Garmin ships 965 with bits of maps missing…yes, really
It seems that someone on the production line was off ill with Covid for a few days and the line manager forgot to cover their work.
The Garmin Forerunner 965 has been shipping to European customers with missing parts to the detailed road and trail network. I’ve included Garmin’s instructions to rectify this further below but they don’t give me the same screens that Garmin seem to expect I should see. I may have inadvertently corrected the missing maps myself a few days ago as I was fiddling with these settings.
Forerunner 965: Updating TopoActive Europe Maps
Garmin is aware of an issue where a small number of Forerunner 965 watches, manufactured for sale in the European market, shipped without the full TopoActive Europe map installed on the watch. You can correct this issue by following these steps:
IMPORTANT: The following steps will require the use of a Mac or Windows personal computer that has 12 GB of hard drive or solid-state drive space available.
- Download and install Garmin Express on your computer. See Related for more information on installing Garmin Express.
- Connect your Forerunner 965 to your computer using the included charging cable.
- Open Garmin Express and select Add a Device.
- When your watch is found select Add Device.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to add the watch to your account.
- Select Manage Maps.
- Select TopoActive from the left menu bar.
- Select Update to Latest Version under TopoActive Europe. (I don’t see this bit)
- Click Continue. Your maps will begin downloading.
- This process may take several hours depending on your internet connection speeds. Be sure to leave your watch plugged in during the download.
Once the map download is complete you will return to the home screen in Garmin Express. You may be prompted to complete other software updates on the watch.
To verify all your TopoActive Maps are up and visible on your watch:
- Open Garmin Express.
- Select your Forerunner 965.
- Select Manage Maps.
- Select TopoActive from the left menu bar.
- Select Change Region under TopoActive Europe.
- Select the dropdown.
You should see the following maps:
- TopoActive Europe
- Topo Active Europe – Central
- Topo Active Europe – East
- Topo Active Europe – West
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GE did all that itself the first time I plugged the watch into my PC, must admit I did wonder why there was such a big download day #1 at the time.
The 965 is a huge improvement over my experience getting a just released watch with the 645. It’s seems stable from the off unlike the old watch which took around 9 months before it became usable.
i agree
even so the zoomed in map detail is often pretty rubbish, especially on the trail
So it just needs an update…
or quality control
maps wouldn’t be updated via the phone tho. so…that’s a lot of people who wont have done it
I did the same, I was wondering why they didn’t install the maps (and being my 3rd Garmin, first with maps I was scared that that was the level of details of Garmin maps)
I got the same email from Garmin and as you mentioned too, I didn’t get the same messages as per their instruction. I don’t get the “Update Latest Version” instead just a change region option, where I have to select only one of the Europe regions. Meaning I can’t install them all and can only have one installed at a time. Do you know how you managed to fix yours? Thanks for any help!
oh
i just selected one region because i didn’t need the rest (and didn’t get the message you say). the new maps are larger maybe there are free space constraints on the watch?