Garmin 520 woes...

cgraley77

Hello all,
Looking for a bit of advice if possible after suffering ongoing GPS problems with my Garmin 520 for the last couple of weeks. I purchased the unit in May 2016 and it was utterly faultless until around a month ago when i updated the firmware to v7 (or maybe v7.1). I just updated to 7.2 today on the advice of the Garmin helpline with no improvement.

Since then the problems have been twofold (both GPS related):

- the unit takes an age (sometimes up to 5 minutes, a couple of times never) to attain a GPS lock. Have tried both GPS + GLONASS and just GPS, with no difference in results. I have done a hard/factory reset a couple of times (including today, again at Garmin helplines recommendation) on the unit with no change to this problem. A quick note that sometimes I've started without GPS and it then gets a lock 15-20 mins from home, which isn't really ideal.

- when i do finally have GPS signal, the unit often manages to lose it (at least once a ride), sometimes when in clear view of the sky, or under very light tree cover. On a similar note, the GPS trace is very erratic, often missing entire swathes of segments etc, and not following roads for hundreds of metres at a time. Again, this was a non-existent problem previously.

I'm fairly confident the issue has something to do with the software (but cautious that is the whole cause) - it may be the receiver has gone in some capacity also.

My questions to you helpful lot are:
- has anyone else suffered a similar kind of problem, and if so what was the resolution?
- how are Garmin with returns/warranties etc? I worried they will continue to fob me off on the helpline and I'll be left with a half-useless unit...

Thanks in advance for any responses.

feisty

see: viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=13066142&p=19897942#p19897942

Put the gcd-file in the folder ..\garmin on the device and rename it to GUPDATE.GCD then disconnect the edge (power off) and switch on. You should see a progression bar during the update and you have to accept the warning you will loose data and settings (not your maps). Be sure in advance that the battery is charged 100%.

plodder73

I have returned a 810 and 520 to Wiggle over a month after I bought them due to various faults. No problem got refunded straight away, so I woukd return to where you bought it.

bendertherobot

I'm torn. Mine is fine on a ride. But every single time I start it up it loses satellites once before re-finding them. Only 20 seconds or so and recalculates but it's a pain. I might return mine.

joe2008

bendertherobot wrote:

I'm torn. Mine is fine on a ride. But every single time I start it up it loses satellites once before re-finding them. Only 20 seconds or so and recalculates but it's a pain. I might return mine.

I sat at the start of a sportive next to a guy who was trying to unfreeze his 520 screen, he couldn't turn it off and on. In the end he gave up and said he wasn't going to bother riding, 'cos if it's not on Strava....*

I made a note to stick with my 500, which has been flawless for years.




*So, I made that last bit up.

dhungerf

Did you check into the Garmin Connect Forum?
https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?534-Edge-520

grenw

I've never known a flawless firmware update on any Garmin device I've owned.

Find a version you like and stick with it. Very rarely are the new features worth the hassle and every fix breaks 2 things that were fine before.

mrb123

bendertherobot wrote:

I'm torn. Mine is fine on a ride. But every single time I start it up it loses satellites once before re-finding them. Only 20 seconds or so and recalculates but it's a pain. I might return mine.

Mine does that too.

bendertherobot

It's not life destroying, just feel like it really shouldn't happen.

cgraley77

Reverted to firmware 6.20 (which worked before flawlessly) as per the above post - sadly didn't alleviate the problem!

Back to Wiggle it goes! Toying with an 820/810 if the refund goes through...

Thanks for the advice people. Some helpful points and at least I now know how to downgrade the firmware!

apreading

Just a thought - do you have it connected to the phone by bluetooth?

I have an 800 thats been great for years but on the commuter have a 25 and sometimes that takes a long time to get satellite lock. I havent been able to figure out why sometimes its ok and sometimes not. I have started to wonder if it is slow when connected to the phone by bluetooth. I am wondering if when paired like this, it tries to download the satellite locations through the phone and maybe if the phone doesnt have a good 3G signal this takes a long time? Not saying thats the answer but am pondering if there is a correlation for me.

So am wondering if you have bluetooth on when its slow?

I work around mine by turning the 25 on when I start getting ready (unlocking bike, gloves/helmet on etc) so usually by the time I am setting off its good to go.

mamba80

Something mine has done twice, start to ride a course but not at the beginning, 520 asks do you want to navigate to beginning? I scroll to NO, 520 freezes, reset by holding down 2buttons, and unit starts the course...... Odd.

cgraley77

apreading wrote:

Just a thought - do you have it connected to the phone by bluetooth?

I have an 800 thats been great for years but on the commuter have a 25 and sometimes that takes a long time to get satellite lock. I havent been able to figure out why sometimes its ok and sometimes not. I have started to wonder if it is slow when connected to the phone by bluetooth. I am wondering if when paired like this, it tries to download the satellite locations through the phone and maybe if the phone doesnt have a good 3G signal this takes a long time? Not saying thats the answer but am pondering if there is a correlation for me.

So am wondering if you have bluetooth on when its slow?

I work around mine by turning the 25 on when I start getting ready (unlocking bike, gloves/helmet on etc) so usually by the time I am setting off its good to go.

Hi,
Thanks for the comment. I've tried both - I thought that potentially pairing it would allow it to 'piggy back' off my phone's location (which ironically is always spot on - shouldn't a purpose made GPS unit be better than this?!) but to no avail.

Fingers crossed Wiggle/Garmin agree theres a fault and the refund goes without a hitch...unsure on the 520 warranty but imagine it would be 12 months?

Cheers

mamba80 wrote:

Something mine has done twice, start to ride a course but not at the beginning, 520 asks do you want to navigate to beginning? I scroll to NO, 520 freezes, reset by holding down 2buttons, and unit starts the course...... Odd.

Mine has/had also done this quite a few times. Never got to the bottom of it...

philbar72

I've had my old 520 update on a crit race round longcross before. Garmin, the gift that keeps on giving...

Websta24

Sounds more than just a firmware problem. Wiggle should either repair or replace as a minimum

cgraley77

Just to round this off:

Returned to Wiggle - full refund with zero quibbles.

The Fenix 3 has caught my eye but unconvinced about its courses/navigational capability. Looks like it may be time for a new thread...

bendertherobot

I questioned a chap at cx about his fenix yest day. He was very impressed. Ditto another friend. My 520 is going back today as well.