Garmin Tech Support

[+Tequila]

Anyone else having trouble getting in touch with Garmin Tech Support?? Telephone wait time is over 30 minutes. They refer you to the web site but MyGarmin is down and when you try to submit a problem ticket it does nothing.

 

I am trying to report the following issues with my Colorado:

 

I am having several problems with my new 300. First, on two occasions while geocaching in the rain, I have discovered water inside the unit. Once on the batteries and once in the area where the SD card is inserted. Second, I am experiencing frequent "freezes" when the unit gets within 25 meters of the cache. Power off/on fixes it. Third, on three occasions, the unit has simply powered off in my hand. It has taken repeated Power On for it to restart. In all cases, batteries were strong. Fourth, it is consuming alkaline (Duracell) batteries in 3 to 4 hours of normal use. Fifth, while trying to execute a simple Wherigo, the 300 crashed. When I powered it back on, it took almost 20 minutes to regain a satellite signal. Sixth, when I connect it to the PC, about 20% of the time, it hangs. I have to remove the batteries to get it going again.

[+Butano]

I find that surprising about Garmin support taking a long time to answer. They are usually very good (haven't contacted them lately though).

 

First off, take a look at http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/. It contains a lot of information on the Colorado including some of the problems that you are experiencing as well as others. Here are a couple of answers though.

1. Make sure that the back cover is fully closed. Just closing the latch does not guarantee that the cover is fully closed.

2. I have seen this as well, though it seems to be better with the later version of the software. If you don't have it, get the latest version from Garmin's web site. The 2.51 beta seems to be pretty stable and fixes a lot of problems.

3 and 4. The battery issue is still a hot topic. With alkaline batteries the unit doesn't seem to stay on long, even though you have three bars still, it will power off. Lithium batteries seem to last much longer Be sure to set the batter type to the correct type of battery as well.

5 and 6. I haven't tried the Wherigo, but believe there were fixes in the latest version of the software as well.

 

Read throught the Colorado Wiki from the link above. There is a lot of information there. Good luck!

[+RonFisk]

Anyone else having trouble getting in touch with Garmin Tech Support?? Telephone wait time is over 30 minutes. They refer you to the web site but MyGarmin is down and when you try to submit a problem ticket it does nothing.

 

I am trying to report the following issues with my Colorado:

 

I am having several problems with my new 300. First, on two occasions while geocaching in the rain, I have discovered water inside the unit. Once on the batteries and once in the area where the SD card is inserted. Second, I am experiencing frequent "freezes" when the unit gets within 25 meters of the cache. Power off/on fixes it. Third, on three occasions, the unit has simply powered off in my hand. It has taken repeated Power On for it to restart. In all cases, batteries were strong. Fourth, it is consuming alkaline (Duracell) batteries in 3 to 4 hours of normal use. Fifth, while trying to execute a simple Wherigo, the 300 crashed. When I powered it back on, it took almost 20 minutes to regain a satellite signal. Sixth, when I connect it to the PC, about 20% of the time, it hangs. I have to remove the batteries to get it going again.

Several questions:

Where did you get it? It sounds like you may have one of the older units.

What version of the software are you using? You should be using v2.51

For up to date info on the Colorado go to: http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/

In any event you should return it for the leaking problem.

[roybassist]

Anyone else having trouble getting in touch with Garmin Tech Support?? Telephone wait time is over 30 minutes.

If possible, try to call them at 8:00 a.m. Central. That's when they open, and wait times are usually shortest then. I've had good success that way on a couple of occasions Good luck!

[+Tequila]

Anyone else having trouble getting in touch with Garmin Tech Support?? Telephone wait time is over 30 minutes. They refer you to the web site but MyGarmin is down and when you try to submit a problem ticket it does nothing.

 

I am trying to report the following issues with my Colorado:

 

I am having several problems with my new 300. First, on two occasions while geocaching in the rain, I have discovered water inside the unit. Once on the batteries and once in the area where the SD card is inserted. Second, I am experiencing frequent "freezes" when the unit gets within 25 meters of the cache. Power off/on fixes it. Third, on three occasions, the unit has simply powered off in my hand. It has taken repeated Power On for it to restart. In all cases, batteries were strong. Fourth, it is consuming alkaline (Duracell) batteries in 3 to 4 hours of normal use. Fifth, while trying to execute a simple Wherigo, the 300 crashed. When I powered it back on, it took almost 20 minutes to regain a satellite signal. Sixth, when I connect it to the PC, about 20% of the time, it hangs. I have to remove the batteries to get it going again.

