Modern day GPS devices are essentially miniature computers. Many have a compact version of Windows, called Windows CE, installed, and the GPS software runs over top of it. However, GPS manufacturers often lock out this extra functionality. There are different packages and ways to unlock your GPS, however because there are so many different brands, it isn’t always one-size-fits-all.
I Googled for information on unlocking the Magellan RoadMate 1424 (the GPS I have) but the only information I found was a couple of people who couldn’t do it. Not deterred, I set off and entered the unknown. Read on for my story (spoiler: it ends in success). A popular GPS unlocking distribution is. It is compatible with a very wide variety of GPS devices, though it was original designed as a way to free Mio branded devices. Because most GPSes have Win CE 5 as the operating system, MioPocket will run (it has support for CE 4 till 6.) In searching for people who had tried to unlock their RoadMate 1424s, I found forum thread. It seemed like neither of the two posters had any luck.
Regardless, I began the quest, hoping that I would be able to figure something out. I won’t repeat the steps for installation, because they are available in the read-me file when you download the MioPocket software. However, there is a remark to be made about the 1424:.
There is no SD card slot. Therefore, the non-permanent, no-risk SD card method is out of the question for this device. This means that modifications must be made to the device’s internal flash memory, at the risk of “bricking” the GPS. At this point, before I could copy over the MioPocket files, I needed to clear room. Before you do the following, make a folder on your PC and copy EVERYTHING in the Magellan drive (when you plug your GPS to your computer) into this folder. That way, you have a backup if anything goes wrong. Should anything go wrong, don’t panic.
Simply make sure it is plugged into your USB port, move the switch to reset, wait a couple seconds, and turn it back on. It should go to USB mode in about 5 seconds, allowing you to restore the files. Digital film restoration. Here is a list of files I deleted, that shouldn’t cause any problems. In the APP folder, go to the SOUNDS folder.
If you only need English (or French, or Spanish) delete the two other language folders. In the APP folder, go to the speech languages speech vautov5 folder. In there, find the name of the language(s) you want to keep. In my case, Samantha was english (enu). I deleted the two others. Go up one level, and go into the components folder. In there, I also deleted the files associated with the languages I didn’t want, making sure to keep all the files for Samantha/enu.
Go back to the APP folder. In there, there is a demo.avi video file. It is around 20MB, and takes up enough space. It doesn’t serve any purpose for us, so it can also be removed. At this point, there is enough room to install MioPocket. However, should you wish to make more room, there was one more set of files I deleted that I didn’t really need. In the MAP folder, I removed the AAATBPOI.poi file.
This is just a point of interest file, with locations I think for service stations, etc. I never used it, and figured I could free some room to store a bit of music on the device. The NATraffic.trf file I could also do without, since I don’t think this GPS really supports the full traffic reports feature. Besides, I didn’t need it. Finally, if you really need space, and you don’t need any points of interest, you can just delete the NAPOI.poi file, saving you almost 320MB. I configured the GPS through all the steps I could in the read-me, and started it up. The read-me said that the device should begin to load, and prompt me whether I wanted to boot the built in Navigator software, or run MioPocket.
However, I encountered the same problem as the other people in the forum: it just sat at the loading screen. To get it working Make sure you do try to boot it at least once after you copy the files to your GPS. It will hang, but let it sit for at least 3 minutes as it will still copy some important files. I did two things before I got it working. I don’t think the first thing solved the issue, but I will mention it anyway.
I opened the Navigator.mscr file (in the MioAutoRun folder on the GPS) in notepad. I then scrolled to the following section, and changed some code. This may not be necessary, but I thought that the setup process was hanging up on the resolution detection. Then, when that still didn’t fix it, I tried one final thing. I opened the MioAutoRun folder that I copied to the GPS, and opened the MioPocket.ini file that had been created when I first powered it on. In there, I changed one setting: right near the top, the first option Unlock, I set StartupMenu=0.
This means it won’t ask what you want to start from, it will simply starting in MioPocket right away. That solved the problem. Power it on, and let it go.
After about 2 minutes it will restart in MioPocket (probably a bit less). And it all works now. Having done this, I realized that this isn’t the right GPS to use as an in-car entertainment device. Yes, it can now play movies and music, with easy to use buttons. However:.
No bluetooth. No wifi. No headphone jack.
No SD card slot This means it cannot be hooked up to your stereo, it cannot sync with your phone, or go on the internet (wirelessly), and without an SD card slot, there really isn’t a lot of room to store any music or video. See, I really did check to see if I could modify it anymore, but there are no places for a headphone hack or SD slot.
