Been using a couple of different Garmins in my car for a number of years, and I'm getting frustrated with the poor updating. Not as far as getting on-line updates, but their old information. You're tootling around up north, you look for the nearest gas station or restaurant, go there, and find that it's been closed for years. Or a bridge across a river that no longer exists, former roads that are now dead ends, etc. I've sent them numerous updates through their reporting system and nothing has changed. The first one I sent them was about a bridge across the river in Lindsay that no longer has a road leading to it, and just the supports are standing. That was five years ago, and the area looks like the bridge was gone fifty years ago.
Is there a better GPS than Garmin?
- Thread starter Boss Nass
- Start date
I enjoy using Waze. I like the updates to routes in real time.
How old is your most recent Garmin? Do you pay for the annual updates?
How old is your most recent Garmin? Do you pay for the annual updates?
2 years old, and I have lifetime updates. Hook it up every month or so to get the latest.
Yes, sometimes the cel system coverage is poor so phone nav systems are useless. Okay in urban areas, but no good if you're on a back road north of Kapuskasing.
Two things might ruin even that:
1) A massive solar event that disrupts all satellite communications - could last for hours or even days.
2) Satellites disabled by space junk or the Chinese or the Russians or aliens or the Jewish Space Laser Corps or who knows?...
I carry topographics of most of Ontario, but they don't show places to grab a meal. If only the maps were edible.
There was/is a scam website that impersonates Garmin support. They download an update to you, and then a couple of months later call you to say there is an error in the update and then disable your computer and ask for money to undo it.
It's not about the hardware, it's all about the data. And Garmin's auto data is wayyyyy behind Google Maps and Waze.
I find that Waze is awesome for driving around town, up to the cottage etc. It is always updating traffic, accidents and alternate routes. So many times I have been on my way somewhere and there is a big accident or something that blocks off the highway. Without getting stuck, I get re-routed around the traffic jams.
Google maps is great for finding business', restaurants etc. Their maps are incredibly accurate and always being updated.
With Google Maps you can download areas to your phone so you don't need a data connection. You drag and drop an area and voila...it gets downloaded. I use it for when I go to the US or Europe where I don't want to use data. You can download northern Ontario so if you don;'t have reliable cell service you still have the map data.
I find that Waze is awesome for driving around town, up to the cottage etc. It is always updating traffic, accidents and alternate routes. So many times I have been on my way somewhere and there is a big accident or something that blocks off the highway. Without getting stuck, I get re-routed around the traffic jams.
Google maps is great for finding business', restaurants etc. Their maps are incredibly accurate and always being updated.
With Google Maps you can download areas to your phone so you don't need a data connection. You drag and drop an area and voila...it gets downloaded. I use it for when I go to the US or Europe where I don't want to use data. You can download northern Ontario so if you don;'t have reliable cell service you still have the map data.
I’ve used a Garmin gps in the past mainly for trips to Europe. It worked well enough, was a real pain to update though. i’ve been using Google maps for several years during European trips and found it way better than a dedicated gps unit. Plus you can download maps for off line use and save on roaming charges.
Still not perfect, but it gets you where you want to go. During one trip in Spain, the gps kept going around in circles. We switched to the phone and Google mps had us back on track in under 5 minutes.
The latest version of Apple maps is impressive. Used it in Vancouver and really liked it. Just doesn’t offer off line maps. This might only be an issue where data charges might be expensive.
Still not perfect, but it gets you where you want to go. During one trip in Spain, the gps kept going around in circles. We switched to the phone and Google mps had us back on track in under 5 minutes.
The latest version of Apple maps is impressive. Used it in Vancouver and really liked it. Just doesn’t offer off line maps. This might only be an issue where data charges might be expensive.
Have you ever had a situation where you get off the plane and you turn on your Garmin and it takes forever to find your location? I flew to Phoenix once and had a long wait at the car rental. I finally got my car and the Garmin still hadn't tracked it down. I had no idea where to go.
It was like that in France for me a number of years ago. I thought my garmin was dead.
Yes, that’s when I switched to my phone permanently. The garmin gps sat in my suitcase the rest of the trip. I still like garmin watches for fitness though. But for navigation, Google or Apple maps are my choice now.
I had same problem with Garmin, no street, no bridge etc. and if it can't find a sat it means I have to update it, between 60-90 days to avoid sat connection.
I will have to check google maps download.
I use OSM - https://www.openstreetmap.org/ it's available for Android -> https://osmand.net/
The reason I use GPS is to avoid data links.
Of course I can download OSM to my garmin on a sd card.
I will have to check google maps download.
I use OSM - https://www.openstreetmap.org/ it's available for Android -> https://osmand.net/
The reason I use GPS is to avoid data links.
Of course I can download OSM to my garmin on a sd card.
Garmin leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They are fat, lazy and overpriced. They've been ripping off boaters for years with their GPS navigation maps.
No, you can use gps on phones even when 0 cell coverage. All it needs is gps. I use this for sailing all the time.
Just download offline map like this...
Our last dedicated GPS machine was a TomTom. It got updated every few months, but the problem with it was that it had a limited 2GB of internal memory, and you couldn't increase it with an SD card or anything. It had lifetime updates too. So when we first purchased it, it could hold the entire Canada and US in its memory. Eventually that turned into giving you a choice of a smaller portion of the map, like only eastern Canada & US. Then it got limited to eastern Canada and northeastern US, etc. And even with the updates, it was woefully outdated with locations of restaurants and gas stations. So eventually we got with the times, and started using Google Maps on the phone.
I have a Garmin with an added SD card in each car, even if it has a dashboard GPS. I like the Garmins. I have one specially set up for Canada in Km with the mellifluous sounding British woman's voice. I like it when she coaxes and encourages me to the next roundabout. The American woman's voice just nags and complains. Also, I don't want Waze to track every campaign meeting.
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For someone who's less tech savvy, to use Google maps on a phone, if the maps have been downloaded, you don't need data turned on? I'd prefer to use an ipad due to the larger screen, but mine is wifi only so I understand it does not have a GPS chip. I think it will work with cell service, but is less accurate, correct?
Bruh, really ????
If you have an iPhone you can share your gps with your wifi iPad...
If you don’t have iPhone you can hotspot to any phone and use a gps dongle like this one...
For your offline google maps just turn the cell off and it should still work. Don’t airplane mode it.
