Fuck Garmin!

[Rasher]

OK, I have finlly had enough of Garmin after another trip with some niggles, admittedly I know what to do to work around them, but why the fuck should I have to:-

Constantly piss about with importing a route then having to start it, let it calculate, past first waypoint, save it, stop it, restart it just so it works? I find it easier to wait until it starts stupid shit and then just stop the route and restart "from closest entry point",

Just before my latest trip a Garmin update stopped me sending routes via Garmin Drive and forced me to spend a couple of hours getting an old copy of the software from a somewhat iffy site and turning off all phone security to install it.

And after a number of road closures and other things I wanted to grab the tracks of the actual routes we rode to dicsover they turned off fucking route logging in the update I did before I went away, so I have every pissy little trip I have done for the 6 months prior to my tour, but not my tour.

This bug really irks me:

"When you send a route from MyRoute-app (MRA), the Garmin classifies it as an Imported Trip. The moment you deviate slightly or miss a shaping point, the zūmo XT's imported trip engine glitches, freezes its "visited" history, and tries to force you backward indefinitely" - it happens with routes either sent directly from an app like MRA, but also if you transfer a GPX by a cable from a PC - as it is a caluclation thing that a bit of fucking about with can fix, Garmin could of just added the logic to properly re-calculate upon import, I remember a similar issue with the older units where the fix was to change a setting to force a re-calc, then change it back and it fixed the routing.

So, using the wonders of AI I have been looking at the issues I have faced with the XT, and they all appear to be well known, well documented and reported to Garmin by thousands of users, so why do they never fix anything? I asked my AI buddy to summarize the XT's faults and then if Garmin are aware, and if so why aren't they ever fixed?

It is clear that as a company they have an utter contempt for their customers, finger pointing, blame shifting, the fix is "buy the latest one" - although the same fucking bugs are still there mostly, probably with some new ones thrown in for good measure, utterly dispicable.

I was with two mates running the same routes on My Route App on these Android screens on their bikes and they worked very well, another mate with a couple of decades of multiple tours per year always used to get the latest Garmin and stopped at the XT2 and now has just binned it off for MRA, and I will be looking into doing the same, which is very sad as the units are so good in so many ways, and I could live with the odd bug, especially on a new launch model, but the fact the bugs will never be fixed and Garmin has a "fuck you" attitude to any customer who would like their item to work properly means I will not be handing another penny to these leeches.

Summary of issues:
The Garmin zūmo XT is widely considered one of the best hardware screens for motorcycling, but its software is famously riddled with quirks. [1]
The known bugs and system issues discussed, along with a breakdown of other major headaches frequently reported on rider forums, are summarized below:

---

• The Repeated U-Turn (RUT) Bug: When a route created outside the Garmin (like on MyRoute-app) is recalculated, the device fails to clear passed shaping points from its internal memory. It relentlessly tries to turn you around to visit "ghost points" passed hours ago. [1]
• The Power-Cut Track Splitting Bug: The zūmo XT treats an ignition power-off as a full system interruption. Unless you manually hit "Cancel" on the countdown screen, it saves and closes your current track log, resulting in highly fragmented, broken segments for a single day's ride. [1, 2]
• The "Wiped Settings" Update Behavior: Major firmware or map updates periodically reset user preferences back to factory defaults for compliance reasons (like GDPR privacy laws). This causes the device to randomly untick Travel History, turning off your track recording without notifying you.
• The "Spastic Detour" / Shaping Point Drift
  Even if you use the correct HERE map layers, the zūmo XT sometimes slightly shifts your imported shaping points onto sidewalks, parallel service roads, or hedges. When you ride past, the Garmin thinks you missed the point by a few feet and will command a sharp, sudden left or right turn into a random estate or side-street just to route you right back out.
• "Unable to Save Track" on Long Rides
  If you go on an exceptionally long single ride (usually over 1,000 km or 600 miles in one push without turning off the bike), the zūmo XT's buffer memory overloads. When you finally park, it will flash an error stating "Unable to Save Track" and completely wipe the entire day's recording from existence.
• Adventure Routing "Housing Estate Loop"
  Garmin boasts about its "Adventurous Routing" feature (the slider that looks for twisty roads). However, the algorithm is severely flawed. Instead of finding beautiful country lanes, it often routes riders down standard 20mph residential housing estate roads just because they contain a series of roundabouts or sharp corners
• The Random Muted Bluetooth Volume Drop
  Users paired with Bluetooth headsets (like Sena or Cardo) frequently experience an issue where, after receiving a phone call or a fast sequence of radar alerts, the prompt volume drops by exactly 50%. The slider on the screen will still say 100%, but the internal amp stays muted until the unit is fully rebooted.

