Magellan Maestro 4040
The Magellan Maestro 4040 is in the middle of the new Maestro line, and probably is the device which offers the most value. Like the other Maestros, it comes with a nice large 4.3 inch display. Despite the big display the 4040 is packed into a nice thin .8″ case and weighs about 8.5 ounces. It also comes with the legendary SiRFstarIII chipset. So how does it stack up to the other Maestro devices and other brands?
You get maps of Canada, Hawaii, and Alaska on this device, which you don’t get with the Magellan Maestro 4000. You also get about three times more POIs installed on the device, coming in at around 4.5 million. If you frequently need services in unfamiliar areas, having all of those extra POIs can be nice to have.
You also get Bluetooth hands free calling included, as well as text-to-speech. Text-to-speech can be very nice to have when the streets are close together and directions telling you to “turn right in 300 feet” doesn’t quite cut it.
If you are considering subscribing to a traffic service, the Maestro 4040 offers you the ability to add that feature later, but it does not come with a traffic receiver in the box. This is an advantage the 4040 has over the 4000 which is not upgradable to traffic services. If you are certain you want traffic coverage, then consider the Magellan Maestro 4050 which comes with the traffic receiver included… as well as speech recognition as a method for providing commands.
So if you don’t care about Bluetooth, Text-to-speech, having maps of Canada/Alaska/Hawaii, and know you won’t use traffic services you can save some cash by going with the Magellan Maestro 4000. (Compare the Magellan Maestro 4000, 4040, 4050) To compare with other manufacturers, you might want to compare it to the Garmin Nuvi 660.
Expect to pay about $600 for the Magellan Maestro 4040 when it comes out in April.
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This website gives the lot of idea about the new models.So if any one have the information regarding the release date of Magellan new models.Please let me inform.
Amal, the expected release dates are located at the bottom of each article.
Can the Maestro 4000/4040/4050 store locations of Speed Cameras? What is the max SD ram that you can install on these devices, and lastly is the internam memory flash RAM/solid state or is it a 4GB drive like some of the other Magellens?
Note that all of these answers are current speculation on my part until we get more information from Magellan when the product ships. The Maestro will support custom POI databases, therefore you should be able to load safety camera databases as long as you can convert the data into Magellan’s custom POI format.
I suspect the largest size will be 4 GB, however there is a chance it will only be 2 GB. Based on the size of this GPS (.8″ thick) it is most likely the internal memory will be flash.
what is the text to speech feature???
Michael, you can read about text-to-speech here.
reply to Amal,
I saw that the 4040 is coming in stock to a magellan authorized dealer, the site is call autonavdirect. They apparently are getting some in on the 4th and only are getting a limited stock the site says. I am going to order mine before they sell out. 4.3 inch screen is what I need for my bad eyes.
Thanks Guys and best of luck
Jeff, and everyone else. I’ve been using the 4000 for a couple of weeks now, you can read my extensive review about it over here.
Just have 2 quick questions for you on the 4040. I had originally seen that it was possible to add a feature to allow the maestro to be used as a “crossover” unit for hiking. Have you heard that? Also can you enter lat/long coordinates and will it tell you them for you current positon.
Rich, I haven’t heard any mentions of being able to add topo maps to the Maestro like you can with certain other Magellan devices. No, I don’t see any way to enter coordinates directly onto the Maestro as destination. If you had the coordinates ahead of time you might be able to use something like POI Manager to add them via computer/USB, but if that worked it would still be a pain.
Tim,
Thanks for the quick response. Got to play w/ a 4040 today. Really looking forward to trying one out.
One last ? for you though. Is there an option to tell the gps you are in a car, or a truck, or whatever like on the garmin nuvis?? Sometimes I use it in a truck and there are times I can’t use certain roads.
Thanks again for your time,
Rich
No, the routing options are for fastest time, least use of freeways, shortest distance, most use of freeways, and each of those can be combined with avoiding toll roads.
Is it possible on the Maestro 4040 (or TomTom One, the other product I’m looking at) to build the itenerary on a PC and save it to the SD card and then upload into the 4040?
Hi Mark, you can’t on the Maestro. You can plan an itinerary on the TomTom ONE, but not via SD card. You can connect the TomTom ONE to your computer, and operate the device from your computer screen. There you can create the itinerary and save it to your computer and send it to the GPS via USB.
Tim,
Thanks for the fast response. If I choose the TomTom 910 instead of the One to get the Street names spoken, would it still have this itinerary on the PC creation? Thanks
Sorry if I’m posting to the wrong forum.
Mark, Yes, all of the TomTom devices have the Itinerary function.
Does anyone know if the Maestro 4040 is compatible with my Motorola V557 Bluetooth cell phone? I would prefer to know before I purchase one. Apparantly it wasn’t compatible with the 6000T. One salesman said
that Bluetooth is bluetooth so should be no problem but when I bought the 6000T I had to return it because it wouldn’t recognize my phone. How about the Maestro 4040 and the Motorola V557? Thanks I can’t find anything on the website about this. Mike
Mike - here is a link where you can find bluetooth compatibility charts for GPS. If it didn’t work with the 6000T there is a good chance it also won’t work with the Maestro series. Right now they don’t have a chart up for the Maestro series. Unfortunately, “Bluetooth isn’t bluetooth” and Magellan doesn’t have the Maestro compatibility data posted yet.
I just purchased the 4040 thinking it was an upgrade from an old Magellan 700 which had 760 software on it.
I am disappointed about many things:
-Does not display the time left to destination on default screen.
-When selecting POI’s, it only shows you a few. On the 700, I could scroll through a huge list.
-The directions it gives are different, and not as good as the 700. I just used it in my home town today, and it gave me two very strange routes that the 700 would not have done.
-The unit does not shut off when the car is turned off.
There are other issues, but they are not coming to me at the moment. I will update this soon.
Hi, I was wondering which GPS to get between this one and the Garmin Nuvi 650, but had a few questions. The Garmin, I know comes with a thing that allows the GPS system to be attatched to the window, does Magellan have something to be propped up against in the car?
Also, I tried using an older version of Magellan’s GPS system in a Hertz car that I rented out before and really liked it because it made a little ringing noise when I approached a turn (whereas the Garmin, I would have to CONSTANTLY look at the screen and check how many feet I had left). Does the 4040 still have the “ringing” function.
One last thing, does the Magellan charge batteries through a plug that can be plugged into the lighter area of the car? If not, how would you charge the product?
Thanks
Cindy - Yes to all three of those questions.
