Official Answer: Nuvi - SD microSD Card Size - Garmin FAQ

Installed the latest Garmin update and tried my luck with a "PNY" 16Gb SDHC card with custom POI and 3gb North America maps... working great... No problems so far! Plus the card is shock proof, waterproof, temp proof, and magnet proof... best $15 upgrade!

I've been Alternating between 2 different external cards on my Nuvi 660...
When a Map update happens, I take the card not presently used, and delete the 3 map files, and that card updates faster than the USBV1 660 would.

After update, rename files and swap into 660, saving the removed card as the next card for next map update.

This way, if 'something' happens during the update:

(Now How Could That Happen?)

I've still got the previous Map on the other card!

I have a Nuvi 2797LMT and put in a 32gb micro SD card - works great. I have tried a 64gb card as well and no problems.

Do I understand you right, JanJ? Your post seems to imply that you update your map, stored on a SD card, using the card reader. I thought the maps were tied to your GPS and wouldn't work if the GPS wasn't connected to the computer. If this is true then you should be able to copy an updated SD card and use it in several different GPSs and I don't think you can do that.

If you have both connected to your computer at the same time, it could be done. I think it's a clever solution to those who have trouble when updating mapsets.

Being that micro SD cards are so cheap, it makes a lot of sense to alternate like that.

You might want to check out our FAQ on the "cloning method" for map updates: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/39231.

Thank you for the info. I'm gonna try this out on the next map update.

thanks for this info

Great information for Nuvi owners.

Thanks for the clairfication

So confused, I don't understand, can we go over this again but this time with pictures?

Good to know was just thinking of ordering a larger card.

Good to know, I have been using an 8Gb micro SD card in my 1690 since new. No issues.

Good info. Was thinking that 765 will take up to 4Gb.

Thank you

Good to know.

Garmin now officially supports a 32GB SD card, of any speed rating, in ALL Nuvi models. See

http://tinyurl.com/ke44ojh

NOTE - This link was converted using Tinyurl as it was to long to properly be displayed or work on this forum in it's orginal form. It will direct you to the Garmin.com site.

Makes one wonder if some software thingy in the near future will require significantly more storage than is available now.

noted in the fine print: "The following devices will still only support an 8GB SD card during the map update with Express: nuvi 295, nuvi 800 series, nuvi 805 series, nuvi 5000, and zumo 665". It is unclear to me if this is just for Garmin Express, or if it is for the device itself. And come to think about it, I didn't think Garmin Express would offer a map update to SD card on the 8x5 series at all. Am I remembering that incorrectly? I guess I will need to do some experimenting with my 855 when I get a chance.

I just ran across this thread again. Thank you for posting that. Since I just got a Nuvi 3597, I have been thinking about buying one of those. A 32 GB micro SDHC at Micro Center is $14.99. That seems reasonable enough to expand the memory capacity.

On the other hand, I am still considering buying the Hunting GPS Maps. I see from their website that they are now onXmaps. Although I probably don't really need them, I still think it might be handy when I am out ATVing in remote areas to know who the land owner is in certain areas.

http://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/

I also checked the Garmin HuntView maps website, but it is still only available for Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah.

per Garmin tech support the new updated max micro SD card size is 32GB & that's what i am using now

I ordered a 16GB micro sd and then thought it might be too big. Glad to see it is not. Now I will try the 'alternate SD card' update method.

Good to finally find out what it is used for. Thanks!

Wondered about this.

Despite being told by Garmin that the Nuvi 3597 handles only up to an 8 GB microSD card, mine is successfully using a Sony brand 64 GB microSD.

Many of the newer ones can use a 32gb SD card.

Hello...I know this is an old post but was hoping someone could tell me what folders I can move over to my SD card to free up space.

I just did all my updates today and was told my 3597 is 87% full. I have an SD card and none of it's being used.

Will the 3597 start filling up the SD card once the memory is full. The manual doesn't really go into detail about the storage card.

Thanks for your time and help!

All is well. Although an 87% full computer drive may need more storage soon, an 87% full 8GB nuvi has a long life ahead of it since map updates don't increase too much with each update.

But if or when your 3597 needs to have the map placed on a SD card to obtain the full map that you're entitled to receive, the update process will automatically install the map on the card:

https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?...

As long as the full map will fit internally in the nuvi, the SD card will not be used.

The map can be placed on the SD card if your desire (see the POI Factory's cloning faq) and the Junction View file can run from the SD card. But right now, my advice is to do nothing and let Garmin do its thing.

One thing you could do is to remove unneeded files from your nuvi. The prime candidates for this process are voice files and voice recognition files in languages that you do not speak.

I have a 32gb SD card in mine

Since there are many Nuvi models, it would be helpful to say which one you are talking about.

Assuming you really want to know which 3597 files/folders can be moved to the micro SD card, here are the ones I believe can be moved. Note that I am not recommending that you actually operate your nuvi this way, but AFAIK, it will operate with no loss of function.

Map files: gmapprom.img, gmapprom.gma, gmapprom.unl
Original folder: \.system
SD card folder: \Map
Notes: Do not move the maps named gmapbmap.img, gmapdem.img and gmaptz.img to the SD card. Map files in the \Map folder of the SD card can be renamed from gmapprom or gmapsupp to any name of your choosing, but keep the .img, .unl and .gma extensions.

Map files (alternative method): gmapprom.img, gmapprom.gma, gmapprom.unl
Original folder: \.system
SD card folder: \Garmin
Notes: If placed on the SD card in folder \Garmin, the gmapprom files must be renamed to gmapsupp, keeping the .img, .gma and .unl extensions.

