nuvi hard reset procedure

Thanks for that write up. Perhaps this should be made "sticky".

I have linked this to the FAQ Page for Garmin located here: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6656

Great Write up.

Thanks,

Miss POI

I've reposted this procedure many times but always within an already existing topic. I thought I'd post it as it's own topic so I could personally reference it via direct link rather than continuously reposting it.

Thanks for the info.

I am a little confused about the hard reset procedure on the 8x5. Does just removing the battery reset it, or do you still do the lower right screen press while booting? When I hold the lower right screen, remove and re-insert the battery, it displays "Pre boot mode", eventually it will boot into the screen calibration. But I never get the prompt to "Erase all user data.", and all my settengs are still intact when it boots.

Alan,

I've corrected the 8x0/8x5 hard reset procedure in the main topic. Now I have to correct all instances here on my end as well...

Thanks DorkusNimrod, I knew you would have the answer. It still took me about 10 tries, but I was eventually able to get to the "Erase user data" prompt. I don't know if the 855 reset is extra sensitive to timing, or an exact location on the screen, but it seems to be picky about something.

I came across this info cruising the web and thought I would update the reset post with the information for other nuvis besides the 8xx line.

- Master Reset on the nuvi® 2xx, 2x5, 465, 5xx, 6xx, 7xx or 1xxx:

Note: A master reset will erase all waypoints or favorites and will restore your unit to the default factory settings.

1. Start with the unit OFF and unplugged from power
2. Touch and hold the lower right corner of the screen with an index finger or the eraser end of a pencil
3. Continue touching and holding the lower right hand corner of the screen then power the unit ON
4. Release the power button when the device powers ON
* You will see a new message: Do you really want to erase all user data?
5. Remove your finger from the touchscreen when this message displays
6. Touch Yes

The device will automatically reset. Please follow the on screen prompts on the nüvi and when completed place your device in an area with a clear view of the sky until it acquires satellites.

this is a good way to learn good post it doesn't get any better than that

Thanks for sharing this information!

I save my .gpx file to my desktop, renamed as gpx1, then do the reset and copy the gpx1 file into the .gpx file on my Nuvi. That puts all of my favorites right back in my Nuvi.

The reset procedure for the 8xx and all the others seems to be the same. The OP focused on the 8xx series and I didn't know if it was the same for the rest of the nuvi line or not until I saw the reset procedure for the other nuvis.

This just clarifes the nuvi reset procedure to the best of my knowledge (except for the 37xx which I have no idea about).

Re-read my post. I posted two reset procedures, the first being for all nuvis except for the 8x0/8x5 series. The second is specifically for the 8x0/8x5 series.

I see what you're saying. But since you referenced the 8xx series in the first paragraph of the procedure, I wasn't clear if that was for all nuvis. The one I posted named all the series except for the 8xx line.

I guess the 8xx series is a special case due to the removable battery.

Didn't mean to confuse... was just trying to clarify.

DorkusNimrod, I think it would be less confusing if your bolded heading "Hard reset procedure" was moved down one paragraph. As it is, the paragraph immediately following that heading is about the 8xx power cycle. Or perhaps, move the paragraph about the 8xx power cycle down to the section about the 8xx hard reset.

Just a suggestion.

for the infomation.

Before a hard reset, I copied my current.gpx file to my computer. After the hard reset, I copied my current.gpx file back into the same folder and renamed it temp.gpx.

After restarting the 1690, I have a current.gpx file that's 70kb and a temp.gpx file that's 752k. Is that normal to have both gpx files after the restart? I guess I was expecting the new current.gpx file to be the same size as before.

I have seen the same thing on the 765T. The older file most likely has a lot of tracks in it giving it the 752K size. The update process from temp.gpx to current.gpx only copies the saved waypoints. Therefore, all of the track info is skipped making a smaller file.

So then do you delete the temp.gpx file after the restart? I seem to have all my favs and routes, so I assume it is safe to do so.

If the expanded size is due to saved tracks, I wonder if it's possible to stop it from recording the tracks? Else a periodic routine of saving the current.gpx file, replacing it and renaming it, restart and delete might be necessary. Seems a bit cumbersome to have to do that.

