Traffic receiver on 3597 does not work anymore...

This occurs to me and a few others.

I have found that following these steps will cure the problem:

1. Completely powering down the 3597 and it is not mounted. (Hold Power button down until "Turn off the device" message appears and select "Yes")

2. Plug in the cord (or turn on vehicle if it's a switched 12v socket already plugged in).

3. Place 3597 on mount and let it power up.

Not everybody has this problem and it didn't occur until Garmin "Fixed" it with an update. Sometimes it occurs, but most time it doesn't. Very aggravating because if you don't bring up the Traffic panel, you don't know about it not working.

Note that since Garmin just did an update to the 3597 to include Canada FM Traffic, Canada must be getting "FM Traffic". Not sure where the text file is on a 3597, but lists all the FM stations used. You can open it with notepad and view the listings.

Thanks for your tips. I will try tomorrow. I did software re-set few times today but no luck. But I will try tomorrow again. I am not sure if I have same issue on my Nuvicam as well or not..

FM traffic is there from day one in Canada. I was using it till I got 3597 which came with the Smart link app option.

I tried everything but still no luck. It still shows receiver disconnected.

Hopefully this reply won't steer this thread too far astray. My mother-in-law bought a Garmin Nuvi 3597 a couple of weeks ago. I did a few things for her so far, I added a micro SD memory card, updated the maps, deleted the non-English languages voices/keyboards, etc.

I ran out of time that evening and told her that I would show her some more things the next time we got together. Specifically, I want to show here a bit more about the traffic functionality. I typically just use the HD traffic function because it is simple. I seem to recall from others here, however, that the traffic functionality when connected to Bluetooth works better.

Anyway, her big trip of the winter will be to drive from Saint Paul MN to Las Vegas NV. Part of me is thinking that I shouldn't bother with having her use Bluetooth to connect her smartphone to the Nuvi because of the "learning curve. I am also concerned about how much data it will use. Also, she is on T-Mobile and many parts of the trip she won't have any signal anyway.

Anyway, for those here that have used both, is it worth the time and effort of teaching her how to connect via Bluetooth? Is the traffic information received that way that much better to make it worthwhile?

I may also teach her a bit about Google Maps, too. I know when my wife and I have traveled long distances by automobile, it did seem helpful to have both. When they didn't agree with one another it made me look a bit further to see why they weren't in agreement.

I will recommend Smart Link App digital traffic which is far superior than any other form. But you will have purchase the traffic subscription. It is a one time fee. HD traffic is very good only when it works. You may not get HD signal everywhere but digital traffic via smartphone will be available almost everywhere.

I will recommend Smart Link App digital traffic which is far superior than any other form. But you will have purchase the traffic subscription. It is a one time fee. HD traffic is very good only when it works. You may not get HD signal everywhere but digital traffic via smartphone will be available almost everywhere.

Well, I live in Northern AZ known in the state by some as the High Country, not Las Vegas, but I think these thoughts will apply to your mother's upcoming trip. By highway, I live about 250 miles (considered to be a short trip in the Southwest, Alaska, and NW Canada) from Las Vegas.

HD traffic works great in populated areas with HD radio stations--at least that's what others say. In Arizona, HD traffic is available a few tens of miles from the center of Greater Phoenix and of Greater Tucson. Outside of these two areas; i.e., in most of the state, there will be no traffic results offered to a nuvi 3597 with a GTM 60 traffic power supply offering HD traffic. I very strongly suspect the same results to occur in most of the West, and especially the Southwestern USA.

The Garmin Smartphone Link app with the one-time $20-ish traffic subscription has vastly more coverage, especially in the west. Yes, there are still large areas without cell reception from your smartphone's carrier but it's still way more than that offered by HD radio stations offering HD traffic.

The good news: for most smartphones, the Bluetooth connection between phone and GPS is solid and once set, will remain a long time, even with power downs of either or both devices. It still may be useful to show your mother how to reconnect if the Bluetooth connection is somehow severed.

Also, if you're going to the effort of adding the Garmin Smartphone link app, I suggest that in addition to subscribing to traffic, you also subscribe (again, a one-time fee) to premium weather.

