Does Garmin have any updates for POI?

The built-in POI's on Garmin units are embedded within the map data. If you have old maps, you have old POI data. You cannot update the map embedded POI data separately. Garmin has to pick/choose which POIs will be included since they cannot possibly include every POI in existence. Note that even new maps will have old/outdated POI data so newer is not necessarily better.

That's what I thought from reading.
I just thought when a new McDonalds opened in 2010 they would update it on the newer map updates.

I have a Post Office that is 2 miles from me, been open for years. But the POI's have no clue it is there, and tells me the closest one is 9 miles away.

I don't know what their update process is, but I wish it was better.

I believe Garmin gets a fee from those who want to be included in their POI's.

Fred

We have a McDonald's POI here that one of our members takes care of. If you want a McDonald's POI download it here. If you see any that aren't on the POI just send the information to the person that takes care of the file and they will update the file and you can redownload it with your information in it.

Just do a search of the POI files in the upper right corner. Also there is information how to install them on your GPS on this site.

And, Welcome to the site. There are thousands of POIs here for you and there is information on this site telling you how to make your own!!!

Enjoy.

This is one of the reasons I have downloaded so many POI's from this site - Garmin's POI's are good but not as up to date as the ones here. Whenever I want to look something up (like McDonalds), I always use the McDonalds POI from here and not Garmins. Using Garmins POI is my last choice. If for some reason I find a McDonalds that is not listed in this sites POI, I just notify the maintainer of the POI to get it updated.

It seems Garmin is very slow to update POI information.

Tell me about it. For the last few years I've taken car trips with the family. We usually search for hotels to stay en route and use the POI information from the GPS to make reservations. I've found places which are part of popular chains which have been open for nearly a decade and still haven't made it into their files. Thankfully, I can supplement with some downloads from this site.

And just exactly WHY do you believe that, Fred ??

I believe that it is absolutely wrong.

these updates just take forever, stores could be open and shut ten times

Doubtful......... My retired neighbor shows up with his home as his business address. My bogus business that never really existed also shows up at my home. I have no idea how that got into the POI list on the Garmin map.

I try to help out and report the map & POI errors directly to Navteq.

http://mapreporter.navteq.com/dur-web-external/secured/submi...

http://www.navteqlocations.com/locations-app/index.html

I'm the same as you with the maps, I will report every little thing I see wrong on the road (only 3 so far this year). As for the POIs I have completely given up on the preloaded ones a few years ago and just download the ones I want from here

The other thing that doesn't add up is if this were true it wouldn't seem to me that the Post Office's would show up at all in Garmin's POI. Certainly they wouldn't pay to be listed.

And, some businesses (not all) pay to be in the Yellow Pages. Why would they pay to be in a POI file where there is a much smaller audience?

This is why this site is the best site to get POI's members are constantly updating POI's. If you have a new business, etc. that is not in a POI file from here - email the maintainer and they will update the file. The best part - everyone helps everyone here.

In general, the GPS company pays a "business directory" company, like Dunn and Bradstreet, to use their listings in electronic form. That's how they come up with "6 million POIs". They take what the listing company gives them, convert it to the format they need and out it goes. NO error checking whatsoever.

That's why when going to a business sometimes you end up in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Likely that the manager lives there......or did at one time, and wanted to get unsolicited mail at home instead of the "office".

I think POI from Garmin database should be kept up to date and released to Garmin owners for updating every 6 months. Heck new places are added, old places are either no longer there or changed.

Heck even my nuvi 350 shows places that no longer exists!

I agree that the built-in POI files are based on a commercial directory service. Garmin or TomTom can only include the information they are provided - and that is based on the information reported to the directory service. A restaurant in my home town is still listed 15 years after it closed! My guess is that no one has ever advised the directory service that the place no longer exists, so it is still listed.

So the currency of the infromation is the responsibility of the data provider, not Garmin. There are probably services that provide more current data, but when you are dealing with more than 6,000,000 locations - how can you tell?

Personally, I depend on my Garmin for streets and directions and use the POI Factory for up-to-date sites.

How much extra would you be willing to pay up front for a periodically updated POI database? That is what the GPS companies have asked themselves.

The answer probably was "not much". It seems to be asking a lot to think that your GPS would be able to navigate you to any existing establishment by having the location of the establishment in its database. In 2008 there were some 7.6 million "establishments" that had employees. There were another 21.4 million "firms" that represent self-employed people.

The GPS companies give you the ability to navigate by coordinates, address, intersection, etc. If you want to go to "XXXX", you enter the adress and off you go.

I will get my POI here from now on.

There roads take a while to update.
I drove a section of road fr almost 3 years until it got updated