Nuvi 350 Power Switch

 

My 1st GPSr was a Nuvi 350 which I had to send back after a few months b/c the power switch stopped working. Garmin quickly replaced the unit with a different one, I sold the replacement unit shortly after it returned and upgraded to a 750, but the friend I sold it to is now experiencing the same problem. Anybody else had this problem?

350 for 8 months - no problems

mourton wrote:

My 1st GPSr was a Nuvi 350 which I had to send back after a few months b/c the power switch stopped working. Garmin quickly replaced the unit with a different one, I sold the replacement unit shortly after it returned and upgraded to a 750, but the friend I sold it to is now experiencing the same problem. Anybody else had this problem?

We've had a 350 for 8 months or so. No problems.

Pwr Sw

I had the same problem, it wouldn't on. Problem was solved by lifting GPS antenna and pressing reset button. Don't remember exactly but I may have had to hold on button and reset. Hope this solves your problem.

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Nuvi 350; BlondeStar

3x0 Switch

mourton wrote:

My 1st GPSr was a Nuvi 350 which I had to send back after a few months b/c the power switch stopped working. Garmin quickly replaced the unit with a different one, I sold the replacement unit shortly after it returned and upgraded to a 750, but the friend I sold it to is now experiencing the same problem. Anybody else had this problem?

A friend of mine had the same problem with a 360. I think he said that Garmin Cust Svc acknowledged that the failure rate of the switches was a known problem.

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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.

garmin switch

never a problem with the one i had

Garmin Customer Service

Generally Garmin customer service is very good. I suspect they will still cover the replacement/ repair of the 350. You may need to call on behalf of your friend since you were the one who originally registered the unit. Good luck.

Nuvi 350 power

I've had the same problem. Suddenly the unit won't come on. Yep, open the antenna, push the reset button and it comes on.

Bob

Nuvi 350 Switch

This is a common problem with the Nuvi series. The on/off switch is a surface mount switch that is mounted vertically off of the main PC board.

The problem is, that there is no support behind the switch, so when you press down the button, the solder leads of the switch are stressed and eventually break off the main PC board. This is a design flaw and could have been easily prevented by wedging a small piece of plastic between the rear of the switch and the SD card housing to give the switch support.

Also, the solder pads for the mechanical connections of the switch could have been made bigger, allowing for more surface area and more solder application.

I have repaired many of these before and the repairs I make prevent this from happening again.

If you would like for me to reasonably repair your GPS, please email me at KS3R at sharc dot net.

- Jim

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SHARCNET-USA

Send it to Garmin

If your unit is registered, Garmin will fix it for free. Jim it's great you offer this service, but I suspect only those stolen units who are not going register would be of need of your service.

BTW my Nuvi 350 switch is getting very difficult to use. I've been letting my laptop automatically turn on the unit and my DC car connector to shut it off. I'll soon be making the call to replace the switch.

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eTrex Touch 35, Nuvi 1350LMT, Nuvi 350, Nuvi 260, Garmin GPS III, Basecamp

Nuvi 350 - 18 months no issues

Hi,

I have not encountered this issue yet but we are not heavy users which could be why.

We primarily use it on long treks and not on our daily commute.

S.
Phoenix, AZ

Thanks for the information,

Thanks for the information, my daughter was going to buy one off Costco for $199 canadian..I've got to let her know about this problem with the unit..thanks again!

I've had the same problem...

... the power switch has basically failed. Will be sending in shortly to get repaired/replaced (it is outside warranty).

IF you got it from costco's

IF you got it from costco's remember, you can take it back if you want. This come off their website.

Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.

--
Jerry...Jacksonville,Fl Nüvi1450,Nuvi650,Nuvi 2495 and Mapsource.

Nuvi 350 Power Switch

I have a Nuvi 350 and the plastic Power Switch has cracked. I called garmin and was told that they could fix it for $175 plus shipping $25. Any one have this happen to their unit. I have had it since
July 2007

Mark

Nuvi 350 Power Switch

traveling_lost wrote:

I have a Nuvi 350 and the plastic Power Switch has cracked. I called garmin and was told that they could fix it for $175 plus shipping $25. Any one have this happen to their unit. I have had it since
July 2007

Mark

American Express card offers double manufacturer's warranty, provided you can show that the item was charged to an Amex card. Check your credit card benefits/policy. You can then make a claim from the credit card for the amount to repair the GPSr.

