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Well, this occurred to me this morning at about 8 am in Miami. My GPS said that it had updated. (I did not update it this morning or in the last few weeks) I pressed ok, the splash screen said updated again. This went on for about 15 minutes with me powering the system down a few times only to get stuck in the same loop. Finally the system died on its own and I have not been able to resuscitate it. Very sad day.
I just sent a link to our story I wrote up (link was deleted earlier by a moderator...), but it has not been posted yet, oddly enough. It's a huge story so you'd think it'd be posted.
I don't want to get in trouble, so I won't link the story again. I'm just hoping my nuvi doesn't die also!
Nope. After that update screen yesterday afternoon, it hasn't powered on. Tried plugging it into the Garmin AC adapter and a USB port on my PC. Nothing happens.
I'd try pulling the battery out, but I don't want to void my warranty (would that void my warranty?).
Okay, I just spoke to a customer rep at Garmin. He advised me that the problem is not a software issue and may be the chipset. He said to use it today. If it dies to contact him back directly via email and he will get it replaced with a brand new unit since it is only 6 days old. I asked about the new unit having the same problem and he said it will have a different manufacture date and different internal components.
He did tell me that my unit was manufactured on October 24, 2008. I will be in my car in 1 hour and I will plug it in and see if it dies.
I also notice that there is something wrong with the unit. My unit turns ON find the satellite and then looses it. It will not find the satellite again until I restart, but then it looses the satellite again.
I also have SW Ver 3.40 nuvi 765 V7 4GB P1 S3 330 MHz.
I'm in the UK. I've just read this. My 765T hasn't been on today. So, I plugged it into the PC and renamed those two files mentioned. Unplugged it and switched it off. Then I went outside and turned it on. It found satellites. I then planned a route. As it finished the planning, it said "lost satellite reception". Now it has no satellites at all. I waited a couple of minutes and then switched it off.
So, similar to the others - but it's not dead. I'll wait a day or so and see if a proper fix can be found.
Alan
EDIT: I went outside again and turned it on. Found sattelites again. Planned a new route. Satellites disappeared. Ahah - maybe it's that? Switched it off. Switched it on. Found the satellites. Cleared the route and planned a new one. All OK. Did it again. All OK. Now I can't "break" it. So I have no idea what's going on.
Database for MSN Direct Flight Status Firmware Update for GDBxx Traffic Receiver Firmware Update for GMTxx Traffic Receiver Font, binary data, Arabic Font, binary data, Arabic (Bold) GPS Chipset Type M Localization Data, XML file nuvi 7x5 DSP Software nuvi 7x5 Help files nuvi 7x5 Translation Files Text, Proximity Alert, All languages Traffic, Text, All languages
Okay, I just spoke to a customer rep at Garmin. He advised me that the problem is not a software issue and may be the chipset. He said to use it today. If it dies to contact him back directly via email and he will get it replaced with a brand new unit since it is only 6 days old. I asked about the new unit having the same problem and he said it will have a different manufacture date and different internal components.
He did tell me that my unit was manufactured on October 24, 2008. I will be in my car in 1 hour and I will plug it in and see if it dies.
Will come back and post results.
Would you mind giving me his email address? I've called Garmin twice today and haven't gotten a customer service agent that could help me.
Joining the list of folks with a dead 765T. I got the GPS Update Complete message yesterday, but got it working again after switching off and on. Same thing happened this morning and managed to recover again. It finally died tonight and now won't switch back on at all.
Add another 755T to the list. Mine died last night on my way home from work. Will not turn on. Tried calling Garmin today and was on hold for 2 hours and 40 minutes before hanging up. I am looking forward to hearing some good news soon as I am moving in about three weeks, and don't have enough time to ship my unit in and wait to receive it again.
I called Garmin Tech Support and made it through after a 55 minute wait. They took my model type and serial number and immediately gave me an RMA code to return the device. They said that they would have to replace it and that they had received "several" of these calls today. My tech did not know the answer but said that Garmin engineers were very busy investigating. They had no idea what the issue was. He said to expect total turnaround time to be about 1 week.
