Possible Problems With Navigon 2.0

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Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

If you are a Navigon user, I would encourage you not to update to version 2.0 just yet.

I've updated to this new version and am experiencing major problems.

The update installed fine. I was then required to select which map areas I wanted to download. The download took quite some time, and at various stages VoiceOver became unresponsive.

However, it did eventually complete, and I was presented with a button to start the app. On doing so, things immediately went from bad to worse. Although VoiceOver is announcing various page elements, they are not responsive. My iPhone grounds to a virtual standstill, and even flicking between page elements is slow and erratic. When VoiceOver focus in on a button, no amount of double-tapping will make anything happen.

If I had to guess, I would say that running Navigon with VoiceOver simply requires more resources than my iPhone 4 can handle.

I have closed the app and restarted the iPhone. The problem persists. I have disabled VoiceOver, and have enough residual vision to know that the app now appears to work okay.

At the moment I have not heard anybody else report the same problem, but nor have I heard anybody say that it works fine. So, I would strongly entourage people to either delay updating or to be prepared to reinstall the older version.

If you have downloaded the new update, please let us know if you encounter the same issues.

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35 Comments

#1 Maybe it's just me

Submitted by on

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

I now know of at least one person who has installed this update and has not encountered any problems.

This suggests that it might just be a problem with my own installation, in which case I'll need to do a clean install and see if that fixes things.

#2 Clean install fails to fix problems

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Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

I've now deleted the app and carried out a completely fresh download and install. The problem persists.

When I first open the app, I am sometimes able to get a button to respond. However, the app becomes unresponsive as soon as I navigate back to the main screen. VoiceOver focus continues to be slow and erratic in behaviour. It continues to look like a resource issue.

Having said that, I've still to hear of anybody else experiencing similar problems.

#3 Mostly positive reports elsewhere

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Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

I've now read a number of posts on the mailing lists where people are reporting no problems after updating. The worst that I have read is a comment that the app is a little sluggish.

However, I've been told that somebody on a German mailing list has reported problems similar to those that I am encountering. I gather from this same list that those who are able to run the new update are reporting some accessibility issues elsewhere in the app. Adding routes, in particular, has been mentioned as a problem area.

#4 I am also experiencing the

Submitted by on

I am also experiencing the same problems. It only started after a few minutes exploring the app and a notification popped up. The problem still continued after restarting.

#5 A pile of poo

Submitted by on

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

After some more testing (mostly by disabling VoiceOver and using a magnifier), it seems the biggest problem is on the main screen of the app. This is the Map tab, and when you open the app there are 4 large buttons in a grid in the center of the page and 5 buttons (tabs) along the bottom. The grid of 4 contains the following:

  1. Address
  2. POI
  3. My Destinations
  4. Take Me home

Only very occasionally will a double-tap get a response from any of these buttons.

There is also a button on the top left corner of the screen, which is not recognized by VoiceOver. If I disable VoiceOver and then tap on that button it shows the map view of my current location. On this screen there appear to be a number of active elements that are not recognized by VoiceOver. For example, there are 2 buttons at the top of the page (one on each side of the display of your current speed). I could not get VoiceOver to recognize these.

The first of these buttons will slide the grid of 4 buttons back into view, the second button slides a menu into view that contains the following buttons:

  1. GPS
  2. Traffic Messages
  3. Map View

This menu is also displayed when I double-tap on the screen when VoiceOver focus is on my current speed.

When not using VoiceOver, tapping on the same button again will slide these back off the screen.

There also appears to be another active elements on the map that gives direct access to the Traffic Messages.

I've not even tried setting or using a route.

I am surprised that so many people are reporting no accessibility issues. I can't even get the app to show a map of my current location without disabling VoiceOver.

#6 I am now testing Navigan for the issues I heard about.

Submitted by on

I am now testing Navigan for the issues I heard about through this post. As was said earlier by David, the first screen loaded fine. I'm speaking, of course, of the screen which tells you of the new maps. VO found the done button, and after double-tapping it, I have been taken to the "map manager." I am now presented with the heading "Map manager" and an empty list. I'm a bit stumped as to what to do next, as their are no other elements on the screen, at least none I can flick to. Time to explore. All right, the exploration has taken place. I couldn't seem to find any other elements when I felt around on the screen. Until I can figure this out, the app is unusable to me. I sincerely hope I don't have any of the issues reported by David . I won't know until this map manager thing can be added to or customized by me, though.