The Big New One: The Broken Garmin Drive App Update
In September 2026, Garmin released an update to the Garmin Drive app for Android (v4.29.25) that completely broke the direct GPX file-sharing feature.

• What it does: Previously, you could download a route from MyRoute-app to your phone and instantly "Share with Garmin Drive" to beam it directly to the XT. Now, the update intercepts the file and forces you to engage with Garmin's cloud-based Explore Library.
• The Result: The progress bar freezes, or the Garmin reports "Failed to import new trips" (it will sometimes only transfer the track but reject the route file).
  1. The Community Workarounds:
     1. The Double-Open Hack: Share the file to the Drive app (nothing will happen). Minimize the Drive app, open it a second time, and the hidden transfer dialogue box will suddenly pop up and send the file.
     2. The Rollback: Uninstall the current Drive app and manually download/install the older Android .APK file from August 2026.

I asked if Garmin are aware of these bugs and if so why are they not fixed?

"Tens of thousands of frustrated motorcyclists on the Zumo User Forums and global riding groups have been shouting at Garmin about these exact same software issues for years.

Garmin has ignored these bug reports for a few key reasons, which come down to corporate policy and product lifecycle management:

1. The Device is "Out of Software Maintenance"

Garmin officially moved the original zūmo XT into a legacy support category, stating in emails to users that the device is "out of software maintenance". In corporate terms, this means they will issue critical map updates or game-breaking security fixes, but they have completely stopped funding engineering resources to rewrite core operating system code or fix routing logic bugs.

2. They Blame "Third-Party Apps"

When users have sent Garmin support actual video evidence of the RUT (Repeated U-Turn) bug in action, Garmin's official response has frequently been to point fingers elsewhere. Because they discontinued their own planning tool (Garmin BaseCamp), they claim they cannot guarantee compatibility with external platforms like MyRoute-app or Google Maps. They essentially treat custom GPX files as "unsupported user content".

3. The Logic Bug Inherited by Newer Models

The root of the issue is deep legacy code. Garmin built their file system to label external routes with an internal flag: mImported = True. If that flag is present, the device enters a flawed recalculation loop. Garmin never fixed this on the original XT, and astonishingly, riders have discovered that even the newer zūmo XT2 and Tread series models carried over the exact same RUT bug code"

 

[Wapping]

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Amen

 

[mw3230]

Just arriving home from a week in Luxembourg and The Vosges with a group of eight. I reckon 75% of the post ride chat each day (and much of the in-ride intercom chat) concerned Garmin/BMW sarnavs

Your points are well made

 

[JoeBiff]

OK, I have finlly had enough of Garmin after another trip with some niggles…..

Some good points, though my interest in Garmin became jaded too over time. They seem to be on a mission to render BaseCamp a total irrelevance.

I like the AI-generated glitch, named “The Spastic Detour/Shaping Point Drift” - I’d never heard that one before; I’ve probably experienced it, but its name caught my attention.

Garmin seem driven (pardon the pun) to discourage folk from creating their own routes for upload, and push them down the track (again, pardon the pun) of letting the device and cloud-based traffic service/road conditions alerts follow the route the device calculates, which gradually becomes more and more “fluid”.

I do know Garmin are industry-leaders with a recognised capability of turning an initially useful device into a gradual crock of shit with their ongoing updates.

 

[Stevie4scoops]

OK, I have finlly had enough of Garmin after another trip with some niggles, admittedly I know what to do to work around them, but why the fuck should I have to:-

Constantly piss about with importing a route then having to start it, let it calculate, past first waypoint, save it, stop it, restart it just so it works? I find it easier to wait until it starts stupid shit and then just stop the route and restart "from closest entry point",

Just before my latest trip a Garmin update stopped me sending routes via Garmin Drive and forced me to spend a couple of hours getting an old copy of the software from a somewhat iffy site and turning off all phone security to install it.