I bought a magellan 4040 and am happy with it except for one problem. At first the Bluetooth interface worked fine but after about a month. It disconnects the pairing everytime you turn off either the GPS or the Cell phone. My phone is the Motorola v557 and this is really an annoying problem. as everytime I want to use the handsfree feature. I have to go thru the whole process of pairig the two devices, then if you stop either device you have to start over again. This is a pain. I didn’t want to have to buy another phone.
Unfortunately, that tends to happen frequently with different phones. I noticed that Magellan doesn’t list the Moto v557 as being compatible, so either they have not tested it or know it to not be compatible.
Quick question, if the 6000T has more features then the MM 4040 and has a higher MSRP why is it offered cheaper in stores?? Just based on screen and overall size?? Thanks
The 6000T doesn’t have more features in all areas. It doesn’t have a widescreen display, and is a bulkier sized device. MSPR prices represent when the device was announced. With the market getting more competitive a device that had a MSRP price of $950 a couple of years ago might be selling for around $250 today. The 6000T was released well before the Maestro line, so as production costs drop as GPS goes mass-market the MSRP prices of newer models will appear cheaper. The 6000T probably isn’t selling as well now that the newer Maestro line is out so that is probably why it is selling for a little less.
I’m looking at two models, the Magellan Maestro 4040 vs. the Garmin nuvi 350. I’ve heard raves about the Nuvi 350 from a friend who owns one but the Maestro seems to have more features and is slightly less expensive. I’ve also heard negatives about the time it takes for the Maestro 4040 to recalculate the route if you miss a turn.
Any thoughts?
In my tests where I’ve actually timed how long it takes to reroute, the Maestro doesn’t have a significant difference from most other models for most routes. If you haven’t already, check out my review of the sibling 4000.
Thanks, I was looking at the reviews on Cnet and Zdnet (link below) as to the recalculation time.
review.zdnet.com/gps/magellan-maestro-4040/4505-3490_16-32382700.htmlfar
Yea, I’ve seen that. My question would be “a little slow” compared to what? Their expectations? Compared to another model? How long was the roue?
I haven’t seen any significant issues with route recalculation speed in my tests. There are models that are faster, but I didn’t have any significant issues with the Maestro recalculation speed.
I do not see a recalculation speed issue at all. It’s fast enough on that account.
One speed issue I do have is the intial time it takes to aquire the sat. It’s much longer than my old 700. I can be nearly a mile from home before it finds my location sometimes. That creates an issue when you are in unfamiliar turf waiting for the thing to locate your position, so it can start with directions.
I am trying to get a new GPS, and being an AAA member, the Magellan 4040 seemed a great option. I am terrified to read the comments though, and to know that it isnt even in the top ten best gps’s. Isnt it better to just get a NUVI gps, instead of dealing with these problems? Do you have any experience with any of them?
Gabriella, I wouldn’t say that this device has tons of problems. It isn’t perfect, but no GPS is. Read my review of the sibling 4000 (link in comment #8).
Todd Melet,
I’ve been told Magellan is implementing ETA (estimated time of arrival) and auto shut off when power is cut from the Maestro 4040 in a future firmware update in June.
Chris
Let me clear up a couple of points about this GPS from previous posts now that I have owned it a bit longer…
1-The device does display the estimated amount of time left in the lower right corner, but only for a few seconds, and then it shifts to miles left in the trip. You can toggle by touching the screen displaying the miles left, and it switches. When you are close to your destination, it stops displaying time left and goes back to miles, which is different than the 700, but okay.
2-While I complained that the unit does not automatically shutoff when you turn off your car, it will after 10 minutes if you set it to. My 700 just turned off, and had no battery of it’s own to keep running on after my car was shut-off.
The fact it stays on is actually nice if you are just stopping for gas or a quick stop, but it’s annoying when you are parking for an extended period. I hate to walk away from the car with the GPS running, as it attracts attention, expecially at night. Turning it off is then a hassle. When they change firmware, they should consider making auto shut off an option, as it has pros and cons.
3-I reported earlier the GPS is slow to find the satellite compared with my old Magellan 700. This is only true when using the external roof antenna, which you no longer need. For my 700, I had to buy an external antenna as my Volvo S80 has tinted windows that blocked the reception. The external antenna works on the 4040, but I no longer need it. The internal antenna on the 4040 is better than using a roof mounted device.
I get 4 bars all the time without my external antenna, and often only get 2-3 with the external antenna. This is a nice feature of the 4040, as the external antenna cost me $150 when incluiding the professional installation I had done on my car. I will now remove it, as it slows down initial sync, and degrades reception.
4) I earlier reported the 4040 gives funky directions compared with my old 700. While my old 700 also had current maps, these two devices give completely different directions than each other for almost all my local routes around my home town. The 4040 favors having me take a 45mph highway over local roads, even if it is much farther. Eg. The 700 will route me on 25-35 mph roads home from downtown, and it’s 4 miles. The 4040 has me drive 6 miles, but a few of that is at 45mph. In the end, the time it takes to drive using either route is about the same, but sometimes longer using the 4040’s directions. I always use Shortest Time method, and have started comparing what the 4040 offers when I use the Shortest Distance method. That yields results more like the 700 default directions for Shortest Time. This is an odd thing, but it has been true on over a dozen local routes.
The 4040 does provide a couple of routes out of the dozen or so I have tested in my home town that are plain quirky. In one case it sends me several minutes out of my way for no apparent reason, when the old 700 does not do the same.
It makes a 10 minute trip into 12-13 right at the end. It does so every time.
5) I really miss the ability to search for POIs by name. I used to search for ATM’s from my bank to avoid the $3 fees, can’t do that with the 4040 unless I am missing something. I used to search for my favorite chain food while on the road, now you have to scroll through tons of listings instead of ask for Fudruckers by name, etc.
Overall the 4040 is a nice GPS for $400. If I was watching my dollars and saw a Magellan 760 for $250 like I purchased at Buy.com recently for my wife, I may save the bucks. If you have a car with treated metalic windshield, spend the money on the 4040 to avoid needing the external antenna like we need on one of our two cars.
The nicest interface improvement on the 4040 vs. the older device is search by Zip Code. This can save time vs. typing State, then City. It also narrows the available streets, making the selection of street name quicker too. It can sometimes be confusing if it asks you what county your destination is in after you enter the zip code, it may list two or three, and you have no idea. I would then switch to the City/State search method.
Todd, your review was a really encouraging one. My brother just purchased a GARMIN 350, and I really like it. I have been leaning towards the Magellan 4040, because I like the AAA features. I see that the Garmin has better reviews than the 4040, with the exception of the price. In fact, the 4040 is not even listed in the top 10. In fact, none of the magellan gps’s are. My question is, if money wasnt an issue, would you recommend me to buy a Garmin over the Magellan?
