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Firmware updates and erasing data

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2026 8:02 pm
by dont_panic
Hi,

After my experience with the H1 a friend was kind enough to hunt down an old GPSMAP 64 he had lying round and this is meeting most of my needs for now. Couple of questions:

* It's still on an old firmware version so I was going to update it to 6.60 manually. What are the chances that this will cause me to lose data, such as the maps?

* When I plug it into my PC only the GARMIN drive mounts in Explorer, not the (definitely working) micro SD card from the slot on the back. Is this normal or is there perhaps a problem with the slot?

* I haven't performed a user reset because I don't wan't to risk losing the built in maps. I saw the new thread about the GLONASS bug and golden uses the following steps to perform a complete wipe:
Repeated **Reset All Settings** and **Delete All/User Data** from the menus several times.

Performed the hardware/master reset using **PAGE + ENTER + POWER**, then confirmed “Erase all user data”.

Should that be safe to follow for a 64 without losing anything vital?

Re: Firmware updates and erasing data

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2026 11:35 pm
by GPSrChive
Make certain the microSD card is formatted FAT 32 only.

Back up ALL FILES from the device and the microSD card BEFORE making any changes.

Remove microSD card from device, install latest firmware, perform master reset, and then restore data as necessary.

Once you have everything just the way you like it, MAKE A NEW DEVICE BACKUP.

Please study GPSrChive > GPSMAP 64 > {choose model} > Operation >
  • Backup
  • Files & Folders

Re: Firmware updates and erasing data

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2026 8:23 am
by javawa
A backup is always a good idea, but you won’t lose data with an update, and maps aren’t erased with a reset.