Augh! MapShare Issue and Map Updates....

[Internetpilot]

I ogt a 720 map in May. It was meant for a 720, but worked fine on a 910. I believe the latest (an possibly last) map for older devices is 725. TomTom is not going to allow older units to upgrade to application version 8.xx, which is needed to get the 8xx maps.

If you are going to EBay, check out what you may be able to get for your 700. I did that with my 910 (plus some additional mounts that TomTom sent to try to fix problems...) and got enough to get a new 920 (and I got 2 maps under the map guarantee).

Hate to see you go - as a moderator and contributor - the new devices and maps would give you plenty to complain and write about.

Again - as I said in another post - it seems like something has happened recently (outsourced?) to TomTom support. it does not sound like anyone there in the last week or so really knows anything!!!

That's interesting about v725 being the last map for the older GO's. Did you read that somewhere official? I'd be interested to know if this is actually going to be the policy.

One of the biggest annoyances I've had with TomTom is their treatment of the GO700. It has a hard drive, bluetooth, and a few other features that only the newer models have, yet they've always been reluctant to release application updates for it. The GO300 and One I can understand, but the GO700 is capable of doing just about everything the GO910 can do. I use it as a handsfree phone device, I play videos and music on it, the hard drive has enough room for one country of maps and text-to-speech files, etc. I don't know why they've treated it like such a red-headed stepchild, but it's annoying because I actually paid more money for the GO700 than I would a new GO920 if I bought one today.

Talk about irony -- after receiving what amounts to zero customer support from them today, the poor guy had to ask me if I wanted to participate in their JDPower satisfaction survey program....haha. That must've felt like taking a bullet.

I'm probably not going anywhere. I'll probably end up buying a GO920 and giving my GO700 to one of the kids, but I will definitely go to the stores and see what else is out there first. I'm not a 100% loyal/blind TomTom customer anymore. I don't want to be the two-year owner of a GO920 and be complaining about the same lack of support.

 

[GarCor]

It seems that TT support is still off Kilter

I logged on to home yesterday for auto updates to my 920 and there was about 6 different maps offered for me to download both NA & C/W Europe even some for the 720 with message this will not work on you drvice.

I called TT suport to ask what is going on and they said to me you have a lot of maps in you file I said NS could you please remove them.

The first person said ok I have removed them, I thought great . I loged on again and they were still there so I called back again with same results different rep. So once again I tried loging in my Home account and again maps still there so after calling back the third time the issue still isn't resolved.

I realize I don't have to download them but it makes it difficult when looking for new GPS fixes of map share updates.

 

[GAW]

If they were newer versions than you current map. it might be interesting to see what happens if you download one. First you would want to do a complete windows backup, or at least of the maps that would be replaced.

The present map will probably would have to be removed to make room first. If it downloads and will not install correctly, you can always delete it and copy back over your current map.

 

[GAW]

Internetpilot, I went to the TomTom website and under Plus Service/Maps - they show the 925 maps for your device. These are also the latest that were available to the 910.

The latest application was 7.161 for the 910, so none of the newer 8xx maps are available to the 910's either. Also, the 7.221 and 7.48 applications that made it possible to use voice recognition on the x20 series were never made available to the x10 series either.

So you are not alone with their treatment of your 700 - it is a big club. One poster had said that the 910 (and it sounds like the 700 also) was electronically the same as the latter models, but they were dead-ended by TomTom.

I do not know if the other makes do a better job with update paths for their units.

As for customer support surveys - I nailed my last one because the rep was totally ignorant and of zero help with what should have been a simple issue (battery saving options on a 920). Just prior to that, I had excellent service from one who not only helped get my map guarantee to work with the NA map, but threw in an upgrade for the European map also. Basically, I have a 930 now.

 

[Internetpilot]

Directly from TomTom Support via email:

We have temporarily disabled Map Share as we are conducting maintenance to our servers. Users can continue to submit Map Share changes as usual, however there is a delay in downloading the changes through TomTom HOME. We are working hard to reactivate Map Share and will have it up and running again as soon as possible. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience caused.