Then again, 752k is not all that big anyway, but I imagine after some period of time it could grow quite large.

When I applied the last Garmin updates from the Garmin update loader it somehow cross linked my Favorites catagories (stuff from New York wan connected to Florida, stuff in Florida in Virgina), even if I deleted them the catagories were still stuck in favorites. I put a favorite back in it would re connect itself where ever it felt like (AH, AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH) I even connected the unit to the PC went into the folders and removed the files and yet they were still in there. I was at the point of apply a sledge hammer to the screen and purchasing a new different unit.

The hard reset was the only thing that Erased the catagories I no longer wanted, or had any favorites associated with and saved my nuvi (for now ) from and early retirement.

This was a information to have.

My wife ran the Webupdate for our nuvi205 to version 6.60 and the screen now only partially responds to touches. I reran the update on my laptop and it successfully installed w/o error...but still behaves in the same way.

The Master Reset procedure appears to be ignored as the screen boots the same no matter what I try.

I can view the files in USB mode just fine and I have backed up the gpx file.

Mem slot is empty as we have never used it.

I can trigger the calibration process and the touch screen runs the program without a glitch and the response is snappy.

So it looks like the screen I/O is fine, file system is ok, but I can't access anything but the "Tools" button after power up ... and then it immediately locks at the "Time" setting screen.

Can anyone suggest or point me to how I can go back to the previous version that was working?

Thanks!
Bruce

When you say you've done a Master Reset, is this what you've done (taken from the 1st post in this thread)?

Power the unit off. Press and hold (and continue to hold) the bottom-right corner of the screen while powering the unit on. Continue to hold the screen until the "Do you want to erase all user data?" prompt appears. Press "yes" and the unit will reboot. Reset all your location settings and user preferences.

If you don't get the "Do you want to erase all..." message, try again until it does. It can easily take several 10s of seconds with a fairly firm "press" to get the screen needed for a hard reset and if you release the corner too early, it will simply start up in normal (non reset) mode. I assume you haven't seen the "Do you want..." warning yet from the Hard Reset to be able to touch "Yes" and proceed.

Good luck.

In this thread - called "hard reset" - we have seen two explanations of a "master reset" (in Garmin terms).

Just in case someone reading this thread has a unit not covered by the two explanations, I am including below all of the procedures for "master reset" that I could find.

To perform a Master Reset on the nuvi 200, 205, 465, 500, 600, 700, 705, 1200,1300,1400 or 1600 series device:

Start with the unit OFF and unplugged from power
1. Touch and hold the lower right corner of the screen with an index finger or the eraser end of a pencil
2. Continue touching and holding the lower right hand corner of the screen then power the unit ON
3. Release the power button when the device powers ON. You will see a new message: Do you really want to erase all user data?
4. Remove your finger from the touchscreen when this message displays
5. Touch Yes

The device will automatically reset. Follow the on screen prompts then place your device in an area with a clear view of the sky until it acquires satellites.
Note: A master reset will erase all waypoints or favorites and will restore your unit to the default factory settings.

To perform a master reset on the nuvi 295W:
1. Touch Settings from the scrolling menu on the main menu screen
2. Touch the menu button (three horizontal lines icon)
3. Touch Master Clear
4. Touch Yes when asked "Restore all settings to factory defaults and remove all user data?"

The device will restore the settings and then reset itself. Follow the on screen prompts and then place your device in an area with a clear view of the sky until it acquires satellites.
Note: A master reset will erase all your saved Favorites and Routes, as well as any photos and contacts.

To perform a Master Reset on the nuvi 300
1. Start with the device OFF and unplugged from the power source.
2. Use your index finger to press and hold the top right corner of the touchscreen.
3. Power the device ON while continuing to press and hold your finger to the top right corner of the touchscreen.
4. After the device powers ON, release the power button. Then you will see the message: Do you really want to erase all user data?
5. When this message displays, remove your finger from the top right of the touchscreen and touch Yes.
6. The device will now go through the Reset.
7. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your nüvi.

