So why all the hate toward Magellan

[trad444]

I've had the 200 & 210 and soon the 500LE. I like them so why all the hate?

[CenTexDodger]

I've had the 200 & 210 and soon the 500LE. I like them so why all the hate?

 

I have never owned one, but from what I have gathered most people got burned by poor customer service.

[vtmtnman]

From what I'm seeing and reading,customer service,and the software seems to be hard to use.I've never owned one but this is all read off the net-

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=159582

 

Plus I've read reviews off of Tiger Direct,amazon,and others.They seem to have WAY more problems than Garmin units.I'm still thinking of getting an XL or 500.I've even been having magellan owners admit the Garmin 60 series is the one to go with.

[+gpsblake]

I remember quite a few people having problems getting their rebates from Magellan.

 

BTW: Magellan was quite a bit more popular when the Meridian series was around. They seemed to have gone backwards in technology with the Explorist line.

Edited April 4, 2007 by gpsblake

[+Miragee]

I've had the 200 & 210 and soon the 500LE. I like them so why all the hate?

If you have had good luck with your Magellans, that is great. I haven't owned a Magellan, but a friend who had two different Magellan GPSrs had problems with reliability and horror stories about trying to get Customer Service for a unit that had an Extended Warranty . . . when the original warranty had not expired yet.

 

Another friend is having a problem with his Magellan now because a simple part has broken making it difficult to connect it to his computer or charge the battery. And, he hasn't had it very long . . .

 

I have had great luck with the Garmins I own/have owned, and my experience with Garmin Customer Service has been excellent.

[+embra]

When I got my Meridian 4 or 5 years ago, it was one of the few GPS handhelds with expandable memory, and the GPS/software setup lent itself to some interesting customizations (e.g., being able to combine the topo contours with the autorouting detail maps). Customer service was topnotch--turnaround for repairs was very fast (typically a week) and they routinely threw in freebies for your trouble like a case and/or a new cable.

 

Those were the good old days. The parent company apparently decided they wanted to sell off the GPS division, and they cut way down on support resources. It wasn't just the tech support; firmware releases that used to come out two or three times a year slowed to less than annually. If your hardware held up, you weren't in too bad shape...but I really had a sense of abandonment in terms of any company standing behind their product.

 

I still think that the hardware is a good value...good bang for the buck. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never had any malfunction in my Meridian or my 500 (I think it's pretty hard to get a sense of how reliable they are on a wide scale; people with problems will always have a higher profile than those without). As long as you know what you are getting into, a Magellan may be fine...but it's a WYSIWYG sort of arrangement--anyone expecting improvements in firmware--as I would with other companies, and used to do with Magellan--will be disappointed.

 

There do appear to be signs of improvement in customer service with the new owners. But in my book they have a lot of ground to make up.

 

When I got started here, I bought a used Venture to get a feel for GPS's, and then bought a Meridian after careful shopping around. I felt I made a good choice. With that good experience, and an investment in MapSend software, I upgraded to the 500 when they came out. Things were starting to sink by then, and I should have heeded the writing on the wall. I kinda feel now like I bet on the wrong horse.

[+maby]

I've had the 200 & 210 and soon the 500LE. I like them so why all the hate?

 

I'm new to this forum - had GPSrs for years but never really got into any discussion groups on the subect before...

 

I've always had Garmins and been very happy with them in price/performance terms. I've never had a technical problem with them, so cannot comment first hand on their hardware service department, but I was impressed with customer service recently. I had bought a new Vista Cx and wanted to use the second unlock from a copy of City Select that had come with an iQue which we already owned. Trouble was that my wife had registered the iQue and we had lost the registration details, so the attempt to get the second unlock code from the automated web site failed. I emailed Garmin support in the UK and they were very helpful - searched the database for me and gave me everything I needed to get the Vista up and running!

 

Magellan do have a reputation for poor customer service, though I suspect that this is not always justified - a friend of mine has an entry level Magellan which failed during the guarantee period and they seemed to resolve it quickly.

