Most BT headsets can bring up Siri

Drivers Advice, Experiences
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#1

On mine I just click and hold the button on the headset.
It’s the easiest way, I have it in my left ear, most customers don’t even realize
I speak to Siri, they think I just confirm the address they just gave me.
It will take some time but eventually you will get used to all these apps and it will feel like second nature.

One more thing that helped me is a quick release phone mount and stylus.
Sometimes it’s easier to grab the phone and manually enter the address with the stylus (me fat fingers not so good)

#2

With the uber iphone… does one have to be “online” for the phone to connect to wi-fi signal? Thanks ahead of time for any help. I’m no smartphone enthusiast. Also, the phone I received today doesn’t seem to charge unless it is turned off…is this a defect?

#3

You do not have to be “online” to connect to wifi (are you at home?)
The phone should be charging to 100% even if you are online with brightness at max.
Others have complained about it, It’s usually either a cable problem or the 12V USB converter.
The converter Uber sends tends to do this after a while.
I use this one, works great:

#4

It should definitely charge while it is on. For vague, in google maps, say “bank of america Novato”, and probably several locations near there will be offered, and click on the one that is correct.

I’ve tried google maps on my Android, the voice activated feature, but often it just doesn’t read what I’m saying very well. It’s hit and miss, for me. It’s a good idea to have more than one GPS. I use a Magellan, as back up, which, on more than one occasion, has saved my butt when the GPS on the Iphone didn’t get it right.

There are a number of GPS solutions, so find the one that suits you. But, for me…

Many times the rider will have the address of the destination already inputted, and than all you do is hit the “navigate” button, and the Iphone’s GPS will take it from there. A nice feature.

But, if they don’t have the address, inputted. And, 0ften they won’t have the exact address, and will give you a street corner or name of a hotel, bar, or restaurant. This is why I have a Magellan GPS on my car’s dashboard ( mainly used as backup to my Uber phone GPS ), which accepts street corners, or names of restaurants, etc. I don’t like using the GPS on my android. My first choice is the GPS on the Uber Iphone, it’s pretty good, actually, and often the customer has it inputted, so I just hit the nav button, and off I go. If you really need an address, of course, you can ask the rider to query their GPS on their phone, and often they will give you the address after doing this. Sometimes they will just let their GPS voice sound, which I discourage, 'cause I much prefer to use my own GPS, and I don’t like recorded voices talking to me, drives me nuts, I just watch the directions on the GPS in silent mode, and often passengers are talking, and I can’t hear the thing anyway. For some reason, my Iphone voice is a Brit, whose accent Ican barely hear and who can’t read the street names in American english, and pronounces every nuance of the addresses, really bizarre, if you ask me. You can mount the Iphone right on your dashboard with the dashboard cradle they provide ( which as a suction cup ). But, in my own case, having driven a cab for five years in san diego, I rarely need directions, anyway, I know where most street corners are, unless they are g0ing into lesser traveled residential areas.

#5

No, you don’t have to be online for the phone to connect to Wi-Fi. But there really is no need for a Wi-Fi connection if you’re using the Uber issued phone since it operates off of the 3G network. The phone should definitely be able to charge while it’s turned on. If it doesn’t charge, play with the cord a little (make sure it’s plugged in properly). If it still doesn’t charge, contact Uber (if it’s an Uber issued iPhone). I leave my phone plugged on virtually the entire time that I’m driving (and that’s usually when my phone is powered on and I’m online). I pretty much only disconnect it when a passenger requests a charger.

#6

Thanks guys…I guess it is just defective then… and God forbid I try to get into an Apple store for help today with the iP6 craze going hot and heavy… I might get trampled. Seems I’m completely confused with this thing. I had a friend look at it this morning and he sees no basic feature of google search… are there no features on this uber issued iPhone except the uber app and google maps?
I’m too afraid to “go online”… I’m tempted to so I can see what happens… I’m too nervous yet.

