topic Re: Map Accuracy in Map quality

Map Accuracy

Bob2009 — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:26:26 GMT

I purchased a TomTom instead of Garmin to see if their maps were any better. I loaded the latest maps onto my new TomTom and found that my address, a 5 year old development, isn't available. My wife's Garmin has our address available.

I guess my next GPS purchase will be a Garmin.

Re: Map Accuracy

kandk920 — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:27:08 GMT

And the really sad thing is that they don't seem to care! If I were in charge of this company, the map team would be working OT getting their maps at least as up to date as their competitors!

Re: Map Accuracy

Lightning — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:06:33 GMT

I just came from a Garmin to a Tom Tom- I am not happy to see this. I found an error near my house and would like to get it corrected. It says to report it on your device and the next time it is plugged into you computer it will feed back that info?? I just read it here somewhere but I haven't tried it yet.

Re: Map Accuracy

Lupus1 — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:43:57 GMT

Hi,

the error will get sent via your computer if you've still got an older device that's connecting via the TT Home application. Users of the myTT application cannot share their map corrections via the device and myTT yet.

However you'll be able to report the error via TT's Map Share Reporter Tool. I've made only positive experiences so far with reporting map errors via that tool.

Map Share Reporter tool (hyperlink)

Regards

Lars.

Re: Map Accuracy

kandk920 — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:15:48 GMT

I have reported items on Map Share also, only to see them as accepted, but no changes on the map as of yet, when all the changes noted can be verified on any mapping website as they are changes that were made YEARS ago by other map keepers. I am not talking about construction completed a few weeks ago that I noted and are still pending a month later.

Re: Map Accuracy

Lightning — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:22:03 GMT

I read somewhere that Tom Tom releases maps every quarter. Maybe it takes about 3 months to get a fix??

Re: Map Accuracy

Lupus1 — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:08:32 GMT

Hi,

when getting a new map every quarter the map is already about 3 months old due to the development time. So sometimes it might take some time until an error gets fixed. It also depends on how many people report the same error. If there are more people reporting the same error it will be checked faster than an error that gets reported by only a single user. So it might take even more than 3 months to get some errors fixed but from my experience most of the time the errors are fixed with the next map update or at least the second map update.

Regards

Lars.

Re: Map Accuracy

Lightning — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:13:22 GMT

I found out how to report errors. I also found a button that I can add to the screen that allows me to mark for a future correction. Then I can do it from home on my computer instead of in the car.

Re: Map Accuracy

nittanytiger — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:24:47 GMT

While in General, I like my Tom Tom 640 Go Live, I do NOT like the fact that I am still forced to pay for updated maps each year when those who purchased not long after me have lifetime free map updates. Especially since the roads in my area (Central Missouri) are rarely if ever updated. I travel daily on roads that have existed for 10+ years and the TomTom still thinks I am driving in a "cornfield." I do not expect the roads ON a military installation to be updated, but the ones leading to it, yes. My old neighborhood- 10+ years old and not even on the TomTom- not even close. My new neighborhood -- parts of it are there. I have posted this in the past on the forums, in tech support when I had a problem with my services, but still the same.

Oh - and I DO use the error reporting feature and have all along.

Hopeless Mexico Map

Ed--Ottawa — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:23:36 GMT

Friends and I are on a 3-week driving trip in southern Mexico. Shortly before leaving for Mexico, I purchased and downloaded the Mexico maps. They worked well in Mexico City. But elsewhere they have been bad. For example, in Puebla -- Mexico's third largest city -- the location shown for out hotel was simply wrong. When I tried to enter the street address of the hotel (calle 5 sur 105) my Tom Tom would not recognize the name of the street. When I spelled the street name out (calle cinco sur), I was taken to the wrong part of town, 10 km from where I should have been. For another example, in Oaxaca, my Tom Tom said the street on which my hotel was located was unpaved. The street is in the colonial centre of Oaxaca and is completely paved; it has been paved for at least the last 50 years. For a third example, yesterday, coming from Oaxaca to Tuxtla Gutierrez, I wanted to take the toll road from Arriaga to Tuxtla. This road has been in operation for at least 3 years. My Tom Tom did not know about it and kept telling me to 'turn around when possible' or, worse, would have had me make turns where there were no roads to turn on. These are only three examples of many. All in all, the Tom Tom Mexico map is very seriously flawed and unreliable.

Re: Map Accuracy

Shorty — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:08:43 GMT

I can empathise with you all on data that doesn't turn out as expected and should. Because the GPS allows our GPSr to be so accurate and the other trillion items of data in a (any) digital map are so accurate, those that are not stand out (sometimes I say 'like dogs what's-is-names but I won't here) and we want to turn our units into door-stoppers or worse, bin them.

Don't fear - I've been there myself and we have 4 in the household. My data sourcing background however, after a good cuss, makes me note that which is incorrect and have it repaired by reporting it (we have different systems in house to do this) but I can assure you one does have to be patient in seeing the data appear in a map release.

Timing can also have a lot to do with this - if your report is verified then accepted it may not be in time for map compilation and so on. In such a case it would be a fair expectation to see the report in a map release going forward.

I note that many of you do report such issues and good for you - you're making the map a better instrument for all and not just yourself.

The Map Share Reporter is (apart from in unit reporting) the best means of reporting data and seeing that in the map in the shortest possible manner. In another thread you'll find that I have started a topic that calls for suggestions for improvement of MSR and I'd welcome all your comments there too.

