DO NOT UPGRADE! (nuvi 350 version 4.90)

Is the culprit webupater 2.0.1 or the version 4.9 update. The latest verion of webupdater is 2.4.1 Would all work with that version?

I wonder if it is just the nuvi 350 of it is something systemic? Hmmmm!

Thanks for the heads-up. If you want to down-version to v4.6, I'll email it to you.

The GPS can be updated without the Webupdater. The new version can be download from the nuvi350 update link. I never use the Webupdater; I'd rather have the version on my computer for just such a problem.

Thanks again, rpanz.

RT

Thanks, but too late, just got the map software update today, updated the Webupdater and the same problem. I wish I had seen this message sooner.

I was just about to plug my 350 in and run the update.

Thanks to ALL you POI Factory 'workers'. Watching out for each other is a wonderful thing.

Cheers!

I sold my 350 to a friend and thought I would check for updates before delivering it to him next weekend, popped into POI Factory first and saw this post just in time. Thanks rpanz et al.

Bump!

I loaded it into my Nuvi 660 before I saw the post, but, it looks like everything is working as it should. Possible it is only the 350 - sorry.

Just looked up what the 4.90 update consists of and the only item listed on the Garmin site was; "Corrected volume maximum" not a critical problem and hardly worth the headache.

The Map Update 2008 DVD will automaticly perform an update to the 4.90 firmware. This can be avoided by making sure you are not connected to the internet when running this DVD update, either by unplugging or disabling your connection.

I just got off the phone with Garmin Software Support and they said that this is a known Firmware issue and that they will fix it. I asked for an ETA and none was given for the fix.

Good news - Bad News:

GOOD FIRST: Just got off the phone with Garmin (8:15 pm) and it appears only the 350 is affected.

NOW BAD: POI Loader also does not work. According to Garmin nothing can read the 350 after the upgrade and there is no way for me to downgrade back to system version 4.6.

Tech support say they are aware of the problem and are working on it, but have no idea when/if it will be corrected.

BTW: The current version of MacUpdate for the Macintosh is 2.0.1 and also 2.0.1 for POI Loader. I was using the the latest of both.

I did not ask tech support if only the Macintosh was affected. Once he said it was the update itself, and not WebUpdater, POI Loader or Mac that were the problem, that kinda ended our discussion.

Ralph

Since I was connected to the internet all the time while I updated to 2008 Maps yesterday; thought, oh S--T, I imagine my nuvi350 is now at 4.9 ... just checked it and it's still at 4.60. Maybe it only automatically updates the firmware if it's older than 4.60 ... mine didn't change.

RT

Hmmm odd Garmin said nothing to do? Just downgrade to 4.6. I had already updated to 4.9 before I saw this post. I then downgraded to 4.6. After a reboot and loosing my user data (favorites and Custom POIs were in tact). My unit is happily back at 4.6 interfacing with POI Loader and MapSource.

Also note after a reboot a message appears stating something like,"New firmware is an older version ..do you wish to upgrade? "

Get Garmin firmware 4.6 at http://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_nuvi350-firmware-upgrades_...

THESTICK,

Thanks for the info but everything at the website are .exe files which are only used on PCs, not Macs.

JUST SO EVERYONE DOESN'T GET WORRIED, THIS APPEARS TO BE STRICTLY A PROBLEM WITH THE MACINTOSH VERSION OF THE GARMIN UPDATE AND THE NUVI 350. That's why it's posted on the Mac Topics Forum.

If I understood the tech support guy correctly, nothing can recognize (read) the 350 after the update to 4.9. But I'm still hopeful someone will come up with a solution.

Ralph

I had so many requests for v4.6 I put it on the
POI Verifier website. Click on the 'nuvi350 v4.60 Update' link in the left window.

RT

I'm about to update my 680. Should I wait until Garmin fixes the mac version?
thx,
Jen

I updated earlier in the day to 4.90 and the POI Loader definately works. I updated a few items just a few minutes ago. I do have the latest POI loader, and a Nuvi 350

So I decided to try this again.

I downgraded to 4.60

Using Map Update 2008 City Navigator North America NT1 Update DVD

On the Mac using OSX 10.4.10 it asked to connect to the internet or it would not continue.

It forced an update to 4.90 on both Windows XP and Mac OS X.

Each in it's true environment nothing was in Virtual Machine Environments.

The main issue is that I wanted to Update my maps and couldn't care less about what firmware I was using.

The 2008 DVD Map Update would not allow me to proceed using the setup when the Unit was in 4.6x firmware.

