How important is a strong cell phone signal for this device?The Garmin map shows a strong signal but my personal experience is that it is very weak?
1023665
I've only had a problem once, while running in downtown San Francisco. I couldn't get a signal between the tall buildings. Worked perfectly in the Boston Marathon this year. My wife could track me on her iPhone the whole way.
1023666
My area is just at the edge of good coverage for AT&T. It's able to lock on to my dog even when she is under the bed, which really surprised me. If she goes into one of the low areas of our woods, it will lose her. It uses both satellites and cell towers to get a good lock. Problems arise when it can't get both. Then it will show her to be about 20 miles away at a local lake. If it does that, I just wait a few minutes and ping her again. The problem with a poor signal while outside the set geofence is that it will drain the battery quicker than usual. AT&T has been expanding its coverage area in recent years, so you may actually get a better signal than you expect.
1023667
I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. So, the cell phone signal is different from USA (my USA units became useless in Brazil so I bought two units again in Brazilian store), but in my experience the signal is weak. Inside my apartment my two GTU10 units doesn't work.
1023668
We didn't have any issues with the cell coverage. It continued to work even when the GPS didn't register anymore. We were able to monitor the battery dying but couldn't find the collar because the GPS was all over the place...
1023669
I believe a strong cell signal is somewhat important. I have just recently installed the Android app for tracking and have tested it while I walk around my neighborhood. Usually it works and shows the position. In a couple of spots it doesn't. This leads me to believe the cell signal is not getting through. My opinion of this device has gone up since I started using the android app recently. It works better than the online web page tracking.
1023670
I think you don't need a super strong signal, but definitely need a signal. When I return home from my rides (bike), and enter my garage, my GTU 10 reports a lost GPS signal, as I might expect (it also reports entering a fenced area I defined as my house, so that I can have the system email my wife so she knows I got back). However, it does this from my home which is in a spot with what I would call weak cell coverage. So, somehow it is getting a data connection and sending the updates. So from that, I would tell you that it can do ok in a weak cell area (although I don't know whether it retries when it can't get any signal, or just waits until the next ping or requested report). I think you don't need a super strong signal, but definitely need a signal. When I return home from my rides (bike), and enter my garage, my GTU 10 reports a lost GPS signal, as I might expect (it also reports entering a fenced area I defined as my house, so that I can have the system email my wife so she knows I got back). However, it does this from my home which is in a spot with what I would call weak cell coverage. So, somehow it is getting a data connection and sending the updates. So from that, I would tell you that it can do ok in a weak cell area (although I don't know whether it... » Read More I think you don't need a super strong signal, but definitely need a signal. When I return home from my rides (bike), and enter my garage, my GTU 10 reports a lost GPS signal, as I might expect (it also reports entering a fenced area I defined as my house, so that I can have the system email my wife so she knows I got back). However, it does this from my home which is in a spot with what I would call weak cell coverage. So, somehow it is getting a data connection and sending the updates. So from that, I would tell you that it can do ok in a weak cell area (although I don't know whether it retries when it can't get any signal, or just waits until the next ping or requested report). « Show Less
1023671
Having a strong signal is important in obtaining accurate location. However, this device has many flaws. It will jump from one location to another or when using the tracking history feature and scrolling the time and location it will jump around. The unit will not work well on cloudy days. The unit will not give data at the 5 minute or 15 minute intervals you program. It has a tendency to skip hours of tracking data.I DO NOT recommend this for anyone. They will HOOK you for $4.99 every month in order to use the features.
1023672
It's only transmitting tiny packs of data each time and amazingly it has worked in places I didn't think it could have. Shouldn't have any problems.
1023673
I had trouble finding my dog even though it showed a good signal. For my purposes the RoamEO pet monitor worked better for tracking my dog while off-leash.
1023674
Yes I believe it is very important. We live in a very wooded area and often cannot locate the garmin. Our cell phone reception is not always good either. Hope this helps.
1023675
I am very pleased with the coverage we get. We live in fringe area of a suburb and we do just fine. You will lose signal if you go into a rural area you will probably lose coverage, I have not found this to be a problem tracking a teen driver. I mounted my garmin in a less than ideal spot too.
1023676
If the cell phone signal is weak it works slower and maps load slower. I have not had any big problems with performance due to weak cell phone signal.
1023677
it's only important if you need to know where the device is and it's in an area with a poor signal, if the signal is too weak, you wont be able to track it right then, but, the tracker will still record the position and when it gets a signal, will transmit the entire history of where it has been, my experience has been that the signal is strong in most places, I believe it uses AT&T;'s network
1023678
Garmin uses AT&T; which I have. The problem was a lost satellite signal or only 2 that could get a fix.
1023679
My area is just at the edge of good coverage for AT&T.; It's able to lock on to my dog even when she is under the bed, which really surprised me. If she goes into one of the low areas of our woods, it will lose her. It uses both satellites and cell towers to get a good lock. Problems arise when it can't get both. Then it will show her to be about 20 miles away at a local lake. If it does that, I just wait a few minutes and ping her again. The problem with a poor signal while outside the set geofence is that it will drain the battery quicker than usual. AT&T; has been expanding its coverage area in recent years, so you may actually get a better signal than you expect. My area is just at the edge of good coverage for AT&T.; It's able to lock on to my dog even when she is under the bed, which really surprised me. If she goes into one of the low areas of our woods, it will lose her. It uses both satellites and cell towers to get a good lock. Problems arise when it can't get both. Then it will show her to be about 20 miles away at a local lake. If it does that, I just wait a few minutes and ping her again. The problem with a poor signal while outside the set geofence is that it will drain the battery quicker than usual. AT&T; has been expanding its coverage... » Read More My area is just at the edge of good coverage for AT&T.; It's able to lock on to my dog even when she is under the bed, which really surprised me. If she goes into one of the low areas of our woods, it will lose her. It uses both satellites and cell towers to get a good lock. Problems arise when it can't get both. Then it will show her to be about 20 miles away at a local lake. If it does that, I just wait a few minutes and ping her again. The problem with a poor signal while outside the set geofence is that it will drain the battery quicker than usual. AT&T; has been expanding its coverage area in recent years, so you may actually get a better signal than you expect. « Show Less
97826
Unfortunately it looses signal if there is a tree canopy overhead, and we are not even talking about a thick canopy. On trails surrounded by trees it performs much worse than the Suunto Ambit, or even the Forerunner 610. This is my main issue with this product and the reason i downgraded it to 2 starts (I love the features and especially the Running Dynamics, but a GPS that uses signal is not very helpful...).
