Anybody ever take their GPS to Bestbuy to update maps?

I just have a bit of a hard time believing a major retailer would do something for FREE. Please keep us updated on this.

I believe the OP stated "for a FEE" not for free !

I totally read that as for FREE like allbizz did. That is pretty funny we both thought it said free hahaha!

Let us know what the fee will be.

If I were you, I'd just take the laptop to a wireless hotspot, like a coffee shop, a hotel, or even Fedex Kinkos, and updated it via their wifi.

I don't go into Best Buy. Can't stand the place. I got a gift card for Best Buy a while back and I gave it away.

I go to Best Buy, but it would be a cold day in hell when I allowed their techs to touch my electronics.

I'd like to know how much they charge too.

I'm with you on this... public WiFi hotspots or a friend's place is better. I may be wrong but I believe it's managed download so OP can quit downloading at anytime and continue to get the rest of it later at his convenience.

I have to agree. I haven't found anybody at Best Buy who really knew what they were talking about. I got a $100 Best Buy gift card for Christmas and don't know what to buy with it. Sigh......

You can sell them on line, you know. I'm not sure how much you will get but it's more than giving it away, unless you wanted to give it to a friend or relative.

"Google" it for sell trade gift card to find the many sites.

My guess is, they will charge you "two arms and two legs".

Not only I don't want their tech to touch my electronic gears, I don't even want my gears any where near that place. People have reported that they often sell bogus services just because someone asked them for advice.

Buy me another GPS with it. *laughs*

I go down to the local library. Takes me about an hour or so but it is quiet and I can take a nap.

I hadn't been to Best Buy in quite a few years. I got a $25 gift card last Christmas.

Luckily I needed printer ink, so I bought that and some popinjay printer paper.

I hope to not set foot in that pit for many more years.

so, who on earth shop at best buy?

My grandson bought a new Toshiba laptop at Bestbuy for $348.00 about 2 weeks ago.

Probably nobody. That's why they're one of the biggest electronics retailers in the world.

wound up with it. She is not like her dad, she likes the place.

exactly where Circuit City was 10 years ago.

I really hate the way everyone bashes Best Buy. They are no different than any other company. You need to get the right person. Not everyone is stupid and lacking in knowledge. You can get that in any company. And every company needs to up sell a product and service. The cost of a product is inexpensive. All companies make profits off of the service after the fact.
They have to up sell to everyone. Not everyone needs the enhanced service, but, there are those that do.

I agree, I've had good experiences at BB, and I've had bad..Now Radio Shack,(You got questions, we got blank stares) they need to change their name to Cellphone Shack..

Best Buy is located in a shopping center with a Wal-Mart, Target, and a Staples. I've gone in BB on a Saturday and noticed product plainly displayed on the shelf with a fair quantity. The ads come out Sunday morning and the item that was displayed on Saturday is nowhere to be found on Sunday because the other 3 stores have the same identical item, from the same manufacturer, advertised at a price BB doesn't want to match. After the special pricing ends, the item 'magically' reappears on BB's shelves.

I just save myself the grief anymore, I'll check the other stores first and then shop BB as a last resort.

I totally agree with pwohlrab. Those who generalize and bash them are no smarter than the people they are bashing. As with anything else, do your own research ahead of time before you buy. Check your local retailers, as well as online stores. Same thing with repairs. Check the bigger stores, and check the specialty shops. Gather all the information, and make the decision that is best for you. As with ANY store, there are going to be clueless employees, and there are going to be very knowledgeable employees. If you do your research ahead of time, you will then know what kind of employee you're dealing with when you walk in.

I will have to agree with that, sale items are sometimes pretty hard to find in the store, especially if they're a really good deal. But I just assume that I'm too late - there are people out there who will make sure they're first in line to get these good deals.

poi WiFi.csv, this file may have free internet options where you live. I myself would be afraid to trust BB staff with my gps. I have enough bricks here. Unless of course you have a extended warranty with them for your gps. I think if they break it they would have to replace. I wouldn't even take the chance. My cousin on the other hand keeps them (Best Buy Geeks)in business. They are so professional arriving in the little geek bugs lol

I shop there, but because I did my research I usually know more than sales rep in any of the big stores. So when I show up I usually know exactly what I want. All I need them for is finding the right aisle.

As for going to BB to do a map upgrade, watch out for that fee. When my sister bought a laptop there last year, they tried to sell her an OS installation service for a 100$. "Is Windows 7 not already installed on the machine?" I asked. "Yes, but for a 100$, we will create the rescue disks for you..." (that's 30 minutes and 5 blank DVD-R. duh!)

Question: What download speeds do WiFi spots have? I have 54bps and Garmin states that it is too slow for the lifetime updates! Would be nice if the Wifi poi file had information about download speeds.

Regards,

Norm

Your connection shows 54mbps. That is the maximum that you will get. Although you will never get that. The speed depends on to many factors including (and not limited to) the number of people on the connection, interference (walls and building), and router capability.
For instance...my download on a 54mbps wifi at my home is about 18mbps.

Try a speed test: http://www.speedtest.net/

speed test, an amazing 2.2 mps download speed! Not what I was expecting.

So it looks like this topic go hijacked. What happened to the price. Has anyone found the price to update the map?

54bps? maybe 54kbps? That's like dial up speed, and is far too slow.

