Okay, I feel I can finally write about this because it’s finally been resolved. Just before my Hawaii vacation, my Edge 705 crapped out on me. I wanted to load maps for the area I planned on riding on my vacation, and the GPS just died when I plugged it in. I had recently updated to firmware 3.2. I plugged my GPS in, got the “bleep” and then a few seconds later, I got a second “bleep”. The drive for the GPS never came up.
Neither a soft reset nor a hard reset worked. The Edge won’t turn on. I tried removing the memory card, then reinstalling. No dice. This is not the first report of this happening.
See:
https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?t=9901
https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?t=504
And these aren’t the only problems with 3.2, apparently.
https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?t=9806
https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?t=8611
https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?t=10297
I contacted Garmin support. They claimed to have not heard of this problem (which I know is BS because at least one Garmin tech has responded to a discussion on the issue and the owner sent the Edge to Garmin for repair by the 11th).
Support e-mailed me a .rgn file I was supposed to run through WebUpdater. Well, since WebUpdater no longer recognizes my Edge, it didn’t surprise me that the procedure didn’t work.
I learned about the Boot Block method on a message board, and gave it a try.
1: Push “UP” on the joystick and hold.
2: Plug in USB
3: “Soft Reset” (lap+mode while holding “UP” on the joystick)
4: Release lap+mode, but continue holding “UP” on the joystick
5: run WebUpdater
6: hold “UP” until the process is complete
I got the following message:
I got an RMA number, and sent the GPS back to Garmin for a warranty repair/replacement. After a few days, USPS said that Garmin received it, and the Garmin rep I had been e-mailing said that the receiver should be sent out within a couple of days. 20 days later, still no GPS, so I called Garmin. Turns out, their computer system didn’t even show that they’d ever received it (!!!!!), so I forwarded along my e-mail correspondence with the other rep. The other rep’s statements confounded them, but as a result, they were put in a rather tight place. They sent me a refurb Edge the next day, and it only took a couple days to get to me. Things came to a good resolution, but Garmin’s tech support is slipping somewhat. That first rep dropped the ball in a big way (telling me that my replacement was on the way, when they hadn’t even checked mine into the system yet! Kudos on the 2nd rep I spoke to (and her manager) for stepping up to make it right.
I plan on replacing my Edge 705 and my aging GPSMap 76CSx with a Forerunner 205 (more versatile form factor than the Edge for tracking fitness for both running and cycling) and an Oregon 450 (I just HAVE to have the custom maps feature, and I would like a handheld GPS with a smaller form factor and easier text entry than my trusty 76). Plus, the Oregon will give me more flexibility for loading different basemaps. I am holding out hopes that I will be able to upload a trail network onto the Oregon by loading it as a .kmz file through the custom maps feature. I have yet to see the answer to this question, so I’ll buy one and find out myself if it can be done.
For those of you who continue to use your Edge 705, word is that Garmin has removed firmware 3.2 and Auto Updater rolls the receiver back to firmware 3.1, so it seems Garmin now recognizes the problems with firmware 3.2. If you still have firmware 3.2, you might be wise to roll it back to 3.1. I think it took about a week for mine to brick after I updated the firmware. Not sure what the problem was, but maybe the next firmware release will mention it.
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