Garmin finally give in!

[russ996duke]

After loads of emails (a record of discussion they cannot disavow), many many attempts by me to make it work, trying all the stuff garmin sugested, garmin finally agree to exchange my 660 for one that hopefully will have a fully operative card reader

annoying as it is to have an sdcard with routes, music and photos on it which zumo refuses to acknowledge exists, the zumo has the potential to be a great bit of kit............ fingers crossed the one the send as a replacement will work!

I have asked them to ensure that the replacement is new not refurbished unit, as zumo forums seems to indicate the card issue is not easy to overcome!

regret selling me 2610 now, always been unable to resist shiny new toys tho'

 

[Cogs]

I know how you feel

My Zumo has just ruined an otherwise superb ride down to Oakhampton by freezing up every chance it got requiring many moving switch-ons-&-offs (M5 drivers must've thought I was doing Yoga!!) AND battery removals/refittings

All this after an initially 'hopeful' upgrade to the 'latest' 4.2 firmware 'seemed' to cure it.

Ride back yesterday was uneventful with no freezes BUT I daren't use bluetooth or turn it off in case it wouldn't restart! ( I was taking the route less ordinary with no Mway)

If it doesn't sort itself soon, I'm gonna re-install the 2610 and put up with the outdated maps

 

[Taff]

... regret selling me 2610 now, always been unable to resist shiny new toys tho'

I know how you feel .... If it doesn't sort itself soon, I'm gonna re-install the 2610 and put up with the outdated maps

I've never understood the need for any company (eg Garmin) to change / drop a fantastic product.

The 2610 is a superb bit of kit and bomb-proof. In fact, my 2610 is one of the very few bits of kit I would trust with my life if I had to. If something's that good, why the hell would anyone want to mess with it?

 

[bowser]

I have just gone back to mine as my Nav III has gone in for repair? (replacement for exchange I think) and despite the fact that the maps are not available past 2008, in every other respect its a better unit, i just a shame that the maping is becoming so out of date.

 

[Cogs]

...If something's that good, why the hell would anyone want to mess with it?

It's obvious really, reading the threads in here: You make a new unit with more bling than brains then, just as customers transfer/buy and before they start to discover the plethora of glitches, you declare the infinitely more reliable predecessor obsolete and refuse to support it!

Capitalistic marketing gone mad...

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

If it doesn't sort itself soon, I'm gonna re-install the 2610 and put up with the outdated maps

You know it makes sense

 

[Bean Machine]

I have started reading these threads as I was looking to update my 2610 but now i'm put off. Love the saying 'If in aint broke'

 

[Simon_h]

my 660 has been totally fault proof.

 

[Taff]

.... despite the fact that the maps are not available past 2008, in every other respect its a better unit, i just a shame that the maping is becoming so out of date.

I wouldn't lose sleep over it Bowser. Seriously, how many new roads do you come across? On my last big trips to France and Italy, I honestly reckon I only stumbled across one or possibly 2 new roads that my 2610 thinks don't exist ..... and almost invariably within a few hundred yards it's connected back to a road that it does recognise anyway. In towns / cities there are even less newer roads.

Hell, my dad still has a 1973 road atlas in the car.

It's obvious really, reading the threads in here: You make a new unit with more bling than brains then, just as customers transfer/buy and before they start to discover the plethora of glitches, you declare the infinitely more reliable predecessor obsolete and refuse to support it! Capitalistic marketing gone mad...

But it's not as though the 2610 was unpopular.

As I said, if my life ever depended on a GPS unit, my trusty 2610 would be my choice.

 

[russ996duke]

new zumo arrived today....and.......
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it works

 

[NLC]

On my third one in less than a year.

 

[russ996duke]

On my third one in less than a year.

only my second but plenty of time yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AndrewD]

Replaced in April this year, worked (thank God) for a group ride down to the South of France then was a PITA this weekend going to Holland. Kept freezing, audio dropping out different volume between music and nav (Nav too quiet).

Got back and explained to Garmin that I'd happily surgically insert it somewhere tender if they did not sort it, 2 mins later had an RMA number and a promise on a new item not a re-con

We will see....

