Zumo 550 Lifetime Updates

[jswat]

Thanks very much for your reply. I will try this and post my results. jswat

[wjbertrand]

I have been successfully using the cloning method on my 550's with NA lifetime maps. However, on my most recent update, Garmin Express would only load "Canada and Border States" instead of all lower 48 states. Has anyone else had this issue? Any way to get back to all NA maps? Thanks.

I cannot load any regions of 2022.1 or 2022.2 into my 550's internal memory at all. It balks and and says to call support. My way around it is to download the whole mapset to my computer only, with the 550 attached in order to unlock them. Once that's done I close GE and open Garmin Mapinstall (I think you can open this from with BaseCamp too). It will find the attached 550 and it's SD card. I select the SD card (mine is an 8GB) as the destination, then at the bottom make sure to pick the latest map update. Click continue or next (can't recall exactly) and the map regions will be displayed. I select the whole map. If the bar at the bottom turns red it means not all of your selections will fit, in that case I just back off a few regions until the bar turns green, then just click install and go get some coffee. Once installed the 550 seems to work fine with all of the maps on the SD card.
I've never done and don't understand the cloning thing. Is that needed if you install to and SD card that's not inserted into the 550 or something? I've always done the update with the SD card installed in the 550.

[electro_handyman]

I've never done and don't understand the cloning thing. Is that needed if you install to and SD card that's not inserted into the 550 or something?

Yes, that is a correct statement..
The basic purpose to do this is for a much faster transfer rate when installing the maps. Other than that, no practical benefit.

[wjbertrand]

Got it. Thanks!

[Fallguy67]

To speed up my updates, I have out the SD card in the card reader of the computer instead of leaving it in the 550. As long as the 550 is also connected by USB it will install to the SD card in the reader.

[MSTOCK27370]

Got it. Thanks!

You may find this helpful.... Transferred the 2022.20 maps to the SD card of my 550 in 20 minutes versus four hours.

https://www.zumouserforums.co.uk/viewto ... =10&t=1311

[wjbertrand]

Wow, 4 hours? Mine took a little over an hour with the SD card in the zumo.

[BillL]

...snip...
I load the USA and Canada map to my PC - install option computer only. I then attach my 450 (or 550) to my computer and run Express with install option computer only. Since the US/Canada map is already installed on my PC it doesn't load the map again, but it goes through a couple of minutes of process. What it does is UNLOCK the map on the attached device. So, I must do this step to both my 450 and 550 if I want to load new maps on them. I then copy the garmindevice.xml file to the SD card (Garmin folder), disconnect the Garmin, and then take the SD card out of the Garmin and load it into the PC card reader slot. Eliminate every other file from the SD card except the garmindevice.xml file. Then I run Mapsource and send the maps from the computer to the SD card. Because of the xml file, Mapsource thinks the SD card is the 450/550. It allows me to copy the entire map to the SD card. Took about 20 minutes on my PC for 2022.20 earlier this month. I think that Mapinstall will do the same thing, and I think that Basecamp will allow you to do the same thing. I haven't tried those.

Hello,
I am a Basecamp/Mac user.

I am having similar difficulty. I’ve been using the method of keeping maps only on the SD card in my 550, with no map at all in internal memory. (Method described in detail here on another thread.Thanks to all involved.)

My method updates the maps on the computer for BaseCamp. I then delete the existing gmapsupp.img file from the Garmin folder on the SD card in the 550. Next, use MapInstall to select all the map segments I desire and install them on the SD card.

When I re-started the 550, I got the can’t unlock maps message. I have been through various iterations of the process since to no avail. Part of my trial and error is due to having a fresh install of BaseCamp, Garmin Express and MapInstall on another MacBook (Air) as my primary machine (MBPro15) is having OS troubles that will likely involve formatting the drive. Haven’t had the guts to do that yet as I fear loss of years of data.

I read with interest here the idea of re-creating the .xml file for the creation of a fresh identity for the 550.

Can someone go into some detail on that? Not sure I completely follow the procedure.

Also, a question on a piece that I quoted. The idea of using Mapsource to the SD card. BaseCamp does not do this that I know of. MapInstall does this for me from my Mac. Is the description of the MapSource solution the same? I gave up on Mapsource a long time ago.

One more note. The installation of BaseCamp on my rescue MacBook Air is involved with another Zumo 595. This also has Lifetime maps and was updated to CN NA 2022.2 prior to the attempt on the 550.

My thought prior coming back here was that somehow, the 550 has lost the trail of possession of LifeTime Maps credentials.

Any and all help appreciated. Thanks.

[sussamb]

If I understand you correctly BaseCamp will happily install maps to a card. Just right click the card in the left hand pane in BaseCamp and select Install map ...

Note this is for Windows. The Mac version can do it too but I'm not sure how the steps work there.

[BillL]

Thank you for that. Another tool to have.

As it happens, some combination of forcing a new Garmin Device.xml file and probably having the 550 mounted up without the SD card in the Zumo, but rather being in my card slot, Mapinstall saw it as the Zumo and happily installed a map set that this time unlocks. Go figure.

Don't really know what worked. I did so many things in quick succession that I perceive it as altering 2 variables at once, therefore don't know for sure which one did it.

Bottom line, grateful for all of the expertise here. (Right-clicking is not always intuitive to an old Mac guy).