So are you asking if all the posts you've read about people around here doing it themselves are fake?

 

Not questioning the other posts. I am looking for confirmation that VW has some type of key or lock on the navigation system that requires them to be the ones to do the updates. I am new to the forum and have read the many posts on doing updates. I just dont want to brick my navigation from trying something that requires more knowledge that I have. It all seemed very straight forward. Put software on SD card. Put card in slot. and run update.

 

Yeah, you may need to do some reading first. Even to familiarise yourself with the RNS850, as this one does not have CD/SD card based navigation, it is hard drive based.

 

I am reading that it is done from the SD card. I have read a lot. Do you have a specific document that covers it all?

 

Updates are SD card based, but the RNS850 stores the mapping data on the hard drive so there is no physical CD/SD card held by the user like some other Volkswagen versions.

The instructions detailed have been favourable with this community, not reading any negative comments of bricking.
Carefully read through and if you have any questions reach out, heaps of people will help you through.

 

Flipper, thank you. I agree that the comments in this forum have been of successful results during update. There are other comments in other places that indicate bricking was done leading to a dealer intervention. I guess it is worth the small $$ to buy the SD card with updates and give it a go. Worst case senario is I end up taking it to a dealership for fixing. thank you

 

The big things to remember when doing the update to maps/NAV yourself is:
1- Have the latest available firmware version installed.
2- Get you Maps/NAV update either in file or SD card form from a source that gives the correct and
complete update needed for your RNS850 that is dependent on the region you're located. If you
purchase an SD card set it should include a Maps/NAV activation SD card.
3- Do not let the battery voltage drop lower than (if I remember correct) 12.1v. Use a battery tender
or at the very worse keep the vehicle running. That last option is the least desirable as the Maps/NAV
update can take a while.

When doing the firmware update yourself you will have 2 faults in the 5F module, which affect nothing, from
doing the update without being hooked up to the VW Mother ship.
I updated the firmware but didn't update Maps/NAV because it was already outdated by a few years.

 

The big issue is that POIs disappear after the update, do they not? That's pretty much a deal-breaker for me, as I use the POI list fairly often (for major things that haven't disappeared in the last 10 years, of course.)

 

There is a massive thread on here somewhere that goes back a couple years regarding upgrading the firmware and maps on these. Going through the dealer is hands down easier but it's really expensive

 

It's at least a couple of hours' labor so about $500 in the U.S. But perhaps more significantly, the latest map available through the dealer seems to be at least 3 years old, so already out of date. The download is current. But again, breaks the POI list.