Hi Todd, good impressions. You can click on ‘Points of Interest’, ‘Search by Name’, and then search by name. I don’t recall, however, being able to search by name and restricting to a certain category.
I have never owned a Nuvi to compare it to, nor used one. Reviews do not make me wish I had one, and I would spend whatever to get the unit I wanted.
Hi,
I’m shopping for a nav system for the first time, and appreciate these comments. I have three questions about the 4040 (and its competitors) that I have not seen addressed yet:
1. The optional “traffic receiver”– Any idea what this add-on costs, vs. the difference in price from the 4040 to the 4050? In either case, is the traffic information a one-time purchase, or an ongoing subscription cost? How does this traffic information system work, anyway?
2. Maps: I understand US and Canada is pre-installed. Can Europe maps be added also, e.g. by downloading from Navteq? Is that all it takes to make the system work in Europe?
3. Connections: Is there a USB port, and/or SD memory slot? Are future software and map upgrades likely to be made available (and downloadable)?
Thanks for any advice!
GPS Experts:
I look at 50 to 100 propeties per month and map by hand and want a GPS to load the addresses in and have it map the best route from my office and back. I have the data in an Excel spreadsheet. I also have 78 additional properties in the portfolio I would like to visit each month as well. We travel to remote parts of Alaska also.
What would be an ideal unit that would allow me to cut down my desk time maping and be portable to travel with as well? THANK YOU
Bert & Dr. Sheldon - These questions are better asked (and answered) in the forums. I’ll very briefly address some of them here.
Bert:
The traffic service does have an additional monthly charge in addition to the purchase of the receiver. It works by receiving the information over the receiver that traffic services have aggregated.
Europe maps cannot be downloaded from NAVTEQ, they would need to be purchased from Magellan and so far it doesn’t look like Magellan has made them available.
USB specs and SD specs can be found at the top left of this page. Yes, future updates will likely be available.
Dr. Sheldon - I’d really need more info about how you plan to use the GPS. It sounds like you go to places one at a time for example. Drop a question over in the forums where we can expand the conversation.
Hi! I will be traveling to Hawaii soon, and nothing is said about this state. It says 48 contigous states. That means that Hawaii and Alaska are not included. Is there a way that I can purchase these?
Gabriella, where do you see that? You get the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico on the 4040 (including Alaska and Hawaii).
we just bought a tom tom 910 and i think it was awful, we bought it becuase of the features gigabytes of hard drive, pictures ( my wife likes the picture viewer) and remote control, but it was a disaster, my address is not even on the tom tom, when it speaks southbound the bound is muffled, it wont go to feet keeps on saying yards.
i am thinking of getting this magellan 4040 we were in circuit city and our address popped up right away it seems a lot faster than the tom2 but for some reason in circuit city customer reviews they buthered the 4040
the most noticeable is poi look up takes forever and it freezes
has anybody complained bout the poi lookup taking forever? that is the feature we use the most or will use the most
i meant butcherd by circuit city customer reviews
the magellan 4040 is very slow to reroute.voice promps at times dont match the screen display,screen display is correct.left right problem?my old 300 had better map! sorry,magellan.this is the last magellan for me.owned 3 magellan roadmates.all are better than the 4040.you cant talk to any magellan service tech that can understand you..MAGELLAN,,YOU ANT WHAT YOU USE TO BE.
I just purchased a 4040 and am extremely impressed! I have never owned a car gps before, but I really like this one. I think that they have addressed some of the earlier problems that I have read about with a firmware update. (mine has firmware version 2.04) The screen is big and bright, it reroutes immediately, (1 or 2 seconds, max.), the voice prompts are accurate and I can hear them even above road noise in my ‘65 Mustang, (cool, but not a quiet car). It connects through Bluetooth to my Cingular Razr phone easily and calls through it are clear on my end and for others. I am a AAA member and the amount of useful info is amazing. I am planning on taking a long road trip with my wife next week, (it will be in her car, I’m just trying it out :-), and then taking it with me when I help my daughter drive cross country when she moves next month, (I really like that it is portable). I think that the exit POIs from the freeway will be great, (I usually see the Starbucks after I pass the exit). So, in summary, I am very happy with this unit! I have not experienced any of the criticisms that I have read. From what I have read, I think that it offers a lot of bang for the buck and it seems that Magellan is paying attn. as they have addressed issues promptly with firmware updates. Two big thumbs up here!
Looking to purchase the 4040 for my parents who take yearly road trips across the US and Canada. Dad likes to route the trip first. Has there been an update yet that allows the trip to be routed on your laptop and then transferred via USB?
Not that I’ve heard about Janna.
Tim thanks for your quick response. I really liked the screen size, POIs and price for the 4040 and would like to be able to route on a laptop and download. Do you have another recommendation in the same price range ($500 or less) or will they just have to live without being able to route and download?
I have posted several longer reviews of this unit above. The bottom line is this…it has a flaw in routing that previous Magellan GPS units did not have. I own a Magellan 700 in my wifes car, and the 4040 in mine. I also owned a 760 before and used it for over 10,000 miles of trips.
We just used Google maps to route a trip to VA from NC. Google had us there is 5 hours, 15 minutes. The 4040 had us taking 6 hours, 30 minutes, taking a completely different route going out of the way to hit a major highway, and then coming back another 60 miles. That’s an extra 1 hours plus of driving, about 50 miles.
So, I routed the same trip on the Magellan 700. It was slightly different than Google Maps route, but only a few minutes and miles longer.
If I had not done my homework, the 4040 would have wasted one hour in the car with two little kids, and about $6 in gas.
I am putting my 4040 on Ebay and shopping a new unit. Hey Magellan, I expect your products to get better, not worse over time. The only things I really like better about the 4040 vs. the 760 are:
–Better reception of signal. No external antenna needed with my tinted glass.
–Zip Code entry for routing to an address, saves time entering rest of info.
–AAA POIs.
–Battery.
That’s it. Otherwise a unit you can pickup for under $200 refurbed does a better job (the Magellan 700)!
Janna, some of the Garmin’s have that function, but none of them that are as portable as the Maestro (like the StreetPilot 2xxx series and the Zumo series). The TomTom devices offer an application called HOME where you can operate your GPS from the application itself. There are also third party programs I’ve heard of that can do it, but I haven’t used many of them.
Does Magellan offer map updates? Garmin does and this is the most important thing!
Yes, Magellan offers map updates.
I just read their site on the 4040, says “No software/mapping avail”.
Are the updates as simple as plugging to USB and downloading?
I currently have a Garmin STreet Pilot III and I’ve just about had it with Garmin’s crappy maps. I spent $100 for an “updated map”. It still can’t tell me half of the roads I need to know.
Their website says that because there are not currently any map updates for that product since it is fairly new.
