# The cost to update GPS maps **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 1, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053 "2013-08-01T03:38:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053/21 "2013-08-14T23:15:11Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > My four-year-old Garmin has thus far gone update-less. Haven’t run into an issue yet. > mmm Yeah, I have a Garmin bought in… er, 2006, I think. I just skip past the nag screen telling me the maps are - shock horror! - more than a year old. Never have any problems. Occasionally it’ll show me driving across fields if I’m on a new section of road, but that’s pretty rare, and good old signposts soon make it clear where you are until you’re back on an older road. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053/22 "2013-08-14T23:26:53Z")
Why would anyone buy a standalone GPS unit anyway? Google Maps Navigation is updated daily and is free on your phone. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053/23 "2013-08-14T23:52:48Z")
I’ve never had serious issues with GPS/data coverage on my phone. Updates to google navigator and google maps have never made me lose compatibility. But yes I do accept that a standalone GPS might be more reliable in more rural areas. But even driving through very rural texas, I used the GPS on my phone just fine and had no problems, even with weak cell phone signals. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053/24 "2013-08-15T13:47:01Z")
I just got an offer from Honda a couple months back to update the GPS in my car _Homer_ (it’s an Odyssey. Read a book!) for around $120. I elected to skip it. We’ve only had one instance in the last 2 years where we were on a new road that wasn’t on the map, so I don’t feel the need to update. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053/25 "2013-08-16T02:01:26Z")
I paid about $100 to upgrade my Garmin, but their website was malfunctioning and would not give me the upgrade. I worked with their tech support for about two weeks, asking for a refund the whole time, because according to the emails they were sending, their website could not deliver the product. They refused to give me a refund. Finally I disputed the charges through my bank, who took one look at Garmin’s emails to me, and backed me up on it. Only by doing this did I get my money back. I refuse to buy another item from them, and this is after I have bought 10 GPS receivers from them of the years. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053/26 "2013-08-16T02:53:00Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I use my smart phone, with a front windshield mount, and get free GPS navigation as much as I want, using the google navigator or any one of the myriad navigation programs for Android. Why anyone would pay for a GPS unit on its own is silly to me, but I understand not everyone has smart phones. This x100. Though I don’t understand why anyone would not want a smart phone ;D I had an Android phone of my own for a few years, Google Maps was always the best. Then my company issued me a phone that I was forced to use, it’s a lousy iPhone 4 - but hey, the ios google maps app still works great. Never had a single problem with Google maps. Useful as hell. Directions-wise, it’s gold - I have to drive through Chicago all the time, several possible routes, but it takes into account current traffic so while I don’t always go the same way I do often go the shortest (time-wise) way. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053/27 "2013-08-16T03:31:05Z")
Garmin charges an arm and a leg (maybe two legs) for GPS updates for their aircraft GPS units. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053/28 "2013-08-16T05:43:46Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Garmin charges an arm and a leg (maybe two legs) for GPS updates for their aircraft GPS units. And what does instrument certified units from other companies cost? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053/29 "2013-08-16T07:04:00Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Problem with using a smartphone for GPS is that it works great 95% of the time; the other 5% of the time is when you are in totally unfamiliar territory and actually need GPS but can’t get a decent signal. Smartphones have a better chance of succeeding than most consumer driving GPSes. Most in-car navigators just use the GPS signals. Smartphones can use GPS, cell and wifi networks for approximate positioning and/or assisted satellite locking, its internal digital compass for dead reckoning, and also pre-downloaded maps for manual browsing. Signal aside, your smartphone likely has better points of interest (and certainly so if you use Google or Yelp), Street View is incredibly helpful for finding unfamiliar buildings or turns, it can take voice commands like “navigate to the nearest gas station”, can reroute you around live traffic, probably has a better interface and is quicker to zoom around the map, etc. And you can take it with you after the drive to continue looking for places to go on foot downtown, or into a forest while hiking, blah blah. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-to-update-gps-maps/665053.md?page=1)