Should I invest my money in a smart phone or a freestanding gps?

I really should be able to search google for help with things that might come up for the passengers right ?

It’s probably best to keep the uber issued iPhone AND have a personal one right ? So the uber app can run without interruptions?

#7

The Uber issued phone can only be used to Uber. Nothing else (except for maps). I have my own personal iPhone that I use for everything else, and it’s pretty helpful (to have a secondary phone). Nothing will happen to you if you go online, so don’t be afraid to do so. If you get a request and you’re not ready to go, just ignore it.

Freestanding GPS units can be difficult to use, especially when you’ve got passengers in your car who are basically expecting you to take off as soon as they get in your car. What I like about Apple Maps (and I believe Google Maps has this as well) is that I can type in just part of an address, and a pop up menu will appear that shows the full address, and I just click on it and go (saves a lot of time). With a standalone unit, you’d probably have to type in the full address. And if a passenger just says the name of a place (and let’s say it’s not in your GPS’s database), then you might have a tough time finding the address without access to the internet.

#8

I, personally, have no need for smart phone as I do nothing with my personal phone but text and/or call. I was looking at this TomTom GoLive which integrates connected apps like trip advisor, yelp, etc. Something like this would be handy if I needed to search something for a px… but I’m guessing most people (besides myself lol) have and use their smartphones religiously… especially if they are Uber users. I’m not going to stress over this I guess. I just don’t want to be illprepared I guess. This is all just so new. ** UberFizzle…I turned app on just to see if there was any activity. Took about 3 minutes for a request to come. It was over 11 miles away and 20+ min away. I ignored. I hope ignoring requests is not counted against me. Is it? I’m happy I read around on this forum. One guy said he doesn’t take requests that are more than 10minutes away. This made good sense to me given the nature of most trips…SHORT. But I’ll find out soon enough I guess. I live in a new area for Uber… not a big city, so I’m guessing there will be some mileage on trips vs. the concentration of the big cities.

#9

This is very true what you say about a stand alone unit. I use it as a back up, when the Iphone supplied doesn’t get it right, and sometimes it doesn’t. The Magellan is very reliable, though not as quick to input. Also, I can’t use the Uber phone’s GPS when it’s not engaged, and there are times I need one, and I don’t like listennig to my own phone talking to me, I prefer something visual on the dashboard, and that’s when I use the Magellan, mostly.

#10

I think I have decided to invest in a stand alone GPS. They are NOT cheap…not the good ones with features I need/want. Looks like I’m going to be spending $250-$300 for a good one with lifetime map updates, live traffic with alternate routes provided, voice command feature and large screen. The expense is why, starting with Uber, I wanted to make very sure the stand alone will be best investment for me vs. a smartphone.

(I still have yet to drive anyone for Uber. Just when I was psyched up and ready… phone power was too low and I just knew it would go out on me in the middle of my first job. The mere thought of that sent me home to turn phone off and plug it in so I could start fresh today)

#11

The one I purchased is 3.1 The Uber provided one is in my car and I don’t know. I also have borrowed a wall charger… but it is adapter for usb. Even using this I don’t get the green light that the phone is charging when on. It must be charging when off because once I turn it on it is fully charged … but that dang charge starts going down fast and up goes my anxiety thinking it will die on me when in middle of my first trip LOL. I hope they send me new phone fast.

#12

If you are reliant on GPS then use Waze.

Google Maps is great for searching locations and seeing where they are on the map.

But in the UK at least it leaves a lot to be desired as a SatNav.

Waze may well be linked to Google for traffic and congestion but routes better and if you take a slightly different route perhaps due to the rider knowing a short cut Waze will remember it for future journeys.

#13

They both have voice recognition. It looks like the traffic service is different; the 2597LMT uses Garmin traffic, updated every 5 minutes; the 3597LMTHD uses TomTom Traffic (formerly HD Live Traffic, hence the “HD” in the model number), updated every 30 seconds with more detailed information