Garmin Express not communicating with Garmin servers

It's not just you. Glad to see it isn't my computer having the problem.

I also can't connect via Garmin Express on Saturday, at 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Another coincident ... all of the three first posters to this thread have been members of POI Factory for 8 years!

These posts prompted me to check and as of 1:55P Central Time it is still down.

As of 3:00pm Saturday they are still down. Could it be that Garmin is loading the map updates onto the servers??

I can connect with Garmin today, both with Garmin Express, myGarmin, etc.

I may be way off base, and if so, someone with more knowledge will correct me quickly, I hope.

A recent thread here

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/44900

mentions issues with the need for Garmin Communicator and the fact that for folks with Chrome as their default browser, Garmin Communicator can not be installed. A Google search for the issue brings up related issues. Are any/all of you using Google Chrome as a browser? You may need to switch, then install Communicator to get your Garmin Express to work again. Please let us know when you succeed and what you did to get there.

Yes, I do use Chrome browser. But I am using Chrome for many years now and never had this issue. But I will check the way you suggested anyway.

I made IE as my default browser and tried it again. Still no luck. I am not getting red bar error message but still not connecting to Garmin servers. Because I see the last update status as Unknown.
Looks like it is their servers and not local clients.

After switching to IE, did you check and see if there was a new Garmin Communicator to be installed? The latest Windows version is 4.2.0 (both 32 and 64 bit).

Other suggestions from Garmin:

https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?...

More on the issue as found by our muell9k:

https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={50cacee0-ed07-11e4-dfa6-000000000000}

It's working now for me, no changes to my computer. Guess they fixed it on their end.

I use Firefox so the problem you guys are discussing doesn't affect me. But I can now connect with Garmin's servers. No new map yet though.

It is working for me as well now..

Thanks CraigW for your suggestions.

Did you reboot after making IE your default browser?

I suspect that in this case Garmin Communicator may not have been the cause. There may have been a problem with the Garmin servers for a period of several hours. Since the problem has been solved there is no way to find the cause.

dobs108

If you have this problem for couple of days it may be problem on Garmin side. Especially, if others have this same problem. But I had once problem with Express after update. It didn't connect with Garmin servers. I had to uninstall it, and install again to make it work. So if your problem last longer you may try reinstalling Express.

It is my understanding that Garmin Express has no dependency on the Garmin Communicator plugin or on any particular browser. The purpose of the plugin is to allow browser applications (like my.garmin.com) to detect a garmin device and exchange data with it. Garmin announced in their forums some months ago that they were phasing out the Communicator plugin because most browsers were eliminating plugin support.

I am not 100% sure that there is no dependancy between Garmin Express and the Communicator Plugin, so will be glad to be corrected if someone else has a more authoritative answer. I also don't know if any of the other Garmin "stand-alone" programs like POI Loader, Map Updater, etc. require the plugin, but suspect they do not.

My guess, and like you, it's only my GUESS, is that Communicator shouldn't be needed by Garmin software (with the myGarmin website exception as you noted).

What has me wondering though, is the suggestion and Garmin support links provided by muell9k and success reported by asallwey regarding browsers and Communicator plugin here:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/44900

Asallwey's success could just be a coincidence, but this does have me wondering about just how Garmin's software communicates with devices and Garmin's servers since asallwey's results suggest a connection with Garmin software, Garmin Communicator, and a browser that supports Communicator. It's a mystery to me right now.

and windows 7. I've seen that issue previously but right now Garmin Express seems to be working fine. Fingers crossed.

If Garmin Communicator is not needed, why is Garmin maintaining the Communicator web page that checks for its presence on the PC?

Those who do not believe they are using Garmin Communicator should check the settings on every browser on the PC. They most likely will find a Garmin Communicator browser plugin is active.

dobs108

First chance I had to check back and I use Google Chrome as my default browser and GE is now connecting to its servers. Nothing changed on my end except some time.

