"RoseGarden" - - - - - - - from - nscave

After my positive last week, this one did turn out to be rather negative, especially on the GPS front. Do you have one of those? Neat electronic gadgets that give you directions to within a few feet.

Less that a year ago I bought one by Mio, a Moov 300c. Part of the deal of buying it less than a year ago was the 2009 map update would be included, to be sent to you on DVD.

2009 updates were supposed to be ready the first of the year, then February, then May, and finally the true date arrived this week when I received an email that they could be downloaded by from a web site address. Did you get that camera guy, they can be downloaded from a web site address – what happened to the DVD?

Previous email advice said the delay was due to unforeseen technical difficulties. Well the update didn’t work. Despite many tries, including re-downloading, all that happened was it wiped out everything on the GPS unit. Thankfully I backed up the original, so can revert to the older 2008 maps.

The procedure was one of the worst I have ever seen. First you have to download the instructions. Then you download and install an update for the original software that was installed on your computer.  Then you go back to your informative email and get a code to be entered into the new software to activate the software and the new map download. You don’t do that many steps to install Windows on your computer.

I spent four hours one day, and one the next trying to get the update to cooperate. It wouldn’t! It just comes up with some stupid error that says “Error loading maps,” or the software produces another error and says ‘the program must close’. 

The best is yet to come. If you have a problem, you can’t send a normal email. On no! You have to sign in to their web site and fill our one of those silly boxes with your problem. Mio promises to answer within one working day, which really means two days because the answer I got came late in the evening my time. The reply consisted of the usual stupid questions “did you do this, did you do that, what is the memory… etc. I had already stated what I had done.

So another email and another wait – I am still waiting, it’s been two days. I guess Mio didn’t like me asking for a regular email address and commenting that the procedure was far too involved time wise.

I have used several brands of GPS units and the Mio 300c was a superior unit in many ways. This experience is changing my opinion fast. I will let you know how it goes, as I had already intended to post a review on our sister site nscave.com. The review is being held for a week or so to see if the update problem is solved.

-=One Day At A Time=-

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