Sent Back to BMW - ConnectedRide Navigator 

Having been in this business, I'll share a few observations. Devices like this are not manufactured by BMW or Garmin or Tom Tom - they are made by electronics manufacturers like Foxconn, Tata or Jabil (among hundreds of others) in places like China, India, Mexico, etc. The amount or depth of testing the manufacturer does directly relates to the volume they will produce. As the volume goes up (and revenue to the manufacturer) the funds are available to build comprehensive test rigs to reduce field failures to the minimum. Companies like Apple or Bose or Google will have sufficient volumes to justify very thorough automatic testing to achieve extremely low field failure rates. Even so, some units will fail. The days of burn in of components and devices are long gone. The volume of Navigators is extremely small compared to devices like iPhones. If BMW stipulates something like a 1% field failure rate (making up a number), that's still likely ~200-400 failed units in the first year of production. If BMW manages their vendors like most, they will send a defective unit back to the manufacturer for root cause analysis which might take three or four months to determine. And more months to determine if there's a trend - like a batch of chips with higher than expected failure rates. I've had memory chip failures that took six months and hundreds of failures to be able to identify root cause. While a device failure stinks - BMW did the right thing by giving you a new one and I would expect they did that pretty quickly. It's unlikely anyone at BMW would know the root cause failure of the device other than their procurement people or maybe engineering, but rarely do customer service people or dealers get such information.

15000 km on my 09 R1200R - with lots of vibration - Quadlock with vibration damper and normal usb charging. And no issues to my iPhone 13 camera. Same on my R1200RS I sold last year. Wouldn't go for anything else. New bikes should have wireless Carplay or similar noted in other comment. Keep the videos coming👍

Scott, my unit failed exactly the same way, locked screen and no way to get out of it. Sent back to UK dealership Bahnstormer, who said, after asking BMW, that this is a freak unit and there is no reported failures like this! I would suspect now that there might be a bug in the software that could rear its head at anytime. My failure didn’t cause me any problems like yourself, but it was frustrating that even a battery removal wouldn’t clear it. I have had the new unit for a couple of months now and it has performed flawlessly and I’m a fan of the unit in general. The most important feature I like is the ability to overlay a track of your route, which can be followed if the route veers off for any reason. Also, being able to convert imported routes to a list of waypoints is great and allows you to see each waypoint coming up visually. As long as the failure that we’ve had is solved in an update I’m very happy. Cheers Andy

Good Luck with your replacement as i am on my 2nd replacement Nav 6!!"

i would like to see a video comparing the XT and BMW Navi! Also, looking forward to your 6 month GS review.

The RT and the bmw app navigation works for me thus far. After I made sure all possible permissions were given, including appear on top, change system settings etc. And I killed a lot of notification pop-ups on the phone like outlook reminders (a52s). This made a world of difference. I picked up that you aren't satisfied with the RT navigation solution, so I was pre-warned to be vigilant with the setup. I would not give up on the RT navi. What the new navigator is concerned; It's a brand new product and yes it is BMW, so again the golden rule applies; Never to get a first year product by BMW until gremlins get sorted out. 😅😂

Hello Scott, I understand your frustration, I drive a 2021 RT, I recently installed a carplay screen, more explanation about this on the BMW LT Luxury forum RT series (post 2013) tft and general stuff on the latest TFT/app update page 95 post by Stefaan

Same issue here, a couple of days before my trip to France. I still have the connected ride cradle here. lets see how BMW responds, I hope to get the same error fix (new device) so that I can still start my trip with it.

My connected ride navigator has the same problem! It actually worked about 1 month ago. Today I was preparing for a long ride and now the screen does not respond at all. I can use it in the cradle but once out of the cradle the touchscreen does not respond! I removed the battery, did a hard reset with no improvement. It’s going back to my BMW Munich dealer. Very disappointing and I feel a bit better that I am not the only loser! Thank you

Hey Scott.. the same issue happened to my device too.. but mine got stuck when I was downloading Canada maps… I removed the battery, restarted the device and it didn’t work at all got freezing on the main screen.. I returned back to BMW dealer and they said it’s the first time someone report it.. I didn’t get the new unit yet.. the problem with this device is there is no application to control it from the computer… I contacted BMW Motorrad Germany and no response!!!

Thank You so much for being direct about all this BMW "Premium" features ;-).. got my 1300 gs two weeks ago and planing navigation setup...looks like Garmin XT wins again 🙂

I totally agree. At this price point, it should work. I got the same one. Hope it will work for my trip !

Would you please do a video about connecting the nav to helmet and the issues with the tft?

