Increasing voice volume

[gatorguy]

For anyone that feels the voice instructions are not quite load enough, there is a way to increase them. Make sure you have a backup of the file you're changing before proceeding.

Connect your nuvi to the USB port and wait for the drive to be discovered.
Open your text editor. If you don't have one, there are several free including Crimson Editor, Edit Pad, VIM and others. Browse to the nuvi drive, Garmin>voices. Open the voice file (*.vpm) of the one you want to edit. Scroll nearly to the end of the file. (btw, they're quite large). I'll give american jill as an example. You should see a line that reads <voice_volume>65</voice.volume>. The number you want to change is the 65. In my case, I changed it to 80. You can go higher, but will probably start noticing some distortion if you do. Save the file via the text editor. This may take a bit, a minute or two. You should notice a much better voice volume. I also did Australian Karen (my favorite), which was already at 85, and raised to 90. Both voices are louder. If you want to try a different number, just repeat the process. Be sure to "safely remove hardware" before disconnecting the nuvi. Also, I can't stress enough to be sure you have a backup of the file you're changing before starting this. Stuff happens and I'm not responsible.

[infama]

Hacking a Garmin????

[raaurora]

now this is why I read these forums.

thanks!

[junioor]

nice

[Tim]

Can we confirm which series devices this works on? Perhaps all of them, but it would be nice to document if you have a 200, 300, 600, 700, or 800 series device.

[Tim]

I might as well test a couple I have around here... The 200 appears not to work. The vpm file doesn't have a voice_volume tag.

[YourFun2]

Thanks Gator!

It worked on my Nuvi 360. I was unable to edit on the unit itself, using a Macintosh. I copied the vpm file to the Mac hard drive, edited it and then replaced the file on the Nuvi. I did 90 on Jill and 99 on Karen. Sounds Great!

Rich

[gatorguy]

Tim, I think this should work with any of the nuvi series TTS voices. The voice volume line is "one-click" above the end of file.

[Tim]

Correct, and the one I checked didn't have TTS.

[OrlandoRealtor]

Finally found it neat.

[Francisco]

My comments:

1 - Do not edit the *.vpm files with Wordpad. I did that without any apparent problem, but the result was that the two voices that I edited disappeared from my Garmin 760; were no longer shown as available to be used. Restored from backup, and the voices again became available as originally. Close call, I guess...

2 - I then downloaded the Crimson Editor, which did not work because when I tried to open any of the large *.vpm files the result was a message indicating "Word Count Overflow - some parts of this document contain more than 32,768 words in a line" etc.

3 - I then downloaded the VIM editor which seems to have worked perfectly. However, it takes a very long time to save the file after editing. Be patient. Go do something else, come back in a while, and then keep waiting...

4 - I edited the "voice volume" setting to 99 on various *.vpm TTS files: Emily, Jill and Karen in English, and also Isabel and Paulina in Spanish. All seem to be working fine.

5 - Unfortunately, I find the increase in volume to be minimal, if any. Certainly not as I hoped, I'm not sure if the change helps any. The volume of the Garmin 760 voices still is about as loud as my new TomTom 930 at a 70% to 75% volume setting, nowhere near the TT930 at 100% setting (the Garmin 760 screen is much brighter than the TT930, however).

6 - While I was in my Garmin->Voices folder, I erased all files for all languages except English, Spanish, and Italian (erased 94 files, originally there were 122 files in that folder, now only 28). That results in a much shorter menu when changing the voice in the Garmin 760, which I think is very convenient. And of course I do not expect to ever use those languages that I erased, in which I do not know one single word.

7 - Before doing anything to the files on your GPS, please make sure that you have a full working backup of all files, because you will need the backup to restore your original files if anything goes wrong, as indeed happened to me initially.

8 - All the above are my own personal experiences and opinions based upon the modifications that I made to files in my own Garmin 760. No negative consequences of which I am aware to date. But of course I will not guarantee and I am not responsible for whatever will happen if you try any of this in your GPS.

Good luck!

[weezedog]

Use a hex editor, like XVI32. It only takes about 1/2 second to save the file after editing it.

[Francisco]

Thanks, but no thanks. I downloaded XVI32, used it to open one of the Garmin .vps files, and frankly I have no idea about what I'm supposed to do with that file in that editor. I rather leave the file as is (not edit it), or edit with VIM which as I said worked fine except that it took a while to save the file. I am NOT a programmer and I do not understand anything about hex files or hex editors. Sorry. Thanks again.

[weezedog]

[Francisco]

Thanks, sounds good.

[RobCTNY]

Any way to increase the volume of the attention tone that earlier nuvi models have ?

[ordertwo]

Changing the TTS Volume Level Higher Did it get rid of the sounding like there talking into a tin can ?

[nuvifan]

The most common complaint I read online about the Garmin Nuvis is that the volume of spoken instructions is too low: It seems to me that at a minimum, the recent Nuvi models 2xx, 7xx, 8xx suffer from this flaw. I have read many users who insist that they are returning their Nuvi because of difficulty hearing it.

I offer the following small sample of current reviews at Costco.com regarding the 855 model: Of 46 reviews, 3 stated the low volume was a main reason for returning it; 12 others complained of low volume, and about 6 specifically found the volume at least satisfactory. This is an admittedly very small sample, but I believe similar results would be found in tallying Amazon reviews for different Nuvis: However, I respectfully decline to tally those several thousand possibilities.

