I have had mine since early this year, and the only things (very minor) that bugs me is the long squelch tail on crossband repeat mode and some clicking noise over the speaker mike. But I now use an external speaker, and turned off the mic speaker. The software works very well to program the radio, and I also have good clarity and range from the radio. My guess on your issue is you got a European version, so the software from Ed opened up the US frequencies.