After the nüvi is set up, if indoors, please go outside to allow the device to acquire the satellite information. Ensure that the device has a clear line-of-sight with the sky
Note: A master reset will erase all waypoints or favorites and will restore your unit to the default factory settings.

To perform a master reset on a nuvi 800 or 805 series device:

1. Remove battery from nuvi
2. Place battery back into nuvi
3. Touch-and-hold the bottom right corner of the touch screen when a progress bar appears
4. Release the screen when "Do you really want to erase all user data?" appears
5. Touch "Yes"

The device will now be reset.
*Note: The master reset will erase all user data including saved favorites.

To perform a master reset on a nuvi 3700 series device:

1. Start with the unit turned OFF and unplugged from power
2. Power ON the device
3. When the copyright screen appears press and hold the lower right hand corner of the touchscreen
4. Remove your finger from the touchscreen when a message appears that says Erase all user data?
5. Touch YES

The device will now be reset. Follow the on screen prompts then place the device in an area with a clear view of the sky until it acquires satellites.
Note: A master reset will erase all waypoints and favorites and will restore your unit to the default factory settings.

To Master Reset the nuvi 5000

1. Plug the device into a power outlet and turn the device OFF.
2. After about ten seconds, power the device ON.
3. The screen will come on and say Garmin. As soon as the loading bar shows, immediately touch and hold the bottom right corner of the touchscreen with your index finger.
4. Continue to press your finger on the lower right corner of the screen for about thirty seconds.
5. After about thirty seconds, a new message will appear: Do you really want to erase all user data?
6. When this message appears, remove your finger from the bottom right of the screen and touch Yes.
7. The device will go through the Reset.
8. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your nüvi.

After the nuvi is set up, if indoors, please go outside to allow the device to acquire the satellite information from the vehicle. Ensure that the device has a clear line-of-sight with the sky.
Note: A Master Reset will not work when connected to a PC or Mac.
Note: A master reset will erase all waypoints or favorites and will restore your unit to the default factory settings.

To perform a Master Reset on a Quest unit

1. With the device powered OFF, press and hold the Page and OK buttons simultaneously
2. While holding the Page and OK buttons, power the device ON
3. A message stating Would you like to erase all user data? should display. Once this displays, release the Page and OK buttons
4. Select Yes
5. Press the OK button
6. At this point the device will power OFF and back ON automatically
7. Once the device powers back ON, you will be asked to enter your Language and Time preferences

Your device has now been fully Reset
After the Quest® is set up, if indoors, please go outside to allow the device to acquire the satellite information from the vehicle. Ensure that the device has a clear line-of-sight with the sky.
Note: A master reset will erase all waypoints or favorites and will restore your device to the default factory settings.

To perform a Master Reset on the StreetPilot i-series

1. With the unit turned off press and hold the thumb wheel down, then press the back arrow and hold down, then press the power button.
2. When all 3 are held down you will then see a message that reads DO YOU REALLY WANT TO ERASE ALL USER DATA?
3. Once you see this message let go of the buttons and go through the reset sequence.
4. Allow the device to sit outside for around 15-30 minutes standing still to acquire satellites.
Note: The master reset will clear all user data such as Favorites so please make sure to copy down any information that is important to you.

To perform a master reset on the StreetPilot c300 or c500 series:

1. Start with the unit OFF and unplugged from power
2. Touch and hold the lower right corner of the screen with an index finger or the eraser end of a pencil
3. Continue touching and holding the lower right hand corner of the screen then power the unit ON
4. Release the power button when the device powers ON
5. You will see a new message: Do you really want to erase all user data?
6. Remove your finger from the touchscreen when this message displays
7. Touch Yes

The device will automatically reset. Please follow the on screen prompts on the Streetpilot and when completed place your device in an area with a clear view of the sky until it acquires satellites.
Note: A master reset will erase all waypoints or favorites and will restore your unit to the default factory settings.

To perform a master reset* on your StreetPilot 7000

1. Switch the device off
2. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds until the 'Do you really want to erase all user data?' message appears
3. Touch Yes
The device will now be reset. Place your device in an area with a clear view of the sky until it acquires satellites.
*Note: The master reset will erase all user data including saved favorites. This resets the unit back to factory settings.