I fully agree with you that Garmin Express does not has any dependency on Communicator plug-in. Garmin Express is a stand alone application to update your devices. I am sure there was problem on Garmin servers. It was weekend, may be they were doing some maintenance on servers which is very normal procedure to bring down servers on less busy time. Again it was not a good time anyway if they were doing maintenance during day time on a Saturday. Whatever it was, I thing it was a problem on Garmin side.

I really appreciate everyone's ideas, suggestions and advice to resolve the issue. I really appreciate the support I get here from all members.

I'm still baffled. Dobs108 may be correct that Garmin had server issues for a period of time and that it was indeed a coincidence that member asallwey solved his issue by making IE8 his default browser instead of Chrome. Facts worth mentioning is that member asallwey is using XP and doesn't have Garmin Express installed as well as having Chrome as his default browser.
Here is that discussion:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/44900

What confuses me is why would Garmin on April 27,2015 release the news that Chrome is no longer supported by Garmin Communicator if Garmin Communicator is not needed. Perhaps this message for users still using XP and not having Garmin Express installed.
I also wonder if users having Win7 without Garmin Communicator are still able to use WebUpdater which I believe is dependent on the Communicator Plugin. I don't use Garmin Express so no way for me to test.

I completely removed Garmin Communicator plug-in from my laptop running Windows 7 64 bit and tested Garmin Express to prove the point.

Garmin Express still works and connects with Garmin servers.

So I can confirm that you don't need Garmin communicator plug-in for Garmin Express to work.

I did the same and tested Garmin Express, POI Loader, Webupdater, Mapupdater. All worked fine without Garmin Communicator.

I even checked my.garmin.com and it seems there is no longer a dependency on the Communicator plugin even for this site. I did notice that there is no longer a tab for myDashboard, so it would appear that my.garmin.com can no longer be used to do device updates.

I am not sure about BaseCamp or MapInstall. I was thinking there were some functions in BaseCamp that would link to the browser and require the Communicator Plugin. I don't use BaseCamp very often, so don't know if there is any longer a need for Garmin Communicator with this software.

At least now we know as member alanb suspicion was correct, Garmin Express does not have a dependency of Garmin Communicator Plugin. Express may have software written within the program to connect to the servers but does not need the installation of Communicator.

Found this link which confirms what I discovered in my above post: https://my.garmin.com/mygarmin/dashboard.htm

Just used Garmin Express yesterday afternoon and it worked fine for me.

I've deleted the 32 and 64 bit versions of Communicator from my PCs. If I notice a problem, I'll report back. So far, all Garmin programs and sites work.

There is one feature of Garmin Communicator that cannot be removed - it has installed Garmin USB drivers on the PC.

It may be that the many posters who have had an issue with Garmin Express over the past months have actually had a problem with USB drivers, and their problem has been fixed by going to the Garmin Communicator web page. The plugin was not needed, but the USB drivers were.

Garmin Express supposedly installs USB drivers, but as we know installations can fail because of the many different operating systems and various configurations of the PC. There has been much discussion over finicky USB cables, but I don't believe that.

This is an issue particularly for a new Garmin customer running Garmin Express for the first time. All the old posters on these pages already have the correct USB drivers.

If the PC cannot see the nuvi or Garmin Express cannot connect with Garmin, maybe we should suggest installing the USB drivers:

https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=591

dobs108

Well, as per my little knowledge about technology, if it is a USB drivers issue, Windows will give you error message, "unknown device" or something. You should not have issues connecting to Garmin servers if your device is showing up as a drive in Windows machine. The issue we had over the weekend was purely Garmin servers related. I don't think it has anything to do with USB drivers.

I was not referring to your original issue.

dobs108

Ok, my apologies.

Check it out ... https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={59f9d9d0-518c-11dc-4ec8-000000000000}

also this ... https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={1e363b70-fed6-11dd-ffba-000000000000}

As I understand this, "Garmin mode" is a proprietary communication protocol used on older Garmin devices and some handheld devices, and these require the Garmin USB drivers. All the newer Garmin devices including the nuvi and zumo series are USB mass storage devices and do not need the Garmin USB drivers. Instead, they use drivers provided by Microsoft Windows.