Bel Sti Driver Firmware Update

'The STi Driver is the only detector completely invisible to all radar detector detectors, while maintaining blistering sensitivity to all radar bands.' - Speed Measurement Labs Professional drivers require professional tools and the STi Magnum™ is the industry's most advanced radar and detection tool.

You are here: > > > Bel STi Driver vs Bel STi XR Radar detector Is there actually a difference between the Beltronics STi Driver Radar Detector (the model sold in the USA and throughout Europe) versus the Beltronics STi XR (the model sold in Australian / New Zealand)? Neltronics (in Western Australia) are the sole inporters / distributors for the XR version in AUS / NZ. No other country has a 'specially modified' variation of the Bel STi Driver. First, let's look at the packaging, and any external differences: The two radar detector models, the Bel STi Driver and Bel XR both come in an identical hard travel case, and include the exact same accessories. Other than the instruction manual & retail box showing driver and XR respectively, there are no packaging differences between the XR vs driver.

Click on image to enlarge On visual inspection, the Bel STi Driver has a screen printed case showing STI on the top / front, as well as the printing referring to the product as the STi Driver throughout the instruction booklet. Click on image to enlarge The Bel STi XR has a sticker printed XR NZ • AUS and stuck over the same area / section, and all documentation in the instruction booklet although almost identical, refers to it as the STi XR. Click on thumbnail to enlarge A close inspection of the 'XR NZ • AUS' sticker (that was not even attached straight), upon removal, shows a the exact same screen printed 'STi' label identical to the Bel STi Driver. The only other difference is an Australian C-tick label attached (again not straight!) to the underside of the Australian model. The compliance sticker on the bottom of each radar detector shows no differences other than the serial number.

Each sticker has the SAME FCC approval number for sale and distribution in the USA. If a unit had been designed and modified for another country, it would be reasonable to expect a different FCC approval number. So after determining the only external differences between the Bel STi Driver vs Bel XR are two paper stickers (that appear to be hand applied due to their aligment) the next step was to open the units up and look at their internals: The circuit board, electronic components and the antennas appear identical in both models. So if the hardware is identical, then they must have different software right?

It was originally stated on one of our 'The BEL STi XR has been independently tested in both a microwave lab and against the AU RDD Stalcar III used here in Australia. The BEL STi XR comes off a special production run designed specifically for AU/NZ conditions. This includes the improved A4 M9 Software which differs from the US model Bel STi Driver.' However, our competitor very quickly removed this lie (within days) of us calling them out! (You can click on the blue underlined link above to see an original screen shot of their webpage before they quickly changed it). Yes it seems, on that occasion, they 'did get caught' As you can see in our video below this is not (and never was) the case. The software versions are identical between the XR and Driver.

Beltronics did had some problems with the very first STi models released, with overheating issues and 'service required' coming up on the screen. Three earlier software revisions of the Bel STi included the A1M7, the A2M8 and the A3M8. If you reset your Bel STi detector, it will show you which software version your detector is running. The STi driver and the STi XR were reset to show the software version on each, as seen in the video to the left, and both models showed the same A4M9 software. Click on the image to watch the video. Even though the hardware and software appears identical, we took these two models out 'on the road' to test their performance and the claim that the Bel XR is 'tuned for Australia' The first radar test challenged a Multanova 6F speed camera (Ka band) and several passes were made with both the STi Driver and the STi XR to see if there were any differences in sensitivity between the two. Test One - the STI Driver (on the right in the video) alerted 1 second prior to the XR, and continued alerting about half a second longer. Very little difference. Click on the image to watch the video Test Two - the positions of the detectors were swapped, so the the STi Driver was now on the left.

The Sti Driver alerted a few seconds prior to the XR. Click on the image to watch the video Test three - on the return trip, (traveling in the opposite direction) the camera was on the opposite side of the road and facing in the opposite direction to travel. The V1 was tested in Euro mode against the STi Driver. The V1 alerted briefly on approach, then paused, and alerted again for a few seconds. The STi was quiet. Rimex ring tone naina the he bura.