Catalina 10.15.7 and BaseCamp 4.8.10 not recognizing Devices

Former Member
Former Member

This Garmin Support article shows the steps to take to get Garmin BaseCamp to recognize your devices: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=ufgaLgXyiX2eSZfAsQhdu7&searchQuery=not%20recognized%20catalina. However, it doesn't say what to do when Garmin BaseCamp doesn't appear in the list.

I'm running macOS 10.15.7 and BaseCamp 4.8.10. When I plug in my Garmin 780, Garmin Express launches and finds the device. Any updates required are installed with no problems. Launching BaseCamp with Express running or not doesn't matter. When BaseCamp comes up, no devices appear. When I go to BaseCamp preferences>transfer, only an old device that I no longer have appears in the picklist. When I happened across the above Garmin Support article, I thought that would solve the problem. BaseCamp never asked upon launch to access removable volumes, so I didn't dismiss any window accidentally, and when I go to system preferences>security & privacy>privacy>files and folders, BaseCamp doesn't appear in the list. What do I do now?

  • If Express launches when you plug in your device then Express must be running in the background.  You need to shut it down so it's not running then try BaseCamp again.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to SUSSAMB

    Okay, that worked. The Express icon was still in the system menu bar. Control-clicking it allowed me to quit Express. BaseCamp then connects with the Garmin RV 780 and allows me to transfer data to and from the device and the Mac.

    Before I tried quitting Express, I did a complete de-install/removal of BaseCamp and it's associated files. When I re-installed it and relaunched, BaseCamp still didn't ask to access removable volumes, and when I go to system preferences>security & privacy>privacy>files and folders, BaseCamp still doesn't appear in the list even though it is now working and accessing the device. I have noticed that the Garmin RV780 device isn't shown in the Finder as a mounted device, so perhaps that's why BaseCamp isn't displaying what's in the support articles.

    Nevertheless, it's now working for me, but this seems like a workaround for a bug that requires you to quit Express before BaseCamp will work.

    Thanks,

    Randy