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nuvi 2460LMT

Ive had mine for 4 ,omths

Ive had mine for 4 ,omths and no problem only the battery doesnt last much

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CY

BT

ciro200000 wrote:

Ive had mine for 4 ,omths and no problem only the battery doesnt last much

Do you turn off the BT and WAAS when you are on battery?

--
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.

garmin

i personally have not had problems but have had friends that have, there is a bit of a failure rate on the buttons but garmin has been helpful in switching out the units for a replacement.

mourton wrote: My 1st GPSr

mourton wrote:

My 1st GPSr was a Nuvi 350 which I had to send back after a few months b/c the power switch stopped working. Garmin quickly replaced the unit with a different one, I sold the replacement unit shortly after it returned and upgraded to a 750, but the friend I sold it to is now experiencing the same problem. Anybody else had this problem?

Nope. I've had mine for almost 2 years and never had such problem. But I can see that the switch is really crappy.

Nuvi 350 Power Switch

With all do respect to The Tick,

I've been contacted by many people with "out-of-warranty" units who have told me that Garmin is charging $170.00 for the repair. Actually, Garmin simply swaps out the unit for another. The problem is, Garmin is not addressing the design issue and is merely replacing units with ones that also have the same design issue. Eventually, these units too will break.

I too, fell victim of the failed on/off switch and also placed a call to Garmin, so I know the complaints are valid.

I am an Electrical Design Engineer who works in Product Development and it's clear that Garmin made some errors in the PCB & mechanical design on this unit with respect to the on/off power switch.

Surface mount technology is great for size reduction and low-power drain but it is not "consumer-friendly" with the outside world.

Garmin should have used a conventional through-hole PCB switch or made the solder pads larger and used a switch like the Nuvi reset switch, which sits flat against the PCB for mechanical support.

To the reference about "stolen" units, there are a lot of people who are properly setting up a security PIN. I've seen many posts on other forums by people asking how to recover a "lost" PIN. Those are the posts I would consider thinking twice about.

- Jim

--
SHARCNET-USA

350 Switch

sharcnet wrote:

This is a common problem with the Nuvi series. The on/off switch is a surface mount switch that is mounted vertically off of the main PC board.

The problem is, that there is no support behind the switch, so when you press down the button, the solder leads of the switch are stressed and eventually break off the main PC board. This is a design flaw and could have been easily prevented by wedging a small piece of plastic between the rear of the switch and the SD card housing to give the switch support.

Also, the solder pads for the mechanical connections of the switch could have been made bigger, allowing for more surface area and more solder application.

I have repaired many of these before and the repairs I make prevent this from happening again.

If you would like for me to reasonably repair your GPS, please email me at KS3R at sharc dot net.

- Jim

I have an older vintage unit (the original release w/o the anti-glare screen) and have had no problems with this. Having years of embedded system HW & FW OEM design experience, my guess is that the newer releases are seeing an issue from a cost reduction effort to reduce the end user price to compete with Magellan. I wouldn't be surprised if the 2xx and 3xx series use a variant of the same PCB. This can be determined if the 2xx experiences the same fallout.

Just my thoughts!

--
JRoz -- DriveSmart 55 & Traffic

out of warranty repair

is $100 for the switch.

My Nuvi 350 is out of

My Nuvi 350 is out of warranty. I bought it on Oct 2006 and the Garmin rep stated they will fix the switch no charge except I will have to pay shipping one way.

Not sure if Garmin support has different tiers ,but I've had various Garmin GPSrs dating back to '98. Garmin support has always been amazing, but I suspect long time Garmin GPSr users may get hardware replacement charges waived/reduced. I did spend big $$$ on those early GPSrs as apposed to between one to two hundred dollars on the new low end Nuvis.

For example Garmin replaced my 10-year lithium battery on my GPS III just a few months ago. There was no charge and I did not have to pay any shipping!

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eTrex Touch 35, Nuvi 1350LMT, Nuvi 350, Nuvi 260, Garmin GPS III, Basecamp

Switch

I am on my second 350. The antennae went and was replaced FOC. I have noticed however that the switch on my first one made no sound when turning on/off. The replaced one clicks on and off. Neither has had problems with the on/off switch though.

Battery Issues

bentbiker wrote:
ciro200000 wrote:

Ive had mine for 4 ,omths and no problem only the battery doesnt last much

Do you turn off the BT and WAAS when you are on battery?

I am new to this (gps and this site) - can you please clarify what BT and WAAS is as I am having problems with my battery not lasting?