The choice is yours and I could easily be wrong... but personally I'd take a gamble and wait a day or to before sending your device back. If it is like other similar issues impacting other devices recently (as it appears) then this should be fixable through a software patch. You could send your device back only to find that the day you put it in the mail a software fix was released.
Again, this is a gamble and typically going against Garmin's recommendation (in this case, sending it in) is typically not recommended. But if it were me I might call, get an RMA number, but hold onto the device for a couple of days to see if a software fix came out. If it does and you fix your device-- great... just cancel the RMA. Otherwise send it in in a few days if a software fix starts to sound unlikely. Then you are out a couple more days of using the device, but that is the risk.
If your device is bricked like mine and won't power on via any method and is not recognized by your PC when plugging it into a USB port, then send it back right away.
I called Garmin Tech Support and made it through after a 55 minute wait. They took my model type and serial number and immediately gave me an RMA code to return the device. They said that they would have to replace it and that they had received "several" of these calls today. My tech did not know the answer but said that Garmin engineers were very busy investigating. They had no idea what the issue was. He said to expect total turnaround time to be about 1 week.
Tom. Great advice, but mine will not even power up anymore. I am not sure how I would download a software fix into it. If you know how to, I am all ears. I would love to not lose my device for a week!
My unit went through the entire cycle of updating and no GPS lock and then just flicked off and has never turned back on.
I slide the on/off every hour or so now just to keep checking.
Am in the UK have 2 day old 765T, updated all software, maps etc. yesterday and machine just died tonight (about 18:30 BST) shortly after saying it couldn't get a satellite signal. Can't find any way to make it switch back on. Machine is going back to shop where I bought it and my business will be going to another vendor of navigation systems! Shame because I really liked the nuvi until it died.
OK, I did a route, worked great. Then said update complete, lost signals, Turned off, now dead. My rep was great at Garmin. I paid for another device and overnight shipping. I will have it tomorrow and when they receive the defective unit that I just mailed out I will get a credit for the unit back on my card. Can't beat that service. BTW, if it is off and wont come back on there is no point of holding onto it as it will not power up anymore. I will post tomorrow how the new unit works. Garmin said they cant be sure the new unit I get tomorrow will work, but I am at no more of a loss with a bricked unit now.
Since mine also seems to be working OK (famous last words?), is it possible that once you get over this "hump", it will be OK for a while (til the next issue). In my case, I renamed those dodgy update files before I let it find any satellites (even though it had done all the updates days ago). It had a little hiccup and now seems to be OK. So, maybe it's a point in time issue - and once you are past that point, it goes back to normal behaviour.
Sorry for a noob question. Where do you find out which version of software your nuvi has? I found out the version of map but not the software.
Thanks.
Edited: never mind. found it. it's version 3.4. mine is a new 755t. Didn't use it yesterday. Seems ok for now but haven't taken it outside today. Keep my fingers crossed.
If your device is bricked like mine and won't power on via any method and is not recognized by your PC when plugging it into a USB port, then send it back right away.
I would like to, but being so far away it will cost me quite a bit. No point ringing them as the phone call will costs loads. I guess I will have to wait for a reply by email - who knows how long that will take. There are no local agents as far as I'm aware. :cry:
My unit is still operational and still picking up GPS signals. I can't report with any certainty if it's losing lock on it's own though as I'll need to monitor it more closely. I'm testing in the house on my test-bed equipment (stock cradle mount/GTM 20/2 amp regulated 12V power supply).
I seemed to have dodged the "dead unit" bullet, perhaps with the file rename trick I posted when I realized what was taking place (an unneeded GPS firmware update) earlier but that could just be a coincidence. Regardless, I have also done the file rename on my 760 (MTK) but not on my 750 (SiRF) since I do not have access to it until this weekend.