 

[Fanum]

Should never have moved away from the best GPS unit Garmin ever made for a 'bike....the Mark 1 Quest

 

[Packer]

just as customers transfer/buy and before they start to discover the plethora of glitches, you declare the infinitely more reliable predecessor obsolete and refuse to support it!

The nub of the matter! If it's too good and reliable people won't buy another one, just continue to use the golden oldie. That impinges on short term profitability. Accountants run most business's, they are mostly interested in the short term bottom line.

Of course if there is a good competitor the above business plan becomes very high risk.

The next one will probably be reliable, everyone will upgrade. The one after another crock of sh1te and so on.

 

[Humbug]

I have just gone back to mine as my Nav III has gone in for repair? (replacement for exchange I think) and despite the fact that the maps are not available past 2008, in every other respect its a better unit, i just a shame that the maping is becoming so out of date.

I know this has been posted before but I keep my 2610 mapping up to date by using:-

http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

It's totally free and works fine with my 2610.

Don't open the link in Internet Explorer though as it doesn't appear to be compatible. Use Chrome or Firefox instead.

It'll probably work with a Quest too and is worth considering when your Zumo mapping is out of date.

 

[stolzy]

I have no idea why we put up with the crap that Garmin foists on us. The number of tales I hear of trips ruined by dodgy 660/550s, freezing, crashing etc.

I've got one of the better 550s (only been back to Garmin once), but it still freezes and the screen is pretty well wrecked after 18 months of relatively light use. I'm not sure how much better the 2610s were - I had one exchanged twice for delaminating screens and every one I've seen has the same problem.

I would guess that at any one time 10% of all the gamins on the planet are non-functional.

I really don't understand why. I have several gps units built into vehicles and stand alone units and they never crash or lock up. Seems that Garmin have identified the bike sector as being one where there is little competition, so any old crap will do for us.

 

[Achim]

I know this has been posted before but I keep my 2610 mapping up to date by using:-

http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

It's totally free and works fine with my 2610.

Don't open the link in Internet Explorer though as it doesn't appear to be compatible. Use Chrome or Firefox instead.

It'll probably work with a Quest too and is worth considering when your Zumo mapping is out of date.

Many thanks for the heads-up! My Quest 1 works fine (after three predecessors had been returned/replaced under warranty) so I'm going to stick with it and try openstreetmap.

Garmin really are taking the mickey with their pricing of their two-wheeled (motorcycle and bicycle) units. I just bought a 1490 for £130 because I wanted newer mapping in the car. £420 for a 660 is just silly.

The biggest difference between the Quest and the 1490 is reception: the 1490 is light-years ahead. That is a genuine improvement. The reduced facilities and absence of Mapsource are giant steps backwards. I suppose that's a function of the lower price point.

Achim

 

[Mutley]

Should never have moved away from the best GPS unit Garmin ever made for a 'bike....the Mark 1 Quest

My first Quest froze one day and refused to ever find another satellite. It was replaced with no quibble by Garmin once they'd received it back at base and found it to be truly dead.

The second one lasted about 5 years of heavy use in the car and on the bike. It was soaked, frozen, heated and dropped. It finally started having a tantrum last year and would lose satellites due to light cloud

I've replaced it with a 660. It's had a couple of hiccups but mostly it's fine. I've taken the SD card out of it as it slows the whole switch on process right down. I may put it back in for long trips and playing music, but if I buy a Scala rider setup I'll not bother as bluetooth music is shit

Definitely a step forward and the best option on the market for me

 

[Roger Chatterton]

Have had the freeze and loss of audio problems on my 660 - I have finally put this down to BlueTooth .
With my 660 and Scala Rider, the problems were frequent; the Rider is "old-style" mono BTooth, and, I suspect, problematic.
For most recent trip to France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Coratia and back, using hard-wired earphones, not a problem with loss of audio.
Did some strange otherthings though, but on the whole, with 2012 mapping, and latest software, seemed pretty well behaved.
Solution - never go anywhere without maps ! But I do agree that it's time Garmin got themselves sorted out -I dread it everytime I have to update anything on the 660.
If all else fails, just use it as a very expensive Compass.