# New Garmin 510 SW update is REALLY bad



## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

Holy crap!

Had been having problems with my 510 for quite some time.

They kept telling me the next update will fix everything (it never does).

Now the latest update can't even be installed onto my Garmin because it says there is no room.

It has 0 activities on it, 0 saved courses, nothing, nada.

I know it does not have any activities because I deleted them previously and today's ride recorded, then "uploaded" to my phone. I say that because the new iphone app says it uploaded, but there is nothing there. I know it recorded the ride and saved the ride, but it is no longer on the device and it is not in garmin connect or strava.

What a cluster. 

Back on the phone in the morning.

UGH.


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## hey_poolboy (Jul 16, 2012)

Thanks for the heads up. My 510 is working fine, but I'm a couple revs behind on firmware. Thought about updating, but looks like I'll wait.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

OK, rummaging around on google I found a solution to the problem:

(First, if you are not having problems, then don't update the unit.)

Go in to the "text" folder and copy them over to your hard drive. Then delete the ones you don't need (English is the default so these are only overlays if you don't use English.) Make sure you empty your trash after deleting them (long story, don't ask).

Then you have enough free space to do the update. 

After the updater runs you need to disconnect from the computer and start the unit.

After the update is finished you can put the files back into the text folder if you want, mine *seems* to be working without them, at least it loaded and did not give me an error.


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## hey_poolboy (Jul 16, 2012)

Should work fine w/o them. I removed them shortly after I got mine and it's worked fine.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

Having spent the last 24 years in tech I am stunned that a consumer products company would release an update that cannot be installed. Total QA failure.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

austin_bike said:


> Having spent the last 24 years in tech I am stunned that a consumer products company would release an update that cannot be installed. Total QA failure.


Garmin released an update for the Edge 705 about 5yrs ago that totally bricked mine. I won't install new firmware updates as soon as they're available anymore. But that's not a big deal, since the models I use are out of the update cycle now they're old enough.

I think the market is ripe for competition against Garmin. I'm just not seeing good, viable competition yet. Most of what I'm seeing from other companies trying to compete with similar models is just as buggy as Garmin's stuff, but they seem far less prone to fix the problems through firmware updates. Even if Garmin releases terrible updates at times, it's still better than not even trying to fix the problems.

Maybe startup costs are too high for companies trying to enter competition in the same marketplace. I'm curious about the new Lezyne models. They've got the hardware in them for GPS tracking and all, but their software is dead simple. Which is where the problems arise. Put a bunch of fancy functions into the software and you introduce potential for bugs. I sort of hope that it's a new approach to introducing some competition by starting at the very basic and adding software features and complexity later


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

I need to look into linking my 510 directly to strava and cutting out the garmin connect app altogether. I no longer need it and it is just one more layer of complexity and frustration.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

austin_bike said:


> I need to look into linking my 510 directly to strava and cutting out the garmin connect app altogether. I no longer need it and it is just one more layer of complexity and frustration.


Can't be done through the phone. However, if you scrap wireless uploading altogether, you can plug your GPS into a computer with a USB cord and manually upload to Strava's website. Just make sure you do not have Garmin Express on your computer.


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

My 510 works great and I've always updated firmware as soon as a new one is available. I'm on 4.32 beta right now. All features work as advertised, except Live Segments.

But on the Garmin 510 forums you read about the OP issue all the time. Besides the suggestion of deleting the text files, the other usual culprit is that the user is using a Mac computer. In that case, the key is when your Edge is hooked to the Mac via USB you need to empty the trash after deleting all the desired files. Apparently the Mac creates a hidden folder in the drive directory and that is where it puts all your deleted files. IF you don't empty the trash, that hidden folder remains on the disc and you haven't actually freed up any room.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

Harold said:


> Can't be done through the phone. However, if you scrap wireless uploading altogether, you can plug your GPS into a computer with a USB cord and manually upload to Strava's website. Just make sure you do not have Garmin Express on your computer.


That just TOTALLY defeats the wireless update feature, which is the main reason I updated to a 510. I feel as though Garmin built a crappy product and has been blaming it on buggy software that will get fixed with the "next version" in order to keep people from demanding their money back. I am now beyond the 1 year point on this madness and they still have a flawed product. I just wish there was a better alternative on the market.


