Garmin Pilot for Android -- Tech Support, Tips, Tricks

Badger said:
When the price dropped several weeks ago, I thought that might be a clue of a new model being introduced.
Great tech pic! Were the AGL readings similar or did you see variation?
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There was about a 100' difference between the N7 and the iPad. I didn't note the phone's reading.
 
Version 2.6.2 has now arrived. It promises to fix the problems introduced by 2.6.1 and 2.6. My next flight is scheduled for early Saturday morning. Kudos to the developers for getting it working again, but "boo" to whomever authorized sending out a poorly-tested new version last week.
 
Paul Hamilton said:
Version 2.6.2 has now arrived. It promises to fix the problems introduced by 2.6.1 and 2.6. My next flight is scheduled for early Saturday morning. Kudos to the developers for getting it working again, but "boo" to whomever authorized sending out a poorly-tested new version last week.
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I'm hoping it fixes the crashes I began experiencing after installing 2.6.1. I really wish these Android version developers would get caught up with the iOS version for features. They are getting closer, but still enough difference to irritate me.
 
Paul Hamilton said:
Version 2.6.2 has now arrived. It promises to fix the problems introduced by 2.6.1 and 2.6. My next flight is scheduled for early Saturday morning. Kudos to the developers for getting it working again, but "boo" to whomever authorized sending out a poorly-tested new version last week.
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This isn't a new experience. Seems to happen after every major release.
 
Just installed it. It did fix the alert message text entry that I called them about. They said it was a known problem - which leads me to think they were on a tight schedule to get it out before OSH and any last minute things that popped up or weren't finished were going to have to wait.
 
Matthew said:
This isn't a new experience. Seems to happen after every major release.
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Seems like it would be wise to uncheck auto-updates for software that you depend on for aviation.

Even better - save a copy of the apk of the old version before updating to a new one. Then you can re-install the old version if you need to do so. I don't think that they're copy-protected for "free" applications, which Pilot is as far as the OS is concerned (you don't have to pay to actually install it).
 
I don't auto update. Yeah, should probably wait a week after GP releases before installing, and check this thread while you wait.
 
I don't auto-update it either. They always have a couple bug fix releases a few days after a major release. Annoying really.
 
Speaking of updates, I just downloaded jelly bean 4.3.

So far I don't notice much different, anyone else have feedback?
 
A couple of apps broke, but there were updates a few days later. Other than that, nope.
 
Has anyone picked up the new Nexus 7? OfficeMax had one on display and it's impressive, but they're out of stock. Several local Best Buys have them in stock so I was going to grab one tomorrow.

However, looking online I see a bunch of problem reports, some concerning GPS issues. Curious if anyone has bitten the bullet?
 
Ok, don't everyone go out on a ledge at once to try the new Nexus 7!!

I bit the bullet and picked up a 32GB model today. It's still charging with a few apps loaded. Will report back once I get GP installed and tested. That screen is pretty darn nice. I always thought the original had a great screen, but I think this now surpasses the Retina display on my iPad4. I also like the elimination of the silver trim around the edges, which only served to show minor dings.

Hope to fly with it tonight if weather cooperates.
 
LDJones said:
Ok, don't everyone go out on a ledge at once to try the new Nexus 7!!

I bit the bullet and picked up a 32GB model today. It's still charging with a few apps loaded. Will report back once I get GP installed and tested. That screen is pretty darn nice. I always thought the original had a great screen, but I think this now surpasses the Retina display on my iPad4. I also like the elimination of the silver trim around the edges, which only served to show minor dings.

Hope to fly with it tonight if weather cooperates.
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Great minds think alike! I am typing this on the new Nexus 7, and can only say "Holy crap!"

This new HD screen is unreal. It looks a bazillion times better than my "old" N7, and I thought THAT screen was amazing!

And fast? Zero lag. So far, I am very impressed!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Jay Honeck said:
Great minds think alike! I am typing this on the new Nexus 7, and can only say "Holy crap!"

This new HD screen is unreal. It looks a bazillion times better than my "old" N7, and I thought THAT screen was amazing!

And fast? Zero lag. So far, I am very impressed!

Sent from my NEW Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
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FTFY!

Have you tried the camera? Seems pretty decent. I can't say I really missed not having a camera on my old one, but I think I be making some use of this one as it's quicker than my cellphone's camera. I'm also liking the narrower design...will fit better in some pockets.
 
LDJones said:
FTFY!