Tiny motherboard, almost smaller than an Arduino! Final Thoughts A lot of the programs do not run correctly with this software for me. However, WMP (Windows Media Player) runs fine, the file managers and most utilities work, and I can still open the original Navigator software and use it as a GPS. But it really is not usable for what I would want ideally. Windows Media Player Control Panel I love how most custom portable OSes incorporate the iOS lock screen.
Well, the second mod you suggest, “StartupMenu=0” got Miopocket to run(sort of) on my Magellan 1424! The first mod was not necessary.
The problem I now have is getting Miopocket to launch apps. The MP Settings icon will not run so that I can update the various file paths. Any suggestions? I’m trying Miopocket 3 (R59) to see if it is any better. One thing users should note is that there are a couple of reboots during the installation process. Give it time!
It looks like the unit has hanged, but it hasn’t. I finally got MioPocket 3 to work! Initially, the MP Settings icon was working, but I still couldn’t get it to launch the nav program (iGo Primo).
BTW, the same mod to “StartupMenu” is necessary as with ver 4. Anyway, I played around with the GAPI settings (icon on settings page) to select an alternate GAPI setting (or something like that) because the Mag 1424 was not in the list of devices. I think I also modified the Unit.xml file to only load application “175” at startup. This might have helped. MioPocket 3 is not perfect; if I hit the “rotate screen” icon, the screen goes into portrait mode and can’t be rotated back. Also, how am I supposed to put the unit to sleep without powering down (i.e., reset)?
It takes forever to cold boot. I’ll figure it out eventually. Softbutton also works as a launcher. It’s pretty easy to setup and very minimalist. The trick to using it is to kill mgnshell.exe prior to (or after, I suppose) launching your navigation app. I’ve come a long way, and I couldn’t have done it without your info. Hi, Yeap, this is an original unmodified GPS, fresh out of the box.
Plug and play. Bought in late 2010. With regards to POI suggestions, you can choose to show on the display if you want but I “uncheck” everything. The adds is annoying and blocked my up coming road names. Okay, for the kicks, I plugged the GPS into my computer a few minute ago. Open the applications, make copies of the entire program to my computer, just in case.
I notice there is “AdSet.bin” file with log of today date and time?? I used my gps half an hour ago. Is this the app you mention earlier? This is where we reach the boundaries of legality.
A quick google search doesn’t reveal any obvious sources of open source maps. The map updates are themselves products sold by the GPS companies – they are there to make money, not friends. As such, to download official maps freely would likely be considered piracy. So unfortunately, I do not know where you could find free updates. For my usage, I haven’t needed to update maps since the roads I frequent most haven’t changed so drastically as to lead to frustration.
I wouldn’t be surprised if success varied by model, perhaps the firmware differs and some work differently to modify. I noticed I didn’t say which version of MioPocket I was using in my post. I used Version 4 – R68, which is the one I directly linked to. However, there are a lot of other releases, so just double check you used the same version I did. That could also affect your success. Maybe some of the files didn’t get copied over properly.
If you haven’t tried yet, recopy the Mio files again, to make sure nothing is missing or damaged. Did you make a backup of everything?
Before ending up with a soft-bricked device, I would make sure I could get back to a functional, stock unit. You just need to delete the files you copied over, and restore the ones you removed. Better this than a non-functional unit. Sorry, I meant hardware revision, not model. Still, check that you are using the same version of MioPocket, and even then, try experimenting with other versions too, maybe another one will work better. I was lucky and only those two modifications had me up and running, but it may be more involved for you.
I won’t pretend that I know how MioPocket works inside and out, I haven’t touched it since I wrote the article. Dig around, read config files, get a sense of what MioPocket does, how it works. If you can’t figure it out, as long as you have a backup, you can go back to square one, and try from a different approach. Chances are you won’t be able to, easily or legally.
Map upgrades are very protected by GPS makers, they want you to pay $70 for a one-time upgrade! The GPS cost the same. I don’t know if the map format is identical from device to device, or if they put safeguards to prevent using maps from one device on another. If you found someone else with a Magellan GPS, you could experiment by copying their maps to your device. Or, if you follow the instructions in this post to unlock Windows CE, you could find a Windows CE GPS software that has South American maps.
