MSN Direct service only available til January 1, 2012

I will cancel mine right away!!

It's upsetting, but not totally unexpected. I'll miss the MSN Direct functionality, but it's not a showstopper for me. I'll hang onto my GPS despite it.

i think most traffic services are not very good, but hopefully this will get better

Call MSN, they are giving prorated refunds and extending the service free of charge until 01-2012.

I might as well take the prorated refund as long as they are extending the service for free... But my original agreement said it was not guaranteed beyond 2012, so I really have no argument (also, I never saw an email saying anything had changed).

Microsoft has certainly taken a few dollars from me over the years, I wouldn't mind a few back.

Larry

[quote=bramfrank
If you have one, please contact me - after this week they will no longer accept activations with lifetime subs . . .

It's what the supervisor I spoke with told me when I asked them to extend my service gratis . . . I had been waiting for the trial to expire (end of November) and when I heard that the lifetime option had been withdrawn started a dialog with them:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/25468

When it was posted here that they were refunding pro-rata and letting the units remain active, I called and asked them to extend my trial - afer all, it wasn't my fault . . . I got transferred to a supervisor and he was the one who told me.

So, if you have an uninitialised card and want to sell it, please let me know.

Copy of the email I received yesterday. Nothng about free service:

"Dear valued MSN® Direct One-Time Payment customer,

We are writing to let you know that MSN Direct service will no longer be available after January 1st, 2012. To continue to receive service until then there is no action required on your part. You will automatically continue to enjoy the full benefits of MSN Direct, along with service and support, up until that date.

Changes in the marketplace, device capability and alternative network availability have all contributed to reduced demand for the MSN Direct services. Despite good initial adoption, Microsoft has made the decision to end transmission of MSN Direct services on January 1st, 2012.

One-Time Payment customers will automatically receive a prorated refund after January 1st, 2012 to the credit card account we have on file, for any unused portion of their subscription. No action is required for eligible customers to receive this refund. The unused portion for the One-Time Payment is calculated based on a 3-year term from the time of purchase. To update your billing information, please visit Billing & Account Management. More information on refund requests and MSN Direct services can be found at: http://www.msndirect.com/MSNDirectServiceAnnouncement.aspx.

Thank you for using MSN Direct services.

The MSN Direct Team"

Well.... alls well that ends well.

GadgetGuy had posted elsewhere that if you called MSN Direct that they would give a pro-rated refund AND keep your service actuvated a customer perk.

I am sure they figured it would keep the masses happy, thinking they are getting something for nothing.

I had the One-Tiem card and was instructed to activate all of the card I had and then call right back to request they terminate the service and issue a refund.

That's exactly what I did. I got refunds for all the Subscriptions (minus a few pennies for the few minutes it was activated) and as a bonus, I will continue to receive the service until they totally terminate operations in Jan.2012.

So now, it sorta does seem like I'm getting something for nothing... but I still may end up having to BUY another traffic receiver of some sort after Jan.2012. The GTM-20 is currently going for around $80-100 with lifetime. My GDB50 MSN receivers will become spare power adapters.

I speculate that in two years, the FM Traffic delivery system will be supplanted by something akin to the NuLink service that Garmin has launched anyway.

Did you have more cards than receivers?

If so, it would have been nice if you'd have either sold a card to me (as I PMed you yesterday) or simply used my receiver numbers for one or two of your activations, so I could have benefited from the policy too.

Anyone have a spare card or two?

bramfrank,

Sorry... but I had already done the deed with MSN by the time I saw your email.

I would have gladly sold you one.....

Have you checked around at any of the Best Buys.

Some of them still have the cards.

Regards

I called today to cancel my lifetime subscription. Got a $95 refund AND continued service through 1/1/2012.

Bah... they really could care less. I had MS money for the longest time. Then poof.. Microsoft said that due to the market and technology they were dropping the product. You would think that the product itself would still work, but no.. you get a pop up window telling you that it expired and the on-line functions no longer work. (ie: you can't sync with any banks..ect)

bottom line.. MS does it all the time. Would not bother people if they did not cripple the software.

