LPT: If you’re still using a standalone GPS, bring it inside and plug it into your computer once in awhile (at least once a year) to get operating system and map updates. – January 30, 2020 at 08:46PM

If you have a standalone GPS, odds are you took it out of the box, set it up in your car, and haven’t given it a second thought ever since. Most GPS manufacturers update their maps every year and though map updates used to be available for a cost, these days many companies offer them for free. Plug your GPS into your computer (typically via USB) and go to the manufacturer’s support site. You’ll likely find a downloadable utility (Garmin) or a web plugin (Magellan) that will allow you to download operating system and updated maps for your device.

One of my coworkers has a Magellan GPS that be bought about seven years ago and never updated it. He was preparing to replace it because several streets didn’t show up on the GPS including where we work and his sister’s house due to those streets being built after his GPS was made. We connected it to a PC, downloaded their plugin (LPT2: Magellan’s system works only with Chrome on Windows, and with Safari v12 or earlier on Mac), and in about ten minutes had fully updated its OS (which corrected one or two annoyances my coworker experienced) and maps (which — surprise! — included the new streets).