2011.10 is out, but...

I haven't had to yet, but if you see my "free space" post above, I'm getting close.

A couple more updates and I'll have to start deleting. Each quarterly update has dropped my free space by about 100MB.

I did get the Mexico maps, by the way.

I assume you are talking about a 1490T? How much free memory did you have before you downloaded the new maps. Most people are saying you can't get the Mexico maps with the 1490T because there isn't enough free space.

Thanks for the info!

I had a look at the interactive map on Garmin's website. I see the changes made to Highway 64 in St. Louis haven't made it onto the update yet. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they appear soon. At least the road construction tag has been removed so my GPS will route to 64 again.

Yes, my 1490 only has about 130MB of free space AFTER deleting all the voices etc. I didn't need.

No, I have a 660. See my sig.

No Problem with download and install on my Nuvi 660.
Going to use it tomorrow....

Oh yes.. I DID NOT get an email from Garmin saying that a new map was available, but, when I checked My Garmin and it told me a new lifetime map was available, it did ask if I wanted an email notification for the next map upgrade....
I didn't bother.......

No email either.

I had no problem installing the new map and yes, I did get Mexico in this download. Bonus time!!!

The only issue I have is that it also upgraded the firmware to 4.90. This causes a lag and so I had to go back to 4.80 again. Too bad they don't offer a choice to install the latest firmware when the map update is processed. Oh well.

DL no problem here,no email tho,never a email!

It DL'd okay on my 1490T, but I've confirmed a couple of POIs in my area went bad. One was a grocery store that wound up on the wrong side of the street, and a WalMart that wound up a mile off. Oh well, I guess that's what Favorites and Custom POIs are for.

Upgraded to 2011.10, and had three random reboots this weekend as it was trying to find a route...

Thanks. I have to check for myself. I would never have remembered to check without seeing this.

Is this the biggest change most people have seen from a map upgrade?

Successfully downloaded the map update to my 750. Have been using it for the last couple of days without problems.

I hope the problems with 2010.4 have been corrected in this update.

You might try a hard reset if you haven't done so already. It may or may not help. In the past, I have had some strange anamolies after a map update that were corrected with a hard reset.

I notified NAVTEQ back in early 2008 (I'm on my 3rd NUVI) that a main road near my house is "restricted" (fence, dirt road) for about 1 mile. Sadly, my NUVI routes me there all the time. Just checked, Garmin maps still show it as a road - but NAVTEQ's 2010 map on their website shows it as invalid.

For those curious, Google is also wrong - though through their satellite, you can see 2 of the roads are dirt:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=...
(Kiefer, "road" to the left in that intersection is not even a dirt road - it is a COW TRAIL!)

and we'll see this week how it all works out

Here’s some info I got from Garmin regarding my question as to whether or not the new 2011.10 maps would fit on my nuvi 350:

“Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

I'll be happy to help you with this. We cannot tell you if a specific unit will hold the map update or not.

If you connect the unit to your PC you can determine how much free space is on the unit. This is what is going to determine what units will hold the map update. It also depends on what map you have loaded to the unit.

If you have the previous map version and are updating to the 2011.10 map there is about a 10 MB difference in size. If the unit will not hold the entire map update you can load the remainder of it to a blank SD card. If you want to see how much free space is on your unit follow the steps below.

1. Connect the unit to your computer using a USB cable
2. Click Start
3. Click My Computer or Computer
4. Right Click on Nuvi or Garmin Nuvi
5. Select Properties

You will see the amount of free space on your unit.”

Since my nuvi 350 has 396.1MB available I’m in good shape.

I hope this is the right place to post this...I'm new to the gps world.

I'm confused and was hoping someone could explain things to me. I got a nuvi 265T from Costco in Jan did the free update, no problem. Now there is a new update map and it's saying I have to buy it. I was under the impression that there was a lifetime free update of maps...am I wrong? Do I have to pay every time there is an update? I've only had the gps for less than 3 months and I already need to shell out more money?

