Navman Drive DUO 2.0
Verified22 reviews
Useless gadget bound for the bottom drawer – Difficult to set up and use, battery seems slow to charge and doesn't hold charge so constantly turning off and on. I've got another satnav device which is a piece of cake compared to this piece of frustration- a waste of money in my opinion and bound for the bottom drawer. The software needs a makeover- visually looks like 30 years old
Save your money and time!!! Never, Never and Never again!!! – Bought it for about 3 months in a shop in Melbourne. Navigation is poor lacking accuracy, usually 1 to 2 streets or 50 to 200m away. Sometimes the unit restarts in the middle of the trip for no reasons. Reliability is extremely low. I am driving the same route for work five days a week. The speed limit on the same road displays differently,… Read more
for example, on Monday (80Km correct) and then on Wednesday (50Km, incorrect). The spoken red light camera warning is not consistent. For example, sometimes it is 150m ahead (correct) but sometimes it is 50m after actual physical distance (incorrect).
I updated the map about two months ago. It worked. Last week, I was trying to update the map using the same computer and setting. After updating, the screen displayed something like (need to purchase the map). Then I tried to update the map again. The map worked for the first time. I turned off and turned on the unit again, a cross hair mark asking for screen calibration around the four corners and the centre of the screen showed up. I did the screen calibration multiple times. The unit "worked" again. When I put it back to my back, the entire screen turned blank / black and never power up again.
In short, I would rather put my time and money on charities but never Navman again.
Hi Mitcham Road, We are sorry you have experienced… Read more (+1 reply)
Realy disappointed with this Navman – I'm really disappointed with my Navman Drive Duo. I purchased it specifically for navigation and its put me in some terrible and almost dangerous situations, usually when I'm towing the horse float with a horse in it. I've contacted Navman numerous times and while they've been helpful, the problems continue. I re-set, update maps regularly, and… Read more
yet it still directs me to turn into roads that don't exist, takes me on goat tracks, I've been stuck at the end of a road with a river in front of me, taken into a redundant sand mine with a 21 foot caravan in tow, side tracked through a hospital car park only to be redirected back on to the road I'd just been diverted from. I could go on but I wont. I've got a trip coming up this weekend and I wont be able to use Navman to get there as all the routes it offers involve around 24 turns (not good for horses trying to balance in a float) whereas Google maps offers 12. So I give up. I'm searching for a sat nav system that is current and reliable.
Hi Cheryle, I'm sorry to hear about your issues with your… Read more (+2 replies)
just get something more decent to save you from trouble – How easy was it to set up and use this camera? Technology is lagging behind others . cannot install driver when plugged in, has to find the driver on its website. and it is not even working great. How would you describe the quality of the recorded footage? average. How satisfied are you with the connectivity of the dash cam? does not record, and… Read more
cannot find recordings, I actually involved in a crash but cannot retrieve the media files (file type is weird, not accessible, requires a software to read). How accurate and reliable are the maps? Map is not smart at all. get me to enter a toll road and exists immediately after enter (what the f ?). confusing highway exits frequently. showed me to turn right on a near city road while its saying left only, almost crashing my car if not looked at the sign... Map gets complicated and confusing with unnecessary infos. Was it easy to install in your vehicle? yeah. standard. How satisfied are you with the signal strength of the GPS? no signal when some tunnels while my friends has How well does this device perform in busy cities and the outback/regional areas?
Overall, the only thing about this is GPS + dashcam combined when I first bought, but nothing works properly. You get what you paid for. I wish I did not purchase this. I would not recommend you purchase this if you wants something easy to use. At some point, it causing extreme hazard to user, may cost you your life. Just pay a bit more for other better product, think about your safety and others/
Hi Jeff, Thankyou for your detailed feedback and review,… Read more
Great product, some issues – Setting up my device was very easy. Good quality footage and you can use a larger SD card than other devices allow. I find the screen very easy to see, even with my sunglasses on and in sunlight (though I rarely get direct sunlight to the screen because I've mounted it directly under the rear mirror and the sun doesn't get there in a sedan). I… Read more · 9
have had this device over a year, and for the most part it works very well. The suction mount is strong and reliable, until the car is parked under the sun in 35+ degree heat, then the device will come tumbling down (my power cable is damaged from this, but still works).
