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Garmin Update Guide How to keep your GPS Sat Nav up to date.

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how to reset pin for nuvi 200 if pin is forgotten?

You need to go to your secure location.

Is it possible to get a free non-celebrity male British voice for the Nuvi 200W? Great website and would be grateful if you could help. Thanks.

Check out the link on my voices page - that company may have something.

recently bought a nuvii 200 and have been having nothing but problems- finally it won't allow me to route and says no data available.  this is after using for a week.  What can be the problem>  and also why doesn't the manual have a problem solving reference? Michelle.

Take it back asap.

Hi, is it possible to install the new city navigator 2009 on a sd card and keep the nuvi 250 with the original set up
if yes ... how? Alain.

No, but you could make a copy of the internal memory of your unit to your pc's hard-drive, to swap it back if you wanted to. (Thats good practice anyway.)

Thoroughly enjoyed your video. :)
How do I erase a particular address that I don't need anymore?
 Thanks...have a great day..Mike from canada :)

If its a favourite, just find it, then "edit", "delete". If its a recently found location, you've got to press "clear" in that section.

I have forgot my pin for my Nuvi 200. I went to my security location and it unlocked. My problem is that it would not allow me to reset the PIN without the old pin. Now I have to drive 50 miles to my security location to unlock. Are there any tricks to reseting the pin once at the security location? Josh.

Once you're at your secure location, press the spanner, settings,security, change PIN, and it should work, well it did for me anyways.

Hi - any idea how to reset the Home favourite on a Nuvi 250? I know you can delete it, but I'm afraid that will also delete the green 'Go Home' icon...???

Just press "where to", "favourites", scroll down to find the "home" location, select it, press "edit", then "delete". Then you just press the green "go home" bar and enter a new destination.

how do I set the product to say MILES instead of KM?   Thanks. Pid.

Press the Spanner, settings, system, then units.

I can't spell anything - state, city or address without the screen going black.  I have tried the website answers and tried to reset but still can not get anywhere...HELP!!
D.

Sounds like you've got a faulty unit - if its still in warranty take it back to where you bought it and get it repaired.

We have a Nuvi250W, we took it to France & Spain and when planning routes found out that the mileage shown for route was not correct, the longer the trip distance the greater the discrepancy got.  Have tried in vain to contact Garmin and make sense of their help pages but being very non techno can't find anything to help, we would really appreciate any help you can give us, regards Richard.

Yeah, the Nuvi's aren't known for their milage accuracy when it comes to route planning.... its always worth downloading the latest update software from Garmin to see if that helps.

I have a Garmin 250W....good instrument, but one cannot get to "set location" without first being indoors with no sat signal and told so by the inst.  Other more expensive models have a facility to raise the antenna or not, not available with this 250W.  So is there another way to get to "set loc" without going indoors....mostly using it to get lat/long.? Richard.

You need to put it into demo mode. Press the spanner, settings, then system (i think...) then select simulation.

Hi, I have just bought a Garmin Nuvi 250. I have updated the speed cameras from pocketgps but find that they over write the other custom poi's. I did as you have suggested to others and backed up my custom poi's and added the speed cameras before reinstalling the poi folder to my Nuvi. When I look in extras for poi info all I can find is the speed cams. Is it possible to have both custom poi's and extra speed cams installed and if so can I have only the cams with proximity warnings as I don't really need to be warned of an approaching B & Q etc.? Thanks, Steve.

Check out the:

PGPSW Forum

I just purchased the above together with a Garmin Mains charger.

Plugged in to mains and hopefully it is charging ....but no indication.

Also I can see the sat strength top left but no Battery indicator.

How can I check the battery charge level.

I can still use the Device whilst plugged in to the mains

Thanks
Gezzy

The Nuvi's don't have a "being charged" icon - you just have to plug it in for 3-4 hours for a full charge.

Hi, I've just bought a Garmin Nuvi 200 and am going to Dubai next month. Is it possible to load a City Navigator middle east onto this? If so how do i do it?

Once you've got the Garmin Middle East Maps, you then install the Mapsource Software, connect your Garmin to your PC, and choose which maps to install. Its worth buying another SD card, say 512mb or 1gb, to store these maps on instead of the internal memory, which will not be big enough.