Have you tried the camera? Seems pretty decent. I can't say I really missed not having a camera on my old one, but I think I be making some use of this one as it's quicker than my cellphone's camera. I'm also liking the narrower design...will fit better in some pockets.
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I'm on the fence about the narrower/thinner design. I liked the tactile feel of the old N7 a lot, so this feels a bit slippery to me.

You got a lead on a good wireless charger yet? Of COURSE the wireless charger for my Galaxy S3 doesn't work with the N7. Argh!

The forward-facing camera is nice, but I never missed it. I don't want to be "that guy" walking around OSH taking pictures with a dinner-plate-sized camera. :D

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Enough of the chatter! Give us the important scoop! Will the display be sunlight readable in the cockpit?
 
Jay Honeck said:
I'm on the fence about the narrower/thinner design. I liked the tactile feel of the old N7 a lot, so this feels a bit slippery to me.

You got a lead on a good wireless charger yet? Of COURSE the wireless charger for my Galaxy S3 doesn't work with the N7. Argh!

The forward-facing camera is nice, but I never missed it. I don't want to be "that guy" walking around OSH taking pictures with a dinner-plate-sized camera. :D

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
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I think thin will grow on you. I didn't know it supported wireless charging, so no, I don't have a clue what wireless charger will charger might work!

As for the camera, look at it this way: It's smaller than a lot of cameras 60 years ago!!...probably 2/3rds the size of my old Graflex 4x5!!

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Marauder said:
Enough of the chatter! Give us the important scoop! Will the display be sunlight readable in the cockpit?
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I've been able to read every display in the cockpit, so my answer is "Yes!"

YMMV.
 
Marauder said:
Enough of the chatter! Give us the important scoop! Will the display be sunlight readable in the cockpit?
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Dunno yet. I can tell you that the screen is MUCH brighter and clearer, but that's not the same as direct sunlight readable.

I've not had any trouble seeing the old N7's screen in the RV since installing the sunscreen inside the canopy. This new HD display can only be better.

Here's our sunscreen, BTW (and you can see the old Nexus 7 over my right shoulder, mounted for the back seater to use.)

urere4at.jpg




Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Jay Honeck said:
Dunno yet. I can tell you that the screen is MUCH brighter and clearer, but that's not the same as direct sunlight readable.

I've not had any trouble seeing the old N7's screen in the RV since installing the sunscreen inside the canopy. This new HD display can only be better.

Here's our sunscreen, BTW (and you can see the old Nexus 7 over my right shoulder, mounted for the back seater to use.)

urere4at.jpg




Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
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So, is that what two peas in a pod look like? ;) I guess I will need to check out the new Nexus. Still not happy with the Garmin Pilot version on it. Or the fact that ForeFlight won't run on it. :(
 
I'm contemplating picking up the new one, but not sure I can justify the upgrade. I still have my checkride to pay for, plus new aviation headsets for the SO and two kids, plus, plus....
 
Okay, I've got 24 hours with the new Nexus 7. Still no flight time (I hope to fly with it this evening), but here are my first impressions:

1. Size.
They made the unit smaller overall, while keeping the screen the same size. They achieved this by cutting the bezel on the sides, and making the entire unit thinner.

I'm still on the fence about this. It now fits more easily in my pocket, to be sure, but I liked the thickness and tactile feel of the original N7 a lot. It now feels slippery and less secure when I'm typing.

Still, it will be nicer in the plane, being a smidge smaller, and it will fit smaller hands better. I will get used to it.

2. Build Quality
I never had a lick of trouble with the original model, but some did. This unit feels like it was machined out of billet, by comparison. Much more iPad-like.

3. Display
This is the home run reason to upgrade from your original Nexus 7 or iPad. The quality of this display cannot be underestimated -- it is gorgeous.

Being extremely nearsighted, I have extraordinary close-up vision. Think magnifying glass vision. I cannot see the pixels. It looks like water.

And when I turned it to maximum brightness indoors, it hurt my eyes. I can't wait to fly with it.

4. Speed
Think lightning. Like right now. No lag. Not that the old N7 was any slouch, especially running Jellybean 4.3, but this unit is wonderful.

5. Value
At less than half the cost of an iPad, with better performance, it's really a no-brainer which tablet is the better value. Escaping the suffocating Apple ecosystem is just a bonus.

So far, color me happy. I will post a full pirep after my first flight with it.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Can't quite justify a new N7 yet, current version is doing just fine. But I am looking forward to seeing the new one.
 
