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Ok. Now we have the culprit. The "Send to GPS" function used the now defunct Garmin Communicator Plugin. You could always put GPX files directly on your GPS, which is what you will have to do from now on (you can use the "Send to Garmin" feature with Garmin Express, but it can sometimes not work well.) Pocket queries come packaged as a Zip file, and must be unzipped first. In Windows, I think you just right-click and extract. The GPX files then go into the GPX folder on your 62s. Keep in mind that if you're loading caches in Europe, and you are not in Europe, the GPS won't list them because they are too far away, though they will show up if you scroll the map to the location of the cache. For now, practice loading local geocaches to make sure you have the process working.

You're not incorrect. But this is technology. It changes. Quickly. Standards change, and if you are unwilling to keep with the standards - if you insist on using older and often outdated technology to serve your needs, any problems you run into are your personal problems, not a problem with the general system. Hardware and software makers can only support older models of their product for so long before it becomes unsustainable to do so. You can't blame Microsoft if features of Windows XP stop working when they are now 4 OS generations beyond and a decade past support. If you choose to continue using XP instead of 7, 8 , or 10, you do so at your own responsibility. In this case, GPSrs that support GPX files and direct loading with mass storage have been around for over a decade. The Communicator plugin was somewhat necessary to move data between websites and the GPS in earlier models that relied on using Garmin's proprietary serial interface to talk to the computer. But these new fangled fancy GPS models communicate over a standard USB interface, one that allows for mass storage. Transferring data is no different than uploading/downloading files from your hard drive. So when it became known that the platform that the communicator plugin was built upon provided vulnerabilities to end users, browser makers began removing support for those classes of plugins. Garmin decided it wasn't worth their effort to create a new, more secure communicator plugin because you can just download data directly to folders on modern GPSrs. Groundspeak took their time, but finally recognized that keeping the "send to GPS" function that relied on these defunct plugins was causing more confusion than functionality (or worse yet, encouraging people to keep their systems vulnerable to attack by using outdated browsers just to keep the feature working). So, "Send to my GPS" is dead. Getting geocaches to those old GPS models is now a convoluted process. You either accept that, or use modern solutions that made geocaching easier in general. Paperless caching. Direct GPX file interaction. Mass storage. Phones that do everything a GPS does including store data for offline use. You don't have to be a power cacher to take advantage of these features. You don't have to find 20+ caches a day to justify using them. Of course you are welcome to cache however you want and with whatever equipment you want. You can make the process as simple or complex as you desire. But if you choose to use legacy hardware and methods, it is not the fault of Geocaching.com or Garmin that some legacy functions get retired, causing you to change up your workflow. We at the forums are always happy to help. But when we come up with solutions that don't even require you to buy new hardware, and you reply with "well we just don't do it that way," forgive us for losing sympathy that you are experiencing troubles that are simply caused by your stubbornness.

I have a Garmin 550. I have had some success, but am frustrated again. About two weeks ago, went out, found some caches, logged in my GPS my comments and my finds and filled in the logs. Now trying to connect to the computer and download my success, and it keeps asking me again and again to download and install Garmin communicator. I must have done it many many times.. still when I try to connect. No luck at all. Using Windows 10, can use Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome for a browser to get into Geocaching.com. Garmin recognizes my machine, says it's all up to date. But how to get to a list of found caches transferred to the geocaching.com site. I go to a site on the geocaching.com site and try to load it to the 550... need the communicator.. WTH am I doing or not doing? All help appreciated.

I wish it did! I'm guessing there are plans to change those buttons to a better function, so the buttons are a kind of place holder while all the kinks are worked out. Well, I hope there's a plan. Is there? I can't even tell. Wishful thinking. Yeah. Also the site looks terrible. I pulled it up on my Windows Vista PC last night to play with "Garmin Communicator", and the site is a mess with the old browsers.

Hello, Its been a couple years since I downloaded geocaches to my Garmin etrex 30x and nothing seems to work. I am not a premium member. I am using iexplorer 11, windows 10, I have upgraded Garmin Software on device, installed Garmin Communicator plug-in, set iexplorer security to medium-high and also installed Garmin Express. Once I log into geocaching website and I click on a geocache, there is an option to 'Send to My GPS' - this used to work. It now still brings up the small window, however 'Find Devices, Write and Cancel Write' buttons are all greyed out. Please help. Ryan

This is very true! I am a newcomer to Geocaching and I first tried to transfer some geocache to my GPS using the "Send to my GPS" key without success. I did many attempts but none reached the goal. I download Garmin Communicator (but it never is recognized as present onto my PC) Then I tried to use both Chrome and Internet Explorer I used both Windows 10 and Windows 7 My GPS is a Dakota 20. The only way had success is the one suggested by kunarion: Use the "File GPX" button instead of "Send to my GPS" button Then copy the GPX file from the PC to the GPX folder of the GPS unit. This works fine! Thank you kunarion!

