Annoying/Exasperating Nuvi Behavior

 

All in all, I love my Nuvi. But, there are a couple things about it that run from annoying to flat out exasperating that I need to share. Maybe I am just missing something in the setting that can save me from myself.

1) With a custom POI of speed traps loaded, my Nuvi will NOT turn the back light on when approaching a speed trap in map mode, but it will turn on when a new direction is approaching. It will “ding” a warning, but I have to tap the screen to see what I am approaching (Red light? Speed Trap? Micro-Brewery?)

When it is in "dashboard" mode, it WILL turn the backlight on for a POI warning.

Why can't it turn the backlight on when approaching a POI in map mode? Annoying.

2) When attaching the Nuvi to a power source (cigarette plug) in a car, and you unplug it, a warning will come up that it will shut off in 30 seconds because the outside power source was lost. That's fine. When you plug it in to a USB port on a PC to work with it in disk mode and then unplug it, it simply turns on. Now, if the Nuvi is muted AND it is in the case, you will not see it turn on. And, if you work at night loading and tweaking POIs and this happens, you will get in your car in the morning to a rundown Nuvi.

(Guess what happened to ME this morning!)

Why can’t it warn you of a power loss and auto shutdown? Exasperating!

Is there a way around these “quirks”? Thanks!!

--
Garmin #1: eTrex Vista Garmin #2: Nuvi 350 Garmin #3: Forerunner 201 <br> "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts." - Sen. D.P. Moynihan

Ideas

For your speed and redlight cameras you could load a custom mp3 alert that would eliminate the need to look at the screen, but I would opt for keeping the backlight on. Also, if you had a dead battery when you got in your car, and you saw that as a big problem, you must not plug into the cigarette lighter. Constantly using the battery will shorten it's life; a lithium ion battery has a limited number of total cycles -- often as few as 300 total cycles.

--
Nuvi 660 -- and not upgrading it or maps until Garmin fixes long-standing bugs/problems, and get maps to where they are much more current, AND corrected on a more timely basis when advised of mistakes.

Power on when off USB

My 660 used to power on in map mode after I disconnected it from the computer, but now it always shuts off. I seem to remember this change in behavior after a software update. Verify your unit has the latest software.

http://www8.garmin.com/support/blosp.jsp

Regards.

A bit puzzled...

My nuvi 260 always has the backlight on when connected to a power source, so reading the alert info bar is nothing special. Is there a setting where you can set the backlight to standby? I can't find such an adjustment in my 260. It only turns down the backlight when I'm running on battery, which is almost never.

I can adjust the brightness of the backlight when I'm in battery mode, but I don't see any way to shut it off when it's connected to a power source.

--
Rick - Nüvi 260 - eTrex Summit HC

Annoying

The only things I really find annoying is:

1. When I drive into a parking garage and you get the message "lost satellite reception" press OK to continue. Maybe they could have it say lost satellite reception until it comes back in but get rid of the press OK.

2. When you miss type your unlock code you have a choice drive to your unlock location (yeah right) or to turn the unit off and then on again. They should give you at least a 2nd try to type it in before you have to turn it off then on again.

Ran Updater Last Night ...

ropaswan wrote:

My 660 used to power on in map mode after I disconnected it from the computer, but now it always shuts off. I seem to remember this change in behavior after a software update. Verify your unit has the latest software.

http://www8.garmin.com/support/blosp.jsp

Regards.

Thanks - I ran web updater yesterday (actually last night, when I just so happen to stumble once again upon #2). I am up to date.

--
Garmin #1: eTrex Vista Garmin #2: Nuvi 350 Garmin #3: Forerunner 201 <br> "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts." - Sen. D.P. Moynihan

Cord-a-phobia

bentbiker wrote:

For your speed and redlight cameras you could load a custom mp3 alert that would eliminate the need to look at the screen, but I would opt for keeping the backlight on. Also, if you had a dead battery when you got in your car, and you saw that as a big problem, you must not plug into the cigarette lighter. Constantly using the battery will shorten it's life; a lithium ion battery has a limited number of total cycles -- often as few as 300 total cycles.

