Smartphone Link Questions (Iphone)

 

After reading about "Smartphone Link" and installing it on wife's Iphone, some operational questions remain.... So I'm creating a New Thread to cover Questions on Smartphone Link with Iphone.
The Wife and I are new to Iphone, so we are bound to make some errors... Hence, this Thread!

We have it operational, in that we call up the map on the App and zoom in from San Francisco to the location we want, we can "send" it to the Nuvi.

However, the operation we'd like to get operational, but can't figure out how to do, is the following:
Say we are in car, and want to find a place and we know the name of it, but not the location... With no address we can't use Nuvi, but, then Wife browses (Safari) on her Iphone, and finds that place via a search.... She could read it off, and we enter it in Nuvi, but wouldn't it be easier to 'send' that information via her browser, to the Nuvi, via the Smartphone APP???
This would seem to be how we'd use the APP, Let her Browser find the location via name, and then send that to the Nuvi....
But.... HOW TO? (I guess we need spoon feeding!)

Also We are occasionally getting "GPS Disabled" display on Iphone display... Do we need to enable this?
Where to we enable that in Iphone?

--
A 2689LMT in both our cars that we love... and a Nuvi 660 with Lifetime Maps that we have had literally forever.... And a 2011 Ford Escape with Nav System that is totally ignored!

I will try to answer your

I will try to answer your questions. First of all, if you are getting message about GPS turned off then you may turn on Location Services.
Go to Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services.. Make sure it is turned ON and also check most of stuff is turned ON. That should resolve the issue.

Secondly, you can search nearby places within the Smartlink App in the search filed at the top. The second option could be Foursquare app builtin the smartlink app. You can search places nearby only. I have seen the search does not work for the far away places.

I hope this helps.

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Iphone XR, Drivesmart 61,Nuvicam, Nuvi3597

Thanks for input.. On the

Thanks for input..

On the GPS prompt, GPS had to be turned on, with the addition that Smartphone Link had to have it set to 'always' as well...

Somehow I thought I came across something that indicated that Foursquare is fee based, so we never tried it... Go figure!

--
A 2689LMT in both our cars that we love... and a Nuvi 660 with Lifetime Maps that we have had literally forever.... And a 2011 Ford Escape with Nav System that is totally ignored!

This Foursquare.... Is

This Foursquare....

Is there a configuration to make searches more accurate?

Do a search on Builtmore Estate
Here I get a Tennessee entry first, before any entries in NC, along with other local entries that actually have nothing to do with Builtmore estate...

But then do a search of Builtmore Estate Parking, or Builtmore estate Main entrance, and Foursquare finds nothing... That's not helpful!

Now do same searches with any other search engine... More accurate searches....

Is there a way to set search parameters to be more accurate? I can't find a configuration screen.

--
A 2689LMT in both our cars that we love... and a Nuvi 660 with Lifetime Maps that we have had literally forever.... And a 2011 Ford Escape with Nav System that is totally ignored!

So I went to Foursquare via

So I went to Foursquare via a PC, entered in Builtmore Estate, and got the results that I wanted, but didn't get, via the Foursquare in the Smartphone Link......
See: https://foursquare.com/explore?mode=url&near=Town%20of%20Way...

Am I missing something or ????

--
A 2689LMT in both our cars that we love... and a Nuvi 660 with Lifetime Maps that we have had literally forever.... And a 2011 Ford Escape with Nav System that is totally ignored!

Spelling?

JanJ wrote:

So I went to Foursquare via a PC, entered in Builtmore Estate, and got the results that I wanted, but didn't get, via the Foursquare in the Smartphone Link......
See: https://foursquare.com/explore?mode=url&near=Town%20of%20Way...

Am I missing something or ????

Does it work if you spell it correctly?

--
New England Riders BaseCamp Tutorial: http://www.newenglandriders.org/Learn_BaseCamp.htm

Saw your post, and

Saw your post, and thought.... Oh Heck!

But no... misspelling was not in the Foursquare search, via App or PC Search... it was spelled correctly, and the app still brings up a Tennessee entry before NC for builtmore, and still can't find the main entrance or parking area!

Actually I wish you had been right!!!

So I ask again... Since Foursquare on PC finds it, but Foursquare on the Smartphone App finds all sorts of incorrect locations.....

Is there a config in the app to make it search better, is it a less than full search engine, or less than a browser search engine... ?????

If it is a reduced search engine, why not use a real one?

Again... Am I missing something?

--
A 2689LMT in both our cars that we love... and a Nuvi 660 with Lifetime Maps that we have had literally forever.... And a 2011 Ford Escape with Nav System that is totally ignored!

Mobile vs. Desktop

Jan,

What I think you are running into as far as Foursquare is concerned is a difference between the mobile and desktop versions of the software. The two are NOT the same. In almost all instances the mobile version is a poor cousin to what's on the desktop because of two things. My suspicion is the mobile version is limited because of the anticipated display differences and more importantly the processing power of the unit requesting access. The amount of data that can be transferred is also a factor as data plans for mobile devices all have caps. The mobile version isn't necessarily going to give you what you want because it doesn't do the filtering the full desktop version will do.

OBTW, it's Biltmore and because it doesn't have restaurants or bars, Foursquare isn't going to have it high on it's list of matches. The key to searching for something like this is to ask for restaurants near the attraction. And I find the Smartlink app does a better job of finding places than the pure Foursquare app.

--
Illiterate? Write for free help.

