MSFS2020 Map Enhancement Tool anomaly

[hvw 403]

As I saw these enthusiastic notes on MSFS2020 Map Enhancement tool here in the forum, I decided to give this tool a try, too. I did one flight using the "Google Server" option in this tool and I was pleasantly surprised about the results. However, a few hours later after finishing the flight in FS2020 I opened Google Maps and to my unpleasant surprise I discovered that I no longer got satellite views in Google Maps in either Chrome nor Edge. 

I uninstalled the Enhancement tool again, deleted the entries in my Hosts file, restarted the PC but still no success. I fired up FS2020 and ran into the infamous "Bandwidth too low" error message.

Since the enhancement tool is a 3rd party app I cannot ask MS/Asobo for support. Perhaps someone here can give me advise on how to resolve this problem?

Thanks beforehand,

[Twenty6 693]

I use MSFS2020 Map Enhancement tool all the time when I fly and just used Google Maps (satellite view) without issue. I don't use either Chrome or Edge. This was in Firefox.

What entries did you delete from your Hosts file? I'm not sure a low bandwidth error is caused by MSFS2020 Map Enhancement tool.

[Bobsk8 12,722]

When you finished the flight, did you shut down the Map Tool by hitting the stop button? If not, you have to delete the two lines in your host file. Instructions are on the Map Tool Page. 

 

How to fix it
Go to the following directory:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

Open the hosts file with Notepad.

Delete the following two lines:

127.0.0.1 kh.ssl.ak.tiles.virtualearth.net
127.0.0.1 khstorelive.azureedge.net

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by Bobsk8

[hvw 403]

38 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

When you finished the flight, did you shut down the Map Tool by hitting the stop button? If not, you have to delete the two lines in your host file. Instructions are on the Map Tool Page. 

 

How to fix it
Go to the following directory:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

Open the hosts file with Notepad.

Delete the following two lines:

127.0.0.1 kh.ssl.ak.tiles.virtualearth.net
127.0.0.1 khstorelive.azureedge.net

 

Hi Bob,

 

Yes, I deleted those lines, but no success so far. I will dive deeper into this matter tomorrow and will keep you posted.

Thanks.

[hvw 403]

49 minutes ago, Twenty6 said:

I use MSFS2020 Map Enhancement tool all the time when I fly and just used Google Maps (satellite view) without issue. I don't use either Chrome or Edge. This was in Firefox.

What entries did you delete from your Hosts file? I'm not sure a low bandwidth error is caused by MSFS2020 Map Enhancement tool.

I deleted the entries Enhacement Tool entered in my Hosts file, as per their faq page.

[Bobsk8 12,722]

1 minute ago, hvw said:

Hi Bob,

 

Yes, I deleted those lines, but no success so far. I will dive deeper into this matter tomorrow and will keep you posted.

Thanks.

I use Google maps with Chrome, no problem. 

[Sky_Pilot071 580]

I see way more cloud artifacs using the Google servers but ARCGIS seems mostly clean with more natural coloration.  Bing tiles usually have some weird purple brown look.

Maybe its just me but good to have choices.

BTW I fly mostly in PNW and Alaska.

Sorry but nothing to add for the OP.

Cjeers

sp

Edited June 5, 2023 by Sky_Pilot071

[vcarlo 529]

Used this mod for a long time, never had a problem using google maps always in Chrome (full satellite coverage).  I fly in US and Caribbean have never seen a cloud artifact or odd google label.  In fact I was recently over New Mex and observed strange ground patterns from FL400. Went on my other PC, pulled up the satellite images from Google and they were there exactly as seen in FS. (still don't know what the hell they were) 🤣 Hundreds of white terrain squares south of KHOB.

[hvw 403]

11 hours ago, Bobsk8 said:

I use Google maps with Chrome, no problem. 

Bob,

After deleting the Hosts file the bandwidth problem was solved.

I reinstalled the Enhancement tool and when I now select Google Server in this tool, I get this here message:

Unable to access remote image server

If you are using Google Maps, please ensure that you can open https://www.google.com/maps in your browser. 
You may be blocked by Google due to a large number of requests.
If you are using a proxy to connect to the remote server, please ensure that the proxy is working.
Please also visit FAQ page for more information.

 

I will search the web for a solution to this hiccup. Or do you have any ideas how I will get the enhancement tool and Google to work again? By the way, New Bing option doesn't give an error message when I hit "Start".

 

Thanks

[Bobsk8 12,722]

3 hours ago, hvw said:

Bob,

After deleting the Hosts file the bandwidth problem was solved.