Is there a way on the Nuvi 200 to have road miles displayed instead of air miles? Gary.

Sorry, I don't think so.

I downloaded the 2009 Road Maps for a brand new Nuvi 200.  The updater keeps saying that it needs 37MB more space to update.  I've tried resetting and everything. Charles.

Ok, don't install ALL the European maps, just the ones you need, or install them to a SD Card. If its coming up with the error and you're only trying to install UK, maybe delete any extra vehicle icons / languages you've intsalled.

How do I find a place without an address or Post Code on the garmin 250w please ? Hugh.

Er... well, you could get its lat / long position, find it using the map browser or search for it if its a POI (Point of Interest). There may be a road near it you can put in.

I just bought Garmin Nuvi 200w from UK last week. I brought back to Malaysia. It seems that this siri does not works in Malaysia? How to overcome this problem? Din.

You'll be needing the Garmin Malaysia maps.

Thought you might want to be aware of this problem and the fix for it. My wife was removing the unit from the car and inadvertently touched the screen. Apparently the screen was in a mode which -- unknown to her -- switched the langauge of the display from English to what appeared to be Russian. The device would talk in English but the screen display read in Russian. Turning on/off and reset did not put the unit back in English. Your viewers may experience the same problem -- if they do here is the link to explain how to correct the problem and put the unit back to whatever language it was in before it was inadvertently changed: http://www.gpsreview.net/back-to-english-with-garmin/. Randy.

Cheers, good info!

I have a nuvi 200 and i know you can change the voice on a tomtom and i was just wondering if you can do the same on the nuvi 200 thanks. Brandon.

These guys do them:

http://www.nav-voices.co.uk/Scripts/default.asp

When I try to type in an address, I get to a certain stage of the street and it brings me up a street with similar spelling in the same town but wont let me dismiss it and carry on spelling out the address I require.  I have a Nuvi 200. Kelly.

Try the Postcode instead, or see if you can scroll down using the arrow keys to find the other streets that start with the same letters.Or maybe the GPS thinks the road is in a different town or village.

I've just bought the garmin 250w I dont seem able to find some postcodes, and will not recognize the address that I know is correct
can you help before I send it back to halfords. Steve.

All GPS Sat Nav's have some missing Postcodes or addresses.

I have a Garmin Nuvi 200w, brought a Smart card with maps for florida, inserted the card but cant seem to see anything that relates to florida, sorry for being thick bit do i need to be in florida to view. Diane.

Ok, first click the spanner, settings, map, map info, then tick which map you want to use, it may help to untick the map you don't want. Press and hold the back button, view map, then zoom out and drag you finger across the screen to find Miami. To play and pretend to drive around, put the unit into demo mode: spanner, settings, system, and turn the gps simulator on.

Not sure if you want to answer this, but I have a navigational problem. I bought the nuvi 200 a couple of weeks ago in New York. I got a sweet deal. I live in Finland and thought it would be easy to "update" to work here. I got the metroguide europe v9 and city navigator europe v2008 NT. Also finnish Topo. System: shitbucket PC with XP sp2.

I could easily locate and load the maps onto the Garmin, but it refuses to navigate: No roads in proximity...

The box for sending navigational data to the device is gray. Whats this??

Thanks if you can answer, Mookie

Make sure you've got the right maps selected in your Nuvi. Press the spanner, settings, map, map info, and check the right map is ticked. Maps sort of "sit on top of each other", so you don't want maps of the same area active - they'll cover each other up.
Tell me how you get on.

My Gamin 200 keeps on sending me down 1 car size narrow Lanes when set to the fastest setting,Could it be faulty or is it worth trying a reset ??
Thanks Ken.

First make sure that you haven't got the "avoidances" set to major roads, see if that works, then try a reset.

Thank you for your site. I recently purchased a 270 for a trip to Italy. After charging it last night via a regular wall charger that I bought with my Nuvi, it won't turn on. I tried resetting both ways as in your video, but neither worked. The only way it seems to be on is when attached to the PC and I get the PC oicture as you showed or into the charger and I get a blinking GARMIN. Can you help? Thank you

You need to
Contact Garmin Support
or take it back to where you purchased it from.

