Garmin eTrex Touch 25 Glitches

[+cliptwings]

Yeah, I know, NEVER buy a new car it's first year out, and NEVER, EVER buy a new GPSr until the kinks are engineered out. Well, I still love my stupid car, and I really like my new Etrex Touch 25. But the glitches are really annoying! I've documented three of them with Garmin, but troubleshooting didn't help. I wanted to see if anyone else is going through the same thing. I'm on my second unit (God Bless REI), but the new one acts the same as the original.

 

First, when in the geocaching map screen, I touch the dashboard to get to the description, logs, hint, etc. That's all good, but when I touch the arrow to go back to the map screen, it slowly slides back to the description, log, hint screen, and the only way to get out of it is to turn it off and then on.

 

Second, it won't find Chirp transmitters. Tried several, including one of my own, and all it shows is "Searching..."

 

Third, When I upgraded the software from 2.6 to 2.7, the geocaching dashboard on the map screen disappears when I start navigating to a cache. Data is not corrupted.

 

Just wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing these or other glitches.

[+Red90]

Ummm. I'm pretty sure a 25 does not have ANT+ and thus can't do Chirp. You need a 35 for that.

 

http://garmin.blogs.com/my_weblog/2015/07/introducing-the-garmin-etrex-touch-25-35-and-35t-handheldsthe-first-ever-etrex-units-equipped-with-t.html#.Vg7XZvlVhBc

The eTrex 35 and 35t incorporate wireless ANT +™ connectivity to accessory sensors like heart rate monitors, the Tempe™ temperature sensor, Chirp™ geocaching beacon, or the cycling speed sensors and cadence sensors.

[+Red90]

On your first problem, make sure it is not a bad GPX file first. Delete all and then add a single cache that has a simple description.

[.MiFo.]

Yeah, I know, NEVER buy a new car it's first year out, and NEVER, EVER buy a new GPSr until the kinks are engineered out. Well, I still love my stupid car, and I really like my new Etrex Touch 25. But the glitches are really annoying! I've documented three of them with Garmin, but troubleshooting didn't help. I wanted to see if anyone else is going through the same thing. I'm on my second unit (God Bless REI), but the new one acts the same as the original.

 

First, when in the geocaching map screen, I touch the dashboard to get to the description, logs, hint, etc. That's all good, but when I touch the arrow to go back to the map screen, it slowly slides back to the description, log, hint screen, and the only way to get out of it is to turn it off and then on.

 

Second, it won't find Chirp transmitters. Tried several, including one of my own, and all it shows is "Searching..."

 

Third, When I upgraded the software from 2.6 to 2.7, the geocaching dashboard on the map screen disappears when I start navigating to a cache. Data is not corrupted.

 

Just wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing these or other glitches.

 

Yeah, I have almost the same experiences using this new etrex 35 touch, this I wrote to Garmin support today:

Please lets see this video describing my problem https://youtu.be/YXoz-MKXkKQ I notice that I have the same problem without using a protective film so thats not a reason of this problem. I think that it is propably some bug in firmware (I am using newest 2.7) because it is happening only time to time - not always. When it happen, only way how to exit it is shutdown the device and start it again. Thanks for reply,

 

- the field pressed in the video is not only when it can happen - it happened on the map screen using a geocaching bar too

 

Is it the same problem which you have described above?

[+cliptwings]

Thanks for the response, Red. Yup, it's got Chirp. If you go to garmin.com and look at compatible devices for the Chirp, the Touch 25 is one of them. Plus, Chirp is one of the menu items in geocaching setup. As far as the corrupt caches, I thought this was a problem too, so I loaded a few different ones and had the same result. I fixed the issue with a bad geocaching dashboard by reloading the update. That function works fine now.

[+Red90]

I suspect it is an error on Garmin's site. No ANT+, so it has no way to communicate with the Chirp. Pretty much impossible as there is no wireless hardware on the device.

Edited October 3, 2015 by Red90

[+Red90]

The only real differences between the 25 and the 35 is the barometer and the wireless (bluetooth and ANT+). Chirp is an ANT+ device.

Edited October 3, 2015 by Red90

[+MartyBartfast]

I suspect it is an error on Garmin's site. No ANT+, so it has no way to communicate with the Chirp. Pretty much impossible as there is no wireless hardware on the device.

 

I haven't got one but the online manual says "Your device can send and receive data when paired with another compatible device or smartphone using ANT+®", the manual also has a section describing how to enable and search for CHIRPs, also the fact that the OP can get to the point where the GPS says it's "Searching" for the CHIRP shows that it has the capability build in.

[+MartyBartfast]

It is a combined manual (as usual) but it doesn't identify which features aren't present on the '25 (at least as far as I can see), the list of ANT+ compatible devices elsewhere doesn't list the '25 but does the '30 & '35, so it sounds like maybe it's shipped with all the S/W & menu options but just doesn't have the H/W to support it - another quality release from Garmin

[+Red90]

I haven't got one but the online manual says "Your device can send and receive data when paired with another compatible device or smartphone using ANT+®", the manual also has a section describing how to enable and search for CHIRPs, also the fact that the OP can get to the point where the GPS says it's "Searching" for the CHIRP shows that it has the capability build in.

 

That is for the 35.

 

The two models use the same firmware. I'm guessing it is just an error in the programming to not turn that option off.

[+Red90]

Not looked at the manual but if it's for both models they'll be a disclaimer somewhere saying it doesn't apply to every model.

 

There is no disclaimer. Garmin made a real mess of this one.

[Pacific NW]

Just did the upgrade to the 2.70 firmware here on my eTrex Touch 25 this morning. Will keep my eyes open for any of those glitches. One thing I've noticed recently -- having installed a couple of new Energizer Lithium batteries, and selecting the "Lithium" battery choice in the setup menus, it seems as though the four-segment battery gauge has dropped to 1-2 bars very quickly. Not sure if that means it's a software issue re: not showing accurate levels (wish they would show voltage!), or if the batteries have truly discharged quite a bit over a short period of time. This was with minimal use over the last couple of weeks.

[+stardancer2]

I recently purchased an etrex touch 35. I cannot see how to get the "hint" on geocaches. And does anyone know why some geocaches are loaded on the unit and others are not?

[Pacific NW]

- To view the hint for a cache, you must be actively navigating to it (press the "Go" button on the screen when viewing the cache).

 

- The pre-loaded geocaches that came installed on the unit are part of the "GGZ" files, a Garmin proprietary file format. They don't contain every cache out there, and they aren't the most up to date, as they were loaded prior to the GPS unit being sold. When viewing the "GGZ" folder on your computer, if you want to get rid of these pre-loaeded caches, delete the files in the GGZ folder (but *not* the folder itself). Note: Before doing this, I highly suggest *backing up* the entire GPS drive/files to your computer.