Garmin 855

 

Costco.com has the Nuvi 855 for $299.95 after a $200.00 rebate, but the reviews I've read on their site are mostly negative. Are there any 855 owners here that can tell me what's wrong with this unit?

Re: Nuvi 855

I bought one of these from Costco replacing my 205W at the first of May and to this point I have nothing negative to say about this unit.

I had one and it worked great, just no bluetooth.

spullis wrote:

Costco.com has the Nuvi 855 for $299.95 after a $200.00 rebate, but the reviews I've read on their site are mostly negative. Are there any 855 owners here that can tell me what's wrong with this unit?

I had one and it worked great, I was very happy with it and the voice control feature works great. The only thing that I really was not happy about with the 855 was no bluetooth. I was use to bluetooth on my 760 so I returned the 855 and bought the 885T with bluetooth.

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Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

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spullis wrote:

Costco.com has the Nuvi 855 for $299.95 after a $200.00 rebate, but the reviews I've read on their site are mostly negative. Are there any 855 owners here that can tell me what's wrong with this unit?

It was reported that POI updates won't take effect unless/until you remove the battery. Presumably, the unit reads the files into memory and doesn't re-read the file until power is removed.

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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.

Power-cycle "feature"

Yes, shutting the unit off from the power switch only puts the unit into a suspend or "sleep" mode. Leaving it in this "sleep" mode will eventually drain the battery. To actually power-cycle the unit, you have to physically pull the battery out, then replace it. Makes you wonder what kind of genious came up with that brilliant idea... rolleyes

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nuvi 760, nuvi 765T, nuvi 855, nuvi 3790LMT, nuvi 3490LMT - SoCal area

Ol' Betsy

Fortunately my Street Pilot is too old fashioned to have a "feature" :shutting the unit off from the power switch only puts the unit into a suspend or "sleep" mode.: like that!

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Ted in Ohio, c340, 1490T with lifetime maps

From Garmin's Point of View

DorkusNimrod wrote:

Yes, shutting the unit off from the power switch only puts the unit into a suspend or "sleep" mode. Leaving it in this "sleep" mode will eventually drain the battery. To actually power-cycle the unit, you have to physically pull the battery out, then replace it. Makes you wonder what kind of genious came up with that brilliant idea... rolleyes

It's great for business. By draining your battery when not in used, its life becomes shorter. You'll spend money every year to replace battery. They hope you buy from them. They're indeed genius.

Sorry.

DorkusNimrod wrote:

Yes, shutting the unit off from the power switch only puts the unit into a suspend or "sleep" mode. Leaving it in this "sleep" mode will eventually drain the battery. To actually power-cycle the unit, you have to physically pull the battery out, then replace it. Makes you wonder what kind of genious came up with that brilliant idea... rolleyes

It's great for business. By draining your battery when not in used, its life becomes shorter. You'll spend money every year to replace battery. They hope you buy from them. They're indeed genius.

EDIT
I accidentally click Post button twice. Sorry.

my 885t is almost imstantly ready to go with no wait

The nice thing that I have found that is really nice is that being it only goes into suspend mode when you shut it off that when you snap it back into the cradle it is almost instantly ready to go with no wait for booting up and loading maps.

I have found that when comparing it to my 760 and c550 the suspend and instant on feature far outways the minuses caused by it.

As I recall I could power cycle the unit by holding the switch in the off position for a few seconds instead of removing the battery.

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Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

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rjrsw wrote:

As I recall I could power cycle the unit by holding the switch in the off position for a few seconds instead of removing the battery.

I believe that resets the unit.

According to the current manual (on page 55, middle of the left-hand column.), to power off the unit requires the user to physically remove the battery. It's also mentioned on page 63 in the Troubleshooting section.

http://www.garmin.com/manuals/nuvi855_OwnersManual.pdf

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nuvi 760, nuvi 765T, nuvi 855, nuvi 3790LMT, nuvi 3490LMT - SoCal area

go to the manuals Appendix on page 54

DorkusNimrod wrote:
rjrsw wrote:

As I recall I could power cycle the unit by holding the switch in the off position for a few seconds instead of removing the battery.

I believe that resets the unit.

According to the current manual (on page 55, middle of the left-hand column.), to power off the unit requires the user to physically remove the battery. It's also mentioned on page 63 in the Troubleshooting section.

http://www.garmin.com/manuals/nuvi855_OwnersManual.pdf

You are correct about the reset and either method resets the unit. When I hold the switch to the left for 8 seconds all that occured was the unit then cold started the next time just like my 760 does every time I turn it on.

If you go to the manual's Appendix on page 54 upper left corner it says that Holding the power key to the left for 8 seconds or removing the battery both reset the Nuvi and that either one is ok and both do the same thing. I was just trying to point out another alternative to removing the battery.

As I recall after loading new POI's I just hold the switch to the left for 8 seconds to cause the new POI's to load when the units boots up.

The more I use the unit the more I'm growing to really love the voice control feature and what surprised me was that it even works with the radio at a reasonable level.

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Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

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rjrsw wrote:

You are correct about the reset and either method resets the unit. When I hold the switch to the left for 8 seconds all that occured was the unit then cold started the next time just like my 760 does every time I turn it on.

Yes, as you said, that is indeed a cold start and the loading of the new POIs proves that.

Still, the fact is that to turn off the unit (and to *keep* it turned off to avoid battery discharge), you need to remove the battery. I bet many people don't realize this and frequently end up with a dead battery. Yes, it's in the manual but it's also easy to overlook and something that someone isn't really needing info on...

After all, a power switch usually does just that...power something off.

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nuvi 760, nuvi 765T, nuvi 855, nuvi 3790LMT, nuvi 3490LMT - SoCal area

how long does the battery last before it dies?

Does anyone know if you turn the unit off and it goes into suspend mode with a fully charged battery about how long is the battery supposed to last before it dies?

I guess I will give it a try some day when I do not need to use the unit for a few days.

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Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

Just got one

I bought one from costco because I like an abundance of features in my devices, and that appears to be what I got.

I can't say I haven't been pleased with anything yet. It finds its location very fast, even indoors.

Thanks

Thanks for the replies. I am concerned about the comment regarding updating POI files though. Does anyone know if this is actually true? I store my POIs on an SD card. Would this make a difference?