And after a number of road closures and other things I wanted to grab the tracks of the actual routes we rode to dicsover they turned off fucking route logging in the update I did before I went away, so I have every pissy little trip I have done for the 6 months prior to my tour, but not my tour.

This bug really irks me:

"When you send a route from MyRoute-app (MRA), the Garmin classifies it as an Imported Trip. The moment you deviate slightly or miss a shaping point, the zūmo XT's imported trip engine glitches, freezes its "visited" history, and tries to force you backward indefinitely" - it happens with routes either sent directly from an app like MRA, but also if you transfer a GPX by a cable from a PC - as it is a caluclation thing that a bit of fucking about with can fix, Garmin could of just added the logic to properly re-calculate upon import, I remember a similar issue with the older units where the fix was to change a setting to force a re-calc, then change it back and it fixed the routing.

So, using the wonders of AI I have been looking at the issues I have faced with the XT, and they all appear to be well known, well documented and reported to Garmin by thousands of users, so why do they never fix anything? I asked my AI buddy to summarize the XT's faults and then if Garmin are aware, and if so why aren't they ever fixed?

It is clear that as a company they have an utter contempt for their customers, finger pointing, blame shifting, the fix is "buy the latest one" - although the same fucking bugs are still there mostly, probably with some new ones thrown in for good measure, utterly dispicable.

I was with two mates running the same routes on My Route App on these Android screens on their bikes and they worked very well, another mate with a couple of decades of multiple tours per year always used to get the latest Garmin and stopped at the XT2 and now has just binned it off for MRA, and I will be looking into doing the same, which is very sad as the units are so good in so many ways, and I could live with the odd bug, especially on a new launch model, but the fact the bugs will never be fixed and Garmin has a "fuck you" attitude to any customer who would like their item to work properly means I will not be handing another penny to these leeches.

Summary of issues:
The Garmin zūmo XT is widely considered one of the best hardware screens for motorcycling, but its software is famously riddled with quirks. [1]
The known bugs and system issues discussed, along with a breakdown of other major headaches frequently reported on rider forums, are summarized below:

---

• The Repeated U-Turn (RUT) Bug: When a route created outside the Garmin (like on MyRoute-app) is recalculated, the device fails to clear passed shaping points from its internal memory. It relentlessly tries to turn you around to visit "ghost points" passed hours ago. [1]
• The Power-Cut Track Splitting Bug: The zūmo XT treats an ignition power-off as a full system interruption. Unless you manually hit "Cancel" on the countdown screen, it saves and closes your current track log, resulting in highly fragmented, broken segments for a single day's ride. [1, 2]
• The "Wiped Settings" Update Behavior: Major firmware or map updates periodically reset user preferences back to factory defaults for compliance reasons (like GDPR privacy laws). This causes the device to randomly untick Travel History, turning off your track recording without notifying you.
• The "Spastic Detour" / Shaping Point Drift
  Even if you use the correct HERE map layers, the zūmo XT sometimes slightly shifts your imported shaping points onto sidewalks, parallel service roads, or hedges. When you ride past, the Garmin thinks you missed the point by a few feet and will command a sharp, sudden left or right turn into a random estate or side-street just to route you right back out.
• "Unable to Save Track" on Long Rides
  If you go on an exceptionally long single ride (usually over 1,000 km or 600 miles in one push without turning off the bike), the zūmo XT's buffer memory overloads. When you finally park, it will flash an error stating "Unable to Save Track" and completely wipe the entire day's recording from existence.
• Adventure Routing "Housing Estate Loop"
  Garmin boasts about its "Adventurous Routing" feature (the slider that looks for twisty roads). However, the algorithm is severely flawed. Instead of finding beautiful country lanes, it often routes riders down standard 20mph residential housing estate roads just because they contain a series of roundabouts or sharp corners
• The Random Muted Bluetooth Volume Drop
  Users paired with Bluetooth headsets (like Sena or Cardo) frequently experience an issue where, after receiving a phone call or a fast sequence of radar alerts, the prompt volume drops by exactly 50%. The slider on the screen will still say 100%, but the internal amp stays muted until the unit is fully rebooted.

