Smartphone, Garmin Explore and Zumo XT - step by step setup.

[jfheath]

Step by Step slides showing the process of connecting a Smartphone, The Zumo XT, Garmin Drive and Garmin Explore. Finally using the Explore App on a smartphone to allow the Zumo to access the routes, tracks, Waypoints and adventures that have been created on the explore website. All without the need for a computer.

Its a Playlist of 4 videos - Link here.

Please don't expect perfection. The videos aren't animated in real time - they are a slideshow and commentary with screen shots taken from the PC, the Zumo, and the smartphone - as the image quality is better. They are also over-kill. I can do this setup in a few moments. But this gives an idea of what is going on.

If even one other person finds it useful (apart from me doing it), it will be worth it.

[Stu]

[yorky]

Thanks for that @jfheath , I certainly appreciated it.

Have you found any way to organise stored routes in Explore. I know you can sort collections but I cant find a "new file" button. So if I create a collection called "Road Routes" then in Basecamp I can have sub-folders for England, Scotland, Wales etc and in each subfolder the routes go in their own file.
It seems that in Explore there is no way to sub divide and only show one route at a time.

[jfheath]

Have you found any way to organise stored routes in Explore.

I'm not an expert in this.

You can create collections, and anything listed in the left hand pane has a little 'eye' symbol that allows you to turn things on and off, so that they are not visible. Someone posted that this doesn't affect what is synchronised with the Zumo. I haven't tried this, I can only assume that they are correct.

There is an option to publish stuff on the Explore site for others to see. In my video, I incorrectly stated that the unnamed collection was for stuff that was uncategorised. It isn't. It's for stuff that you have sent to 'Mapshare' - which I think allows others to see some of your routes / collections.

But no - I don't think that Explore is anything like as sophisticated as Basecamp in its organiasation of routes and such like.

One of the later firware versions of XT sends stuff created on the XT (or sent to the XT by Basecamp) to the explore site. Basically, this means that anything you put on your Zumo gets sent to Explore and Vice versa.

Given that now, when you use Basecamp to transfer new routes to the Zumo XT, it actually deletes the previously transferred routes from the Zumos memory *** , it is as if Garmin are intending the Zumo to be used to store the routes just for a particular trip. I haven't got into how stuff in Explore may be organised.

*** The transfer of routes from Basecamp to the XT overwrites any routes that were transferred during a different USB connection. It does not delete any of those routes that were imported after they had been transferred. However, since the XT makes any edits to an imported route without the option to save or abort, it is easy to mess up an imported route - and then there may be no option to delete it and reimport it.
If this is news to you - then the easiest way to avoid problems is to always send tot he Zumo XT everything that you want to be stored on the Zumo. Don't do a few at a time during separate USB connections.

[yorky]

Have you found any way to organise stored routes in Explore.

You can create collections, and anything listed in the left hand pane has a little 'eye' symbol that allows you to turn things on and off, so that they are not visible. Someone posted that this doesn't affect what is synchronised with the Zumo. I haven't tried this, I can only assume that they are correct.

Hi, yes, I've seen the "eye" symbol, and it works to a degree.
But I have started a collection called "Road Routes" and put 3 sample routes into this collection. When I open this collection I can turn off all 3 routes via the eye, but I cannot turn off 1 or 2 to leave only the routes of interest showing, it's an all or nothing scenario

Perhaps this is all a works in progress for Garmin but it almost seems like a premature release of Explore when fairly basic stuff like this isn't covered.

[electro_handyman]

Have you found any way to organise stored routes

I've noticed similar behavior with the Music files. You can store them on the XT in numerous sub-folders, but when you open the Music player the mp3 files are all lumped together. However you can search/sort by the "tags" that are coded withing the mp3 file.

[JTLT]

Step by Step slides showing the process of connecting a Smartphone, The Zumo XT, Garmin Drive and Garmin Explore. Finally using the Explore App on a smartphone to allow the Zumo to access the routes, tracks, Waypoints and adventures that have been created on the explore website. All without the need for a computer.

Its a Playlist of 4 videos - Link here.

Please don't expect perfection. The videos aren't animated in real time - they are a slideshow and commentary ...

If even one other person finds it useful (apart from me doing it), it will be worth it.

WOW - You have managed to do what Garmin - as an entire company - was NOT able to do. That would be adequately explain how this works! What you have presented in the Youtube videos IS perfection when compared to the non-existent tutorials put out by Garmin. THANK YOU!!!!

[jfheath]

Glad it helped somebody. Many thanks for the feedback !

[jfheath]

Have you found any way to organise stored routes in Explore. I know you can sort collections but I cant find a "new file" button. So if I create a collection called "Road Routes" then in Basecamp I can have sub-folders for England, Scotland, Wales etc and in each subfolder the routes go in their own file.
It seems that in Explore there is no way to sub divide and only show one route at a time.

Hi

Just revisitng this - I have been playing.

In Explore, you can create collections. Click on Map from the main page links at the top. In the left hand pane, there is a heading 'Collections'.
Click the plus sign +
Give the collection a name and add anything from the list that appears below into that collection.
Waypoints, tracks and routes can belong to more than one collection.

In the Zumo, you can add anything that you have (tracks, routes, waypoints) into any collection that is already created. But for some reason (at the time of writing - May 2021) - I have not yet found a way of creating a collection from the Zumo screen. Once I realised this, I created half a dozen empty collections on the website so that they are available for use on the Zumo. Now I can organsise stuff from the Zumo screen if I wish.
The changes are then synced to the Explore Website.

I don't think that you can have collections within collections though. Eg A collection called Uk and within it collections called En, Sco, Wal, Ireland. But I haven't tried. I just have a suspicion ...... WIlling to be proved wrong.

[JTLT]

Glad it helped somebody. Many thanks for the feedback !

One question I do have, if you don't mind, is about downloading the Garmin Explore app to your smart phone. When I first did this, the app gave a message that the Garmin Explore App did not work with the Zumo XT because the Zumo XT had it programmed into the GPS already. It also stated that Garmin *Drive* is the app that should be used on your phone if you have the Zumo XT.

Do you know anything about this? What is the purpose of having the Garmin Explore app on your phone then? Is it just easier to use (mobile app) than going to the Explore website on your phone?
Thanks
LT