.

tallgaier wrote:

I am new to this (gps and this site) - can you please clarify what BT and WAAS is as I am having problems with my battery not lasting?

BT is Bluetooth, a wireless technology for hands-free calling; your 350 doesn't have BT. As for WAAS, see http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/waas.html . I believe your 350 does have WAAS and it is turned on and off within wrench/System/WAAS-EGNOS. This is a major power draw and there is debate as to whether it is of significant benefit.

The other significant power draw is the backlighting which can be set to turn off after 30 seconds of no screen touch and should be adjusted under wrench/Display/Backlight-Timeout when you are on battery power. If you are always using battery power to avoid cable clutter, you may have already reduced your battery capacity; there is a thread by Phil Hornby on replacing the battery on a 350.

--
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.

i had a 760 with that same

i had a 760 with that same problem, the reset trick worked a lil bit on n off for a few weeks, till it finally died totally, i heard it was a bad connection on the power switch, i dont know what a reset would have to do with that. but garmin sent me a new 760, n its been fine, i dont know anyone else with the problem, a few people on the board only.

Just my luck

Purchased my 360 in July/07, the power switch just died yesterday.

I'll try Garmin and see if they will replace it under warranty since it is a known problem and I'm just over the 1 year warranty period by 30 days.

Called Garmin yesterday

I was told even though my unit was out of warranty by one month, they would fix the switch under warranty for me. Only problem is that I may be charged duties when the unit is sent back to me in Canada sad

Well, so far, I am impressed with the Garmin customer service.

The only bad point being

The only bad point being they will send back another one with the same bad switch design. Ever since reading this thread I've started doing like suggested above and turning my GPS on by plugging it in. Cuts my switch presses down by half. (just hit for power off now.)

.

nrbovee wrote:

The only bad point being they will send back another one with the same bad switch design. Ever since reading this thread I've started doing like suggested above and turning my GPS on by plugging it in. Cuts my switch presses down by half. (just hit for power off now.)

If you remove the power cable or turn off the ignition (if that turns off the lighter), don't you get an on screen button option to "stay on" or "turn off"? Did that not show up until the 6xx series?

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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.

mi gps no tiene ningun

mi gps no tiene ningun problema.

automaticly turn off or continue on battery power

bentbiker wrote:

If you remove the power cable or turn off the ignition (if that turns off the lighter), don't you get an on screen button option to "stay on" or "turn off"? Did that not show up until the 6xx series?

Yes, the 350 displays an option to automaticly turn off or continue on battery power when charger power shuts off.

Nuvi 350 Power Switch

FYI,

I have just confirmed that the Nuvi 660 has the same problem, same switch, same mounting.

The 660's are a little tougher to work on though. You have to disconnect all of the flex cables to get at the board screws so you can lift the board out of the case to gain access to the switch.

- Jim

--
SHARCNET-USA

power switch died. mine has

power switch died.

mine has the same problem it is not the biggest deal in the world. once i plug it into the car charger it turns on. when i unplug it it says turning off in 30 seconds i just don't click continue on battery power. i never use mine on battery.

other people aren't saying the same thing as me perhaps it was a firmware update that i did on the device.

lucky you at least yours

lucky you at least yours worked, mine wouldnt work when i plugged it in to the car, i had a 760, i had to mail mine back for a refurb, kinda sucks since mine was new, i dont think the refurb screen was as sharp, contrast, clear, sucks, i feel cheated

Update on my Nuvi 360 warranty repair

dpw198 wrote:

I was told even though my unit was out of warranty by one month, they would fix the switch under warranty for me. Only problem is that I may be charged duties when the unit is sent back to me in Canada sad

Well, so far, I am impressed with the Garmin customer service.

An update - finally got my 360 back.

Ended up costing me $28 for shipping and another $26 for brokerage as they had to ship it back to me in Canada.

It is a different unit than the one I sent as the serial # is different. Not sure if it is refurbished or not. So far so good.

The unit has the 2009 map, but when I registered it again with Garmin, I was given a "Free Map Update" although I have to download it myself). Is this an update to the City Navigator North America NT 2009 map which is already installed on the unit?

Nuvi Power Switch

Another update: I have worked on my 1st Nuvi 350 that appears to have been reworked by the manufacturer to address the on/off power switch problem. What they did was apply a couple drops of epoxy around the front mounting legs of the switch. It didn't work. The switch still broke; with the drops of epoxy still around the legs. It was a pain to perform the switch modification as I had to scrape away the epoxy from the switch.

- Jim

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SHARCNET-USA