 

Reading the various forums, I suspect that it has become quite political in much the same way as the Microsoft vs. Linux debate. Garmin is big and dominates the market. Their products are decent quality, though not necessarily too innovative and there is a perception that their software licencing policy is restrictive. Magellan is the David to Garmin's Goliath - it attracts enthusiasts in much the same way as Linux does. Each have their good points and bad points - and the supporters of each are unwilling to recognize the plus points of the other...

 

Martin

[+Fuzzywhip]

I have read the forum entries about the poor customer service, and have worried that I picked the wrong manufacturer. So far, I have really enjoyed my Magellans.

 

I bought an eXplorist 100 over a year ago and have done over 140 caches with it. Really enjoyed how easy the GPSr is to use. I had bought a Garmin Legend around Xmas but found the 100 easier to read as the screen and lettering is larger.

 

Just recently, I bought a 210 for the connectivity and maps (although I don't use these feature yet). The 210 is as easy to use as the 100.

[+egami]

I've had the 200 & 210 and soon the 500LE. I like them so why all the hate?

 

I wouldn't confuse the overwhelming support behind Garmin as hate for Magellan...honestly, I in all my time here I've heard very little outright belittlement of Magellan. It's mostly just personal preference and experience.

[+Knight2000]

I've had the 200 & 210 and soon the 500LE. I like them so why all the hate?

 

Have you had a problem where you needed to call customer service?

 

I like my unit- but i want a company that will stand behind their products and help when you have issues. Magellan just doesnt care.

 

I am glad that you like your Magellans. I hope you never have to contact customer service for help.

 

Dont get me wrong. I am not pro-garmin. In fact, i really didnt like the way that they looked and their few buttons. So i bought a Magellan. So far, it has been trouble dealing with just little things. I hope i never have a big thing i need help with. I wont buy another Magellan.

 

Check their BBB report. (I should have.)

Edited April 4, 2007 by knight2000

[tophski]

I like everything about my 500LE except that I use it on my motorcycle, and creating custom routes

(with via points) is impossible to do, so I'm probably selling mine and getting something beefier.

But I like everything else about the unit: great size, great screen, nice features, gets good signal,

good battery life, expandable memory, and good price.

I don't geocache, so no comment there.

 

chris.

[+Paulsan]

I haven't noticed any HATE. I believe that people are mostly honest about their experiences. I am a Garmin owner, but I don't have any problems with any of the others nor do I have any experience to say that any other company is any better or worse. I went with Garmin mainly because it was the company that was best represented on this forum.

[ausable]

It"s the Customer service. They have a problem with their product that it looks like many people have experinced yet they will do nothing to help resolve it. My 400 explorist froze up in feb. with a configure nand command. I find out that many people on this site have had same problem so they (magellan) must know how to resolve this problem yet when contacted they tell me to send it in for repair at a cost of $140.00 to fix. Start reserching problem on Groundspeak and members are more than willing to get me up and running. I can't figure out fix so on this forum state that I am sending it back and members try even harder to help me. If Magellan tried this hard I would have been back in buisseness back in Feb. Well even I was able to get it fixed with the help of these members.

There is also a communication problem because they are a company in Europe and I'm in Michigan. I can't understand them and they can't understand me. It's not there fault that there is a language barrier but it would help if they had someone there that could speak english. I couldn't image communicatating with them if I was from the south with a southern accent. It took 5 minutes of repeating my phone # and address before they got it, (a is in apple b as in boy ect.)

Anyhow it works now and all is good.

FOR NOW!

[Suscrofa]

Maybe it is because it is a french company ?

 

OK, first I am no french although I live in France and it is true that the very notion of service is not well known this side of the pond. It is not usually good with private firm but it is improving (as for the administration, it is even worse and I have dealt with the US and others too).

 

For the language, I doubt their helpdesk is located in France or even Europe. If it was in the EU, it would be in Ireland and their english is quite OK, although an Irish speaking with a southerner must be interesting to listen to (I had a guy from GA working for me )

 

Most of the helpdesks for international firms supporting english speaking countries are located in India and often are subcontractors.

