Old Map for USA

[Occassional Traveller]

Hi everyone. I hope you are well. This is my first post. I have been a user of Tom Tom in UK and then Chile for some years.

I am going to the USA next month and I tried to buy a map for the USA today but it says the new map is no longer compatible with my device which is a GO 730 which is around 10 years old.

I called them up and said I am quite happy to have a 1 - 2 year old map but they refused to sell it me and tried to sell me a new device.

Is there anywhere I can buy an old map? Does anyone here have an old map of the USA that they can share to me digitally somehow?

If someone else here sent me the digital files, would that work, or would copyright stop it being used twice? I don't care about breaking Tom Tom's rules, or even breaking the law, because I think Tom Tom's actions are unfair.

I am not buying a new Tom Tom device.

I did book the car rental for my trip to the US a few days and I selected without GPS because it was more expensive than buying a new map. Perhaps they can let me add that option on when I turn up although I seem to recall it was around a hundred dollars so not ideal.

Other than that maybe some kind of cell phone option which is not ideal in other ways.

THe main issue is going to be greater Los Angeles the other part of driving to Yosemite is feasible without GPS maybe once I get the right highway/freeway out of LA..

Let me know if you have any thoughts especially on the part of this article I've bolded, which is the main point of the question.

 

[dhn]

Yeah, even if you could get hold of a map, it can't legally be shared between devices. Sorry, but you will have no luck on this forum. Although rules may seem unfair, we DO abide by them.

 

[canderson]

More to the point, and as you suspected, the maps are keyed to the serial number of the device -- so if you try to take a TT map to another device, it refuses to run.

 

[Arno]

Other than that maybe some kind of cell phone option which is not ideal in other ways.

That may be the only free option out of your current dilemma.

See if you can download and install the TomTom Mobile GO app,
https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/sat-nav/sat-nav-app/go-mobile/
then download the South-Western US map.
If that does not work establish a WiFi account with your airline now and log in at LAX (?) to download either or both. (Map may be loading slowly but should be done by the time you get your luggage.)
You don't need to purchase the Traffic option which would update every 2 minutes.

If you can do it now, please give us a feed back.
Buena suerte.

 

[canderson]

Good luck downloading the SW US map while waiting for your luggage at LAX! Even as slow as their baggage can be, the 'free' WiFi is usually even slower.
Probably better to use free hotel WiFi for a download of that size.

 

[Arno]

That is why I was pushing the 'do it before you leave'.

Don't know about others but I usually start a vacation by getting away from a destination airport, not by checking into a hotel.
(SWMBO would love you for that!)

 

[Occassional Traveller]

Thanks for all the comments. It looks like cell phone is the way to go. I have downloaded the SW USA map. I see that it is a paid monthly option. Does anyone know if you pay the 1 -month charge will they then keep charging you every month without warning or option to cancel? Or will it just be a one off charge and no need to remember to cancel? However either way it looks like a good deal since the cost is not that high even if they end up charging me for an extra month or two before I figure out how to cancel it.

 

[Arno]

Glad you optioned for that.
By the way, the first 75 km each new month Traffic is free.
;->)

Give them a call and ask.
I seem to remember a few years ago there was a 1 month, 3 month and 1 year option and it did not revolve automatically but they sent reminder to renew.

 

[Arno]

Another thing you may want to try before going is to enter you LA airport position as a fake 'current location'. That way you can already experiment at home with your routes.

In the Android Play store look for 'fake GPS'. Most of these types of programs are free. Open the app and input the coordinates and tell the program to fake a GPS position there. Most of these programs will accept a lat/long.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....fakegps&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps&hl=en

 

[Occassional Traveller]

Thanks for your comments. I found the map worked fine without internet access, I never had a problem getting a signal except underground or in a tunnel. The map worked well. Only once did it sent me the wrong way. It was good enough to drive around LA and it was helpful to tell me which lanes to go in when the freeways were separating/splitting into 2 freeways for instance. It is quite basic in terms of options and sometimes slightly annoying the process of selecting an address/target location is a bit clunky. Overall I thought it was good enough for my needs and it was a good decision not to pay the overpriced car rental company charges for sat nav.

 

[Occassional Traveller]

Thank you to everyone for help and advice.

 

[canderson]

Hope you had a good time. Sounds like not many changes in the areas in which you were driving. There's certainly no room left in L.A. to ADD any new ones, but you never know when they'll fiddle a lane configuration somewhere that counts. Glad you didn't run into any of those.

 

[Arno]

Thank you to everyone for help and advice.

Thanks for the feed back on first hand experience.
It may encourage others to proceed along your lines.