However, one problem that has started occurring only recently was that every time I turn it on, the device takes a while to locate the GPS signal and "wake up". This has been happening since I started parking in my apartment garage. Accompanying this, is that the first few minutes of dash cam footage, depending on how long it takes to wake up, are not recorded and this is very frustrating sometimes when I am reviewing footage and the first half of my drive is missing. Sometimes, even whole trips are missing. For example, after a 10 minute drive to McDonald's, someone scratched my front bumper in drive through while my car was on and I thought it was recording but I went back to review it that night and the footage wasn't there!
Also, even though I keep the maps updated regularly, there is a street in my area that is "no left turn" on to the main road, which the Nav always takes me to turn left on. There are also some other small quirks in some areas, and I find that it doesn't do too well with street numbers. In tunnels, the device does a pretty good job at estimating your location where GPS signal is lost, I believe this was a recent feature addition in an update , because previously it would lose GPS and go haywire in a long tunnel. Overall, not a bad GPS experience, but I do also find that Google Maps does a far better job at finding the best route with most accuracy compared to any navigation device.
Whilst the recorded video is of great quality and good at night, there is one problem when an "event" is recorded, the device tends to create a new video file which excludes the actual event. It would be helpful if there was a setting that allowed you to increase the time passed that you want saved into the event, for example when the event is detected, save the last xx minutes of the recording into the event file, rather than only saving the footage after the event.
I personally do not use any of the ADAS/Driving Assistance functionality as I found it complicated to set up, and then unreliable (maybe I didn't set it up right). However, I didn't buy the product for these features so it doesn't bug me at all.
Overall this device is pretty good for the price, and brings some fresh life to my '04 Pulsar. The speed and camera warnings are a great feature and it is handy that you can set a custom max speed limit since I am on my p-plates.
Fairly good – I have been using it for last 1 year. Only few times, it was sluggish, otherwise, it was superb and fantastic. Dashcam was absolute beauty. Wide angle and HD video!!! Bluetooth was also fine. Show details · 1
Absolute rubbish – Touch screen freezes regularly Camera stopped working after about 3 months maps are not reliable Easy to install Signal strength is good Have been in touch with Navman and the company I bought it from and none of them want to know about it even when it was under warranty, Steer well clear of NAvman. Show details
Hi Glenn, I am sorry to hear about the issues with your… Read more
Not workable with stop-start technology – I bought this device as Garmin didn't have a GPS with dash cam at the time. It was never as good but when I bought a car with stop-start technology it was useless. When the car starts the accessory power is momentarily cut and this device starts to power down and continues to do so unless you notice the screen dialogue and touch "Yes". So what… Read more
use is a dashcam if the device is powered off? I gave it away yesterday. I also had problems with finding my work address, it would say "No map data" even though it's an established part of Sydney.
Hi John, I am sorry to hear you have had problems with… Read more
Drive Recorder function is not working at all after weeks only – Brought this unit weeks back (say 3) for a Combo (GPS + Dash Cam) function. It was a great box for first 3 weeks, then the Drive Recorder Stopped working. Have followed all guideline from the Navman team (Hard Reset, Smart Recovery, Remove SD card etc) but still no Luck Show details
Hi Azim, Sorry to hear about the experience you are… Read more
Great gps and dash cam at reasonable price – Have owned this navman duo 2 for 1 year from good guys 250 dollar Great gps very good video recording live up dates helpful. Never had a problem except for replaced charger can be hard to see in strong sunlight but if adjusted right not too much of a problem Would recommend to a friend Show details · 1
Bad product – This is worst product I have ever used. It’s crash cam does not record and keeps on showing DVR error. I get back to retailer today. They said it can not be replaced and sent to company for repair which may take 6 weeks. I spent 450$ and that what I got in return. Never trust this brand again. It is slowest in response and does not cover all speed cameras as well. Show details
Hi Britt, Im sorry to hear about the issues you are… Read more (+4 replies)
Disappointing – All of my complaints you can find if you read other reviews. I just wish I had done that first. I took this product back after a few days because I was frustrated with not being able to see the screen on sunny days. The map colours are poor. Another problem is the route is blue, but the major roads are also a slightly different shade of blue. … Read more
Other problems include the sound wasn't working on the video even though I had this selected in the menu. Constant driver alert alarms were sounding as I drove. Roundabout navigation was ambiguous when it said "drive straight". That might be OK on a perfect straight road with a roundabout, but it was confusing in Glebe where all the streets are crooked. I've decided a dash cam isn't suitable in a navigator, as you really obscure your vision if you want to get the ideal position for the camera. My previous GPS I could position out of my field of view. The live traffic feature is pretty good, but it tells you of an incident on your route, but it only flashes up for a few seconds and if you don't touch the screen it disappears. Some of the text on the screen is yellow on a white background. Other text like the speed is rather small and hard to see. In summary, I was very disappointed by this product. I have since swapped it for a separate dash-cam and I have gone back to my Garmin navigator.