The older report mechanisms have metamorphosed into the current version of MSR and I know work is being done on this reporting tool for release towards the end of 2012 (as I have it) so if your reports were made on the older versions if you wouldn't mind repeating those reports in the latest version. Be specific where you can - locating a road closure, reporting a street name and so forth, where you can't then use the 'Other' icon that you could use to describe something like street upgrades required in radius approximate 5km from the pin. Map makers work in 1's and 0's so the more specific the report the better.

You can monitor progress of your report in a rather limited manner currently but there are gnomes inside the company beavering away at the task of making it easier to report items and easier to monitor progress through many more steps than before.

I'm going to pout my head on a block here (because I believe so deeply that user contributions should receive priority attention) if you have reported specific data using MSR preferably, and you haven't heard of it's progress, then please let me have your email addie (by PM of course), the subject matter and I will have it followed up for you.

Re: Map Accuracy

MiguelMX — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:58:34 GMT

I've been using TomTom for several years, and in these last months I've used in Puebla and Mexico City, I share the following observations....
Mexico an Puebla are big cities, but also they are conurbated with many other little or medium towns.
TomTom does well giving the instructions to reach some point, 99% percent of the time it give me correct routes and replanification when i make mistakes driving.

The most important step , and also the most complicated is to tell your tomtom unit where you want to go.
In puebla as example it's almost impossible to ask tomtom for streets like "terecera sur" or "3 sur" or "5 de mayo".
I solve this problem using an adittional map like google maps for iphone, to verify if tomtom is driving to the desired place.
And the last problem, if you ask to go "Home Depot" you will find a store in the map of tomtom, but after you drive for 15 minutes you will discover that is wrong and also imposible to exists a "HomeDepot" in the financial district next to high towers and buildings. ( You can avoid this if you check, before driving with your iphone and google street view.)

Re: Map Accuracy

Megalos — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:35:37 GMT

Hi Miguel. I looked at the Google and TomTom maps. One thing I noticed is that there are multiple '3 Sur' roads in Puebla, and the same goes for '5 de Mayo'. So that may be one of the reasons why it's difficult to find the right one. Also, I saw that in the TomTom map, the '3 Sur' road was called 'Tres Sur'. So naming may be an issue as well. I don't know if it's possible to search with postcodes in Puebla (or Mexico in general), but maybe this could make things easier.

Re: Map Accuracy

jocavi73 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 03:19:49 GMT

i dont not what happen,but in my city (san juan texas) the tom tom does not have the correct street my adress does not exist in the map of my tom tom the maps are very older maybe my grand pa knows this street s in the divice but we need inmediatle a up date asap.i connected my tt every day to my computer but does not work.please we need the software of garmin o other brand,my friend have a garmin and he don have this problem.thanks

Re: Map Accuracy

lemelman — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 07:11:49 GMT

I live in the Midlands in UK. My road has existed for well over 150 years and my house has had a postcode ever since they were first determined. I bought my first TomTom about 4 years ago and was dismayed to find that my postcode was deemed to be in an unnamed road. I reported it but, despite getting a new map every 3 months, nothing happened.

I upgraded my GO 920 to an 825 Live 2 months ago; my postcode is still wrong.

A friend purchased a new car with a builtin TomTom and it shows my postcode in the correct road. I got a new map last month - my postcode is still wrong.

This is DISGRACEFUL.

Re: Map Accuracy

Megalos — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:25:43 GMT

Hi Jocavi, the best way to report map errors is by making a report via the online Map Share Reporter tool: http://tomtom.com/mapshare/tools/. If accepted, it will be implemented in a future map release (usually in 6 to 12 months).

Re: Map Accuracy

Megalos — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:27:08 GMT

@ Lemelman: Do you now what map version your friend has? And what's your map version? You can find it here: http://tomtom.com/12214.

Re: Map Accuracy

Shorty — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:45:46 GMT

Mmm ... lemelman, your note puzzles me a bit (that PND maps would be different to Motor Vehicle maps) - they may be different versions as Megalos enquired, and we would be able to figure from that but for my own ease of mind I'll find out the What Why and Wherefore.

Re: Map Accuracy

lemelman — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:10:35 GMT

My map is Europe v885.4007 release date 1/2012

It shows CV325RY as an unnamed road

My friend's map is UK Ireland 850.2817, it shows CV325RY correctly as Binswood Avenue

Googlemap, Garmin, and even TomTom's own route planner shows CV325RY correctly as Binswood Avenue.

I first reported this in 2009, via an official route that I have now forgotten. I reported it again in February this year and was told to use the map update facility, which I did, but to no avail - I'm not even sure it works.

Here's another example of TomTom's poor Postcode facility.

With my old 920 GO I wanted directions to a hotel. I entered the postcode and was given the correct road name (encouraging). I had no idea of the hotel's address other than its postcode, so I accepted TomTom's suggested address of number 1. It was almost 2 miles wrong because the actual number was something like 2500!

Why is TomTom still using a totally useless postcode system when there are good ones available?

Re: Map Accuracy

Megalos — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:34:32 GMT

Did you make the Map Share report, as suggested in this topic: http://discussions.tomtom.com/t5/Map-quality/Bad-Postcode/m-p/160303? If so, what's the status of your report? Is it accepted? About the differences between the Renault software and the PND software, I'm curious as well as to why there is this difference. Maybe Shorty can shed some light on this.