Have bought and used or tried to use 2 versions of new Minn Kota Ultrex TM over past 4 weeks. First unit never stayed in lock spot/anchor mode either sitting still on the drive way or with both
Talons down on the water. Unit would go into search mode with head swinging 170 degrees either to the R or L and then shut down within 5 seconds. Unit might stay in anchor mode for 10-30 seconds, never longer. Talked with 2 different M K tech support agents. Described how it was acting and both immediately blamed it on low voltage. Dual Interstate batteries, 6 months old, never sit more than 8 hours till charged. Tested with 10 sec x 130 amp load, tested good. With fully charged (25.6 volts with float charge) Ultrex would not stay in anchor mode sitting on trailer. Spent 30 minutes with one tech attempting to show how the trouble shooting described was illogical. At no time did agents describe how the unit works, see below. Gave up and returned unit for full refund.
Second unit will not work with Fortrex mount, so had to install the Ultrex mount with the 4 alignment holes. Watched U tube video of a earlier version of the iPilot. Had one person in group who use earlier version and both said theirs worked differently. The second unit works but with serious constraints. 1. It anchors if going directly into the wind (probably current also). Say wind is from 180 degrees, it will lock with heading between 170-190 degrees. 2. It will not anchor sitting in driveway or with both Talons down and boat not moving. Within 10-30 seconds it goes into search mode with head swinging 170 degrees to R or L and then shuts anchor mode off. 3. It will not stay anchored with any side force, such as a boat wake from the side. 4. It will not stay anchored with swirling winds such as near trees in a cove. 5. It will not anchor if moves more than 2 feet forward after anchor function is turned on, contrary to the earlier versions it will not back track to get on spot.
Tech support was told most of this and never mentioned was unit going directly into wind and dead still. IMHO or not so H, the 2 tech support agents I talked to do not know the product.
Asked Minn Kota to put me in touch with project engineer or manager. Its been a week, no response.
As with 12 ft Talons the customers do the field testing. Have not tried the other functions with second unit, main use is dead still in water deeper than 10 ft where Talons don�t work. With Talons one can go into full stealth mode, electronics off or on standby, no noise, often yields multiple LMB from one set (spot). The 12 ft Talons after 2 were updated or replaced by MK are working great. Hopefully a software update with changes to the spot algorithm will make the Ultrex a bit easier to use. With lower back issues, I like the power steering feature.

This might be a duplicate post, the first attempt disappeared in review mode.

Glad I decided to wait awhile longer and cancelled my order for my new Ultrex after reading your review. As with most new models of anything, the end user is the ultimate field tester as there are always bugs to be worked out, but unfortunately, many times products never do perform as advertised.
It is my belief that MK will aggressively address these known issues, as they cannot afford to have a "SUPER DUD" after all the hype about the Ultrex. The Spot Loc is a great selling feature and is one more invaluable tool for every serious angler, but if it is so finicky and will only function properly under the most ideal conditions as you have described, this does not bode well for MK.
Hope you get your issues worked out to your satisfaction.

Sorry you got a dud. Mine works great and I love it - no issues after two months of ownership. I don't know if the anchor is designed to work in conjunction with the talons down or in the driveway though. The boat needs to be able to swing around the anchor point on the head of the motor as needed. Your boat should hold its position with the talons down or on the trailer just fine.

I dont have the Ultrex but i do have the Ulterra. Sat on a spot last week in 18 mph winds and fished for over 6 hours from the old man seat in the back of the boat. I did figure out that the setting for ancor and spot lock are two different functions. Spot lock keeps you very close.

So far mine works great really like the steering assist, spot lock seems to work well also.

I've only read 3 complaints with there being hundreds of reviews that were positive, you have some kind of bad luck to get 2 defective tm's.

