Frequently Asked Questions

PA Scanners is a free, web-based public safety scanner service for Pennsylvania. We stream live radio traffic from Fire and EMS departments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No app, no account, and no cost required. Note: Pennsylvania police now use encrypted radio and cannot be streamed.

Completely free. No subscriptions, no premium tiers, no ads. We run this as a community service. If you'd like to help keep the servers running, there's an optional donation link on the Support page — but it's never required.

Nope. Just click Listen Now and you're in. No email, no login, no account of any kind. It's public safety radio — it should be public.

Yes, in Pennsylvania it is perfectly legal to listen to public safety radio transmissions. These are broadcasts on public airwaves. PA Scanners streams only unencrypted public radio traffic. We do not intercept private communications or encrypted channels. Always check your local laws if you're outside Pennsylvania.

Silence is normal! Unlike traditional radio, a scanner only plays when someone is actually transmitting. Between calls, you'll hear nothing — that's a good sign. Busy days (storms, major incidents) have near-constant traffic. Quiet evenings might have long gaps between transmissions. If you want to be sure the stream is live, check the LED indicator — a blinking green light means it's connected and waiting.

Try these steps in order: (1) Check that your device volume is up and not muted. (2) On mobile, tap the play button — some browsers require a tap before playing audio. (3) Refresh the page and try again. (4) Try a different browser (Chrome and Firefox work best). (5) Disable any browser extensions that block media or ads. If none of that works, let us know and we'll look into it.

Yes, there's typically a 15–30 second delay between when a transmission happens in the real world and when you hear it in your browser. This is normal for web-based audio streams and can't really be avoided. It's still effectively "live" for situational awareness purposes.

Yes! Most mobile browsers will keep the audio going even when you switch apps or lock your screen. If audio stops unexpectedly, return to the browser tab to resume it. For a more app-like experience, try using your browser's "Add to Home Screen" option to pin PA Scanners to your home screen.

Our coverage focuses on Pennsylvania Fire and EMS talkgroups on P25 digital radio systems. We may expand coverage over time. If you have a specific request, reach out via the Support page. Pennsylvania police agencies have moved to encrypted radio and are not available on any public scanner service.

Because Pennsylvania police agencies — including the Pennsylvania State Police and virtually all local departments — have migrated to encrypted digital radio. Encrypted transmissions cannot be received, decoded, or legally streamed by anyone. This is a statewide shift that has happened over the past several years. If you've been googling for a PA police scanner and keep coming up empty, that's why. It's not a gap in coverage — the transmissions simply aren't available to the public anymore. PA Scanners focuses on Fire and EMS, which remain unencrypted.

Some agencies may operate on separate radio systems not yet covered by our equipment, or may have moved to their own encrypted channels. If a department you care about is missing, let us know — we're always looking to expand what we monitor.

Yes! The Rdio Scanner interface keeps a history of recent calls. Scroll down below the main display to browse recent transmissions and click any one to replay it. You can also use the SEARCH button to find calls by talkgroup name or keyword. See the Listener's Manual for full details.

Chrome and Firefox give the best experience on desktop and mobile. Safari works well on iPhone and Mac. Edge is also fine. We don't officially support Internet Explorer (but honestly, please stop using IE).

No dedicated app — but the web interface works great on mobile browsers. You can use your phone's "Add to Home Screen" or "Install App" feature (available in Chrome and Safari) to add PA Scanners as an icon on your home screen that opens just like a native app.

The stream is powered by Rdio Scanner, an open-source digital scanner audio streaming platform. Our hardware uses software-defined radios (SDRs) to receive Pennsylvania P25 digital radio systems, which are then decoded, recorded, and streamed through the web interface in real time.