How are you guys getting on with the CRN?

stanley

stanley

Well-known member
UKGSer Subscriber
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
734
Reaction score
14
Location
Manchester, England
How are you guys getting on with the CRN?

Easy enough to use as a stand alone satnav? Ok to plot your own routes? Skipping waypoints? Speed cameras?
Other thoughts on them?

I'm between getting another Nav V, or diving in with a CRN. Not too bothered about the cost difference but want to get the right unit!

Thanks in advance

=====

Moved from a thread about app updates.

Richard
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I really like mine. It’s a lot simpler to use than any other nav I’ve had and so far, 100% reliable.
The latest software update has come with a few niggle improvements, including slightly larger mapping text. A to B and custom routes can be easily created via the connected ride app and synced to the nav unit.

Downsides for me
It needs to be teathered to a phone via WiFi hotspot, or have a data sim installed to have live traffic and it will not sync over Bluetooth.
Also, no speed camera locations in it.
 
stanley said:
How are you guys getting on with the CRN?

Easy enough to use as a stand alone satnav? Ok to plot your own routes? Skipping waypoints? Speed cameras?
Other thoughts on them?

I'm between getting another Nav V, or diving in with a CRN. Not too bothered about the cost difference but want to get the right unit!

Thanks in advance

=====

Moved from a thread about app updates.

Richard
Click to expand...
I'm with Victor above. It's not a mature product yet but the signs are promising. It's just had an update again but they are a bit slow in coming from the Mothership. I've had it about a month and now understand it a lot better. I can do the things I need to do. I have MRA for route planning etc. so don't use the ConnectedRide app for this and that's the way it's done. I am in Romania in two weeks and will be relying on it to get me about (Well - not really, my Bikermate is technically leading). If I'm honest, I've had to spend a lot of time in the forums on FB and here to get to where I am now.

IMHO BMW have let the troops down with this product but we are all working together to resolve the issues as there is no manual, worthy of the name.

IMHO it's inherent weakness is that it operates on three platforms: Your phone, the ConnectedRide App and the Navigator itself. Just imagine the variables between those three!

Things I want to see on it sooner than later: speed camera alerts and the ability to increase the size of the on screen icons. I am utterly baffled as to why BMW could not design the unit to provide live traffic updates by phone data.

I do like it, despite the issues above and have not been tempted to go back to my Nav V (yet).
 
Last edited:
I have a CRN which I used on my S1000XR and will now use on the GS Adv, Its very good once set up and you get accustomed to using it. That for me was the biggest thing!
I use "My Route" app on my phone and it can be used on a computer so for me it offers the best of everything, I can sit on cold, dark winter nights planning routes for upcoming trips, save them in the app, jump on the bike, open the route and ride it.
 
I had one when it first came out and then returned it in December last year. Now got another and updated the software to latest 1.4 and it seems fine at the moment. I’ve only done 1.5hrs riding with it though. Screen is responsive, maps move fluidly when riding. The only negative was the map download list - too easy to ‘select’ a map area as you ‘scroll’ down with your finger….I ended up trying to download all of Russia and all of Europe. However, quick to delete wrong maps and up and running. I like the new colours and the fact that it seems to, finally, work ! I used Wi-Fi tethering from my iPhone to have traffic on there etc, all worked fine.
 
It's a pain in the arse.
Great on its own, works and connects automatically to my Cardo and I phone, I use a shortcut on the I phone that opens up the App,make life a ride 🫣 and the music app.
If my phone is connected to the TFT it ties itself in knots , nothing will go through to my Cardo.
Maps and route planning are ok. no faults as yet.
 
Zoton said:
It's a pain in the arse.
Great on its own, works and connects automatically to my Cardo and I phone, I use a shortcut on the I phone that opens up the App,make life a ride 🫣 and the music app.
If my phone is connected to the TFT it ties itself in knots , nothing will go through to my Cardo.
Maps and route planning are ok. no faults as yet.
Click to expand...
You absoluitely should not connect with TFT as well as CNR - BMW are really strong on that bit of advice. Basically it replaces the TFT (in terms of music, Nav and phone). I know, I know - that's a pain in the ass - what if you dont have your CRN with you and want to listen to some tunes or simple nav ? That's life I guess ! I have the iPhone on the bike in a quadlock charger and my Cardo connected to iPhone as well. If I dont have CRN with me - I use the iPhone directly with Cardo for music, nav and calls. The Connected Ride App is pretty much redundant to me now - just for creating routes that auto-sync to the CRN. I admit - not a lot of thought went into how the CRN and bike itself should be used together/apart.
 
