Best wind-up radios with a phone charger UK (2026): crank radios with a USB socket

Midland's manual gives a 10,000mAh cell, up to 100 hours of use (conditions not stated) and a USB-C port that outputs up to 3A, far more phone charging than most radios here offer. The catch is in the same manual: while it charges another device the radio drops to clock mode, so you can't charge and listen at once. For a cell this size the crank and solar panel are slow refills, with at best 10 minutes of recharge per hour of direct sun by Midland's figure. There's no DAB, no published IP rating and no AA fallback.

Worth knowing: The radio pauses while the unit charges another device, per the manual; AM/FM only, no DAB

Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you need DAB+, or want the radio to keep playing while it charges a phone. For DAB+ look at the Sangean MMR-88 DAB+ or the Nedis; the Philips TAR3500 adds an AAA fallback.

A popular all-in-one that does the basics competently, with a brighter torch than most here. We've trimmed what we used to say about it: the 12,000mAh capacity is a seller's claim with no teardown behind it, the torch is 3W rather than 5W, and the siren is 116dB. It takes three AAA cells, which matters. One owner says a full day in the sun didn't move the battery level, so treat the solar panel as a slow extra, and shortwave is no help in a UK emergency.

Worth knowing: The 12,000mAh battery and '50+ hours' are unverified seller claims, and one owner says a day in the sun didn't move the battery level

Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want DAB or a verified power bank. For DAB+ the CR1030DAB is the better ROCAM; for running times a manufacturer stands behind, look at the Philips sets.

Nedis states 15 hours of play from the 2,500mAh cell and 3 to 5 minutes of radio per minute of cranking, a modest figure, and its manual shows how to swap the 18650 cell. It's DAB+ and FM at 288g, with a torch, reading light and siren. The loose ends are real: no headphone socket, a 1W mono speaker, no published rating for the USB-A output so phone charging is unproven, no IP rating (the manual says to keep it dry), and a manual whose crank line ('around 3 to 5 minutes to fully charge') doesn't match the product page's figure.

Worth knowing: No headphone socket, a 1W mono speaker and no rated phone-charging output

Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want a water-resistant set or a rated phone-charging port. The Sangean MMR-99 has both, a dust and water rating and a 5V/1A USB-A port; the Philips TAR3500 is rated for dust and water but gives no USB output rating. Neither has DAB+.

Still a sensible budget pick because it gets the fundamentals right: AAA cells as a fallback, USB-C charging and a limited lifetime warranty. Be clear-eyed about the rest. The torch is a 20-lumen glow, the 2,000mAh cell gives a phone a top-up rather than a charge, the NOAA band is silent here, and the big review counts quoted for it in some UK blogs come from the US listing, not the UK one.

Worth knowing: The torch is 1W/20 lumens, which is dim, and the 2,000mAh cell is a phone top-up at best

Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want useful light or a real power bank. Add a head torch and a separate power bank, or step up to the Philips TAR1609 for a longer-running radio with published figures.

XHDATA is an established radio maker, and this is its wind-up model: a 3,000mAh battery that charges over USB-C, a hand crank and solar panel as backups, a torch and reading lamp, an SOS alarm and a USB port for a phone. AM tunes in 9kHz steps for UK medium wave. It has no DAB, and the listing gives no battery life, charging output, weight or dust and water rating. The weather band in its name is a US service, so ignore it here.

Worth knowing: No DAB, and no published battery life, charging output or IP rating

Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you listen on DAB. The Acta Berg DAB+ crank radio adds digital stations, and the Philips TAR3500 publishes its run time and an IP55 rating.

On paper the budget DAB+ answer: DAB+, FM with RDS, 60 presets, a 5,000mAh cell and three AAA cells as backup, in a 410g IPX4 body. Owner reports pull it down. Two owners say the solar panel adds little or nothing, one says the promised automatic switch to AAA never happened and the radio just shut down, and one got under 10 seconds of radio from 15 minutes of winding, though their fresh AAA cells also ran flat within hours, which points to a faulty set. So charge it from the mains, keep AAA cells in it, and don't count on the handle.

Worth knowing: Two owners say the solar panel adds little or nothing, and one got under 10 seconds of radio from 15 minutes of winding, possibly from a faulty set

Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you expect the crank or the sun to run it. If you can't keep it charged from the mains, a battery-only set or the Philips TAR1609 is the safer buy.

A step up from the Duronic Hybrid on features: a three-LED torch and a clock with alarm, on a 300mAh cell Duronic rates for 7 to 9 hours of radio. Duronic says a minute's winding gives 18 to 27 minutes of radio and one owner says at least 20, so that roughly holds up. Its manual shows the limits: the torch is only 11 to 14 lumens, and phone charging works by winding, at 4 to 15 minutes of talk time per 3 minutes of cranking, enough for a call, not a recharge. AM/FM only, with no AA or AAA option listed, and one owner says the tuning needs tweaking quite often.

Worth knowing: A 300mAh cell with no AA or AAA option listed, and a 35 to 42 hour solar charge by Duronic's figure

Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want DAB, a proper phone top-up or a battery fallback. The Philips TAR3500 has a USB-A port, AAA backup and a replaceable cell, and the Roberts Sports 925 runs on swappable AA cells, though neither has DAB.