Updating Xzent F280 software. (1 Viewer)

[Miggs]

Just bought a Benimar with one of these Xzent units. Software is way out of date so trying to update it. Hurdle number 1 is where is the USB slot? I suspect it is behind the unit and the extension lead should have been fitted but I may be mistaken.
Anyone know?

 

[stevel]

Just bought a Benimar with one of these Xzent units. Software is way out of date so trying to update it. Hurdle number 1 is where is the USB slot? I suspect it is behind the unit and the extension lead should have been fitted but I may be mistaken.
Anyone know?

Hi, did you find it. I think if you look in the cubby hole above the glove box you will find the usb lead. Having said that my software also needs updating and so far I have been unsuccessful in updating all of the components .

 

[Old Gibber]

Which Benimar have you got? The positioning of the USB leads/sockets depends on the year and chassis.

 

[stevel]

i have a 2022 Mileo 282 which is on the new Fiat Ducato chassi.

 

[Miggs]

The xzent is not fit for purpose, made worse by Benimar installers. The GPS antenna was coiled up and thrown in the bottom of the dash underneath the radio unit! The USB fly lead which is supposed to be connected to the back of the unit and attached to the dashboard socket was never fitted.
Even when all put right and updated it was still a chocolate teapot. Get rid of it, that's what I did.......together with the garbage van!

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[Old Gibber]

i have a 2022 Mileo 282 which is on the new Fiat Ducato chassi.

The USB leads are in the passenger side glove box above the dash. The Xzent is actually a very good sat nav, its Tom Tom by the way. The DAB radio less so, but much improved with the software updates.

 

[Brains]

Xzent software is made by the same team as produce the Zenec units, briefly used by Mercedes/Hymer.

They all have a number of issues including:

• Periodic freezing (About once per 200 miles) only solution is to switch off the engine for 3+ mins and reboot.
• Loss of GPS signal. A reboot may help, otherwise park up and point van south and switch on the radio for 30+ mins as long as you are stationary the GPS will reconnect.
• No real live traffic updates (but oddly seems to work in Germany, only.)
• Very difficult to update, chip needs to be removed from the unit and put in a PC
• The chip is 8mb and coded to the unit, it can not be changed or upgraded.
• The chip can only hold data for about 5 countries. So if you are going to say Eastern Europe one year and western Europe the next you will need to delete Germany, Austria and Italy to then fit in France and Spain.
• Periodically 'forgets' settings, such as left/right hand drive.
• Periodically goes silent, need to reset voice directions back to 'on'
• Really annoying speed limit advice, especially in Scotland, where we found every exit off the dual carriage ways and motorways we got a "30 mph maximum speed" verbal warning.
• The basic supplied data is from about 2012, which forces at least one £70 update to make is usable.
• Underlying map data was supplied by TomTom, TomTom no longer deal with Naviextras/Zenec/Xzent (I suspect they were not paid for the use of their data)
• Mercedes do not support the units, despite having them in hundreds of thousands of vans in 2017-18.
• Bottom line. They are chocolate teapots.

I have come to the conclusion that it's not worth spending serious money on built in GPS units, as their 'life' is only about 7 years before they become impossible to update.

Therefore I'd recommend you get the best stick on the windscreen one that you can justify the cost of.

 

[Old Gibber]

Xzent software is made by the same team as produce the Zenec units, briefly used by Mercedes/Hymer.

They all have a number of issues including:

• Periodic freezing (About once per 200 miles) only solution is to switch off the engine for 3+ mins and reboot. Not true
• Loss of GPS signal. A reboot may help, otherwise park up and point van south and switch on the radio for 30+ mins as long as you are stationary the GPS will reconnect. Not true, poor GPS reception is due either to a badly sited GPS antenna, or some nearby electronic device interfering.
• No real live traffic updates (but oddly seems to work in Germany, only.) It does have, though not as good as Google
• Very difficult to update, chip needs to be removed from the unit and put in a PC Utter rubbish
• The chip is 8mb and coded to the unit, it can not be changed or upgraded. Obviously not. The map data is far larger than this.
• The chip can only hold data for about 5 countries. So if you are going to say Eastern Europe one year and western Europe the next you will need to delete Germany, Austria and Italy to then fit in France and Spain. Complete rubbish, on mine the data covers all of Europe including Russia. Indeed last year I used it in UK, Holland, France, Spain, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria without any deletions or additions.
• Periodically 'forgets' settings, such as left/right hand drive. There is no setting for left/right hand drive
• Periodically goes silent, need to reset voice directions back to 'on' Not happened on mine
• Really annoying speed limit advice, especially in Scotland, where we found every exit off the dual carriage ways and motorways we got a "30 mph maximum speed" verbal warning. You can turn this off in the sat nav menu options.
• The basic supplied data is from about 2012, which forces at least one £70 update to make is usable. Not true, and in any case a new unit comes with a year's free updates.
• Underlying map data was supplied by TomTom, TomTom no longer deal with Naviextras/Zenec/Xzent (I suspect they were not paid for the use of their data) Yes they do, I updated mine a few months ago.
• Mercedes do not support the units, despite having them in hundreds of thousands of vans in 2017-18. Benimar don't use the Merc chassis.
• Bottom line. They are chocolate teapots. , or rather you have a vivid imagination

I have come to the conclusion that it's not worth spending serious money on built in GPS units, as their 'life' is only about 7 years before they become impossible to update.

Therefore I'd recommend you get the best stick on the windscreen one that you can justify the cost of.

Wherever did you dream this lot up from? I've had Xzents in two of my motorhomes over the last 5 years and none of this rings true.

 

[Brains]

Wherever did you dream this lot up from? I've had Xzents in two of my motorhomes over the last 5 years and none of this rings true.

All of those issues are problems I have on my current 2018 Zenec unit.
If you google Zenec issues you will find dozens of people with the exact same issues plus others.
If you have had units that work, then great, but sound like you were very lucky (or they have updated the software)

 

[Old Gibber]

All of those issues are problems I have on my current 2018 Zenec unit.
If you google Zenec issues you will find dozens of people with the exact same issues plus others.
If you have had units that work, then great, but sound like you were very lucky (or they have updated the software)

Maybe I'm missing something, but you are talking about Zenec head units, not Xzent units, which are clearly not the same. They don't have the same hardware, and the software interface looks completely different.

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[Brains]

Maybe I'm missing something, but you are talking about Zenec head units, not Xzent units, which are clearly not the same. They don't have the same hardware, and the software interface looks completely different.

Agreed.
The hardware is completely different, but as far as I'm aware it's not a hardware issue.

The issue is the software, which is broadly similar as both produced by the same Chinese company.
I do wonder if due to the vast number of well documented issues, which meant Mercedes dropped the Zenec brand after a couple of years (2017-2018), I'd guess the software was properly debugged and the re-released under the Xzent brand name.

 

[Old Gibber]

Agreed.
The hardware is completely different, but as far as I'm aware it's not a hardware issue.

The issue is the software, which is broadly similar as both produced by the same Chinese company.
I do wonder if due to the vast number of well documented issues, which meant Mercedes dropped the Zenec brand after a couple of years (2017-2018), I'd guess the software was properly debugged and the re-released under the Xzent brand name.

In which case, the points you are raising about the Xzent are irellevant.

 

[Brains]

In which case, the points you are raising about the Xzent are irellevant.

Not entirely, look up the 'Autorail unhappy owners group'
Lots of Xzent related issues.

Rebranding of 'Hermes' deliveries into 'Evri' deliveries has improved the company and given them a head start on the reputation, but is still the same vans and the same drivers, just a different paint job.

 

[Whitebirdyman]

I have an Xzent in my 2021 Ducato, I did the updates and I have had no problems with it.

 

[Old Gibber]

Not entirely, look up the 'Autorail unhappy owners group'
Lots of Xzent related issues.

Seen similar. Few problems with badly sited GPS antenna, and needing updates, but most seem to be well into the user error category, or blaming the Xzent for issues which are a fault with the way it is fitted. I lose all presets on mine, because like almost all sat navs, it relies on a permanent battery feed which mine does not have in order to avoid draining the leisure battery. Also some problems are due to out of date maps, or issues held within the mapping data. One I saw recently was that the Xzent reported the lower speed limit when exiting a motorway in Germany. Doh! You ask it to report when you are over the speed limit, then complain when it tells you.

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