Good luck and safe travels to all.

Thank you very much for the replies guys. Perhaps the $20 Garmin Smartphone Link app with the one-time $20-ish traffic subscription would make a good Christmas gift for her!

Also, just to make sure this is clear in my mind, the $20 fee gets coverage in some cities that aren't covered by the free traffic, correct?

Also, as an aside, I have noticed lately that Google Maps finds some construction near me that the HD receiver didn't find. Maybe I need to connect my 3597 to my smartphone more often!

While real-time traffic information may genuinely save much time and aggravation in the LA basin and the whole BosWash metroplex, out here in he great empty spaces I don't miss it much. On the real high Mountain West there often is not much alternative to the Interstate. So a traffic alert telling you the Interstate is closed down might give you time to prepare your soul but not very many likely alternates.

If you are going to pile up complexities, I think the time spent developing her ability to use Google Maps to get an alternate opinion is far more likely to do her actual good than any improvement in traffic advice you have mentioned.

I do pay attention to traffic alerts when I visit the SF Bay Area, but only once or twice have they delivered me genuinely helpful information, and then only to the tune of a few minutes. Here at home in Albuquerque, I don't much miss it, though when I'm going to the airport and traffic briefly slows to a halt, I do wish it was available here.

Yes, the smartphone link app traffic should be great in pretty much all cities, small towns, etc. Also, since cellular coverage is pretty good even in the west along interstates, Smartphone link traffic and weather will potentially surprise you with reports in what appears to be the middle of nowhere on major highways.

It's well worth pulling up the coverage map for HD traffic, especially in the Western US, to see how limited it is in some states.

What archae86 reports is also true and if the Garmin Smartphone link app traffic subscription required an annual fee, I may not have activated it, but as a one-time fee, it's well worth it in my opinion.

Mine is work. You may try using the new express to reinstall it.
Good luck

Sorry, I did not understand it. DO you mean FM traffic will work with new Garmin Express?

I think I already have new one.

The Garmin just released the new express. You can use this to update your GPS software, you may reinstall the traffic part. It should fix software issue. if it still have problem, check hardware problem, try usb port check, or try another cable, or ...
Good luck.

Might be a good excuse to get a new unit...

Be careful on the Smartphone App. I have read several times that if you have a traffic receiver on your Garmin that the Smartphone traffic will not work - and you have wasted $20 since it will not be refunded. I don't know all the ends and outs of this, but was looking when my traffic receiver died - I though. Turns out the GPS was frying HD receivers and I have replaced it. I hope someone has a better answer on this, but until then I would call Garmin support before I paid for a traffic subscription.

I've not heard this before and it's definitely not the case for my 3597 with GTM 60 HD traffic receiver/power cord. It is true that if running the Garmin Smartphone Link app with a paid traffic subscription that the FM or HD traffic receiver will not offer traffic to the GPS. But even then, if the smartphone link app is not active, the FM or HD traffic will again work.

Since the Smartphone link app uses so little data and since the traffic provided through the app is so much better in many areas of the country that FM or HD traffic, I'm not sure why or when one would ever want to disable the app's traffic.

I contacted Garmin support regarding this issue. First they gave usual answer to make sure to update all software on the device via Garmin Express. Now they are pointing out that that if all software is updated then if could be hardware issue and I should replace the receiver/charging cable and they offered me price for refurbished for $59 and brand new for $69.

I think it is a hardware issue because I tried it by disabling Bluetooth on my Nuvicam, it gave me option for fM traffic.

Since USB connetion ports are different on both devices, I cannot try my Nuvicam cable on 3597.

If it comes down to hardware issue, then I will just ask my daughter to buy traffice subscription for $20 which is 100 times superior than FM traffic. I was trying avoid buying another subscription.

What model years did that receiver come from?

What model years did that receiver come from?

GTM 60 - 2013 nuvi 3597 LMTHD

I tested my Nuvi 3597 with my second GTM 60 receiver from NuviCam and it worked without any issues. So one of my GTM 60 is broken for traffic now. I swapped GTM 60s, I personally use Smart Link App traffic so I don't need it. I put it in other car which my daughter drives these days with traffic receiver.