1403179
You should be able to bring up the signal strength on the phone without connecting it. I have Droid phones and my wife and son watched the signal on the phone settings while I turned the antenna. I installed the booster in the summer of 2013 and have been very happy with it. My rural house had spotty coverage on both floors and now with the booster I can walk through out the house without an issues. I also have the booster cradle in my truck and it works great.
733168
I use GPS all the time and haven't noticed any difference. When mounted, the magnet is dead center on the back of my phone. Maybe there aren't any GPS receivers right there. As I mentioned in another post, the magnet isn't quite strong enough to hold the metal plate through a thin otter box. Maybe that is the reason the GPS isn't being affected.
2234069
You will have very basic navigation information. You will not appreciate the full use of the Garmin without the extra chip. Its worth it, safety first!
2101278
Hi David, Don't know what cell phones work w/the 275 since we try not to use the cell in the car if possible, at least for the driver. Garmin has a tech support line, though, that is on their web site and they were great in answering questions before we bought it, so try them if no one answers your question. Sorry we couldn't help.
1168411
Yes, gives you both.. GPS is actually quite good, didn't expect that. But I guess finding updated maps is not easy? If I ever run into anything that won't navigate then I just go to my Galaxy S4 with Waze or whatever... It works almost all the time for me. It's a very nice unit for the price.. I was a little skeptical on a PA system like this but the sound is very good, bluetooth works flawless (phone and streaming Pandora, Slacker, music player, etc), playing movies (AVI mostly).. Video quality is excellent. Most pro installers will charge you a lot to put this in because they are not use to it, plain and simple. It's not hard at all but I would recommend installing yourself. I had to cut a slightly larger hole where my old Pioneer Avic-1 was installed.
1305927
GPS signals are uniform across the entire planet. Since it's satellite based and doesn't depend on towers like cell phones there's no reason one country would have a weaker signal.
1655796
sometimes it helps if you connect your gps to the internet via usb on your computer and visit garmin.com.they have this utility called: webupdater.i've upgraded mine to 265WT because i need the USB. hands down to garmin, i have no problem with this device (only minor glitch, such as bluetooth sound sometimes disappears). good luck.
820808
Has anyone used the Dakota 20 for touring? Or any Garmin unit for that matter. I'd be interested in your experiences. I'm leaning towards the Dakota for a number of reasons (Battery type, battery life, price, features) I don't need a heart rate/cadence monitor(s) I just want directions but I also don't want to be directed on to a freeway on ramp by some piece of misguided software.
180772
The "cell tower" connectivity is back hauled over your internet connection. There is an Ethernet connection on the back of the unit that you use to connect to your router. The GPS thing is required for it to work. I'm not sure exactly they require it, but I'm guessing it has to do with their service areas or something. Calls and texts work pretty well, but you are going to have to get the little good receiver near a window. It has a fairly long cable, maybe 12-15 or something like that.
428035
You won't get traffic updates with it. You have to use a Garmin adapter for that. I found out the hard way. Will it power both? IDK, but it only has one connector.
1610147
I purchased a gps long ago and I'm very satisfied with it, I DON'T UNDERSTAND why you sent me this email asking me about this nonsense question, I sent positive feed back a few days after a started using the device, so please double check on your emails, it may be a mistake in your behalf. Thank you. !
1427835
Big Marcus, A very big yes on Ka detection. My commute each day is through SE MA and RI and my whistler always alerts me well in advance when the stateys are setting up a trap. As for GPS, not sure since neither model that I have owned had that feature. Hope that info helps. BTW, for the price, Whistler can't be beat.
1674993
I have stopped using this device. Before you can use this with iPad you need to jailbreak it and download apps. I use an android and also needed to download the apps. It worked in android but reception was bad. You have to be driving around 10mi/hr so that gps can catch up with u. If I were u, just get a low cost gps from garmin! Tomtom or Magellan.
1639345
Bharat, you are right. The GPS feature in this phone works without any data plan. To answer your question, 1) You will get turn by turn driving directions only after your phone gets GPS signal and selecting 'Drive to' location. The options will be appearing only after your phone gets GPS signal. 2) To turn on GPS, you just open 'Maps' application and wait for GPS signal. The GPS signal strength is displayed at the bottom righ corner of the phone. It may take from 5 mins to 30 mins to get enough GPS signal strength when you are outside the building. I hope this helps. If not, plz let me know.
632693
I ran with my Garmin405CX just yesterday on a route that I know is almost exactly 3.1 miles. I've driven it and checked the odometer. I've walked it and counted paces with a pedometer. I've mapped it on Google and Yahoo to the same results. The 405CX absolutely nailed it. If it's an accuracy problem, I'd suspect it is related to location or satellite interference of some kind.