Garmin

Is my Garmin nuvi compatible with WAAS or EGNOS?

If you have a Garmin nuvi 300 or 600 series device you will have the option to enable WAAS/EGNOS. Enabling WAAS/EGNOS on your nuvi 300 or 600 series unit may improve the accuracy to less than three meters on average.

To enable WAAS/EGNOS on your nuvi:

Power the nuvi on
Touch on the Spanner/Wrench icon from the main menu screen

What is Foursquare?
Foursquare is a POI database to help users explore new and popular restaurants, stores, and more. Certain newer Garmin devices come preloaded with this database.

When I miss a turn, why doesn't my device tell me its recalculating

The "recalculating" announcement was one of the most annoying alerts and many people complained. However, when the announcement was eliminated, most people who missed a turn and were taken miles out of the way before realizing it were just as upset.

Where can I find my current elevation on Garmin Device?

Note that elevation on automotive devices is based solely on map data and may not be 100% accurate, depending on satellite signal strength and available map data.

On most Garmin devices:

(assuming the device has acquired satellite signal)
Touch View Map
Touch the vehicle icon/position indicator

How do I check installed maps on my Garmin?

Your path to the Map Info page depends on the specific device. However, onece you get to the info, you will be able to see all of the mapping loaded onto the device. If there is no checkmark next to the map(s) listed, touch the box to add a check. This will enable the mapping on the device.

nuvi 30, 40, 50, 52, and 54 series devices:

Will My Garmin Device Automatically Adjust For Daylight Savings Time?

Assuming that your device software is up-to-date, most units will automatically adjust to Daylight Savings time IF you have chosen "Auto" or "Automatically" in the time settings.

Check your user manual to see how to set time.

POI Loader Screens

Note: POI Loader is used to compile .csv and .gpx files into "Custom POIs". These Custom POI files are different from Favorites/Saved Places (which can be added to a device by putting a .gpx file anywhere on the device).

When you run POI Loader, you will get the following screens.

Devices with "Real Directions" will speak not only the street names but will also use recognizable landmarks, buildings, and traffic lights in the notices. This minimize the need to locate and read upcoming street name signs.

Note:
The following guide was written & tested specifically for the nuvi 7x0/7x5 series units. They may in fact apply to more recent units as well but I have only personally tested the 7x0/7x5 series.

+Updated items 12/18/2008

Which Units Have a Digital Elevation Map (DEM)?

This is a base map that shows shaded terrain contours at various zoom levels of five miles and above. For most devices, the "DEM" is part of the mapping system.

It is often very useful to set up avoidances on your GPS. The most common avoidance is “Unpaved Roads”, but you have additional choices that you may or may not have set, such as Ferries, Toll Roads, Car pool Lanes, etc.

In most cases, avoidances like Car Pool Lanes, Ferries, U-Turns and Unpaved Roads will not usually cause serious routing problems.

OK - you want to try your hand at creating a POI file. Maybe your company delivers and you want a file that can be used to save time in getting to your customers. Maybe you are just interested in the process.

Techniques for arranging Custom POIs

How do I route to an intersection of my Garmin Device?

The early Garmins had "Intersection" as one of the options once the Where To? button was pressed. However, later models have this option under Where to? > Categories > [down arrow multiple times]

Once "Intersection" option is selected, you will zero in on the city if that is not already indicated.

Solving "Route Memory Full" Problems

If you get a "Route Memory Full" error message on your device, you should look for one of the following situations.

1. Your route has too many turns.
2. Your "Archive" files have gotten too large
3. Your device needs to be updated.

The first thing to look at is whether your "Archive" files have taken up too much memory.

What Devices are not compatible with the Cyclops Safety Cameras

Syncmaster learned from Garmin Support that the Garmin 2013 and newer line of automotive devices are not compatible with the Cyclops Safety Camera subscription. (see http://www.poi-factory.com/node/42906)

From that same thread, CraigW added

Convert a GPI file from Your Garmin to .gpx format

For this, we will use GPSBabel. Download GPSBabel from http://www.gpsbabel.org/download.html. Scroll down until you see the Latest Release section and then choose the version for your computer. I chose the GPSBabel for Windows (which at the time of this writing was "GPSBabel-1.5.1-Setup.exe")

Updated 7-30-23.

Voice-activated navigation models allows you to say the full address or POI in one continuous sentence. This means that you are now able to say the full address, or POI in one continuous sentence to locate the destination, rather than using multiple voice commands, for the house number, street, city, and state.

Garmins that cannot receive a Route from a Computer

Most Garmins are able to receive a route from packages like Mapquest and Basecamp. However, there are a small number of devices that are unable to use routes from Mapquest even though Mapquest will "send" the route to the device.

Nuvi 30*, 40*, 50*

Garmin On-The-Road GPS devices occasionally can receive additional voices or updates to voices. Many new Garmin devices come from the factory with only two voices: Samantha and Michelle. This FAQ will attempt to keep current with the latest English language voice versions.