If I see any sort of complete sat signal loss at any point, I will be reverting to firmware v2.50 to see if that is affecting things in the same way. You have to take these debug procedures a step at a time to try to isolate the problem.
To those that are still able to power their units on and have the MTK chipset, I STRONGLY recommend you do the file rename as it *seems* to have prevented mine from bricking. You can always rename them back to what they were much more easily than having a bonafide brick in your possession and sending the unit to Garmin for a brand new "refurb"...
Also, Engadget.com has this story up on their website.
I'll just throw this thought out.....could this problem be related to the platform people use to update their gps units? My 765T is updated exclusively via Apple Mac and I had a terminal error when the gps device tried to reboot. My unit went back to Garmin today.
I didnt see on the test page after holding the battery level indicator where it said what chipset I have. I know I downloaded a update called Chipset M (I beleive the other day)
My bricked 785T has always been updated via a Windows XP computer. My last update was a few months ago and I always keep it current. I did plug it in a couple of weeks ago and read a "no updates" available claim.
I tried my 785T on the way home, after renaming the files and it would loose satellite acquistion after a few minutes. After rebooting it would work again for a few more minutes.
If I role this back to firmware 2.5 (not sure how to do that yet) will that firmware work with the latest 2010.10 map?
I'm getting ready for our annual summer vacation up the US East coast next week and I can't beleive I might not have my Garmin for the trip. :evil:
Here's how to backdate to v2.50 for those interested.
Note: It has NOT been verified that the unit software (or firmware) of the GPS itself is the culprit or if it's the GPS -chipset- software (two different things). Backdating the unit software will only help to pinpoint the problem. If the problem with spontaneous loss of all GPS signals still exists while running unit software v2.50 (the earliest that Garmin provides for download), then it may be that the culprit is the GPS chipset firmware.
1. Backup your favorites as you will lose them in the backdate process (user-loaded POIs will not be lost): Copy x:/Garmin/GPX/current.gpx to a different location to restore them later. After the backdate, copy current.gpx back to the same location on the nuvi. After the copy, rename the file on the nuvi to temp.gpx. After the backdate, you will need to reset all of your user settings. The v2.50 firmware will work just fine with the newest map versions.
3. After the download, connect your GPS to the PC via USB cable.
4. Drag the file you downloaded onto the WebUpdater icon on your desktop.
WebUpdater will proceed to transfer the firmware update to your nuvi. After doing so, safely disconnect the nuvi from the task bar icon but *leave it plugged in to the PC* (so as not to perform the update from battery power which if low, could shut the unit down and botch the update process).
The unit should reboot on it's own and then proceed with the actual firmware update. It will first inform you that the version being flashed to the unit is older than what is currently on it. Select "Yes" and the backdate will proceed. As stated earlier, your user settings will need to be redone.
Why after copying the current gpx file back to the Garmin file do you need to then change the name to temp.gpx? Why can't you leave it current.gpx?
The favorites won't be imported back into the nuvi if the file is named current.gpx...current.gpx is basically a backup of what is actually stored on the unit. The favorites on your unit are actually stored in a non-user accessible area of memory on the unit. Thus deleting current.gpx to "delete" your favorites from the unit has no effect. Think of it as a safety blanket to protect your favorites.
100% correct, I just looked in the backed up files I created today before my 785T bricked and in the GPX file it does say current and temp, I never noticed that. I think when I get my new unit tomorrow I am going to wait a bit and see what transpires overnight and tomorrow morning. I need the unit for a trip with my wife and kids Thursday to Washington, DC. I can always use my Nuvi 680 that I gave to my wife 7 days ago when I got my new 785T, but what is the fun in not using your new toys.
SergZak, do you suggest I first plug the unit into my computer via usb and go to the Garmin file and rename those two files. Then update the maps to 2010 if they are 2009. Then do a update on webupdater and not do anything to with the chipset m file to update.
So.. I have a 765T that a got a few weeks ago. It is updated to the latest firmware and maps. Taking a trip on Wednesday next week (which is why I bought the GPS).
