Surface Pro having issues finding the GPS dongle (S&T 2013)

[bdewitt82]

So I got Streets & Trips 2013 installed on my Surface Pro but when I plug the GPS dongle in (Navigation GPS 168) I don't get an audible new hardware found alert or pop up or anything. The dongle lights up so I know it's working but S&T will just tell me there's no GPS device installed if I try to configure it.

I tried plugging it into my home desktop (also running Windows 8) and I get the new hardware found audible alert and pop up window. It also shows up in the Device Manager so I'm sure the dongle itself is fine.

When it's in the Surface Pro, it can only be found in the Device Manager if I choose "Show hidden devices" in the View menu but I'm not sure why it's hidden. I've tried manually updating the drivers to the ones found on the install disc and that didn't work nor did any of the suggestions in the Microsoft support article 894511 entitled "Solve problems with Pharos iGPS 500 device and the Navation GPS 168 devices in Streets and Trips or in MapPoint".

Anybody have any other ideas? Just to make sure it wasn't a setting in my Surface Pro, I did a complete restore to factory settings and wiped out all of my data, apps, and settings and it still did the same thing. Any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

[J515OP]

Welcome bdewitt82. Do the drivers say they are compatible with Windows 8? I don't see Windows 8 listed.

 

[bdewitt82]

Thanks J5150P!

Win8 compatibility wasn't listed but I had read of several Surafce Pro owners that had the same software and GPS dongle working on their tablet's. So I knew it was possible...

I actually did get it to work this morning! Oddly enough, it wouldn't work when plugged directly into the Surface Pro's USB port but it DID work when I plugged it in via a USB extension cable! Which is odd because the MS support article actually says when troubleshooting to make sure it's plugged in directly. Weird - but it's working now so I'm a happy camper. Thanks!

 

[J515OP]

Glad you got it working. Just out of curiosity does the dongle fully seat when plugged in directly? The beveled edge of the Surface prevents some devices from fully connecting and you may have to trim the edge of the inserted device slightly to get a proper fit (or do as you did and use an intermediary connection).

 

[bdewitt82]

It could be due to the fact that the USB plug on the dongle ins't fully seated because of the beveled edge but (A) I've used a handful of other USB peripherals and they've all worked fine and (B) the Microsoft logo on the dongle would light up when instered so it's at least getting plugged in enough to get power. Thanks again for the help J5051P and for the excellent Einstein quote in your sig!!

 

[Russ]

Bdewitt82 --

Glad you got your problem solved, and welcome to the forum.

I have a Delorme LT-40 USB GPS receiver (few years old) that works fine for me. I use it with Delorme's Street Atlas software. My recent challenge has been getting a Bluetooth GPS (GlobalSAT BT-368) to pair with my Pro, then connect to that software. Finally got it to work, but had to scale the wall of ignorance first. I now know a lot more about Bluetooth connections than I did before.

I prefer the Bluetooth device for use in my car, because device placement is not constrained by a cord. I haven't tried Microsoft's S&T yet. Have been using the Street Atlas series for so many years it's become a habit.

Take care,
Russ