I do use the battery in the car, almost always. I understand the limits of the Li-Ion battery, but figure that if the battery refuses to take a charge, I'll just keep it plugged in. But until that time, I avoid the power cord. I already have cords for my radar detector and iPod hanging about. Sometimes I have to add my cell phone charger, too. Trying to avoid another.

Thanks!

--
Garmin #1: eTrex Vista Garmin #2: Nuvi 350 Garmin #3: Forerunner 201 <br> "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts." - Sen. D.P. Moynihan

Battery

I use the cord in the car at all times. Do you think I should use the battery and let it drain and re-charge once in awhile? Or the less battery use the better for its life? Are there memory issues with the standard battery for the nuvi 350?
Thanks,
Gage

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Gage with a nuvi 350 and 200

Keep Charged

glnelso wrote:

Do you think I should use the battery and let it drain and re-charge once in awhile? Or the less battery use the better for its life? Are there memory issues with the standard battery for the nuvi 350?

No reason to discharge and re-charge. No memory issues with Li-Ion batteries.

--
Nuvi 660 -- and not upgrading it or maps until Garmin fixes long-standing bugs/problems, and get maps to where they are much more current, AND corrected on a more timely basis when advised of mistakes.

Me too...

glnelso wrote:

I use the cord in the car at all times. Do you think I should use the battery and let it drain and re-charge once in awhile? Or the less battery use the better for its life? Are there memory issues with the standard battery for the nuvi 350?
Thanks,
Gage

There are no memory issues with Li-ion batteries, but they are only good for a limited number of charge cycles before the battery will no longer take a charge. The more often you deplete and recharge the faster you will kill the battery. And I also believe that the capacity steadily gets shorter too, so that if it is good for 4 hours when new, after using half of the rated cycles, it will be good for only 2 hours or less. It's a cycle of diminishing returns, so it just doesn't make sense to me to use it without the power cord.

I don't believe in radar detectors... I feel they should be universally outlawed (as they are in some states), so I don't have to worry about that. My cell phone gets charged at home, so that isn't an issue either,

Then too, I use my GPS often for road day trips... no way the battery will last long enough to get me there and back.

Seems to me that if auto GPS's were really designed for battery use, the battery would be more easily replaceable, or it would use a more standard type of battery.

--
Rick - Nüvi 260 - eTrex Summit HC

.

I use it on battery power until it needs recharging. Why mess with cords when you don't have to? I can mess with cords now and save the battery, or I can wear out the battery and mess with cords later. The worse that can happen is that I will have to eventually mess with cords. By then I may want a new GPS anyway. Besides, I've heard that these batteries have a time-limited life whether you use them or not.

The advantage of buying the less expensive models is that you don't mind replacing them every 3 years when the battery is shot and the map is out-of-date. By 2011 I'll probably be able to buy a 205W for $100.

--
nuvi 200 | lifetime maps

Hurray for radar detectors!

rapriebe wrote:

I don't believe in radar detectors... I feel they should be universally outlawed (as they are in some states)

Just one state and D.C. so that puts you kind of in the minority, eh?

I rather like mine. And not because I am trying to speed, but often time when tooling around town it will go off, I glance down, and realize I am going 42 in a 30 zone and slow down. Usually this is on a road that clearly has a speed limit much lower than it needs to be for the road it is on.

PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

A Different Worst Case

dminz wrote:

I use it on battery power until it needs recharging. Why mess with cords when you don't have to? I can mess with cords now and save the battery, or I can wear out the battery and mess with cords later. The worse that can happen is that I will have to eventually mess with cords. By then I may want a new GPS anyway. Besides, I've heard that these batteries have a time-limited life whether you use them or not.

The advantage of buying the less expensive models is that you don't mind replacing them every 3 years when the battery is shot and the map is out-of-date. By 2011 I'll probably be able to buy a 205W for $100.

I respectfully disagree that your worst case is in fact the worst case. The big difference in the approaches is that you will not be able to use your unit on battery power in as little as 18 months and I'll be able to use mine on my bike or a walking tour for years. If you never envision using the unit in a portable environment, your way certainly is an option -- I have a friend who just hates to see a cord.