I did a night dual cross-country with a student last night with the new Nexus 7. Here's what I see:

1. Screen is truly awesome. But one downside of the high res display is GP sizes it's map tiles based on the display resolution. Thus, things are smaller on the display and you can't zoom in to see things as easily as you can with some other products. I spoke with the Android product manager today about it and he said that's something they can pretty easily tweak, so hopefully we'll see that addressed shortly.

2. Noticeably faster/smoother in scrolling, thanks to faster processor, faster graphics.

3. GPS is still lacking....worked great for two legs, then went away. I had to cold boot the machine to reacquire position. That's frustrating to me. This is a non-issue if you're connecting to a remote GPS, but part of the attractiveness of this product was the fact that it was a self-contained unit I can keep in my pocket between students. If I can't rely on it, I'm frustrated. Note to the Google/Nexus designers: Get whatever GPS chipset Apple is using! That one always works flawlessly for me, wherever the unit is located.

4. Battery life seems even better than the first one, which was great.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase, but frustrated by the GPS issue. It's an awesome tablet even if you never used GPS, and a steal at the price. But since I bought it FOR the GPS, I want that to work 100% of the time...or at least equal to my iPad!
 
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I had the first Nexus 7, and it was a nice tablet. But, I sold it and bought a mini. I prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio over the 16:9, especially for the small tablet. Browsing the web on the mini in landscape mode is nicer with the added screen real estate. I found the Nexus 7 was too narrow to comfortably browse. Another thing I didn't like about the Nexus is you have a small screen already, and then you lose extra screen real estate with the soft keys at the bottom of the screen.

The new Nexus 7 looks really nice, but I hate the huge bezel at the top and bottom. I know it's so you can hold it nicely in landscape, but they didn't have to be that big.
 
LDJones said:
3. GPS is still lacking....worked great for two legs, then went away. I had to cold boot the machine to reacquire position. That's frustrating to me. This is a non-issue if you're connecting to a remote GPS, but part of the attractiveness of this product was the fact that it was a self-contained unit I can keep in my pocket between students. If I can't rely on it, I'm frustrated. Note to the Google/Nexus designers: Get whatever GPS chipset Apple is using! That one always works flawlessly for me, wherever the unit is located.
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I suspect that is some kind of software issues as EVERY Android device I've owned occasionally has the GPS lose or fail to obtain lock. Usually toggling the GPS off and on fixes it. It happens infrequently enough that it is an annoyance, and it usually only happens when you first launch a navigation app. However, I do recall having to reboot my Nexus 4 once while on a road trip due to the issue. Oh, if the issue does come up I don't actually reboot - I fully power off and then back on, and do it while the device is unplugged so that it really does power off - I don't think the radio firmware gets reset otherwise.

Actually, most of the issues I have had are probably more of a problem for driving than flying - when it loses lock it usually still provides a less-accurate position (maybe 10-20m) - that throws off car navigation but isn't a problem unless you're insane enough to be flying an approach using a tablet.

All the same, I'd appreciate it if Google gave better attention to the GPS in their QA testing.
 
I ordered the new Nexus 7 FHD 32gb from Amazon on 8/7/2013, it was listed as in-stock. Still hasn't shipped yet.

Currently running Avare on a tiny android phone, can't wait to run it on a tablet...
 
rich0 said:
I suspect that is some kind of software issues as EVERY Android device I've owned occasionally has the GPS lose or fail to obtain lock. Usually toggling the GPS off and on fixes it. It happens infrequently enough that it is an annoyance, and it usually only happens when you first launch a navigation app. However, I do recall having to reboot my Nexus 4 once while on a road trip due to the issue. Oh, if the issue does come up I don't actually reboot - I fully power off and then back on, and do it while the device is unplugged so that it really does power off - I don't think the radio firmware gets reset otherwise.

Actually, most of the issues I have had are probably more of a problem for driving than flying - when it loses lock it usually still provides a less-accurate position (maybe 10-20m) - that throws off car navigation but isn't a problem unless you're insane enough to be flying an approach using a tablet.

All the same, I'd appreciate it if Google gave better attention to the GPS in their QA testing.
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I've never had a GPS issue with any of the three Android phones over the last three years. I have tried turning the GPS off and back on the Nexus when this happens, but hasn't worked. It isn't just the fact it goes away (which is frustrating) but that it doesn't see as many satellites or have the signal strength reception as my iPad does in the same location. Perhaps it's an antenna thing. I don't know.
 
