# Garmin Edge 305 Power Button Problems



## Cooch (Aug 24, 2006)

Ok, I've had my Edge 305 for three years now and it's been faultless! :thumbsup: I've been super happy with it and would have to say it's the best training aid I've ever owned. I use it for both road and mtb extensively.

I've searched hi and low in these forums and have read about HRM issues etc. But nothing about the 'Power Button'

*Here's my issue: The Power Button seems to have failed, or the little pin/button underneath the rubber cover has broken or something. I'm unable to either turn the unit on or turn it off. It just doesn't work at all....*

I've contacted Garmin Support and they say send the unit in for a $100+ repair - with no guarantee that it will be able to be repaired...

Has anyone else had this issue? Is there an easy fix?


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## ajft (Apr 19, 2010)

Cooch said:


> Ok, I've had my Edge 305 for three years now and it's been faultless! :thumbsup: I've been super happy with it and would have to say it's the best training aid I've ever owned. I use it for both road and mtb extensively.
> 
> I've searched hi and low in these forums and have read about HRM issues etc. But nothing about the 'Power Button'
> 
> ...


Yes, other people have had this fault. No there is no easy fix.

The switches on the Edge 305 and 705 are tiny surface mount (SMT) switches soldered directly to the circuit board. Turning the unit on and off pushes against the entire switch body and it can break the solder connections and rip off the circuit board. If this happens when you're out of warranty then Garmin gets $110 richer to fix it.

It is possible to solder it back on, but it is _not_ easy. You will need a T8 (I think) torx driver (or a very small flat blade screw driver) to unscrew the case if you wish to proceed.

Photo below shows the switch half-ripped off my 705 (it's been hard to turn on and off for about three months, finally stopped working last week)


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## CheapWhine (Dec 16, 2005)

They will probably "repair" your unit by shipping you a refurbished one. I had problems (well out of warranty) and sent mine in for repair and got a different one back. It was in good condition and has worked without problems since then. I think replacement is their standard policy, but I have been pleased with the replacement unit. Replacement is probably better anyway since you will get a new battery too (rather than just fixing the broken switch).

Unless you are good a soldering and then resealing the whole case to maintain its water resistance, you should either send it in for service or break down and buy a new one. It is much cheaper to go the service route if you are happy with the capabilities of the 305.


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## ajft (Apr 19, 2010)

CheapWhine said:


> They will probably "repair" your unit by shipping you a refurbished one. I had problems (well out of warranty) and sent mine in for repair and got a different one back. It was in good condition and has worked without problems since then. I think replacement is their standard policy, but I have been pleased with the replacement unit. Replacement is probably better anyway since you will get a new battery too (rather than just fixing the broken switch).


Yep, $186AU for a refurbished unit (for a 705). I had my 305 replaced twice, once under warranty when it fell out of the bracket and shattered on the road after hitting a speed-bump, once out-of-warranty when something else buggered on it. Then I lost it and replaced it with a 705, now its gone and died just out of warranty too.

Amazing that i've got a couple of $30 cheapy bike computers that are ten years old and still work fine, but a $600 "bicycle GPS" seems to be so fragile and short lived



CheapWhine said:


> Unless you are good a soldering and then resealing the whole case to maintain its water resistance, you should either send it in for service or break down and buy a new one. It is much cheaper to go the service route if you are happy with the capabilities of the 305.


Sealing it is simple, the seal is a long rubber o-ring around the circumference. Finding a decent soldering friend of a friend wasn't too hard either, and after fifteen minutes work I've got an operational 705 and saved myself paying $186 to keep a 14 month old $600 GPS working again until one of the crap little switches bust off the circuit board again.


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## Cooch (Aug 24, 2006)

Hey all, thanks for all the commets and getting back to me. Like AJFT my thinking was the same (must be an Aussie thing), my $30 bike computer goes years, but the buttom on my 2 year old expensive Garmin frizzles out.

Anyway, I pulled the case open to diagnose whether the SMT switch thingy was snapped off or bent or what??? I was lucky, the switch hadn't snapped off, but rather was bent slightly down. I gently bent it back with a micro flat blad screwdriver.

Wasn't sure how this fix was going to work, so put the case back together, but didn't reseal it with glue. I have two powerful rubber bands holding it together in case the switch bends again or snaps off. It's been running well now since I pretty much posted this message, in fact the button feels better than new. There is real 'feel' to the switch on and off now. 

I think I'll seal up the case pretty soon as I'm confident it's all good.

Cheers and thanks everyone!


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