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## jonshonda (Apr 21, 2011)

I have been happy w/ my 510 and wireless uploads. Wireless uploads saves a lot of time for me.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

austin_bike said:


> That just TOTALLY defeats the wireless update feature, which is the main reason I updated to a 510. I feel as though Garmin built a crappy product and has been blaming it on buggy software that will get fixed with the "next version" in order to keep people from demanding their money back. I am now beyond the 1 year point on this madness and they still have a flawed product. I just wish there was a better alternative on the market.


Seriously? You EXPECT Garmin's product to do wireless uploads without using its own software? Talk about entitled.

That's not up to Garmin to figure out. That's up to the third party companies out there with competing services. Garmin may be holding back on important aspects of that communication protocol to keep a competitive advantage, I dunno. Maybe they'll release it. Maybe not. I'm not holding my breath.

My Forerunner 310XT ONLY offers wireless uploads. And only via ANT+, at that. It ONLY works with Garmin Express. Nothing else. Either Garmin isn't letting anyone else work with it, or nobody else cares. It's quite a pain in the ass, to be honest. I WISH I could use a data cable. But that wasn't something I was thinking about when I bought it. Before Express, when things were handled through ANT Agent, uploads were not automatic, but Strava's website could use ANT Agent. Once Express came out, I began having problems with ANT Agent. I uninstalled it and just went with Express. It's still a pain sometimes. But I suffer through my first world problems like a big boy.

Express is mostly easier. All I do is plug my GPS into the charger or turn it on, the computer detects it, it uploads to Garmin Connect via Express, and then Connect communicates to Strava and my data appears over there usually less than a minute after it shows up on Connect. I do one thing. My computer does the rest.

Uploading through the phone would be nice when I was out on a long trip and wouldn't plan on being back to get the data off of the device for awhile. Gotta clear up memory if the trip is long enough. But it's not a deal breaker by any means. I have a trusty handheld (which I finally replaced) that handles long trips a lot better, even though it doesn't support my wheel sensor for more accurate distance measurements.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

Harold said:


> Seriously? You EXPECT Garmin's product to do wireless uploads without using its own software? Talk about entitled.


No, I am not entitled and that is not what I asked for.

I bought the 510 to replace a 500, mostly because it had the ability to upload wirelessly.

If Garmin does not have the ability to actually make this feature (that they advertise) work, then I was asking if there was another way to do it.

Entitled would be Garmin offering a product with a feature, and then when the feature does not work telling the customer, "oh well, maybe in the future, you're stuck with this." That would be entitled (to my money).

All I was asking for was my device to work as they told me it would. That is not entitlement, that is simply asking for them to deliver on their promises.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

It is entitled to expect there to be 3rd party software that does what you want. I find bluetooth to be flaky at best so hearing reports like yours does not surprise me.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

I never said I expected it, I merely said I needed to look into it. Please stop inferring that I am making demands or acting entitled. 

There is nothing wrong with trying to find options when garmin's product isn't doing what it is supposed to be doing.


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## J-Flo (Apr 23, 2012)

I recently upgraded from Edge 510 firmware 3.0 to 4.3. 

I haven't upgraded in more than a year because of bad experience with prior upgrades causing lost rides. 

Two weeks ago I wanted to learn how to use the "course" feature to follow a route. I needed this because I was headed up into the Sierra leading a small group over a long ride and the route we wanted to follow is mostly unsigned. I followed all the instructions, and it seemed pretty easy. Then when I went to use it, the 510 said the course was unreadable and temporarily bricked itself. After about 10 minutes it finally started working again, and we managed to find our way without help from the 510. (I had printed out a map and instructions.) 

This mini-cluster-fubar made me think I needed to update the firmware. So I did. Or thought I did. First it wouldn't upload, so I copied and deleted all the activities. Then it said it worked, but it didn't. So I tried it again, same deal, and it worked. Miraculously, it did not delete my bike profiles and history this time (unlike prior updates).

Even more miraculously, after my next ride I went to upload to Strava (which I have been doing by connecting to my Mac then manually finding the file on the device, since the plugin no longer works and I could never get auto-uploading to work), and it said my ride was already uploaded. Somehow the 510 had already uploaded my ride, apparently via the Bluetooth link to my iPhone which never had worked before. Anyhow, it is cool, even though this company is about 10 cards short of a full deck when it comes to software quality.

