I bricked my 550t

[+LukeH]

I have a Garmin Oregon 550t which I have had for about 6-9 months. With the exception of its very good GPS signal reception, I never was very happy with it (flaky operation, freezes/shuts down, etc). It shipped with an old firmware - 2.9 or something. Last night I downloaded WebUpdater and tried to update the firmware to 4.32 or whichever the WebUpdater selected (don't remember exactly). The firmware update appeared to go successfully, then the next time I powered on the GPS it went through a couple screens "loading software", etc. Then it shut back down. When turning it on now, it gets to the "Loading waypoints, tracks, and routes" screen and when the progress bar hits 50%, the unit shuts down. Same thing happens when plugging it in to the USB for computer connection, so I can't do another firmware update (computer doesn't see it when it's plugged in).

 

Is there anything left I can try before I send it in to Garmin for service? Thanks

[+PokerLuck]

There's a hardware reset somehow. It's described in the manual, or I'll bet you can find it Wiki. I've heard of some people with the same problem and they got it to work by resetting it.

[+LukeH]

Ok... I did the reset, and then following that forced it into mass storage mode and deleted all my GPX files (there were a ton). It at least starts up now, turns out I loaded software version 4.20. I think I got it from here, will just need to restore my data. Thanks for the vector.

[+mty55]

These last two beta upgrade that were put out this week have definitely been full of glitches. Seems like the WAAS glitch ran rampant throughout all series units. The second one helped but only spotty WAAS coverage. As far as bricking you unit that sucks. My oregon 300 didn't brick but I changed the batteries and the screen come up and said clearing all user data. It did. I know mines not as bad as yours it still sucks. Make sure you email Garmin at (oregonbeta@garmin.com) and let them know what happened. Good luck hope you get it straightend out quick.

[+LukeH]

These last two beta upgrade that were put out this week have definitely been full of glitches. Seems like the WAAS glitch ran rampant throughout all series units. The second one helped but only spotty WAAS coverage. As far as bricking you unit that sucks. My oregon 300 didn't brick but I changed the batteries and the screen come up and said clearing all user data. It did. I know mines not as bad as yours it still sucks. Make sure you email Garmin at (oregonbeta@garmin.com) and let them know what happened. Good luck hope you get it straightend out quick.

 

Thanks, looks like it will be ok now, un-bricked successfully. I'll stick with software 4.20 until the later firmwares come out of beta. I lost all my waypoints and will have to reload the map data, but that is trivial compared to having an expensive paperweight.

 

It seems it gets more flaky if you have too many GPX loaded, or if the memory is too full.

[+kunarion]

it gets to the "Loading waypoints, tracks, and routes" screen and when the progress bar hits 50%, the unit shuts down. Same thing happens when plugging it in to the USB for computer connection

Mine did the exact same thing after the new firmware (4.20), first happening when I plugged it into the USB cable. I eventually removed the batteries and the SD card. Didn't have to erase anything or do any special reset. Now it's fine, but it seems likely to crash again at any given moment (like during that way-too-long "loading waypoints" screen of doom). I'm definitely looking forward to a fix for this. Edited December 24, 2010 by kunarion

[+quadsinthemudd]

I have had two units die because of software in two months. Yes I am very GGRRRRR about it but I am very pleased with their customers service and willingness to get me a GPS back out. This last time I told them how very unhappy I was at losing two invisashields at $15 bucks a pop and they are sending me out a NEW unit not a refurbished one. It is also a big plus that I get to talk to Americans and know what is going on.

 

PS GARMIN IF YOU ARE READING THIS WHO CARES ABOUT OPENCACHING.COM WHEN YOUR SOFTWARE UPDATES ARE KILLING OUR UNITS!!!!!! Still love my 550

[+splashy]

In July we had an update to 3.70 or .71 .74

In this time many Oregons bricked and many used a small program to reset the gps to 3.40

 

Can you 'see' the Gps via Usb if so, try deleting (if any) gupdate.gcd, if you could do this then try again to update.

 

Link to unbrick and reset to 3.40

http://gczl.cz/download/Recovery_Oregon550.zip

 

Go here for firmware

http://www.gawisp.com/perry/oregon/

 

Reset Oregon > M3

http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/Miscellaneous#FAQ-M3.%29%20Is%20there%20any%20way%20to%20recover%20a%20corrupted%20Oregon%20without%20sending%20it%20back%20to%20Garmin%3F

Edited December 24, 2010 by splashy

[+Cacheoholic]

First off, this unit was updated with WebUpdater. WebUpdater does not do betas so it wasn’t beta induced. Second, yes software updates do cause bricking but the bricking on the Oregon is recoverable and no need to return to Garmin. Third, Invisashields are reusable. Just peel them off and reapply on the new one. My Invisashield that is on my 550 has been on a 200 and a 400t.

[+Viajero Perdido]

These last two beta upgrade that were put out this week have definitely been full of glitches.

That word beta (I added the bold) really raised my eyebrows.

 

A company has no business releasing inadequately tested firmware - and "beta" is inadequately tested by definition - when firmware by its nature is capable of bricking a unit when something goes wrong.

 

(Garmin's record with firmware of late is the main reason I just bought a classic and reliable 60CSx and not something newer.)

[+dfx]

A company has no business releasing inadequately tested firmware - and "beta" is inadequately tested by definition - when firmware by its nature is capable of bricking a unit when something goes wrong.

 

and everyone installing a beta firmware should be aware of that risk. they even got a warning on the website where you download it.

 

don't render people more irresponsible and dumb than they really are please.