Waze and signals

[tonyreptiles]

Hi all,

I received an email today telling me that my Tom Tom device is now so old that it will no longer be supported with updates. It's a shame, because I have been very happy with TomTom and have used it and its maps in a few parts of the world. Unfortunately though, the power socket on the back of the unit has become unstable and I now have to fiddle with it to get a good connection.

So, all things considered, I've been thinking about using my phone, along with the WAZE app to replace the TomTom. However, I'm concerned about connectivity.

Can anyone tell me, does WAZE still work if I'm in the back end of nowhere without a phone signal?
How about if I don't have internet mobile data connectivity or have used up my data allowance?

I was in a remote rural area recently and was running low on petrol. Google maps kept dropping out and it left me a little worried that WAZE might be similarly useless in these circumstances, when you most need it.

I'm hoping WAZE has some kind of downloaded map facility that will negate the connectivity problem.
Can anyone advise?

Thanks
Tony

[Slarti]

Hi all,

I received an email today telling me that my Tom Tom device is now so old that it will no longer be supported with updates. It's a shame, because I have been very happy with TomTom and have used it and its maps in a few parts of the world. Unfortunately though, the power socket on the back of the unit has become unstable and I now have to fiddle with it to get a good connection.

So, all things considered, I've been thinking about using my phone, along with the WAZE app to replace the TomTom. However, I'm concerned about connectivity.

Can anyone tell me, does WAZE still work if I'm in the back end of nowhere without a phone signal?
How about if I don't have internet mobile data connectivity or have used up my data allowance?

I was in a remote rural area recently and was running low on petrol. Google maps kept dropping out and it left me a little worried that WAZE might be similarly useless in these circumstances, when you most need it.

I'm hoping WAZE has some kind of downloaded map facility that will negate the connectivity problem.
Can anyone advise?

Thanks
Tony

When I tried Waze I came across exactly that in mid Essex, loss of signal. Waze not only stopped working, it didn't resume when the signal came back.

Message was something about loss of connection to the routing server.


Why not try with straightforward Google Maps?
It does do directions, traffic and has the facility to download maps to use offline and it does not have the annoying popups and demands for attention that Waze has.

Its traffic is as good as Waze being the same, but its routing seems to be a bit better as it doesn't try to send me through Danbury to get to the A12 south, instead of through Hatfield Peveral. Unless there is a holdup in HP, that is always a quicker route for me, which Waze admitted once I got a mile from home by stopping trying to tell me to turn around and by reducing my ETA by a couple of minutes.

HTH
Slarti

[tonyreptiles]

I've used Google maps often and it's OK - better than TomTom when considering traffic congestion too. But I miss the speed camera alerts and the current speed readout. I'm also not much of a fan of the display, but that's just my personal preference.

I'd like to avoid having to spend money on the most up to date TomTom, but if that's what's necessary, then I'll bite the bullet.

I take it WAZE has no download option that continues to use GPS when internet signal is lost?

Tony

[Slarti]

I've used Google maps often and it's OK - better than TomTom when considering traffic congestion too. But I miss the speed camera alerts and the current speed readout. I'm also not much of a fan of the display, but that's just my personal preference.

I'd like to avoid having to spend money on the most up to date TomTom, but if that's what's necessary, then I'll bite the bullet.

I take it WAZE has no download option that continues to use GPS when internet signal is lost?

Tony

Not that I noticed, but I didn't particularly look for it as I had already decided that I didn't like its cluttered screen which was showing me loads of stuff off route that I didn't want together with its popup messages, so when it dropped out that was just the last straw.

Slarti

[TheSocialClimber]

Heh had the same email for my Go, poor thing has languished in a drawer for the last couple of years as i have a reasonable nav in the current car.

However, I know it's not what you asked about, but I also use HERE on the phone sometimes, which works well offline (tried waze, didn't really like it, google maps ok if signal ok as mentioned above).

cheers,
TSC.

[UncleIan]

I was in a remote rural area recently and was running low on petrol. Google maps kept dropping out and it left me a little worried that WAZE might be similarly useless in these circumstances, when you most need it.

Sorry, not answering your question, but another vote for the google maps download area offline function, it doesn't just download all the roads, it downloads all the useful stuff too. When we were in Lake Garda over the summer I had the whole surroundings downloaded, and was quite taken aback when it told me where the nearest supermarket was, zero data used. So your petrol problem would have been avoided.

[bungeejumper]

Mumble, grumble, my TomTom's six years old and cost something like £250 even then - I wonder how long I've got before they switch me off as well?

The only really acceptable reason for stopping map updates would be if they became too large for the amount of fitted memory - but even then there are workarounds. My TomTom (about 3gb) won't hold the whole of Europe, but I can have a reduced map that excludes Eastern Europe to save space. (I could have chosen various other permutations, obviously.)

