Batboard

Hello all. I'm very new to DMR and vertex programming so forgive me please. I recently purchased 3 evx534s in uhf 403-470 for a steal. All three were brand new in the box with factory codeplugs. I programmed my friends ham repeater into channel 1 and the same analog frequency into channel 2. The analog channel works fine but the DMR channel will only give me about half a mile from the machine before it stops receiving. I can see activity on the channel by the flashing green LED and signal meter shows 2 bars but it just won't unmute. I have also noticed that unless I am very close to the repeater I cannot transmit as well. I get an error message on the display. I've tested this side by side with an xpr7550 which comes in clear and transmits without an issue. All 3 evx 534s act the same which leads me to believe that it's something I'm doing. Firmware was updated to the latest, programming done with CE-151 software and aftermarket cable. Thank you all in advance for your help!