Garmin DriveSmart 51 — DriveAssist 51 Traffic question

The Drivesmart 51 Garmin page:

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/552072#accessories

lists both the GTM 60 and 36 as being compatible with the Drivesmart 51. Give your GTM 60 a try in an area offering HD traffic.

I know that the DriveSmart 61 required a "smart phone". I bought one and when it would not receive traffic I took it back.

I don't do apple or google.

It was my understanding that if you use the traffic receiver, it will in fact work but you'd lose the ability to have any online features such as Tripadvisor, Foursquare, etc. You can't have both. Only way to retain that is to use the traffic via the smartphone. For me, I hate connected services so I'd forfeit those features due to privacy issues anyway (data mining). Not sure if there are any settings needed to be changed to use the traffic receiver. I doubt it but I wouldn't know. I'm still using an older 3490LMT myself.

I tried two DriveSmart 61. Nether one would receive traffic on the cable supplied with the unit.

@jjen ... AFAIK, none of the 2017 Drive x1 series sold in North America come with a built-in traffic receiver or a GTM style receiver integrated into the power adapter. You can add a GTM traffic receiver as a separate purchase to most of the higher end models.

I bought a DriveSmart 60 instead.

Wise choice. If you want a conventional traffic receiver, it makes good sense to stick with the 2016 x0 models and avoid the 2017 X1 models. About the only thing extra you get on the x1 is WiFi ... not worth it IMO.

So has anyone successfully tested a traffic receiver cable with the latest series? I wanted to go this route since it was supposedly possible but I'm now second guessing this.

I have the same Garmin. Evidently we're victims of Garmin's desire to keep their costs low. So will have to look for a cheap HD traffic cable. Frustrating.

I got a DriveLuxe 51 but have been using the traffic cable that came with the 3597. It is listed on Garmin as being the compatible traffic cable for the 51. It seems to work fine but I also usually have the Smart Link software connected to the 51. The phone gets the traffic faster than the cable but both work together seamlessly.

Well that's good to know. You're using the GTM-60 I assume? I was told it was one or the other so glad you were able to prove that wrong. I'm still using a 3490LMT so I guess I could use that cable if I upgrade. I went to CES this year and they said by summer there should be new automotive models released (nothing major - just some feature enhancements) so I'd like to check those out before getting a 51 deluxe. I also miss the smaller form factor. Apparently that is not coming back according to Garmin. 5" and up is what's only going to be released. I liked the pocket 4.3" size. Anyway, let's hope we can continue to use a traffic receiver cable as an option. I don't want have to rely on my cell phone for added features.

Thanks again.

Two weeks ago, I took a trip from Virginia to Florida, via Central Georgia. The trip down and back took about 30 hours. During all that time, Traffic via the Garmin cable was only available for about an hour and half. Leaving me with no traffic for 27.5 hours.

SmartLink is the way to go.

Yes. I am using my old GTM-60 cable with the DriveLuxe 51.

I find Smart Link works much, much better with the 51 than it did with the 3597. I frequently had to re-pair the Garmin with my phone. With the 51 and my iPhone X I only had to set it the first time. It has connected flawlessly every time I start the car.

One downside is that the traffic color can be harder to see has it only makes a thin color line on the map. On the 3597 is was thicker and checked to stand out better.

Guess the phone does work. But, seems to me it's a question of not depleting your battery and using your data.

Those are good points Garmin Gal. But many people (me for one) usually have the phone on the charger while driving, and the Smartphone Link data usage is very small for the service it provides.

In all of that trip, 30 some hours, I only used less than a 100 mb with Smart Link. Traffic uses so little data that it is negligible.

I've run the same trip with Waze and Google, and used less than 500mb. It doesn't take anywhere near the data to give you traffic you might think it takes. Sure, if you only have 1GB of data in your plan, I might say you would be strained.

With Smart Phone Link, you can't tell the difference in battery usage over not using it. It runs in the back ground.