Heat00

after a week of use. 1490 works fine except that the sound keeps shutting off. BT works great when the unit decides to have sound. at least once a day I have to pull the plug out and shut the unit off, then turn back on and usually sound to the unit will be back. this is all sound, not just bt. I have done the firmware update but problem seems to be getting worse everyday.

Has anyone had similar problems? I hate to do it but I think I'm going to have to send it back and request another unit. it has been less than 30 days, from amazon so it shouldn't be a problem.
perhaps they sent me a re-furbed unit? It seemed new when I got it, had all wrappings as if from factory.

unit is great navigation wise and features like lane assist/junktion view are great, multi-point routes are very usefull too.

any advice?

Heat00

now it happened every time i used the unit today.
already requested replacement.
I hope it is not related to the BT/Phone.

no one has had any similar problems?

HumVee

Apparently not, Heat00. You must have been dealt a bad one. There's a handful of other users on this forum with 1490T's (malam, BabyDoc, navydevildoc) and they haven't reported anything like it. I hope your replacement unit works better for you.

Heat00

thanks. I hope so. replacement will be here tomorrow.
if I have same problem with new unit, at least I'll know it is related to phone/bt.
when I disabled bt early today, the unit's sound was fine all day.
I hope the 1490 is compatible with my phone model. that would suck if not, the main reason for getting the 1490 is for the extra speaker for bt lol.

Heat00

new unit works great.
now I'm afraid to do the firmware update as unit is working fine.
what should i do?

HumVee

You don't have to do the firmware update. Updates are put out to deal with identified problems. If you're perfectly happy with how the unit is behaving, then there's nothing you need to worry about. However, if the unit does start behaving in a manner that you don't like, and you try to contact Garmin about it, the first thing they're going to tell you to do is patch it up to the most current version of code....

Heat00

great, thanks again!

BabyDoc

You will have to do the firmware update if you intend to update your maps. I wouldn't worry about it. Besides, the latest firmware v. 3.60 fixes some significant potential problems with the 1490T, like freezeups and rebooting.

Heat00

thanks. i will do the update this week.

the new unit has been working great so far. hopefully it continues!

Heat00

i guess its time for the firmware update... unit has frozen a few times, not too bad but bigger problem is now all of a suden, i can't seem to get signal ?????
i have not moved it's position on the car and it's been fine since I've had it until yesterday.
the scary part is, my car was in for service to replace the radio that wasn't working correctly; since i got the car back, 1490 can't get signal. I have to believe it is not related as i don't see how it could be but it is very strange.
what else to do now??
does the firmware update help signal loss at all?

zee

Check for, an eliminate any possible antenna conflict. Radio on/off. When I first read that GPS receiver antennas don't like any other antenna to be within 1 meter of them, I had to check it out on my pickup. With the radio on to a non, or very weak, station, in AM and FM, and the volumn up, I approached the radio antenna on the finder. When I got about 3 feet from the antenna, the radio started up a wine/hum with both the Garmin Map60, and the Maggie SporTrak. Later, I put an external antenna about a foot from the CB antenna, on the roof of the camper. With the Map60 on, I then cut on the CB. The result was "the Squall heard around the world". Most of the time when I use a 60, or Quest 2, in a vehicle, I have an external antenna on the roof, by it's self, for the best reception. Try moving the unit around to different places, to see if that helps. Sometimes, when I look at the Sat Page, and see all of the Sats overhead and to the south, I wonder how anybody can get a decent fix if they were here, and "north bound-hammer down".
Can the receiver get a signal when outside the vehicle? ( I don't have a newer auto unit than the discontinued Quest, and seldome need/use it )
Experiment.

BabyDoc

Please clarify what you are asking. When you say you can't get a signal, are you referring to the FM TMC signal? Or are you not able to aquire a satellite signal?

Heat00

no, traffic is fine.
sat signal.
i moved it about an inch to the left and although now a little in the way of the ignition key, i think it's ok, or at least better.

just very strange how in the other spot (1 inch to right) it was fine for a few weeks until the exact time that they installed a new radio into the car. same factory bs, was under warranty and they had to swap it out.

I also just completed the software update as I occasionally had a freeze up/reboot.
do we know if this software update helps signal at all somehow?

Also, seemed to be worse when first starting car. early in teh day I had to unclip it and hold it at the window and then full bars, moved it back to clip and it would keep for a while.

also, it was very cloudy today. this probably sounds stupid, but just like my dish at home that loses signal when it's pouring,are these units affected by that?
does this mean everytime it rains I can't use nav lol ?

BabyDoc

Normally, I really haven't seen the weather affecting satellite aquisition much, except when the Nuvi is new aquiring satellite connection for the first time or with the following situations:

1. How long ago you last used your Nuvi. If days or weeks have gone by there will be a delay in satellite connections.
2. How far away are you from the place where you last aquired a satellite connection. If, for example, you take your Nuvi with you on an airplane to a city distant from your home where you last used the Nuvi, it will take quite a while for the Nuvi to connect when you first use it in the new location.

In both of the above cases, the atlas of satellite positions that your Nuvi created previously becomes useless. The Nuvi must recreate a new atlas, which often requires an unobstructed view of the sky and clear weather. Just like the first time you used your Nuvi, you may even need to place your Nuvi outside for it to reconnect. When the atlas is being rewritten, it is best that the Nuvi isn't even moving.