The maps typically come on a DVD which are then updated onto your device from the computer.
Which maps did you just purchase from Garmin? I ask because Garmin and Magellan use the same map vendor, NAVTEQ. Thus if you are unhappy with the maps you purchased from Garmin (depending on which you purchased) then you will likely get the exact same maps from Magellan.
Tim:
I purchased Mapsource City Navigator Version 6.11.3.
Many, many of the streets that are not in the Garmin software are in the Magellan. I verified today while playing with a 4040 @ Circuit City. I feel it was a waste of $100 from Garmin, so I’m thinking of going with the Magellan.
City Navigator version 8 is the update. woops.
Garmin’s “v9″ maps have just started to ship on new devices, and should be shipping as a stand-alone update very soon. That is one year newer maps than what you have with the “v8″ maps you purchased.
(I’m not saying you shouldn’t go with the Magellan, just providing the info.)
I am trying to decide whether to get the Maestro 4040 or the Garmin 660. This will be my first GPS and I want to give it to my son who will need for travel. So, I want to get the most accurate. I am really not interested in gadgets…just routing and traffic jams. Live in PA. I went into a local store to see both and they recommend looking at this site. WHAT A PLEASURE TO SEE ACTUAL REVIEWS. Anyway, I read that with the Maestro 4040 new 2.04 update, a lot of issues are corrected. I also was told the Garmin 660 is being discontinued but I find this hard to believe. My question is: has anyone had the chance to compare both and your thoughts. I am leaning towards the 4040 because the AAA is a plus feature. Thank you so much.
GM- Thanks for stopping by. If you haven’t already, you can compare features of those two devices side-by-side over here.
GPS is a rapidly growing technology so devices do get discontinued and replaced with newer models fairly quickly. I haven’t specifically heard about a successor to the 660, and it is probably a little too soon to consider it discontinued.
We just bought Motorola Maestro 4040 a week ago and it’s really work good. The only problem I have is that when you input zip code for Canada it would not recognize. Specifications said that it good for US, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Hello everyone,
I am new to all this, and have been doing a lot of reading, and on a number of websites. My wife and I just moved to another state (NY) and have been getting lost lately, so we decided to buy a GPS unit.
The problem that I find with most reviews is that they are very subjective. However, I would like to say that I think this site is great very comprehensive!
I went out and bought the Nuvi 350, and used it on a few trips. While we loved the interface, but unfortunately the routing was horrible! It took us on a two hour trip, but when we mapped it on google, it routed us with a total time of 45 minutes.
Anyways I returned it, and borrowed the Magellan 4000 from a friend, and I really like the interface, routing algorithm, and love the “Avoid a part of the route”
Ok, to make a long story short. I really need the maps of Canada, so I am looking at the 4040.
Anyways, would anyone be kind enough to recommend a device (300-500$). To us the most important features include TTS, maps of Canada, and can avoid certain roads (not only detours!). We could care less about MP3, photos…etc.
Again, thank you very much for taking the time in addressing this post. I really do appreciate it.
Jim
Jiminy, the only other device I can think of that has those features is the TomTom 720 that will be coming out in the next few weeks. Other than that I think you have it covered.
Tim,
I picked up the 4040 the other day an thus far like the inprovements over the 2200t that I had. My question is related to the volume, there is quite a difference in volume of my unit ie: “stay on I95″ then volume drops “exit 22A to right”, then also the blue tooth seems like the volume is pretty low. Is this common or might I have a defective unit. Thanks, Kinda hard to describe sound in text. eh/
I am looking at purchasing the Maestro 4040 and at same time I need to upgrade my cell phone and have looked at Motorazer V3a. I have not found a Bluetooth compatibility chart that lists Maestro line. Anyone have a resource or experience?
Dietrich - Are you experiencing speed linked volume?
Zeb - Look for the link at the bottom of this article.
Tim,
Does that mean I disregard the (except Maestro)for Magellan in the reference cited?
ooops, but no. Disregard the “not yet posted” and just click on the link.
Does the 4040 have a display option to tell you your current speed (mph)? We have a Lowrance 500c at work, and that was a handy tool to compare to the vehicles speedometer.
Yes.
I bought the 4040 about a month ago. The BlueTooth support list is very small (as it is for most Portable GPS units from other companies). I took a chance because my phone was not listed. I have a Samsung SPH-A640 and I am happy to report that it works. The issue I have with talking into this GPS is that although there isn’t much background noise, I have to talk VERY LOUD for it to actually pick up sound. The only pro I can make of this is that it doesn’t sound like I am driving as I have found many cheap cell-phone headsets sound. But be prepared to raise your voice to an almost uncomfortable level, otherwise you hear nothing but blips and beeps.
Oh and I have very few complaints about the accuracy, speed, or routing of the 4040. Sometimes it takes you on odd lefts and rights when you could just keep going straight and make one turn to get to the same street. I’m sure the more turns is shorter as a bird but more turns is generally slower than less turns.
How do I select Canadian address in Maestro 4040? I am trying to program it to go to Niagara Falls, Canada and only Niagara Falls, NY shows up.
What are you typing into the city field?
I bought the 4040 June 6th, 2007 and used it to take me from the Detroit, MI area to Martha’s Vineyard and back. It worked great. I never opened a map. Today, I found it will only stay on for 10 seconds and then shut off. The battery is fully charged. I’ve emailed the retailer and e-mailed Magellan. No response. I’m hoping someone will tell me this can be resolved in a timely manner, but I’m doubtful. Any clues?
Richard, try a hard re-boot using a paper clip in the little hole…if that does not work and it’s powered, sounds bad.
Hey Todd! Bullseye! That worked and it’s back-on-line! Thanks a ton partner!
Glad to help.
Now I will deflate your excitement. I have posted many times above, and can tell you for sure this is one buggy device. First, it requires hard reboots like that too often. Goes down more than a cheap hooker. Second, it has brain farts, and sends you off into loops that could waste tons of time. It recently wanted to take me off a straight shot ride on I-40 West, onto a detour that would have added 49 miles to my trip. When I ignored the exit, a few exits later it re-routed me, and the estimated mileage left on my trip went down 49 miles. It kept insisting I get off at later exits though, wrong each time it re-routed a couple of time! It confirmed it’s own stupid suggested route was a detour.
If you are going a long route, compare it to Google Maps, and 1 in 10 times you will find the 4040 is taking you via China.
I have a Magellan 700 in our other car, and had one that this replaced in mine. The much older GPS with current maps NEVER has this kind of routing issue, or need to hard reboot.
Todd
I was at Best Buy today playing with the 4040. Everytime I hit a button from the menu, the Magellan voice would repeat my command verbally (i.e. “Back”, “Cancel”, etc). Can that be turned off? I felt it to be very annoying.