Thnx in advance

How much are these SD Cards?

Sorry, there are no free lifetime map updates from Garmin. You do have free (with ads) lifetime traffic. You did get one free map update to bring your GPS purchase up to date shortly after you purchased your GPS.

But for newer maps, you have two choices (beyond choosing to continue to use your current older map): the One-Time numaps update (about $50 and most consider this not a good value) and the lifetime numaps update (generally about $90 at Amazon.com and occasionally much cheaper). Today, Amazon is charging $84.99

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-n%C3%BCMaps-Lifetime-America-Up...

but it's likely to be a different price tomorrow. If you monitor the forums here at POI Factory, someone will usually post a particularly good deal on map or GPS purchases. I think numaps lifetime has been as low as $70. Lifetime numaps will give you up to four map updates per year for the life of your GPS. If your GPS is lost or you replace it with a newer model, you'll need to buy another lifetime numaps if that's what you want--the old lifetime maps will not transfer to a different GPS.

The preloaded SD card map lists for $99.99

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=1456&pvID=73853

Thnx so so much for the help and the heads up. Few more questions for u if u don't mind.

Do u think if I wait awhile the price will go down or do u think I should just purchase the one on Amazon now and monitor for cheaper ones later?

If I go on Amazon is there a specific seller I should use? What 'keywords' do I use "garmin maps"?

On the forums here, do I just look for keywords like "gps maps for cheap" or cheap maps for sale"?

Again u've helped me tons...I really appreciate the help

You may want to do it while the deal is there now. Hard to say when it may get cheaper, and it's only a few bucks anyway!

Do the download if you have the choice...

Let me welcome you to the group.

The question of updates is a frequently asked discussion item. You are entitled to one free map update within the first 60 days of use. After that map updates have to be purchased. As you state you have the 265WT, you may be thinking about the traffic updates. This unit ships with a traffic receiver built into the power cord that receives traffic updates and displays them on the unit. This service is free for you to use and like the radio stations you listen to it is supported by advertising. The GPS will only display ads or coupons (at least as far as I have learned) when you are stopped. The traffic updates are the free lifetime service.

Is that really true - it has to be a "blank" SD card? I currently have a 4GB SD card that is about 1/4 full with mp3's, leaving about 3GB free. Wouldn't any remaining map regions install correctly on the 3GB that's available on the SD card?

Here's what I do:

The price (still $85 today) is pretty good but once or twice a year, it may be cheaper. Generally it's higher. I find that with popular items, Amazon changes prices fairly often, maybe due to competitors' pricing changes. Unless you're looking to save an extra $5 or so, today would be a good time to get the lifetime maps from Amazon.

The Amazon search term I use is: numaps lifetime

If you're looking for free and prompt S&H as I do, I buy direct from Amazon or from one of their "Sold by xxxx and Fulfilled by Amazon" Sellers. In any case, be sure to compare total price (item plus S&H) and not just the item price. Free S&H is best--just be sure that when you check out, you choose the free S&H option.

What I do here at the POI Factory is make sure I'm logged into the site, then check for new messages. (The message Subjects for these low price hardware and map tips varies widely, but you can figure out what to read when you see them.) After I've been through the messages I want to read, I then click "Mark topics in ALL FORUMS as read." Then , when you log in next time, just click "unread posts." This will limit the number of messages you'll need to go through each time you visit the site.

I wouldn't buy new maps until and unless I found myself being misrouted because of new road construction, or a lot of friends in new housing tracts not on the current map.

Further, as maps tend to be up to a year or more "behind" there is still no guarantee it will have the road(s) you are looking for.

The other thing that comes with maps are your non-custom POI files and quite frankly, you'll almost always do better with the files you can get here.

If a category is missing that you need (whether already in the default file or not) you can always create one for yourself (and us to share.)

Then, when a new model of GPS comes out that tickles your fancy... you can easily justify the cost with the money you saved...

AND

give your old one away as a gift.