As you mentioned, these batteries will not last forever even if they are kept permanently on charge. However, constantly discharging and re-charging will probably (depending upon the sophistication of the charger) kill the battery much sooner.

--
Nuvi 660 -- and not upgrading it or maps until Garmin fixes long-standing bugs/problems, and get maps to where they are much more current, AND corrected on a more timely basis when advised of mistakes.

As We Stray Away From My Original Point ...

rapriebe wrote:

I don't believe in radar detectors... I feel they should be universally outlawed (as they are in some states), so I don't have to worry about that. My cell phone gets charged at home, so that isn't an issue either,

Then too, I use my GPS often for road day trips... no way the battery will last long enough to get me there and back.

Seems to me that if auto GPS's were really designed for battery use, the battery would be more easily replaceable, or it would use a more standard type of battery.

Well, I do use a radar detector, and you would to if you lived in a state where troopers have recently had their job description changed from "law enforcement agents" to "tax collectors". Police in NJ no longer pull over and ticket people for moving faster than the flow of traffic, which typically moves 10-15 MPH over the posted speed limit on major highways; they now cherry pick people out of fast moving “caravans” to ticket. So me, moving along with the flow of traffic no longer prevents me from being singled out for a 3-4 point moving violation, which goes along with a $350-400 fine, plus insurance surcharges.

As for replaceable batteries - is the iPod not designed for battery use? I think of the irreplaceable battery as a gimmick dreamt up by Steve Jobs to get people to regularly buy a new iPod every year or so. This worked so well for Apple that other consumer electronic manufacturers began to incorporate this “feature” into their products, i.e. – GPSrs. I can, and I have replaced “irreplaceable” iPod batteries, and will probably replace the same in my Nuvi, when the time comes … But that was not the point of my original note.

I was hoping for a setting or a hack that would “correct” (in quotes, because I am of the opinion that it is a deficiency of the Nuvi) this behavior.

Thanks!

--
Garmin #1: eTrex Vista Garmin #2: Nuvi 350 Garmin #3: Forerunner 201 <br> "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts." - Sen. D.P. Moynihan

How much does it cost to

How much does it cost to replace a nuvi battery and can it be done at all?

.

bentbiker wrote:

I respectfully disagree that your worst case is in fact the worst case. The big difference in the approaches is that you will not be able to use your unit on battery power in as little as 18 months and I'll be able to use mine on my bike or a walking tour for years. If you never envision using the unit in a portable environment, your way certainly is an option -- I have a friend who just hates to see a cord.

As you mentioned, these batteries will not last forever even if they are kept permanently on charge. However, constantly discharging and re-charging will probably (depending upon the sophistication of the charger) kill the battery much sooner.

Yes, I'm sure I can wear out a battery sooner than you by using it, maybe by a year or two. I'm not sure these batteries will last more than 4 years under any circumstances. It would be more important to me if I used the GPS for walking or biking, but I don't get lost or look for the fastest route when I'm doing those things.

--
nuvi 200 | lifetime maps

Don't have to turn a Nuvi 350 off...

PaulATL wrote:

The only things I really find annoying is:

2. When you miss type your unlock code you have a choice drive to your unlock location (yeah right) or to turn the unit off and then on again. They should give you at least a 2nd try to type it in before you have to turn it off then on again.

Does it not just prompt you for the code again after a minute or two? That's what my Nuvi 350 does. Maybe you aren't waiting long enough after mistyping your unlock code. The delay *is* kind of long if you mistype the code...

Waiting a minute or two

Sometimes, waiting a minute or two is really not the best. It would be better if the receiver defaults to the original screen as soon as it rejects the typed code rather than having to turn it off and on or driving to your unlock location. Garmin certainly can do better than that - maybe I expect too much, especially as the GPS receiver can microwave my food, turn on my car, tell me the news etc. If the receiver can locate where I am, hundreds of miles from the last time I turned it on through satellites, the current code unlock system can be better done.

unlock

Just tried mine, and after about 15 seconds the error message goes away and lets you enter the code again. I've got a 350.

Waiting

It must be that I have not been waiting long enough. Obviously I get really impatient if I have not waited even 15 seconds. smile I'll try waiting a bit more next time.