The factory UConnect/NAV system offered by RAM and Jeep is about useless, full of errors and oddities. Like the display will show one thing and the voice prompt is directing you to do something else. I use my phone and the Android Auto connection to send my Trails Offroad to my display and that works so much better.
My neighbor has been all over the country with his 49 Ford. He has a flip phone, and can't receive or send text messages. It's the same for a number of people I know. They still will use maps and/or GPS.You (consumers/society - in general) need something else (in the truck) other than ‘cell related’ GPS. The obvious reasons…. No cell signal.
Not only that….. some folks don’t have (or don’t want )smart phones for the extra expense or lack of know-how. My newly retired brother still has a dumb phone.
With ‘Big Brother’ watching all of us (Uconnect/Sirius, Onstar), all the time - it’s unlikely the OEM Navigation/GPS would go away. The technology & structure Is there….. They’ll continue to offer OEM Navigation to make more $$.
Granted, I don’t know how any of it works (in terms of Uconnect GPS systems)…. I’m guessing it’s Satellite.
In the far far future…. I mean, how long with Cell technology last? Everyone will have Satellite phones. There’d be the Carplay equivalent for Satellite phones.
At that point…. The OEM Navigation (as we know it today) wouldn’t exist because we’d be using (and connecting with) their own Satellite technology (Uconnect, etc).
Ok…. It’s Monday and I think I just dove off the deep end.
Never had that happen before - but it does sometimes take you through places that aren't correct.
It’s been a very long time since I bought an aftermarket GPS setup.
For those sorts of places you would be best off using something like Gaia or OnX with maps saved for offline use.
Leave the starlink in the jeep and download your offline maps when you figure out where you're going.
GPS devices come pre loaded, you'll only need to install maps if your'e in a different part of the world.
Maps need to be updated and a disconnected device is irritating to update. Usually requires downloading files to an SD card and installing from the memory card. That's why the GPS system in your car is terrible and unreliable after a couple years, and auto mfgs are moving to Android Auto/Apple Carplay.
Really? I connect mine to my PC with a USB cable, use the app on the PC and update my maps. Piece of cake.
You don't have a 2024 or later, I guess.
Yeah, but then people can actually reach me. Can't have that. I see your point though, lol.
Yeah to each their own, whatever works best for you. A 2024-later is less than a couple years old, so just wait for it. Dealer map updates aren't free. I don't use the in-dash GPS system in any of my cars. My Mercedes doesn't even have a native GPS, because it fully depends on Android Auto/Apple CarPlay. The GPS maps in my Audi doesn't even have my house on it. lol
lol fair point.
I don't. I always know where I'm going, have all the maps I need, and carry an emergency beacon as a backup to my phone and watch. Starlink isn't going to save you unless you're sitting at your camp site. Mobile satellite internet has been around for decades, Starlink just increased the bandwidth enough so you can binge watch Netflix while you're "roughing it" in the wilderness.
Mobile sat phones have been unaffordable for decades, is what you meant to say.
