Garmin FM Traffic has stopped working

 

Has anyone else noticed that at some point after Jan 1, 2018 traffic information is no longer being received by their older devices with FM Traffic only? I have both a Nuvi 760 with an added on lifetime traffic subscription, and a Nuvi 765T, which has lifetime traffic built in. Since I live in a metro area with good traffic signal coverage (San Diego, CA), I rely on that traffic info, which has been consistently available for years. Lately, the traffic icon is not appearing on the screen at all, indicating that not even a poor or intermittent signal (grayed out icon) is being received. Either the signal is no longer being transmitted, or something is wrong with my device, preventing reception. To start the troubleshooting process of elimination, if others are having this issue too, I'll know its a system problem. If no one else is, I will start trying to figure out why it is not working on my end. Any suggestions are welcome.

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Garmin Nuvi 760, Drivesmart 55; Retired Nuvi 765T ><> Dave <>< "He is no fool, who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

Try This

Garmin support suggests the following:

https://support.garmin.com/faqSearch/en-US/faq/content/uzBIs...

Although support for these older units is minimal, it is possible a firmware update could be available.

Not sure...

if its the same traffic service but the Garmin Lifetime Traffic service was working yesterday on a family member's DriveSmart 50 out in Phoenix AZ.

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Nuvi 2598 | Nuvi 350 | eTrex Vista | eTrex 30x

i believe

I believe that unit received RDS format traffic and it is very possible the supplying station stopped that service. RDS was a Motorola format and they have probably also stopped supporting it as it was a very slow data transfer format.

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Illiterate? Write for free help.

RDS Traffic Working

Tried to power up my old 760 and the unfortunately the power switch isn't functioning anymore so the screen is locked... so no joy trying to see if it still receives RDS Traffic.

RDS Traffic for Toronto is working on my DriveAssist 50 when not using the Smartphone Link app. I don't remember the exact date, but it was "broken" from last summer until quite recently, when it mysteriously started working again. It wasn't an issue for me since I almost always use Smartphone Link for traffic.

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Nüvi 2595LMT

Smart phone Link

WAASup wrote:

It wasn't an issue for me since I almost always use Smartphone Link for traffic.

Smart-Phone-Link gets my vote too for the Garmin units that support it.

Traffic Firmware & Database Up to Date?

Just checked the FM traffic reception and it seems to be working normally for me in the Northeast. The RDS/TMC network does change so broadcasting stations and frequencies could change from time to time. To ensure full access and reception of all available traffic data, make sure that the firmware is up to date as bdhsfz6 has advised. Use Garmin Express or Garmin WebUpdater to make sure your GPS unit and its traffic receiver have the latest traffic firmware and database. For your reference, my 1450LMT used for testing contains the following currently:

GTM3G RDS-TMC Receiver (B0901-00) Revision 3.10
GTM25 RDS-TMC Receiver (B0482-01) Revision 5.50

Traffic issue

I had this issue once with my 2595: no traffic reception. The issue turned out to be the connector at the end of the traffic receiver cable. I believe it was probably worn or got messed up from all the connecting and removing over time. I called Garmin and they replaced the cable no charge and added my optional "Total Traffic" subscription to it. They also mentioned that another common cause of the problem is the connector in the Nuvi from the same wear and tear.

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"Primum Non Nocere" 2595LMT Clear Channel and Navteq Traffic

Try Garmin SmartLink

Some of the newer units (within the past few years) are compatible with the Garmin SmartLink app which is a super alternative to the FM traffic. There is much greater coverage and it pulls in traffic updates quickly from your cell phone's data. The data usage is minimal. That said, I believe the 760 is pretty old and it probably doesn't have that feature unfortunately.

It could be hardware issue.

It could be hardware issue. I don't think they stopped FM traffic service. When my nuvicam or 3597 loses Bluetooth connection, it automatically falls back to FM traffic. It was working yesterday in Toronto area.

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Iphone XR, Drivesmart 61,Nuvicam, Nuvi3597

