard of the latest Choyong offering I was not really interested. First, I already have five Choyong radios (yes, I am addicted!) and I already have too many GMRS/HAM/FRS HTs (handheld transceiver) at home too. It was unclear to me what the WT2 would really do for me. But being addicted to Choyong products, I eventually caved in and begged my (wonderful) wife for an WT2 and, sure enough, I sure was not disappointed!

 

So, first, let me describe the WT2 in some details.

 

Externally, the unit looks like some kind of handheld radio. The radio is built out of some light and, apparently, strong plastic. I personally would have preferred some light metal alloy, but this might increase both weight and costs. How resistant to a drop from 4-6 feet would that unit be? Dunno, but better not to find out…

 

One nice feature is that the radio can stand vertically, even with the antenna extended, which is very convenient.

 

Having said that, the radio feels like quality in your hand. The buttons are of a decent quality (not the best though) but they are not backlit, which is a >major< flaw in my opinion. I also wish the buttons would be somewhat more “resistant”, meaning that more force should be applied to depress them (right now it is okay, but they are >very< easy to depress, which happens rather often (judging by the traffic on the PoC Global channel – see below). A nice “click” would give these buttons better feedback.

 

The unit comes with an (non flexible) antenna which performs pretty well as a UHF TX/RX. This antenna is also a telescopic antenna (48cm max) which can be used for RX in SW/MW. The truly brilliant decision by Choyong was not to go down the road of other HTs with SW/MW/LW RX capability which often have a separate antenna port (or, worse, a clunky BHC port). Choyong decided instead to use an SMA port which makes it very easy to use pretty much any other antenna to improve broadcast radio signals in SW and MW. One regret, unlike most manufacturers, Choyong decided for an SMA-F (female) port on the radio and a SMA-M (male) port on the antenna. Most manufacturers prefer the other way around, but there are converters and antennas are relatively cheap, so no big deal, only a minor irritation. Choyong might consider shipping a small reel wire antenna (usually about 20-25 feet long) with a clip at the end to massively increase the WT2’s SW performance.

 

Also, truth be told, the MW reception is rather minimal, but since my only DXing interest in in SW, I truly don’t care.

 

The screen is absolutely superb, with a great resolution and colors. You can even see that screen in bright sunlight (albeit barely if the sunlight is strong). I wish it came with a screen protector though.

 

The battery is advertised as “super fast charging” and I can confirm that this is true: the 2500mAh battery charged in about 1 hour and it lasted a full day with 2/3rds left to go. That is very good.

 

Now having looked at the hardware, we need to look at the different “parts” of this transceiver which includes:

 

• An FM/SW broadcast radio receiver

• A (misnamed) “analog intercom” covering 406.1MHz-470Mz

• A PoC (Push-to-Talk over 4G Cellular)

• An Internet radio similar to other Choyong products

• Wifi, Bluetooth and even eSIM connectivity

• USB-C and TFT ports (but no headphone jack (!))

 

One Youtuber called this “radio shack in a box” and he is right. This amazing capabilities allow the WT2 to simultaneously function as a 1) traditional FM/MW/SW radio receiver, 2) analog UHF walkie-talkie, 3) Internet radio receiver, 4) PoC communicator, and 5) multimedia player, all that in a compact 125 × 60 × 25 mm form factor. Frankly, I find that nothing short of amazing.

 

However, before we look at all these capabilities, an very important caveat about firmware versions: my came with firmware 1.0_251017_1653 which… … … is nothing short of awful. About half of the radio simply did not work. It was so bad I though I had received a lemon and almost returned the radio. However, as soon as I upgraded the unit to the the latest firmware (WT2G_CYOS_V1.1_251114_1459) the radio “resurrected” and worked really very well with one notable exception (see below). There is a very good reason why the WT2’s Amazon page has the following message repeated many times over the page: “Before use, please upgrade to the latest version”.

