Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
One of the features I was looking forward to the most in my 2016 Ram 2500 was an updated Navigation system. The system in my 2010 F 150 pre-MyFord Touch was feeling pretty dated by the time I'd traded it in. Dated, but very functional. I had installed a Lockpick device in the Ford so that I could access the keyboard while moving. It made the system very useable. My wife could enter destinations on the fly as we moved and it was a decent system.
I have read a number of reviews of the U-Connect 8.4 that led me to believe that it would be a nice upgrade. So far after 6 months and 10,000 miles I'm not all that impressed.
To be fair, there are things I love about the system in my Ram. There is the very cool U-Connect app. That is a great addition to the vehicle. I find destinations and send them to the vehicle all the time. It works and I love it. The navigation system itself is fine. Like all US nav systems it locks you out of the keyboard once you begin moving so using it to find something while on the road is impossible.
I understand the argument against distracted driving. I find that getting around the system safety features is more distracting than simply having a warning and actual access to the keyboard the way my wife's Audi does and I will probably install a lockpick system on this truck too. Too bad as this shouldn't be necessary.
Then there is the Yelp app.
The way Ram wants you to find destinations while driving is to use the Yelp app.
It is a nice idea with terrible execution. Just the process of loading the app, waiting, asking for a "Yelp Search" and finally searching is way too convoluted.
Now, you search and...find nothing!
It took me months to figure out what was happening but some things can be found and some can't when using the voice command feature.
An example is looking for a cafe. If I stop the truck and type in the search term "cafe" I get lots of choices locally.
When I ask with voice command, I see no results.
Why? Because the voice command brings up the word as "café" with the accent on the letter e.
Unless the business is listed in whatever database Yelp searches the results will be omitted.
Talk about useless!
Finally, one feature the now 7 plus year old technology in my old Ford had was the ability to search for destinations "along a route". If you were on a highway driving toward a destination in the Nav system and wanted to search for fuel (or anything), you could select a tab that looked at the route and found the next fuel station without backtracking or leaving the route. This was so incredibly useful... it is a glaring omission to the Uconnect system.
For the record, I love my Ram. It is an awesome truck. I just wish the U-Connect system was more sorted...
Bruce
I have read a number of reviews of the U-Connect 8.4 that led me to believe that it would be a nice upgrade. So far after 6 months and 10,000 miles I'm not all that impressed.
To be fair, there are things I love about the system in my Ram. There is the very cool U-Connect app. That is a great addition to the vehicle. I find destinations and send them to the vehicle all the time. It works and I love it. The navigation system itself is fine. Like all US nav systems it locks you out of the keyboard once you begin moving so using it to find something while on the road is impossible.
I understand the argument against distracted driving. I find that getting around the system safety features is more distracting than simply having a warning and actual access to the keyboard the way my wife's Audi does and I will probably install a lockpick system on this truck too. Too bad as this shouldn't be necessary.
Then there is the Yelp app.
The way Ram wants you to find destinations while driving is to use the Yelp app.
It is a nice idea with terrible execution. Just the process of loading the app, waiting, asking for a "Yelp Search" and finally searching is way too convoluted.
Now, you search and...find nothing!
It took me months to figure out what was happening but some things can be found and some can't when using the voice command feature.
An example is looking for a cafe. If I stop the truck and type in the search term "cafe" I get lots of choices locally.
When I ask with voice command, I see no results.
Why? Because the voice command brings up the word as "café" with the accent on the letter e.
Unless the business is listed in whatever database Yelp searches the results will be omitted.
Talk about useless!
Finally, one feature the now 7 plus year old technology in my old Ford had was the ability to search for destinations "along a route". If you were on a highway driving toward a destination in the Nav system and wanted to search for fuel (or anything), you could select a tab that looked at the route and found the next fuel station without backtracking or leaving the route. This was so incredibly useful... it is a glaring omission to the Uconnect system.
For the record, I love my Ram. It is an awesome truck. I just wish the U-Connect system was more sorted...
Bruce
I found the more I read the manual, the more I liked the nav unit......:-laf