Several questions:

Where did you get it? It sounds like you may have one of the older units.

What version of the software are you using? You should be using v2.51

For up to date info on the Colorado go to: http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/

In any event you should return it for the leaking problem.

 

It has v2.5.1. the wiki page you refer to mentions a 2.6. Is that available?

 

Also, how do I know if I have an older unit? I just returned the unit to the store and got another one but it has the next serial number sequence. So I am not optimistic.

[+twolpert]

It has v2.5.1. the wiki page you refer to mentions a 2.6. Is that available?

Unless something happened very recently, 2.51 beta is latest application firmware available. The firmware in the unit actually has two pieces, although you cannot update them independently (as far as I know). There is the application firmware (currently 2.51b) and the firmware for the receiver chipset (currently 2.60). Usually when you see mention of the chipset firmware, it will be in a context like 2.40/2.60 or 2.51b/2.60. People are just being thorough in their posts.

[+twolpert]

I am having several problems with my new 300. First, on two occasions while geocaching in the rain, I have discovered water inside the unit. Once on the batteries and once in the area where the SD card is inserted.

<snip>

Third, on three occasions, the unit has simply powered off in my hand. It has taken repeated Power On for it to restart. In all cases, batteries were strong. Fourth, it is consuming alkaline (Duracell) batteries in 3 to 4 hours of normal use.

<snip>

Sixth, when I connect it to the PC, about 20% of the time, it hangs. I have to remove the batteries to get it going again.

There has been a lot of discussion on the lack of water-resistance. The concesus seems to be that Colorados leak. This appears to be a design flaw, not a production problem or (exclusively) a problem with individual units. However, you need to be clear about where you actually found the water. Water inside the removable cover is not necessarily a problem. The back cover itself does not pretend to be water-resistant. The seals around the battery compartment and the SD slot are supposed to keep water that gets inside the cover from actually reaching the electronics. The best advice seems to be to make sure that the back of the unit is pushed up snugly when you close it. Do not depend on "snapping the latch" to make this happen. I have also seen posts recommending the use of some type of sealant, typically silicone lubricant, on the gaskets -- both around the battery compartment and around the SD card slot. You might want to talk to Garming tech support before trying that. Some types of lubricant, particular petroleum-based products such as Vaseline, may degrade the gaskets over time. And I'm sure using any type of lubricant voids your warranty with respect to the seals.

 

I suspect that both the unexpected power-down and the short battery life are related to using disposable alkaline batteries. At least up through 2.40 (have not seen any posts and have no personal experience with 2.51b), battery life with alkalines is just plain bad. Many people have reported (and I have personal experience with) the same issues you have: 3-5 hour maximum battery life, unexpected power-downs, and apparently inaccurate batter meter. In addition, you will find that the batteries that cause the Colorado to fail still have a lot of life left in them if you put them in another device. The concensus is that Colorado power managaement simply does not work with alkaline batteries. A lot of cachers use rechargeable NiMH to good effect. Most people report 10-12 hours of typical caching use on a pair of properly conditioned, freshly charged 2700 mAh batteries. I have also seen posts reporting good luck with disposable lithium batteries, but have no personal experience.

 

I have not seen anybody else post anything with regard to the device hanging when connection to the PC. That one sounds bad.

[+Tequila]

The water was right into the battery compartment.

 

I have switched to NiMH batteries and I am getting better time.

[+twolpert]

The water was right into the battery compartment.

How badly did you drown the unit? If the unit is thoroughly wet, there may be a fair amount of water in the back. In that case, it's very difficult to remove the back without getting at least a little bit of water into the battery compartment itself. You can usually avoid getting it into the SD slot by opening the unit in an upright position (instead of flat, face down the way most of us do it). But that may make it more likely to get water in the battery compartment. Bottom line is that if there was more that a few drops in the battery compartment, either the unit was not properly closed or it really is defective. Might be time for a return.