3. When the Nuvi is cold it will take longer to connect than when it is warm. According to the 1490's specs, the Nuvi will connect usually in less than 38 seconds when cold. When warm, under 3 seconds, provided you are in the same location where you last used your Nuvi and days have not elapsed since your last usage.

In your case it sounds like that car radio is giving off some RF which may be affecting your Nuvi's reception. Besides moving the Nuvi around in the car, you can try your Nuvi outside of the car. If after an initial satellite connection, you Nuvi isn't connecting within 10 seconds, you may have a problem with your particular Nuvi.
Even if the Nuvi is cold or hasn't been used for several hours, it should still connect in less than a minute.

Heat00

thanks much.

now after a day of testing, by moving it about 1/4" to the left, I think that small amount gives it a clear view and it seems to be fine now.

it's just annoying as it's almost touching the ignition key now... no biggie.

thanks for the detailed answers!

you guys and this forum have been great!

Heat00

ok so now I've been having problems. thats 2 units and both were fine until the update.

my unit was fine except for an occaisional reset, before the software update. now it's freaking out, sound going on and off (like 1st unit), showing that it's plugged into the computer while in the car lol...

all after the update.

Is there any way to go back?????????

BabyDoc

Actually, there is another update. Try it, v.3.70. It just came out last Thursday. Garmin reports very few improvements with this firmware upgrade, but sometimes they don't list all the changes.

Which map version are you running? Are you using city Xplorer? Sometimes, depending on the versions and the city, I have run into problems with these running in the background.

Talk to Garmin about your problem. I doubt that it has anything to do with the firmware upgrades. Other people are not reporting your problem. I would try your Garmin in another car, just to see if it is behaving in the same way.

Heat00

worth a shot. is 3.70 on their website? I didn't see it when I did the update over the weekend. perhaps 3.6 had to be in first?

The problem must be the update. 2 units now, both were fine until the day I did the update. cannot be by chance.

Is there any way to go backwards to the old version??

Heat00

i just went back to site and there is no evidence of 3.7. it said I'm up to date.

i did however find some other update in the software section that had 4 additional updates, 1 of them being a BT update. I installed and will try tomorrow.

if not, I guess I have to contact garmin on how to re-install original software version.

after 2 units, both were fine until the update, it has to be. it cannot be coincidence (sp?).

what a hastle.

i'm ready to give up on BT completely and just use it as a nav. it is more hastle then it's worth and even when working, its ok when stopped but with highway noise it's almost unusable.

zee

For older versions of most Garmins,"google" index of perry garmin--used to be under gpsinformation.org ( .net for the regular site ). Hate it, when I lose a lot of good site info, when my pc crashes.

Heat00

Will the unit even allow the uninstall of a newer software version?

BabyDoc

If webupdater says you are up to date, then you do have v. 3.70. You can check this by looking at your tools/settings/system/about.

There is no simple way to downgrade your firmware.
The problem with doing so will be that you will not be able to upgrade your Nuvi's maps. When you attempt a map upgrade, the system will force you to do the firmware upgrade.

Again, try your Nuvi in a different car to see if you are getting interference in only one car that may be causing the problem.

Check with Garmin's website to see if your phone is one of the supported phones. If not, disable your bluetooth to see if you are still getting the problem with the sound. One other thing you should watch for. If you have been on a bluetooth call, be sure that phone call is disconnected when it is over. Otherwise, your Garmin will stop giving you voice turn directions. This happened to me when my wife at home thought she ended the call with me when she really put me on hold to answer another call. I wasn't getting any more sound out of my Garmin until I noticed the telephone icon was still showing on my screen. I had to manually end the call myself.

If none of this works, call Garmin support. I can't imagine the problem you are having is related to the new firmware, unless you just don't have the newest bluetooth firmware (there were a few problems reported with older firmware).

Heat00

thanks again.

I have now just disabled the bt. it doesn't work great when it works anyways so I've given up.

it really is only a help for listening to messages... trying to carry a conversation while driving doesn't really work to well. it's not worth it as I end up having to take people off bluetooth on almost every call so forget about it.

Nav part is working great, moved the unit about 1/2" to the left and it gets clear signal all the time

I guess I will have to get one of those bt ear pieces for the car and just be done with it.

sviking

Yes, there is.

There is a very simple workaround. When you are "forced" to install a firmware upgrade when updating maps, it does NOT install the upgrade. All it does is load a file called "gupdate.gcd" to the Garmin folder. Let it "install" the update and the map update. When all is said and done, do NOT disconnect the GPS from the computer, turn it off, etc. Don't do anything to cause it to reboot because the next start-up is when it WILL install that file it copied to the GPS. After the update and before disconnecting, navigate to the folder and simply delete the gupdate.gcd file. That is the new firmware self-installing file and you do not want it if you want to stay at your current firmware level. Works like a charm. In fact, you don't need the gupdate.gcd file at all. Go ahead and delete if off your Nuvi right now. Back it up if you want, but it won't matter. It will start and run just the same as before. Once the firmware is installed, that file is just taking up space. So, by doing this, you will keep your current firmware yet have the new map update.