The Nav 6 was notorious for problems. I am on my 3rd replacement which has now stopped working as well. I was really hoping the Connected Ride had solved the issues. I have been using the quad lock for a couple of years as a result. Ride a GSA (mostly off road) with no issues on iphone. Been 2 years now (altho not ideal in the rain given iphone screen doesnt operate in the wet).

Hi Scott I really appreciate, if you could do an comparison review between Garmin xt2 and the BMW connected ride navigator. I’m also an owner of an RT (with the TFT panel), did you mount the garmin on the RT? How did you mount it over the big BMW display? Thanks a lot. Have save ride. Regards from Switzerland

Is it the right time to say my Nav 5 is 8 years old and other than a new battery 2 years ago, which is fair enough, has never had any issues? Still working perfectly and still gets regular map updates. So glad I didn’t sell it and buy the Nav 6 or this POS.

Hi Scott. I’m heading on a 3 week tour of Europe in a weeks time. My Nav6 has just packed up so I’m considering either the BMW connected or the Garmin XT2 as it’s a full and stand alone sat nav. I haven’t tested either but what would you suggest ? KR David

The exact same thing happened to me. I am waiting for the return of mine from the dealership. Looks like some software bug to me.

I’ve had my Navigator for a few months now had haven’t had any major issues. Seems to work good. I prefer it over the Nav6.

hi, do you know where to switch on altitude display? tnx

Hello - any update on the connected ride navigator? Have there been any software updates to help with your issues? I’m in the market for navigation and am considering a chigee phone mirroring system

What app did you use to navigate? I'm still looking for a good app for iPhone where I can load in GPX files. I used the BMW Motorrad app when I owned a F900XR but since moved to a XSR900.

Hey Scott, when I first saw your video, I thought I was looking at Billy Bob Thorton (who knows maybe you're related?!?). Enjoy that GS & life!!!

Hello Scott, great honest review, can you still connect your smartphone with the BMW connected app? Or are you now forced to use the Navigator?

How about a mini iPad with Gaia gps? What are the downsides?

Thank you Scott. Another good video. Keep them coming. And, I am wondering if the BMW will turn into a DCT Africa Twin one day??? We shall see!

I have a 1250rt 2023. I read the comments and would like to Khloé our you doing to keep your phone out of the burning sun . As you know the sun heat can destroyed the battery what is your trick to minimize this

I have exact same unit for my new RS. (thanks for your two RS reviews BTW). Mine worked great on my first try, using the BMW Connect app here in the states. Very impressive graphics, almost a match for the TFT. I want to move it up top center of the windshield but am still waiting for the Hornig mount. One difference is I paired it to my iPhone rather than paying for another SIM card account. If you can please tell me why you felt it necessary to pay an additional subscription, it worked brilliantly using data from my phone. Love your channel.

Why not order aliexpress android auto/apple car play screen-device and connect phone to it and navigate?

From people I know and read, most switched from bmw to Garmin or TomTom (in Europe). Garmin XT is not without flaws too, but I guess less flaws than bmw. The most reliable in production today is Garmin 396, but smaller screen sizes and low resolution is not on pair with the XT

If that happened to me I would be well stressed out. I've had my Nav V for about 9 years and it has been a great device, but was considering upgrading recently to this device, but having read that it is not compatible with Basecamp, and various other issues like this, I will not bother with it. If I upgrade will probably go for a Zumo ZT2 seeing as BMW has ditched Garmin. Would like to see you compare the Zumo with that.

Just watched your video on the new sat nav I’ve had loads of problems with the last two generations of bmw nav an all have been totally rubbish all the time screen jumping freezing up all the same problems it’s crazy bmw are still dealing with garmin after all the problems 😡🇬🇧

My 1250 RT navigation system worked perfectly for two and a half years until around the start of June this year and then it started misbehaving. i emailed BMW connectivity support to be told to "be patient" until we fix it. No hint of an apology from them for the inconvenience of travelling 2300 miles from the UK to Italy and back with a system that would fail many times a day.

Make sure you update the device's firmware! And something to note - BMW navigation does not support shaping points that don't announce, unlike Garmin GPS devices. So any shaping point you set to make sure it takes you on the road you want will always announce. Very annoying! I suspect you may start using your XT2 again.

Well said, BMW bikes are far too expensive, and the company is up its own ass !

I have owned 2 connected ride navigators - both froze and were returned. I now use my iphone running the connected ride navigator app - that works fine.