Forgot to mention, it now won't record my rides for some reason, ive deleted the cache on my phone hopefully that works next time im out and about.
Where is the data taken from the TFT or the CRN - I'm guessing the CRN
 
Zoton said:
Forgot to mention, it now won't record my rides for some reason, ive deleted the cache on my phone hopefully that works next time im out and about.
Where is the data taken from the TFT or the CRN - I'm guessing the CRN
Click to expand...
My synching of rides is flakey - 2 have just arrived in the iphone app today from CRN trips yesterday....but not the 2 x12mile trips today ?! I assume it would take the data from the CRN as I didnt have the app running when I was out riding earlier...and I'm not connected to the TFT. I realise the CRN connects to the bike to pull info from that (via the cradle not bluetooth) but can't see the TFT tracking journeys and sending them.
 
Update - I used the CRN for 6 days in Romania last September. It was faultless. It turned out to be the most reliable unit amongst us. Admittedly I had taken the time to find out how it works (To the degree that I use it). I have a used Chigee AIO-5 as well now which I will take out on my trips this year to see how it fares but the CRN will be with me. Do I wish it had some of the features that the Nav 5 had? Yeah, but it hasn't so time to move on.
 
I really like mine. It is an efficient nav, which is what I want. Just fitted a Smarty SIM card to it, to avoid my phone battery dying with it constantly providing a WiFi hotspot for it. It worked faultlessly during yesterdays ride out.
 
Victor c said:
I really like mine. It is an efficient nav, which is what I want. Just fitted a Smarty SIM card to it, to avoid my phone battery dying with it constantly providing a WiFi hotspot for it. It worked faultlessly during yesterdays ride out.
Click to expand...
Same here regarding the SIM card. Worked a treat here and in Romania. I was advised on the FB group to activate the card here before using it in the EU or there would be connection issues.
 
Zoton said:
Forgot to mention, it now won't record my rides for some reason, ive deleted the cache on my phone hopefully that works next time im out and about.
Where is the data taken from the TFT or the CRN - I'm guessing the CRN
Click to expand...

User error on my part. Works straight off the bat. Connects to my phone and the Cardo no interruption. All rides now recorded. Syncs as it should. Just ignore the tft connection and turn yr phone into a hotspot 👍 and a shortcut on the phone which starts the CRN as soon as the GPS is connected.
 
the woodster said:
Same here regarding the SIM card. Worked a treat here and in Romania. I was advised on the FB group to activate the card here before using it in the EU or there would be connection issues.
Click to expand...
That’s something I’ve been wondering about. I activated the Smarty sim via my iPhone (standard 5g phone sim card), where it advises to set the mobile data and mms apn settings to mob.asm.net and enable data roaming. In the CRN settings, I can see enable data roaming, but can’t see the apn settings. Hopefully it should just work fine 🤞
 
Having come from Nav6 I’m still getting to grips with mine. I like the interaction with the multi controller and its processing speed but would prefer a slightly better looking display. Most other brands of nav devices seem to have decent displays, so I can’t see why the BMW hasn’t.

I recently put a sim into mine and now have traffic shown, without it having to hotspot to my phone. It looks like labels were made a tad bigger with a recent update (so it appears - it might just be my imagination), even so, they could still do with being a bit bigger.

One thing that I do miss… on previous touring trips, the guy who does all the route planning (he always picks great roads) shares the routes from his Garmin to anyone else in the group who has a device that’ll accept them. It wasn’t a problem on my Nav6 (Garmin) but on this BMW CRN it’s a big NO, which is a shame.

From a safety point of view the multi controller interaction is excellent - no real reason to take hands off the bars and then focus on a screen, and then trying to touch a tiny part of a screen whilst on the move, on a bumpy or undulating road, is not always easy. This is one of my reasons for not opting for other brands. I also don’t want to have to faff around with my phone, opening maps and linking it to, basically, a mirrored display.

My observation leads me to say that I think the majority of BMW owners probably have a satnav device, which is a brand other than BMW. If the BMW CRN worked as it should they’d sell like flippin hot cakes. At the end of the day, the cradle is already on the bike in most cases, but such is the draw to other brands people are buying adapter plates and sacrificing the multi controller interaction. I know that some devices will interact with the whizz wheel but, from what I believe, they are just mirroring their phone. I may be wrong!

Come on BMW, hurry up and brief those who have created the CRN and get them to take a look at the competition.
 
Ash700 said:
One thing that I do miss… on previous touring trips, the guy who does all the route planning (he always picks great roads) shares the routes from his Garmin to anyone else in the group who has a device that’ll accept them. It wasn’t a problem on my Nav6 (Garmin) but on this BMW CRN it’s a big NO, which is a shame.
Click to expand...

Why can’t it accept third party GPX routes?
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top Bottom