To perform a Master Reset on a zumo?

1. Remove device from any type of power source
2. Power the device Off
3. Place and hold your finger in the bottom right corner of the touchscreen
4. Power the device On
5. Release the power button after the device powers On
6. Continue to hold your finger on the touchscreen until you see "Do you really want to erase all user data?"
7. Release your finger from the touchscreen
8. Touch Yes
9. Follow the onscreen prompts

After the zumo is set up, if indoors, please go outside to allow the device to acquire the satellite information. Ensure that the device has a clear line-of-sight with the sky.
Note: A master reset will erase all waypoints of favorites and will restore your device to the default factory settings.

All data from Garmin.com site as of July 2010

Great info, especially for the 3700 which I couldn't figure out on my own

You can also hard reset the 3700 series like this:

1. From the map screen, press the "Speed" field.
2. From the speedo dial, press/hold compass direction just above the speed for ~7 seconds.
3. Press "Clear all user data" at the top of the screen.

Thanks.

Reorganized & updated to include the 37xx series.

Is there a reset procedure to wipe the device completely clean? The hard reset removes favorite places but it leaves images and POI's behind. It would be nice to basically restore it to out-of-the-box condition somehow.

The items you mentioned (POIs, images, etc) are actual files on the unit which the hard reset will not touch, which is actually a good thing. These will always need to be manually removed.

Thanks so much for taking the time to explain all that. I did a master reset and it corrected the problem with the Nuvi getting stuck at calculating 99%. It is also faster than it was before the reset.

Thanks for the info, my friend who owns a 1690 or 1390 has been having difficult and this will definitely help him out.
NickJr

Thanks for the info my friend who owns a 1300 series can definitely use this information
NickJr

hi dorkus

i have an issue with my 3790T. when i switch it on, the GARMIN logo shines on the screen and then again it goes blank. It is not loading the maps. it seems that the unit is stuck in a loop and not able to load. in this case what to do, please help.

I have a nuvi 200 which I bought in 2008. I created POIs yesterday and used garmin's poi loader to upload them. However, after test run on the road they didnt work. I then connected the nuvi using usb created a new poi.gpi file which I pasted directly onto the nuvi "poi" folder without using the poi uploader. Now when the nuvi 200 is switched on it gets frozen midway through openin the device for use and I have to use the reset button to switch off and on but it will only load again to the point where it freezes. I have tried the hard reset suggested here, but when i switch on it still freezes at the same place so I cannot even access the nuvi through the usb to fix the problem. Any suggestions? Surely just manually pasting POIs onto the device cannot create a problem with no solution. Is there any way to format the drive or access it so I can at least access the files on the nuvi and put my backed up files back in? Please help!

Just what did you paste into the unit and where did you put it?

First step - DO NOT TURN ON the device. Just connect a USB cable from your computer to the device. It should power up because it detects a powered cable.

LEAVE IT ALONE and see if it comes up in Mass Storage Mode.

If it comes up in Mass Storage Mode, you can probably recover the device by deleting the file(s) you copied to the unit or restoring your backup.

Now, when you state the custom POI file "did not work" what were you expecting it to do? Just what was in your folder you loaded using POI Loader and had you installed SOX.exe in the correct folder on your PC to convert the WAV sound files?

But, before addressing the POI question, get your unit working. Just focus on getting the unit to work, then worry about getting custom POI installed.

Thanks Box Car.

I tried but the nuvi still remained frozen before getting to mass storage. However, your suggestion encouraged me to explore the nuvi a bit more and it did lead to a solution!

As explained earlier all I did was copy and paste a gpi file with poi info directly onto the garmin nuvi 200 without using poi uploader. After this when switched on my nuvi 200 began to freeze or hang up at the “loading maps” part of the garmin screen.

a.I did a level 1 reset by pushing reset button at the bottom of the nuvi 200 but this did not work as it still froze at loading maps.

b.I did a level 2 reset by holding bottom right hand corner of the screen and switching on. The device was reset and all personal settings removed, but this did not work either.