I had 1 Nav V and 3 Nav VI's and not one lasted more than 12 months before the famous 'ghost screen syndrome' hit. Although BMW replaced them each time under warranty I got fed up and moved to a Garmin Zumo XT + the adapter to fit on the BMW nav set up. Works perfect, and is cheaper. Last October the BMW dealership offered me the new ConnectedRide Navigator (this was even before the famous November update) for a 'special introduction price' to make up for the hassle with the V and VI, with money back guarantee in case I did not like it. I decided to give it a go (should have known better). It turned out to be yet again expensive rubbish. At that time it could not even run imported GPX files ('the system does not support routes with waypoints'). It also never really switched off, due to which the battery was gone after 2 days. I returned it to the dealership in November (after the promised 4 Nov update did not happen) and got my money back. No more expensive BMW GPS 'solutions' for me, thank you.

Bought the Garmin XT, the first version, far superior and cheaper than any BMW nav and a lot less costly. Quadlock and phone good too, I use both😉.

I would have been frustrated too. I just installed a Carpuride CarPlay screen. Cheaper and multi purpose with apps. They also make a dock so it is compatible with your bmw wheel controls

My understanding of BMW Motorrad’s site is that the BMW Navigator is NOT compatible with the RT1250RT. One vendor verified that my 2022 1250RT is not compatible with it. Anyone else know more about this? Tx - Scott

Hello! My older RT has the NAVI VI (6) and its been funcioning moderately well (cant say the damn thing is fantastic, I mean, Base Camp is... different lets say. I am getting a Carpuride W502B (Andoid auto / Carplay display) - I can let you know how it goes if you wish :)

Electronics break sometimes,it's life, but yeah not fun if you are relying on a device for a task. FWIW I had a Garmin XT less than a month old lose its maps completely ( never got told but suspect the storage memory corrupted big time) and have to be replaced. Have mentioned in another comment that this Navigator unit seems to have been sourced from a German company called Cyrus who do ruggedised phones and tablets for industrial use scenarios rather than Garmin as previously. Worth checking if software is up to date, should be on V1.0.2 which seems to have addressed some issues with earlier units. Have still to properly try out my CRN, only received the other day, so suspect we are both on a bit of discovery mission.

I bought it and brought it back. Did not like it at all. The biggest issue in my case is when you put the new navigator in the mount on the R1300GS you can only connect your phone and Packtalk, in my case, through the Navigator. Automatically you lose in the TFT menu the connection possibility which resulted in very bad music quality streaming through the Navigator. Bought the BMW-cradle and use my smartphone wit Calimoto to navigate and make all connections through the TFT. Much better quality. Another issue is the way the instruction on the display appears. F.i. turn left in 100m, they are 2 streets left, both parallel, you don't know which one to take because there is no arrow or guiding line on the map. I think BMW cradle with smartphone and Calimoto is a better option. Thank you for all the good stuff you make on You Tube.

Has anyone found a way to flash it with apple carplay & android auto yet.

Fitted the connected ride cradle and use my phone and the new app only £190 and works fine

I just have my Garmin on a Ram mount. I don't need a motorcycle company's proprietary crap like, "We reinvented the wheel" crap! Oh, did I mention? I just have my Garmin on a Ram mount. It works perfectly.

When I’m replacing my current ride I hope I’m smart enough to buy a bike without integrated satnav and phone etc. Just isn’t stable enough. I’ll stick to my TomTom 550 and Bluetooth headset.

BMW fooled me once on the Nav 5. They really fooled me with the Nav 6. I now have a Carpe-Iter BMW controller that integrates with the Wonder wheel and a Garmin Tread Overlander. It works great. BMW makes nice bikes, but the Nav units are not worth the money.

My iPhone 11 camera was damaged by the mount on my 701 enduro, my 1250 has a cheap adaptor for the phone. It’s wireless charging and links to cardo. €690 for this unit has me thinking the buyer has more money to throw away than I do.

The problem is that, in my opinion, this product is still in the beta stage. As far as I know, it is currently based on TomTom maps. However, the software is very basic and can only perform basic functions. Many people have reported that it freezes on the main screen. I don't think it should be sold like this. I'm considering getting a Chigee AIO 5 Lite instead. I think it's a better choice and it's a bit cheaper, too.

After a week already the same problem with my navigator

I heard you say "I took the battery out and weighed it" - because as we know charged batteries weigh more than depleted ones, and I thought you were checking 🤣

Also mine froze on the start screen. Was replaced by BMW.

Hi Scott, firstly another great video expressing your feelings! Have you lost weight? Your face has changed dramatically. You look great! You are without doubt, a fantastic man, humorous & doesn’t take thinks too seriously apart from the nerf gun😎 Take care & live life like there’s nothing to prove🤙

So happy with my Honda en Google maps

This new nav needs a sim card to work?