#7 Serious VoiceOver Regression in Navigon V2

Submitted by on

Club AppleVis Member

I can confirm all of David's findings. In addition. Please, I would encourage everyone to contact support.us@navigon.com letting them know the various Voiceover accessibility regressions, such as: •       Map manager and settings screen, when selecting an item, it’s not reported correctly, making it impossible to know what is selected; •       Route screen: It’s not possible to bring up route details, which shows all the turns in the route; •       Route screen: It’s not possible to exit route; •       Route screen:Two invisible/inaccessible controls (top-left and top-right), which cannot be activated with VoiceOver, but must turn Voiceover off, which bring up options. Over the past year, I've contacted Navigon about half a dozen times through a variety of channels, email and Twitter proviidng various VoiceOver accessibility feedback. I've had enough with Navigon, but I did send them last one email and a series of tweets detailing the various issues and expressing frustration. Afterwards, I sent iTunesStoreSupport@Apple.com requesting for a refund. I heard back from iTunes Store Support, who've processed my refund for Navigon iOS app, and to this day I've still not heard anything at all from Navigon about anything to do with VoiceOver accessibility. There are many who are quite disappointed about Navigon and have requested for a refund from iTunes Store Support.

#8 Same problems with me

Submitted by on

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Well, I am having the exact same problem as you are saying as well David. It gets so slow at times and I am unable to select the buttons. Nothing on it is working very well and is a serious regression. I am very disappointed. Two questions I have is what GPS Navigation app do everyone else suggest I should get instead. Also, the second question is I already bought this app about a year ago. Would iTunes Support be able to give me a refund if I ask at this point? I feel like I'm just sunked with this one.

#9 MotionX GPS and Refund

Submitted by on

Club AppleVis Member

@HLLF on Twitter has been using MotionX GPS Drive, was very impressed with their support and was informed that remaining accessibility issues will be resolved soon. Yes, iTunes Store Support will refund Navigon, even if you purchased it a year ago. Be sure you provide justified concrete substantial reason/detail for requesting refund.

#10 A bit of a rant

Submitted by on

Hey all,

I'm staggered by the number of people who are apparently ignoring the warnings and comments about the problems with the new version of Navigon.

The mailing lists seem to be full of people who are happily stating how accessible the new version is, and are encouraging everybody to update. Have they actually tried to use the app? Or have they simply tapped a few buttons and, because these are labelled, assumed that everything is fine and dandy. Have they not stopped and pondered why functionality and buttons that you would expect to find in an app such as this are missing? Of course, they aren't missing, they are simply invisible to VoiceOver users!

If you think Navigon 2 is accessible with VoiceOver, you are wrong. Realize this now, and don't wait until you actually need to rely on it to get you somewhere.

/Rant over

#11 possible problems with navigon 2.0

Submitted by on

hi there, I am absolutely angry at the lack of care this company has put in to there app for voiceover users in this latest update. I have found a gps app that gives me all the information I need for free called waze social gps. yes, it may not be 100 percent accessible, but I have to hand it to waze, the developers at least when I have a question or a suggestion, they at least try to put in the suggestions I have had, take the tts function in waze. I was the one that suggested this to them. I am happy to say waze also helps thoughs of us who can't submit requests or suggestions to the user voice page in on there website. unlike navigon, waze has proven to me that they do care about customers who use voiceover, and they are willing to work with us to help improve the app. My rants over now, thanks for taking the time to read this.

#12 Be sure to let Navigon know

Submitted by on

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

I would strongly encourage everybody to follow Kevin's suggestion and contact Navigon at support.us@navigon.com

There's a lot of blind people using this app, so I think it's important that Navigon realize the impact that this regression in accessibility will have.

#13 Navigon while in route

Submitted by on

Hi, Even if you are able to navigate the accessible parts of Navigon, you should know that if you are in a moving car, you will not be able to use it at all. Somehow, why you are moving, it tends to use up all the resources of the phone while voiceovers running -- at least that has been my experience.