 

So, the very first thing you must do if you get this HT is to update the firmware which is really easy provided you have a decent Internet connection and a SD card (officially no bigger than 32GB, but my 64GB card worked just fine). Now let’s look at the various capabilities of the WT2:

 

>>The WT2 as a FM/SW/MW broadcast receiver:

 

The WT2 is the first Choyong radio based on the TEF6686 chip. This is important because 1) the TEF6686 chip supports AM/FM/ 2) the TEF6686 uses digital signal processing (DSP) for filtering and demodulation which improves reception clarity, reduces noise and interference and provides stable tuning performance across bands 3) The TEF6686 is known for good sensitivity on SW and FM, meaning that weak stations are more likely to be heard and there is less signal drop-out in fringe reception conditions. 4) Finally, using this chip keeps the WT2 physically small while reducing power consumption. What all this means in practical term is that the WT2 is a very solid performer, especially on SW/AM and FM. Having said that, the WT2 does not come with all the advanced filtering capabilities of, say, a Tecsun PL-990 or, even less so, those of a Malahit DSP3. So if you are a hardcore DXer, this might not be the receiver for you. But for the vast majority of people, the WT2 will be a super performer, especially with a better antenna. One small regret is that the WT2 currently does not show RDS information, but that might be fixed in future firmware versions.

So has a broadcast receiver I would give the WT2 an solid 8/10.

 

>>The WT2 “analog intercom” covering 406.1MHz-470Mz:

 

It ain’t analog . Choyong uses “analog” to distinguish the WT2 from digital voice radios, but when the WT2 TX in 400-470 MHz it does so in NFM (narrow FM), which is good because this is what most GMRS, HAM and FRS radios use (in the USA). Note, this radio does cover UHF but not VHF, airband or marine radio bands. Maybe this will change with new firmware. Right now the WT2 can TX/RX on the following UHF bands: UHF LMR (Land Mobile Radio) — police, fire, business, PMR / professional UHF radios, FRS / GMRS (462–467 MHz in the US), Amateur radio 70 cm band (420–450 MHz in the US) and Military / government UHF (varies by country). Frankly, this is a solid capability for simplex WT2 to HAM/GMRS/FRS communication and a decent, but not perfect, option for emergency situations.

So how good is the WT2 as a UHF transceiver?

I tested the WT2 with one of my better HTs and the WT2 could be clearly heard (with some interference) at a distance of 4000 feet or about ¾ of a mile (1200m). Considering that the antenna is pretty small, the max output is only 2W and that UHF signals are LOS, line-of-sight, (with plenty of trees and houses between my two HTs!) this is a very decent performance (at least as good as any FRS radio out there). I am sure that the LOS 5km capability claimed by Choyong is true (provided there are no obstacles in the middle).

As a walkie-talkie I would give the WT2 a solid 10/10.

 

>>The WT2 as a PoC (Push-to-Talk over Cellular) device

 

The WT2 was my first PoC device and I was unsure about that. I ended up liking that feature a lot. To summarize that this is and how it works: the WT2 contains a cellular modem with eSIM and 4G support, which means that it can connect to any celltower just like your phone does. Via that celltower the WT2 connects to the Internet and finds other WT2s in two “locations”: a “Global Group” (which is composed of all the WT2 with Internet access either through eSIM or via wifi – currently about 1000 units with about 7-10 standing by) and any group you and your contacts create directly. Note: the WT2 cannot connect to any PoC device, it has to be another WT2. I tested that capability, and I could immediately talk to a few other WT2 users, some located in the USA, some Canada and others in Europe. Can’t say that the community is big (yet), but I am sure it will grow. So far, everybody in the Global Group was very friendly, and this is a nice alternative to our online groups/fora where we can talk live rather than post messages. So while this capability is moderately useful, it is great fun!

As a PoC device I have to give the WT2 a well deserved 10/10

 

>>The WT2 as an Internet radio:

 

The WT2 is clearly a part of the Choyong “ecosystem” and it has almost the same capabilities as the current Choyong flagship, the LC90. So yes, you do get instant access to about 50k Internet streaming radios out there (from all over the world, really!), and you can easily add your own streams through the (very well organized) Choyong website for the management of your radios. The sound is very good, I would (very subjectively) say that it is roughly on par with the Voyager, which has a very decent speaker (for its size). In addition, the WT2 can stream its signal to another BT device such as a speaker (but not the other way around). And yes, the WT2 (kinda) has ChatGPT onboard to help you locate streams. I said “kinda” because, of course, this is not the full ChatGPT architecture. What this really means is that the WT2s are shipped with firmware that uses cloud-hosted ChatGPT/Whisper-style services (or some third-party “ChatGPT” provider) to do voice search, voice-to-text and music/station search. The device contains the client (microphone, audio pre-processing, UI and network code) but it is the cloud does the heavy lifting (speech recognition + LLM text generation + optional TTS). In practical terms, this means that you can search for streams of music, news, podcasts, etc. with a simple voice search like “acoustic Jazz guitar” or “news from Nicaragua” and, most of the time, the voice recognition will yield usable results.

