GPS-Tune up

I sent my Garmin Nuvi 350 in and had the battery replaced by Garmin.

My first reaction would be that it's a solid state device and what could they clean up for your $30. IMHO, a hard reset would do just as much good and you can do that yourself for free. Here is how you'd do that on most Nuvi's:

NOTE - Please take a full backup of your Nuvi's internal storage drive prior to the reset and then

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

If you wish to keep your Favorites, place a copy of the current.gpx file, found in the GPX folder on your Nuvi, on to your computer before you do the reset.

Once you have done the reset:

1. Rename the backup copy of current.gpx to temp.gpx and then place that file in the GPX folder on the Nuvi.

2. Reboot your Nuvi and your Favorites should be restored.

It sounds like a scam to get your money to me.

I've never heard of such tune-ups... it's a scam.

sure does sound like a scam

Ask yourself this, "Exactly what will they tune-up?"

It's a scam but if you really need to get rid of $30, send it to me. I'll wave my magic wand and your GPS will work better than ever (or at least as good as it ever has).

Battery replacement is only slightly more complicated than changing out cells in a flashlight.

Watch a demo or two on Youtube, and then order one through, say, Amazon.

If you are too ascared to tackle it yourself, a neighbour or responsible child can do it for ya.

Geo/ATL

Can you please describe what your issue is when you say its acting funny.

As far as the tune up goes, I too believe its a scam.
Can you provide a link for the company that is offering it?

I think you should follow member t923347's instructions and do a hard reset, doing so solves many issues.

a SCAM to me.

You do not tune up electronic devices. Computers require memory to function properly. When electronics that that do calculations begin to run less efficient, it is usually due to lack of internal memory. A hard reset clears out the garbage taking up that precious memory. Just do a hard reset as a previous poster has explained.

Doesn't sound correct. Sounds like a scam. I wouldn't do it.

Hmm, to me scam is a bit strong. It seems a lot like the computer stores that offer to install antivirus software to your new computer for only $50--or the Big Box that sells HDMI cables for $40 (or a premium one for $80).

I doubt that many folks registered and who post here at The Factory would benefit from paying for this tune up (and losing use of the device for 1-2 weeks while it's at the shop or being shipped) since I agree that what is being offered is along the lines of a tracklog deletion, hard reset or WebUpdater check and users here can do these for themselves.

Sounds like a scam to me.

Electronic devices should not need tuneups.

On the GPS; backup, delete logs, and reset once in a while.

Not aware of anything that could be considered a tuneup on GPS device. Replace the battery, perform a hard reset, clear out unused files. Do it yourself and save your money.

I didn't mind paying the $30 bucks, but when they suggested Mobil 1 synthetic oil for an additional $20, I said no way, just use conventional oil. I'm no sucker.

I'm not even sure what a hard reset would do other than cause you more grief (all favorites and custom POIs removed; all personal settings removed, etc.).

Unless I am mistaken, there's no need to do a hard reset as part of a so-called tune up.

I'm sure you said that in jest. There is actually some things better about synthetic oil over regular oil, not that it has anything to do with a Garmin GPS.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/synthetic-conventional-motor-o...

It's easy to replace the battery on a Garmin, no reaso to spend the extra $$$ to send it in, wait till you get it back etc.

The only "tune up" I could think of that hasn't been mentioned is recalibrate the touch screen. I have had PDA screens that needed recalibrating after a while. Do GPS screens need recalibrating? How often?

Actually, a hard reset is a first-resort procedure that can help clear out any odd issues (such as spontaneous shutdowns, reboots etc) that can crop up over time. Some use it on a regular basis, especially after a map update or firmware update.

Yes, you will lose your favorites and personalized unit settings but favorites are easy to backup/restore (you should be backing these up anyways) and personal settings are quite easy to re-enter in a minute or two if you know your unit well enough. However, you will NOT lose your user-uploaded customs POIs, redlight cams, etc.

My GPS devices experienced whacky behavior because of bad/corrupt files were loaded. Had to strip the device down and reinstall the system, then go through the POI files to find the offending data points. The GPS is like new now.

During the 2000 millinium, my marine gps locked up and Garmin fixed it for no charge, replaced the battery and upgraded the software to the current version.

I"m still using that unit, but the internal battery is now low and Garmin does not work on devices that old any more. Can't really blame them.
So I might try to find an electronics place to open it up and put in a new battery, or just pop for $300 and get a new unit.

You might find something on youtube regarding installing a new battery yourself.

A number of years ago I bought a very nice handheld VHF radio for my boat. After a few years the battery would not hold a charge. A replacement snap-on battery was $$90.00+tax.
Figured I would see if I could maybe replace the batteries in the snap-on case. Turns out they were rechargeable AA batteries. Bought 8 new ones with solder tabs on eBay for $ 12.00. Works better than before.

Maybe you could do the same, just go careful opening it up.

One might lost both money and GPS. Hoped that not the case though.

If you don't feel comfortable trying to fix it yourself, one of the members on this site has a GPS repair business

http://www.sharc.net/gps_repair.htm

Is this "service" offered by a store which has a logo looks like a yellow price tag with black letters on it?

They are famous on this type of misleading services.

I agree, it sounds like a scam.

Being in the repair business, a "tune-up" seems rather vague to me. I wonder what they claim they will do for $30?

I've never had anyone send us a unit for a "tune-up". A unit is always sent in to us because something is broke or not functioning right.

Sure, there can be performance issues. I worked on a Nuvi 1490 a couple days ago, where the customer complained that the unit would occasionally shut down while navigating.

At first, I suspected a loose USB port or an intermittent wire in the charger, however the port looked OK under a magnifier. I also checked the continuity between the port and the test points on the board. All were OK.

I did resolder all of the pins by hand and reinforced the USB jack to the board to eliminate the connector as a possible issue.

The customer also complained that they couldn't upgrade the map. Looking at the file structure on the flash drive, there was only 3 MB of space left on the flash drive. There were 450 MB of trash/duplicate files on the unit, which prevented the customer from updating the map. I have no idea how that happened. The duplicate files had a "._" in front of the file names. Just by deleting the duplicate files, freed up 450 MB so that the map could be updated.

There were also system files missing that needed to be replaced.

The firmware was also very old - version 3.3. as opposed to an upgrade that was available to version 6.2. What I found interesting, was that version 3.6 corrected unexpected shutdowns while navigating and unexpected shutdowns when encountering numerous junction views.

In this case, I believe the file structure and older firmware was the cause of the problem. The customer's traffic charger checked out OK. I replaced the battery, as the date code was 2009. It didn't show any signs of leakage or bloating.

Over time, touchscreens can drift or become non-responsive. Batteries can lose their capacity to hold a charge and USB ports can fail.

If a company is offering a "tune-up", I would ask for specifics on what they will do. Also, ask about their warranty should the problem remain.

There are a lot of companies out there (not just in the GPS business) that lure people in, just to rack up a larger bill or try to sell you something else because they claim they can't repair a unit.

Jim

There is NOTHING this company will do for your GPS for thirty bucks that you can't do yourself for FREE.

--

it's the dog's fault

But they are definitely over-charging for what a user can do at home free.

Good reset info. Thanks

a very inventive guy...I'll do it for $25.00!! See how easy that was...?

Your GPS might just be getting old...everything does!