Garmin

Deleting Unnecessary Files on a Garmin
updated 3/9/2015 (thanks to Canuk for corrections)

Some Garmins have limited internal memory, so deleting unnecessary files (such as those for foreign languages) may allow some units to load all of the desired map set without having to choose which regions to load.

Garmin Time Zone Information

Some Camper, nuvi, LIVE, zumo, RV, and dezl series automatically change the time zone as you drive. Additionally, they display your Estimated TIme of Arrival using your destination's local time. Consider this when comparing arrival time against driving time.

There is no set limit on how many POIs can be loaded to a Garmin device. The only limitation is based on the available free space on the Garmin GPS device or SD card. The amount of space needed for the POIs will depend on the number and size of the .csv and .gpx files and the size of any included bitmaps or MP3s/WAVs.

The following was obtained from Garmin Support, Frequently Asked Questions.

The mileage shown on a favorite or saved location is the total distance to that location in a geographical straight line ("as the crow flies").

If you want to find out the total mileage for a route:

1. Touch Where To?
2. Touch Favorites or Saved

Custom Dashboard for 3597

You can easily create a custom dashboard for the 3597 to include things like Time to Destination, Direction of Travel, Distance to Via Point, etc., much the same as you could with the Map Data Layout - More Data option in other Nuvi's that allowed you to display this type of information on the Map Screen.

Updated 5-30-24.

Some automotive devices use Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) for connecting to your computer. MTP provides a more secure environment for the important system files on your device.

The following devices will go into MTP mode to communicate with Garmin software applications, when connected to a Windows computer.

Avis DriveSmart 50
BMW Motorrad Navigator Street

Common Problems and their Solutions

Alerts won't work
Folders for Categories not working
Custom Road Avoidances have quit working
Garmin Express freezes at 50%
Garmin Express does not work

Updated: 5/31/2024

Windows hides file extensions by default, and this sometimes causes problems for people trying to get their POI files and alerts to work. With the extension hidden, they sometimes add an extension and you end up with a file that has a “double extension” (e.g., Cracker Barrel.wav.wav)

To show file extensions in Windows 10 and 11

How do I change the time settings on my nuvi, dezl, LIVE, zumo, or RV device?

Updated 5-30-24.
From Garmin Support.

All current Garmin devices, when connected to a computer, will communicate in either Mass Storage or Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) mode. If the computer is not detecting the Garmin device, there are a few troubleshooting steps that can be done.

1.Unplug the USB cable from the computer.
2.Turn the device off and then back on again.

Suggestion: for the GPS models that speak street names, be sure to select only voices with "(TTS)" or that say "Speaks Street Names." (thanks to CraigW for this suggestion)

Important note for CN NA 2022.20 06/25/21: This procedure has been successfully applied by POI Factory member Melaqueman for the CN NA 2022.20 map on a nuvi model 855.

Replacing Garmin Battery
When you find that your Garmin battery will not hold a charge, you can change it yourself by following the instruction in these YouTube videos.

If a link to your unit is not found below, here is a way to look for one. In Google, type the search term like
"site:www.youtube.com Nuvi battery xxxx"
Where Nuvi represents the model and

LAST UPDATE - 04/01/19 8:20 PM EST

GPS Model -> Memory Size (GB)
======================

NUVI
30/40/50 -> approx. 1.76 GB reported by Garmin
57 -> 3.52
65/67 -> 4
2x0(W) -> 1 (early version) see posts below
2x0(W) -> 2 (later version) see posts below
250 - 265 -> 2
270 -> 4
285W -> 2
295W -> 4
350 -> 2

Download and install Garmin POI Loader (Free Download) on your computer.

http://www8.garmin.com/support/collection.jsp?product=999-99...

In this FAQ, the entire list of POI (Point of Interest) files to be loaded into the GPS is called Custom POIs as an example. Any other name that is meaningful to you can be used as long as the same name is used throughout the process.

This is the instruction to correct Corrupt or Unreadable file in the directory.

Here are steps to delete this error:

Right click on the garmin drive

Go to properties

Click on tools

Click on check now

Click on the first box that says automatically fix file system errors

Find found000 folder and delete it

Updated: 5/31/2024

A. Download and install the latest PoiLoader file from
http://www8.garmin.com/products/poiloader/

Updated 5-30-24.

With custom POIs there are two different alert options. One type of alert is a speed alert, and the other alert is a proximity alert.

With proximity alerts, POI Loader will accept a proximity alert of 0 ft. to 200,000 feet (or 0 to 60,960 meters). This equates to approximately 37.88 miles or 60.96 kilometers.

Updated: 5/31/2024

Garmin Custom POIs | How Do You Set Up And Load Custom Pois With Or Without Categories?

Show File Extensions

Before we get started with the custom POIs we need to eliminate the double extensions problem. This has caused past problems for our members trying to get there poi files and the alerts to work.

When you run POI Loader, it compiles all the POI files from the folder you selected on your computer (including one level of subfolders) into a single .gpi file that is saved onto the gps under --\Garmin\POI\????.gpi . This file will contain any custom icons or custom audio alerts you may have added.