Connected navigation and no signal

[trashman1965]

Good day folks,

 

Quick question for those with later Yaris with connected navigation. What happens in low/no mobile signal areas? Does the navigation preload or buffer the map and directions or does it just stop if there is no signal?

[Big_D]

When you say connected navigation, do you mean Apple play and Google maps? If so, these will not work if you have no signal. If you are talking about the inbuilt navigation system, this will still work.

[trashman1965]

Thanks Bob - referring to the built in, which doesn't have local maps like the corolla excel for instance. Hence my query if the navigation continues if the car has no internet/signal (as in its built in SIM/data connection).

Maybe the term "smart connect" navigation  is more accurate. 

[Big_D]

I'll have to check on the wife's Yaris. I always thought the maps in the media unit were "Built in".

In my C-HR, I had poor signal and couldn't use either Apple maps or Google maps. The in built satnav worked without any problems.

[RedToyota]

From my experience, Yaris Cross Dynamic with Smart Connect, the in built Say Nav still displays maps BUT if it loses the data signal then it does not update speed camera, traffic issues warnings until it reconnect to "the mothership".

[Big_D]

9 minutes ago, RedToyota said:

BUT if it loses the data signal then it does not update speed camera, traffic issues warnings until it reconnect to "the mothership

Exactly the case with my C-HR when I had a poor signal.

[trashman1965]

That makes sense if it keeps maps displayed but loses "live" data like cameras and so on. Missus is changing to a premiere edition and hopefully better experience than today where she's been stuck with no navigation as android auto wouldn't work. Where she works there's a lot of weak/blank spots, so was hoping the smart connect at least had navigation when no signal.

[IT Troll]

if you have a route planned and enter a poor signal area for a section, it should be fine (apart from the live traffic data).

However, Smart Connect navigation does not work for new navigation if you don’t have reception. You cannot search for destinations or plan a new route.

I would advise having a backup satnav on your phone which can use pre-loaded offline maps. I think Google and Apple can do this now. I have Mapy.cz on my phone as a backup which is free and offline.

[trashman1965]

3 minutes ago, IT Troll said:

if you have a route planned and enter a poor signal area for a section, it should be fine (apart from the live traffic data).

However, Smart Connect navigation does not work for new navigation if you don’t have reception. You cannot search for destinations or plan a new route.

I would advise having a backup satnav on your phone which can use pre-loaded offline maps. I think Google and Apple can do this now. I have Mapy.cz on my phone as a backup which is free and offline.

Perfect, thank you. Good to know.

[Graham47]

 Not sure if WAZE uses pre-loaded maps so could be worth trying.

HEREweGO does use preloaded maps, choice of regions if needed and is compatible, at least, with Carplay

[trashman1965]

Thanks, aim was to avoid anything mobile phone based if possible and use the car navigation. If waze does preloaded that is probably worth a try but the scenario where she got caught out she had no phone signal and couldn't get phone to connect to head unit. 

[MikeSh]

I think HereWeGo is (or was) entirely self contained as I had it on my phone for backup when Google Maps failed.

With Google (and some others) you can preload the maps for the route, but if you lose signal you won't be able to start a new route as it uses the mothership servers to calculate it.

You can easily test any chosen backup by putting the phone in airplane mode and asking it to plot a route. If it works then you are good for a no-signal environment.

[IT Troll]

14 hours ago, trashman1965 said:

If waze does preloaded that is probably worth a try but the scenario where she got caught out she had no phone signal and couldn't get phone to connect to head unit. 

In that case she could still just use in the phone, which is better than nothing.

Mapy.cz uses OpenStreetMap data and allows you to download regions in advance for fully offline navigation. I've used it a couple of times after successfully navigating to a location with the onboard satnav, only to find that I cannot then navigate away from it! Quite a fundamental flaw with cloud-reliant satnav. Mapy.cz does support CarPlay for turn-by-turn directions. The app is useful to have on your phone as the maps are actually better than the others for offroad pedestrian/cycling trail navigation.

[GrantS]

Another good offline OpenstreetMap data based app is Organic Maps. It supports Turn-by-turn for car navigation and walking. I use it mostly for walking as you can upload GPX routes to it but it's there in case my phone plays up due to lack of signal and I can use Organic Maps on the screen with CarPlay. The map download is by region but if you download maps for the whole UK you are looking at 1.7GB storage.

Organic Maps is available on IOS and Android.

[jthspace]

17 hours ago, Graham47 said:

HEREweGO does use preloaded maps, choice of regions if needed and is compatible, at least, with Carplay

Default mapping on Mazda.  

Here Technologies (stylized and trade name as HERE and here) is a Dutch multinational group specialized in mapping technologies, location data and related automotive services to individuals and companies. It is majority-owned by a consortium of German automotive companies (namely Audi, BMW, the Mercedes-Benz Group) and American semiconductor company Intel whilst other companies also own minority stakes. Its roots date back to U.S.-based Navteq in 1985, which was acquired by Finland-based Nokia in 2007. Here is currently based in The Netherlands.

[trashman1965]

So just to clarify, other half currently has a MY21 Mk4 excel, no cloud navigation or on board so only option is android auto/google maps.

 

Problem she is hoping to avoid when she gets the new premiere yaris is not to have to rely on the phone, and the cloud/connected/smart connect will work. Sounds like it will continue if a route set, but not planning a new route or live camera/traffic if signal drops.

[IT Troll]

3 hours ago, trashman1965 said:

Sounds like it will continue if a route set, but not planning a new route or live camera/traffic if signal drops.

Correct. Shouldn’t be a problem for city/town driving. The occasions I’ve had issues have been when the destination is a little more remote. You can get there OK, but then you find you cannot leave! You have to drive until you find enough signal for it to work (or use an alternative offline mapping solution).

Occasionally, the Toyota cloud servers are unavailable and so navigation won’t work even if you have a signal.