Native GPX POI Support – It’s 2026, Stop Forcing Paid Subscriptions!

Follow

eSKa

• June 05, 2026 11:10

I am incredibly frustrated as a Karoo owner. It is unacceptable that in 2026, a premium device like the Karoo still cannot natively read standard <wpt> (Points of Interest) from a simple GPX file.

Why is basic functionality locked behind a paid RideWithGPS subscription? Parsing standard XML waypoints is a trivial task for any developer, yet Hammerhead forces users to pay a third party just to use their own route data. Competitors like Garmin and Wahoo have handled this standard feature for years without forcing subscriptions.

This feels like an artificial limitation rather than a technical one. We bought this device for its open Android potential and great screen, not to be locked into a walled garden of paid partners.

Hammerhead, please answer directly: Is native GPX POI import actually on the roadmap? If not, why are you ignoring an open standard that your competitors support out of the box? Many of us are seriously considering switching brands for our next upgrade if this continues to be ignored. 

 

 

 

 

1

• 

  Gregory Gregory

  • June 16, 2026 10:51

  And why is it not possible to send the route simply as a gpx file, e.g. via Bluetooth?

  1

  Comment actions Permalink
• 

  Marcus Mason

  • July 25, 2026 15:57

  Try this: https://github.com/mendalka/gpx-poi-karoo-fixer
  The repo's own README claims Hammerhead has quietly made partial progress: the Dashboard can now import POIs directly from a plain GPX file (no RideWithGPS detour required) — but only if each has both and tags matching one of exactly 9 hardcoded categories (Food, Water, Parking, Camping, Lodging, Geocache, Summit, Generic, Danger). Anything else gets silently dropped.

  0

  Comment actions Permalink
• 

  eSKa

  • July 25, 2026 17:46

   

  Thanks a lot Marcus!

  That fixer script was exactly what I needed. I just wired it up directly into my desktop context menu and tested a GPX file — works like a charm!

  Appreciate the tip about the 9 hardcoded categories as well. It’s still crazy that Hammerhead doesn't handle this natively out of the box, but at least this script completely solves the problem without needing a RideWithGPS subscription. Cheers!

  1

  Comment actions Permalink

Please sign in to leave a comment.