I am here with you in same situation. Should I try to update to new Map 2008?

It's interesting that I have ver 4.70 which was never listed.

I will however wait until the all clear is sounded before going to 4.90

I'm staying away from this one until further notice.

Thanks RT. I was successful going back to v.4.60. Everything is fine. But my new v2008 map installation is not allowing me to update without checking/installing software update to v4.90. Any suggestions?

WindChill

I really don't know as my nuvi350 is still at 4.60 with maps at "City Navigator North America NT 2008 [1] ALL". I never had an option to update the nuvi to 4.90! I don't know what's going on; so I'm sending Garmin Support an email.

RT

Connfirmed. I updated my 350 to 4.90 with Windows XP with no problem.

I have XP but still have the problem of my Nuvi350 being recongized. So, update is still a problem.

Mine is working fine too since the update.

I upgraded yesterday on a Windows xp64 platform, no problem with the upgrade, however web updater can't find the device, but the POI Loader does!! I'll leave it up to Garmin to figure this one out.

Both WebUpdater and MapSource are unable to communicate with the Nuvi version 4.9 software with the windows .exe install. POI Loader does work by the way.

Just wanted to update everyone on the nuvi 350 system upgrade problem.

Unfortunately, there is nothing new. As you may be aware, I have contacted Garmin tech support by phone several times and also by email giving a detailed explanation of the problem.

Garmin's much vaunted tech support reputation has taken a serious hit in my estimation of their support. Their only response so far has been, "Yep, we're aware of the problem," - no suggestions for work-arounds, no ideas for correcting the problem, no updates on work in progress, nothing, nada, zip - just a deafening silence.

I think one could reasonably expect that, since Garmin is responsible for the problems we're all having, they would at least have something to say about work in progress to correct the problems they've caused.

Or am I expecting too much from them?

If I hear anything I'll post it here for everyone.

Ralph

Just got off the phone (again) with tech support and they are reporting that both Windows & Mac are having the same problem.

BUT THERE IS A FIX! It involves deleting the two .bin files (006B047800.bin and 006B048201.bin) and the GUPDATE.GCD file from the nuvi and replacing them with files emailed to you from Garmin Tech Support. The system software on your 350 will revert back to 4.60.

I was told to pass on to everyone that it would be prudent to wait for Version 5.0 and skip the 4.90 upgrade. If I understood correctly, there was nothing wrong with version 4.60 in the first place and it did not need to be upgraded. The 4.90 upgrade was intended to fix problems with units running system versions earlier than 4.60.

I asked the tech support guy if there would be any problem with me emailing the replacement files to POI Factory folks who needed them and was asked not to do so (for various technical reasons?!?!?). [ It would be nice, and you might suggest when you contact tech support, that they put the replacement files as well as instructions up on their website so everyone can fix their problems without having to wait on tech support for help. ]

My thanks to everyone for their help and comments over the past couple of days.

Ralph

Just a quick reminder that anyone who has backed up their GPS to their computer (after installing v4.6 and before installing 4.9) will have these 3 files.

It would be difficult to email the GUPDATE.GCD in its raw form as it's almost 9 MB; but it can be zipped down to just over 3MB

RT

Or just run nuvi350_460.exe for those without a backup.

Oh wow.. I think I'm behind... I haven't updated since March...wonder what version that is.. I didn't know that would actually be a good thing. Can someone shout out when it's all clear to update? I'm sure I'll forget and update when I buy my next nuvi. =P

Yesterday, on Windows and with the 2008 Map update, the update program upgraded my Nuvi 350 to FW 4.9, with the resulting problem described on this thread.

Today, I downgraded to 4.6 using the standalone updater (It is actually still on the Garmin site, just replace the nuvi350_490.exe name on the final URL to nuvi350_460.exe).

I lost user settings (Locale, map settings, preferences, etc. no big deal), but POIs were retained. The Web Updater can see the 4.6 unit again.

When trying to update to the 2008 Maps the 2nd time, I left my Internet connection on with the intent to sniff the traffic to the Garmin Servers so I could and analyze it to spoof/prevent the update on a third run. So I have Wireshark running in the background, and started running the update. Well, the map udate checked the Nuvi 350 and figured it didn't have to upgrade from 4.6 to 4.9, so it skipped the firmware update. It's downloading the new map right now. Garmin must have changed something on their servers to say 4.6 was current. I'll look at the trace when its done to verify that theory.

Unless you're on a mac, in which case exe files are useless.