Since Garmin bought Delorme you will not be able to find anything regarding Delorme units. The removed and blocked anything Delorme. Delorme units have a duo core processor. Also not programed up the same way a Garmin is. Garmin can only have one file of GPX geocaches. Delorme can have multiple. Example: file name April hunt. In that file I could place 500 geocaches. May hunt. In that file another 500. I could place then in the unit with pocket query or the send to GPS button. If one of those geocaches were to have bad code such as a symbol.#&$¥£π¶. Those are examples then the hexadecimal 1A issue would wipe out a bunch of geocaches when you switch from one file to the other. Those symbols also could cause route calculation issues when you tell the unit to lock on to a geocacher and route to it. Now if you use the pocket query method to bring in a list of geocaches chest then some how the goofy symbols are converted and or deleted from the cache description. But not if you used the send to GPS method. The send to gps button is only supported in internet explorer. I know some will say also in a certain version if Firefox. But that version is scheduled to be eliminated. Delorme does not use the Garmin communicator. It uses the Delorme send to gps plugin. But due to that now not working I tried to place a gpx file(geocache) into an existing geocache file with others. Then when I opened that file, poof! 150 geocaches gone. But the cache that I had placed was there among the survivors. Maybe it is a good thing the send to GPS not work now. I have tried it on other computers that I know have the plugin. Windows 7, 8 and 10 using internet explorer. All do not. Work now.

How can we now load caches on to Garmin Oregon GPS now that Windows 10 update will not work with Garmin communicator. Please help.

My laptop updated to windows 10, I now can't send caches from Geocaching.com to my Garmin Montana. I downloaded garmin communicator, but that doesn't work. Looking for advice on how to upload them to GPS from laptop.

Bonjour, je reçois ce message (Garmin Communicator Plugin NOT detected) lorsque je tente de télécharger une cache sur mon GPS Garmin Oregon 450T. Le plug in Garmin Communicator version 4.2.0 in est très bien installé dans Windows 10. Quelqu'un peut m'aider en Français SVP. PS. Je n'ai pas GSACK. Merci. Vigie.

You plug it into the computer via the USB cable and if it shows up as a mounted drive, it's talking to your computer. Now, it may not "talk" to websites because today's browsers don't support the communicator plugin. But geocaches are downloaded as gpx files and simply go in the <device name or drive letter>/Garmin/GPX folder. You can do this individually from each cache page by clicking on the "download GPX" button, but I recommend that you download caches in bulk using pocket queries and/or lists. Additionally, some folks find it useful to manage geocaches with a 3rd party program such as GSAK (windows) or iCaching (mac). Both programs will also let you bulk-import and update caches with pocket query downloads and direct API access. They'll also bulk load the caches onto your GPS, including using the GGZ format, which can make your GPS load and run faster when loading tens of thousands of caches. The point is that the geocaches are just files stored on your device, and your GPS, when plugged into the computer, will connect as if it were an external hard drive or thumb drive. You can read and write to it accordingly. The "Send to GPS" button used to automate that process using the now defunct communicator plugin, but it's just as easy to download files and save them directly to your GPS.

Eerst even wat achtergrondinformatie: Garmin Communicator is een zgn. NPAPI-plug-in. Dit type plug-in is oud en potentieel onveilig en wordt daardoor door de meeste browsers geweerd. Het heeft dus niets met Windows 10 te maken, maar met de veilgheid van moderne browsers. Overigens is in Internet Explorer, nog steeds in Wndows 10 aanwezig, de plug-in soms werkend te krijgen door geocaching.com bij de vertrouwde websites te zetten. Er bestaat ook een speciale versie van Firefox waar de plug-in nog een beperkte tijd wordt ondersteund. Voor Chrome, Edge en Safari kan je de plug-in vergeten. Alternatieven zijn: Op de cachepagina de GPX file knop aanklikken en de resulterende gpx opslaan in (of na downloaden kopieren naar) de map \Garmin\GPX\ op je eTrex. Pocket Queries maken. Caches in een lijst zetten. Die lijst kan je dan in één keer naar je eTrex sturen (hier moet een recente versie van Garmin Express voor zijn geïnstalleerd). Software van derden gebruiken (GSAK, GAPP).