Hi Kevin, Thank you for taking the time to provide your… Read more
Dreadful – Bought this Navman DUO 2.0 6 weeks ago from JB-HF the screen keeps going so dull that it is Impossible to read at all even though the settings are turned UP fully. I have emailed Navman twice and have never even had a reply and I have looked for a PHONE number to NO avail! I bought this to replace an older Navman that I was very happy with that was no longer able to update maps Show details
Hi Platycat, Im sorry to hear about your experience, so… Read more
Find out how Navman Drive DUO 2.0 compares to other Dash Cams
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Poor quality – First unit was faulty as it would not recognize sim. Had it two days so I took it back to JBHiFi and they were great as they test it and gave me a new replacement. Second unit worked well for about two weeks then started going crazy. Charge light would no go on, tried fully charging at home, sometime charge light orange or not on at all. … Read more
Screen would go dull and be hard to read. Sent it for repairs but they found nothing wrong. Would not recommend this Navman device to anyone as the quality is poor.
Hi Darb, I'm sorry for your experience with the Drive DUO… Read more
Review of the navman duo 2.0 – This unit performs all the functions as stated but if you want to view them on the screen on a bright day forget it as the screen is of poor standard & unviewable. I will be returning it to the dealer for my money back after only 3 weeks putting up with the inconvenience of this unit. Show details
Disappointed – I bought this Navman drive duo 2.0 as it advertised as an all in one gps and dashcam only to find out after installing that the dashcam doesn’t turn on automatically you have to press the camera every time you get in the car or it doesn’t come on. I called Navman and they told me I had to buy a dashcam for that??? Show details
Hi Thanks, Thank you for taking the time to review your… Read more
Fantastic GPS navigator with built-in dash cam – So easy to set up and up the device, it also included a Micro SD card for recording from the dash cam. The recording footage is really good - even when used in a diesel powered 4wd vehicle which has a lot of motion vibration. It's so easy to use all of the functions in the device. Setting up the dash cam was excellent as it takes into… Read more · 1
consideration the horizon, centre of the lane, and where the bonnet of the vehicle is located in the screen shot. The maps, so far have been very accurate, including traffic safety cameras, and speed zone changes. Very easy to install and remove. the suction on the bracket works really (and I mean REALLY!) well - that baby is not going to fall off for anything! ;) I ave no problem with the GPS signal strength and travel all over Sydney, western suburbs, and southern suburbs. The device performs well everywhere that I've been using it. The only issue I have is with the forward collision warning however it may be more to do with my installation than anything else. It also has lane departure warnings - very useful.
I bought 2 of these and have ZERO problems – I purchased 2 of them from The Good Guys, they gave me a discount too. It has NEVER fallen off my windscreen. I wipe the screen with alcohol wipe and place the Navman on and lock it in and that is it on solid as a rock. The screen view is dim like others suggest but I watch the road not the screen. I can see the screen before I drive away when… Read more · 1
I set a destination no problem and it's very visual at night. And when it alerts me of an upcoming turn I always seem to be able to see the screen when needed.
The fitting on the windscreen is great in my vehicle and in my son's vehicle and they are mounted low and the camera view shows what is ahead of the car. The viewing angle is great and it works great.
I am aware of issues of it not powering up properly this seems to be the fitting into the lighter socket, I am changing my power lead to plug straight into my car audio system via USB this will give me a more secure power input fitting than the lighter socket.
Overall it's not a DumbDumb it's pretty good
not happy at all – Needs to be mounted high as it is blocking my field of view otherwise the camera does't pick up anything. The unit keeps falling off the windscreen, it didn't stay up after the first day of using it. The driver assist keeps going off randomly. The cable is too short because I would have liked to hide the cable behind the trim. Other than that, everything else works okay. It doesn't even stay on when I start the car. The Garmin ones stay on. Show details
Oh, now it keeps freezing and wont load the maps. Great -.-.
