nuvi 7x0 v5.30 released (Feb 29, 2012)

I leave mine alone to. It works just fine as it is.

Makes me wonder if it will be as superb bugged like last update. So far nothing important listed as fix. Question is if future map updates will be possible without this update.

I am not updating if I can help it.

I wonder if we will have to edit the GarminDevice.xml to 530 now or if 490 will still allow you to install maps.

If you want to stay at 4.80, you'll have to edit the garmindevice.xml just before you start the download for the next map update.

It's not too often that an update resets ALL your settings.

Thanks, DorkusNimrod. I'll stick with v4.90 for now, since it also works fine for me.

I agree if it ain't broke dont screw it up...LOL

After backing up the ol' 750, it's now running 5.30. The custom start screen, favorites and poi files all survived the update. Things like voice selection, vehicle choice, etc., all got reset. If there are any crashes or other anomalies I'll report them here.

I upgraded my 750 to 5.30. I had tried 4.90 and it wasn't usable for me. My wife and I like to listen to audio books on longer trips. 4.90 would lock up, stop updating the screen and playing the audio file. If I left it alone it would reboot sometimes, other times I would have to turn it off/on manually. I had rolled back to 4.80 even thought the battery icon was messed up. On one short trip, less than 15 miles, 5.30 has preformed flawlessly. If I have any problems then I'll post them here.

found no problems with it either, still love my 765t!

jmkthird, just as a point of clarification for those reading this thread, the 5.30 software they are discussing doesn't apply to your 765T. The current software version on the 7x5 series is 4.40.

I've been running the updated software for about a week with no problems.

During the update favorites were retained, but the settings reverted to default.

Same results here for me although I really haven't tested the unit out since it's my backup GPS. I updated from the previously "offered, then withdrawn" 5.10 firmware to the new 5.30.

I did update and had problem with language support since. My unit is now 80% in french but as 20% of the menu in english. not bad, but it was working clean before. I did update because of the map...

After reading all the posts, the question I have is: Why upgrade? There doesn't seem to be any new functionality added. The most "benign" result I've read is "it runs well". So, unless I've missed something, Why bother?

v5.30 supposedly added the ability to access a second supplemental map (gmapsup1.img) from an SD Card (not documented in the v5.30 changelog but according to some users who've installed v5.30, the ability is now there). Previous version(s) could only access gmapsupp.img from the SD Card. If you have a dire need for this secondary mapset accessibility from the SD Card, you may want to consider attempting the v5.30 upgrade in spite of the issues some seem to be having.

I have a feeling that these issues some are having may stem from the fact that the 7x0 series used two different GPS chipsets, one from SiRF (acquired by CSR) and the other by MediaTek (MTK). My 750 is an earlier SiRF chipset unit and my 760 is a later MTK unit, however both remain at v4.90...I don't really feel like beta testing for Garmin at this point in time.

I personally have no need for the extra map access so I'm sticking with v4.90.

When you upgraded to 4.9 did the ability to see upcoming street names in the green bar get deactivated?

I stayed at 4.8 for fear that I would lose that feature.

I have found 4.8 to be just fine on my 780 and really have no desire to upgrade. I just wish I did not have to modify the GarminDevice.xml every time I wanted to install new maps.

On v4.90, yes, the upcoming cross-street name is still being displayed in the green banner while not navigating a route.

I've got a secondary map on my SD card and am running under 5.3 firmware, been running it for a week and all is good so far.

My 750 has been using ver 5.30 for almost a month now with no problems. We've made six 2 hr trips with it and listened to audio books both while following a route as well as navigating. It hasn't locked up at all and the battery icon seems to be working better. In short, this will be my last OS upgrade because nothing is wrong with this version.

From version 4.90 with no issues. I did not have to restore my favorites file. So far everything seems fine.

I think I will give it a long wait before my 780 gets upgraded.

Thanks for that report. I updated my maps yesterday and it automagically moved me from 4.8 to 5.30. I've stuck with 4.8 forever because it worked flawlessly for me and I had previously been badly burned by a flawed version Garmin had released. I too listen to audiobooks. I have a 6.5 hour work-related drive to make Monday (and of course the same drive in return on Tuesday) and I really NEED for my audio book to function. Your post gives me hope.

Been running it for a few weeks. Upgraded from 4.90

So far everything seems fine. Didn't lose my favorites when I did the install.

It has been several months now since I updated my 750 to 5.30 and I have nothing to report. But that's good. The unit has performed flawlessly with a grand total of 0 freezes, 0 reboots and 0 garbled instructions. All the extras work as well as they ever worked, FM transmitter is still too weak to be useful. It is really a shame that it didn't work like this from day one.

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/36437

5.x wasn't good for me. My GPS kept turning off. I'd turn it on and it would turn right off again. This was after about 500 miles into a two day trip. I reverted to 4.9 and it works fine again. I'm glad they pulled the "update".

Which chip set does your 5x0 use? Mine uses the SiRF chip set, you can find out just by turning it on and watching the splash screens. I understand that Garmin switch suppliers during the 7x0 model run and I wonder if that could be why you had problems and I didn't.

I did not move to 4.9 as I was afraid they may have taken out this most useful feature.

Sorry I meant to quote this as my above Thanks had no context...

Upcoming street names is still being displayed using v 5.3 on my nuvi 760.

dobs108

I'm just seeing this thread for the first time. I updated to 5.30 a while back and haven't really been using the device until this past week and it's got MAJOR problems.

