ChrisBee

I am one of those people living in the stone age and don't have a smart phone! I will have to dig out my old Garmin plus a log lead to connect to the power -take off in the rear compartment. However, until my old Microsoft phone finally fails to work, I'll do my best to keep out of Google clutches! 🙂

I can't comment on radar in the columbus. I couldn't even find out how to check on road works! However: ... I have now discovered how the all-singing-all-dancing Octavia system works. And I would counsel keep away from this company if you can. I assume all the marques - VW, SKODA, SEAT - are the same, but it may be worth checking. Updating the satnav may involve updating the Infotainment (sic) system. Beware! You will probably lose your previous data: eg links to phones, destinations, contacts. So take a record before handing the car over to the dealership for service. If you are brave (foolhardy) in order to update the satnav you will have to downloaded a zip file from SKODA's web site (https://updateportal.skoda-auto.com/en-GB/Updates). This could take as little as a couple of hours if you have a fast, fibre internet connection. Once downloaded the zip file had to be unzipped (over 6000 files and 25GB). My laptop has a fast processor with an SSD hard drive. Nevertheless it took me over an hour to complete. I then copied the files to a 32GB SD card. The one I have is marked as a U3 C10 although confusingly it is said to work at 90MB/s. This is not the fastest SD card by any means - some work at up to 400MB/s. The actual rate depends also on the file size being copied. Each folder has a number of very small files plus one or two larger ones (a few MBs). The small files slow down the transfer rate. In my case the actual rate I got was around 1MB/s. Overall the transfer to my SD card was over 6 hours. Then you connect the SD card to the car using the usb mini type c socket. I had an adapter lead to which you will need to attach a SD reader. I have yet to do this, but my local SKODA dealer took an extra day on top of the first service to install the map update. Except they didn’t manage to update the maps because the download was the same as I already had! While the satnav is updating the navigation system doesn’t work. The web site warns to check the state of the car battery because the system has to be on to do the update. Handy for car thieves! They also say that if you do it in stages, the update continues where it left off. How long? I can only guess at about another 4 hours in total! “Let us do it for you” said the helpful dar dealer. The update portal on their website shows what is called Map Creator. Click on this and you will discover why the process might take so long. It provides mapping data for the whole world. Useful if you plan to take your car beyond Europe like Tokyo or New York! The whole thing is very frustrating, especially as. Or you could use your phone or a standalone Gamin. Less hassle and probably more accurate.

Hi Thanks for your comment. The Octavia was purchased in 2020 and I understand that there has been an update. It is reasonable to think that the latest infotaiment software could do this. It does update the system occasionally. But so far there has been no maps update. The car is due for a servie soon. I'll raise your info with the garage.

The Columbus satnav does not have a SD card to update the satnav data. The dealer has said it can be done by using a laptop. Can this be done using bluetooth or conecting via the usual link for chargin my mobile phone?