As an Internet radio I can only give the WT2 another solid 10/10

 

>>How about Wifi, Bluetooth and even eSIM connectivity?

 

Wifi, works with no problems (though I have a strong and fast Internet, I am not sure what the minima are to stream). Ditto for Bluetooth. My only regret here is that the only way to enter an SSID password is somewhat clunky: I wish Choyong added a rotating knob (a small version of what Choyong put in its (superb) Maestro, only without a touchscreen of course) as that would not only make adding passwords (or any other alphanumeric entries) quick and easy, that would also make navigating the menus much easier. And since there is plenty of space on top of the WT2 to add such a knob, this should be easy to implement.

 

I also tested the eSIM. It was my first eSIM experience and it was very quick and easy to install. Thanks to that capability, you can stream directly from the Internet via a celltower without even having to purchase a physical SIM card. Choyong has an offer for 0.99 dollars for the first month and then 19.99 for every subsequent month. I am not sure if I have to cancel in order to avoid the 20 bucks costs, or how it is done, but I am sure this is not too complicated.

 

Now a potential problem: when receiving the FM/SW/MW broadcasts, you cannot use the BT connection. Which would be no big deal if the unit had a jack to connect a headphone/earphones, but it does not have that either. So when listening to FM/SW/MW broadcast, you are stuck with the WT2’s speaker. That is definitely a flaw, especially that having an headphone connected to the unit would improve reception to boot. Maybe this is due to a lack of space, but I really regret that oversight. One option would be to have the USB-C port used to connect an audio cable but, I checked, the USB-C is only good for charging, it cannot accept an audio connection. I really hope that Choyong fixes that issue and makes it possible to pipe the broadcast signal into headphones or another speaker.

So in terms of connectivity, I will give the WT2 a 6/10 with the hope that future firmware address some of these shortcomings.

 

>>Lastly, let’s look at the WT2’s USB-C and TFT ports:

 

As I mentioned, as of today, the USB-C port is only for charging. Maybe this will change in the future. As for the TFT port, it works fine sometimes and sometimes it freezes (usually the first time). The workaround? Reboot and try again, this usually works. It also has one weird quirk: a folder with a name in Chinese characters is created by the radio, but you can ignore it, as all the other folders (for your music) are visible and easy to access. In fact, that folder is where your recordings go (did I mention you can record a stream?). Alas, the sound quality of the recorded streams is, frankly, pretty bad. I took a closer look at the WAV file created by the WT2 and it is: 128kb/s, 8000Hz, 16bits, 1 channel, PCM. Which is pretty normal. I wonder if the speed of the SIM card is to blame. Or maybe my WT2 is defective.

As a music player capable of recording, I cannot give the WT2 more than 4 stars. This is definitely the weakest point for this otherwise amazing radio!

 

>>Assorted comments and thoughts:

 

I have to say that this radio is a lot of fun! Yes, it is a great radio in most of its aspects, but it also has something magical which toys (including toys for adults!) have. So not only do you get a fantastic multi-functional transceiver, you also get a wonderful device which is simply fun to carry around (or travel with). There is A LOT packed into this pretty small device (which, alas, does not come with a case, which it should, but you can buy a Pelican 1020 Micro Case and then remove a small piece of the internal housing (for the SMA port) and it will all fit in (once you remove the antenna) into this solid case).

 

The WT2 can completely replace any FRS radio and can communicate with GMRS/HAM radios, though not quite legally in the USA where FRS/GMRS/HAM radios have to be certified by the FCC to some norms; having said that, nobody cares about this and as long as you don’t make yourself a pest to others, especially messing with repeater or, God forbid, emergency services, you should be fine. When the repeater issue is fixed, this radio will be capable of hitting UHF repeaters, albeit with low power (2W unlike the 5W to 10W typically found in GMRS/HAM handheld transceivers) and with, shall we say, “moderate legality”. And since under US laws and FCC regulations you can use (almost) ANY radio on (almost) ANY frequency/band if life or limb are in danger, the WT2 has a solid emergency radio capability (and violations are not prosecuted in case of real emergencies).

