Onwalkabout
Registered user
Just thought I would share a little tip to help save a few people some time when buying second hand GPS units. My comments are largely Garmin orientated as this was the unit I bought secondhand (Zumo 550).
Firstly, no problems buying the unit - thanks again Burge, it's a brilliant piece of kit. However, registration and map updates were a bit of a challenge as the unit was registered with Garmin to Burge. So after several emails to Garmin, this is what I learnt.
1. Without the unit being registered in your name you can use it, but that is it. Getting updates, support and the like is difficult at the least.
2. The previous owner should de-register the unit with Garmin, preferably by contacting Garmin via their website. This will allow the new user to register the unit and obtain updates and map products.
3. If you have already bought the unit, and need to have the GPS unlocked, email Garmin through help and support. They were a little bureaucratic (obviously screening for hot items), but very helpful. Ensure you have something that looks like an official receipt - they will want a copy. I paid with a bank transfer, so this was easy. They also contacted the seller to ensure the sale was genuine
4. The map products on the unit do not need to be de-registered. These are locked to the unit. You can happily upgrade these and add more maps without re-registration. Just ensure that the GPS is properly registered to you or you're are effectively buying them for the previous owner.
This is for Garmin units, but I can only assume TomTom and others would be the same as some sort of tacit theft protection.
One other note to sellers. Before you ship off your pre-loved items ensure that you wipe the data from the system. Like all modern gadgets these little beasts store all kinds of useful data. When mine arrived, it contained a host of tasteful music (thanks for that), but also - route logs, home telephone numbers, personal addresses (in favourites and way points), last places visited, etc. Please ensure that at a minimum you do a hard reset on the unit (in the manual) to reset all data and wipe any SD memory cards (or better still, swap it over for a clean one). Don't worry Bruge, your data has gone to digital heaven.
Firstly, no problems buying the unit - thanks again Burge, it's a brilliant piece of kit. However, registration and map updates were a bit of a challenge as the unit was registered with Garmin to Burge. So after several emails to Garmin, this is what I learnt.
1. Without the unit being registered in your name you can use it, but that is it. Getting updates, support and the like is difficult at the least.
2. The previous owner should de-register the unit with Garmin, preferably by contacting Garmin via their website. This will allow the new user to register the unit and obtain updates and map products.
3. If you have already bought the unit, and need to have the GPS unlocked, email Garmin through help and support. They were a little bureaucratic (obviously screening for hot items), but very helpful. Ensure you have something that looks like an official receipt - they will want a copy. I paid with a bank transfer, so this was easy. They also contacted the seller to ensure the sale was genuine
4. The map products on the unit do not need to be de-registered. These are locked to the unit. You can happily upgrade these and add more maps without re-registration. Just ensure that the GPS is properly registered to you or you're are effectively buying them for the previous owner.
This is for Garmin units, but I can only assume TomTom and others would be the same as some sort of tacit theft protection.
One other note to sellers. Before you ship off your pre-loved items ensure that you wipe the data from the system. Like all modern gadgets these little beasts store all kinds of useful data. When mine arrived, it contained a host of tasteful music (thanks for that), but also - route logs, home telephone numbers, personal addresses (in favourites and way points), last places visited, etc. Please ensure that at a minimum you do a hard reset on the unit (in the manual) to reset all data and wipe any SD memory cards (or better still, swap it over for a clean one). Don't worry Bruge, your data has gone to digital heaven.