Bonsoir. Je bloque avec mon gps. Lorsque je veux télécharger une cache avec mon garmin, un message s'affiche "Plugin not detected" je tente de le mettre a jour avec garmin communicator for Windows, aucun effet. Que faire ! Pouvez m'éclairer ou me donner une marche a suivre. Merci par avance. Edid

Hallo, am Wochenende haben wir das aktuelle Windows10 Update heruntergeladen. Nun wird das Garmin Communicator Plugin nicht mehr erkannt. Wir können keine Verbindung zu unserem Garmin etrex20 mehr herstellen. Das Laden von Caches ist nicht mehr möglich. Plugin deinstallieren und neu installieren hat nicht funktioniert. Auch auf der Garmin Seite wird der Plugin nicht erkannt, obwohl Installierung ohne Fehlermeldung abgeschlossen wurde. Wer kann helfen? Danke und Gruß NOEBERL

I see you're a premium member. The answer is an astounding YES. The communicator plugin only let you load caches one at a time. If you still want to do it the slow way, you can use the GPX button and save the file in the GPX folder on your eTrex. However, Pocket Queries let you load up to 1000 at a time and are way more efficient to use. You just drop the GPX files directly onto your device in the GPX folder and go. You can also pair pocket queries with a cache database program such as GSAK (windows) or iCaching (mac) to bulk load and manage the geocaches on your Garmin. None of these methods require the use of the communicator plugin.

I'm using both the eTrex 20x and Windows 10 as well as my MacBook Pro and I haven't had any problems whatsoever connecting the eTrex 20x to either computer. Did you download and install Garmin Express? It's the key to connectivity between devices. Also, is your eTrex 20x in USB Mass Storage mode? I believe the Garmin Communicator plugin is an old plugin and you should go to Garmins website and download all the software for your device from there to ensure you're getting the newest plugins and software available.

Hello! I am pretty new here, my parents started geocaching. I bought my own GPS (Garmin Etrex 20x) but I have problems with sending the caches to my GPS. I have a Windows 10 64bit with Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. I also have an Macbook Air with Safari. Everything is up to date. But nothing is compatible! Here is my story: I started at my Mac, I downloaded the Garmin Communicator Plugin as requested, and succeded... But only on the Gamin website. When I go to the geocaching website, it says it cant find the Plugin... Somewhere in my system, it is jammed. I went to my settings, and put every plugin of Garmin at on, as the website said so (at the help desk). But still no good luck. And so I went to my Microsoft PC with Windows 10, but NOTHING is compatible... Firefox sent me to Internet Explorer, and Internet Explorer said it does not support in combination with Windows 10 64bit. Chrome and the Edge are also not supported... HELP. I tried everything I could... I even tried with EasyGPS on my Microsoft PC to transfer the Waypoints to my GPS, but even that fails.

Just so we're all on the same page - when you say that Windows 10 doesn't recognize your Explorist anymore, you mean that it's not mounting as a mass storage device so that you can access the folders and files on it. If you're talking about geocaching.com not recognizing that your device is plugged in, you really mean that the communicator plugin isn't detected - because all of the browsers (MS Edge, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari (on mac)) no longer support plugins built on the NPAPI platform, of which all of the GPS communicator plugins were made. This is not unique to Magellan, as Garmin's communicator plugin is also no longer useable. The "Send to GPS" button is effectively dead. Use "Save to GPX" instead, or better yet, use pocket queries because you really shouldn't be loading caches one at a time anyway.

Web browsers are dropping support for old protocols that are security risks. One of them is the programming interface "Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface" (NPAPI), the interface used by Garmin Communicator. I tried to keep it working for as long as I could, as a personal challenge. It may not be possible to get it to function anymore in Windows 10 with updated web browsers. There are many threads about it here, and in other areas of these Forums. Sorry. As a basic member, you can still get LOC files and convert them to GPX files with software. Paying members can save individual GPX files (or Pocket Queries of many caches) directly to a GPSr, or use the new "Send To Garmin" feature to send a whole "list" to a GPSr, kind of like Garmin Communicator did.

This is perplexing and frustrating... It's been a while since I have sent geocaches to my Garmin GPS. Since I have done so in the past I have upgraded to Windows 10 from 7 but trying to install and use the Garmin Communicator I can't find any browser that supports this plugin. How does this happen?? I'm I missing something here?