It is sitting in my car powered off right now. Should I keep it turned off until someone figures out what is going on? Or turn it on to make sure it works. I would need to get something for my trip next week and I don't want to wait until the day before we leave.
I guess if it dies I could try taking it to bestbuy and see what they will do.
BTW.. I've had other Garmin units before and have always depended on them. If this happened while I was on my family vacation, this would be the last Garmin GPS I would own.
Comments
this is a brain teaser for someone..... :oops:
785T
I was running MSN traffic at the time.
I LOVE my GPS. I want it back
I am not from Miami and actually need it :)
I don't want to get in trouble, so I won't link the story again.
I'm just hoping my nuvi doesn't die also!
Steve
I'd try pulling the battery out, but I don't want to void my warranty (would that void my warranty?).
Actually, just remembered this is the one Darren had, where the GTM Unit has a US subscription and not UK / Europe....
Wonder if it's US Spec?
Is there any way to tell without switching it on?
Anybody know?
He did tell me that my unit was manufactured on October 24, 2008. I will be in my car in 1 hour and I will plug it in and see if it dies.
Will come back and post results.
I also have SW Ver 3.40 nuvi 765 V7 4GB P1 S3 330 MHz.
So, similar to the others - but it's not dead. I'll wait a day or so and see if a proper fix can be found.
Alan
EDIT: I went outside again and turned it on. Found sattelites again. Planned a new route. Satellites disappeared. Ahah - maybe it's that? Switched it off. Switched it on. Found the satellites. Cleared the route and planned a new one. All OK. Did it again. All OK. Now I can't "break" it. So I have no idea what's going on.
Perhaps that's the difference here, as mine is still working as of yet...
Steve
SW Ver 3.40 nuvi 765 V8 4GB P1 S3 330 MHz.
and, so far, still lighting my way :idea:
Then the gps blinked and said software update 1%
Lost satellite signals, I turned it off.
Turned it back on same thing (gps blinked and said software update 1%)
Now I turn it on and it doesnt give me the update message and I have 5 bars of signal in my office.
I did a route in my office and it worked fine.
I will be in my car in 30 minutes and will plug it into msn cable and route to a location and see what happens.
Will post status when I return.
Has ANYONE with a V8 unit experienced the problem yet?
Thanks for the help guys, this may assist both Garmin and the users with pinpointing a resolution. :)
Steve
Apparently I am missing the following updates:
Database for MSN Direct Flight Status
Firmware Update for GDBxx Traffic Receiver
Firmware Update for GMTxx Traffic Receiver
Font, binary data, Arabic
Font, binary data, Arabic (Bold)
GPS Chipset Type M
Localization Data, XML file
nuvi 7x5 DSP Software
nuvi 7x5 Help files
nuvi 7x5 Translation Files
Text, Proximity Alert, All languages
Traffic, Text, All languages
and bunch of voices.
Should I update my nuvi, or wait and see?
Thanks.
I'm in the UK.
if it's working now, I would wait to see what this is...
if it's not working..... well, why bother :lol:
Alan
Again, this is a gamble and typically going against Garmin's recommendation (in this case, sending it in) is typically not recommended. But if it were me I might call, get an RMA number, but hold onto the device for a couple of days to see if a software fix came out. If it does and you fix your device-- great... just cancel the RMA. Otherwise send it in in a few days if a software fix starts to sound unlikely. Then you are out a couple more days of using the device, but that is the risk.
My unit went through the entire cycle of updating and no GPS lock and then just flicked off and has never turned back on.
I slide the on/off every hour or so now just to keep checking.
Machine is going back to shop where I bought it and my business will be going to another vendor of navigation systems! Shame because I really liked the nuvi until it died.
Alan
Thanks.
Edited: never mind. found it. it's version 3.4. mine is a new 755t. Didn't use it yesterday. Seems ok for now but haven't taken it outside today. Keep my fingers crossed.