Solution:

1. I connected the nuvi 200 to the pc using usb cable.

2. Did a level 1 reset by pushing the reset button at the bottom of the nuvi 200.

3.As soon as the garmin splash screen appeared I pushed the power button to the left; the screen showed “Charging Battery. Slide the power key to turn on.”

4. After 2 seconds I slid the power key to the left to turn the nuvi 200 back on.

5. A screen with “No maps to upload” in front of the enter password keypad screen immediately appeared while the nuvi 200 was still loading maps and other data in the background – it had not reached the freeze/hang point yet.

6. There were 2 seconds within which to enter my 4 letter password before the nuvi would hang up. After several attempts I managed to enter the password in time, press “done” and get the nuvi 200 active before it froze. The laptop immediately recognized the device and the nuvi folder appeared in the my computer folder.

7. This step is very important (remember all these steps take place while the nuvi 200 is on a count down to freezing/hanging up). Immediately the laptop recognized the device I slid the power key to right – into the ”lock position”. For some reason at this stage doing this stopped the countdown to the device freezing and it did not hang up.

8. I went to the My Computer folder > Nuvi folder > POI folder and deleted the gpi file I had pasted there.

9.Since the device was behaving well again and to be safe I also used poi uploader to “remove all previously installed custom POIs from your device”

10. When I disconnected and the nuvi 200 was switched on it worked without a problem. I recreated the POIs, re-inserted sox.exe and this time made sure the gpi file was put together correctly. Afterward I was able to use POI uploader to mount the proximity alerts and they worked properly.

Thanks Box Car without your suggestion I wouldn't have thought this problem could be resolved. My recommendation would be that when fiddling with your Garmin device e.g. creating POIs, alerts, maps etc first temporarily take the password requirement off, you can put it back on when you are done and everything works. If my password was complex it is unlikely this procedure would have worked. This solution reads like an episode of "Mission Impossible - Defuse the Garmin before it Freezes", however, after browsing the net one can see many different gps devices can freeze on power up and despite level 1&2 resets defy correction for any number of reasons and this solution may work for some people.

Great writeup. I learned quite a bit from the whole thread.

I gave up on password protection a very short time after trying it out. I thought the better security was to keep my Garmin in my shirtpocket when it's not in use. Besides, I really wonder how many dishonest folk would really still steal a 350 anymore. Just kidding.

Fred

Thanks!

My unit stopped recognizing the card, (and the JCV). I did a master reset for my first time ever on any NUVI. My favorites were left intact, and 2 more Garmin favorites showed up. That solved my problem with the SD card. Then I could not get a satellite fix.
I came here looking for answers. BINGO

Thanks

Also, you probably have a temp.gpx or current1.gpx, etc. on your Nuvi (probably in the GPX folder) and that's why your Favorites are still around after the reset. Everytime your Nuvi boots up it will read those GPX files and place locations found in them in the Current.gpx file and they will show up as Favorites.

I sorry i read this to late, i have the same problem and because i don't find the solution i destroy the Garmin Nuvi 205 GPS

Ok, holding down the bottom right corner on the 2797 causes a message to appear "System". Kept holding and "System" kept recyling. After this happened a few times I released the bottom right corner.

Now the 2797 reset and I had to re-choose the country.
Almost all my settings were still there, but all stored and or saved Favorites, Recents were gone, which is what I wanted.

Strangely enough the names of routes I had created were still there. So instead of even opening one I deleted them all just in case it would re-deposit old favorites. I wanted to start with new fresh favorites. All custom POI's are still there, but the "Extra" icon has gone. Have to figure out how to get that back. Right now it's not easy to get into the custom POI's.

Found it! Add a shortcut did the trick to re-install the "Custom POIs" icon.

Great write up. I just did a reset on my Garmin nuvi 2597.

This is great information that would be good to have in a FAQ somewhere....

It is, thanks to jgermann ... http://www.poi-factory.com/node/30019

Scroll down to the section titled "nuvi 2407, 2408, 2507, 2508, 2707, 2708 series, Camper/RV 760, and zumo 590:".

Thanks for the great info

Our user soberbyker found the procedure for the new Drive (including DriveSmart, etc.) models online. Here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGr16CTYwa0