Midland Weather Radios: Models, Manuals and External Antenna

Midland makes two very different kinds of weather radio, and mixing them up is the most common buying mistake. The desktop WR models sit by your bed and wake you only for warnings in the counties you pick. The portable ER models live in a go-bag, run on a crank or the sun, and sound for warnings on the local channel. Below: which one you need, every official manual in one place, and the external antenna.

Editorial Research

Written by

Lena Thornton, Weather Station Analyst & CWOP Contributor

Based on

Midland's owner's manuals for the WR120 (January 2024) and WR400 (November 2025), Midland's product pages for the WR120, WR400, ER310, ER310PRO, ER210 and ER40, and the National Weather Service pages on NOAA Weather Radio receivers, reception and outages

Hands-on testing

Not performed by The-Weather.com. All specs are Midland's; we did not measure them

Research last verified

October 22, 2026

Which Midland Weather Radio Do You Need?

Start with one question: do you want to be woken for a warning, or do you want a radio that keeps going when the power is out for days?

Midland Weather Radios Compared

Model	Type	County filtering (SAME)	Power	Worth knowing
WR120B	Desktop alert radio	Yes, up to 25 locations	AC adapter, 3 AA backup (not included)	90 dB siren, Public Alert certified, alert as tone, voice or display only
WR400	Desktop alert radio	Yes, up to 25 counties	AC adapter, 4 AA backup (not included)	Adds AM/FM and a USB charging port; siren, voice or LED alerts; Public Alert certified
ER310	Portable crank radio	Not mentioned by Midland	Rechargeable lithium-ion, crank, solar, 6 AA backup	"Weather alerts sound when issued on local channel". Battery: 2,600 mAh and up to 32 hours on Midland's spec sheet, 3,500 mAh and up to 45 hours on the current product page
ER210	Compact crank radio	Not mentioned by Midland	Rechargeable lithium-ion, crank, solar	Same alert wording as the ER310; up to 25 hours of normal use per Midland
ER40	Small crank radio	Not mentioned by Midland	2,600 mAh battery, crank, solar, USB	No AA backup, and no alerts while it charges your phone
ER310PRO	Portable crank radio	Not mentioned by Midland	10,000 mAh battery, crank, solar	Midland lists "60+ Alerts". We have not reviewed it yet
WR300	Desktop alert radio	See our comparison	See our comparison	Sits between the WR120B and WR400. We found no WR300 product page on midlandusa.com on October 22, 2026, so check the listing before you buy

Sources: Midland's product pages, spec sheets and manuals (links in the manuals table below). Where Midland gives two different numbers, we show both. Amazon's listing behind the WR120B button is titled for both the WR120B and the WR120EZ, while Midland's product page shows only the WR120B: check the model name of the option you pick.

The Big Difference: County Filtering

A NOAA transmitter covers many counties. SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) is the code that lets a radio sound only for the counties you choose. The National Weather Service calls it the feature that "allows you to specify the particular area for which you wish to receive alerts".

The WR120B and WR400 have it: you enter the 6-digit code for your county once, and a tornado warning two counties over stays a line on the display instead of a siren at 3 a.m. You can look up your code in our SAME Code Lookup, and the full menu steps are in how to program a Midland weather radio.

Midland describes the ER310 and ER210 differently: "Weather alerts sound when issued on local channel." Their pages, and the ER40's documents, do not mention SAME. So treat the ER radios as a backup that keeps you informed, not as the radio that decides when to wake you.

Midland Weather Radio Manuals

Lost the booklet? These are Midland's own PDFs, linked from its product pages. Check the model number on the back or bottom of your radio first: menus differ between models.

Model	Official manual	Most useful pages
WR120 (WR120B)	WR120 owner's manual (PDF, January 2024)	Quick start on page 2, accessory jacks on page 4, troubleshooting and factory reset on page 10
WR400	WR400 owner's manual (PDF, November 2025)	Quick start and setup mode at the front, accessory jacks with the display icons, troubleshooting on page 9
ER310	ER310 manual (PDF, Rev B, August 2025)	A scanned PDF, so your browser's search won't find words in it; flip through the pages instead
ER310PRO	ER310PRO owner's manual (PDF, Rev D, August 2025)	Also a scanned PDF without searchable text
ER210	ER210 manual (PDF, 2018)	Weather alert function on page 10, settings menu on page 11
ER40	ER40 owner's manual (PDF)	Alert button, charging; our ER40 review sums it up

The WR120 manual's file name says "WR120DSP"; Midland's product page uses it for the WR120B. For parts, warranty and questions, Midland has a support page.

Setting one up? Find your county code in our SAME Code Lookup, then follow how to program a Midland weather radio for every menu press on the WR120B and WR400.

