Garmin BlueChart® Mobile App Reviews

I used this app on my IPad Air 2 for six months and 3000 miles while traveling on the loop. I loved it. In December 2015, I updated to the most current version of the app, bought new updated charts, and updated my IPad iOS to 9.2. After that, the app became useless. It will only accept a few points then crashes when creating a new route. You can go back, add a few more points and then it crashes again. Extremely frustrating. Do not buy this app until they fix the problem.

We cruise on our sailboat & run this alongside our Raymarine/Navionics chartplotter for Active Captain updates. It was excellent for navigating down the ICW and is still very useful in the Bahamas. (Garmin is considered more reliable in the Bahamas. Explorer charts just became available for iNavX, so Garmin finally has competition). However, on the last update, it dumped my Active Captain database without warning (we have limited wifi--thankfully we caught it!). Since the update, he app crashes EVERY TIME when trying to edit a route--usually on the second half (EVERY TIME you try to move the last waypoint). Takes multiple attempts to make a change. Purchase price doesnt include any updates. (I also cant figure out how to run on a second device--I wish I had put it on our other iPad). It would be nice if the vessel had a projected path line & ETD, but for the price it is workable.

Since the last program update there seem to be few issues with the program. The dividers do not work well anymore in that once you have an initial distance you can not stretch out the dividers further and get a new distance reading. Basically you have to either jiggle the dividers a few times to get them to work or start over. This is new they used to work so well. For some reason my routes end in Africa after I save them one day and reopen them the next. I cannot seem to remove that last waypoint in Africa and have to erase and start over on the route???????

I wish I would have read the other reviews - they are not kidding about crashing. Makes worthless :(

Crashes continuously

Updated this app recently and now have a worthless pile of garbage. Crashes even when simply trying to use dividers. No longer can swing them point to point. I am through with it. What is really dangerous is the delay in measurement read out using the dividers. If you dont wait and wait and wait....yawn*...for the now crappy software to catch up to your changed divider position you will be using an incorrect measurement. This is a serious bug that was not in the app prior to update. DO NOT BUY THIS APP. What is really bad is Garmin is sitting back and doing nothing to fix this garbage they dumped on us while we are out here depending on the system to navigate. Not possible to build a route. Crash upon crash. Same problems on all four devices. There is no such thing as good customer support or service with Garmin. They had to have tested this and yet they put it out there for sale knowing it was worthless...and DANGEROUS.

I think this is a great app. Does anyone know why I have more features, such as search capabilities, with my iPhone than my iPad. Same version, but different look. Thanks, for a great app. I use it all the time for planning.

Really - Really Garmin. Management needs to get involved here in a big way. You owe us at least a set of free maps for the serious idiocy weve endured. In case you dont realize it, your failure to properly beta test your software update is NEGLIGENT and could get people killed. There is NO excuse for your failure to properly test your updates, none. As a result, I no longer "auto update" anything on my iPad and will wait months before I even think about "updating" this app again (now that it is apparently fully functional again). Ive owned the app since early 2013 and have sailed over 3500 miles using it (as a backup and a primary planning tool). It is (now once again) a wonderful tool. I have literally hundreds of saved anchorages (that often nicely match the wonderful Active Captain data) I used this App in 2014 to sail from Washington DC to Bar Harbor Maine and back and absolutely loved it. It has now gotten me to Florida and I hope to keep adding routes and anchorages long into the future. With this (Feb 2016) update it is even better, no it is even much better - and I loved it then. The truth is Ive also given this app a ONE star rating. The SECOND time they broke it. To give your readers some background on the love/hate (1/5 star rating) relationship you see at the App Store for this product, they (Garmin) pushed updates (in 2014 and again 2015) that broke a major part (serious crash problems and serious route planning and measurement tool issues) of this otherwise great app. I was lucky, I wasnt actively cruising at the time but the app was almost totally useless for months on end. All criticism aside of the fatal updates they pushed, you will not find a better App to plan your cruise and have as a backup for your primary chart plotter. Its nice with one purchase to have it on all my Apple devices. I found myself using this as my go-to device to get information fast, when fast is important, as well as during nightly route planning. All the new bells and whistles theve added are worth the wait but not at the cost of breaking it once a year. Ill continue to dream about a set of free maps.

Id like to try this, but my Quatix3 wont show up in BlueChart. iPhone6S and Quatix3 are paired and working fine otherwise.

When a very pricey alternative app failed me on the high seas this free app came through for us very nicely. Thank you. This one was my favorite app out of a few that we tested when sailing between some caribbean islands.

One complaint is as far as I can see it doesnt have the fishing chart. Need that in a bad way. Get the fishing chart up and running PLEASE!!

I purchased and iPad and instantly bought this app to go fishing offshore. Come to find the charts are for inshore/ sailing. Not the same as the marine gps software as stated in advertisements. Not cool. We should be able to return app for refund. No need for it with out fishing charts

Missing most lakes. Has Great Lakes and a few major lakes, but I would like to see more lakes such as Lake Lanier in Atlanta which is a fairly large lake. If Garmin wants to sell lakes as another option, I would be fine with that as long as its reasonably price. About $20 would be a reasonable price. Would also be great to be able to switch maps to Apple or Google maps to figure out how to get to places. Very handy for people who trailer boats! Would also like to see fishing data! But still a really good app to have!

I purchased this app as a backup plotter for my boat. Using it on my iPad , it worked ok, not good, but ok. However, since I purchased a Garmin Glo, it is night and day. The addition of the full range of satellites has made this app a chart plotter that rivals my on board Garmin plotter. In fact the app is more detailed and has many more features . It may just become my main plotter!