Garmin DriveSmart 50LMT
VerifiedMPN: 010-01539-406 reviews
too old too inacurate – When I get home I am 30 or more meters away in my garage in a street 50 m behind my home. Maps are weird I have it set for fastest route but it takes me in the longest distance and finish up where I would have tracked. Search a street not anything there to save some times. Show details
Inaccurate, outdated and frustrating – I have used my Garmin Drive Smart 50 for almost 2 years. I have found as follows:- Inaccuracy The map is always 15 - 25 meters behind when approaching intersections, this is not only frustrating but also dangerous. On occasions the device shows that I am driving 50 meters off the road and parallel to it. Outdated Despite loading maps again and… Read more
again, they are months, even years out of date. New roads open for 6 months are still not appearing. Frustrating Tried pairing three different phones and on each occasion the device does not perform as a hands free. This was the reason for purchase - useless. On many occasions new screens appear, unbidden, frustrating and dangerous. Summary The device has some good features but it's performance is awful. I have persevered and tried all the fixes. Now I just want to dump it and buy a product that performs.
Do not buy garmin drivesmart 50 lmt – I have had a miserable 18 months experience with Garmin DriveSmart 50 LMT. Bought new at JBHiFi June 2017, frequently updated. Used it for travel in QLD and VIC. The maps are accurate but the navigation choices are STUPID. All I want is to go somewhere with easy route, main roads preferred, minimum turns, no shortcuts down narrow side streets.… Read more
Tried both routing choices, "Faster Time" and "Shorter Distance", and it still takes me down minor suburban streets instead of main roads. For example (if you are familiar with Melbourne). If I want to go from home near Nicholson St Fitzroy to Sydney Rd Brunswick (near Glenlyon) the obvious route is Nicholson then Brunswick Rd or Glenlyon then Sydney Rd, all turns at traffic signals. Nope, Garmin thinks it is better to take back street to Lygon, then turn right at stop sign (5pm peak period ffs) then minor rds through Brunswick then another right hand turn at Sydney Rd (still peak period). Garmin chooses routes that often avoid traffic signals. Go figure. Some mapping errors also, occasional route down closed road (with 10 year old tree on the blockage lol). Defaulted GPS a few times, updated 4 times a year. Only good feature is speed alert. Look in Gumtree next week, gonna get rid of this pos. Going to get a TomTom, it could not possibly be worse.
December 26th 2019 Update: EDIT: Was Four Stars, Now Super Slow Boot Since Software Update
*****EDIT November 2017: Bought item june 2017, had zero problems, fast boot up. Now really slow boot after Nov 2017 software update Previously was instant boot up when I started the car, could set destination and go. Now takes more than a minute to boot. Means have to wait until boot is complete before I can set destination. Aargh!! *****
Bought this to navigate QLD Sunshine and Gold Coast areas Was really keen on the 'Voice Command" feature Navigation is mostly very good, sometimes a little late for lane changes in Brisbane City madness The Foursquare search feature is basically useless The Voice Command feature is unusable when car is running I recommend buying a bigger Garmin 6" model without the useless voice command feature for less money
Maps are useless for NSW Coast – We used to have a Tom Tom but the annual map cost made us decide to buy a Garmin with lifetime maps. We had the first unit replaced when the screen kept disappearing. We have just come back from 7 weeks on the NSW Central and Southern coast and the maps kept showing fuel stops were there were none, banks in the middle of empty paddocks and non… Read more
existent shops which didn't help us to plan our refuelling stops. I emailed the problem and a response suggested i call to "speed things up" - nothing like getting your customers to do your work for you. I was on hold for 9 minutes to advise the team their maps are incorrect. They asked me to touch the symbols to get details but i don't plan to go up the coast again until 2019 so that won't help much. Hopefully the issue is fixed by Garmin before then.
Better than average GPS – I bought this to replace my aging Garmin NuVi 50. At first I was a little underwhelmed as the maps haven't changed in look and feel since the last generation, compared to what you get in Google and Apple Maps. But then I realised the whole map database is loaded into the device to use offline so that's why it's still basic. It does have pinch to… Read more
zoom like a smartphone and other minor tweaks that make it more usable.
This model comes with lifetime maps, red light and fixed speed camera alerts, voice command and live traffic updates. It integrates with a smartphone to get live traffic and can display text messages on screen or even make phone calls via built in Bluetooth. It has a school zone warning that's annoying, it beeps all the time you are in the zone, even when it's out of the zone's designated hours or school holidays.
Voice Command is nothing like Siri or Google Assistant's natural language input. It has a limited list of commands it displays on screen in a menu and you choose from those, like "Find Place" then you say "National Maritime Museum" or somesuch. Initially it couldn't understand my home address which is a plain English address, and sometimes it doesn't wake up at all, so its not perfect. (Update: The voice activation is two words you can record yourself. I found I had almost run the words together so I speak them almost as one and its almost 100% wake up now).
After a month of use its becoming more reliable, even finding a mispronounced Japanese restaurant but it still has its moments. Don't expect Google's rich index of places and near matches.
I turned a lot of intrusive stuff off at the start like What's Nearby, which in the city clutters the screen, but this option is really good on long intercity drives as it shows when food and petrol stations are coming up. It sometimes warns of speed reductions coming up, like when entering a 60 zone off an expressway.
It can display text messages on screen but if you have a mounted phone you'd turn this off as its a distraction.
After a month of use in the city and country I'm pretty happy with the device and glad I got the voice activated unit, when it works its great and beats trying to type in an address, even if it doesn't work 100% of the time.
The main advantage of a satnav like this over Google Maps on your phone is it shows speed limits and fixed speed/red light cameras which, if you get fined is about the cost of the unit. So overall I find this a well rounded device.
just what i needed – Thought about a Tom Tom but this screen was much clearer. Does exactly what i want. Clear instructions and like how it shows you where to come off on highways. Only problem is that the voice command function does not recognise me when i say phone but does all other commands.
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