I have no particular problem with that. But if I'd bought a satnav with "lifetime" updates I'd be spitting nails.

BJ

[tonyreptiles]

The only really acceptable reason for stopping map updates would be if they became too large for the amount of fitted memory

That's exactly the reason they gave.

TR

[tonyreptiles]

Heh had the same email for my Go, poor thing has languished in a drawer for the last couple of years as i have a reasonable nav in the current car.

However, I know it's not what you asked about, but I also use HERE on the phone sometimes, which works well offline (tried waze, didn't really like it, google maps ok if signal ok as mentioned above).

cheers,
TSC.

Does HERE work offline then?

TR

[wheypat]

I use Google Maps when online and switch to Navigator when off line - you can download the maps for that. I also use Navigator when abroad to keep costs down.

[Slarti]

I use Google Maps when online and switch to Navigator when off line - you can download the maps for that. I also use Navigator when abroad to keep costs down.

You can download quite large chunks on Google Maps to enable you to stay offline and if you travel somewhere with variable reception, if you have downloaded your area it will switch to the downloaded map as needed.

On a recent trip, as an experiment, I downloaded England from the Thames to the Tweed and found that in one part of the North Yorks Moors it just kept working although I had no signal at all.

Slarti

[PrincessB]

I probably old fashioned as I prefer to have single function devices rather than rely on the phone to do everything.

As an example, I have an Ipod as well as a phone as I don't care if the battery on the Ipod runs out as I know the phone won't as it's not wasting battery life by being used as an MP3 player.

Some time ago I bought a TomTom which does have the option of using the phone via bluetooth to gather traffic information. Perhaps the better of two worlds, maps that can't go offline and traffic data if your phone has a signal. Working on the logic, that if there's no phone signal, the traffic is unlikely to be problematic, this might work for you.

I would also mention that the TomTom was utterly useless out of the box, for some reason they had programmed it in a way that meant it could not count past five. A bit tricky at a roundabout when the voice says 'Take the 7th exit' and the screen shows you going staight through.

A software update cured that, at the expense of giving them all of my details, including blood type, inside leg measurement along with a tick box on underwear preference (boy shorts, thong etc.) and the machine then spending all afternoon doing the update.

It's a pretty basic model but it cost under £100 and it works well enough.

I can think of only one occasion where I have been impressed by Waze - We were driving down a motorway, at night, in fog and the hazard ahead warning annouced - We were travelling at a sensible speed but I didn't see a big dark 4x4 on the hard shoulder until the last moment - Not a danger as I was in the lane. What stuck me was the tendency of some lorry drivers to get tired and start drifting about, I've seen it many times in daylight let alone at 3:00am, the consequences of a drifty lorry hitting a parked 4x4 at 60+ don't bear thinking about.

B.

[cvanes]

Heh had the same email for my Go, poor thing has languished in a drawer for the last couple of years as i have a reasonable nav in the current car.

However, I know it's not what you asked about, but I also use HERE on the phone sometimes, which works well offline (tried waze, didn't really like it, google maps ok if signal ok as mentioned above).

cheers,
TSC.

Does HERE work offline then?

TR

Yes, and shows current speed limit and speed. It's not always up to date with temporary speed restrictions (either just imposed or just relaxed).

[Hardgrafter]

I've got Waze, HERE We Go. Google maps and TomTom Go on my Android phone (Moto G4+ 80gb ram). Here and TomTom have true off line maps for each country or set of countries, not just the 100 mile square or whatever you get with Google.

I use TomTom app in most cases, as its traffic info , journey time and instant rerouting are spot on. You can choose and change maps at any time.HERE has maps for every country in the world (its now owned by BMW). You do need mobile with a quad core or similar with TomTom. You also need plenty of RAM, but as long as your phone can take additional SD card (which are only £20 for 64 GB of class 10) then you are fine. You are automatically advisec of map updates. WAZE is good for temporary road works and traffic accidents - it a real social community (even if its owned by Google!). TomTom uses on line data sparingly, and holds the traffic data for about 30 miles around you if you go in a 'not-spot'.

[didds]

Ive got a windows phone unfortunately, and WAZE voice directios doesn;t work on windows phones...

zzz

I dfo find HERE really useful and intuitive (and the voice works!)

didds

[NomoneyNohoney]

(Moto G4+ 80gb ram).

That's impressive....

[Slarti]

Here and TomTom have true off line maps for each country or set of countries, not just the 100 mile square or whatever you get with Google.

Just out of interest, I've just had a play with Google offline maps and I think that the square is about 300k to a side, but you can download as many as you have space for, so at the moment I have France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and Portugal. Then I got bored with playing.

No Idea if it would switch from square to square as I drove, but I do know it goes from live to downloaded and then back in not spots.

Cheers
Slarti