Navigation

Here’s how to upgrade satnav mapping with costs

Got an old sat nav unit? Here's how you can upgrade the maps and what it costs

Don’t reach a dead-end. Updating maps on a sat nav is straightforward

Portable sat nav units may no longer be the big-selling gadgets they were back in the noughties. But millions of drivers still rely on them to get from A to B in Britain and further afield.

Since the rise of the smartphone, more motorists now choose to use free apps, such as maps from Apple, Bing or Google, or pay for dedicated navigation apps.

Whichever drivers use, it can be annoying, time wasting and even dangerous if mapping is out of date and sends you down closed or unsuitable roads. Happily, it is possible to update the maps of dedicated navigation units. Here’s how to do it and what you can expect to pay.

Do you need to update your maps?

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James Mills 4 Comments

Sat navs: why they don’t tell the truth and how to get the best from one

Sat navs

“Take the next left. Or is that right?” Sat navs aren’t always infallible

Sat navs are one of the wonders of modern motoring ‑ until they direct you to somewhere you don’t want to be. There are numerous stories of satellite navigation systems going bad. Drivers have been directed onto the middle of ski slopes, articulated lorries pointed down totally unsuitable country lanes and coach parties sent on 750-mile detours.

Although most of us have been led up the metaphorical garden path by a sat nav at one stage, they will become an even more vital part of modern life. From December 2017, drivers will have to follow follow a navigation system for at least part of their driving test.

Research by uSwitch suggests that around four in five of us rely on navigation systems over maps. And more than half (56 per cent) use the navigation unit as a handy reminder of the speed limit.

However, systems aren’t 100 per cent reliable. Research carried out by uSwitch found that around one in five drivers (17 per cent) had been given the wrong speed limit by their navigation system. So why are we being misled by our sat navs? And what can we do about it?

Why don’t sat navs tell the truth?

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James Foxall 3 Comments