The other nice thing about the new firmware is that I can now adjust brightness on the screen without it taking forever. It used to take 10 seconds for each incremental click of screen brightness to register, now it works. Maybe the course function will work now too.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

austin_bike said:


> That just TOTALLY defeats the wireless update feature, which is the main reason I updated to a 510. I feel as though Garmin built a crappy product and has been blaming it on buggy software that will get fixed with the "next version" in order to keep people from demanding their money back. I am now beyond the 1 year point on this madness and they still have a flawed product. I just wish there was a better alternative on the market.





austin_bike said:


> I never said I expected it, I merely said I needed to look into it. Please stop inferring that I am making demands or acting entitled.
> 
> There is nothing wrong with trying to find options when garmin's product isn't doing what it is supposed to be doing.


What about that post I'm quoting above isn't making demands? Yeah, Garmin's software sucks. It always has. With software becoming increasingly important to run certain functions, some people (ahem) are only just now realizing that Garmin sucks at software. But some of those functions require Garmin's software and ONLY Garmin's software.

You're welcome to go buy something else, but IME, every company out there making bike/fitness GPS receivers sucks donkey testicles at something. Even smartphones.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

My statement, which you quoted, is:

I just wish there was a better alternative on the market.

I am not making demands, I was hoping for an alternative.


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## willtsmith_nwi (Jan 1, 1970)

I had an update about a month ago. The unit basically did a total reset. Initially all my profiles were gone, they came back ... kinda ...

In any case, I sorted it out ... repaired it to my phone and it works fine now. It was inconvenient. Garmin certainly needs to do a better job testing it's firmware. But I'll never mount my smartphone to my handlebars.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

I had found that completely wiping the app off my phone and reinstalling it helped somewhat. Re-pair the phone with the Garmin. And then the latest app update has fixed some annoyances, it is vaguely less flaky.

However I still find that at ~12 miles I get the "phone disconnected"/"phone connected" that seems to cycle for 3-5 times before it stops. I don't do live tracking so I don't really care about that, but that would lead me to believe that the issues may be in the bluetooth chipset for the Garmin. 

Recently updated to the Iphone 6S and all of the problems persisted (did a fresh install and re-pair there). Pretty confident that it is not the phone as I have seen this with multiple phones at this point.


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## NoahColorado (Aug 3, 2004)

My 510 has fully shat the bed. I did an update about a month ago because I wanted to check out the Live Segments feature, what a mistake. For weeks that feature seemed not to work, then all of the sudden it would start beeping all the time alerting me there was a segment coming up - like ALL THE TIME. Then it would alert me I was off segment, etc. The beeping was drove me crazy. I turned off that feature on Strava, but my unit kept at it. Then, one day last week it started going crazy again: beep, beep, beep, then all the sudden beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Then it froze. Now it won't load past the "Loading profiles...." page. I can't turn it off, only reset it by holding down the power button.

I looked online and tried a variety of things, forcing it into mass storage, master resets, updating software, etc. Still, it won't load anything. I've deleted activities, .fit files, and segments and emptied my trash before disconnecting.

Pretty annoyed. Any more suggestions? Pretty close to just buying an Edge 20 or trying another brand. I need a GPS to track ride data for work....and of course race my friends on Strava. 

I'm on a Mac, BTW.


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

My 510 took a pretty good dump a few months back. All the data fields were all messed up. Called Garmin and they had me reformat the unit just like any other drive. It fixed all my issues. Thing is, I had to use a Windows machine to do it.


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## JMUSuperman (Jun 14, 2008)

NoahColorado said:


> My 510 has fully shat the bed. I did an update about a month ago because I wanted to check out the Live Segments feature, what a mistake. For weeks that feature seemed not to work, then all of the sudden it would start beeping all the time alerting me there was a segment coming up - like ALL THE TIME. Then it would alert me I was off segment, etc. The beeping was drove me crazy. I turned off that feature on Strava, but my unit kept at it. Then, one day last week it started going crazy again: beep, beep, beep, then all the sudden beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Then it froze. Now it won't load past the "Loading profiles...." page. I can't turn it off, only reset it by holding down the power button.
> 
> I looked online and tried a variety of things, forcing it into mass storage, master resets, updating software, etc. Still, it won't load anything. I've deleted activities, .fit files, and segments and emptied my trash before disconnecting.
> 
> ...