#14 What version iOS are people running and what model phone

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When I saw NAVAGON had a "new more friendly user interface," I was concerned. So after checking here I am not upgrading. However, I am curious what version of the iOS are people running. iOS 5 has caused lots of trouble with aps. Of course I am running the current viOS so I am stuck with that. However, this does not excuse NAVAGON. Although I use this app it has some major issues for blind users. I'll suggest it as an app for the month campane. TOm

#15 will call navigon germany

Submitted by on

I'll call headquarters in Germany tomorrow. I'll reecord the call and submit up here.

#16 Will the call be in English?

Submitted by on

Will the call be in English? If not, it will have to be translated for those of us that don't understand the German language. Thanks a lot in advance.

#17 Campaign of the month

Submitted by on

For those of you who have not done so yet, please submit your issues through the campaign of the month. I took the time to personalize the form, but I believe that this will be a worth while effort. Please encourage others to contact the developers. I only wish that we could roll back to the previous version, but hopefully Navigon will be responsive to our concerns.

#18 call made, e-mail received

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Hi made the call in German, and I decided that it was not useful to send up the recording. However, they sent me an e-mail with a summary of the information they gave me. I will give the original and translation sentence by sentence. vielen Dank für Ihre Anfrage. Thank you for the question. Vielen Dank das Sie uns informiert haben. Thank you for informing us. Wir wissen bereits davon, da sich schon mehrere Kunden diesbezüglich gemeldet haben. We already know about this issue, because many people have already told us about it. Mit solch einer hohen Resonanz haben wir nicht gerechnet und werden uns der Sache annehmen. We want to take care of the issue, and we are currently working onit. Wir entschuldigen uns für die entstandenen Unannehmlichkeiten und setzen uns mit Ihnen in Verbindung sobald wir nähere Informationen diesbezüglich haben. Excuse us for the inconvenience, and we will get back to you with information when we have it. Sollten Sie weitere Fragen haben, stehen wir Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us. Kunden aus Deutschland wählen bitte: 01805-019 090 (0,14 EUR/Minute aus dem dt. Festnetz, maximal 0,42 Euro pro Minute aus den Mobilfunknetzen) You can call from germany at: 01805-019 090 (maximum .42 euros per minute). Personal note: from the rest of the world, call to: +491805019090 (warning: they don't speak english.) That's about what they wrote.

#19 Hi, Sean Terry here. I just

Submitted by on

Hi, Sean Terry here. I just updated to Navigon 2.0 on my new iPhone 4-s. VoiceOver isn't slugish or anything. I download the Texas map and all the other rrequired files and started the app and was able to find and tap all the buttons in the grid with perfect success. I had not one issue that was being displayed in the podcast a few days ago. I am wondering if all the people that are saying that they aren't having any problems are using an iPhone 4-s?

#20 The split-tap solves one problem

Submitted by on

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

I gave this app another look yesterday, and was able to get the buttons on the main screen to respond by using a split-tap.This appeared to work every time, although it was a little tricky getting VoiceOver focus to stay on the button that I wanted to use.This worked by first making sure that VoiceOver focus was on the button that I wanted to use. I would then do a single-tap and hold. Whilst keeping the first finger pressed to the screen, I did a single-tap with a second finger.This at least makes it possible to use the app. It's not exactly ideal, and of course there are still the other problems to deal with.Does anybody know why a split-tap works when a double-tap doesn't?

#21 The split tap may work that

Submitted by on

The split tap may work that way because, that is the VoiceOver pass through gesture. Double tapping and holding with one finger till after the 3 toned sound is played, puts VoiceOver into pass through mode. This is very simular to JAWS's Enter Key To Pass Through thing. So, when you just tapped with one finger one time with your other finger, it is as if VoiceOver is off at the time. I think I am getting awesome resolts because the iPhone 4-s has the 2 core processor in it.

#22 Feedback

Submitted by on

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

I've already sent the Navigon support of my problems. I only got a standard cookie format of saying we are sorry for your problems. We have sent this on to the technical staff and we aplogize for the incovience. Felt like it was just filed in the trash can at their company. I am going to submit for a refund. Will let you know if I have sucess.