Good luck using your mid-90's dot matrix printer with today's computer. I suppose you could find a workaround to connect that old parallel cable to a modern USB port. But it's probably not worth it, is it? Are you still using Windows 95 with Internet Explorer 3.0 to connect to geocaching.com? Good luck. I don't even think those old browsers would support the html5 and xml code that underlies the website. Do you still back up files to floppy discs? Those devices, like many others, have an end of life for support where it's no longer profitable to continue maintaining software updates or hardware parts to keep those old devices working. Sure you can use your eTrex Legend or Vista for navigation alongside a map and compass. Those will still work for that purpose until the internal hardware breaks down. But Garmin has decided that it's not worth keeping up support for these models now that, for about 7 years now, ever single one of their in-production models supports a standard USB connection, a larger storage capacity, and direct GPX support with paperless geocaching functionality. They're directly compatible with today's file standards and hardware connectivity standards. If you're using an eTrex Legend or Vista, you're going to have trouble with geocaching. It's not impossible, but you will require some extensive workarounds that users of the eTrex 10/20/30 models won't have. You don't need the latest GPS, but anything designed prior to the Colorado series, the first to have all of the modern features, are no longer supported by Garmin. And, at this time, no matter what GPS you own, you're going to need a premium membership to really take advantage of it, because none of the GPS manufacturers have expressed any interest in rebuilding their communicator plugins on a more secure platform. So good luck, I hope you find a solution, and in the meantime, you can always use apps (either the official app or an API partner app), unless you're still stuck using an old flip phone.

The OP shall no longer be Geocaching, but just for info, there are several ways to send GPX files to a Garmin GPSr. You don't need Garmin Communicator nor any add-on. Save a GPX file or entire (unzipped) Pocket Queries to the "Garmin/GPX" folder of a Garmin GPSr. Do that all the time, and then you won't rely on "plug-ins". They are cool and all, but when have trouble with a plug-in, it's often much simpler to copy the files to "Garmin/GPX" and go, than to work on the plug-in. I almost always use the manual copying method. Garmin Communicator may be gone, but another way to load caches (if you don't like to directly place files into the "Garmin/GPX" folder) is to install Garmin Express and use lists. You can send any list to the GPSr using "Send To Garmin". "Garmin Express" is how you get software updates from Garmin, plus now it works with Geocaching.com cache lists. Microsoft Windows 10 comes with Internet Explorer. I use it instead of Edge because IE accepts more plug-ins. But Garmin Express can work with either. I sent lists of caches to my Garmin Oregon from Edge, to try it out. It works.

I've been geocaching on off for several years, and have become frustrated at how difficult it is to accomplish these days. i don't mean the level of difficulty or lack of caches, just the amount of hurdles I have to cross before getting out and about and actually geocaching. Before, I used to either plan a day out, and download the caches to my Garmin etrex; or if I was out somewhere and has time for a quick cache, us my iPhone and see what was around. All quite simple, and not difficult to set up. Now, I can't download caches to my etrex, as it needs a Garmin communicator add-on to be applied. This isn't supported by Firefox; or Chrome. It is with Internet Explorer 10, but I have windows 10 with Microsoft Edge, which isn't supported. I can't download IE10. It looks like I might have to get a new GPS, (but not a Garmin), or a new computer (probably a Mac). The new iPhone app isn't as easy to use as the old one, burns through the battery and data on my 5S, enough to really limit what I can do. I could get e new phone (along with the GPS and the computer), as well as subscribe to premium membership to get the most out of it. But it's all extra cost that I am not prepared to pay. All in all, an enjoyable and easy pastime has turned into a hassle, so it looks like I shall no longer be Geocaching. Fortunately, there's an orienteering club nearby which seems just as good fun!

For the past several months since the Garmin communicator stopped working, I have been using the 'drag' method to load geocaches on the Garmin. I would open the geocaching.com map and also the Garmin GPX so both windows would be open. I would choose a geocache on the map, open it, click on GPX file, and then drag it from the download folder to the Garmin GPX. BUT NOW THAT HAS STOPPED WORKING. Yesterday, I was able to drag just one geocache to the Garmin. Any others after that time would NOT go on the Garmin. Is there a new method for doing this? It sure would be nice if the 'send to my GPS' still worked.

Yes, many people are having this problem, and frequent threads appear when someone notices that Garmin Communicator doesn't work. Windows 10 and supported web browsers are shutting off features of unsecure plugins. Unless you have not been keeping your Windows 10 PC updated (including updating web browsers), it is unlikely that you can get Garmin Communicator, and the "Send To My GPS" button, to function. Many people still can, so the button remains for now. If you just want to send one cache to your Magellan, click the "GPX file" button (the one that has the specific text "GPX file") on any cache page, and save the GPX file to the "Geocaches" folder of the Magellan GPSr. If you have a Pocket Query, unzip it. There are typically two files. Place the ".GPX" in the "Geocaches" folder. Place ".WPT" in the "Waypoints" folder of a Magellan GPSr. If you're computer-savvy, you can set up automated ways to get cache files onto your GPSr, using various kinds of helper software.