Live Traffic info, subscriptions etc...

[mmi64]

I've been trying to get my head around the "no subscription required" for updates and live information. Presumably there is no SIM card in a Zumo XT2..?

In order to get live traffic info do you have to have an iphone bluetoothed up to the device and running the Tread app?

And if so, does the Tread app have to be running in the foreground or can you be doing something else with the iphone, like listening to a streaming service for example?
[I was hoping to find a youtube vid on the subject but failed so far!!]

[jfheath]

I've been trying to get my head around the "no subscription required" for updates and live information. Presumably there is no SIM card in a Zumo XT2..?

In order to get live traffic info do you have to have an iphone bluetoothed up to the device and running the Tread app?

And if so, does the Tread app have to be running in the foreground or can you be doing something else with the iphone, like listening to a streaming service for example?
[I was hoping to find a youtube vid on the subject but failed so far!!]

I can only assume that The XT2 and Tread work in a similar way to the XT and Drive, or the 590 and Smartphone Link.

Basically - you put the App (Drive, Tread) on your smartphone. You leave it there. The Drive App doesn't have to be open, it just runs in the background.
And you connect your smartphone to the XT by bluetooth.

And that's it. With the 590/595 and Smartphone Link, you had to buy a very cheap one-off subscription to get some info - eg weather.
But things like Traffic, weather, photolive junction images - all work without doing anything like that. When the XT is connected, it shows the Drive logo on the top of the main screen.

Every now and then - like just now - The XT fails to recognise drive - and that usually requires me to delete the Drive App completely, and reinstall it on my phone.
On the Android, you have to sign in to your GArmin Account
And set notification permissions - so the phone has to have access to Drive.
THen it wasnt to set up 'Explore' and hides the skip button !!
It offers to keep Drive running in background - which I accept.
Then it want location permission and a whole load of other permissions
Call logs, files and media, contacts, location (allow all the time), phone, microphone - I'm not sure if this level of access is available on an iphone. Mine is an android.
On the android, you can filter which alerts get relayed to the XT. Allow the lot and you will be forever dismissing pop up boxes on the screen. I allow messages - 'cos I only get messages if they are important.


Here's the first of 4 videos about setting up Explore with the XT.
But this one has nothing to do with Explore - its all about setting up Drive with the Android.
It may be of some use to you. There are probably some similarities with the XT2 and Tread ? It would be useful to know if it is similar or not.



I know you have an iphone and an XT2 and the Tread app - so none of this may seem relevant - but after I created this video, I tested it out on an Ipad - you do not have the fine control over the notifications on the Ipad - but it gave me a good idea of what to look for.

And its probably better than the 'nothing' that you have found on the topic so far !!