#23 Navigon promises fixes in next update

Submitted by on

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Navigon has posted on Twitter that they are going to fix the current accessibility issues in the next update. There's no indication yet of when this will be released.

#24 Complains have been answered!

Submitted by on

Hi Everyone, I would like to inform all of you who are having some issues with Navigon 2.0 that there is a latest update. On the update, it has mentioned the fix for the Voice Over problems. As of now, I'm currently downloading it, so I cannot give any comments if the problems have been resolved. Goodluck to all of us. Hey, At least, They know how to listen, right? and our monthly campaign did not put to waste! Thumbs Up for the Navigon team!

#25 Navigon 2 is Useless

Submitted by on

Essentially useless with VoiceOver- you can't use routes or even get into the screen to establish a route.

#26 I've seen the sluggishness

Submitted by on

I've seen the sluggishness with my friend's iPhone 4, but on my iPhone 4S which is obviously faster, I don't see the performance problems except when navigating the menus when I'm actually on a route. Otherwise, works perfectly fine, even when making a route.

#27 Version 2.02 released

Submitted by on

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Version 2.02 has just been released, and on my iPhone 4 it's just as sluggish and unresponsive as the previous version. Rather disappointing.

#28 More responsive after update to IOS 5.1

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I have just updated to IOS 5.1, and at first glance Navigon seems to be more responsive again on my iPhone 4. Swiping and doubletapping works again, too, so split tapping isn't necessary anymore.

#29 About VoiceOver Problem

Submitted by on

It's really sad that such a good App cause you this much pain. I hope and wish you get your App well soon. I had heard and seen from one of my friend to use Patch in iPhone and and Navigation App previous version. But currently he is using 2.0 version. I got some info About VoiceOver, Try to put it out from home your home device for 1 or 2 hour then reboot your iPhone and then try without starting anything else. Hope this will work. Flickr app || iPhone photography

#30 As mentioned above

Submitted by on

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

The experience with the lagging is now gone with the newer IOS 5.1. Several of us can confirm that this issue with Navigon is now gone as it was mentioned above a few comments ago. I'm very happy that Apple has solved this issue but I'm also a bit confused that Navigon would have not known this. If they had why didn't they just tell us when we all submitted all those suggestions with the Campaign of the Month response? Oddly, enough. Just recently I heard of a developer was telling us. That it had something to do with how Apple used their voice over on to a certain processors mode. When voice over was turned on it would interfere and overload the graphics as well. He theorized that they both shared the same mode thus causing so much problem. Regardless, Apple has fixed this issue for now. This will make a lot of developers very happy. It certainly made of us happy as well! ;) So for now what seems like forever that we have ranted on Navigon so hard and fierce is now done and over with. I'm sure some users will be so glad to see this gone! :)

#31 People, please ignore the

Submitted by on

People, please ignore the past comments, Navigon is now accessible! If you have any other GPS recommendations, please suggest them. If you read this page, don't read the following comments. They are not relevant anymore.

#32 I seem to be stuck in the map manager.

Submitted by on

I press the later button, but nothing happens--the list of cities stays there. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks, Shersey

#33 Most recent Navigon totally accessible!

Submitted by on

Well gentle readers, I have the latest version of Navigon 2 point something, for Canada and everything seems to work quite well though there are a few tricks which I've solved with a little sighted help, not due to unlabeled buttons, except for one which is help, mostly credits. If interested, I can submit a tutorial in the next day or two; your wish is my command. I like the fact that it does not use up any cell data but downloads all maps and has a pedestrian mode which I will be setting up, probably tonight for the first test.

#34 navigon 2 for iOS

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I bought Navigon about a year ago and used it on iPad. One of the best features was the ability to select destinations from the address book rather than using the typical cumbersome GPS interface that required selecting state them city then street ... Address book access seems to be gone in version 2. Furthermore, there seems to be no user manual anywhere to be found. Am I missing something??

#35 Navigon - Lost Turn by Turn Directions

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After I updated to 2.0 I lost the ability for turn by turn directions. Every time I select it - I get the spinning wheel of death. I am running an iPhone 6s Plus with plenty of memory. Can someone please tell me how to get turn by turn back on the App. Thank you.