If you are unable to gain any kind of control on the device itself (ie, you can’t open any applications), the next logical step would be to try to restore it to default state. Unfortunately, you cannot connect to it for mass storage. Thus, the next step would be to find a way to force it into mass storage mode. I know of no way to force this.
Perhaps there is a hidden recovery mode, triggered by holding reset for a certain amount of time? I no longer use the GPS, so I’m not as familiar with it as I was. Guys did you manage to revuve a MioPocket bricked Magellan device? My has no sd card slot, after I installed miopocket is kept rebooting saying it has not enough memory and has to reboot to optimize performance. Then I used uninstall MioPocket from startup menu and now it hags on some miopocket file error missing.
How To Update My Magellan Roadmate 1200 Gps
USB does not mount, it is recognizable but it just wont mount drive to access files. ANY idea to do hard reset?
(tried holding power slide like 5 minutes, nothing helps) I even unscrew the device and tried do shortcut many pins to reset flash. Plz give me some more ideas. I need that device back ?.
Reply by joneffect on July 24, 2011 The Tech Support isnt much, but magellan is a Growing company whom is competing in a VERY almost Monopolized business between Garmin and TomTom. Give them a year or two to get on their feet with the Tech Support. I bought my Magellan 2136t-lm today at Best Buy, and it works amazingly great compared to my TomTom. Tom loses reception alot, long load times, EXPENSIVE maps, and a less than mediocre interface for the touchscreen which becomes inaccurate after a couple months. The only problem I've had with it, is the Content Manager which I can't seem to get to install on my Vista. My Magellan comes with free map upgrades for the life of the device and a lifetime 10% discount on all accessories and extra apps which can be installed on the device. To the ANSWER- you can contact support via email (supposedly immediately) at [email protected] - for the US.
For more info visit www.magellangps.com and navigate to Product Support.
I was going to come back and comment how Woot amazed me with quick shipping, reminds me of back in the day. But I get on and see nothing but people whining about not getting their woot yet. Since Woot hit the big time shipping delays have understandably happened and even though I'm a one day ground shipment away from Woot HQ I have come to expect a wait for my goodies. But this time I ordered my GPS and also some SD cards from Newegg at the same time and my Woot beat my Newegg order here which is astounding - although Newegg has switched to DHL's version of smartpost for free shipping so I probably shouldn't be that surprised.
Anyway good job Woot, don't let the haters/newbies get you down. I'm just waiting on 4GB non-sdhc cards to arrive so I can make with the hacking. The base software on it is not that awful despite all the downing it got in the forum, I played with it today and other than it coming up with some wacky reroutes when I intentionally went off its routes and having British English conventions like Petrol stations when I tried to look up gas stations, it's not bad at all. The day/night view switching is awesome for one thing.
This would have been a decent purchase without the hackability for sure. :I was going to come back and comment how Woot amazed me with quick shipping, reminds me of back in the day. But I get on and see nothing but people whining about not getting their woot yet. Since Woot hit the big time shipping delays have understandably happened and even though I'm a one day ground shipment away from Woot HQ I have come to expect a wait for my goodies. But this time I ordered my GPS and also some SD cards from Newegg at the same time and my Woot beat my Newegg order here which is astounding - although Newegg has switched to DHL's version of smartpost for free shipping so I probably shouldn't be that surprised.
Anyway good job Woot, don't let the haters/newbies get you down. I'm just waiting on 4GB non-sdhc cards to arrive so I can make with the hacking. The base software on it is not that awful despite all the downing it got in the forum, I played with it today and other than it coming up with some wacky reroutes when I intentionally went off its routes and having British English conventions like Petrol stations when I tried to look up gas stations, it's not bad at all. The day/night view switching is awesome for one thing. This would have been a decent purchase without the hackability for sure.
Sounds great! - how much did it run you for the sd card? Got mine today, yes FedEx delivers on Saturday - amazingly similar to the Pharos (smaller screen size) I got from Newegg (for more money), it works awesomely, had Destinator 8 on it (2007 maps) when it arrived with NO ISSUES - went from dead off cold to finding 9 satellites in 20 seconds - cannot be beat for the price. ONLY complaint is that the speaker has a little distortion at higher volume, but I can live with that for what I paid.