Microsoft is doing the right thing, even thought they don't need to, because they did have a disclaimer. and people elected to not pay it any attention.

Seriously, I expect Garmin to clear their warehouse of MSN receivers before they quit selling them. Don't count on Garmin Swapping anything because that's not going to happen!

I too, was dismayed by MSN's decision to terminate their MSN Direct Service on January 1, 2012. I truly enjoyed the service.
My decision to purchase my Nuvi 855T with the MSN direct option as opposed to FM Traffic was largely determined by the coverage offered by MSN Direct.
After reading your many post, I cancelled my subscription & received the free complimentary service till the termination date. If it's any consolation after my pro-rated rebate of $95 and some change (Subscription was purchased 8/4/09) - it's was like getting the service for 2 1/2 years for $4.
By 2012, who knows what will be available.

About how displeased I am with the service and availabilty.. My 785 traffic and service reception absolutely sucks in the Northeast, but I guess I will not be seeing service improvement in the future....

is the ability to find a business or address with BING and sending the address to my 765t via MSN DIRECT!

I purchased the MSN DIRECT cable from Amazon two months ago with plan to purchase the lifetime when my free year was up! Now I wonder if I will loose the service when my year is up in 2010! I doubt MS will comp my subscription to 2012.

My situation exactly, except that I needed to renew the week after they discontinued the free trial and they refused to sell me the subscription, no matter how hard I tried.

They have told me that ONLY those with the lifetime subs will get the extension.

So subs in their free trial period, and those with annual subscribers will not get any service extension.

Maybe Microsoft is using a Mayan Calendar....

Glad I changed my mind on the three 780s that I own! Typical of Microsoft though...

I did cancel allready and got refund and free service until 2012, now, I'm going to try to get a GTM20 from Garmin to replace the MSN service.

I just canceled. I signed on for the one time payment 5 weeks ago when I received an email from MSN Direct for my renewal and stating the service was not guaranteed after 2014. Then I received the letter canceling the service effective 2012. I politely stated that was a poor business practice on their part (hoping to get the free extension). The rep didn't take the bait, oh well. Time to shop for a GTM 20 for my 885t.

I got no luck on getting the GTM20 as a replacement, I got a very nasty customer service person (Chantal) and she refused to exchange the GDB50 for the GTM20...oh well

I dont know if I should buy a new receiver or just wait.

Do nothing = wait

After several years of subscribing to the MSN Direct service I suddenly was no longer in there service area. I didn't move so they must have done something to their signal source. I called customer service and requested a refund of my unused subscription and my credit card was credited within 30 days with no questions asked. My 780 will still suite my purposes without the service.

Managed to get the free service and refund by calling. Good deal.

I don't know about other vendors, but the Garmin C580 and Nuvi 680 will work with the GTM-20 RDS-TMC receiver so you will be able to switch your device over to RDS based traffic when the GDB-50 is no longer usable. I have also tried the opposite as well and used a friends GDB-50 on my C550 without any problems. It basically turned it into a C580 for as long as the GDB-50 was connected. Likewise the Nuvi 680 works fine with my GTM-20 and displays RDS-TMC traffic reports. I suspect any of the MSN Direct based Nuvi units that come in both MSN Direct and RDS-TMC flavors (765T/785T, 265/285, etc.) will be able to support the RDS-TMC receivers.

It was interesting to note on the MSN Direct page announcing the end of the service that Microsoft is recommending RDS-TMC as one of the alternatives. Microsoft published a paper at http://www.msndirect.com/RDS_MSNDirect_Comparison.pdf back in 2008 detailing why they though MSN Direct was a better service than RDS-TMC. Now it seems that RDS-TMC will be the survivor and they are recommending it. So much for the superiority of MSN Direct.

Bad to hear, but I think I will replace my gps by then anyway.

The piece in question is a comparison of the technolgies - and Microsoft was bang on about the benefits of their transmission coding and modulation over those of the RDS users.