I had a similar issue with a previous firmware update. I solved it by reformatting the device. On a Mac you plug your Garmin in, and open Disc Utility. Reformat it using "MS-DOS (FAT)". After you reformat use Garmin Express to reinstall the firmware. When you use your Garmin again it'll be like turning it on for the first time ever.


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## NoahColorado (Aug 3, 2004)

JMUSuperman said:


> I had a similar issue with a previous firmware update. I solved it by reformatting the device. On a Mac you plug your Garmin in, and open Disc Utility. Reformat it using "MS-DOS (FAT)". After you reformat use Garmin Express to reinstall the firmware. When you use your Garmin again it'll be like turning it on for the first time ever.


Thanks so much! This worked! I was close to buying a Cyber Monday deal on a Edge 500, money saved!


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## bloodninja (Jul 11, 2012)

NoahColorado said:


> My 510 has fully shat the bed. I did an update about a month ago because I wanted to check out the Live Segments feature, what a mistake. For weeks that feature seemed not to work, then all of the sudden it would start beeping all the time alerting me there was a segment coming up - like ALL THE TIME. Then it would alert me I was off segment, etc. The beeping was drove me crazy.


God, that is fricking annoying. Same thing is happening to me. I cancelled Strava premium since Live Segments sucks, and it still happens. I need to figure out how to turn it off on my Garmin.


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

To disable live segments, turn on the Edge 510, select folder icon, select Live Segments, select Edit Multiple, select disable all.

That's going from memory. I don't have my Edge in front of me. Mine are all disabled.


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## bloodninja (Jul 11, 2012)

ewarnerusa said:


> To disable live segments, turn on the Edge 510, select folder icon, select Live Segments, select Edit Multiple, select disable all.
> 
> That's going from memory. I don't have my Edge in front of me. Mine are all disabled.


Thank you!

EDIT: It worked! Hallelujah, no more beeping.


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## seandm (Mar 18, 2004)

ewarnerusa said:


> To disable live segments, turn on the Edge 510, select folder icon, select Live Segments, select Edit Multiple, select disable all.
> 
> That's going from memory. I don't have my Edge in front of me. Mine are all disabled.


Thanks. That feature is totally worthless and annoying. Always says your off segment.


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

*New Garmin 510 SW update is REALLY GOOD(?)*

There is a new update for firmware 4.40 for the 510. While I've been fortunate to not have issues with other updates, this one seems to have improved things on the live segment tracking end. I've enabled a handful and so far I am 2 for 2 success on a live segment track on segments that nearly always failed before. I've read other similar experiences as well as far as live track improvement. Others reporting better battery life and shorter delays before uploading, but I haven't noticed that (yet).


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## seandm (Mar 18, 2004)

Even with the latest update to 4.40 my garmin freezes quite often to where I have to do a master reset. Also it still says i am off segment all the time. I have even tried turning of live segment tracking to only have it stop tracking my movement.


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

That is definitely some bizarre behavior seandm. Is you memory full or near full? How many segments are enabled? Have you ever tried a master reset? Has it always acted that way? Not that I have any idea how to fix things. I would just suggest regular housekeeping like backup and then purge all of your old activities off of your Edge. Then make a back up of all your settings and do a master reset. Then load your settings back onto the device by dropping them into the "New Files" folder. Or just manually set it back up the way you like, but that is tedious.


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## seandm (Mar 18, 2004)

Yes, I have done all of that. Now my HR monitor isn't even seen by the unit. Real irritating to say the least.

On the bright side, with the 4.40 update the live segments is working alot better.


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## nowlan (Apr 21, 2009)

I came on here to make a thread about my Edge 510, and found this so I my as well post my comment here.

My device wont save all rides. Its happened about 10 times in the past few months, ive done the factory reset, and keep up with all the updates. Its very frustrating.

It will say, upload failed. And if I go to last ride, it will just stay on last ride. If I go into all rides, the ride will be in there but cant be selected. 

Frustrating.


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