Experience with Tread app on an M-series Mac

[abowen500]

Hello,

I haven't found any similar posts so I wanted to begin a discussion about using Tread on a Mac. I've had general success using the Tread app on my Mac to create, curate, and sync routes with newly created Tread routes as well as imported routes from gpx files. This is after doing a factory reset on my XT2 recently. I have experienced shaping points being moved/removed after syncing and I've switched to all via points ("stops" as they are referred to in Tread). I've experienced very slow never-completing calculations when editing routes and what I've begun doing is restarting Tread fairly often, e.g. before editing a route or syncing.

I keep my XT2 paired with the Tread app on my iPhone. It's not paired with my Mac. I've also experienced very slow never-completing calculations on my iPhone when editing a route so I tend to restart the Tread app fairly often on my iPhone as well. This seems to also make syncing with the XT2 quicker. I'd love to hear if the Android version is any better in this regard.

Having a Basecamp-lite replica in the cloud for use with a much larger screen has been workable, almost great. Wireless transfer is worth it, workable and almost great. Why can't the Explore website be a full featured web based planner like MyRouteApp, TomTom Plan/MyDrive, or even the Beeline beta planner? Why do I need to sync routes using a phone when the XT2 has wireless built in?

I've seen people using Bluestacks on Windows with the Android version of the Tread app and I'm wondering if that is more reliable?

[smfollen]

There are multiple issues with the Tread App, especially if you let it sync with explore. Garmin has known about the issues for at least a year and a half, but has not fixed it. See viewtopic.php?t=3007 and viewtopic.php?t=2573 for example.

You can contact Garmin support at Product.Support@garmin.com

[abowen500]

Oh yes, I'm familiar with the problems with Tread. I was experimenting with staying within the Tread/Garmin environment and up until last night it worked wonderfully and I had not experienced any issues. And this is with many edits and syncs to/from the XT2 via Tread and my phone and computer for about a day. And I said up until last night when the issue returned with 2 via points being moved from a secondary road onto a highway in a route with no shaping points.

This is why people abandon products and go with something, anything, else they feel they can rely on. Usually the choice is the easiest or most familiar thing to a person, like mounting their phone on their handlebars. I guess I'm going back to Basecamp or MyRouteApp. I'd consider an updated TomTom Rider if there was one.

[Lanso]

Sadly TomTom doesn't appear to be making any new hardware anymore.

The only "true" alternative here would be BMW's ConnectedRide, which is based on TomTom... but it too is very limited in what it can do.

[abowen500]

Has anyone confirmed the "moving via/shaping points" issue is independent of having traffic enabled on the GPS and the related manual/automatic optimize route setting on the same GPS settings screen?

[smfollen]

I have seen shaping points move significantly just by allowing the Tread App to sync with the XT2, no traffic, no optimize.
I have never seen via points move significantly.
My experience is limited to an Android phone. My theory is that the issue occurs because the explore database does not support shaping points. If true, then Android vs Apple should not matter.

My experience with moving shaping points is detailed here viewtopic.php?t=3007
Note that there have been many updates to the Tread App since then.

[abowen500]

Thanks smfollen. I've seen this happen as recently as yesterday with a route containing all stops (vias), but today after doing a factory reset and creating -
1 route in Tread with as many shaping points it allows before complaining, up to 10 between stops (vias)
1 route in Tread with all stops (vias)
1 imported gpx file with one route with all shaping points

It's not happening. I've enabled/disabled traffic and automatic optimize or whatever it's called as this was something I wanted to test. One of the roads in all 3 routes is open while under construction so I wanted to see how that affected my routes. This was the location where my points were moved previously. Today it's not happening.

What is the current recommendation for consistency? Use Basecamp or MRA or something else and import gpx files directly into the XT2 and not use Tread to sync?

[jfheath]

I have just been doing some testing with the behaviour of routes and route points in the XT2 with and without Tread being installed.

The changes seem to be dependent on a number of issues.
Whether route points are shaping or Via Points
Whether or not route points are created as Waypoints first and then set to via or shaping.
Whether or not Tread is allowed to synch with the XT2.

The pages following the link below describe these tests.

XT2-P350

Basically route point names always alter unless they were created as Waypoints first.
The Tread App will alter the positions of shaping points and the route.

Via Points generally stay in the same location even if Tread is actively synching.

If Tread is synching, Waypoints set as shaping points will move the route and the shaping points, the waypoint is no longer on the route.

If Tread is Synching and Waypoints are used to create Via Points - the via points keep there name and the route and via points remain in the same place.

Maybe. ie route points are not always moved significantly. Route points don't always change their name. The route isn't always altered.

Observed in different tests. But if a via point is changed to a shaping point on the Tread App, the point is often moved, taking the route with it onto a new road. The Tread app has an undo button. Undo the operation and repeat the same thing - the behaviour is different.
This suggests that there is some 'random' behaviour happening - or two programmers are writing different code with different rules.

[proofresistant]

My theory is that the issue occurs because the explore database does not support shaping points.

I cannot confirm this theory.
Firstly, shapes are also stored in Explore Web DB, but you cannot see them.
Secondly, the problem also occurs when the cell phone has no connection to the web (Wi-Fi and mobile data disabled).

[proofresistant]

The only "true" alternative here would be BMW's ConnectedRide, which is based on TomTom... but it too is very limited in what it can do.

There are many other alternatives in my opinion, but these are Android-based.
Then you need something like a rugged outdoor tablet or a DMD device or something with Carplay or Android Auto.
But that's a different topic altogether