+wanderingwacky Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 I dropped my Colorado and it hit a rock and now the front screen is cracked. Does anyone know of anywhere I might be able to get it fixed, or do I have to buy a new one? I live near Vancouver, BC. Quote Link to comment
+Mike & Jess Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 I dropped my Colorado and it hit a rock and now the front screen is cracked. Does anyone know of anywhere I might be able to get it fixed, or do I have to buy a new one? I live near Vancouver, BC. There is a company in Canada that does repair work on the Garmin GPS units. I had my screen replaced on my Oregon when my son dropped my unit face down. If you check the Garmin site, you should be able to find the nearest location to have your unit repaired. Being that it will not be a warranty repair, it will be a flat fee and in return, you will probably receive a referbished unit. The flat fee was for any repair, regardless if it was totally demoed or just the screen (as in both of our cases). I believe mine was ~$125 (last fall). Quote Link to comment
+Avernar Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Being that it will not be a warranty repair, it will be a flat fee and in return, you will probably receive a referbished unit. Do you know what the situation is with maps locked to the old unit? Does Garmin let you transfer the maps somehow to the refurb? Quote Link to comment
+Tequila Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Garmin can be very considerate sometimes. I suggest you call the U.S. Customer Service and tell them your tale of woe. They may send you a replacement screen or even replace it under warranty. I know of a couple of cachers who had their units replaced. Quote Link to comment
+Avernar Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 The other thing you should consider once you get it fixed is to put an invisible shield on it: invisibleSHIELD. I have one on mine and I've smacked the screen on rocks quite a few times. The only damage to the screen I have was a hard hit right on the edge of the screen and it only put a very tiny crack at the edge. That one took a small piece of the bezel with it too. Quote Link to comment
+wanderingwacky Posted July 12, 2010 Author Share Posted July 12, 2010 Thanks everyone!! I got in touch with the raytech company and my garmin will be on it's way to the doctors this afternoon. FYI, the flat rate incl shipping and tax was 148 dollars. Not bad, considering replacement would have been close to 400. The other thing you should consider once you get it fixed is to put an invisible shield on it: invisibleSHIELD. I have one on mine and I've smacked the screen on rocks quite a few times. The only damage to the screen I have was a hard hit right on the edge of the screen and it only put a very tiny crack at the edge. That one took a small piece of the bezel with it too. I will invest in that-not only my gps, but also my cellphone. What a great idea!! Thanks for the link and info. Quote Link to comment
+Avernar Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 (edited) I will invest in that-not only my gps, but also my cellphone. What a great idea!! Thanks for the link and info. Found a Canadian reseller: GPS City Edited July 12, 2010 by Avernar Quote Link to comment
+t4e Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 how can a protective film, a thin piece of plastic foil, prevent cracks? they are only meant to protect against scratches and fingerprints Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 how can a protective film, a thin piece of plastic foil, prevent cracks? they are only meant to protect against scratches and fingerprints Maybe it's Transparent Aluminum Quote Link to comment
+t4e Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 how can a protective film, a thin piece of plastic foil, prevent cracks? they are only meant to protect against scratches and fingerprints Maybe it's Transparent Aluminum thx i needed a giggle Quote Link to comment
+Mike & Jess Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 I am not sure how well a protective screen will work on the Oregon units with the preasure touch screen. As for the maps, I had loaded all my maps on my memory card and was able to bring them over to the new(referbed) unit. Also, assuming you loaded the maps from your PC, you really should not have any issues. Quote Link to comment
+Avernar Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 how can a protective film, a thin piece of plastic foil, prevent cracks? they are only meant to protect against scratches and fingerprints It's actually thicker than most screen protectors and it's not regular plastic. Feels more rubbery. It basically keeps the pointy parts of the rock from directly impacting the screen and starting a crack. Now it's not Transparent Aluminum so it won't stop everything, but it saved my screen several times over. Just don't get any bug spray onto it or it will damage it. Quote Link to comment
+Avernar Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 I am not sure how well a protective screen will work on the Oregon units with the preasure touch screen. There's a discussion over here: Garmin Oregon Wiki. As for the maps, I had loaded all my maps on my memory card and was able to bring them over to the new(referbed) unit. Also, assuming you loaded the maps from your PC, you really should not have any issues. I'm guessing none of those maps needed a lock code? Currently I have the BirdsEye satellite maps locked to this one, but other people have City Navigator locked to theirs. Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 I am not sure how well a protective screen will work on the Oregon units with the preasure touch screen. There's a discussion over here: Garmin Oregon Wiki. As for the maps, I had loaded all my maps on my memory card and was able to bring them over to the new(referbed) unit. Also, assuming you loaded the maps from your PC, you really should not have any issues. I'm guessing none of those maps needed a lock code? Currently I have the BirdsEye satellite maps locked to this one, but other people have City Navigator locked to theirs. When a unit is replaced BY GARMIN, the "My Garmin" website has a mechanism for transferring your lock codes/maps over to the new unit. I've used it in the past - I seem to recall it offered me that capability when I registered the new serial number. Quote Link to comment
+wanderingwacky Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 I don't need to unlock anything, I use Ibycus Topo. It's free and works great with garmin's basic software. You can get it here. http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4492135/Ib...1_-_Zip_Version and read about it here: http://www.ibycus.com/ibycustopo/#Download I actually find this map to be more accurate and up to date than the garmin version. Quote Link to comment
+Avernar Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 I actually find this map to be more accurate and up to date than the garmin version. I've found that Ibycus 2.1 and Topo Canada 4.0 are very close. I'm still comparing them out in the field to see which one I like better. I've noticed that Ibycus 3.2 is missing some back roads so I'm not running that one. Quote Link to comment
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