Do I need a special (old) USB stick + Sat Nav is pants + a few other questions...

Non-Technical Nissan QashQai chat. Mk2, Mk3
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mrmatrix
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Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:41 pm
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai - J11 (2013–2017)

Post by mrmatrix »

A few questions...

- Playing music from a USB stick, if I use a new USB 3 stick, it doesn't work.
Instead, I use an old USB 2 stick. Am I missing something? Or is it just like that - I have to use USB 2?

- Like with all other (I guess) built in Sat Nav's, it's pants because it doesn't take into account local traffic conditions.
Google is great. Is there ANYWAY of improving the SatNav somehow?

- Dashcam. Has anyone installed? Are there guides somewhere? I saw one youtube guide, that seemed quite good. Just wanted to see others. Ideally, I want back window as well.

- Nissan Connect, I installed, but it keeps on rejecting my VIN. What is the app useful for?

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calnorth
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Post by calnorth »

Most USB systems are backward compatible ..it would be sheer magic if they were forward compatible.

The Sat Nav is not improvable except for map updates that are likely 12 months old before we get the update?

Search this site for dash cams...plenty of posts on it incl. rear fitting.

Nissan abandoned Connect about 3 years back...no reason given.
Mk2 Qashqai Facelift - J11b (2017–and onward)
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MikeGC
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Post by MikeGC »

Map updates - search for a chap on here called Black Rojer (spelling ?)
He seems to have the most up to date mapping software at reasonable prices (note - I haven't bought from him personally).

This Nissan App. has always been useless and I think Nissan have stopped supporting it

Music - Never tried USB, always had an iPod and/or iPhone which work very well through the cable/USB port
March '22 - J12 1.3DIG-T 160 CVT Tekna+ with all wheel drive - Pearl Black
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fbgqashqai
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Post by fbgqashqai »

USB stick needs to be formatted as FAT32. FAT32 by rights can only format upto a 32Gb USB stick, There are bits of free software online that can get around this such as this http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index. ... format.htm. I use a 64Gb stick plugged into the USB port under the armrest. It is not the quickest system to index this much data but I have found that the way you store music on the stick can make quite a difference. I organise music under a folder called 'music' (I seem to recall there is a reasonably low limit on the number of files in a root directory). I create a folder under 'music' for each artist and then place all tracks I want for the artists in this folder i.e. no sub-folders for albums. This speeds up indexing but obviously precludes searching for tracks by album. I generally have the head unit set to play random tracks so no issue for me. The SatNav is not the best in the world but it does pick up traffic problems via the radio and will offer alternative routes. Mine seems to work fairly well and once you have played with the default speeds at which you tell it to drive differing road types its reasonably accurate with route planning times. Where I live in Cambridgeshire there have been major changes to the A14 over the past few years despite being up to date with the latest map update from NIssan, most of the changes are still not showing.
fbgqashai 2017 J11a N Connecta 1.5DCi in Silver
mrmatrix
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Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai - J11 (2013–2017)

Post by mrmatrix »

Thanks for the replies guys.
Just to be clear... a USB3 stick should be OK, as long as below 32GB.
I think the ones I tried must have been 128GB.

The whole operating system and interface was written by a mad person with no human skills.
But... I guess that is not just Nissan, others are like this.

Satnav: in this day and age, it's crazy to have such bad sat nav.

I've got a little magnet on the grill. The phone is stuck on there.
mellers
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Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai Facelift - J11b (2017–2021)

Post by mellers »

Just coming in late here, you can format bigger usb sticks and cards (ie bigger than 32Gb) by using EaseUS Partition Manager 14.5 Free edition. It is available on the company site hiding under the top nav for Partition Manager. The free trial on the front of the site doesn't do this.
hth
Mel
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Weasel
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Post by Weasel »

I think I must be the only one that actually likes the old SD card version of the satnav, I love the turn by turn signals displayed on the screen between the dials and the route re-calculation happens instantly when you deviate, it is so much faster than any TomTom I have ever had which always took an age to re-calculate.

It's never going to be as good as Google Maps, Waze or AmiGO, but for me it does the job when I use it.
19 plate 1.5dCi n-connecta in Magnetic Red
mrmatrix
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Post by mrmatrix »

@weasel
You really are missing out on life 😛
Google Maps and Waze look at the traffic conditions and will give you the *best* route to a place
This could be a difference of 1 hour say - avoiding road works somewhere.

Car manufacturers are amazingly dumb.
This isn't new technology... it's about 8 years old I guess.

I still don't understand why many (most) still have a gigantic head unit for the car radio - must weigh 1-2kg.
Something that can do less than a mobile phone for entertainment.
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Weasel
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Post by Weasel »

mrmatrix wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 6:03 pm @weasel
You really are missing out on life 😛
In that case, it might be time for me to climb out from under my rock and embrace technology :lol:
19 plate 1.5dCi n-connecta in Magnetic Red
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