Worst purchasing decision of my life! – I decided to buy the Navman DUO 2.0 GPS and camera as a Xmas present for my wife, who had an older Garmin GPS that couldn’t be upgraded (too old) and one of those el cheapo eBay car cameras that had died after 3 years of faithful use. I thought I could kill two birds with one stone so to speak and get something that could solve both problems at… Read more
the same time, as well as being able to present it as the perfect practical gift for my Wife. “I’m a genius husband,” I thought to myself as I drove to the store.
How wrong I was!
Hey, reg! How is the Navman DUO 2.0 the worst purchasing decision in your life?
Well, dear reader, get comfy, strap yourself in and get ready to descend into the misery that is:
Satan’s GPS, The Navman Drive DUO 2.0.
So, after persevering with the unit for a week, here is a list of some (not all) of the problems/demons found with this unit:
The obvious elephant in the room is the display. It is simply just not bright enough AT ALL! Attempting to use this product at any time other than at night or on overcast of days will result in you having to squint at it like a near-sighted projectionist at a drive-in movie theatre. Seriously, any amount of sunlight on the screen and it becomes totally useless. I have seen vampire bats that operate in more light than what the Navman would become totally unreadable in. I have had to make a shade cover just to be able to view it and even then, if any light would happen to dare make its way anywhere near the display, well be prepared to squint so hard that other motorists will start to look for your white cane and guide dog in the back seat of your car as they pass you by. “I didn’t know they started giving out drivers licences to the legally blind! No, wait, he’s just trying to use a Navman GPS in daylight.”
I have noticed that in the other reviews, Navman will say that the unit has an Anti-glare coating put on the display and this may affect the brightness of the display. Well, I say to Navman, if you know that the anti-glare coating will reduce the brightness of the display, then the simple answer is to increase the brightness of the display to compensate. It’s not exactly rocket science here (although it does explain why I have failed to see any Navman products used on any of the past 4 Space- X rocket launches, but that is a topic for another day I suppose).
The second biggest problem with this unit has to do with what Navman (rather optimistically) calls it’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). ADAS, if you don’t know, it is Navman's’ attempt to introduce safety alerts such as lane departure and forward collision alerts. When it detects any of these events, it will give a visual reading on the (extremely dim) display. They must have figured that people couldn’t see the display so they thought they would provide an audible “Bing-Bong!” sounding chime alert as well.
And well, if you like pleasant sounding “Bing-Bong!” chimes all the time then you’re gonna love the DUO 2.0, as they’ve cranked the “Bing-Bong!” factor up to eleven on this one folks.
Car in front of you? “Bing-Bong!”
Car not in front of you? “Bing-Bong!”
Departing your lane? “Bing-Bong!”
Not departing your lane? “Bing-Bong!”
Stopped at traffic? “Bing-Bong!”
Parking your car? “Bing-Bong!”
Someone crossing at a zebra crossing? “Bing-Bong!”
Sunrise, sunset, moonrise, Halley’s Comet in the lower horizon? “Bing-Bong!” “Bing-Bong!” “Bing-Bong!”
The Nikkei dropped two points against the American Dollar? You guessed it “BING!” bloody “BONG!”
I have actually given up trying to figure out what the ADAS is trying to warn me about. It goes off so randomly that the sound has become just mere background noise on the road of life. Thankfully I have a rather powerful sound system in the car so cranking up AC/DC’s “highway to hell” (a rather fitting song for this GPS, I do say) manages to eliminate the endless “Bing-Bongs!” that randomly spew out from the unit (at least Bon Scotts’ got my back, thanks man!)
But Reg, why didn’t you just turn the volume down or just turn it off?
Oh no no no, one simply does not get to just “turn off” the ADAS.
Navman must have figured since they spent so much money putting the ADAS demons into this spawn of Satan, that come hell or high water, you’re going to damn well use it. You cannot mute the sound no matter what. Attempting to turn off the ADAS system becomes very much an exercise in futility. Menu after menu has to be accessed, then each tick box has to be manually de-selected. Even after you think you have managed to turn off all the ADAS alerts and start driving, sure enough.
“Bing-Bong!”
As your left eye starts to involuntarily twitch, the first sign of Navman induced madness.