Beyond traffic reports, it allowed Microsoft to send weather maps, forecasts, news, flight arrival times, local interest announcements and gas pricing in the same spectrum where the traffic-only providers can only send their limited traffic messages.

Unfortunately, Microsoft's potential market share appears to have been seriously eroded by the plethora of providers, some of whom were not charging (which is not likely to be a sustainable business model) - and by the lack of manufacturer variety - only being available from Garmin, probably limited the potential client base by half . . . and even so, only a small percentage of Garmin's navigators came equipped for MSN Direct.

Garmin's GSM-based NuLink two-way offering will be pretty costly - probably at least $5/month and up - and from what I've been told, roaming charges will apply for those who cross the Canada-US and Mexico-US borders - will you be able to disable the service? I haven't played with a 1690 yet, so I don't know.

Any information from Garmin on what they will do? Is garmin willing to exchange our GDB50 for GTM20 for free? after Jan 1,2012

Garmin in a statement that was not made by anyone with the authority to speak for the company said "After 2012 we might offer a $10 coupon for any unit using a GDB50 cord toward the price of a new unit."

EDIT: In a further statement Garmin clarified the conditions. "The unit must be returned with all its original packing and proof of purchase."

In other words - I wouldn't hold my breath expecting them to take back what is essentially a useless adapter.

Where did you find this statement? If they give a $10 coupon for a new unit, Will Garmin transfer my lifetime map with the new unit as long they have a contract NAVTEQ until 2015?

I spoke with Garmin this past Wednesday asking that very question. I asked if I could swap my GDB 50 that I activated 09-26-09 with the GTM 20, in view of MSN Direct cutting service early. Garmin said they would call me back and let me know. I still have not received an answer, but when I do I will post the response.
I recently took a vacation with my wife to Connecticut and Vermont, and was very impressed with the traffic service. I was spoiled and now want this whenever I use a GPS. I was thinking of the Navteq Lifetime Traffic

As I said before, the customer service person acted like being offended when I requested the exchange of receivers.

We should keep calling Garmin until we get a definite answer. Agree?

This is frustrating. Youi wonder what kind of loyalty Garmin or MSN expect. I remember, back whem ATT dropped their cable service and COMCAST came in to replace them. It was awkward, difficult but eventually it was acceptable. Now ATT wants to get back in the business. I refuse to even consider, because when they get tired of it they will drop you again.

Garmin and MSN will experience the same attitude, not just from me but many others.

Why would they need to exchange them now?

The existing MSN receivers will still be functioning and providing normal MSN Direct services for another 2 years & 2 months. If you call MSN Direct and cancel service they will give you your money back and still give you the service for free untill it ends. I did that and they refunded my money by the next day.

I ended up selling my MSN Receiver on EBay and between the refund and the sale I got $165 and will just go back to my FM Traffic Receiver. If you want to go to the FM receiver just do what I did and you can get a new FM receiver with lifetime service and still have money left over.

Just for the simple reason that on the box of my Nuvi says that it would provide traffic alerts and that was the main reason I bought this product since I drive about 60 mile from home-work-home every day and I rely on the traffic up-ahead, the freeways and streets I know already, but how they look every morning I don't...to me that would be enough reason to at least fix the disappointment for not having a full feature product that I payed for already...!don't you think???!

When you sell it? Will GDB50 work with other unit?
Just a thought before I post it on EBAY

I guess I'll try calling to cancel and see what my refund is... Too bad, since I actually liked some of the functionality.

I had used my MSN receiver with a 550c, 760 and a 885T so yes it will work with other GPS units.

Thank you

Amazon had a very brief sale on the 1 year MSN Direct cards for something like $26 and I bought 2 before I read about them discontinuing the service in 2012. I guess I lucked out since my current sub expires in 9/10 and these cards would have extended me to 9/12. I will not lose as much money.

When I bought my Garmin I assumed that MSN would end in 2014 and I decided not to but the lifetime.

I also assumed that in 3 years I would have replaced my GPS with something newer and better. The cost of just over $50 for 2 more MSN Direct years made more sense to me than $100 for "lifetime".