I'm a career network engineer, so I have a low tolerance for things like this. Are you telling me a worldwide company like TomTom only has one set of Mapshare servers? Like they can't afford the relatively minuscule cost of mirroring/cloning their Mapshare servers, so that they can keep Mapshare online and running while they implement the upgrade/maintenance on their alternate servers, and then ultimately switch the upgraded ones to be the production servers?

Oh, well. This is just as disappointing as their customer support has been.

 

[dhn]

Some posters in a Brit forum are just reporting that they ARE getting mapshares today. I did not get offered them earlier.

 

[Internetpilot]

Internetpilot, I went to the TomTom website and under Plus Service/Maps - they show the 925 maps for your device. These are also the latest that were available to the 910.

The latest application was 7.161 for the 910, so none of the newer 8xx maps are available to the 910's either. Also, the 7.221 and 7.48 applications that made it possible to use voice recognition on the x20 series were never made available to the x10 series either.

So you are not alone with their treatment of your 700 - it is a big club. One poster had said that the 910 (and it sounds like the 700 also) was electronically the same as the latter models, but they were dead-ended by TomTom.

My experience with TomTom slowly orphaning the GO700 has been since I purchased it new in a store. Less than 6 months after I paid over $500 for the GO700, TomTom released the GOX10 line. It took them a LONG time to finally offer the X10 application versions to the GO700, and it was still being widely sold in stores for quite some time. From then on, every single update that the GOX10 and X20 series received was typically delayed for months before it was available to the GO700, and then it was always crippled down even though the GO700 was capable (hardware speaking) of performing these missing features. Some of the missing features are minor, but some are significant, and there's no reason why I should have to buy a new device to get them when my current TomTom device is capable of doing these features.

Oh, well. Enough whining from me. I guess I have a decision to make:

1. Just keep using the GO700 and lump it.
2. Upgrade to a newer GO
3. Move on to another namebrand of GPS
4. Just keep using the GO700 and put the 8.XX application version on it (like others have done).

The only problem with #4 is that I'm not sure if TomTom would allow me to buy the 8.XX version of the maps (probably not through Home anyway).

 

[Ricochet]

Not that this helps you, Internetpilot, but I can report that TomTom is still honoring the Map Guarantee for newly-purchased 720's, allowing me to download the "810 US_2GB" map. (Refurbs are currently, $179 @Radio Shack and $199 @CompUSA.)

This unit shipped with NavCore 7.10, then Home pushed version ~7.45, followed by ver 8.010 onto it. That may be part of the key to getting newest maps. When I spoke to customer service, they were insistent that I confirm I was running 8.010, before allowing the d/l.

R?

 

[Ricochet]

Again - as I said in another post - it seems like something has happened recently (outsourced?) to TomTom support. it does not sound like anyone there in the last week or so really knows anything!!!

Hrmmm.. I had to call them four times today. Each of the reps, sounded very American (or at least, Caucasian) & not at all, what I think of as "out-sourced."

The funny thing is, they've recently "teamed up with JD Power & Associates" who is providing a "Dependability Study" from call-backs to report on their customer service. I would think that to be an odd move, if they'd just dumped their knowledgeable staff.

But maybe I'm being too US-centric in this reply, hm?

R?

 

[GAW]

Internetpilot - you can try to install 8.01, but my tries to do so were not successful. it installed initially, but after rebooting - it usually had some issues that made it unusable. However, it you have seen it going on 700'2 OK - try it out. If you have a good windows backup - you can try it and then format the disk/copy and paste the backup if 8.01 does not take.

If it does, I would guess that the TomTom server may offer you 8xx maps.

BUT - if you want 8xx maps, I still like the idea of selling it on eBay and getting a deeply discounted new unit (x20 with map guarantee - save the added cost of 3xx models).

 

[rcacs]

Hrmmm.. I had to call them four times today. Each of the reps, sounded very American (or at least, Caucasian) & not at all, what I think of as "out-sourced."