The Big New One: The Broken Garmin Drive App Update
In September 2026, Garmin released an update to the Garmin Drive app for Android (v4.29.25) that completely broke the direct GPX file-sharing feature.

• What it does: Previously, you could download a route from MyRoute-app to your phone and instantly "Share with Garmin Drive" to beam it directly to the XT. Now, the update intercepts the file and forces you to engage with Garmin's cloud-based Explore Library.
• The Result: The progress bar freezes, or the Garmin reports "Failed to import new trips"(it will sometimes only transfer the track but reject the route file).
  1. The Community Workarounds:
     1. The Double-Open Hack: Share the file to the Drive app (nothing will happen). Minimize the Drive app, open it a second time, and the hidden transfer dialogue box will suddenly pop up and send the file.
     2. The Rollback: Uninstall the current Drive app and manually download/install the older Android .APK file from August 2026.

I asked if Garmin are aware of these bugs and if so why are they not fixed?

"Tens of thousands of frustrated motorcyclists on the Zumo User Forums and global riding groups have been shouting at Garmin about these exact same software issues for years.

Garmin has ignored these bug reports for a few key reasons, which come down to corporate policy and product lifecycle management:

1. The Device is "Out of Software Maintenance"

Garmin officially moved the original zūmo XT into a legacy support category, stating in emails to users that the device is "out of software maintenance". In corporate terms, this means they will issue critical map updates or game-breaking security fixes, but they have completely stopped funding engineering resources to rewrite core operating system code or fix routing logic bugs.

2. They Blame "Third-Party Apps"

When users have sent Garmin support actual video evidence of the RUT (Repeated U-Turn) bug in action, Garmin's official response has frequently been to point fingers elsewhere. Because they discontinued their own planning tool (Garmin BaseCamp), they claim they cannot guarantee compatibility with external platforms like MyRoute-app or Google Maps. They essentially treat custom GPX files as "unsupported user content".

3. The Logic Bug Inherited by Newer Models

The root of the issue is deep legacy code. Garmin built their file system to label external routes with an internal flag: mImported = True. If that flag is present, the device enters a flawed recalculation loop. Garmin never fixed this on the original XT, and astonishingly, riders have discovered that even the newer zūmo XT2 and Tread series models carried over the exact same RUT bug code"

I threw my Garmin down the road near Mont Blanc, it still worked after but I've never had one since.

One of the most frustrating things I've ever used

 

[J biker]

Not used anything wthout some issues tbh
I did use xt2 AND backed things up with tomtomgo app on my phone. In July this year tomtomgo was completely useless and not working while they did some sort of system update. Tomtomgo is now tomtom Go expert truck. Without explanation. I have not renewed subscription after being without service for two whole days. Disgusting, just lucky it was not on a tour where hours and days of planning had been invested.

Garmin. Little better, nay, just as bad. They want to sell units, but supply them with glitchy software. Much like Microsoft, you get patches on patches. Lifetime support? Read the small print. Support over the time 'they' support the product. US lawyer talk...just plain mis leading.

IF someone could piggy back Gmaps, so you simply select a route on screen, by dragging said route to the road (roads) you want. Save, then extend...without recalculation. Then everything else would be obsolete.

Motogoloco was close, but my understanding is that license agreement/cost became an issue.

. Copilot was good and easy, now truck navigation and all changed..

 

[Arsey]

After decades of using Garmin products, starting off with a Quest and ending with an XT, I finally them ditched about 5 years ago .
Really can’t see the point of paying £350 for a dedicated sat nav with a crap user interface and unreliability when you can get something like an Aoocci C3 for £70 which works faultlessly paired to your phone .
Garmin haven’t bothered to keep apace with change . Just look at how dreadful Baseamp is compared to MRA and the like .
A few luddites will stick it out and say how great it is, having not joined the modern world .
One will be shortly, no doubt

 

[Wapping]

Amen

The sale price of your XT is dropping like a stone, JB.

It’ll soon be less than you bought it for.

 

[glenn2926]

Garmin, fantastic piece of kit. Very, very easy to use. Even easier to plot routes using basecamp and then simply send to device. Neither of mine have let me down over the 15 or more years of use.