Or maybe for Magellan it is North Africa and they learned english with a french teacher.

Blame the bean counters for this.

Edited April 4, 2007 by Suscrofa

[ausable]

Maybe it is because it is a french company ?

 

OK, first I am no french although I live in France and it is true that the very notion of service is not well known this side of the pond. It is not usually good with private firm but it is improving (as for the administration, it is even worse and I have dealt with the US and others too).

 

For the language, I doubt their helpdesk is located in France or even Europe. If it was in the EU, it would be in Ireland and their english is quite OK, although an Irish speaking with a southerner must be interesting to listen to (I had a guy from GA working for me )

 

Most of the helpdesks for international firms supporting english speaking countries are located in India and often are subcontractors.

Or maybe for Magellan it is North Africa and they learned english with a french teacher.

Blame the bean counters for this.

 

I think you got it with India. That's what they sounded like anyhow. I'm not blaming the person I am talking to, heck I speak only one language and screw it up at times. It just seems like if a call that comes from America someone with those language skiils would answer. I'm sure the technology is there, (caller id or something). Anyhow things are alot better when everything is working. Still can't recommend buying magellan because of cust. service and I hope they have addressed the fact that they litterally freeze up when they get cold.

[+Knight2000]

Im glad im not the only one that noticed the language issue. I have no problem with people from other races/countries. But when it comes to communication or customer support- why cant they hire someone that understands me- while i can understand them at the same time?

[+GRNZOOM]

I have had a MariGold for 3 years, it's fine, no problems.

When I decided to up grade I went with the Garmin 60csx.

Why: I hated the stories I heard about Magellan's customer service

I love the stories of Garmin's.

I don't think it the product, it's the customer service.

Nick

[+hogrod]

I don't think it the product, it's the customer service.

Nick

Also seems like some poor quality/buggy software to me.

 

I've actually owned more magellan gpsr than garmin, but prefer the garmin gpsr. To me it seemed each magellan had it's own little flaws(poor quality control at manufacture?) some I couldn't live with.

 

The best magellan I owned was a meridian gold(owned two), though one of those and an explorist 200 I had would self delete waypoints and factory reset it self randomly(would need to be re-initialized which sucks in the woods). I bought a legendC and was amazed but how much more advanced the garmin units are, though was disappointed with how sensitive the legendC was to having to hold it properly(I used to leave my magellan in my pocket and get ok track logs).

 

Even after having issues with magellan products I stuck it out, buying a explorist 400 over the 60cx(price was a huge factor). I owned that 400 for three weeks, with the newest software installed I would get this bug where every 10-20 caches/waypoints I would randomly be 200-400+ feet off. I checked datum, and all other settings and nothing seemed to make any difference. I finally did a reset the unit let it set out for hours ina clear veiw and gave it one more chance..... needless to say I sent that unit back and ordered the 60cx and never looked back.

I can now carry my gps in my pocket again, just like the days of my meridian..... only now I have the best of both worlds.... a great receiver with garmins superior unit software.

[+Prime Suspect]

Maybe it is because it is a french company ?

Except that it isn't. It's a privately held U.S. company.

[IMcachingHomer]

I have a Magellan and have no problems at all, I will admit that the instruction manual was NO HELP. When I upgrade I will go with features and price and wont care if its a Garman or Explorist or one from the dollar store

[IMcachingHomer]

I have a cheap Explorist 100 and have had no problems, when I upgrade I will go for features and price. I like size of the Garmins but have never played with one.

[+Rick618]

Maybe it is because it is a french company ?

Except that it isn't. It's a privately held U.S. company.

 

The Company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with European headquarters in Carquefou, France.

 

In 2006, Thales Navigation was acquired by a group of investors led by Shah Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Santa Clara, California. The company was renamed Magellan and offers its leading consumer GPS solutions under the Magellan brand, and its innovative professional GPS solutions now under the Magellan Professional name.