I regret very much that I bought it. When the air temperature exceeds 32 degrees while driving, it starts to disconnect from the motorbike and eventually shuts down. Now when I want to enter the settings menu, it throws me back to the main menu. I bought the device in Germany, but I live in Turkey. I am in contact with the local dealer for return. If I can return it, I will buy CHIGEE AIO-5.

Hey Scott, never seen you that serious....😂.

whats the sim card for?

Been using like 20 years of Garmin devices I guess, not even one broke so it must be non garmin unit :) They didn't answer you what happened because they don't know, diagnosing such electronic devices take time.

I guess this is why they dropped the price in Germany to €500. Would you buy one?

I’m puzzled why BMW didn’t maintain their Garmin collaboration and request a BMW compatibile Garmin XT2? BMW have missed a trick, because they would have sold like hot-cakes. Instead, they are receiving fairly consistent and significant, negative feedback. I don’t understand why they did this?

Scott, I do understand your frustration. You've spent a lot of money on a device that didn't work. This might be a bit of an overreaction, however. Devices are designed and manufactured by humans and we are unfortunately flawed, ergo, so are the devices we create. Even the BMW dealership stated they'd not seen this occur before, so perhaps yours is the first in a potential recall. Who knows? Bottom line, nothing's perfect and stuff just doesn't work sometimes. We pivot, as you did, and improvise. It seems like you managed to work it out and you don't seem any worse for the wear. Keep your chin up, sir!

Something has been happening to the BMW software department lately. The BMW Connected application on iPhone stopped syncing with my motorcycle (BMW CE 04). I tried to report the error using all communication channels, but I did not receive any useful feedback. You may know that seeing the remaining battery amount and range is very important for this electric motorcycle. The sync process was successful with only one of my 3 Android devices, and I pray that there will be no problems with it. Anyway, I've never seen navigation as terrible as the BMW navigation, and the performance is terrible when connected to an iPhone. The working logic is also quite absurd. We mirror the iPhone screen to the main screen of the motorcycle using a method such as airplay. Also, the map is definitely out of date and a bunch of POIs are missing. Fortunately, Quadlock has great solutions and we can mount our smartphone and use it as it should be.

The reality is what is the point of this product when you can either buy a good phone mount OR if you’re worried about your phone falling or vibration damage, they make third party CarPlay/android auto displays you can attach to your bike. And both are significantly cheaper!

From what I heard the nav 6 had a LOT of issues. That’s probably why bmw found another partner and designed their own for the current model. But still, just give us CarPlay/Android Auto please.

Hi. I'm sorry, Scott. It seems to me that the device is simply not worth the money (too much money, by the way.) Cheers

Ok ok navi and all that stuff... but why is nobody talking about that nice nerf gun?

When something goes amiss, can anyone else see Scott turn into Billy Bob Thornton?

It's too expensive, i've got a Tom Tom rider £380 had it for 3 years never let me down

BMW knows about this problem I've sent my back five times they always give me a new one

Seems like you are disappointed in the bike as well !!

For those who think BMW is a bad product. If BMW is so bad, why do you buy a BMW? And why do you watch videos about BMW?

I had one of these contraptions 10 or 15 years ago. It was a piece of shit then. Anything with the letters, BMW, behold my wallet, are overpriced. I’m a slow learner. I’ve had 12 BMW bikes and seven cars.

Challenges of buying new stuff.....

30 000 euro - yes ✅ Google Maps/CarPlay - No 🙅‍♂ Same with my Multistrada V4S...

Two words of advice: Paper Maps

They need to just build in CarPlay.

Not good.

BMW’s navigator My opinion is a complete rip off I use the garmin zumo xt 2 Got more features Never had a problem with it Otherwise, I use the quarter lock On my other bike I don’t blame you being p off for spending 700 didn’t work Hopefully the new one keeps working for you

It is an extremely bad situation for BMW Motorrad because customer satisfaction requires integrity. And everything with the BMW Motorrad logo will become questionable in our minds. So why am I paying more than others and are they taking us for fools? I would like to draw your attention, I am questioning the brand here, not the useless navigation.☹️

Get a paper map......

I had nav 6 it was garbage i have now got connected ride cradle but i have given up with using the app to navigate i simply use google maps bmw tech is shite amd well overpriced. Bit by bit i jave found most of their accessories are over priced garbage

Disappointing and irritating. Sorry you are having issues.

Thanks for this video....I am considering this navigator but think I will hold off a bit for a software update or two....@stanforadventure

Honda and Harley have car play, much better. 😎🏍💨💨💨💨💨👍🏻🇨🇦🍻