MS Maps - Anyone at MS reviewing feedback about incorrect data?

[mrpuny]

Has anyone ever used the feedback tools in the MS Maps app to report incorrect map data? If so, did it ever get incorporated and how long did it take?

I found 3 incorrect things in the map data in my region and reported them in the app over a month ago. (Two were roads shown as dead ends but had been extended through to other main roads. The other is my place of work. Seriously, I tried putting the address in and Maps/Bing/Cortana has no idea where it even is. It just doesn't exist. As far a Cortana is concerned, I spend 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week in the middle of an empty field.) All have been around for well over a year so it's not like these were very recent changes. All of these locations are accurately represented in Google Maps.

Of course after over a month, still no sign of the map being corrected. Not very encouraging. Given the userbase, I can't imagine the Maps team is swamped with feedback.

 

[dov1978]

I don't find it reliable at all. Just for the sake of it, a few days ago I set the same route to a job I was going to both on Maps on my 950xl and Google Maps on my Android work phone. It was about 20 miles and ETA was about 15mins difference between the 2 and I double checked and saw they had both planned the exact same route (Google Maps was pretty much bang on by the time I reached my destination). And also a few times I also noticed over a mile of difference to the next junction along the route then Windows Maps distance would just freeze whilst Google Maps counted up consistently til they matched up.
My conclusion is that Windows Maps doesn't factor in traffic or at least changing traffic conditions very well and that the ETA they provide should be taken with a pinch of salt

 

[mrpuny]

I wonder how traffic data gets aggregated into navigation apps (Google maps, MS Maps, others like the classic Garmin apps.) I guess at least in part it probably comes from real time data from users, and if so, that might explain in part why MS Maps can't do as well as Google maps (far fewer data points.)

I was really impressed last fall when I was navigating using Google maps on my Android phone and got a real time reroute just before I hit completely stalled traffic. Followed the updated directions with little delay.

 

[EspHack]

google is just as responsive

I can see why they dont seem to care anymore, a decade ago I expected people by this time would be like "we lets meet at 19.493093, -70.781857" or "I live at 19.222016, -70.879952"

but no, they aren't even aware what a phone can do in regards to location data, I mean, look at coordinates, they would make life so much easier to navigate, and I don't see why cant they be commonly used, people apparently love phone "numbers"(whasap and others) because they somehow are "easier" than account names, so why cant they love this too? it isnt that much harder, the first few numbers wont change within an average city just like local area codes for phone numbers

 

[mrpuny]

Maybe Google is no more responsive, but have just had more time working on it. Out of curiosity, I checked MapQuest, OpenStreetMap, Apple Maps, and on my Android phone, Here (WeGo) Maps. Here Maps is the exact same in this area as MS Maps. There's even a 4th problem I've found in this area where an intersection was replaced by a roundabout several years back. The map (on both MS Maps and Here Maps) is correct, but the satellite view on both is way out of date and shows the old intersection.) Based on this, it looks like the problem in my particular area is with the Here Maps data. Maybe I should report problems in the Here app on Android and see if that triggers fixes

Of the 3 incorrect things I brought up originaly, MapQuest and Apple Maps both have one of them (the same one) correct, and the other 2 (including my place of work) incorrect. OpenStreetMap has both streets shown correctly, but is still missing my place of work.....

As for using latitude,longitude/GPS coordinates instead of addresses, that's probably as likely as everyone switching to speaking Esperanto....

(Edit: just wanted to add a clarifying statement. It's not just that my current workplace (a rather large facility) can't be found by typing in the address. Scrolling the map to where it should be just shows nothing. No building, no entrance, just an empty field. Even if I sent someone the coordinates, if they pulled them up on anything other than Google Maps, it would look like I'm sending them to the middle of nowhere.)

 

[T Moore]

Microsoft maps uses mapping from HERE Maps
Look at the bottom of map settings

 

[anthonyng]

Last year, 2016 up until September I was correcting things, getting thanks for feedback and also acknowledgement that it was fixed. I got some confirmations within a day, sometimes a week, and up to a month. Varied.

November December 2016 I have some more thank you for feedback, but this time no confirmation that they have verified.

This year I have been putting a few changes and have not been seeing responses.

I think it got worse when Maps was updated to allow feedback right from the maps app instead of having to goto the webpage to do it. I think it was around October when that happened and I probably have a some fixes online and probably never got a response for the one done on maps app.

As a test, just last week I updated a place marker for a hotel, make it easier to drive into rather than just the corner of a very busy street. No email. I just went to the website, to submit the same change. I noticed the website has email me check box. This method I got the email thanking me for my feedback, lets see if I get a response at all!

 

[anthonyng]

I just spot checked the ones I did in November/December.... One was done in December for a cellphone store in Cancun Mexico, but then when looking at the crossfit gym in Mexico I wanted fixed, no change. The quality of the address I provided was better for the cellphone store though. Mexico addresses are different for me!

Obvious ones like Mont Joli Airport place marker is way off. It's right in the middle of downtown but zoom out and you'll see the airport way on the outside.

I dunno, I guess it's hit and miss.... I'm gonna submit those two again now that I have it up lol.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

I used to edit Here maps - I made about 20000 edits if I remember but then didn't get much time to continue doing it

Map apps are as accurate as the people who edit them are: meaning if more people edit maps, the more accurate the map will be.

 

[Chris_Kez]

Last Friday afternoon I suggested an edit to Bing Maps via the website. I got an email the next morning letting me know the change had been made.

 

[EspHack]

I imagine they must have plans to fix that, it wont surprise me if they just make cortana ask you if you want to be tracked to help with mapping data, so when she detects you're at some point of interest she could ask you to take a picture, imagine tons of people doing that, tons of pictures, different angles, each with geolocation/barometer/magnetometer data

or maybe they just give up, car makers will HAVE TO take care of map data, the best maps will be for cars not for people, but surely microsoft can ask a certain car manufacturer to let them use their data