Update: Garmin FM Traffic Has Stopped Working

Thanks for all of the suggestions! For map updates, I have been using Map Updater, and had not used Garmin Express for several years due to the trouble it was causing at the time. I decided to give it another shot, and installed and ran it without any trouble, but there were no software or other updates available for either unit, so I do not think that was a factor in my not getting the traffic signal. However, I do not see on either of my units, a 760 and a 765T, anywhere were it gives me an indication of what the traffic firmware or database date or version is. Regarding tli's post, there is nothing I can see like what you posted for your 1450LMT in my units menu system, and I see no file on either unit that looks, by the file name, like it is traffic related. If anyone knows how to find this on a Nuvi 760 or 765T, I'd be interested to know. As others have reported, I have had the intermittent power issues related to the cradle, and have replaced several of those. But I did not think of that as a possibility for this traffic problem, because the power connections are stable. Based on williston's comment, I decided the hardware was worth checking into a little more. It turns out, the FM RDS traffic signal is still alive and well in SoCal. When I tried the 760 with its own receiver cable (the longer but lighter GTM 20 version with LED lights), it began picking up the signal and displaying traffic again. When I tried that cable on the 765T, it also worked! Just to confirm, I tried the normal cable I had been using, the one that came with the 765T (shorter, heavier GTM 20 without LEDs) on the 760, and sure enough, no traffic. Diagnosis: the shorter cable is the culprit. I discovered there is a good thread on the GTM 20 cable and traffice issues here: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/37592 The good news is, I can have good traffic info on either unit by using the good cable. The bad news is, I now have no back up cable, so my challenge is to either fix the bad one or find a replacement without having to pay for a new lifetime subscription. New cables are readily available for $80-100, but that option IMO is not worth it. I will try to contact Garmin, maybe they'll do the same for me as for williston - thanks for the tip. With several positive comments about Garmin SmartLink, I did look into that, but found on the Garmin website that it is not compatible with the Nuvi 7xx series, unfortunately. Thanks again to all POI Factory contributors - what a great group of people and resources there are here!

--
Garmin Nuvi 760, Drivesmart 55; Retired Nuvi 765T ><> Dave <>< "He is no fool, who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

Diagnostic Screen(s)

Pointer.SD wrote:

... Regarding tli's post, there is nothing I can see like what you posted for your 1450LMT in my units menu system, and I see no file on either unit that looks, by the file name, like it is traffic related. If anyone knows how to find this on a Nuvi 760 or 765T, I'd be interested to know. ...

It's good that you were able to isolate and identify the issue with that power adapter cord/traffic receiver. If Garmin Express did not reveal any update, then your GPS unit is already up to date. The info regarding firmware components and their version numbers can be obtained via the diagnostic screen(s). I don't have any experience with the 7XX series but the following thread could provide some insight:

Garmin Diagnostics Screen / Reset
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/1132?page=2

The post by xdhd350 [greg] titled 'Two Different Screens' seems relevant for the 7XX models, FYI.

You seem to have found the

You seem to have found the cause already, but the last time I had an issue and the GPSr behaved as if no traffic receiver was connected, I ended up replacing the cable with positive results.

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Maps -> Wife -> Garmin 12XL -> StreetPilot 2610 -> Nuvi 660 (blown speaker) -> Nuvi 3790LMT

Pointer.SD wrote: It turns

Pointer.SD wrote:

It turns out, the FM RDS traffic signal is still alive and well in SoCal. When I tried the 760 with its own receiver cable (the longer but lighter GTM 20 version with LED lights), it began picking up the signal and displaying traffic again. When I tried that cable on the 765T, it also worked! Just to confirm, I tried the normal cable I had been using, the one that came with the 765T (shorter, heavier GTM 20 without LEDs) on the 760, and sure enough, no traffic. Diagnosis: the shorter cable is the culprit. I discovered there is a good thread on the GTM 20 cable and traffice issues here: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/37592 The good news is, I can have good traffic info on either unit by using the good cable. The bad news is, I now have no back up cable, so my challenge is to either fix the bad one or find a replacement without having to pay for a new lifetime subscription. New cables are readily available for $80-100, but that option IMO is not worth it. I will try to contact Garmin, maybe they'll do the same for me as for williston - thanks for the tip. With several positive comments about Garmin SmartLink, I did look into that, but found on the Garmin website that it is not compatible with the Nuvi 7xx series, unfortunately. Thanks again to all POI Factory contributors - what a great group of people and resources there are here!

I would suggest you to call Garmin support and report the issue. Most likely they will send you free of cost. I had similar issue with GTM 60 on my 3597. It won't receive any traffic when Smart phone Link app not connected. So I called Garmin and explained the issue and they offered me new GTM60 for $50 or $60 (don't remember the exact amount. But I told them that I was a loyal customer for the last ten years and I had 6 Garmin units during this time. After this agreed they to send me new GTM 60 for free. So you may try and may get it for free.

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Iphone XR, Drivesmart 61,Nuvicam, Nuvi3597

just curious

If you've ever compared Google or Waze to Garmin. I think that if/when you do, you won't go back, and you'll save a lot of time...my .02

Don't they work of local radio station sub channels?

I thought the info was on a local Radio stations sub channel info band. That's why here in Tucson its spotty?

Yes

windwalker wrote:

I thought the info was on a local Radio stations sub channel info band. That's why here in Tucson its spotty?

But it's called a "Subcarrier"

FM and HD radio coverage areas can be seen at:

https://coverage.here.com/rds-coverage.html

As long as you have a cell phone connection, the Garmin Smartphone app should work. Coverage for a cell phone is way greater than FM or HD radio with less dead spots.

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Metricman DriveSmart 76 Williamsburg, VA