The funny thing is, they've recently "teamed up with JD Power & Associates" who is providing a "Dependability Study" from call-backs to report on their customer service. I would think that to be an odd move, if they'd just dumped their knowledgeable staff.

But maybe I'm being too US-centric in this reply, hm?

R?

When you call support, you are talking to people in the State of New York. If you get shifted to the next Level, I think it goes to another location.

Cheers

 

[Gilbert]

To Internetpilot,

You have me astonished by many of your comments considering you state you have a network career. I've been deeply involved in computers for 40 years now and still nearly amazed at the speed hw and sw evolves. A pnd is nothing but a restricted use computer. Two years is a very long time in any electronics field and your 700 is old like any other computer equipment of the same age. The AGP slot is not present in new motherboards, the memory slots have changed and the brand new 90GB hard drive of 2 years ago is now considered tiny... Trying to repair old computer equipment is too often unworth it as its residual value is too low. It has been that way for decades and will continue.

OTOH, does your map and sw absolutely need to be upgraded? I know I keep my paper maps for a good 5 years before considering buying a new one. Even since having the TT, I still use paper maps to have a general view as the 4,3" screen size does not allow me the same perspective. If you really wish IQ routing, I'd wait some more when the x40/x50 come out with a much more refined granularity than weekdays vs weekends and more accumulated data. Hardware wise, the latest GO models have been identical as to internal hardware and feature the same Samsung integrated chipset. I know I won't consider upgrading until internal memory size is increased which is bound to happen sooner than later as additional data is needed to satisfy increased functionalities. I expect screen sizes to increase to 5" or even 7" with better resolution as there are already some 5" screens available on a newly announced Garmin.

 

[Tim25]

I can't believe that I actually got MapShare updates today!

 

[core2thebone]

I can't believe that I actually got MapShare updates today!

as soon as i read your post, i tried and i got the mapshare update too. seems like mapshare update has been fixed. i got over 10,000 updates for the usa 7.25 map.

i dont know why i'm obsessed with mapshare updates. i would feel the itch to update mapshare every couple of days when i only use by gps once in a long while. but it sure feels good to have the best map in your hand.

 

[Ricochet]

I got 9735 corrections today for the North_America_2GB Map v810, but they didn't arrive with the normal startup updates (just a QuickFix update). I had to click on the link in the MapShare info oval at the top. Then I checked the Trust Slider, which was already set at "Low" but this action somehow brought the total to 13856.

Thanks for the tip, Tim!

R?

 

[zengshengliu]

I got 9737 mapshare update today, using 810 NA map, with a midium trust level

 

[cputrdoc]

Hrmmm.. I had to call them four times today. Each of the reps, sounded very American (or at least, Caucasian) & not at all, what I think of as "out-sourced."

The funny thing is, they've recently "teamed up with JD Power & Associates" who is providing a "Dependability Study" from call-backs to report on their customer service. I would think that to be an odd move, if they'd just dumped their knowledgeable staff.

But maybe I'm being too US-centric in this reply, hm?

R?

Outsourced but not offshored. Outsourcing just means it's another company.

 

[Ricochet]

Outsourced but not offshored. Outsourcing just means it's another company.

Exactly!

 

[GarCor]

I got 9735 corrections today for the North_America_2GB Map v810, but they didn't arrive with the normal startup updates (just a QuickFix update). I had to click on the link in the MapShare info oval at the top. Then I checked the Trust Slider, which was already set at "Low" but this action somehow brought the total to 13856.

Thanks for the tip, Tim!

R?

Very interesting !! as mentioned in above post just change the trust level slide bar to lower trust and click on update but Don't download any corrections and when you go back to home page you will see the amount of corrections in use has increased change it to a higher setting and the number decreases.

Soooooo does the trust slider do anything at all ? It seems to download all map shares no mater what your setting is set at.

 

[zengshengliu]

couple days ago, I got map share update,
but when i go check today,
there is none
when I go to mapshare preferences,
it said that I got 1.5 mb on my unit,
after this update, 0 mb
and all the state list is going

the mapshare server is down again?