Upgraded to the GPS software with more current maps I wanted to use, works like brand new $400 unit out of the box. (Although for me with the exception of ONE interchange that was recently rebuilt it worked wonderfully prior to modding). Also got Garmin to run on it with no issue - amazing little unit it is! NOTE: THERE IS NO PHYSICAL WAY THIS WILL WORK WITH SDHC CARDS, DO NOT EVEN TRY. :Got mine today, yes FedEx delivers on Saturday - amazingly similar to the Pharos (smaller screen size) I got from Newegg (for more money), it works awesomely, had Destinator 8 on it (2007 maps) when it arrived with NO ISSUES - went from dead off cold to finding 9 satellites in 20 seconds - cannot be beat for the price.
ONLY complaint is that the speaker has a little distortion at higher volume, but I can live with that for what I paid. Upgraded to the GPS software with more current maps I wanted to use, works like brand new $400 unit out of the box. (Although for me with the exception of ONE interchange that was recently rebuilt it worked wonderfully prior to modding). Also got Garmin to run on it with no issue - amazing little unit it is! NOTE: THERE IS NO PHYSICAL WAY THIS WILL WORK WITH SDHC CARDS, DO NOT EVEN TRY.
It sounds like you're enjoying it, I can't wait for mine to arrive. Could you, please, tell me how you got the Garmin system onto your SD card. Did you have it on disk or download it? As far as the sound quality.just hook it up to your Saitek MYSPKR:D. :gregbowman, please check your private message.
FedEx Home Delivery delivers Tuesday - Saturday. I haven't have a dud yet from Woot, but this is making me nervous. It seems a hit-or-miss with this gps. For those whose units are not operational, how are you getting it repaired or exchanged if the manufacturer seems non-existent? It is possible to exchange in-store at Staples?
There are quite a few of Staples in my area. Mine came today.
I was pretty surprised since I just got the email about 2 days ago (although I didn't read it). Fired it up, and I'm initially very impressed. Granted I've never had a GPS before so maybe my standards are low. But after reading reviews about 10-minute satellite sync time, and stickers and yellow cards in the box warning of the same, I was shocked when I booted it up, and once the system loaded, I had dead-accurate GPS within like 10 seconds. Maybe we just have good sat coverage here in Minneapolis.
I haven't used it 'for real' yet but did drive around the neighborhood, and it worked well. I even had it find a nearby grocery store via the POI's. Thanks woot for great service and a great value. :Woot Haus, Get ready for a flood of these headed back your way. More lock-up than Tango and Cash or Shawshank. Note for those of you looking here for help. The warrenty contact info for the manufacturer is all disco'd.
(1 888 544-6628 and www.NavSupport.net/gps/16878) Neither Exist. No Staples store here in St Louis to exchange item. This is my first unsuccessful woot.
Try again, I copied the address to NavSupport and it exists. It states that Staples is the warrantor. I don't know whether or not they will warranty units purchased from other than Staples, though. I guess woot!, Buy.com and others are acting as a clearinghouse for these units.
Here's the manufacturer, i don't know if they would honor the warrantee. They are in Taiwan. :I had mine with me in the car (husband was driving) and it couldn't find any satellites in over 30 minutes. Mine took a while the first time, but later, it found them almost instantly. I did a side-by-side test with my Magellan Roadmate 1200, and I must say, I like the Omnitech a lot better - and I haven't even hacked it yet. It worked for quite a long time without being hooked to the power adapter, and the maps had more detail.
Hackability is a big plus - the Magellan maps are tied to its 1GB card by some sort of security measure and cannot be backed up or moved to a larger card (thus allowing a larger POI database). The Omnitech allowed me, on the other hand, to move its software and maps to a 4GB (non-HC) SD card, which gives me breathing room to do a lot more. Now on to the hacking. I plan on trying several different software systems on this, one freeware one is the MIO software (I think). Pretty much any PocketPC Windows CE ARM-based (The Omnitech also has 32MB RAM) software will run on this, so there is a variety of stuff you can load.
Got Omnitech GPS Today. This.$.#$.#.$.# thing is a PILE OF CARP. I turned it on and followed instructions and it worked great for about five minutes and then the SCREEN WENT BLANK. Power light still on (RED) because charging.
Tried to reset it and it rebooted and then worked for another minute and then the SCREEN WENT BLANK again. PIECE OF JUNK. Yes, I tried removing the card and resetting. It reset and half way through booting up. The SCREEN WENT BLANK again. I have a Garmin that works fantastic and never has frozen in TWO YEARS of use. I guess you get what you pay for!!!!!
