Unfortunately, due to the nature of laser and how it works, it is possible to get a ticket from a laser gun without getting an alert from your radar detector. At capture range, which is roughly 1200 feet, the laser beam is quite narrow, about the size of a basketball or small pizza box. The officer will aim for the grill area of your car, as it's the most reflective surface. For this reason, it's possible for him to target the grill area of the car without the laser beam reaching the sensor on the detector up in the cabin of the car. Your best bet for getting a laser alert in advance is when the officer targets someone driving up ahead of you. You will have an opportunity to detect reflected laser from that encounter and adjust your speed. For the best performance with laser detection, mount your detector low on the windshield.
For a better level of protection against laser, we recommend a shifter, which is a more active countermeasure. For more information, look here: https://www.escortradar.com/collections/laser-shifters. (Shifters are not legal to use in all states)