Thanks, Kelly
I agree, annoying. There isn’t a way to shut it off that I ever found.
Tim - thanks for the quick response. Do you know if the Garmin 660 or TomTom 720 have this same annoying quirk? (these are the 3 I’m debating between). Thanks again! Kelly
I do know, and neither of them do.
Tim, Curious what your experience is with this issue re: 4040. When “calculating a route” it REPEATEDLY (like 8-10 times) reboots itself before finally getting the route. I’ve gone on the website multiple times for tech support and gotten emails, but they won’t send me an RA#. When you call, you can barely understand them. Wishing I’d gotten a Garmin……Thanks.
JT, I haven’t heard of that issue specifically before. (Although I’ve seen other reboot issues.) I’d check to make sure you have the latest firmware and if the problem persists, just keep pushing for an RA.
Jt, I have the same rebooting problem. I sent an E-mail asking for help on about 6 different issues, but the reply only addressed the rebooting issue. Will post their fix below as it may help with your problem. Tim, I asked Magellan for the latest firmware and the reply was “register your unit and when new update becomes available you will be notified”. I have one of the original 4040’s and there has been one firmware update 1.22 and none since. However, in the comments on this site as well as on other sites it has been noted that the newly manufacturered units have a 2.XX version. It would be nice to have since everyone says they can’t understand what we talking about because they don’t have the issues. The bottom line is that the only firmware is 1.22 and that’s not the latest and Magellan won’t provide the new one or give a date when it will be available. . .
E-mail reply from Magellan on rebooting issue below:
I understand from your mail that unit does not locate itself to the current
address and it kept recalculating. I request you to kindly reset the unit and
then follow these steps:
NOTE: If you are trying these steps from your vehicle, it is recommended to
follow when the vehicle is in a stationary position. In case you are trying
it from home, then follow these steps while you are on the terrace or near a
window with a clear view of the sky.
1.Be on the Main Menu screen, click on to User Options
2.Select Gps Options
3.Then Select Set Gps Position
4.Follow the prompts to enter the address where you are currently located.
5.Click on to Done once you have entered the address.
NOTE: It may take up to 20 minutes to get the signal under certain
conditions. If the unit does not receive signal even after 20-30 minutes,
then check for one of these possibilities:-
* XM-Radio by “Broady” in your vehicle. This instrument tends to distort the
GPS signal.
* Easy Pass/Speed Pass in your vehicle. This might also distort GPS signal.
Heat reflective windshield in your vehicle. This blocks the unit from
receiving the signal from the satellites.
If the issue still persists then I request you to kindly contact our
Technical Support (Voice Team) for further assistance in resolving this
issue.
If you have further queries, please get back us. Note: Kindly use the
support request form to submit any further queries. You can also contact our
Technical Support at 1-800-707-9971 for further assistance.
I have posted several detailed reasons why I think this unit is GARBAGE above. Search on my name… I consider myself a certified geek.
If anyone can find a real person to talk to at Magellan in the US, not India, please let me know. I would love them to refund my purchase or help get me a unit that works. I can’t get past the folks who barely speak English in India, or the Corporate switch board to find a person who cares.
++++++++++++++++++WARNING+++++++++++++++++++:
My 4040 has on multiple occastions (more than 3) sent me WAY OUT of the direct route to a destination, wasting or potentially wasting hours of driving.
I HIGHLY suggest this test and report your results here…
Take your GPS when it knows you are at home, and have it route 6 trips for you, Quickest Route. Note the estimated miles and time for each trip. Try to make trips of several hundred miles or more, some that take more than a couple turns and highway switches.
Now go to Google Maps or Mapquest, Google Maps is better in my opinion. Route the same trips.
I will bet that on at least one trip, 4040 will take you over an hour out of your way, especially if you are routing longer trip such as 500 miles or more.
I repeat, the Magellan 700 that came out years ago does NOT have this problem at all. It will be nearly identical in every case to Google Maps or Mapquest.
Todd, I totally agree with you! I have some of the same examples in Virginia where I would never travel the route that this unit gives me. My problem was that I didn’t know that this site and others existed when I bought the thing. When they first came out I had $350 in VISA bucks to use at the AAA shop, so the unit cost me $150. However, even at $600 the Garmin is looking good right now, but it’s too late for me. I really don’t think it matters whether you call them or write them they never answer your questions anyway.
Here is the text of my E-mail to them. This was the 3rd time I have asked for access to the new firmware. The first time they told me to register, which I already was, the other two times they never addressed the issue. Just awful!!!
Yesterday while driving to NY from Virginia the 4040 kept recalculating the route. It would then get hung up go back to the Magellan screen, make me go through the annoying disclaimer screen; this happened about 10 times before it finally found itself. Then, about 20 miles later it started all over again. As we got near the destination the GPS got totally confused and was 2 moves behind the actual location. On the way home I had to reboot the thing 5 times before it would give me a route home and then it got totally confused and had me going in circles around the block trying to find the BQE. When we got to the NJ / DE border it went back into the hopeless recalculating route routine and I just shut it off, at least I knew where I was at that point. I have a paperclip in each car so I can reset the thing, not if, but when it starts to act up. These are known problems with the first release of the 4040 as documented on many of the chat sites. The thing is that those who purchased the 4050 and newly manufacturered 4040 say what are you guys talking about we don’t have that problem. Well they have a new firmware version. Why can’t the people who jumped on the Magellan Maestro bandwagon in the beginning have access to the new firmware? I’m stuck, I bought this machine at the AAA office when they first came out and I can’t take it back. But I will tell you, if I could I would, and go buy a Garmin. All this bad press has go to be hurting your sales. Your staff needs to go out and look at some of these chats and get a clue. Bad press in one thing, but word of mouth sells and if you think I’m saying good things to the folks in my office about this GPS, think again. We all buy these things so that we don’t have to rely on maps. I really don’t trust this thing to get me were I want to go and that’s not why I bought it. The maps don’t keep recalculating the route and I don’t have to keep going through that annoying disclaimer screen!
Tim, have you had any time to do a qualitative match up between the Mag 4040 and TT720? Both sound good on paper and within my budget.But the 4040 reviews,so far, have not shall we say been ‘glowing’.The 720 seems too new to be getting many raves or rants.
I’ve played with the 4040 with old firmware and 4050 with the 2.04 firmware.A noticeable difference. I noted no firmware updates on the Mag site for the 4040 but the 4050 shows the 2.04 update. If I went with the 4040 could I just download the 4050 firmware?
OR, just go with the 720 and don’t look back.
Thanks for your informative site and ‘opinionated’ members!
