How To Download Garmin Maps For Free

Nosotros use open up source maps downloaded to our Garmin GPS. A friend taught usa how to download free maps to our GPS when we were in Mexico. Nosotros are forever indebted to him for showing usa how to do this. It saved united states lots of money since nosotros didn't have to buy the maps from Garmin and the open source maps are updated more than frequently. I have passed on the how-to steps to individuals along the style and wanted to share the information more broadly. So, here we present step-by-step instructions.

Using Open up Source Street Maps for apply on a Garmin

Step 1: Go to Open up Street Map Website: http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl

Step 2: Cull your map blazon – click "generic routable (new style)"

Pace three: You lot have two choices at this point – you tin can download a pre-divers country or build your own custom map.

Selection 1 – a predefined country
• Using the drop downward choices choice your state and depending on size you might exist able to immediately download the file
• Example, using the Asia drib downwardly, choose "Lao people's democratic republic" and and so at stride 4 (request map) yous will see "download map at present" link on the screen immediately. Annotation: download map now does not e'er work and then see step 4.
• Click on the download map now link and another window will open up
• Download the file with the name "osm_generic_new_gmapsupp.zip" and the clarification says "compressed file containing a unmarried paradigm that tin be placed directly onto the SD card of the GPS". On my MAC it downloads as an image and not as a zippo file and then it is easy to place in the folder; this might be different on a PC.

Choice 2 – build your ain map
• Click the box "enable tile option"

• And then using the map area below – utilise the up and down arrows to movement around the world map and the + or – to zoom in or out – click on the tiles you want. For example, I built maps of all the Southeast Asia countries I wanted to bulldoze through.
• Once you have selected your surface area then request your map

Step 4: Requesting your map

• Fill in your email accost and click build my map
• After your click "build my map" another window will open up that says y'all will receive two emails

Step 5: Receiving your map
• The offset e-mail yous receive will tell y'all that your map is in process and provide a link that you tin can bank check when information technology will be ready or its condition
• The 2nd email you lot receive will give you a link to go download your map

Step 6: Downloading your map
• Click on the link in the email
• Download the file with the name "osm_generic_new_gmapsupp.zip" and the clarification says "compressed file containing a unmarried image that tin can be placed directly onto the SD card of the GPS". On my MAC it downloads as an epitome and non every bit a zip file then it is easy to place in the binder; this might be different on a PC.

Step 7: Put map on the SD card for your Garmin
• You now have the file. Exercise not alter the file name in whatever way; if you do and then it won't work.
• Put your SD card in your figurer and make a folder with the name "Garmin"; do not give information technology whatever other name or it won't work
• If yous are using the SD menu that was already in your Garmin then open that folder marked "Garmin" and delete the image file that is in the folder. If this is a map you have purchased then save it your computer.
• Move the new file/epitome that you downloaded onto the SD bill of fare into the binder marked "Garmin"
• Put the SD bill of fare dorsum into your Garmin and you lot at present accept your new map

Step 8: On your Garmin device
• Insert the SD card into your Garmin device (or plough off/on if you saved to the device hard drive).
• Turn on device
• Scroll until you lot discover tab called "setup", click on that
• Scroll until yous find tab called "map", click to open up
• Select button that says "map information" (may besides say select map) click to open
• In this field you will see all maps that are on the device. Discover the map you desire to use ("OSM generic routable (new style)"), select it in club to "enable it"
• Any other maps you lot have on your device, you demand to select and choose "disable" otherwise there can possibly be mapping conflicts.

Troubleshooting:
• The chief outcome that can happen is that the map isn't working. The usual result is that the Garmin is confused because there is more than one map on the Garmin. You accept already made sure that the SD bill of fare has only one image and that the binder is called "garmin" and there shouldn't be any other folders on that SD card. If information technology nonetheless isn't working then plug your Garmin into your computer and look at the files on its hard drive. If there is another file named "garmin" and then this is where your conflict is occurring. Remove that file (make a copy of anything you are deleting earlier deletion as you may need information technology later).

• I did this on one person's Garmin device that didn't have an SD bill of fare so we were putting the new map image into a "garmin" folder on the hard drive. Just, before I did that I deleted the sometime files (earlier deleting I had saved a copy onto my computer). What I didn't realize is that the quondam file had contained information that would put the map paradigm into different languages. He needed his map to be in French. I was able to become back and move over the language files onto his Garmin from the folder I had taken off. I got help doing this from a YouTube video afterwards searching for adding languages to a Garmin.