 

http://www.magellangps.com/about/

[+Prime Suspect]

Maybe it is because it is a french company ?

Except that it isn't. It's a privately held U.S. company.

 

The Company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with European headquarters in Carquefou, France.

 

In 2006, Thales Navigation was acquired by a group of investors led by Shah Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Santa Clara, California. The company was renamed Magellan and offers its leading consumer GPS solutions under the Magellan brand, and its innovative professional GPS solutions now under the Magellan Professional name.

 

http://www.magellangps.com/about/

Yes, like I said, it's a privately held U.S. company.

[+GOT GPS?]

Been buying both Magellans and Garmins since 1998.

 

There has tended to be Manufacturing defects with some of the early Magellans, like my GPS 4000XL 12 channel unit from 1998, and a bad batch of ColorTrak GPS units with a bad case design.

 

Had good luck with a GPS 315 and Meridian Platinum GPS.

The Meridian Platinum had no troubles with the Electronic Compass or any Slingshot effect problems, in my experience.

 

My eXplorist XL is really decent, except for some defects like when I have more than a dozen Tracklogs in any folder, or too many on the SD Memory card, the GPS keeps resetting, when I just want to view the Tracklog Folder on the GPS, so I have to separate all the tracklogs into smaller folders to avoid this issue.

 

------------------------------

 

Love my Garmin 60Cx, but the screen is too small for me now, with bad eyes, I prefer the 240x320 pixel screen of the eXplorist XL.

[+JockoPablo]

Reading the various forums, I suspect that it has become quite political in much the same way as the Microsoft vs. Linux debate...

 

I inferred the same thing while researching which model to buy. I knew zero about GPS devices when I first heard about geocaching, and before purchasing a device I read every pro and user review I could find. After reading so many reviews it seemed like it boiled down to a Mac vs PC or PS3 vs 360 debate -- each side has their supporters and nothing will change their minds.

 

In the end I chose the unit that had the features I wanted at the price I wanted. That's what it boils down to.

[+taylorsgeotracker]

we own 3 a 200 300 and 400 probably will buy an xl soon never had any trouble with the units so I cannot attest to the poor cust service although I know a fellow cacher who got so mad at a garmin rep they were going to drive to kansas to work it out

[+Rockin Roddy]

I love my Magellan!! GREAT unit!! 500LE works for me!

[+ricstone]

i like my 210 also. i have topo3d in it also. no troubles at all. i also have a garmin an have had many garmins. this is my first Magellan an i really like it.

[trickey.j]

Also enjoying using my XL. With detail maps, it works very well, and the extra screens on v1.55 are great!

[RichOx]

I have a Explorist 500 and have it mounted (via ram mount) on my ATV. It takes quite a beating in wet and very cold weather and as never let me down.

[kb9nvh]

Can you point us to the hate messages? I dont remember anyone bashing magellan around here.

I know Garmin has a much larger following on here but that doesn't mean we hate the other units.

 

I used to own a lowrance..it was fine for what it did.

 

I've had the 200 & 210 and soon the 500LE. I like them so why all the hate?

[+Renegade Knight]

Maybe it is because it is a french company ?

Except that it isn't. It's a privately held U.S. company.

 

That's not yet well known.

 

Back on topic.

 

I've never noticed the hate. I have noticed that magellan owners don't like the customer service but also that like Embra points out it used to be top notch. Lot's of flipping of crap though.

[immygrant]

I have had a Magellan Meridian Gold for a few years now and I have never had a problem. I find it accurate and really easy to use. It also has features lacking by others. Simply put....I Love It...

Cheers

[DaveHW]

I've owned a Meridian Gold for four years and considered it the best hiking GPS on the market. Just recently I bought an Explorist XL and find that it is even better than the Gold for what I use it for, hiking I don't geocache. I have never had a problem with either unit, the XL was a US one and I already had a World Wide Base Map so the US basemap has not proved a problem. I will stay with Magellan for the foreseeable future.