Stan, what kind of match-up are you looking for? The 720 offers more from a specifications point of view, FM Transmitter, MP3 player, Photo viewer, a few more POIs, longer battery life, same size screen but smaller overall dimensions and weight. Both have the same MSRP price but the 4040 is now discounted more.
Thanks for the reply,Tim.Basically a ‘what gets you where you wanna go better’. Correct routing,better mapping, bluetooth and FM that work. Don’t really care about MP3,photo functions.
When 4040 came out I thought the AAA functions were neet, and I could feel good buying American!But the reviews and comments on it are scary. The 720 really sounds good, but if it doesn’t work in the ‘real’ world it doesn’t matter what the specs say.So far, reader opinions have favored the 720.(at least not too many comments of ‘throw it out the window and buy a Garmin’) Just wanted a ‘professional’ opinion before I spend my $400-500.
Thanks again
That is difficult to say. Rouging quality is highly subjective. Mapping quality is pretty equal between the devices, although the 720 could have an advantage with MapShare anding being able to receive updates from other users.
Blutooth and FM are interesting issues. Some device/phone combinations work great while some don’t work at all. Check the compatibility charts, and take it with a small grain of salt. The same goes for FM. For some people it is working great, for others it isn’t working well at all… on many devices.
The two areas people are having the most trouble with on the 720 are Bluetooth and FM. Many people report no issues at all, and the people without issues are not as likely to mention that they don’t have issues.
Overall, the 720 feedback I’ve been getting from customers is generally more positive than the feedback I’ve been getting on the Maestro series.
All, I had the 4040 from hell, as outlined briefly above. I use mine A LOT as I travel for work. Well, I was at my wits end while traveling in Memphis a couple of weeks ago after a message at tech support said they couldn’t even issue RA#’s that I had been waiting a week for because of a computer migration, and going through multiple reboots, so pulled over and called their corporate office in CA. After tearing into the unfortunate receptionist, she transferred me to Quality Assurance. The gentleman that I ranted at said he’d see what he could do about sending me a new unit. Yeah right I’m thinking, but he did indeed do so, and it arrived last week. I’m trying it out on another trip now, and intentionally trying to get it to “reboot” by getting in situations where the old one would, such as turning it on, (not kidding) or not following the suggested route and it having to “recalculate”. So far, no reboots. It is Firmware 2.04 where the original was 1.22. There are other subtle improvements such as font size as well. I just wanted to let everyone know that I think Magellan finally did the right thing in this case.
The new firmware is finally available for download. They swear it will end my griping. We shall see.
I recently purchased a Maestro 4040 with the 2.04 firmware and I am having issues where it locks up and won’t let you do anything. I assume this may be the re-booting issues that everyone is talking about? I see that firmware version 2.24 is available for download from the Magellan website. Has anyone used this newest version with positive results?
I’ve had the 4040 for 3 months now and no problems. A question though, does anybody know what this icon on the map is, a white circle with a red dot. It shows like a POI, but I can’t find it in the legend. Also, how can I install euro maps, they make a 4040 uk version with euro maps, we should be able to switch back and forth. Thx.
Got latest 2.24 firmware update. Fairly large and took longer than the last update, but no trouble.
Fonts and shading is improved. Est.time of arrival , etc. is added. Perhaps map DB as well since it was 100MB or so, if I recall correctly.
The latest 2.24 firmware upgrade has definitely helped my experience. My Magellan 4040 starts and shuts down much faster, fonts are better. Overall I find Est. Time Of Arrival to be accurate but time to time it shows a random time instead and that is a bit annoying.
Have any of you tried TrafficKit? I am thinking about getting one.
I just purchased the maestro 4040 from Costco. I’m new to this whole GPS thing. We got it because we moved, and our new neighborhood and newer retail stores are not on the GPS. If and when they update the maps, is that free, downloadable,…I read above about a CD–would they mail that or do we purchase it? I’m confused about the updating process in general. I thought other companies charge monthly for updated info, and that the 4040 did that for free? Help!
I’m not aware of any GPS companies that charge monthly for updated maps. Most companies offer updated maps about once per year, and they typically cost about $75-$150 depending on the coverage area and vendor.
Does Maestro 4040 indicate which side of the road your destination falls on? I heard only Garmin gives this feature, correct me if i am wrong.
This unit does tell you which side of the street a destination is on, as did previous Magellan units.
I have purchased a Magellan maestro 4040 and am happy with it. However, is there a way to download more detailed regional maps, etc. to the SD card. I so, how do you so it.
I am a GPS user at work everyday. We use the Garmin, and that was my first choice for personal use, but as I started to compare the two devices (Magellan 404, Garmin c503) I decided to go with the Magellan. Initially I was choosing the Garmin, but after reading comments about the software upgrade, I went with Maestro 4040. I am glad I did! If you are reading this comment, please take a look at the Maestro. It has a wide screen, excellent resolution, good speaker (as good as you can get in a small device), and easy interface. When I first accessed the interface, it seemed odd, or not to intuitive, but later I concluded it was because I was used to the Garmin interface.
The 4040 tracking to me is better than the Garmin. It shows me actually on the road, and not beside the road (sometimes) like the Garmin. When driving, if I go under an overpass, the 4040 is right on the money and shows me going under the overpass. When using the Bluetooth, the person I am talking with has no idea I am on a speaker; when asked, they say they could not tell,†it sounds normal.â€
I have no rerouting problems as some posters state. The unit recalculates with ease, and establishes a new route. It does request sometimes to “do a legal U-turnâ€, but if ignored, the recalculation is quick.
I can access my Longitude and Latitude from the 2D screen, and make it a destination for later trip. I have elevation and speed of travel from same screen. I can pan the map and select a destination, then route to it. I could go on about the ‘pro’s’ of the 4040, but will save time and just say, I am very please with the GPS.
I have one ‘con’ to the software. When accessing the ‘city’ portion of the search, it seems slow, and doesn’t give the largest city first, which to me seems logical. I like the way the Garmin is quick to give you choices to select for city in the search, and only after 3 letters. I am sure this is just a software fix, and hope it will change. I am now using my personal Magellan Maestro 4040 at my work. I am a paramedic, and the Magellan is my routing for emergency calls.
John, do you mean more detailed maps of the areas already covered on your device, or of new areas? If existing areas, no. If new areas then you are limited to what Magellan offers on their site.
We travel by Motorhome about 8 months a year. Just got back from a 7000 mile 3 month trip. I have used M/S Streets and Trip with GPS for several years. I am use to 15″ screen and multi point trip planning.
I want one for my wife’s car for mostly local trips. Screen clarity is important to our old eyes.
The new tomtom go 720 sounds good but I hate to be the early tester of new models.
