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Garmin Express vs. Sequoia 15.0.1

FRED5279
2 months ago

Mac Sequoia 15.0.1 seems to be having difficulty with Garmin Express and my Garmin devices.  MacOS privacy settings are set to allow access to Express and Basecamp and their removable volumes.  

Drivesmart 50: The device's internal volume "GARMIN" does not appear in Finder, while the removable card does appear in Finder.  Express indicates the device is connected despite the missing volume  Clicking on the device in Express results in "You're up to date" (presumably for firmware and maps).  I intentionally disconnect the cable, and MacOS posts a PAIR of warnings - that the removable card volume AND the device's internal GARMIN volume were improperly ejected, despite the GARMIN volume not appearing in Finder.

nuvi 3950: Neither the device's internal volume nor the removable card appears in Finder.  Express does not indicate the device is connected.  Nonetheless, clicking on the device in Express results in "You're up to date".  When I disconnect the cable, MacOS posts no improper eject warning for either volume.

Express is now unreliable for updating firmware and Lifetime maps in my devices.  Can anyone offer a solution?

  • 0 2 months ago

    P.S.  That's Garmin Express 7.23.0.0

  • 0 2 months ago

    Hey

    So I was having this same struggle and was starting to lose my mind. Anyway, I figured this out... Here is how you can get this working.

    Overview:

    1. Ensure Garmin Connect has Full Disk Access Enabled
    2. Manually Mount the Device in Mac "Disk Utility"

    Steps:

    Ensure Garmin Connect has Full Disk Access Enabled

    1. In Spotlight (Cmd + Space), open "Privacy & Security"
    2. Select "Full Disk Access"
    3. Ensure "Garmin Express" is listed and the slider is enabled
      1. If Garmin Express does not show, press the add button and select Garmin Express

    Manually Mount the Device in Disk Utility

    1. In Spotlight (Cmd + Space), open "Disk Utility"
    2. In the sidebar under "External" locate your device (typically named "Garmin") and select it
    3. In the top right of the window page, select "Mount"
    4. It may take a couple seconds before mounting but once mounted will open Garmin Express.

    Absolutely frustrating that Garmin has absolutely 0 documentation on this. But here you go!

  • 0 2 months ago in reply to mwillbanks

    Thank you for this.  Is this a one-time procedure, or will manual mounting of GARMIN be required every time a device is connected?

    There is another problem that has to be resolved first.  In disk utility, no external volume appears when the nuvi 3950 is connected, even though Sequoia asks to approve connection.   (The device's battery is charging via the connection.)  I finished spending 56 minutes on the phone with an Apple senior support technician as he watched screen share and had me go through various steps with both GPS units, with and without Garmin Express running.  There are communication problems with Garmin devices, and he did all possible on MacOS's side, including safe mode.  The issue is being saved for the Apple engineers so that there will be follow-up, but now it falls to Garmin to start troubleshooting the problem of their GPS devices' compatibility with Sequoia.  

    My next step will be to raise the issue with Garmin support, but the age of my GPS devices may not spark their interest.  On the other hand, Apple tells me Garmin needs to  troubleshoot anyway, because all the modern Garmin devices communicate the same way and this communication issue will impact even their newest devices.

    In the alternative, I'd have to revert to Sonoma or create a partition just for Garmin Express.

    ...

    As for Garmin support, they started having me go through all the hardware tests that Apple already completed with me with Apple's online screen sharing.  I went along with it until Garmin troubleshooter wanted me to get another computer and also delete everything from the GPS devices.  At that point I asked if they would raise the issue to another support level (the Garmin engineers did a beautiful and quick job on a GPS glitch in the past), but I was informed I was done with troubleshooting, and goodbye.  

    Hopefully the communication with Sequoia issue will be resolved through some means so that my devices will be able connect with Express to update firmware and "lifetime" maps.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to FRED5279

    Hey,

    I was having the same issue with my Garmin fenix 6pro. Garmin express detected it and was able to sync but there was no way to mount the watch with Device Utility or to see it in Finder. 

    I found a workaround -> openMTP[0]. This is app was initially built to mount android phones on mac but it turns out that Garmin devices use the same protocol (mtp).

    Once you install the app follow the first step from mwillbank's post and give Full Access to openMTP. Upon starting openMTP for the first time, it will ask for the mode you want to use, select Kala mode. That's it, you should see your device on the right panel of openMTP!

    I hope this helps!

    [0] - openmtp.ganeshrvel.com/

  • 0 6 days ago

    I have an older 3597 and my MBP running Sequoia on an M1 MBP doesn't recognize it!  The Garmin shows the usual connection motif but the computer says "The disk you attached was not readable by this computer."  The options are to eject, ignore or initialize.  If I click Ignore they show up in disk utility as "Garmin nuvi System Media," but I can't do anything with them.

    I have a mini running Mojave so I gave it a try.  The device mounts fine but the program won't run.  It needs OS 11 or later.  Is there an older version I can find somewhere?

    Here's the big problem.  Even if Garmin fixes the problem, how do I load the software into the Garmin?  

  • 0 6 days ago in reply to 3654775

    I gave up and followed Garmin support's advice and bought a new unit,  And I had just installed a new battery in the 3597!  The 3597 was disassembled and the electronic parts go for recycling.  The older GPSes have route-planning features the new units don't have (except for off-road and Zumo units), but the new units are definitely faster.

    If anyone wants a free almost new 3597 battery for shipping cost, send me a private message.