[+ScoutingWV]

I have had a Sportrak pro since 2003. When I decided to upgrade I went to a Garmin GPSMap76CSx. Since 2003 I've never had to use either customer support, but the unit and mapping program are the important parts of the equation for me. So, since 2003:

 

- Receive updates to the mapping software from Garmin

- Never had any mapping software updates from Magellan.

- Receive more updates to my GPS firmware in 1 year from Garmin than 4 years from Magellan. Doesn't mean Magellan needed fewer, either - I'm talking about 4 years going by.

- All of the Garmin updates work - Magellan's were problematic

 

Next time I upgrade - Garmin. Hands down.

 

Oh - the whole thing about Magellan being a French company - no they aren't. But it doesn't mean they don't have their tech support located elsewhere like many other companies.

[Team Sidewinder]

It isn't owners of other gps units who are hacking on Magellan or putting Magellan down but it is the people who own Magellan who are complaining about Magellan. Either hardware, software, or customer support are the reasons given. The ratio of people who have a problem with Magellan seems to be higher considering on this forum and the poll of brands owned, the majority own another brand and only have praise for their gps. IMHO

[45 Colt]

I have had great service with my Magellan 500LE for the free offer for the AC charger, Sent in the offer and in less than 3 weeks I recived it in the mail and my 500LE worked great on a trip from Twin Falls, Idaho to Medford, Oregon.

[+Shepherddog]

I have no problem with my Explorist 400 but I do have problems with connecting it to a computer. My old computer has USB1 connections that didn't work and the new one has Windows Vista and it will not recognize the GPSr to download waypoints to it. Mapsend 3D also will not load with Vista. Magellan's support system was nonexistant when asked questions but they were able to send me many customer service surveys to see if the question was answered.

[+MAG315]

I have two Magellan's and both have worked flawlessly. Would not hesitate to buy one again.

[+sacred6]

I don't really hold any hate towards magellin service wide. Its the units I get frustrated with. One minute it says I am 15 feet from the cache, the next minute its 150 feet.

[+briansnat]

Well since nobody else will mention it, I will.

 

Magellan Inc. supports the Church of Satan. The CEO of the company admitted this on Oprah Winfrey last year. They have given millions to the Satanists.

 

The Magellan logo is a rendition of the Muslim symbol for Satan and as of that isn't enough proof, if you take the names of the most popular Magellan models of recent years, the Sportrak, eXplorist and Meridian you will see Sportrak, eXplorist and Meridian.

 

Also, its a known fact that the vast majority of Magellan owners are serial killers (or was it the vast majority of serial killers are Magellan owners?).

Edited April 10, 2007 by briansnat

[+Miragee]

<_<

[+TrailGators]

Well since nobody else will mention it, I will.

 

Magellan Inc. supports the Church of Satan. The CEO of the company admitted this on Oprah Winfrey last year. They have given millions to the Satanists.

 

The Magellan logo is a rendition of the Muslim symbol for Satan and as of that isn't enough proof, if you take the names of the most popular Magellan models of recent years, the Sportrak, eXplorist and Meridian you will see Sportrak, eXplorist and Meridian.

 

Also, its a known fact that the vast majority of Magellan owners are serial killers (or was it the vast majority of serial killers are Magellan owners?).

Interesting but why does one of my legs suddenly feel longer?

[+ricstone]

Well since nobody else will mention it, I will.

 

Magellan Inc. supports the Church of Satan. The CEO of the company admitted this on Oprah Winfrey last year. They have given millions to the Satanists.

 

The Magellan logo is a rendition of the Muslim symbol for Satan and as of that isn't enough proof, if you take the names of the most popular Magellan models of recent years, the Sportrak, eXplorist and Meridian you will see Sportrak, eXplorist and Meridian.

 

Also, its a known fact that the vast majority of Magellan owners are serial killers (or was it the vast majority of serial killers are Magellan owners?).

[/quote

[+Knight2000]

I complained to the BBB about not getting a printed manual with my MeriGold after repeated requests from the company for a printed manual.

