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?

2 hours ago, ChrisBee said:

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?

As far as I know and what I red online, updates for satnav are part of OTA updates and you get them automatically when they are available.

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.

related to this, does anyone know how to set the radar to the columbus navigator so that it warns of its proximity?

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.

 

8 minutes ago, ChrisBee said:

Or you could use your phone or a standalone Gamin.  Less hassle and probably more accurate.

 

I don't understand why anyone orders navigation on cars that come with android auto/apple carplay. Makes no sense. 

14 minutes ago, zetzet said:

I don't understand why anyone orders navigation on cars that come with android auto/apple carplay. Makes no sense. 

... unless they don't have a smart phone (not everyone does!).

24 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

... unless they don't have a smart phone (not everyone does!).

Then it's still easier and still cheaper to get one to use in the car only. 

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! 🙂

 

 

So. Why do people think skoda sat nav is so bad they are using google maps,waze etc.yet a few days ago some were saying the skoda own sat nave is great.getting me very confused.

42 minutes ago, Joss1733 said:

So. Why do people think skoda sat nav is so bad they are using google maps,waze etc.yet a few days ago some were saying the skoda own sat nave is great.getting me very confused.

It's not bad, but it's never going to touch Waze or Google maps. Those apps are more advanced, have more reliable traffic info, because of a lot of users and you can put in a destination on your phone or even computer and just click go in the car. 

Waze or Google maps is only ok if you have a smart phone and a large data allowance.

 

I have a smart phone but I am only a light user so use it as PAYG. It would cost me a small fortune to use a mapping app.

4 hours ago, paulguk said:

Waze or Google maps is only ok if you have a smart phone and a large data allowance.

That's not true with Google maps - when at home on your WiFi you can download offline copies of map areas onto the phone. Then when driving the only data usage is for traffic information as the map data is on the phone.

 

I have Google map data for the southern half of England on my iPhone which means I never have to use mobile data for maps in the areas I drive in - and always have maps even in "not spots".

 

I wasn’t aware of that. I will investigate further. Many thanks.

On 10/09/2021 at 17:59, zetzet said:

I don't understand why anyone orders navigation on cars that come with android auto/apple carplay. Makes no sense. 

On VAG cars they work fairly well and are convienient to have the map in front of me. 

Also PHEV's use the map to use battery differently.

On 10/09/2021 at 15:50, ChrisBee said:

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.

 

Not sure whether you ever got to the bottom of this, but I have just managed to get my Columbus MIB3 satnav updated.  It is nowhere near as difficult as you have been led to believe. However, I'm not surprised by the inaccurate information provided by Skoda, as I too have had lots of conflicting advice. I obtained a high speed USB C flash drive from Amazon, and downloaded the Central Europe maps. It took about 4 hours, but to then download onto the flash drive itself took about 40 minutes. Please see details below from my earlier post...

 

The Skoda salesman who sold me the car told me I could update maps manually, but I'd tried following the instructions on the Skoda update portal and got nowhere. I'd downloaded the maps (Central Europe) onto a 64gb USB c stick and inserted it into one of the ports by the gear stick. I left it in the car for several days, and nothing happened. The car was due to have some warranty work done, so I thought I'd take the USB stick and get the garage to upload the maps for me. When I collected the car, the service reception told me I needed a subscription, based on what their 'master technician' had told them. I made the point that I'd been given different information from the salesman, who just happened to be passing. He re-iterated that I did not require a subscription, took my USB stick, and returned 5 minutes later saying "All done!". So I asked him how he did it, and subsequently played with the system to see if I could do the same myself.

Step 1 - press and hold the menu button until you get the page showing "software/update".

Step 2 - Select option "software/update"

Step 3 - press "start update". Wait a few seconds, while the screen goes blank, and then enters "engineering" screen.

Step 4 - select "update", then select which USB port to take data from.

 

This should trigger the start of uploading of new maps data. The file is about 28gb (Central Europe), but 64gb drive recommended. I'm not sure how long the process took, the salesman said it should be completed by the time I got home - about 40 minutes. My maps version has gone from 20/07 to 22/12 which is supposed to be 2023/2024 maps, so it was indeed completed pretty quickly. It helps if you have a high speed USB stick, which reduces the data transfer time significantly.

 

Hope this helps...