Most wifi hotspots will be around 1-5 mbps, which is adequate for downloads.

I have 20 mbps at home, and it takes an hour or more to download gigabytes of info.

A lot of library's have free WiFI setups.
I got the one time CD from Garmin and it didn't take that long to do it at home. Not as long as they told me it would. I ordered it on line from Garmin.
Check their site for the latest price.

Try asking that at Fry's electronics stores in Southern CA. You ask 5 different salesreps, you get 5 different aisles, haha.

Did you know Bestbuy can make your PC run faster for an extra $100? (bloatware/trialware removal fee)

That's like selling a car loaded with tons of garbage in it and asks the buyer if they'd want to cough up a few hundred bucks to have those garbage removed. Most retail stores try to sell us something we don't need. That's old news.

WiFi spots like Coffee shops and such generally have a DSL connection. Might have a cable connection, but often cable doesn't get run to retail areas, just home areas. So you can expect the WiFi connection to have around a 1.5 mbs connection, maybe faster, maybe slower. You might be sharing that with several other users and the store itself. Most locations don't ration connection speed between connections, so you may get most of it during a download, but it would depend a lot on the number of other users and what they are doing.

I certainly would not pay someone to use their WiFi, Kinkos tries to charge around here. If you have any friends they very well might have Internet connections for this millenium and be glad to let you use them.

Also, be very careful of public wifi spots, make sure that your system is safe from "local" attacks and don't use a credit card or transmit other private information unless you are sure that you have a https secure connection AND you have verified the certificate of the site that you think you are talking to. If you don't know what this means, just avoid it unless you want to deal with idenity thieft issues. Don't even check your e-mail from a "public" site unless you are very sure that you have a secure connection.

Updating at a big box store? Never knew this was one of their services. Like others have said I may tend to trust using there wifi first or even find a hot spot since they are almost on every corner these days. Or find that neighbor computer wiz kid that is eager to do just about anything for someone else.

Good luck!

Bloatware/trialware is such a nuisance that removing the m is the first thing I do on a new machine. It's so common, their's an app for that! It's called "PC Decrapifier"

I went to Best Buy to buy a new mount for my Garmin GPS ...I told the guy selling gps's what I needed and he stated we do not sell them...I asked are you sure and he flatly told me they did not....I turned to leave and low and behold there they were.....I took one off the rack and showed him where they were his reply was OH....I guess his brain was fried from too much wacky tobaccy......

Well if Best Buy is doing it for FREE.. then why are they charging to do it?

Nuvi1300WTGPS

there's always those who would love to still make a buck out there.

I typically won't talk negatively about retailers, so I will just say that I also gave away a $50 gift card after having it two years and realizing that I do not like that store.

Working in technology myself, so not a complete idiot; I have seen on many occasions (a few years ago, not having stepped foot in one since 2015) when I would go in just to browse the selections where an employee would be using an almost scare tactic approach with an unsuspecting shopper and upselling, up-charging, or flat out lying, in order to make a bigger sale instead of repairing the PC. In one particular instance, after overhearing a bit, I made my way closer and suggested that the shopper perhaps shop around a bit before committing to what was being proposed as a huge sale. The employee did not appreciate it, but the potential consumer did.

Edit: Yes, I did realize that this is an old thread, but it popped up in my recent / active threads.

I would just be concerned that during the update, even for a fee, that they may tell you in the middle of it something like, "Oh, we're sorry, but this unit won't take the update, but we'll be happy to sell you this shiny new device and look at all these features your old one doesn't have".

Ok, that said. Not knowing where you live, if you have a public library, or other community gathering place, they may also have free wireless. Many restaurants or coffee houses also taut free internet. I've known people that have gone to a park district, and even a hotel or truck stop to get free wireless to get some quick work done when their home service wasn't adequate. Of course, with any of these, you'd want to check the bandwidth and speed first before committing to what could be a 2 GB or larger download and sit there for a couple hours as well.

some places like BestBuy sales people are like Puranas and then you have Walmart where it seems nobody cares if you buy something, I build my own computer so when I ask for information about parts nether seem to know much about them but BestBuy will try to sell you something you don't need and Walmart doesn't know what to sell you ! I like to pick up a box and read the information about the product in the box. I like the lower prices at amazon but if I have to return it its a pain sending things back and forth in thru the mail. so I do a lot of research on line searching for information before buying .

I read it the same way. I thought it was free. Can you let us know what they charge.
thanks.

I have. The consumer needs to be knowledgeable about what they desire and ask some questions. That is a better situation than purchasing "blind" from Amazon.

And some deals can be had...my last purchase was a Samsung T5 SSD drive with a 1 TB capacity. I purchased it "Geek Squad" refurbished at $117; it normally goes for close to $200. It was for all essential purposes brand new. A drive utility said it had been powered up 6 times, probably 2 of which were due to my installation. Now, I just happen to know a regional manager for BB so I asked what they do to these drives that lead to them be sold as refurbished. Apparently a common useage is for a customer backup when they bring in a PC for repair. After about a half dozen uses the drive is wiped clean and then sold as refurbished. They (refurbished) are not available in stores but Google "Geek Squad" and you may find a deal. Like now, the drive I was talking about for $119 (see https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-geek-squad-certified-re...).