Junction view file - file type: .jcv
Original folder: \.system\JCV
SD card folder: \Garmin\JCV

Voice recognition - file types: .srx, .asr
Original folder: \.system\ASR
SD card folder: \Garmin\ASR
Notes: Do not move .srd files to the SD card. They must remain on the device in folder \.system\ASR

Search Index files - file type: .sid
Original folder: \.system\SID
SD card folder: \Garmin\SID
Notes: The search index files are for advanced features including traffic trends, point addressing, instasearch and fast routing.

A 4GB card is probably all you would ever need unless you have a unit that uses MP3 or does Audible books.

Putting larger cards into the unit is the same as those that buy Cat 6 cables to connect between their devices when their Internet connection speed is less than 20 Mb/s. Unless you are running a data center there is no need for any component to run much faster than the slowest part of your link.

For the nüvi 265W 4GB seems to be sufficient for 2016.10 Navigator North America maps even though map sizes over the years has been creeping up.

Not as detailed or device specific as the answer offered by alandb, but from a 10-thousand foot view, here's Garmin's description as of 07/27/2015:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What data loaded to an SD card will an automotive device recognize?

Garmin Camper/RV, dezl, dezlCam, LIVE, nuvi, nuviCam, and zumo series devices will recognize a variety of data when that data is loaded to an SD card. The recognized data types are listed below:

o - JPEG picture files (Note 1)
o - Garmin mapping image files loaded to the card via Garmin MapSource, Garmin MapInstall, or through Garmin's downloadable web content
o - User created routes for devices that support multiple-point routing (Notes 2,3)
o - Waypoints (Note 3) and custom Points of Interest (POI) files
o - MP3 files (Note 4)
o - Audible book files (Note 5)

Notes:
1 For a list of devices that are compatible with JPEG picture files, use URL below.

2 GPX files must be located in a "GPX" folder within a "Garmin" folder on the SD card.

3 Most devices require you import routes and waypoints before they will appear on the device. Devices that use Trip Planner do not require you to import the data before it will appear. However, not all devices that use the Trip Planner can receive routes.

For more information about devices that use Trip Planner that are also compatible with receiving routes, use URL below.

4 MP3 files can only be read by devices with an MP3 media player.

5 Audible book files can only be read by devices with an Audible Book Player. Audible books can be downloaded from www.audible.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Above Info From Garmin Support URL:
https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={9e6d6ed0-546b-11df-dfe2-000000000000}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thanks

Thanks

Good info - thank you.

Thanks for explaining this!

Great info, thanks!

Have an 8Gb micro SD installed in my 1690. Way overkill but need an SD card for maps and POI's.

Thanks for posting this.

Very informative!

Interesting thread

I think all the links to the Garmin site in this thread and in the FAQ are now defunct. The current link on Garmin's site is https://support.garmin.com/faqSearch/en-US/faq/content/UsL6M....

You will note that the newer Drive series devices, the RV 770 and the newest zumo devices support up to 64 GB, although these must still be formatted as FAT32.

I don't know if jrozsnaki is still active at POI Factory, but the FAQ relating to SD card size is outdated and needs to be corrected: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/14354.

There is an interesting footnote there indicating support of speed ratings "up to" Class 10. The way they phrase it would in plain English mean that cards of class higher than 10 were not promised to work. However it appears to me that such higher classes are not currently defined, and that in any case if they come to exist will probably be downward compatible.

Appreciated the info.

When specifying a MAX size for almost anything, Flash, RAM, CPU, etc. mfg almost never specify something that doesn't currently exist on someone's sales shelf. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, and foremost, the mfg has no idea what the final version of new tech will be. If the device can address 128GB SD card, specifying that would be disaster waiting to happen. SD cards max out at 2GB. SDHC cards max out at 32GB. SDXC currently max out at 2TB. Speed isn't the issue. It doesn't matter if you have a class 4 or a class 10 UNLESS you are using it in a high speed camera. You can read/write a class 10 device at a class 4 speed (slow), but not vice versa. And Garmins are slow. What matters is if the device can read the SD. Most all devices will read fat16 and fat32 and either SD, or SDHC can be formatted either way. You can also format them NTFS and a lot of devices won't be able to read it. Now if your device can address 128GB why can't you use an SDXC card?
Because SDXC uses a different file system called exFAT and it works differently than standard SD cards, this new format is NOT backwards compatible with host devices that only take SD (128MB to 2GB) or host devices that only take SDHC (4GB to 32GB).
Given the fact that there is no use for anything over 4GB in a Garmin due to file size limitations, using an 8, 16, 32GB device it financially wasteful. Will Garmin invest the time to make the device read an SDXC, probably not unless SD and SDHC start disappearing from shelves. 64GB and higher are useless to the device. Put a 64GB device in and it has no clue as to what just happened, because it can't read it since it must be an SDXC device with an exFAT format.
This horse should really be dead at this point with all the beating it has had.

You can have multiple 4 GB map files on a SD card and the newer Garmins can use all of them. In fact, the current full CN Europe map is over 4 GB and Express installs it as 2 files.

You can have multiple 4 GB map files on a SD card and the newer Garmins can use all of them. In fact, the current full CN Europe map is over 4 GB and Express installs it as 2 files. I am not sure, but I think if there is insufficient internal memory, Garmin Express puts both files on SD card, so you would need a card larger than 4 GB.

... On mine it put one part of the map internally and one in the card, so I guess it depends on how much internal free space you have.