 

[J biker]

 

[Arsey]

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

The sale price of your XT is dropping like a stone, JB.

It’ll soon be less than you bought it for.

Here’s a wee tale for you ….

Recently on our Irish jaunt we were sat in the accommodation car park at Castletownbere in the far west of rural Co Cork
@ikkje was waiting for his fancy KTM 1390 to initiate

He’d already planned a detailed MRA route of some 225 miles and set it in Beeline and/or Garmin XT2 too, travelling to Laragh in the Wicklow mountains

Me ?

Whilst awaiting the KTM, I just searched Laragh in my address search and found it - selected it and selected Go to, further selecting Fastest Route and let my Garmin determine our journey - all of a 2 minute job

Whilst following @ikkje the whole 225 mile journey, my Garmin followed his pre planned MRA route to every signpost and turn, exactly

All on my vintage 2610

So, where’s the progress ?

The only GPS I trust to do an interesting and proper route, on a motorcycle …. is the 2610

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

View attachment 540742

What’s that ?

 

[ymfb]

I use a Garmin XT 2 on my RT and a Chinesium thing on my Multistrada. They are collectively better than the BMW & Ducati built in systems, although they might have improved since I said never again.

I use a Garmin on my bicycle. The only significant problem I’ve had was following an update on y Bicycles 1030 plus.

After much effing and jeffing and numerous ‘chats’ with Garmin help (useless) my nephew sorted it in a few minutes.

 

[Arsey]

I must admit the latest Garmin does look tailor made for Tossers

 

[leedude03]

i guess i must be very lucky i have recently (4 months ago) purchased a garmin xt having been a user of the 550 and 660 for a long time, and can only praise it compared to the affor mentioned units,( apart from it being bluetooth for audio and not wired). We have recently returned from a 5 week trip down through France on the west side and back up over the alps on the east using nothing but the xt and my laptop with basecamp and google maps.
If i had to pick a fault with it for me i would say its search function is a little strange to get on with, but as a sat nav for following routes i couldnt fault it, the screen is light years away from the 550 and 660, its processor is far quicker , possibly not as robust as the others but i tend not to throw it down the road.
As for the above posted issues i cant say as i experienced any of them, i load my routes along with the track of said route and follow it, if i go off route it asks if i want to recalc i say no and then at some point find my way back to the route using the nav as a map it then picks up and carries on, i really cant ask any more from it.

 

[autogs]

I recently led a 10 day tour of Spain/Portugal, my xt with routes loaded from mra worked fine.
What i did do was once loaded onto the xt carefully looked at the routes and did notice sometimes it went a bit odd,so deleted it went back into mra added some more waypoints at the problem areas and re imported them till they were correct.
Did all of this at home, imported using garmin 1.1 and all was perfectly fine.
Lucky? I don't know tbh but the more planning/checking at home pays dividends. All imo obviously.

 

[Barnoe]

Although some of your quirks may, or may not be user error i will say this...

Garmin make really good devices, Watches, GPS units for hiking and for the road.

However for this to work you need software, Garmins biggest weakness.
they are good at initially creating software but then don't develop it and they definitely don't listen to their customers.

Software that is glitchy and hard to use never gets any better.

basecamp, the menus and connectivity of GPS devices, their watches are great but compared to other smart watches their connectivity is limited to Garmin only stuff.
Hiking GPS that is very slow and jerky with a menu that would be at home on a 90s Nokia phone.

This makes devices feel older than they are.
in a world of perfect touch screen phones and quick responsive menus, Garmin Navs feel clunky.

The Chinese have seen this gap and are exploiting it.... similar to another thread about cars.

As much as i hate to admit it, i bought a Chinese device and its a game changer, its like my Navigation experience has jumped from the 1990s to 2026.

Apple Carplay and Android auto has been in cars since 2013, yet its only come to bikes thanks to the Chinese devices in 2023.

Ironically the only bike i know where android auto is built in... is a Chinese bike!

 

[Arsey]

Apple Carplay and Android auto has been in cars since 2013, yet its only come to bikes thanks to the Chinese devices in 2023.

Ironically the only bike i know where android auto is built in... is a Chinese bike!

Not strictly true .
Honda have had CarPlay on bikes since 2018