Please can you take my hand and show me step by step how to avoid motorways on my Garmin 200. I know they are idiot proof but they haven't met me! Maureen.

Ok, press the spanner, then settings, then navigation, then press the blue button next to "avoidances". Press the box next to "major roads". This should put a tick in it. Press ok. Press and hold "back". You're done.

I have a Nuvi 200W, can I import a lat, long file through my computer? Robert.

Not that I know of.

Just thought i would say this is a great site and found some of the info very useful. Recently i updated to NT2008 and installed UK & Ireland and since then i have started getting some very strange results when using the city search function. ie if i search for nottingham i get nottingham notts and nottingham road in south africa nr durban 6000 miles away. Al.

Whip on over to the Garmin Webupdater to see if there's any patches to address this problem.

I wish to see the route from from 2 towns but I don't know any street names.
For example I want to see the route from San Javier (Murcia) to Mazarron (Murcia). I don't know any street names or post codes - Can I bypass the street name and number?

Just use the Town names instead - "where to?" then use the arrows to scroll down.

I have just bought the 250W and want to use it when I go to Spain. Is there a way of simulating a journey between 2 towns and list the route?

Ok, put the device into simulation mode - press the wrench, settings, system, "GPS Simulator" "On", then go back to the main menu, "where to", put the address of where you want to start in, but press "show map" instead of "go". Then press "set loc." Press and hold the back button. Now "where to", then the address of where you want to go. "Yes" to "do you want to simulate the route". Now tap the bar at the top of the screen, and there's a list of the route. Easy!

I already have CN Middle East in my garmin nuvi 200 already, but the jordan map is not detailed enough. downloaded the jordan map (.img) from somewhere. Is it possible to upload this detailed jordan map into my nuvi without disrupting the existing CNME? much thanks. Andrew.

I think that you can have more than one map of the same place installed on sd card, but only one will show up (eg be on top). The Mapsource Software directs the hireachy of the maps (eg which one is displayed), but you should be able to go into the options settings and "untick" the top map so the one you want appears, and vice versa, are displayed. You should make sure you've backed up your Garmin and your maps before you try this in case it causes the device to crash.

My 250w was working well until I used the USB on the Garmin Map site. now it always starts in demo mode. Have tried a reset - if I did it correctly. Help please? John.

Ok, first see if you can take the Nuvi out of demo mode. Tap the spanner, then settings, then system, then make sure the GPS Simulator is off. Tell me how you get on.

First, thank you for your support.
I fixed it a few minutes ago.
It seems that the problem was caused by my "friend" putting his SD card into the Garmin.
It had a map on it which I did not have a code for. Removing the card and resetting did the tick!
PS - where can I buy a map of Florida & USA from, are they expensive and is it easy to install?

You can get the USA City Navigator NT Maps from Amazon for about £100, on SD card, so you just plug it in and go.

Hi rob, if I get a map of the USA, and I currently have the 250W with Europe on it, can I use an update version of the USA or what?

Unfortunately you need to get the full version. The update is for users who already have the USA on their Garmins.

Just a small comment relating to your answer to question 3 below.
I have the Garmin Nuvi 200W (UK version).
Not sure if it works the same as the Nuvi 250 but if I place my finger over the satellite signal strength indicator bars in the top left corner of the screen for longer than 4 seconds the satellite screen magically appears showing satellite positions and strength bars etc. Bill.

Great tip, doesn't work on my Nuvi 200, but maybe it will for some other readers of the site, thanks!

Can you load routes created on mapsource to a nuvi 200? It tells me that the transfer was successfull,but I cant find the route on the unit. Ruben.

Sorry, you can't load routes from mapsource to the Nuvi.

I live in N.Ireland and was thinking of buying the Garmin Nuvi 200 do you know of anyone using one over here and how did it work. I have another GPS system but it dose not work to well over here. Thankyou for your time David.

I haven't used my Garmin in NI, the best bet is to go down to your local Halfords and have a play, they should give you a demo, so take along some addresses and have a go.

Thankyou for your reply I got in touch with Halfords and they said the Garmin nuvi 200 was one of the best  Sat Navs for N.Ireland once again thankyou for your time .David

Is there a way with the Nuvi 200 to chart the path between two points other than where you are at the moment? Like if I am in Fort Wayne can I calculate the directions between Indianapolis and Houston? I assume not but thought I would ask anyway. Don.