 

I received a call from their contact, he is listed on their BBB profile. He explained to me that the manual is on CD because the GPS is a computer product. After all, it does hook to your PC. So i guess the GPS units that Magellan makes are designed to work from your computer. While attached to my computer i have a very hard time caching with it though. Unless the cache is within about 4 feet of my PC- its is hard to find it.

 

They expect their customers to do the following when buying a GPS:

• Not use a manual.
  
• Pay a print shop to print you a manual that you can use while NOT at a PC.
  
• Carry a laptop with you in the woods. (He told me i could do this.)
  

I apologize if someone feels i am being unreasonable. If i buy a product, i expect a manual that i can use with the product. I do not feel that a GPS is meant to be used at a PC. I feel they are meant to be used while out of the house. I cant use a CD when im out of the house. Magellan customer service told me to carry a cell phone and call if i have a question while i am out in the woods. (Just make sure to call during their open hours!)

 

I can understand a router, printer, or something more computer related having a manual on CD -- but whats next??

 

If i didnt own a PC then i would need inconvenienced to go buy one or go to a library. Then i would need inconvenienced to go print a manual if i didnt memorize the manual.

 

I cant memorize it. I hope i dont have a problem with it in the field. If a nice guy on these forums hadnt already sent me a new TOPO map for free- i would have returned it. Fact is i need the topo and cant really afford to go buy another unit with maps. So im stuck with Magellan... for now.

 

[+EScout]

My Meridian (Base model) came with a printed Quick Start Guide, with screen shots. It is 15 pages long and for more detail you use the disk. My eXplorist came with a 21 page guide, also with screen shots, and the disk with the more detailed manual. These guides had enough info to get you started. You do need to go to the long manual for more advanced features. Any GPSr I have had required lots of hands on time in use before getting to know how to use.

 

In contrast, the last Garmin I bought had a 56 page printed guide. It had more detail, but I had to put in the hands on time trying each feature.

[+Big DA]

Back to the subject of this post:

I have 2 Magellan units, 1- sportrack map & one Meridian Gold. Some people don't like the interface cables on these, but I have never had a problem with them. In terms of value, the sportrack is very accurate (I dont care what others say) it gets me to within 6 ft and many times closer, depending of coarse on signal strength, terrain and such... My meridian is also very accurate and with the expansion card, I have unlimited memory. I use mapsend topo on both with good success (however, green trails maps are definetely not the best or my favorite).

 

both of these have become obsolete due to the explorist series of which I have only used one - the 200-, and was not impressed by performance or price. If you do get an explorist, go for the 500 or better-- these can be found on ebay for anywhere from 140.00 and up.

 

The customer support from magellan absolutely sucks!!! And it does seem like once you buy one they redesign and obsolete everything else including the support.

[+flask]

my magellan-using friends like theirs just fine. we understand that each make of GPS has its own liabilities and assets and that for best results you should go in a mixed group.

 

of course, in some local caching cultures (one specifically that i won't name) they will laugh at you unmercifully if you DON'T carry a magellan. go figure.

[+JockoPablo]

I apologize if someone feels i am being unreasonable. If i buy a product, i expect a manual that i can use with the product.

 

Ha. Welcome to 1993. I can't remember the last time I bought an electronics product that came with a comprehensive printed manual. Video games? Nope. Cameras? Nope. PCs? Nope. Monitors? Nope. Any included manuals these days are nothing more than quick-start guides. The manual (i.e. pamphlet) that came with my eXplorist 210 is probably enough for basic users, but I had d/l'ed the full manual from Magellan before my 210 even arrived in the mail.

 

It's aggravating for sure, but that's the way things are. Companies have learned that they can save a ton of money by not printing and shipping full manuals with their products.

 

I don't think you need to memorize every page. I read it all the way through once, then refer back to it as needed for specific procedures. Once I do things once or twice I don't need the manual for them anymore. No biggie.

[+briansnat]

of course, in some local caching cultures (one specifically that i won't name) they will laugh at you unmercifully if you DON'T carry a magellan. go figure.

 

Is the the serial killer culture?