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60 Days to Free Map Update: How measured?
nuvifan
109 Points
I have a new Nuvi 855 and am wondering how Garmin calculates the 60 day limit to download the free map update. I do NOT have the MSN receiver, and thus do not have the traffic service function.
Do the 60 days start when it first acquires a satellite fix? :?: Does it make a difference if that fix is while operating on internal battery OR via the car battery?
If my 60 days begin at first "fix," would I be able to delay that "fix," by operating it initially in "Simulation" mode (where satellites are NOT accessed)?? This way, I could theoretically experiment with some of the 885 features, without starting the 60 day countdown.
OR is there some other standard for measuring the 60 days?
I ask these questions because I'm trying to decide if I want to wait about 2 weeks to really start using this Nuvi...and thus be better able to take advantage of the NEXT Garmin map update, which MIGHT be issued around July 8 (given three months from the most recent April 8 update).
Alternatively, if I begin using (and testing) the 855 now, my 60 day limit would be reached July 12...and I might miss the opportunity for that newest version, which I expect to be issued sometime in July. By waiting 2 weeks, I expect I would be able to get the next update up to July 22. :roll:
I don't know if I will actually have the self-control to wait two weeks to FULLY operate this 855...or even whether it ultimately would be worth waiting, just to end up with a map three months newer than the one I could download right now...and get it over with.
Anyone have any input or opinions on this issue?
Do the 60 days start when it first acquires a satellite fix? :?: Does it make a difference if that fix is while operating on internal battery OR via the car battery?
If my 60 days begin at first "fix," would I be able to delay that "fix," by operating it initially in "Simulation" mode (where satellites are NOT accessed)?? This way, I could theoretically experiment with some of the 885 features, without starting the 60 day countdown.
OR is there some other standard for measuring the 60 days?
I ask these questions because I'm trying to decide if I want to wait about 2 weeks to really start using this Nuvi...and thus be better able to take advantage of the NEXT Garmin map update, which MIGHT be issued around July 8 (given three months from the most recent April 8 update).
Alternatively, if I begin using (and testing) the 855 now, my 60 day limit would be reached July 12...and I might miss the opportunity for that newest version, which I expect to be issued sometime in July. By waiting 2 weeks, I expect I would be able to get the next update up to July 22. :roll:
I don't know if I will actually have the self-control to wait two weeks to FULLY operate this 855...or even whether it ultimately would be worth waiting, just to end up with a map three months newer than the one I could download right now...and get it over with.
Anyone have any input or opinions on this issue?
Comments
You are precisely correct about the policy:
"within 60 days of first acquiring satellites while driving with your device,"
I now intend to give up whatever "self-control" I might have had...and will experiment with the 855 without driving, and hope that my unit does not mistakenly "get read" otherwise.
I am looking to compare several features in the 855 that are important to me, in comparison to the 755 I have been using the past several weeks (and expect to return). If nothing else, I expect touch sensitivity will be reliable on the 855. Of course, I'm also looking forward to experimenting with the remote control and voice actuation...and hoping for some other minor improvements with the 855, over the 755.
I can afford to experiment in the above manner (without driving) for about 2 weeks, and thus overcome my lack of willpower to wait until we actually will be taking a short roadtrip. Actually, I KNOW that I would not have been happy deferring experimenting and playing with the new unit!
If I do eventually have a problem regarding the 60 days policy, I am hopeful that I can get Garmin to accede to honoring it, since I will NOT be operating it while driving until later this month.
As always, I really am thankful for your prompt and helpful answers to questions I ask here.
But beyond that, really, what wonderful new features do you think the maps will contain at the next update? more likely than not, you will be hard pressed to notice much.
JMHO.
I do realize that any such additions are likely to be few, but I do have some bare hope there will be enough to make a difference. I also realize that the map updates don't happen precisely at three month increments...but I may get lucky and have the next one occur close to July 8. In general, I figure its better to have the latest update than not.
Then again, given the colossal Garmin problems with the April 8 update, I might be lucky just to access its servers (in competition with other Nuvi owners)...or have the download cause similar flaws in the junction views (which were temporarily disabled for some users).
I'm unlikely to spend for the Lifetime Maps, just because I think I will always be enticed by new models and features. One of the problems with Garmin updates is that we have no way of determining if any particular one actually provides a significant number of new addresses, POIs, or major lane assistance improvements. I also frequently read of new users who are frustrated to not have businesses listed in the POIs, despite their being present for years or even decades in unchanged locations.
I'm guessing that new models (including other brands) will add some "latest and greatest" features that I feel I "must" have. Heck, who hasn't purchased multiple versions of digital cameras, cellphones, music players, and other popular technogical marvels?
As for Garmin's lifetime maps... I wish they'd adopt a policy like Delorme. $30/year for anything and everything you want to download and it's yours to keep forever. Topo/road maps, satellite, aerial photo imagery, etc. And, you can use it on any device. Key/unlock code? What's that? Not an issue.
I probably would have bought it myself, but I just found out yesterday someone poked a hole in the bumper of my car with a trailer hitch. I dont know who, so its coming out of my own pocket, $625. Nice! :(