Electronics have become almost disposable and 3 years is the "lifetime" of much of the current consumer electronics. It does amaze me how a $300+ item can seem so old in 3 years. I guess the electronic companies have changed our perceptions.

I know this thread is old news, but...

I bought a Nuvi 780 a few weeks ago, knowing that the MSN-direct service would end 01.01.2012. Being an older model, it was on sale and was a deal (IMHO), plus they were offering a 9-month free subscription to MSN-direct if I signed up before March. I chose this one over the newer models that offered alternatives to the MSN.

I have an Transcontinental motorcycle trip coming up in July-2010 and found the MSN-service to be appealing. My 9-months of free service (which I have already activated) would carry me through, and I was not that concerned about the service being discontinued as I felt it unlikely that I would continue to pay for the service beyond the 9-months anyway.

Besides. Two years is a LONG TIME when it comes to technology, and I figured that in that time a cheap (or free) alternative with be available to existing MSN-direct equipped units (a lot can change in a short time) if I even cared to use such a service, OR I would replace the entire unit with a new one that is 10X better for half the price. Of course, I'm still using my Garmin GPS-V, so maybe not. The Nuvi 780 may be with me for a long time.

Now that I've been using the MSN-direct for a week, I'm discovering that I really like it. Even if it is aging technology, it still works (and from the short time I've used it, works fairly well). It's a shame that it's being canned.

Before I realized that the cable was the MSN receiver, I bought an aftermarket power cable to be hard-wired to a power source on my motorcycle. Doing that simplifies the setup on the MC but I lose the MSN functions. No biggie, I'll just use the MSN cable, right? Well, that's possible but routing the cable through the RAM-mount brackets and "Aqua" box, makes it very difficult to come-n-go with the cable. I have to physically unscrew the back bracket from the box, the separate the cable from the box. It certainly is not a "Quick Detach" situation. The cable is either installed WITH the Aqua Box, or it's not. If I use it with the MC, I have to leave the cable there when I use the Nuvi with my Jeep. That kinda sucks. One place or another, I can't have my cake and eat it too.

So, I start shopping for an extra MSN receiver cable on eBay and find plenty. The trouble is, even though the service is terminal, the cables are still bringing decent bucks. To top it off, I discover that my activated account will not work with the new cable, and I would have to get a separate activation to make it work. Two MSN-direct accounts for one Nuvi? That kinda sucks.

With the chit chat here about MSN and their willingness to leave accounts activated, I've thought about buying an additional receiver/cable anyway (one that does not have an active account, as those are significantly cheaper), trying it out (knowing that it will most likely not work), then calling up MSN support and pleading my ignorance. Maybe they will take pity. Is it worth the gamble? I'm thinking not, but worse case... I'll have a spare power cable.

Apologies for such a long post to describe such a simple dilemma.

Suggestions?

A lot can happen in two years. With the infrastructure already in place for the service, I would not be surprised if some other company takes it over. Then again, I would not be surprised if they don't.

I can get GPS and mapping on my current cell phone, although I have not decided to enable the GPS feature (monthly surcharge involved). I really like the idea of having a dedicated GPS reciever in my vehicle, with the traffic alerts integrated into the route planning.

Guess I will wait until my yearly subscription expires then see what is available.

I'm waiting to see if AT&T will come up with a gadget that will put a cell phone receiver chip in a power plug to replace the MSN and other cords out there. From what I've heard about the Nu-Link service is it mimics the MSN data pretty much down the line.

this sucks big time

XM NavTraffic/NavWeather is slowly being phased out of the Garmin units. I don't think you can buy a new unit with it at this point.

My service is still there (traffic, weather, stocks..) but if I were to buy today I'd go with the FM traffic service. You can pay once (about $60 I think) and then you're done. I think the traffic info is well worth it for that.

I find the traffic really handy myself. Just 2 weeks ago I was leaving Orlando and the Florida Turnpike was shutdown due to an accident. My GPS alerted me, I routed around, and got on just past the accident. That right there is gold over getting on the turnpike and being stuck for hours.

well its discontinued on 2012
enjoy it while u still can