Sat Nav with live traffic

born_again

oldernonethewiser said:

My car has Apple Play.

No one knows of a current list of cars with inbuilt traffic info on the Sat Nav?

Thing is this changes. As many Kia owners have found out when their car gets to 7 years old. The TomTom live traffic updates stop. 
Neither Kia or TomTom will allow users to pay to keep it going.

You have not mentioned if you would be looking at new or old cars to replace yours?

In reality the best solution is find a car that has Android Auto & Apple Car Play & use that, as that should always have access to live traffic in the navigation apps, of which there are many.

oldernonethewiser

I am not looking to replace my car currently.

When I do it will unlikely to be a new one. 

A colleague bought a car newer than mine, different model, which doesn't have Android Auto or Car Play so the lack of live traffic on the inbuilt Sat Nav, which was there when the car was bought, is annoying.

You can use the phone and although you can get the directions to come through the car speakers via bluetooth you can't use the car's screen to mirror the phone.

Ms_Chocaholic

ElefantEd said:

I just look out of the car window and see how much traffic there is. I can also see speed limit signage and potholes! And all for the low low price of zero pounds.

Waze is free and it lets you know of hazards ahead - heavy traffic (so you can take an alternative route), vehicles stopped on hard shoulders of motorway etc

Iceweasel

Is there any navigation app that doesn't need a data connection?

user1977

Iceweasel said:

Is there any navigation app that doesn't need a data connection?

Not sure any of them need a data connection - you can e.g. download whatever area you want on Google Maps and use it offline if you want. Obviously that's necessary when you're driving somewhere with poor/no signal anyway. But just as obviously, no live traffic info until you have a connection again.

Aretnap

user1977 said:

Iceweasel said:

Is there any navigation app that doesn't need a data connection?

Not sure any of them need a data connection - you can e.g. download whatever area you want on Google Maps and use it offline if you want. Obviously that's necessary when you're driving somewhere with poor/no signal anyway. But just as obviously, no live traffic info until you have a connection again.

Google Maps (and I assume other navigation apps) does this on the go to a reasonable extent anyway - it stores the route for far enough ahead that it doesn't stop working because you've briefly dropped out of signal.

In fact I'm quite lax at using the offline maps feature, and I can't remember it ever stopping working for lack of signal, and that includes some pretty remote Welsh valleys, bits of the Pennines, Yorkshire Dales etc. Probably still best to use the offline maps if you're planning a long drive in one of the remoter parts of the Scottish Highlands, but there aren't many areas left in the UK where you can drive for miles and miles without ever getting a mobile signal.

northwalesd

Google maps did stop working for me going over Woodhead Pass last summer, as there was no signal, so it does happen.

facade

northwalesd said:

Google maps did stop working for me going over Woodhead Pass last summer, as there was no signal, so it does happen.

Was that because it lost the GPS signal?

This is the big advantage of inbuilt navigation, they use the car's own sensors to navigate by dead reckoning in the absence of a GPS lock. You can drive for many miles before the accumulated error is enough to map you to the wrong road.

searchlight123

I have a 2022 new style Qashqi. The built in satnav comes with the 3 years free live traffic feature.It is rubbish and I only really use Waze now linked to the cars inbuilt screen using a wireless dongle called AA Wireless (as I don't like to have to plug my phone in manually for Android Auto). It costs around £50 and works really well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-Android-Adapter-Converts-Bluetooth/dp/B0C4L8M3W9/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2H2XSODOQHDZS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1UuuJD3zMpaftt2gGHvUFE7bUgz7vl-pmuWbg7ak85kD0dgGTcQITbJvwSQtPpdfT7N5RlP8Y0_QW9CrU-RUBJKPy5_bV3CX8QvzWmsNPHa3CtkLEf4esn8y8Vkmz6dVibQdqFGnT323p_Z54JhwDmF69n1nqsvy7EZsvJFedWCUSzvFLrBjfjX5yHRwfFMsHYWVy9w5D-hd_jPGthYmh3SgyCdrF3gVPrDKyQag3wE.o0jzwG_3CEmB3Wo4K_1GSb6qLKpbEeKgwuG3RpVWPI8&dib_tag=se&keywords=aa+wireless+android+auto+2024&qid=1710679051&sprefix=aa+wireless,aps,2466&sr=8-4

facade

tonygold said:

I have a 2022 new style Qashqi. The built in satnav comes with the 3 years free live traffic feature.It is rubbish and I only really use Waze now linked to the cars inbuilt screen using a wireless dongle called AA Wireless (as I don't like to have to plug my phone in manually for Android Auto). It costs around £50 and works really well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-Android-Adapter-Converts-Bluetooth/dp/B0C4L8M3W9/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2H2XSODOQHDZS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1UuuJD3zMpaftt2gGHvUFE7bUgz7vl-pmuWbg7ak85kD0dgGTcQITbJvwSQtPpdfT7N5RlP8Y0_QW9CrU-RUBJKPy5_bV3CX8QvzWmsNPHa3CtkLEf4esn8y8Vkmz6dVibQdqFGnT323p_Z54JhwDmF69n1nqsvy7EZsvJFedWCUSzvFLrBjfjX5yHRwfFMsHYWVy9w5D-hd_jPGthYmh3SgyCdrF3gVPrDKyQag3wE.o0jzwG_3CEmB3Wo4K_1GSb6qLKpbEeKgwuG3RpVWPI8&dib_tag=se&keywords=aa+wireless+android+auto+2024&qid=1710679051&sprefix=aa+wireless,aps,2466&sr=8-4

You have to have that dongle sticking out of the 'phone as well as the puck plugged into the USB?

You might as well just plug the 'phone into the USB and slow charge it whilst you use Android Auto.

 I was hoping for a solution that lets Android Auto work with the 'phone in my pocket, it just needs a Wifi connection to the head unit as bluetooth 5 isn't fast enough.