I got an answer back; and, as stated above, don't update.
"Thank you for contacting Garmin International,

Actually Software version 4.9 has recently been found to have a bug in it. We will soon release Version 5.0 to correct this. Please do not update your firmware unit this is released. You may check for this at:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/collection.jsp?product=010-00...

Please be sure to look at the Nuvi 350 line.

With Best Regards,"

RT

Ok, so I'm quite new at this as I have just recently purchased my Garmin 350 and hastily went ahead and upgraded to 4.9. So how do I upgrade to 5.0 when it comes out, if my Webdater doesn't see the device?? Can anyone give me some advice.

Regards:
BR

rocktowndiscgolf,

Windows .exe files can be used for updates using a Macintosh. Thanks to danham who documented the very simple procedure. For the procedure, see http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?
TOPIC_ID=57981&SearchTerms=,Macintosh,update

In summary, Stuffit Expander is used to extract the Garmin folder from the .exe file. The Garmin folder contains the update file (GUPDATE.GCD). The Garmin folder containing the update file is copied to an SD card in the Garmin. It can also be copied to an SD card which is then inserted in the Nuvi. When the Garmin is powered off and on again, the new software is loaded into the Nuvi main memory and the update is completed.

Forgot to mention that I am running a Windows XP64 platform

BR

Simply download and run the exe file which should be provided by Garmin at:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/collection.jsp?product=010-00...

I would also suggest you backup your GPS first by creating a folder on your computer and copying the entire nuvi drive to it.

RT

http://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_nuvi350-firmware-upgrades_...

I was able to roll back the firmware to 4.60 after the major Fu*k-UP by Garmin on the 4.90 firmware update.I am just surprised that Garmin still has the 4.90 firmware to download at their website when they should get rid of it cause what it's doing to peoples Nuvi 350. Thanks again......

RT, thanks for your help, much appreciated

BR

Product testing... It is there for a reason. It looks like Garmin slipped a bit on the 4.90

The thing is I and I believe other people bought the Nuvi to use for our travel use not to product test their software.Shame on them......

An 8+ step workaround that only works if you use a year and a half old version of Stuffit, (which most people probably don't) is not what I would call simple.

My point was that .exe files are simply not made for Macs, and therefore the suggestion to "just run nuvi350_460.exe" wasn't very appropriate in the Mac Topic section.

Thanks akapauan.

I can confirm that the upgrade process you described now works. I just successfully updated to the 2008 map by downgrading to v460. The map upgrade now skips past the step of upgrading the firmware to v490 and goes straight to loading the new map.

It would have been nice to see some details on this problem on the Garmin website. And since I received an email letting me know the 2008 map was available I should have received an email letting me know there was a problem with installing the updated map.

Despite this glitch I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Nuvi in the future. It's an amazing device with an excellent interface and my one experience in dealing with Garmin's phone support blew me away that they were so good and quick at helping me resolve my problem.

This is the best site. i am so glad everyone out there is working together to look out for each other. it is such a good feeling to know there is still people who care out there. thanks everyone for your helpful eyes.

Hi, everyone!

After reading about the problems with the Nuvi 350 sw update and the inability of Webupdater to then recognize the Nuvi, I thought I'd see if my Nuvi 660 was prone to the same fate. Apparently not. I just updated my 660 to sw ver 4.10 using updater. After the 660 reinitialized, I tried using updater again successfully.

Miki

If I recall correctly, the original thread heading and post made no mention of Mac; but was later edited to specify 'MAC' (rpanz, correct me if this is wrong). When 'DO NOT UPDATE ..." hit the air, anyone with a nuvi350 sat up and took notice. Yes, this is in a 'Mac Topics' forum; but how many see that little blue line at the top of the post? In fact, neither the 'Unread Posts' nor the 'All Recent Posts' indicated it was a Mac thread.

JM, can this be implemented?
1. When a post is edited, have "EDITED:" with the change added below the original post. Make it so the body of the original post and its title can never be changed.
2. Add a filter so we can 'filter out' any category we don't want to view (in this case, the Mac category).

In any case, rpanz, you did all of us nuvi350 users one big favor ... this problem ended up not only applying to Mac users but PC users as well. One huge Thank you.

RT

RT,

I believe you are right, I don't think the original message specified Mac. I thought posting in the Mac topics forum was sufficient. It soon became apparent I was mistaken. Many who saw the message assumed it applied to all computers. At that point Garmin had told me it was only the nuvi350 and Mac computers that were involved. We found out later it also involved PCs as well as Macs.

BTW, I particularly like your suggestion, i.e., "1. When a post is edited, have "EDITED:" . . . ."

Ralph