Just figured it out. You would calculate the trip between Fort Wayne and Houston with Indianapolis as a way point. Then ignore the part about Fort Wayne to Indianapolis and just look at the second half of the trip. Don

Another way is to put the unit in simulation mode, wrench, settings, system, "GPS Simulator On". Now "where to" and put your first point in. "Show Map" then "Set Loc.". Now press and hold "Back".  Now "Where to" and put in your second point. Select to simulate the route, press the eta in the bottom left of the screen, the you'll see the trip screen, and there's your distance on the top right.

HI MY GARMIN NUVI 200 JUST KEEPS SAYING LOCATING SATELLITES WHATS WRONG IT USE TO WORK FINE. Charles.

Probably could do with a reset. Turn it off. Hold your thumb on the bottom corner of the screen. Turn it on. Say "yes". Warning: this will delete your personal data. Also check with Garmin if there's any updates.

Hi, I have Nuvi 250W. Can i install some more detailed maps on it? for walking in the hills etc.. also what software can i install on PC (and where do i get it) so that i can plan my route at home then upload it to the gps (plan my route with either the factory installed maps or more detailsed ones) Thanks for you time.. Andrew.

You could install Garmins Topo maps for the UK.
Or if you do a search for free Garmin maps on Google there's plenty of home-made maps out there - just watch out for compatibility issues, load up too much data on the SD card and it could cause the unit to crash. If in doubt, email Garmin.
Maps are transferred to the Garmin with Mapsource.
You can't transfer routes to the Nuvi unfortunately, might be worth looking an an etrex.

Is it possible to use Google Earth or Google Map - the satellite map in Garmin 250 device, to see the real roads and buildings? Thanks! Sam.

Sorry, the Nuvi can't do that, but what a great idea!

I've got Nuvi 250w and I also caravan on the continent a lot. Is there any way I can specify a larger vehicle than the car to prevent me and my caravan being guided down a tiny side road in France. It can make for an exciting drive that way!! I tried looking on the Garmin site but it wasn't very helpful. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm afraid no-one that I know of has come up with a Points of Interest Database that includes narrow roads - I guess the caravan club forums might be the place to start asking. Check out this link.

Thanks for the reply, the article you suggested was interesting, but what I would really like is to be able to input a caravan or a similarly sized vehicle into my Nuvi 250w so that it knows I cant go down  some of the narrow lanes.  But I suppose that's the same as asking for the sat nav to specify narrow roads. I guess the only solution is to specify 'Fastest route' as opposed to the shortest which may well be on very small, narrow and unsuitable roads.   Thanks for the info.  Maybe someone will bring out a sat nav to do what I need in the future. All the best, Tony. 

You're right. Never, ever, use shortest route, unless you're in a Landrover!

Garmin nuvi 200w - how do i sort favorite locations? Shailesh.

As far as I know your favourites are automatically organised in order of distance from where you are now - and you can't change that. You can edit names, phone numbers and icons, but I don't know a way of changing the order in which they appear.

hi i fond your video very interesting. please can you tell me when choosing a location can you aviod motoways? i'm thinking of buying a garmin nuvi 200w. many thanks for your help. also i hear it has a better mapping system than tom tom, is this true?

You can choose to avoid major roads - which includes motorways and major A roads. Garmin normally have better maps out of the box, but TomTom have Mapshare, which gives you free mapping updates for a year.

I have a 200W with European mapping. If I select France then spell 'Paris', it comes back with 2 selections that I don't want, when I get to 'i'. How do I enter Paris? Noel.

Do you have a 200w which you have installed the extra European maps, or is it a 250w? If its a 200w and you haven't installed any extra maps, what you're seeing is the European base maps. This base map is tricky to use - it only includes major roads, and is accessed through the map browser. For proper European maps you have to buy the extra maps from Garmin.

If you have installed the European maps already, check that the correct country is selected, spanner, settings, map, map info

I picked up a Garmin 200 yesterday and can’t load any POI’s.

I have downloaded the POI loader software on 3 PC’s but the files will not install. I have even tried the files you installed on your You tube video. I see that yesterday Garmin released new POI software. I was wondering does it actually work? Jeff.