Any recommendations?
Magellan has now made available the voice command function of the 4040. You need to upgrade the firmware, free, then there’s a $99 charge for an unlock code to make it work. Look on their website under software updates.
Happy with my 4040 and enjoying all the features. Except: it freezes in a location if the car is left there for a long time. First happened if kept in garage overnight,later also happened when parked outside overnight. I typically go to GPS options and set gps status to fix this. Very annoying. Any quick fix?
Travel experience has been excellent. I do miss the second voice option and the icon to switch 2d & 3d. These features were on Roadmate 700
Sham - the freezing was a bug in the V.2.04 firmware, you need to udate the firmware on the Magellangps.com website to the new v2.4
You’ll get another couple of oddball problems, but the freezing will be corrected. In my experiance.
I just purchased the 4040 and it’s current software is 2.36. I called the company because the web site said 2.24 is the most current but it is “not” 2.36 is. and my unit is working just fine. Hopefully they will publish this new Firmware for all of the 2.24’s out thier
I just bought one and had a couple of problems.
1. When talking on the blue tooth, it is ok for me but the other person complains of a real bad echo. this is from land lines and when talking to other cell phones.
2. It seems to take quite a while to acquire a satellite signal when I go across country. Then when it does get the signal, the map is frozen on the last screen I was on before I turned the unit off and hopped on the plane. I have to turn the unit off then back on again then it gets it right.
3. I read how one guy said on here he could pan the map. Mine does not do this. The only way to see whats around me off the screen is to zoom in and out. Is this normal?
Sam - (1) Is your phone on the supported list? If so I’d try to contact Magellan and see what they say. (2) GPS needs to know where to try to listen for signals, it typically uses the last known connection point as a basis for knowing where to listen. When you travel across country it needs to figure that stuff out again which can take time. As for the rest, you might want to ask Magellan about that. (3) There may be more than one way, but “Enter Address”, find the address where you want to start panning the map as if you were going to route there, then on the “Route Method” screen click on the map icon in the lower right under the big orange arrow.
The phone is on the list and I have emailed Magellan about it. they told me to unpair it then pair it back up again. I had already done this and it didn’t work. It might be the phone or service. When I use the phone’s speaker phone, people complain of the same problem.
I bought a Magellan Maestro 4040 today, Nov 3, 07, at [snip] for $[snip]. On the [snip] website it listed the price at $[snip]., but in the store it was $[snip] or $[snip]. This is the first auto GPS I have owned so I cannot compare it to anything. I had it up and running in less than five minutes and I drove to half a dozen addresses in my home town in Wilmington, NC. It took me “spot on” to each one, announcing the side of the street my final destination was on. When I ignored the route it mapped and drove “off course” it rerouted me quickly, usually in about 20 seconds - maybe even quicker than that once or twice. I laid it on my front passenger seat and it worked great as I used the text to voice to direct me. Sure, I just got in five or six hours ago but it looks great to me - accepting that all I really wanted a GPS to do was give me driving directions and help me find gas station, coffee, airports, and POIs. I am not interested in Blue Tooth capabilities, photo viewing, or other functions that some GPS units offer. I need a few weeks to really evaluate the 4040 but so far it’s great. I have not bothered to check the firmware version - since I see no problems yet. The packaging indicated the unit was assembled in Aug/07 - so it probably has the latest firmware.
Magellan 4040 purchased 11/19/07 returned 11/26/07
Advise: If you want something to take you to a specific address DON’T BUY a 4040!
The 4040 is a fantastic GPS navigator from point A to B, but fails getting you to C (the finale address)! It gets the major routes right every time. It is getting to the specific address that it fails miserably! My Son also has a 4040. We took both units in my car and compared them side by side to see if it was just my newer unit. I had the new firmware upgrade (2.24) but he did not. They acted in unison down to the finale address “You have arrived†over 10 times on 10 different destinations. You would “arrive†9 out or 10 times either 500 feet to 2 miles past or before your specific address! On one occurrence it was 2 miles off. It RARELY tells you if your destination is on the right or left side of the road. So if your night driving you will have to bring a flashlight to see address, especially since it will say “you have arrived†feet to miles from your real intended destination. It does get you to the right street 9 out of 10 times. Also my sons 4040 had a major melt down during the test. It locked up and had to have it’s major reset button pushed, then it took 5 minuets to lock onto the satellites again.
The ONLY time the two units were dead on target was when we were driving south in the fast lane of a 4 lane divided city road when the two 4040’s said “you have arrived†as we passed our intended target on the opposite side of the road on a un crossable divided road. The unit never told us which side of the road the destination was on, just “you have arrivedâ€. You have to whip your head around and physically look for your destination, then find somewhere to make a U turn to get back to it rather than it routing you through the previous stop light into the destinations parking lot.
All the features of this unit are excellent! The off ramp “exit Poi’s†were very helpful, yet again when you use them, they are 500’ to 2000’ off. It gets you close so you can see it go buy, or look for it after it says “you have reached your destinationâ€. I had a Magellan road mate 800 that was DEAD ON target 90% of the time. I would rather have it than this 4040!
I would like to add that 6ave (Sixth Avenue Electronics) have been very helpful on this matter and have promised a full refund! I would do business with them again!
I bought a Magellan Maestro 4040 some time ego, at COSTCO, I asked them if I would be able to download European maps, they said yes, and now that I am goimg to Italy I need my GPS there, but now Magellan support people told me that Magellan Maestro 4040 doesn’t have the option to do it.
Do you know if it is a way to download European maps into the maestro 4040 ???, or I have to but another GPS ? ?. Thank you.
There isn’t any way I’m aware of to add European maps.
HELP - I have learned more from your Q&As then from the mfg info. I am looking to buy my 1st gps. It MUST have multi destination routing (my friends and I take several trips a year stopping at as many quilt shops along the way as we can find). I would like it to optimize/sort the destinations in the best order. I would prefer the 4″ screen. I DO NOT want to pay for unnecessary features like music, photos, and bluetooth - it seems as if any unit with true multi destination planning is burdened with this “junk”. I want to be able to plan my route(s) BEFORE I hit the road, and enter and save my own destinations (preferably right from Google maps)in some sort of usefull order. Battery life is not a major issue as long as the unit operates and charges while the car is running - do they?? I would of course like the output to be current and reliable. I would like to keep the cost under $400. I hope you can advise.
Tina - Your best option is probably the Garmin Nuvi 750.
the 4040 works really nice, hangs once in a while, but only for a few seconds, ( ver 2.36). the only issue I find for some address it says you are there but you have a nother mile to go to really be there9 but thats using the AAA poi.