Map data hopelessly out of date:
Ok, the first time we took the unit out for a drive showed a few speed signs incorrectly (GPS said 70 zone, actual speed sign 60kmh.) there were a few roads that had changed, a few missing traffic lights, roundabouts etc. Not a big problem I thought as we drove on. It was then that some unusual things started happening. We were travelling along a freeway that had been upgraded. The GPS then started showing that we were traveling alongside roads that were near the freeway. We had it set on guiding us to a destination so this meant that the GPS kept blurting out random instructions for us to “make a U-turn” or “in 200m turn left” we realised that the GPS thought we had magically jumped off the freeway and were, in fact, travelling down each no through side road in order to get to our destination.This, in itself, wasn’t a bad thing, I thought. It was just a matter of getting the latest map data. When we got home, we installed the software and managed to get the latest map data put in the GPS, (this was a rather difficult process but something better discussed at another time).
The next time we used the unit, down the same stretch of freeway, the same errors started happening. Looking at the displayed map showed that it was hopelessly out of date. It was that out of date I thought the update had arrived in my mailbox by a messenger on a horse, scribed in parchment “Here ye! Here Ye! The naveth-man’s new update hath arrived” as clarion trumpets blare out in the background.
Seriously, what you claim to be the latest map update does not have changes to some road infrastructure that I know for a fact happened over 2 years ago! The road that had its speed limit lowered was done in June 2016 and your “latest” map data still has it listed incorrectly. And, to make matters worse, it doesn’t seem to be an isolated incident. Using the GPS in an around Brisbane showed that many road speeds, side road access (no entry, no right turn etc) and road realignments have not been added. This makes a mockery to your “free monthly map updates” Who wants to “upgrade” to the same out of date maps I already have in my GPS?
Other minor issues concern the placement of the forward-facing camera. It is positioned low on the front of the unit. This means that if you are attempting to mount the GPS on the lower right-hand side of your windscreen (between the steering wheel and front pillar, a common mounting point for GPS units I might add), the lower mounting of the camera will ensure that you will get a great recording of your dashboard, and not much else.
Setting up the Bluetooth is a hit and miss affair. It took a few goes to get it to work. The biggest issue was with both mine and my wife’s phone, the car (it is Bluetooth enabled) and my laptop unable to even recognise that the Navman was even on. Entering the passcode (default 0000) when it finally recognised the phone to pair both devices had the Navman freeze up. The only way to fix this was to reset the unit.
Hey Reg, where is the unit now? are you still using it?
No, I am not using the unit at all now, in fact, I have the drive duo 2.0 buried in my back yard, a wooden stake skewered through its display, encased in concrete, surrounded by a generous layer of salt and holy water and topped off with a wreath of garlic. Lest any of the demons that were built into this unholiest of unholy devices manage to get out and infect any other of my nice performing electronic devices I own. I would recommend you do the same if you haven’t returned these units back to your place of purchase and or your nearest church that performs exorcisms.
Start up problem – I bought it yesterday want it for long drive from Melbourne to Sydney first experience is after following manual it doesn't start at all. Kept it on car dashboard even after 1 hour showing acquiring GPS signals. Now I am stuck no GPS in my car want to use, I don't know what to do go back to use mobile.
Hi Dragger, Thats definately unusual, and not something… Read more
This unit is garbage. Do not buy it – Took my Navman Duo 2.0 back to "Joyce Mayne" Maroochydore due to the washed out screen and that it is unusable in bright sunlight; we have plenty of that on the Sunshine Coast. The staff member agreed that it looked a little washed out but stated that it was working as per Navman specs. Unfortunately the specs are well below what other buyers… Read more
expect as per the 12 out of 15 reviews below that complain about the screen. Admittedly it has been 5 months since I bought this unit but haven't had the time to return it until now, so was hoping that Navman may have addressed the problem with new software. The staff member basically told me to leave with the unit and it's my problem. I did consider wrapping it in Christmas paper and giving it to my least favorite relation for xmas but that would be too cruel. Be warned if you are considering this unit. Do not buy one. I consider these units to be a serious safety risk as you can't see the map and if you have the volume turned down as I do, it creates a situation that you are distracted from driving while trying to see directions. I want a full refund but "Joyce Mayne" have refused.
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Hi John, Sorry to hear you are having issue with your… Read more