Tried to turn on the 800 yesterday… nothing. Tried to charge it up today… also nothing.

It’s not seen any rain recently so it’s not water damage, and last time I used it there were no problems. I just switched it off, same as always. I’ve not done any firmware updates recently (or possibly ever).

The obvious assumption would be the battery, but is there anything I’m missing?

If it’s the battery, anyone know how much Garmin charge to replace? Looks like third party batteries are £10-20 and I’m guessing it’s not a hard home replacement, but any recommendations for specific batteries that are unlikely to explode? 🙂

Checked the cable and charger and all that? Might just be out of charge and if your cable is dead then that would explain it.

I don’t know about battery replacement, but when I asked about fixing a smashed screen on my 800 they said it wasn’t possible, but did me a full crash replacement type thing for about £70. They were pretty good once you got through on the phone (took about 1/2 an hour to get through though, be patient).

Yup, charger is fine and I’ve tried two cables. Cheers.

Thinking abut it, if you do get completely stuck I still have my 800 sitting about doing nothing after I got one of the Aldi 810s. Message me and I’m sure we can sort something out.

Thanks, I’ll bear that in mind.

Sometimes they come back after an overnight charging session.

Don’t they have a master reset button that you need a pin for? I’m sure I did this on one of mine (think it was the 800) when it bricked itself. Sorted it out

Power device off.
Press and hold Lap/Reset and Start/Stop.
Power device on while still holding both buttons.
Continue holding buttons when the Garmin “splash” screen appears.
Release buttons when Garmin “splash” screen disappears.

No pin hole – you do the above instead

Thanks. I went through the motions just to check, but the snag is where it says “power the device on”. That ain’t happening. It’s not bricked, it’s just not powering up at all.

Well… Apparently it just wanted to be left alone for a week. Back up and running now.

My Garmin 800 has been poorly too. Had it a few years now and still not over impressed with it as a riding tool. Hard to read maps on screen. Despite locking the device on a ride it still sometimes turns off on rides. The UK map card it came with now doesn’t work as the contact has corroded. I now just use it to record routes and heart rate, rarely have I used it as a navigation tool as that’s too much faff. I’m not sure what I will finally replace it with. Either a larger more durable device that is actually useful for navigation or a much smaller and lighter route and heart rate recording device. I don’t think I will waste money on the new version of the 800.

For future info, when my 800 died I think it was about £80 to get a refurbed unit. They don’t do things like battery replacement so whatever the problem you get a refurb one back for the same cost.

I still like my 800, I’ve got friends who find the 810 more buggy. Still waiting for the perfect device.

Mine’s all over the place as well – functions fine as a computer and for logging rides, but anytime i use the OS page it goes to pot after a few minutes- coloured bars on the screen, map freezes, unit freezes- first time it happened I thought I’d broken the screen, but reboot, and it’s fine again, until I use the maps again…

Still waiting for the perfect device.

[cough]Elemnt[/cough]

😉

Well OK, probably not *perfect* before anyone says it…

Mate had a dead 500, phoned Garmin helpline & they talked him through reformatting the unit using his PC, apparently did the trick.

[cough]Elemnt[/cough]

Well OK, probably not *perfect* before anyone says it..

This. I just bought the Elemnt Bolt. You only have to use it once to realise how terrible the Garmin UI is in comparison.

800 used daily and kept charged still doing sterling service. Don’t let the battery get flat is a good bit of advice. If its stored or not used keep charging it up. Maybe connect to computer and upgrade the firmware/software. Mine has even survived totally submerged and just got a wipe off. Had one of those rubber cases from new maybe that’s what saves it