I reinstalled the Enhancement tool and when I now select Google Server in this tool, I get this here message:

Unable to access remote image server

If you are using Google Maps, please ensure that you can open https://www.google.com/maps in your browser. 
You may be blocked by Google due to a large number of requests.
If you are using a proxy to connect to the remote server, please ensure that the proxy is working.
Please also visit FAQ page for more information.

 

I will search the web for a solution to this hiccup. Or do you have any ideas how I will get the enhancement tool and Google to work again? By the way, New Bing option doesn't give an error message when I hit "Start".

 

Thanks

Did you check everything on their FAQ page?

[hvw 403]

2 hours ago, Bobsk8 said:

Did you check everything on their FAQ page?

Yes, I did but couldn't find anything relevant but the deleting entries in the Hosts file. Which indeed resolved the too low bandwidth issue. 

So far I didn't find a solution to the Google Maps/Earth block other than this might be a 48-hours blocking. Not any of my PC's can get the satellite views on Maps/Earth even not my cellphone. Seems that my IP-address is blocked without giving me a reason what caused this. Oh well, at least I am now flying around in New Bing aerial views.

Isn't it weird that i< so far, am the only one who ran into this problem?

 

 

Edit: All is working again, out of the blue. Tomorrow I will do the same flight as yesterday when matters went wrong and see what happens. I still have no clue what happened and why it happened. Also no word on why I was blocked and why I was unblocked. I would like to know.

Edited June 6, 2023 by hvw
Additional information

[hugojans 2]

Hi, does anyone know if it is possible to STOP the tool from a batch file, whereby it deletes the 2 lines in the hosts file?

Of course I can use the taskkill command in the batch file to kill the MSFS2020 Map Enhancement tool, but then it's not shut down 'orderly', so did not delete the 2 lines in the hosts file. With the next start, these 2 lines will be added again, so eventually these 2 lines appear multiple times in the hosts file, that keeps growing.

I need a way to shutdown the tool, thereby mimicking pressing the STOP button in the tool. This could potentially best be handled by using command line parameters, for instance something like \MSFS2020 Map Enhancement\MSFS2020 Map Enhancement.exe -stop (or -exit). But as it appears, the tool does not have any command line parameters, as far as I can see...

UPDATE: SOLVED! I used the command taskkill /f /im "MSFS2020 Map Enhancement.exe", the /f forces the exe to quit immediately. When using taskkill /im "MSFS2020 Map Enhancement.exe" without the /f, the tool is allowed to 'orderly' shut down, apparently it then automatically removes the 2 lines it wrote in the hosts file at program start.
 

Edited October 20, 2023 by hugojans
Update

[boez 85]

There are tools you can use to determine which message is being sent by the Stop button and then send that manually from your batch file as and when needed.

However perhaps easier would be to keep a ‘clean’ hosts file which you copy over the modified one once you’ve terminated the map enhancement exe. The folder where the hosts file is located is protected by windows so you may need to run your batch with elevated privileges (administrator)…

[morganthomas757 2]

On 6/6/2023 at 1:48 PM, hvw said:

Yes, I did but couldn't find anything relevant but the deleting entries in the Hosts file. Which indeed resolved the too low bandwidth issue. 

So far I didn't find a solution to the Google Maps/Earth block other than this might be a 48-hours blocking. Not any of my PC's can get the satellite views on Maps/Earth even not my cellphone. Seems that my IP-address is blocked without giving me a reason what caused this. Oh well, at least I am now flying around in New Bing aerial views.

Isn't it weird that i< so far, am the only one who ran into this problem?

 

 

Edit: All is working again, out of the blue. Tomorrow I will do the same flight as yesterday when matters went wrong and see what happens. I still have no clue what happened and why it happened. Also no word on why I was blocked and why I was unblocked. I would like to know.

Hate to hijack an old thread, but I’ve been having the same issue. Noticed midway through my flight earlier that the tiles downloading were erroring. Thought nothing of it, then went back to using Bing Maps.

While attempting to look at Google Maps 3D view on my computer later in the evening however I was greeted by the blank satellite view like yourself. Seems it’s a technique on their end to stop people spamming requests on their servers, just not mentioned clearly enough that it could be an issue on the FAQ page of the mod.

[PeterGloor 0]

First of all, Microsoft (their own forum admin) claim the mod is illegal. Second, I keep getting CDT when I attempt to start MSFS with the mod active. But if I do not run it, the original Bing map is not nice at all.