20 Most Recent Garmin nuvi 205W GPS Receiver - Page 7 Questions & Answers

There is no way to unlock it unless you have the password. It is to prevent someone who steals it from using the gps. If you have registered the unit with Garmin and the unit is new they may be able to help. Most of the time the unit must be sent in to Garmin and returned to the registered owner. Here is the link to Garmin support, let me know how you made out with this.
Thanks for using FixYa
http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us/support/supportcontact

The maps are probably unselected or locked. You can find how to select the map at paragraph 5 of the link below or if you need to unlock them start at paragraph 2 of the same link.
http://www.fixya.com/support/r6197735-no_detailed_maps_found_support_routing

https://my.garmin.com/mygarmin/marketing/register.htm

If you're lucky, it's a software problem. I say "lucky" because if it is, you can probably fix it yourself for free. Here's how. Try this; you have nothing to lose:

You'll need a USB cable to connect the Garmin to your computer. With the Nuvi turned off, connect the USB cable. The Nuvi should automatically turn itself on in "computer" mode. Then go to http://www.garmin.com
On the website, first follow their directions to register your product if you didn't do that when you bought it. Then look for "Support" and follow their directions for updating your software.

Then give it a try. If it still doesn't work, there's a hardware problem, and you'll need to send it somewhere to get it repaired.

You can charge the battery by connecting the satnav to your computer with the mini USB lead for 8 hours with both turned on. You can also charge it by leaving the car charger connected to it and plugged into the cigarette lighter socket of your car for 4 hours. There must be power going to the cigarette lighter socket. On some cars power is always available at the socket but on others it is only available when the car engine is on.

Wait

When you unplug the charger from the satnav it shows a battery indicator on the top right of the screen that shows WHERE TO and VIEW MAP. If the indicator is fully green the satnav is fully charged.

Charging takes 4 hours approx if you charge it with the car charger or the mains charger. It takes approx 8 hours if you charge it with the USB port of your computer.

You can get the manual in adobe reader format from http://static.garmincdn.com/pumac/2675_OwnersManual.pdf

To change the language to French;

• Press TOOLS (The spanner symbol on the bottom right corner of the screen which shows WHERE TO and VIEW MAP) This may take some trial and error if you don't speak Japanese but should be possible)
  
• Press SETTINGS (The spanner icon) or LOCALE (the blue icon) on some models that don't have a settings menu)
• Press LANGUAGE (the lips icon)

This brings you to a screen with 3 items; VOICE, TEXT LANGUAGE and KEYBOARD. Press each one in turn and select Francais. With the VOICE setting you may have to select a name rather than Francais. If so select the name of a person from a French speaking country.

I hope this solves your problem.

With the satnav turned off press the bottom right corner of the screen and turn it on. This brings up an option to reset it. There may be an easier solution however that will not lose you your favourites etc. I presume the problem is that it's in a different language and you want it back to English. Resetting it will not do this. To get back to English;

• Press TOOLS (The spanner symbol on the bottom right corner of the screen which shows WHERE TO and VIEW MAP) This may take some trial and error if it's in a foreign language but should be possible)
  
• Press SETTINGS (The spanner icon) or LOCALE (the blue icon) on some models that don't have a settings menu)
• Press LANGUAGE (the lips icon)

This brings you to a screen with 3 items; VOICE, TEXT LANGUAGE and KEYBOARD. Press each one in turn and select English or American English if you're in the USA. With the VOICE setting you may have to select a name rather than English. If so select the name of a person from an English speaking country.

I hope this solves your problem.

It depends on the map you're updating and the connection speed you have. Mine takes betwen 3 and 4 hours to download the map of Europe which is around 4 Gb in size. It takes another 3 hours to install.

If it is not on the bottom left next to the blue menu button in center(see first page photo of manual) then I would try to reset you settings. touch tools, then settings, then restore then yes. It should restore back to original display(see pg 39 of manual) link attached. Somehow the display view was changed.
I have attached a link to the owners manual if you would like to verify. Thanks for using FixYa.

http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/2675_OwnersManual.pdf

Sometimes the satnav goes into mass storage mode, when plugged into the charger, and shows the unit connected to a computer because the charger plug is not pushed in fully to the back of the satnav. It appears to be fully in but it's not. Pushing it in further may solve the problem.

Welcome to Fixya

Sorry but this unit does not have any bluetooth capability. There are no availalbe add ons or peripherals available in the market that you need to connect to the device to have it bluetooth capable.

Thank you for using Fixya! If you need further help, reach me via phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/elixirjose_00375ea24bd8141b

Your satnav needs to be calibrated. You can find details of how to calibrate it at https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={d22b8e50-1837-11dc-70f0-000000000000}

You can download copy of the user manual for this GPS unit from this link, just click HERE.

You can try a master reset

With unit off, press and hold the bottom right hand corner of the screen, keep holding this and turn the unit on, hold it for 10 more seconds and the unit should say do you really want to wipe all user data.

The slot is for a microSD memory card (or an SD card on some models). To add a space between words, press the on-screen key that looks like a sideways square bracket (or underscore with two vertical tabs). It is to the right of the M (at least on the English version of the keypad).

The memory card will let you store more POI and routes than the internal memory can support. Then when full, you can just put in another microSD card for more memory.

The manuals for the Garmin nuvi 205w are available here: http://www8.garmin.com/products/manual.jsp?product=010-00718-40 .

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

Hello,

Unfortunately there are no free updates for Garmin devices they will all come at a cost. 54.95 for a Onetime Updates or you can pay 89.95 for a subscription to updates for your Garmin device. I usually recommend getting the subscription if you plan on keeping the unit 2-3 years.

Hope this helps!

Make sure that your 205 is fully charged and that the usb cable is plugged directly into a usb port on your computer and not thru a usb hub.
Thanks for using FixYa