Midland Weather Radio External Antenna

Both desktop manuals show an External Antenna jack on the radio, and both say the same thing when no broadcast comes through: "If in a weak signal area, you may need an external antenna." (The WR400 manual says "will need".)

• Midland's own option: the E+Ready Window Mount Antenna (18-259W). Midland lists it as compatible with the WR120, WR300 and WR400, with 12 feet of prewired cable.
• What the National Weather Service adds: "An antenna designed for analog VHF televisions or FM radios should work", and you can even tap into an existing TV antenna.
• Try this first, it's free: NWS says reception "can vary from room to room" and that moving a few feet can turn a weak signal into a strong one. A window facing the transmitter, away from other electronics, on an upper floor works best.
• The ER radios: the ER210 and ER40 manuals show a telescopic antenna and no external antenna jack. Midland's tip for both: fully extend the antenna and rotate it until reception is clear. The ER40 manual puts its range at "up to 50 miles from the weather station", depending on weather and terrain.

Still no signal with a good antenna? The transmitter itself may be off the air. Our NOAA weather radio off the air or not alerting page walks through it in order.

Strobe Lights and Bed Shakers

The WR120 and WR400 also have an External Alert jack. In the WR120 manual, every alert type (display, voice or tone) also activates "external alert devices". Midland sells a pillow shaker (SHKR100), a strobe and pillow shaker bundle (SBNDL) and a connecting cable (SYCBL) for its weather radios. The National Weather Service names exactly this kind of output connector as useful for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The full setup is in NOAA weather radios for deaf and hard of hearing users.

When Your Midland Acts Up

Both desktop manuals have a short troubleshooting table: page 10 in the WR120 manual, page 9 in the WR400 manual. Silent, hissing or no alerts? Check the transmitter before the radio: NOAA weather radio off the air or not alerting goes through it in order. Menu and reset questions for the WR120B and WR400 are answered in how to program a Midland weather radio.

Who Midland Suits, and Who Should Skip It

Weighing another brand? For a bedside alert radio, the Sangean CL-100 is the one we compared head to head in WR400 vs Sangean CL-100. For a crank radio, see ER310 vs Kaito KA500 and ER310 vs Eton FRX3. Whatever the brand, the National Weather Service doesn't recommend one over another, so compare on features: SAME, battery backup and the jacks you need.

If You Want One Portable Midland

Going by Midland's own specs, in one line each:

• ER310 if you want the most backup options: crank, solar, rechargeable battery and 6 AA batteries when all else runs dry.
• ER40 if you want a simple alert-capable crank radio and can live without AA backup. Note that it gives no alerts while it charges your phone (ER40 review).
• ER210 if you want the ER310's alert wording and crank and solar charging; Midland's specs for it list no AA backup (ER310 vs ER210).
• ER310PRO if charging phones is the main job: Midland lists a 10,000 mAh battery. We haven't reviewed it yet.

Where to Buy a Midland Weather Radio

Midland sells its radios on midlandusa.com, and the models on this page are also sold on Amazon (buttons above). Midland lists the WR120B and WR400 as Public Alert certified; what that logo means, and what to check before buying any brand, is in where to buy a NOAA weather radio. Comparing brands? See our best NOAA weather alert radios for a bedside radio and best emergency weather radios for home and go-bag picks.

More Midland Pages on The-Weather.com

• Midland WR120B review and Midland WR400 review
• WR400 vs WR120B, WR400 vs WR300 and WR400 vs Sangean CL-100
• Midland ER310 review, ER310 vs ER210, ER310 vs Kaito KA500 and ER310 vs Eton FRX3
• Midland ER40 review and FosPower A1 vs Midland ER40
• How to program a Midland weather radio and SAME Code Lookup
• NOAA Weather Radio explained, backup radio for disasters and weather radio for power outages

Midland Weather Radio FAQ

Update Log

• October 22, 2026: Rewritten from Midland's current manuals and product pages and the National Weather Service. New: the manuals table, the external antenna section, a portable pick per need, and the ER40 and ER310PRO. Corrected: the WR120B backup is 3 AA (not AAA), and the ER radios are no longer described as having SAME county programming. Removed claims we could not source, such as a lifespan table and a company timeline.

Sources

• Midland: WR120 owner's manual (PDF, January 2024)
• Midland: WR400 owner's manual (PDF, November 2025)
• Midland: WR120 product page and WR400 product page
• Midland: ER310, ER210, ER40 and ER310PRO product pages
• Midland: E+Ready Window Mount Antenna 18-259W
• National Weather Service: NOAA Weather Radio receivers
• National Weather Service: reception problems
• National Weather Service: NOAA Weather Radio for people with special needs
• All read October 22, 2026.