But that's just my opinion.

I checked out the lifetime map update deal on Amazon. The first one gave you the code number imediately but it was only available if you had a billing address in the USA. The second one looked like a card but the description when you went to check out was a DVD. Is this correct or is it a card with the number on it.

I have had NuMaps Lifetime since it was introduced in early 2009, and for the first several updates I received, I would have to agree with your statement. I was not seeing much improvement from one release to the next. But the last two updates have made the map update worthwhile IMHO, primarily because of the increased coverage in Lane assist (and to a lesser degree in Junction View). Also I have seen several corrections and additional coverage in speed limit data. So for now, I find the updates worthwhile.

Amazon sells numaps lifetime either by online code (which for some reason, is usually more expensive than a mailed card, even though the code has no S&H) or by a "credit card" with a code that's shipped to you. Some others have also reported this as being mislabeled a DVD. It's a plastic card with a scratch-off coating that reveals the code your enter at mygarmin to register lifetime maps to a specific Garmin GPS of yours.

Thanks for clearing that up, I will place my order tonight.

problems being experinced?

Just got off the phone with Garmin, they are still working on the 800 series issue. One issue for me was my "one time" update has now expired (2 days ago) due to the delay but Garmin said they'll let me download it once it's available because the problem is on their end.

Steve

So this being my first GPS, I'll probably do all my learning on it and later decide what the "perfect" gps is for me.

But in all honesty, I think I'd still be hard-pressed to include lifetime maps.

For example, I just used yahoo (online) to 'suss' out an address I needed for my sister-in-law's home. I zoom in on the city and area and the maps are all wrong (Navteq) and figure I must be in the wrong part of the city. Switched to hybrid view... an no, all the expected roads are there in the satellite photo.

So if the online Navteq map is multiple years out of date... it's going to be a long time before it gets both corrected and 'ported for gps use.

I'd think differently if I were using it professionally... but as a full-time tourist, I'll augment the gps with an online view or a flatmap if necessary.

I downloaded the last 2010 map update about ten days ago when I purchased my refurbed 1490t. I really don't do that much traveling and think I will wait for another year before I buy the lifetime map update. If it should drop into the $70.00 range, then I'll buy it sooner.

That's probably a wise move.

The best way to increase your odds of finding the lifetime map for $70 is to check this web site daily and act promptly if someone reports a great price somewhere since these special sales may well have a 24-hr countdown clock on them.

If you buy the sd card do you have to leave it in or is it just to load the new update. Also, can you use it more then once to update two devices. This has always been a beef with me since I have 3 units, you would think 1 disc would update all three. NOT with garmin. Thanks Jimmy

City Navigator maps are locked maps. On CD/DVD/downloaded maps, the unlock code for the maps is tied to the GPS which the maps are purchased for.

On preloaded SD card maps, the unlock code for the maps is tied to the SD card that the maps came preloaded on. You cannot transfer the maps to another card nor transfer them to a GPS units internal memory...they may transfer over but they will not work on the device you transferred them to. The maps are NOT installed from the SD Card to the GPS unit. The maps must remain on that particular SD Card. If something happens to that SD Card, you must repurchase the SD Card/maps. You also cannot update the maps on the SD Card. If you wish to update the maps, you'll need to purchase another card with the updated maps.

You can however use the SD Card containing the maps on any GPS that will support the maps and the SD Card format.

Another disadvantage to the map on preloaded SD card is that the map can not be installed on a computer to be viewed with Mapsource, unlike the DVD or online numaps updates.

All in all, for US users, it's hard to imagine why anyone would buy the City Nav NA NT map on SD when they can buy lifetime numaps. Maps on SD are useful, however, with foreign maps; e.g., a US nuvi owner is travelling to Europe for a vacation and buys the European maps on SD while keeping City Nav NA NT in the nuvi's internal memory. Once back from the vacation, if the owner no longer needs the European map, the owner may offer the Europe on SD to someone else, auction it off on eBay, etc.