Which operating system are you on?

1 PC is XP
1 Laptop is XP
2nd PC is Windows 2000

I have enclosed a screen print of the error message from my main PC.
The strange thing is each computer treats the programme differently.
On my laptop I get no error message but after I select the folder to install via POI loader and click next the programme disappears so I assume the files have installed. When I check the POI folder on the Garmin nothing has been added. I am assuming I should see the BMP and Cvs? as separate files.
On my sons PC I just get a non descriptive error message.
I have tried cutting a pasting the BMP and Cvs? file straight into the Garmin PIO folder but that does nothing although I can see those files have been added. Should I be able to just cut a paste them into the folder so that I don't need to use the PIO programme?

Rob, I am new to satnavs, if the files had installed correctly would I access the new POI via Extras or does it add a section to Food, Hotels etc?
Great website Rob, really informative.

I just downloaded the latest POI loader and it all worked fine, installed all the UK ASDA stores.... and yes, they appear in the Extras, "Custom" POI files.
Because it's a new download there is a possibility that it was initially corrupt, so it may be worth uninstalling and trying again. Make sure you "save to disk" rather than "run".
Make sure you're downloading the Windows and not the Mac version. (I did by mistake!)
Try a different mini-usb lead if you've got one, and don't use a USB hub, go straight into your PC.
Try resetting your Nuvi first before ataching it.
I'm pretty sure POI loader has to be used to add the POI's, otherwise they don't show up, but I could be wrong.
Anti-virus software sometimes plays havoc with programms, so maybe disable that while you're installing.

Thanks Rob for your help, I did everything you said and all is now working.

I see that Garmin released another version of POI 24 hours later which is now version 2.4.2. I have no idea what caused the problem though on my set up.

I have a Nuvi 250 and am going to france in summer. I have the co-ordinates from Google earth, but I can't seem to find the house on the map, what is the correct way to enter them. Also the currency converter is impossible to change currency and exchange rate. Peter

Ok, you can navigate to the coordinates by tapping "where to" then scroll down to coordinates. You may have to change the Format by pressing the "Format" button at the bottom of the screen. Google Earth uses h ddd mm ss.s. Enter your coordinates then you can save them if you want. There will be some "drift" between Google Earth and the Sat Nav, but usually not more than 100ft. Addresses in France can be tricky because they sometimes repeat Road Numbers on the same road in different towns... so you have to play around with the town name, but it could be simply that the address isn't in the database.
I think you use Garmin webupdater to change the currency settings.

Thanks for the info Rob, I used the instructions to change the currency converter. it's a full page and 13 steps, but it does work. What I find a bit strange is that the French town names on Garmin are quite different to those on the map.
Peter.

Thanks mate got the nuvi 200 today and the guy who installed it in my car skipped all this sort of stuff
Cheers for your info
p.s tell wife tea white with no sugar lol! Kedge!

Ha! Want a biscuit with that!

When battery goes low while using maps i plug in the charger in the car and then lose the data until it is charged again. how do you charge while using maps? the screen goes blank and shows this charging icon. seems like you should be able to charge at the same time you are on a trip and using the maps. i have the nuvi 200W. Kathy.

When you charge your Garmin via your PC or Mains Charger you will not be able to use it at the same time.
However, when plugged into your car's cigar socket you should be able to use it, unless the lead is a non-Garmin (or faulty) one.
If it is the original lead that came with the unit, try it in a different car to see if it still doesn't work, then phone Garmin to get a replacement.
If it's a non-Garmin lead, you won't be able to use and charge the Garmin at the same time, so buy a Garmin one.

I have a NUVI 250W in Australia. Really great product. I am off to Europe in a few months and have bought the City Nav mapset for Europe. I can browse the map and find (manually) all the great detail in Europe. What is the secret to doing a place/address search on somewhere in Europe? Do I have to be there or is there some setting I have overlooked? Michael.

Check that the right map is selected. Press the settings button (the spanner / wrench), settings, map, map info, and make sure the right map is ticked. It could be worth unselecting Australia too, then restarting the device.

I found that I could simulate Europe and get what I wanted. As I was inside (no satelite tracking) and told it we were in Europe it did everything I would expect - even to the point the machine thought it should be after dark and went into night mode! Makes me wonder if it "knows" sunset time for location/date.

