Zumo XT2 and Tread App experiences

[VeeBee]

I’ve been using my XT2 and Tread app (frustratingly) for over 16 months now. Both are quite annoying, unreliable and don’t function properly.

The concept is great and they should/could be excellent best in class devices. The problem is they feel unfinished and let down by their software and limitations.

I’ve given up trying to explain things to manufacturers, I find they’re either not interested or someone reading from a script treats me like a simpleton. I get more help from other owners/users. From my years of experience of dealing with support people for computers, peripherals, software and various other devices, the usual manufacturers cop out is.. No one else has reported any issues or it’s only me who is having these problems. Hard to believe.

I won’t touch on the so called RUT behaviour, that’s been covered many times here. I have experienced stupid routing behaviour when selecting closest entry point keeps trying to send me back home to the start (even when I’m miles away and closer to the end). This is probably my fault though, I’ve probably set something wrong.

Anyway, here are my views and experiences of using the Zumo XT2 and the Tread app on my iPhone 15 pro with iOS 18.6.2.

XT2
It completely ignores areas I have set as custom avoidance and calculates routes through these areas.

It randomly decides whether it will show speed cameras or not. Sometimes it does, other times it doesn’t, with exactly the same fixed cameras. EG. yesterday I passed a camera which didn't show, but the day before the same camera was shown on the map and I was alerted. During a 4 hour journey cameras didn’t show or alert but same journey last week it worked properly, they were all there on the map (well they were for 3/4 of the time outbound) and none at all shown on the way back. Fully powering off makes no difference. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t!

It's just too unreliable to use for something which supposed to provide advance alerts. I can't see it being the cyclops database because that's just providing POI info to the XT2, so the issue has got to be the device itself.

Also, it usually ignores road closures, so I end up following diversion signs rather than the satnav. This has happened many times this year, and for major road works which say they will take weeks or months. Problem is I could have taken a different route in the first place if the XT2 hadn’t tried routing through a closed road. This is very annoying, especially when the diversion signs take me back to the route I’d have chosen if I hadn’t listened to the satnav and now gone miles out of my way.

Adventurous mode is terrible. It randomly diverts off the main road, routing around housing estates and then back on to the same main road.. Some adventure! It even tried routing me through someone’s private driveway in front of their house, thinking it was a road! I’ve given up trying to use adventurous routing.

Fastest and shortest calculation modes seem to mainly give the same route. Usually making no difference which method is used.

It doesn’t seem to know about local roads/short cuts etc (Google maps and Apple maps do though) which are usually quicker because of less traffic; instead it routes me all the way around via main roads which are usually full of traffic especially in cities. I use my own area knowledge, which 9 times out of 10 is quicker time than the XT2’s chosen route. I see the ETA time reduce when I ignore the satnav directions.

It seems to sync to Tread app approx every 15 secs. This is ok but can be quite annoying when scrolling through many waypoints to select a destination as it keeps flicking back up the list.

I don’t know where Garmin get their information from, but it doesn’t seem as anyone checks it.. A local filling station I always use which has been there over 5 years doesn’t even exist according to Garmin! It’s been Esso for last few years and before that it was Shell. A search on Apple Maps finds it immediately, but Garmin is waste of time. Garmin even says a local small Asda express store is a filling station, but it's just a convenience store and has never sold fuel. It would be quite worrying if in an unfamiliar area and running low on fuel. Cannot rely on Garmin to give accurate info.

More of a gripe than an issue.. There’s a limitation with mp3 music on SD card. I use a 128gb card but can’t make use of it all. The XT2 only sees 5000 songs max. It shows empty playlists. This must be by design, but archaic these days.


TREAD App.
I’ve found it has issues and is useless for working with routes as it constantly locks up.

For example, when creating a route in Tread app it always locks up/freezes when I press Save route button (floppy disk symbol). Nothing works until I restart Tread app. Although it did save the route, but I can’t open the route to view or edit it.

If I go to favourites > routes and try to select any route at all then it locks up. I cannot view saved routes without it locking up. So can’t change them or anything. Quite useless. I can select and view waypoints without it locking up so why not routes?

Also approx every 15 secs Tread displays a message saying sync failed. But it shows the correct last sync time even though it says failed.

Waypoints created in Tread app appear immediately on the XT2 but some of the waypoints created on my XT2 are not in the Tread App. Maybe this is by design to keep them separate?

I have removed and reinstalled Tread app at least 3 times. I have re-paired etc each time. It makes no difference. It’s a good idea but unfit for purpose.

Sorry to sound like such an old complainer, but these things are expensive. All anyone wants is for something to just work as it should do.

[smfollen]

I agree with much of your frustration. I have reduced my frustration considerably by removing the Tread App from my world entirely.
Many of the XT2's issues have work-arounds that can be found on this forum.

I have experienced stupid routing behaviour when selecting closest entry point keeps trying to send me back home to the start (even when I’m miles away and closer to the end). This is probably my fault though, I’ve probably set something wrong.

In case it helps you, this can occur if your route is a round-trip or loop. The closest point on your route might simply be a point on the return part of your route. Closest point is basically the closest point on the route line, not the closest via or shaping point. Splitting such a route into two parts, one out and one back, avoids this issue.

There is a lot of good information in @jfheath's Everything You Need To Know post here viewtopic.php?p=9356#p9356

He is working on an XT2 specific version here viewtopic.php?t=3361

[jfheath]

Quick response

The latest version of the system software broke the POI's being displayed. v6.10 is what we are on now.
Complain to product.support@garmin.com

The issue is that POIS do not displaye ont he screen. They will alerts as you break the perimeter 'fence' and a message will be shown, but they never appear on the map. Prior to v6.10 they worked perfectly well.

If they come back and say that they haven't received any complaints about this, then tell them that they have.
Don't jump through any hoops for them - that is a delaying tactic that they use. Tell them it is a fault that they know about and that you are pointing out that it is not working for you and you want them to fix it. It did work on the version of software before 6.10
my reference reference numbers is RE: << Ref:30458259K1 >> Re: XT2 V6.10 Software Custom POIs behaviour has changed <Q#:1000101>
That was opened 2nd July 2025 shortly after v6.10 was installed.

Setting up.

Remove the Tread App from your phone. Completely.
Save anything thata you want and perform a complete system reset of your XT2. You will lose most things except your maps. Like gettin a brand new Zumo.
Go to the the navigation screen, tap the speed button and then long press the circular speedo. 10 seconds. At the top - Clear all user data.

Let the Zumo reboot.

Then install the Tread app on you phone and set it up as before - except when you get the option to store your data or to sunch your data - do not accept.

Pair your XT2 as before.

ROutes

When you have created a route - there are a number of ways of fixing the weird navigation issues. This method is the easiest to carry out ont he XT itself.

Put the GPX file onto the SD card/GArmin/GPX folder. If there isn't a GPX folder in GArmin, make one.

You will need to import tracks, routes and waypoints manually. But the XT2 itself cannot alter them.
Apps -> Routes -> Select a route OK.
THe planner screen opens up. Click the spaenner / wrench.
Select Copy and give it a new name. I use the old name with a symbol in fornt so that I know that it is a copy.

The Go back to Apps->Routes and load in the copy. That route will behave perfectly.