One guy was having close to the same issues and he adjusted his boat weight deal, don't know the technical term, on the trolling motor and it works good now. I don't understand the trying to anchor with the boat already anchored. Is it not going in to anchor mode? You can't expect it to move if it doesn't have to make any adjustments. Being perfectly still might trip it out so it doesn't know what to do. When you say "it will not stay anchored" does it just quit the spot lock mode or does the boat just move and then go back? The boat is still going to move with the spot lock on

Mine has worked great except for snapping it in half on a stump fishing Champs on Roberts yesterday... even with it dangling from the mount it worked the rest of the day. Pretty good if you ask me..

To clarify, applying lock spot in the driveway or on water with Talons down was a test. If the boat is not moving there is no reason for the TM to make adjustments. Neither tech support agent commented on that issue, both blamed it on low voltage. Its possible the TM is chasing the normal variation in GPS accuracy, if you sit in one spot with GPS Chart on, it will draw a blotch on the chart.

It will anchor if headed directly into the wind, but any side to side movement causes it to drop out of spotlock mode.

Are those responding with good success using the Ultrex or some different version? The concern is the software the same across all versions. If you overshoot your spot, does your unit circle around returning to the spot where first set? This is shown on some U-tube videos with earlier versions.

My experience has been sent to Minn Kota with request to provide to project team.

Will post any informative follow up.

Did you check your batteries at the TM power connector under a load? Sounds like you have poor connections under a load.
A voltage drop test would verify that. If you are near Denton I would be glad to check your voltage for you
Sorry your having issues but two bad in a row would make me want to recheck the boat.
We caught two 4lb smallmouth in the wind on spotlock yesterday from the same point when the Talons were bouncing off the rocks making a hell of a noise. Both are great tools and I thought I would not need the Talons but have since decided both are the best setup. I

Did you do the initial calibration?

-Did you know the GPS signal is only accurate within a few feet and if the Ultrex thought it was out of position it would run to try and correct? My Humminbird 1199 gps can't pass that test. If I turn it on in the driveway it wanders a few feet here and there. I'm glad the Ultrex shuts down in the driveway. I'd hate to accidentally hit the spot lock on my remote and burn my motor up while it's sitting in the drive. I haven't tried it nor do I intend to but if it is a design feature...I'm sure the same safety algorithm applies to the Talons down scenario. If it isn't a design feature I hope they make it one. I don't work for Minn Kota or know anyone who does but I consider that a product protection feature. If the boat does not move after applying power for a reasonable amount of time the spot lock shuts off so the motor does not burn up trying to move an immovable boat.

-It's a Fortrex "style" mount and I'm OK with it not fitting in a Fortrex mount. Don't want any Fortrex guys eyeballing my Ultrex for a quick upgrade.

-A Minn Kota or Motorguide or whatever single propulsion device has to hold position into the wind, current or boat wakes depending on which is stronger. It is a single point and acts as a pivot point with the wind, waves and wakes. If you want the boat to stay locked down front and back and stay in line you would need two spot lock trolling motors.

Sorry you have a few misconceptions of how accurate a GPS receiver really is on commercial devices and that you didn't get a solid answer from Minn Kota. I never had a problem with my Ultrex that was not my own fault.(I pinched the wires)

I will not own a boat without one.

Actually applying spotlock on the driveway is not a good test. Spotlock works on a GPS signal and the best you can possibly get us give or take 6 foot. So your motor will constantly search for the spot.
For this same reason spot lock does not hold a boat perfectly still on a spot. Even if there is zero wind it will search for an exact coordinate. The old spot lick would keep a boat wishing 15 foot of the spot the new one in around 8 foot.
There in not any way a trolling motor or any motor can hold perfectly still on a coordinate.

Sounds like it's an owner trying to over achieve what the trolling motor is capable of. It won't hold you in a 6" circle.

Dr. Juice, thanks for offer. See original post, both batteries checked with commercial battery tester, 130 amps for 10 seconds. It will lock up on lake if headed directly into wind. Note the advertisement says new improved software for the Ultrex. Agree with your experience, Talons are great (best shallow water anchor choice for stealth fishing) but useless in deep water, by design. Earlier models of spotlock work differently than what the Ultrex have done, fished past 2 weeks with anglers who have earlier versions.