The publicationSources and funding
Sources and funding
This page sets out who pays for GPS Update Reference, who does not, and where the facts in its explainers come from.
Last revised October 4, 2026
The short version
Funded as described below; never paid, reviewed or approved by any maker. Facts come from the makers’ own published material.
How the publication is paid for
GPS Update Reference is funded by its publisher. It carries no advertising on its pages and earns no commission from any product it describes.
The publisher may promote these pages through search advertising. Advertising bought by the publisher has no influence on what the pages say.
What no maker does
- No device maker, map supplier or carmaker pays for, sponsors or commissions any page.
- No maker reviews or approves a page before or after publication.
- No page carries affiliate links; a reader who goes on to buy a device or a map brings the publication no income.
Where the facts come from
- Garmin’s manuals, product pages and published lifetime map terms.
- TomTom’s product pages, device manuals and its published statements, including those reported in 2018.
- Magellan’s map-upgrade page and the SmartGPS Eco site it names.
- Rand McNally’s published notices about its navigators and the Dock.
- HERE’s guidance on in-vehicle navigation and its map update store, and Hyundai’s update site.
- The Federal Trade Commission’s published guidance on technology scams.
How facts stay current
Makers change their pages, programs and terms. The checked date printed under each headline records when its facts were last compared, and where any page differs from a maker’s own documentation, the maker’s documentation is the one to follow.
Illustrations
Every picture on the site was drawn for it. Devices are generic; no maker’s logo, product photograph, screen design or color scheme is reproduced.