I just had the good fortune to use a Voice Editor program that allows a user to alter the volume of individual voices on the Nuvi 855: This program is titled “TTSVoiceEditor,” and is available by free download at: http://turboccc.wikispaces.com I have also read that several other voice editors can perform the same function. [By the way, TTS stands for “Text To Speech.”]

I just modified the six English speaking voices on my 855, raising them all from Garmin default levels of 65 or 85…up to my choices of 90 and 95: These levels exist deep in the computer programming for individual Garmin “Voices.” Previously, my Master Volume level (with the – and + volume slider, adjustable in 10% increments) had been set at 100%, and was difficult to hear unless the windows were closed, and radio set low. My “American Jill” voice is now easy to hear, even with two car windows open and stereo on moderate volume; I also find NO problem with voice distortion. It is no longer necessary to strain to hear the instructions. I can even foresee situations in the future when I might adjust the “volume slider” to less than 100%.

This program apparently works on a broad range of Nuvi models (series 2xx, 6xx, 7xx, and 8xx), and is also very easy to use. I have also reprogrammed the term “recalculating,” so that now it is supposed to say: “Oopsy booboo! Let’s turn around.” However, I haven’t yet had a chance to test drive this new feature! Perhaps some further modification will prove necessary. Virtually all spoken instructions in the Nuvis can be modified with this program.

I cannot understand why Garmin continues to produce its Nuvi line (for several years now) with default voice volume so low. Wouldn’t you think that Garmin MUST be well aware of the complaints by now? Given the frequency of the online complaints I read about Nuvi volume in various discussion forums (and Amazon user reviews), I believe that there could be several hundred owners who have complained, among all models; I also frequently read of new Amazon owners who insist that they are returning Nuvis to their vendors for refunds.

I think it is a terrible shame that Garmin continues to produce otherwise good Nuvi products, but which consistently feature volume that is too low for many customers. I also regret that most of those disappointed new owners never know of the TTSVoiceEditor, and how it could greatly improve their satisfaction with a Nuvi. I was initially very reluctant to fiddle with my 855, but actually had no problem with the simple instructions, and it was quick.

I had previously “learned to live with” the low volume of my Nuvi, but am now much happier with the louder instructions…and hope that these comments lead you to consider making your own volume modifications.

I first read about the TTSVoiceEditor here. Once again (and over and over), I salute this forum for all the wonderful information I have read here...and all that I have learned about Nuvis.

[Pale Rider]

Thanks for the link! I will try and raise the volume on my 265WT. Im going to make a backup first just in case I screw something up.

[GadgetGuy2008]

[Pale Rider]

Gotcha--didnt know that

[zmanzbo]

Just tried this on my new 855 and it was extremely easy and worked great. I used the TSSVoiceEditor program and it was a breeze. Thanks for posting the link to that software.

I also noticed that Garmin put out some Garmin Matt voice and it is extremely loud but does not speak street names. Maybe they are finally catching on to the low voice volume and will release updated voices soon.

[Bulliever]

[NetPro]

The issue of volume will never come to a close because there are several variables;
Is the vehicle a quiet one? I drive a Toyota Avalon quite quiet and I don't need to turn the radio very loud to listen to it well. Likewise, when speaking with people riding with me, I don't need to raise my voice or them theirs.

Riding with the windows down? This will definitely force you to use a louder volume.

Even the road type has a bearing on this, as some road's surface is much more noisy that others.
The acustics of the vehicle is also something to consider.
And of course, how loud are other devices in the car; cell phones ringing, radar detectors, radios, etc.

[flipper]

I downloaded and re-downloaded the TTVoiceEditor file and it won't run. I get the error message "This application failed to start because MSVBM60 .DLL was not found"

[wscott52]

[SergZak]

[NetPro]

[flipper]

Thank you.

[mrdave]

Thank you all, It worked on my Garmin 755t, now I can almost hear it in my old Impala SS.
Dave

[mortfe]

Ok guys, Im on a mac. Files are all PC. Any help for me? Tried an external speaker - didn't work. I heard the fm traffic receiver really increases the volume but if you have to charge the unit, you have to disconnect the traffic. Garmin really screwed this up good.

[Roll]

[mortfe]

YourFun2: How did you edit it & what did you use? I tried Text Wrangler & was grayed out? After you copied to desktop, then what? After replacing, does it delete the orig file?

[gatorguy]

Roll, I'm definitely not the go to hack guy. My original post came from hints from a member at another forum. I simply played around using his basic instructions until I found settings and editors that worked. The guy that truly took it several steps farther was TurboCCC. First guy I'd run across that took the time to dissect Garmin's file system and came up with several ways to create some voice workarounds. I don't see him in the forums that often anymore, but he does pop in and post every couple of months if not more. He'd be the guy here if anyone is. There's a couple other people who have successfully modified some of the Garmin features, and they too pop in once in awhile. Even tho working with Garmin's proprietary OS sometimes requires working with one eye closed, perhaps someone will take the challenge. In the meantime, you can check out some of TurboCCC's work at turboccc.wikispaces.com