 

The one regret here is that the WT2 has no resistance to the elements whatsoever (something crucial for any serious emergency radio). A metal body and an IP67 rating, combined with a solid screen protector (which Choyong should ship with this radio) would fix this issue and make the WT2 a solid performer in case of emergency.

 

One nice (and undocumented) feature is that you can mount the SIM card via the USB-C port. Mounting and managing the SIM card was a breeze on my GNU/Linux computer. I have no idea if computers running non-free/rental OSs (like Windows or macOS) can also do that. Also, while mounted, the WT2 also charges. I really wish the USB-C port had an analogue IQ (in-phase and quadrature) capability piping into a computer’s sound card or SDR software for spectrum display, waterfall, and demodulation beyond what the WT2 itself offers. That would make it possible to connect the WT2 to an tablet or laptop while traveling!

 

Another undocumented feature of this radio is that as soon as the screen switches off, whether automatically or manually, this also disables all the buttons on the WT2, thereby avoiding accidental presses which, considering how “light” the PTT and volume buttons are is a great feature which makes life a lot easier for users.

 

Conclusion:

 

I love the WT2. I did not think that I would, but I do. For the price, this is a steal and future firmware updates might make the WT2 even better. The main quality of the WT2? It is A LOT of fun, at least for me. And it has a tremendous growth potential. Choyong really produce yet another truly fantastic radio which I play around while at home and I will take to all my future trips.

 

Get one, you will not regret it!

Edited December 20, 2025 by Andrei
repeater issue fixed.

[OffRoaderX]

I must say.. That is...  a lot of words..

[Andrei]

44 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

I must say.. That is...  a lot of words..

no worries, it was written for folks with an attention span longer than that of a guppy fish

but thanks for the informative and insightful comment, much appreciated!

good luck with the GED exam!

[OffRoaderX]

2 minutes ago, Andrei said:

it was written for folks with an attention span longer than that of a guppy fish

 

[onemanparty]

Thanks for the review. This looks like a fun device.

[WRUE951]

dam,, i just got drunk reading that..  I thought one beer would do it but it took a 6 pack to get through all of that.  

[Andrei]

7 hours ago, onemanparty said:

Thanks for the review. This looks like a fun device.

you are very welcome, it is fun indeed. and I fixed the repeater problem, so it is even better than reviewed

[TNFrank]

I like the Debian swirl your avatar. 

[tcp2525]

Are you a Choyong salesman? And can I get a side order of dumplings and hot and sour soup? Oh, and easy on the monosodium glutamate.

On a more serious note, the radio looks pretty cool and priced really good. It's almost too nice to use as a disposable radio. 

[Andrei]

11 hours ago, tcp2525 said:

Are you a Choyong salesman? And can I get a side order of dumplings and hot and sour soup? Oh, and easy on the monosodium glutamate.

On a more serious note, the radio looks pretty cool and priced really good. It's almost too nice to use as a disposable radio. 

thanks for another substantive comment which adds a lot to the discussion!  soon we will have a full aquarium 

[tcp2525]

24 minutes ago, Andrei said:

thanks for another substantive comment which adds a lot to the discussion!  soon we will have a full aquarium 

Hey, I'm always here to  help. Just remember, my shoulder is always open for you to cry on. Oh, if you can whip up some shrimp and scallops with black bean sauce I would really appreciate it. I almost forgot, please make that extra spicy!!! You get it right and you get a good tip.

[SteveShannon]

@Andrei, thanks for your effort in writing a thorough and informative review. Please don’t let the negativity dissuade you from future contributions. 
Although I hadn’t heard of Choyong before, after reading it I won’t be buying the Choyong. I’m happy to have a yaesu vx-6 and a vx-7. 

[Andrei]

you know, I am amazed at the psychological and spiritual ugliness of these folks, it is like they live in a mental sewer and are furious as soon as somebody clearly is enjoying something, be it a piece of kit or anything else.  I mean, I get it, they cannot contribute anything of value, so pontificating is the one option for them.  Maybe they were bullied in school or have issues with what they "identify as", who knows.