Glad you figured it out, I guess the Nuvi's do have a database of dusk / dawn, because mine always seems to change to night mode at the right time... I was wondering if you could please do me a favour. I'm starting an online gallery of pics of GPS Sat Nav's in various parts of the world, and was wondering if you could take a pic of your Nuvi, in your backyard or somewhere else, tap the car icon to get the lat / long and email it to me? To see the gallery try this link. Many thanks in advance

Is there any way of speeding up the simulation (to, say, 5 times real time)? I think this facility is available on Tom Tom. Chris.

You're right, you can change the simulator speed on a TomTom, but with the Garmins at the moment you're stuck with the default, or slower if you set it to Pedestrian mode...

Looking into buying the Nuvi 250. Still have a few questions:
1. Is there any way to display the Lat/long of the cursor point when browsing on the map page.
2. What about displaying the Lat/Long from any built-in POI or personal favorite.
3. Is there a satelite age (showing the Sat. position and signal strength bars)?
4. When you set the unit to km (metric) Would the unit still speak mile (Imperial/English)?
5. Where is that nice compass arrow symbol that shows the North direction on the map page (on some advertising photos I saw the compass arrow, but not on some other ad's). Without this nice arrow, how do I tell my orientation (which way is North) on the 2D or 3D map (or from any other page)?
6. Is there really no way to change the info. boxes on the map age - arrival and turn-in to something else ? I have a Garmin eTrex Venture Cx (great little hand-held unit) that have info. windows that can be customized to at least 10 different things!! P.S. How do I send beer arcoss the pond ~:-) Liu

I've done a video to answer most of the lat / long points in this post.

1) Yes, but it's a multi-stage process. Put the Nuvi in Demo mode. Press view map. Zoom out and drag your finger around the map until you find your desired location. Tap the map where you want to find out the lat / long. Press "Set Loc." Press "back". Tap the vehicle icon and the lat / long is shown.

2) Yes. Again, be in demo mode. Press "where to", "favourites", select your favourite. Press "Show Map". Press "Set Loc.". Then back, back, back to view map. Press the vehicle icon to display the lat / long of the favourite. This works for POI's too.

3) The top left of the "where to" / "View Map" screen has a simple 4 bar-chart signal strength indicator. No Sat position screen with the numbers on.

4) No, once "units" is set that matches the voice to the distance measurement.

5) No compass on my model. To tell your orientation you could set the display to "North up", but you really don't need to, as soon as you start moving the unit knows your bearing and points you in the right direction towards your next location (if in off-road mode for Geocaching).

6) Nope, as soon as you've put a destination screen you're stuck with ETA and next turn. When not navigating, speed and heading are shown.

7) Beers come via Paypal, click on the Pint Glass near the top of the page!

If you get a GPS, please make sure to take a pic of it near some local landmarks and email it to me! Details here

Thanks so much for going to the bother of making this video demo - Im just about to buy my first sat nav and Im a techi dumbo so I was really pleased to find your site. Id already decided the nuvi 200W was the best for me and now Ive found your helpful info I've bought it. Heather.

Thanks for the comments - make sure you check out the beginners video.
enjoy your Garmin!

Forgive me, another query - does the USB connection come with the 200 do you know or should I buy one now. AND, my son is travelling across the states in april - could you recommend a sat nav he can use here and in the states please.

The Garmin doesn't come with a mini usb lead - you should be able to buy one from where you get the Sat Nav, or alternatively you've probably got one already if you've got a digital camera.
Get a Nuvi 270 to use here and in the States - Amazon have got a good deal at the moment, click this link:
Buy a Garmin Nuvi 270 from Amazon.co.uk Free Delivery

Can the Garmin Lock PIN number be changed using the Secure Location, resetting to factory settings and entering a new PIN? Paul.

Once you're at your secure location, the unit automatically unlocks. You can then disable the security code or change it, you don't need to reset.

I changed the language and can't figure out how to change it back to english. garmin 200. Debbie.

OK, let's reset the device. Turn it off. Hold your thumb on the bottom right of the screen and leave it there. Turn your Garmin on. Say yes to the question. Select British English. You're done!