I would like to, but being so far away it will cost me quite a bit. No point ringing them as the phone call will costs loads. I guess I will have to wait for a reply by email - who knows how long that will take. There are no local agents as far as I'm aware. :cry:
My unit is still operational and still picking up GPS signals. I can't report with any certainty if it's losing lock on it's own though as I'll need to monitor it more closely. I'm testing in the house on my test-bed equipment (stock cradle mount/GTM 20/2 amp regulated 12V power supply).
I seemed to have dodged the "dead unit" bullet, perhaps with the file rename trick I posted when I realized what was taking place (an unneeded GPS firmware update) earlier but that could just be a coincidence. Regardless, I have also done the file rename on my 760 (MTK) but not on my 750 (SiRF) since I do not have access to it until this weekend.
If I see any sort of complete sat signal loss at any point, I will be reverting to firmware v2.50 to see if that is affecting things in the same way. You have to take these debug procedures a step at a time to try to isolate the problem.
To those that are still able to power their units on and have the MTK chipset, I STRONGLY recommend you do the file rename as it *seems* to have prevented mine from bricking. You can always rename them back to what they were much more easily than having a bonafide brick in your possession and sending the unit to Garmin for a brand new "refurb"...
Also, Engadget.com has this story up on their website.
I didnt see on the test page after holding the battery level indicator where it said what chipset I have. I know I downloaded a update called Chipset M (I beleive the other day)
If you have a 7x5 series unit and the download stated "GPS Chipset Type M", then you can be assured that you have the MTK (MediTek) chipset.
If I role this back to firmware 2.5 (not sure how to do that yet) will that firmware work with the latest 2010.10 map?
I'm getting ready for our annual summer vacation up the US East coast next week and I can't beleive I might not have my Garmin for the trip. :evil:
Note: It has NOT been verified that the unit software (or firmware) of the GPS itself is the culprit or if it's the GPS -chipset- software (two different things). Backdating the unit software will only help to pinpoint the problem. If the problem with spontaneous loss of all GPS signals still exists while running unit software v2.50 (the earliest that Garmin provides for download), then it may be that the culprit is the GPS chipset firmware.
1. Backup your favorites as you will lose them in the backdate process (user-loaded POIs will not be lost):
Copy x:/Garmin/GPX/current.gpx to a different location to restore them later. After the backdate, copy current.gpx back to the same location on the nuvi. After the copy, rename the file on the nuvi to temp.gpx. After the backdate, you will need to reset all of your user settings. The v2.50 firmware will work just fine with the newest map versions.
2. Download nuvi 7x5 series unit software v2.50 from here:
http://www.garmin.com/software/nuvi7x5_regionfileonly__250.gcd
3. After the download, connect your GPS to the PC via USB cable.
4. Drag the file you downloaded onto the WebUpdater icon on your desktop.
WebUpdater will proceed to transfer the firmware update to your nuvi. After doing so, safely disconnect the nuvi from the task bar icon but *leave it plugged in to the PC* (so as not to perform the update from battery power which if low, could shut the unit down and botch the update process).
The unit should reboot on it's own and then proceed with the actual firmware update. It will first inform you that the version being flashed to the unit is older than what is currently on it. Select "Yes" and the backdate will proceed. As stated earlier, your user settings will need to be redone.
Why after copying the current gpx file back to the Garmin file do you need to then change the name to temp.gpx? Why can't you leave it current.gpx?
SergZak, do you suggest I first plug the unit into my computer via usb and go to the Garmin file and rename those two files. Then update the maps to 2010 if they are 2009. Then do a update on webupdater and not do anything to with the chipset m file to update.
It is sitting in my car powered off right now. Should I keep it turned off until someone figures out what is going on? Or turn it on to make sure it works. I would need to get something for my trip next week and I don't want to wait until the day before we leave.
I guess if it dies I could try taking it to bestbuy and see what they will do.
BTW.. I've had other Garmin units before and have always depended on them. If this happened while I was on my family vacation, this would be the last Garmin GPS I would own.