Rand McNally Warning

[Firehoser75]

Just want to warn other forum users of what I consider poor customer support. I purchased a Rand McNally GPS designed for RV use in approximately 2011. I purchased what they told me was "Lifetime Map Updates". For the last year my device has not updated the maps on the device. Today I contacted customer support and was informed that my device was "too old" and that map updates were no longer supported.

In my opinion, this is not what they advertised, nor what I thought I was paying for!
Decide for yourself, but Rand McNally will not receive any of my business in the future.

[2psnapod]

I guess 9 years is a lifetime for a GPS.

[Ray,IN]

I have a RM RVND7730, purchased in 2013. I was told the same thing last year, by a man who could barely speak English, and refused to transfer me to his supervisor.


I called this afternoon to speak with a technician about my new RM RVND 7(and the 7730)not downloading map updates. The man I spoke with was very good at his job.He said the last RM map update was in 2019. After some information exchange, he said he needed to take control of my computer to work on the RVND 7, and asked me to hold. About 1 minute later the line went dead. Since he had requested my phone #, I assumed he'd call me. Still waiting.
I will call RM tech support again @ 1-877-446-4863 tomorrow.


NOTE: if you call after hours you get the man who can barely speak English.

[NLOVNIT]

As with any device, "lifetime" is relative & subject to interpretation, especially by the mfr. What it means to a consumer is rarely what it means to the mfr. It usually means the supported lifetime of the device....emphasis on supported. Eventually all technological hardware/software gets too old & a company will not support it anymore. Take Windows releases for example. MS has ceased to support many of those.

Lori-

[powercat_ras]

The Rand web site marketing their GPS Products still says that "Lifetime Maps" means that Rand will provide "annual" updates. Their tech support says there will be annual updates coming, but then they never actually come.

This is beyond frustrating, I guess on their cheaper GPS for RVs like the RVND-7 it's buyer beware ! ! !

I have two RVND-7 GPS and maps are still from 2017 on both. The PC app says they are both up to date. I opened a ticket with Rand and they quickly closed the ticket saying my units are up to date. In the remarks when closing the ticket, support said there would be an update "later this year".

Beware , the RVND-7 units are still being sold at Camping World for about $ 200 and there is NO DISCLOSURE about the out of date maps.

In my travels thru the USA there are getting to be more and more places that where maps from 2017 are wrong due to road reconstruction projects.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by 2psnapod

I guess 9 years is a lifetime for a GPS.

In many areas "Lifetime" is defined as 7 years and that is the length that a lifetime warranty or service must cover. Beyond 7 years is at the good grace of the product manufacturer.

[DKRITTER]

Should we talk about the Unlimited plans from Verizon too?

[RM Art]

I have my personally invented tool items [masonry grout pressure injection tools - "EZ Build Masonry System"] I sell in retail outlets and on the net from my website. The actual legal definition of a product that states "Lifetime Guarantee" is seven [7] years. That is considered to be the "lifetime" span of a general product.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by powercat_ras

The Rand web site marketing their GPS Products still says that "Lifetime Maps" means that Rand will provide "annual" updates. Their tech support says there will be annual updates coming, but then they never actually come.

This is beyond frustrating, I guess on their cheaper GPS for RVs like the RVND-7 it's buyer beware ! ! !

I have two RVND-7 GPS and maps are still from 2017 on both. The PC app says they are both up to date. I opened a ticket with Rand and they quickly closed the ticket saying my units are up to date. In the remarks when closing the ticket, support said there would be an update "later this year".

Beware , the RVND-7 units are still being sold at Camping World for about $ 200 and there is NO DISCLOSURE about the out of date maps.

In my travels thru the USA there are getting to be more and more places that where maps from 2017 are wrong due to road reconstruction projects.

I was told last afternoon the last map update was released in Nov 2019. I bought my RVND 7 Black Friday, it will not update the map, just sightseeing stuff.
Which reminds me, I've got to call again today.

[Gary RVRoamer]

The actual legal definition of a product that states "Lifetime Guarantee" is seven [7] years. That is considered to be the "lifetime" span of a general product.

Remember that the "law" here is civil suit (tort) law, where everything is subject to interpretation vs 'accepted industry standards" plus whatever may be explicitly written in a sales or warranty contract. And precedent (previous court decisions) is everything. The accepted "lifetime" of a piece of industrial equipment is probably much different than a consumer item. Electronic gadgets have advanced so quickly that several product generations may pass in 7 years. If the expected lifetime of a GPS needs to be established for legal purposes, the lawyers would call in GPS navigation industry experts to give opinions. Not consumers. The court would then decide whose opinion was a reasonable benchmark.

[BYoshida]

Originally Posted by Firehoser75

Just want to warn other forum users of what I consider poor customer support. I purchased a Rand McNally GPS designed for RV use in approximately 2011. I purchased what they told me was "Lifetime Map Updates". For the last year my device has not updated the maps on the device. Today I contacted customer support and was informed that my device was "too old" and that map updates were no longer supported.
:

This is normal for all GPS and other electronics. You can only update old hardware for so many years. Usually they don't have the hard drive space nor the memory to handle the newer software.
Magellan caught alot of flak for this some years ago when they came out with their "Lifetime" maps. Now you see in the fine print about device limits.

[AJMike]

I can't speak to that particular Rand McNally GPS device (I do have the 7720 but no longer use it since I now have a built-in device in my RV and use Google Maps in my car), but the issue may well be the OS that the device is running.

When new OS releases are created they often stop supporting old hardware and thus can not even be installed on older devices. And new map updates are created to use the latest OS, so if the OS on a device is too old for the maps (and too new for the hardware on the GPS) the maps are no longer available. It is not so much the fault of the manufacturer (Rand McNally in this case), but rather the planned obsolesce of the electronics industry.

I see the same thing on some of my old (and now unused) phones. Can't even install some of the new apps because the OS on the phones is too old and can't update the phones because the hardware is too old for the OS.

[LarryJB]

Anyone remember the old Midas Muffler commercial where the old guy drives in to a Midas Muffler shop in a Model T Ford and gets a new muffler for free and says "See you again boys!"? They don't do that anymore, but they still have the "lifetime" muffler. Everything is now considered "lifetime" of the product, not your lifetime. It is just the way it is. So if you are going to boycott every company for defining lifetime as the lifetime of the product, you are going to not be buying much. It's sad but true. I usually ask what is considered lifetime when a buy a big ticket item with a lifetime guarantee or update.

[EA37TS]

I got rid of my Rand McNally GPS and bought a Garmin. IMHO the Garmin is a better unit. Solar the RM to a trucker looking for a backup system.