I hear a lot of others having the same problem. Did this happen to you? There is going to be a big stinking pile of GPS WOOT FODDER!!!! For those of you not familiar with the word fodder. Here is the definition from the Urban Dictionary. Fodder:'or Bantha Fodder. Used to express something foul, as derived from the Star Wars sense.
Also, 'Penn and Teller's show!' ; something that is no good, a load of koi or a sketchy place/situation. ' Describes the Omnitech well I think. :Is it running Win CE 4.2 or 5.0? I won't get mine until March 4, according to FedEx. WinCE 5.0 I'm doing a little 'hacking' right now, and I find that I have to track down some tools to modify the WinCE settings. The only thing I've done successfully so far is modify the wallpaper in the ROM image and update the skin to exit the destinator software.
Combined with the 'Pharos150Package' (copying all files but the destinator directory) I now have a bunch of WinCE programs that I can navigate, once 'out' into the desktop. Hmm, maybe my good review above was premature. We used it on the way to the gym tonight, and it (again) worked fine.
Going home, we used the QuickNav button (which I had already pre-programmed for 'home') to see how it tried to route us home (going there we just used the maps). But the darned thing couldn't figure out where we were at all. All the way home (about 5 minutes and 3/4 mile), it bounced around different roads within about a mile of where we really were, spitting out confused directions to try to get us home from the random point it thought we were. Out of curiosity I went to the 'GPS Signal' screen and it said that it had located 5 satellites.
Not sure what 'normal' is but you'd think it could figure it out from there. We'll see how it works again tomorrow. Well, this is my first WOOT. I would like to say, first, that the price was right. Second, I would like to say the following, the shipping inhales sharply and creates suction! I don't blame it all on WOOT either.
FedEx has had my package since 2/26. It is supposed to be out for delivery today. 5 1/2 days to get from Texas to Virginia? I guess I am getting what I paid for. Maybe WOOT could offer a UPS option?
Purchased 2/20, shipping info received by FexEx on 2/24, picked up by FedEx on 2/26, left for Charlotte, NC and arrived there on 2/27, sat around somewhere for 3 days then showed up in Hagerstown, MD on 3/2, left there for Chesapeake, VA on 3/2, arrived in Chesapeake on 3/3, out for delivery 3/3. If it hadn't sat around for 3 days I would have gotten it on 2/28, 8 days after I ordered it. That would have been more acceptable to me. Mumbo Jumbo Woot.com is operated by Woot Services LLC. Products on Woot.com are sold by Woot, Inc., other than items on Gourmet.Woot which are sold by the seller specified on the product detail page.
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. 1 Answer SOURCE: Hi guyz I pretty much did the same thing!!! I bought this gps for my girlfriend for valentines from a friend and i was trying to restore it to its factory default and the only option i found was repair and i did an internal memory format like a.! Well everything seems to be fine but no audio at all! I've done lots of research and it seems to be that the only way to fix it is by restoring the sounds files but where can i get them? I MEAN magellan doesn't provide any support any more due to the unit is discontinued!
I mean how messed up is that? AND why would they provide with such a horrible option? Can anyone please please please help me? Please I'm going crazy here!:( Posted on Feb 13, 2008. The Magellan Roadmate 300 and 300R both require preloaded map data to be supplied from an SD card.
You can't just pop any card into the slot and get it working. It requires a card of 2GB or less loaded with Magellan mapping software.
Magellan provides nationwide maps and regional maps. The 300R was a regional unit while the 300 included a national basemap. If you have a model 300, you can still use the highway basemap to get routing from city to city but you will not have detailed address routing at the residential street level unless you insert an SD card with Magellan software.
If you have a 300R model, the unit will be useless without the Magellan software on an SD card. Magellan doesn't seem to offer much software support for this unit any more and the maps are difficult to find. Dec 04, 2009. I had the same problem caused by reformatting the internal memory and this is what I did which worked for me: Make sure you remove any SD memory cards before trying this fix. First: find the base maps (NABSMAP.mgi and NABSMAP.nlt)maps which are located in your computer in the Magellan Roadmate Manager (C: ProgramFiles Magellan Magellan RoadMate Manager NA Map Basemaps) Second: Connect your Roadmate with the USB cable to your computer. Third: Plug in USB and power up your GPS.
Cut and paste the two files mentioned above to your GPS (Devices with Removable Storage (example E:/). They are approximately 25 MB in size and will take a few minutes to copy. Fourth: Unplug the USB cable and shut power off to the GPS.
Fifth: Power up the GPS and it should find the 'base maps'. Dec 26, 2007.