Still concerned

JanJ wrote:

Saw your post, and thought.... Oh Heck!

But no... misspelling was not in the Foursquare search, via App or PC Search... it was spelled correctly, and the app still brings up a Tennessee entry before NC for builtmore,...

I'm still concerned about your spelling. There is no "u" in Biltmore.

noticed that as well

CraigW wrote:
JanJ wrote:

Saw your post, and thought.... Oh Heck!

But no... misspelling was not in the Foursquare search, via App or PC Search... it was spelled correctly, and the app still brings up a Tennessee entry before NC for builtmore,...

I'm still concerned about your spelling. There is no "u" in Biltmore.

Yes, I noticed that as well ...

http://www.biltmore.com/

I've been there, cool place.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

IOS can be a pain...

I would attempt to try IOS but its locked down like a mutha.

Sorry, I was out all day.

Sorry, I was out all day. Just came home and read all the posts. Well, I never had any issues on Foursquare phone app and found it very accurate. My new nuvicam also has builtin Foursquare and I used it California, Nevada and Arizona, it was very accurate.

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Iphone XR, Drivesmart 61,Nuvicam, Nuvi3597

OK, thanks for confirmation

OK, thanks for confirmation that Mobile Foursquare has less power than Desktop of same..... That confirms what we are experiencing... It is our first foray in Mobile usage, and we were un-aware that mobile apps had less power...

We are also Seeing that the Mobile Foursquare doesn't have as accurate search results as a browser search of same parameters, which seems to contradict the previous statement..... So a search with a Mobile Browser can result in accurate searches!!!

That brings us back to our original post....

It would be wonderful if Wife could search for something using the power of the Iphone, and send the results to the Garmin. The App seems to do this, but with Foursquare having less search power than the default browser included with the Iphone --- Safari.

Is there a way to use the search capabilities of a more accurate Browser, Safari, (Or some other browser), to send the more accurate search results to the Garmin directly, Similar to what Foursquare does????
OR, like the original post indicated.... Do we have to manually enter it in the Garmin, as if the Smartphone App didn't exist?

A weak search engine kind-on negates the usefulness of the App, and according to Wife, who pointed out that she can easily find what she wants in a browser, but can't find same search easily in Foursquare, or only by wading through multiple incorrect results..

I have to agree with her: Why would you want to use a search program that is less than efficient, and prone to false results not connected to the original search?

And Biltmore was added to the dictionary, so that spelling error should be minimized now... smile!

--
A 2689LMT in both our cars that we love... and a Nuvi 660 with Lifetime Maps that we have had literally forever.... And a 2011 Ford Escape with Nav System that is totally ignored!

There is a search field at

There is a search field at the top in the Smartlink App as I mentioned on my first post. This search works very well and I don't think it uses Foursquare. I use that search field many times to find places and send to GPS for navigation.

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Iphone XR, Drivesmart 61,Nuvicam, Nuvi3597

My garmin is old but

It has a place to search by name. Did you say you can not search by name for a place?

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

Similar Results with Smartphone Link Searches

As Mary suggests, most newer GPS units have a built in search feature. The first search I try is always on the GPS itself. On your 2689, press “Where To” and enter your search parameters in the search bar. You can often simplify your search by using “Categories” (Page 3 of the manual). I don’t own a 2689 but it is likely the Biltmore Estate is already in the GPS POI category database.

It might also be worth reviewing the instructions for doing a Smartphone Link Foursquare search (page 12).

In case you don’t already have the manual, you can get it here:
https://support.garmin.com/support/manuals/manuals.htm?partN...

FWIW, I’ve been using Smartphone link on my iPhone 5S for over a year now and haven’t had much luck using its search option or the Foursquare app either. It is definitely a less powerful tool than its PC based version.

I don’t know of any way to export information from other iPhone apps to the GPS without using Smartphone Link. Perhaps one of our gurus here at the factory can offer a suggestion.

Nuvi POI's

JanJ wrote:

Say we are in car, and want to find a place and we know the name of it, but not the location... With no address we can't use Nuvi

I know this is a little off topic, but I had a friend make a similar comment to me. Don't forget that your Nuvi knows millions of POI's by name.

- Where To
- Points of Interest
- Spell Name

...should get you to the Biltmore Estate or a restaurant or store or whatever.

--
Garmin Drivesmart 61, Nuvi 52, Nuvi 1390

Smartphone Link search

rookie8155 wrote:

There is a search field at the top in the Smartlink App as I mentioned on my first post. This search works very well and I don't think it uses Foursquare. I use that search field many times to find places and send to GPS for navigation.

A also find that the Find Nearby Places search bar at the top of the Smartphone Link app to be much better than the imbedded Foursquare feature. The point to remember is that both Foursquare and the search function within the Smartphone Link app seems to be limited to nearby locations.

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"There's no substitute for local knowledge" nüvi 750, nüvi 3597

Yes, there are limitations

Yes, there are limitations of searching places in a different city or place but works very well in the local area. I think Nuvicam and some other models come pre loaded with Foursquare POIs which are considered more current than Garmin POIs.

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Iphone XR, Drivesmart 61,Nuvicam, Nuvi3597

Tests this past week

Tests this past week indicate what people have said is true.

It would be nice if the Smartphone App could interface with Browsers as well... so as to be able to satisfy more search parameters...

--
A 2689LMT in both our cars that we love... and a Nuvi 660 with Lifetime Maps that we have had literally forever.... And a 2011 Ford Escape with Nav System that is totally ignored!