Funkeruski said:
http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/09/users-report-new-nexus-7-suffering-from-gps-issues/

Also, here is another option for those seeking an even lower cost alternative. This tablet actually has pretty decent reviews.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/08/hisense-cuts-sero-7-tablet-prices/
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Well, I'm glad they are aware of it, and working on a fix. I still haven't been able to fly with it (instead choosing to use my precious few free moments to install a few goodies we bought at OSH), but snapped this picture of the screen in direct sunlight.

As you can see, it's probably the best sunlight visibility yet achieved by a tablet, but still not truly "sunlight readable", mostly due to the the glossy reflectivity of the screen. Some sort of a matte screen protector might make a world of difference.

uploadfromtaptalk1376065026286.jpg

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Jay Honeck said:
Well, I'm glad they are aware of it, and working on a fix. I still haven't been able to fly with it (instead choosing to use my precious few free moments to install a few goodies we bought at OSH), but snapped this picture of the screen in direct sunlight.

As you can see, it's probably the best sunlight visibility yet achieved by a tablet, but still not truly "sunlight readable", mostly due to the the glossy reflectivity of the screen. Some sort of a matte screen protector might make a world of difference.

View attachment 30838
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I was using mine out on the deck while talking to Google tech support. The screen seems to be a step up in brightness from the first generation. But I never had a problem reading that one.

Here's a shot of my original one this past weekend, flying across across AZ. You can see the relative brightness vs. the other avionics displays. The brightness was probably set at 70% or so...I seldom run it at 100% in order to prolong better life.
 

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LDJones said:
I was using mine out on the deck while talking to Google tech support. The screen seems to be a step up in brightness from the first generation. But I never had a problem reading that one.

Here's a shot of my original one this past weekend, flying across across AZ. You can see the relative brightness vs. the other avionics displays. The brightness was probably set at 70% or so...I seldom run it at 100% in order to prolong better life.
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You need to install the ship's power thingy. It never goes dead, even on max brightness! :D

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
LDJones said:
I pack multiple 2.1A 12v adapters and a splitter! But other things were plugged in at the time!
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I hate the bulky cigar lighter adaptors. Having just a nice, neat micro-USB wire coming out of the panel is sweetness! :D

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Regarding the GPS issue, until Google comes up with a fix, here's a workaround I gleaned from the Android groups:

"So I was having the same GPS issue, and on a whim I turned off "scanning always available" in settings, Wi-Fi, advanced. After that, GPS functioned correctly over 8 hours, including launching maps, GPS status, and earth. I successfully navigated home after work, a 20 minute commute with no issues. I've checked in twice since and GPS still connecting properly."

Note: I have not had any GPS problems, nor have I tried this fix.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
FYI, I tested my new 7 in the car today. Fired up GPS Test. Had 16 Satellites. Fired up NavFreeUSA to use for navigation. The GPS lock lasted about five minutes, then quit. Rebooted it, worked for five minutes, then quit. Looked at GPS Test...it said three satellites, but not recording any position data. It didn't change.

So, I turned Airplane Mode on as a test...GPS icon still kept flashing, searching for position. Turned GPS off. Couldn't turn it back on. So I rebooted it again. This time it came up with NO GPS!! It's not on the Settings shortcut menu OR on the Settings menu! It has completely disappeared! GPS Test reports "No GPS". :mad:

They definitely have some issues to resolve. I think this one is going back to Best Buy. :mad2:

Edit: Note screen shot with missing GPS square in lower right corner!
 

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LDJones said:
FYI, I tested my new 7 in the car today. Fired up GPS Test. Had 16 Satellites. Fired up NavFreeUSA to use for navigation. The GPS lock lasted about five minutes, then quit. Rebooted it, worked for five minutes, then quit. Looked at GPS Test...it said three satellites, but not recording any position data. It didn't change.

So, I turned Airplane Mode on as a test...GPS icon still kept flashing, searching for position. Turned GPS off. Couldn't turn it back on. So I rebooted it again. This time it came up with NO GPS!! It's not on the Settings shortcut menu OR on the Settings menu! It has completely disappeared! GPS Test reports "No GPS". :mad:

They definitely have some issues to resolve. I think this one is going back to Best Buy. :mad2:
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Dang! That sucks.

I haven't tried the GPS on the new unit much. Will have to experiment.
 
Okay, it looks like the new Nexus 7's GPS problem is widespread and has hit the major Android news outlets.

I hope this problem doesn't impact the unit when connected to the remote GDL-39 GPS. That would kill Garmin Pilot for me.

I bet the Google/Asus software geeks are burning the midnight oil on this.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
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