# Terrible experience with new Garmin Edge 820



## Millbilly (Aug 4, 2008)

I'm curious if my experience is typical, or if Garmin is just going to crap. 

Came home yesterday from the LBS with a new 820 Edge bundle. The primary reason I got it was for nativating new routes or on long rides that I don't know well enough to do on memory. I have been using my iphone for this, but wet conditions, battery life, breaking phones in crashes, etc made me think a dedicated GPS would be a better way to go.

Out of the box I'm downloading the app for my phone to sync with and that has been working fine, but the Garmin Express computer app and Garmin Connect website have been terrible for me. Not to mention... why do I need 3 applications to run this thing? Garmin Express required a software update that took 2 hrs, then crashed and took another hour to complete. 

Garmin Connect won't upload any of my GPX files. I tried this on another computer and had the same result (both Mac and PC). Found one tip online to convert the GPX to TXP, so I tried that and got the same error. I tried with both routes I created as well as some files I found online that were created by others. Doesn't work either way.

Then I gave up on uploading routes and re-created a route I was trying to upload on Garmin connect and saved it, but now it won't sync to the Edge 820. I tried everything I could think of. Restarts, the unit says it is synced, but none of the routes "courses" save to the 820.

I'm super frustrated after spending a bunch of time and money on this thing and can't get it to work. Seems like it shouldn't be this difficult.
I've had a number of other Garmin products over the years and I know the Garmin connect site can be shaky sometimes, but it's never been this bad. Not sure where I will go from here ... I really don't want to keep it if it doesn't do what they advertise it to..

Any products out there that are better for nav and logging rides?

I appreciate any feedback if there's something obvious I'm doing wrong here.


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## LargeMan (May 20, 2017)

Have you contacted Garmin?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Okay, so it sounds like your problem is not with the Edge 820 itself, but with Garmin's software.

Which means it's relevant information what phone and what computer you're trying to use.

My computer's pretty old at this point (about a decade, but still enough oomph to run Win 10), but Express works fine.

Further, the Edge 820 produces .fit files.

There are a pile of options for alternatives, though. You'll need to brush up on how to navigate your Garmin like a usb drive, though. None will work as seamlessly as a properly set-up Express/Connect installation.


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## NordieBoy (Sep 26, 2004)

It's got WiFi, it should be able to upload the files itself.


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## Millbilly (Aug 4, 2008)

Thanks for the replies everyone, I will keep trying. 

I did manage to upload the course I created on Garmin Connect to my 820 from my phone. I still haven't been able to pull GPX files into the connect web application though. I've tried to different versions of windows (incl Windows 10) and on my Mac using latests version of OS and Safari. Might be more function of the web browser than the OS.

Still it should not be such a PITA to get GPX files onto the device. I plan to contact 
Garmin as well and let them know my experience.

Cheers


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Millbilly said:


> Thanks for the replies everyone, I will keep trying.
> 
> I did manage to upload the course I created on Garmin Connect to my 820 from my phone. I still haven't been able to pull GPX files into the connect web application though. I've tried to different versions of windows (incl Windows 10) and on my Mac using latests version of OS and Safari. Might be more function of the web browser than the OS.
> 
> ...


You're doing something wrong if you can't get a simple program to install. Express is not massive. It's a pretty simple/basic program. Which browser? What kind of internet connection are you working with? How reliable is it?


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

I'm not quite sure what kinds of files you're trying to put on the Garmin: old activities? Courses? Workouts? 

I've never had much luck uploading anything to Garmin Connect except completed activity files (.fit, .gpx, or .tcx). Courses or routes or anything else just don't recognized. So I don't bother. I've I want to build a course, I use Strava or Trailforks route builder from their respective websites. Then I export that course file as a .tcx or .gpx to my computer which I then "manually" move over to the garmin via USB computer connection.

the proper protocol for dropping a .gpx or .tcx or .fit of a course onto my Edge 510 is to put that file in the "New Files" folder under the Garmin directory of the unit when hooked to the PC via USB. Then upon the next bootup of the Garmin, it will process that file and turn it into a course and put it in the right place on the device. That step is not intuitive and not mentioned in any manual, so yeah Garmin does not make things as intuitive as they should/could be.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

ewarnerusa said:


> I'm not quite sure what kinds of files you're trying to put on the Garmin: old activities? Courses? Workouts?
> 
> I've never had much luck uploading anything to Garmin Connect except completed activity files (.fit, .gpx, or .tcx). Courses or routes or anything else just don't recognized. So I don't bother. I've I want to build a course, I use Strava or Trailforks route builder from their respective websites. Then I export that course file as a .tcx or .gpx to my computer which I then "manually" move over to the garmin via USB computer connection.
> 
> the proper protocol for dropping a .gpx or .tcx or .fit of a course onto my Edge 510 is to put that file in the "New Files" folder under the Garmin directory of the unit when hooked to the PC via USB. Then upon the next bootup of the Garmin, it will process that file and turn it into a course and put it in the right place on the device. That step is not intuitive and not mentioned in any manual, so yeah Garmin does not make things as intuitive as they should/could be.