I got it rolled back to 4.9. I think I'd like to go back to 4.8 but can't find the FW nor do I recall the process of getting it installed

The nuvi 7x0 series firmware, including 4.80, is available from the perry site:

http://www.gawisp.com/perry/agree.html

http://gawisp.com/perry/nuvi/

I clear the trip log after every trip regardless of how short it is.

I like the v5.30 firmware because it is easier to have additional maps on an sdcard.

What I don't like is the 750 seems a bit sluggish.

That is right! Even after deleting non-essential files my 760 does seem sluggish with v 5.30. I suspect that the map has grown and the memory available for processing has shrunk. As good as these units are, this may mean the end!

dobs108

We just returned from a trip home, total miles driven >500. NO problem with my 750. It wasn't sluggish, it didn't freeze up, it didn't reset, it just worked. We listened to an audio book over parts of the trip, both while navigating as well as in map mode. I am completely happy with version 5.3. Now I need to figure out a way to remind myself to fake the version number when I update my maps so Garmin doesn't roll me back to a version that doesn't work right.

I'm nearly certain that Garmin won't auto-rollback your firmware to the current version. Map updates do auto-update lower firmware versions to the current one but I think it does not lower firmware to the current version for those with "recalled" higher versions.

Is the full North America map installed on the nuvi or is it on an SD card? The idea being, if there is a lot of free memory to be used for processing or storing the trip log, the nuvi will not freeze up. If you are using the SD card, I plan to remove the map from the nuvi and put it on a card.

Others have said there must be a hardware difference between earlier and later nuvi 7X0s - one is affected but the other is not.

dobs108

Dobs108, I do have a SD card but the maps are on internal memory and the map I have is the full North America map 2013.01. I have deleted language and voice files that I will never use but the unit only has around 100 meg free so on my next map update, I'll probably have to learn how to install it to the SD card.

My unit is an early version with SiRF chips. I would be interested to know which chip set has problems and which doesn't. But it seems that no one is interested enough to post the info on their GPS unit. The info is on the splash screen that appears for about 1 second when your unit first boots up.

Craig, you may be right about Garmin not rolling units back to earlier firmware but since I can't find a source for v5.3 I'd rather not take the chance. Does anyone know where I can download the install file for v5.3?

My 760 is similar to yours in that I have deleted those files and have the map on the unit. I am at work so I will check for the chip later but I am almost certain it is SiRF. I am having the problem with v 5.3. Need to check my home PC to see if the v 5.3 file is saved.

dobs108

My 760 is SiRF. My nuvi locks up after 500 miles on the trip log.

I do not have the file for v 5.30 firmware.

I have the file for v 4.80 and v 4.90.

Does anyone have the v 5.30 firmware file for the nuvi 7X0?

dobs108

Looks like the problem is something else then. My 750 shows 633.8 miles on the trip log, most of which was our trip the first part of the week. I won't reset the trip log for a few weeks to see if that may cause me problems.

This v5.3 on my 750 makes it a big pain to enter an address to travel towards.

The lag between entering zip code digits makes it very error prone. Also, it seems I am always entering wrong digits even though I am touching the correct digit. I need to touch the very bottom of the digit for the correct digit to be entered - and even then it is rather slow to display it.

I am starting to think about going back to v4.8

Do a search on recalibrate. There were several threads about screen recalibration issues a couple years ago.

I found the procedure below, but it does not seem to work with firmware 5.30

jgermann wrote:

*Note if unit is running software version 6.00 or newer you will want to follow steps from below.

To calibrate the touchscreen on your nuvi 205 series follow the steps below:

1.Have the unit turned OFF and unplugged from power.
2.Place your finger in the top left hand corner of the touch screen and apply pressure.
3.Slide the power switch to the ON position. Once unit powers on release the power button.
4.Hold pressure in left corner until the Press dot message appears.
5.Once this message displays, remove your finger from the screen.
6.Press in the center of the Dot.
7.Keep pressing in the center of the Dot as it moves around the screen.
8.Once this is complete, there will be a message: Calibration Complete.
9.Touch Ok and the unit will restart.
The touchscreen will now be recalibrated.
12/19/2010

This from the Nuvi 750 manual:

"If the touch screen is not responding properly, calibrate the touch screen. Turn the unit off then back on. Slide the power key to the right (lock). Hold your finger on the screen for about 30 seconds until the calibrate screen appears. Follow the on-screen instructions."

Works for my 750 running v5.30

If one really wants the 5.3 firmware, it appears to be still available for download

http://www.garmin.com/software/nuvi7xx_GCDfile__530.gcd

DorkusNimrod -

At the link that was provided to download v 5.30 firmware, the downloaded file is a .gcd file. I have saved v 4.80 and 4.90 firmware and these files have an .exe extension. Why the difference?

dobs108

I think with a gcd file, one drags and drops the gcd file onto the Webupdater shortcut.

The alternative is a dos window where one types in the webupdater exe file followed by the gcd filename.

As, I said, "I think" that's how it works, as I haven't done it that way myself.

If available, I think the exe firmware file is better/simpler.

Regards, Howard

Thanks for the 4.80 f/w links.

Wilson

Another interesting observation is that when you compare both, the file sizes are different.

As an example for the 7x0 series, version 490 GCD file is 8.62mo whereas the 490 exe file on gawisp.com (Perry) is 4.84mo. Why the difference if both are the same