On a business trip today my 4040 directed past (what turned out to be the proper exit) to another exit almost 20 miles further down the highway and then directed me back for another 20 miles in the opposite direction on the same highway to the proper exit. There were no missed directions on my part, and there were numerous other exits that could have turned my around much sooner.
I guess I should have used my paper maps.
Love the 4040, you can plan multi stop trips, and rearrange them as you like. Sometimes quirky, but I think they all are. You can preview your route turn by turn if you’re unsure about the area. It’ll keep you from backtracking. I like the screen switching to night vision (black background) saves the eyes while driving.
i’m looking to buy my first gps system for my july 4th vacation this year, i was wondering wich gps is best, im only looking to spend around $300 or less,all i care for is text to speak, lots of poi,(like 5 million or more),and the ability to have more than one destination,i was looking at the tom tom’s garmin and magellan’s just not sure wich models are best, also do any of these makers offer a free map upgrade
i wrote question #122 but i thought of another question is it possible to get a gps system for under $200 with alot of poi and text to speech
i wrote question #122 but i thought of another question is it possible to get a gps system for under $200 with alot of poi and text to speech, no matter what brand it is,also wich brand has the best customer service rating
I had magellan maestro 4040 for about six month. It worked fine until now. It won’t get charged in the car nor in the house. It has one bar left on battery sign. I can turn it on by pressing power botton or by reset button but it only stays on for a few second and turns off.
Does anyone with same problem?
I just bought the Magellan Maestro 4040 and I’m pretty happy with the unit. However, I just don’t like the fact that there isn’t any map upgrade available yet. Well I emailed Magellan Support about any map upgrade for the unit, but the person told me that they don’t know when. Instead he told me to keep checking for updates on their website. If you want updates with maps I think you’re better off with a Garmin Nuvi GPS unit.
Actually the map on your Maestro is from NAVTEQ’s Q3 2006 release… the same as the most recent available from Garmin. Magellan says they expect to release a map update for your device sometime between April and June.
hi folks,
just bought a maestro 4040 lots of great features! Voice command is a nice to have feature but the price to upgrade for that feature is outrageously high ($99.00), I’ll be glad to know someone who has already experinced voice command & weather it is effective? [snip] regards!
i am currently using the 4040 with version 2.36
it seems to work great.At first it didn’t seem accurate but after i entered my home address while at home it now works fine.The only beef i have with it is there seems to be nowhere to download POI’s for truckers ( ie. scales truck stops truck routes etc.)
re message 78
To turn off voice ….user options/system settings/volume/mute It will of course mute everything to return voice touch unmute
I just purchased a 4040 yesterday. The internal battery does not hold a charge, the store is getting me a new battery. Just now I checked the version I have (since I see there are different ones) I have the 2.04!!! Isn’t this the first version??? Can it be downloaded from their website? This was the last one in the store, so I can’t get a different one… AM I doomed?
What a piece of junk! For $450, I expected much more from this device. I have had this for about 3 weeks and did the firmware upgrade. Here are the issues I am having.
1. Exit POI’s don’t work at all
2. Bluetooth phone connection - you can hardly hear the caller. You also get a weird pulsating sound.
3. Bluetooth phone connection - Every time the phone rings a stupid pop-up message says “connected to short message service failed” . That’s not even proper English!
4. Bluetooth phone connection – constantly has to reconnect/ logon with code between my phone. I have a new ATT Tilt phone.
5. 4 out of 5 locations are not correct. Email me for specifics.
6. While working in the Rockford, Il area, the “GPS” went totally haywire. It had no idea what street I was on. The signal was not blocked at all. Also the unit insisted I drive through a building that had been in that area for 10 years. When I went around it it gave me totally different directions. It thought the road was still open.
7. While switching from screen to screen, the “voice” sounds garbled. (did not do this previous to the firmware upgrade)
8. The unit often hangs and needs to be rebooted.
9. The “voice” often stops working totally.
10. Many POI’s aren’t even listed. Even for places that have been around.
11. IL-355 South is not totally mapped. There is a 15 miles stretch that the “GPS” thought I was driving through a field. This is a major highway and is unacceptable that it is not mapped into the system.
Hi - I know you have addressed this before, but I too purchased the 4040 from Costco with the understanding that you can upload maps - particularly UK, but now understand that you cant. As Magellan sells the identical model in Europe with EU maps, whi isnt it possible? Are there any 3rd party vendors that can provide UK maps for this model?
Hi Michael, I can’t think of any good reason why Magellan doesn’t offer those maps. Unfortunately, I don’t know of any third party providers either.
I have the 4040 and want to know if anyone else is bothered by the brightness of the screen at night even after it changes to night view. I had an older one (I think it was the 760) and the screen would brighten or dim with the light conditions even in the day light. Can anyone tell me if there are any newer models I can get that will do this?
Michelle - I assume you have turned the brightness setting all of the way down?
Yes, I turn the brightness setting all the way down at night and back up when I use it during the day and that works fine but the older model had a little light sensor on the front of it that did this automatically.
Then I think you’ve done everything you can. I don’t recall any of of the other newer Magellan models that have an ambient light sensor.
I am thinking of a Magellan 4040 GPS. It comes with North American software. Can I add United Kingdom/European MapSend or other software to the unit.
LeMar - I’m not sure why, but Magellan has chosen not to offer UK compatible maps for the Maestro– despite the fact that the same GPS can be purchased in the UK with UK maps.
I bought a Magellan because the Costco guys said you could download European maps = but you cant! Not even illegally! Stay away from it. I sold mine (almost new) and got a tomtom Go 920 which has NA and Europe
I bought the 4040 from [snip, see comment policy], it outperforms any gps at that price, my friend has a $500 garmin and the 4040 recalc a route much quicker. I guess if you are a world travler then get the tomtom.
I have a Magellan 4040 which I purchased in Dec 2007. It had been working fine until four weeks ago when it would lock up and would not recognize where it was located. We figured that problem out but now it would not hold a charge while plugged to the car charger. Has anyone had this problem? Thanks
I think you have warranty on that still.
Isabel, try doing a master reset by pushing a pin or paper clip into the reset hole. This has Un-stuck my 4040 a couple of times. Then make sure you go to the Magellan web site and download the latest firm ware.
hi Isabel,
You can use the reset hole to refresh the gps.Take a paper clip or a pin put it into the reset hole and hold for few seconds..make sure the gps should be turned on while doing this and you should be under clear view of sky.After doing the reset the GPS will reboot.Then go to options—>Scrool down to Gps Status –> set GPS position and enter your current address.Now you will be getting a map screen..On the top left corner if you find green bars it mean the GPS got good signal (Which will take few seconds).Then punch some nearby address and go for drive…The GPS will work…