Yeah, I've done this same basic process, except I tend to build my courses from RideWithGPS, which provides the how-to instructions.

I think part of why Garmin doesn't provide detailed instructions for the process is that it depends in some respects on how you create the file and where you get it from. So the instructions from one website won't necessarily be exactly the same as those from another. Garmin's manuals also tend to be pretty generic outside from the basic setup process for each device, and the processes to do certain things vary enormously from one device to the next. For example, ewarnerusa's Edge 510 is pretty different from my Edge 520, which has some differences with the Edge 820. Compare these to an old Edge 305 and the differences get pretty enormous. Most of the time, the processes to accomplish certain things get published online somewhere fairly soon after the device is released. Sometimes that place is here, but it depends on who's buying the devices. We've got a really awesome thread here about installing maps on an Edge 520, because someone here who's pretty knowledgeable took the time to put that information together after buying the device fairly early in its life cycle. Some devices have full wiki pages dedicated to more advanced functionality. But it's pretty much all user created content.


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## Millbilly (Aug 4, 2008)

Harold said:


> You're doing something wrong if you can't get a simple program to install. Express is not massive. It's a pretty simple/basic program. Which browser? What kind of internet connection are you working with? How reliable is it?


I wasn't having a problem getting Express to install on my computer. It installed fine. What it doesn't do is sync "courses" (routes) onto the GPS when it syncs with Garmin connect.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Millbilly said:


> I wasn't having a problem getting Express to install on my computer. It installed fine. What it doesn't do is sync "courses" (routes) onto the GPS when it syncs with Garmin connect.


Just drag & drop the file onto your GPS like it's a usb thumb drive. Crisis averted.

Not sure why your courses are in .gpx format, either. Courses should be in .tcx format. If you're using .gpx files, you're not using a Course and its associated bonus features, anyway. You're just following a track.


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## Millbilly (Aug 4, 2008)

ewarnerusa said:


> I'm not quite sure what kinds of files you're trying to put on the Garmin: old activities? Courses? Workouts?


I tried all of the above without success.



ewarnerusa said:


> I've never had much luck uploading anything to Garmin Connect except completed activity files (.fit, .gpx, or .tcx). Courses or routes or anything else just don't recognized. So I don't bother. I've I want to build a course, I use Strava or Trailforks route builder from their respective websites. Then I export that course file as a .tcx or .gpx to my computer which I then "manually" move over to the garmin via USB computer connection.
> 
> the proper protocol for dropping a .gpx or .tcx or .fit of a course onto my Edge 510 is to put that file in the "New Files" folder under the Garmin directory of the unit when hooked to the PC via USB. Then upon the next bootup of the Garmin, it will process that file and turn it into a course and put it in the right place on the device. That step is not intuitive and not mentioned in any manual, so yeah Garmin does not make things as intuitive as they should/could be.


Thanks.. this is the tip I needed. I will try that tonight. Seems like pretty poor form on Garmin's part to have this web application for uploading GPX files that doesn't work, but then also doesn't bother to provide the workaround.

Hopefully I will get over the initial frustration and end up liking the thing.


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

The only thing Garmin Connects expects to be uploaded are completed activity files. I have never had an issue doing that. But what you can't do is upload courses or workouts or anything other than an activity log. If you want to use GC to push a course to your device via the mobile app, then I think you have to build it with GC's course building tool on the website and save it on GC. Then the GC mobile app will see it as well and you can use its bluetooth connection with the Edge unit to push it over wirelessly.

I prefer using other websites like Strava or Trailforks as I mentioned to build courses. Harold mentioned doing it with ridewithgps. Then you export the .tcx file from those websites and manually load it on to the Garmin as I described. That course will then show up on your Edge unit, but GC will never see it.


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## skipnay (May 8, 2012)

Any updates on this? Also thinking about getting the bundle 820...


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## SSNut (Jun 6, 2011)

I ran a Garmin 230 (running watch) for a year where the software constantly broke it. They finally got it sorted out about a year into patches..... Sadly, this looks to be the same type of thing. It's why I am worried about buying a replacement Garmin of any # when my existing 510 finally dies.


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

Nothing has been updated as far as I'm aware. GC mobile app will still only push courses built from GC website tool via Bluetooth to the Edge. But you can build a course or route with other online tools like Strava or Trailforks or ridewithgps and drop that .tcx or .gpx or .fit file into the New files folder in the Edge file directory. The Edge will process that file on the next boot up and make it available for use.


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## Millbilly (Aug 4, 2008)

skipnay said:


> Any updates on this? Also thinking about getting the bundle 820...


After using for a month or so now I'd say it works, but it's a bit clunky. I have the 820 bundle and the sensors that come with it connect reliably to the GPS, but the Bluetooth connection to my phone fails regularly and you have to use the computer to upload files. I used live track on a big ride all last week and that connection is also buggy and not super reliable. I think it might be that if you lose cell service the connection gets lost.

I'm still learning to navigate through the menus to get the views I want. It takes a while to learn and seems like there should be a more options to customize the display than I have found so far.


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