Garmin C550-does not have safe mode or garmin lock--where can I get it??

I personally would do a reset and clear all user data. You then should be able to take it in out of of safe mode, unless they did something to that particular set of units that are set to rental car agencies.

select the wrench icon
select system
you will find the safe mode and garmin lock in the system settings

This could just be running very old firmware, or there could be something about the hardware that the firmware is recognising (thus making it a special, for the Rental Company).

Have you tried running the WebUpdater?

What version firmware is it currently running?

(Wrench/Spanner | System | About)

I tried everything everyone has said above and no luck. When I go to update software it says complete but when I turn on my Garmin and go to about it still states that it is on version 2.40. Anymore suggestions? Thanks for the help. audio version 1.30, gps sw version 2.9 and bluetooth version 2.8

what model of GPSr do you have?

It's possible that those custom units are not updatable by the user.

That would make sense since they were used for the public.

Gosh, just realized what model he had, read the title dummy!

That's ancient!! (November 2005, according to the copy I downloaded from http://gpsinformation.org/perry/streetpilot/c5x0/

It's possible that its inventory file (GarminDevice.xml) isn't compatible with the current version of WebUpdater.

The latest version of C5xx firmware is V5.70. Available from the Garmin web-site.

If you're sure that it's a bog standard C550 (and not some special version) then that firmware should give you missing features. Be aware of the small risk of it all going 'orribly wrong though.

so what should i try???

Sell on Ebay and then buy one from a store? I am not sure what to tell you to do, sounds like you have done all that you can do.

What rental company did it come from? Call Garmin and see if they have any suggestions.

avis rental--i contacted garmin and I had some say there is a way but could not tell me and some say no. the ones that said there is a way to get it fixed just said check the internet. doing that everyday

Are you saying that you've already tried manually installing V5.70 and it didn't work?

it states that it has succesfully installed it and then I check on the gps and it still says it is using the 2.40 version. I know you can download things onto it as I have added cars

One of the guys on the Zumo forum reported a similar thing this week with a BMW version of the Zumo. He couldn't update the firmware with the standard firmware EXEs that we use.

So were ya'll able to come up with a solution?

No, he had to go back to the dealer.

no such luck yet