Whatever may be the case, thank you for your kind words.  I wrote this review because I changed my mind about the WT2 and I thought that others might be interested.  And yet even Randy (whose channel I love) seems unable to contribute anything more than a vapid comment about "too many words" (did he watch "Mozart" recently ?).  Make me think that there are at least as many sad GMRSers as there are sad HAMS.  Apparently they don't know the rule "if you have nothing to say - then say nothing".

If I come across another piece of kit I really like, I might post a review here, but my expectations in terms of feedback will be dialed back to zero: I simply will assume that most folks on this fora act like "spiders in a jar" (Russian expression).  I guess I will write the next one with folks in like you and a few others in mind.

Have a great Sunday and Merry Christmas!

[tcp2525]

14 minutes ago, Andrei said:

you know, I am amazed at the psychological and spiritual ugliness of these folks, it is like they live in a mental sewer and are furious as soon as somebody clearly is enjoying something, be it a piece of kit or anything else.  I mean, I get it, they cannot contribute anything of value, so pontificating is the one option for them.  Maybe they were bullied in school or have issues with what they "identify as", who knows.

Whatever may be the case, thank you for your kind words.  I wrote this review because I changed my mind about the WT2 and I thought that others might be interested.  And yet even Randy (whose channel I love) seems unable to contribute anything more than a vapid comment about "too many words" (did he watch "Mozart" recently ?).  Make me think that there are at least as many sad GMRSers as there are sad HAMS.  Apparently they don't know the rule "if you have nothing to say - then say nothing".

If I come across another piece of kit I really like, I might post a review here, but my expectations in terms of feedback will be dialed back to zero: I simply will assume that most folks on this fora act like "spiders in a jar" (Russian expression).  I guess I will write the next one with folks in like you and a few others in mind.

Have a great Sunday and Merry Christmas!

Hey, we love ya brother and really appreciated your review, I know I did. I'm not sure why you're sliding off the deep end and falling into an emotional abyss. Being certified in trying to bring desperate lost souls back that take themselves too serious, I will give you some free advice. Lighten up and enjoy life, you will live longer and have less constipation. 

[SteveShannon]

22 minutes ago, Andrei said:

you know, I am amazed at the psychological and spiritual ugliness of these folks, it is like they live in a mental sewer and are furious as soon as somebody clearly is enjoying something, be it a piece of kit or anything else.  I mean, I get it, they cannot contribute anything of value, so pontificating is the one option for them.  Maybe they were bullied in school or have issues with what they "identify as", who knows.

Whatever may be the case, thank you for your kind words.  I wrote this review because I changed my mind about the WT2 and I thought that others might be interested.  And yet even Randy (whose channel I love) seems unable to contribute anything more than a vapid comment about "too many words" (did he watch "Mozart" recently ?).  Make me think that there are at least as many sad GMRSers as there are sad HAMS.  Apparently they don't know the rule "if you have nothing to say - then say nothing".

If I come across another piece of kit I really like, I might post a review here, but my expectations in terms of feedback will be dialed back to zero: I simply will assume that most folks on this fora act like "spiders in a jar" (Russian expression).  I guess I will write the next one with folks in like you and a few others in mind.

Have a great Sunday and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you too!

[WSAQ296]

The form factor doesn't thrill me. Radios need to be durable and look it. This looks like it's less durable than an Iphone, and was built for functions, not longevity. 
I appreciated the review.  Lots of PoC stuff out there, and everyone is playing their game a little different.

 

[Andrei]

On 1/5/2026 at 6:45 PM, WSAQ296 said:

The form factor doesn't thrill me. Radios need to be durable and look it. This looks like it's less durable than an Iphone, and was built for functions, not longevity. 
I appreciated the review.  Lots of PoC stuff out there, and everyone is playing their game a little different.

 

I am fine with the form factor, but I full concur on the solidity thing.  I really like metal on my radios, and this one does feel, maybe not fragile, but not strong either.  True, that does make the WT2 lighter.  But still.  Let's just say that I hope I never drop it...  I recently got a pair of TIDRADIO TD-M15 and they look much more solid.

Cheers