Garmin has really dropped the ball. Not Happy at all.

[Sean OZ]

The XT2 is advertised as the latest and greatest when in comes to Sat Nav equipment.

I purchased my XT2 about a year ago now, and still can't find a reliable and safe way to get planned routes to work correctly. IE. No RUT issues and then there's the bloody Tread app, and the XT2 not talking to each other correctly, and wanting to change the planned route between each other.

Furthermore to this day, if you even want to contemplate using the the Tread app, your forced to us the app on a tiny smartphone screen or an iPad (if you even have one) For such a supposed high end product, not to being able to interact with it, and plan routes on a large PC or Mac screen is piss poor customer service.

It seems that the original XT was far better at being able to accept routing info from Google Maps and BaseCamp etc, than this thoroughly disappointing piece of junk they came up with, when marketing the new XT2.

I'll be honest, I'm fecking pissed of with the ZUMO XT2!

It has got to be one of the most expensive and totally unreliable piece of tech I have ever purchased! This so called navigation unit is about as reliable as packet of soggy matches, in the middle of a snowstorm, onboard the Titanic.

I highly doubt I will ever purchase anything from garmin again, which is a shame as I have owned and still own, other Garmin products which have been great an fulfilled all my basic expectations.

[rbentnail]

I get it, thanks heavens I didn't get the XT2, the XT is bad enough. Horrible, but it does what I want and need it to do. But IMHO 1 "bad" product doesn't make all products bad. There are other options. People out there will buy your XT2, it's not the end of the world. Sometimes progress is going back to what we had. For me it's the 595 even tho it's not nearly as good for me as my old Nuvi 780 was.

Perhaps if you could, ONE BY ONE post a specific problem or question we can help. I aggravated the piss out of everyone learning the XT, they don't mind. For instance, Garmin's Bluetooth sux. It always has. Garmin's Tread app sux, everyone says delete it. There are better, more ancient perhaps, but better nonetheless, ways of doing things.

[rbentnail]

I get it, thank heavens I didn't get the XT2, the XT is bad enough. Horrible, but it does what I want and need it to do as long as I don't expect too much from it. But IMHO 1 "bad" product doesn't make all products bad. There are other options. People out there will buy your XT2, it's not the end of the world. Sometimes progress is going back to what we had. For me it's the 595 even tho it's not nearly as good for me as my old Nuvi 780 was.

Perhaps if you could, ONE BY ONE post a specific problem or question we can help. I aggravated the piss out of everyone learning the XT, they don't mind (except jheath, I can never follow what he types for some reason )For instance, Garmin's Bluetooth sux. It always has. Garmin's Tread app sux, everyone says delete it. There are better, more ancient perhaps, but better nonetheless, ways of doing things.

[Oop North John]

Sure the XT2 is challenging to use and way more quirky than it needs to be. If you're p1ssed off try reading some of the comments about Garmin's watches and hiking units

For route planning what works for me, and gets rid of the RUT problem is to:

Plan the route on Basecamp.
Make sure that any points between the start and end are via / waypoints, ie NOT shaping. These might be needed to ensure that the faster roads problem is controlled
E-mail a copy of the file to myself.
Open the email on my tablet / phone and select Tread as the opening programme.
Confirm on Tread that the route is as required.
Let the XT2 and Tread synchronise.
Off I go

I like that Tread is Android OS as then I just need to take my tablet with me if I need to tweak routes when away on holiday. Initial route planning was done on a laptop.

I'd say that the unit itself isn't unreliable, it does exactly the same every time, but it needs very specific instructions on what you want it to do. The 595 and before were more relaxed at the data input = what you see / expect.

I have a 396, 590, 595, XT and XT2 and now I can manage the faster roads / RUT (that the XT also has) then I can't see me going backwards.

YMMV.

[twowheelstom]

I never experienced what is called the RUT issue, my only experience is with the 550, and from what I know so far about RUT be what i read, I think that just putting in a waypoint destination only with no shaping or waypoints, just allow the zumo to calculate on its own, will solve RUT, will this work?

[Peobody]

I think that just putting in a waypoint destination only with no shaping or waypoints, just allow the zumo to calculate on its own, will solve RUT, will this work?

Allowing the zumo to calculate on its own means you are willing to ride along the roads it tells you to ride. About the only time I am OK with that is in a situation where I need to get somewhere as quickly as possible. That doesn't answer the question though. The answer is Yes. RUT is not an issue when the zumo calculates the route. This applies to using 'Where To' and selecting a destination, and to creating a route on the device and saving it.

[Mzokk]

I never experienced what is called the RUT issue, my only experience is with the 550, and from what I know so far about RUT be what i read, I think that just putting in a waypoint destination only with no shaping or waypoints, just allow the zumo to calculate on its own, will solve RUT, will this work?

Yes, but many of us define convoluted routes on the many small roads that we have in the UK and Ireland rather than going from A to B. These are some of the Little roads within 10 miles of where I live.

Screenshot 2025-02-17 193729.jpg (239.81 KiB) Viewed 2453 times

For those of us who have ended up with an XT, that I have or XT2, it means that Basecamp which was WYSIWYG with older units (in my case I also use a Zumo 340 and 390). Getting to grips with the foibles of the newer units is somewhat frustrating.

[Sean OZ]

For route planning what works for me, and gets rid of the RUT problem is to:

Plan the route on Basecamp.
Make sure that any points between the start and end are via / waypoints, ie NOT shaping. These might be needed to ensure that the faster roads problem is controlled
E-mail a copy of the file to myself.
Open the email on my tablet / phone and select Tread as the opening programme.
Confirm on Tread that the route is as required.
Let the XT2 and Tread synchronise.
Off I go

I'll give it a go. Got nothing to lose.

[jfheath]

My 2p

If you installed Tread on your phone, delete it. Install it again if you want info for weather, traffic etc - but don't allow it to save your data or synch. edit. You also have to reset the XT2 to factory settings - otherwise you do not get the option to disallow 'save your data'.
Plan your route in Bascamp. Use vias and shaping points as you wish. Shaping points to prevent route heading for the faster roads.
Create a track of your route when the route is finished.

Export you route and track as a gpx file.
Transfer the gpx file to the XT2 sd card

Import route and track into a collection on the XT2
Set visibility for your collection on, and others off.

Load the route.
Make a copy of the route and use the copy, not the original.
Use the Spanner / wrench tool to make a copy give it a slightly different name . I put an @ in front of my copies.
The copy is not for backup. The copy of the route behaves as if it was created on the XT2 screen. It doesn't alter, it doesn't show RUT behaviour.

It isn't the XT2 that alters your route (eg by moving shaping points) - it is Tread.

The XT2 may recalculate your route if the BC map is different from the XT2 map.
It will recalculate the entire route if you press skip.
A deviation from the route when riding - I think that only affects the current part of the route - ie up to the next route point - I haven't tested this on a copied route yet.

When calculating a route the XT2 seems to calculate the fastest route between vias. Shaping points are often plotted as detours from that route. Careful use of shaping point pts can stop this behaviour - but if Tread is involved, it actually moves your shaping points onto the faster route.

I'm aware that you are getting slightly different info from me, @Oop North John and @Peobody We are not in disagreement - they are different snippets from the same whole picture.

[Dutchgixxer]

I make my routes in Basecamp. Convert them to a track ( in basecamp ) Import the track via Tread in the XT2. Convert track to a route via tread and sync to XT2. In XT 2 recalulation is off. Track is made visiable onde the converted route. This works like a charm