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Garmin Connect refuses to accept any new GPX files I try to upload

Former Member
Former Member over 11 years ago
Has anyone else been having issues uploading GPX files to their Garmin Connect account?

Since the beginning of February the manual upload facility has stopped working for me. Over the last year I've uploaded numerous GPX files, which were exported from Basecamp, but for some reason the same files now don't work. I've checked with files that worked earlier and they now don't work either.

Garmin technical support appear to be useless. They've told me multiple times that Garmin Connect isn't really designed to host my GPX files, that I'd be better off using Basecamp. They don't seem to understand that I'd like the routes online so that I can share them easily. Their argument to not use the system seems like the laziest form of support I've ever encountered.

The ongoing (and extremely tedious) email thread has got to the point where they told me that GPX files exported from Basecamp are not compatible with Garmin Connect. Which seems quite strange.

So I'd really like to know if anyone else is having issues and if anyone has any suggestions for a fix? Garmin obviously have no idea and seem very unwilling to help.

Thanks
  • 0 over 11 years ago
    I have had no problems uploading them, but I'm only uploading ones downloaded from Garmin Connect. i.e., I download a tcx/gpx file from one user account and then upload to mine in an attempt to reproduce problems they have with their activity data.

    It is possible that your source is generating xml data that isn't being parsed properly by Garmin Connect, either because that data is improperly formatted, or the data is correctly formatted and Garmin Connect isn't as flexible as it should be when parsing.

    If you are willing to upload the tcx/gpx data, I'd be happy to take a peek at it to determine where the fault lies.

    travis
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    Thanks, any help would be great. I sent files to Garmins product support team but they didn't do anything with them or give me any sort of explanation.

    I've tried uploading GPX files that I've exported from connect and that's worked fine. Its just the ones from basecamp that it doesn't seem to like. As far as I can tell the main differences are that the Bascamp version has a lot more xsi:schemaLocation and xml namespace attributes, a bounds tag inside the metadata and a gpxx:TrackExtension tag. The only other difference is the Lat and Lon attributes are the other way round, although I really doubt that would make a difference. My money would be on the schema and namespace settings, but I haven't managed to work out exactly what.

    The two files are below, one is the original from basecamp, the other exported from connect.
    http://zerofaff.com/temp/exported.gpx
    http://zerofaff.com/temp/original.gpx

    Its odd that chrome knows the exported one is valid XML but just shows the original as text. Maybe basecamp is exporting invalid XML or maybe one of the schemas is not online anymore. I'm not an XML expert so any help would be great. Thanks
  • 0 over 11 years ago
    The original file contains a byte-order-marker, and Garmin Connect seems to be tripping up on that. To prove it to yourself, open original.gpx in wordpad. Copy the text to the clipboard (press CTRL+A, then CTRL+C). Create a new document (CTRL+N), paste the clipboard into the new document (CTRL+V), then save the document as a new .gpx file (CTRL+S). Try uploading that file to Garmin Connect.

    This would be a simple enhancement for the Garmin Connect folks to add.

    Travis
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    That worked a treat. Thanks for looking into it, you've very quickly solved something that Garmin product support couldn't.
  • 0 over 11 years ago
    I've found www.gpsies.com a good free hassle free site for up and then downloading gpx files into GC-compatible shape. (Note: I haven't tried it since the Feb issues started.)
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    What is the original file?

    The original file contains a byte-order-marker, and Garmin Connect seems to be tripping up on that. To prove it to yourself, open original.gpx in notepad. Copy the text to the clipboard (press CTRL+A, then CTRL+C). Create a new document (CTRL+N), paste the clipboard into the new document (CTRL+V), then save the document as a new .gpx file (CTRL+S). Try uploading that file to Garmin Connect.

    This would be a simple enhancement for the Garmin Connect folks to add.

    Travis


    Travis,
    I am not sure that I understand your procedure. Is not the original file, the file that is on the device? When I attempt to upload this file as well as the resulting file when exporting via Base Camp, the upload fails with both files. Is the device original file "corrupted" once opened in Base Camp? If so, how do you edit the file so that it matches the original? Thank you so much for your help. I have been able to do this for years without any problems and have received little to no useful support from Garmin since it has become a problem for me in late February.
  • 0 over 11 years ago
    You are having trouble uploading a gpx file, correct? That is the original file I refer to above. Follow the directions. When you're done, you should have the old gpx file and a new one. Upload the new one.

    Travis
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    You are having trouble uploading a gpx file, correct? That is the original file I refer to above. Follow the directions. When you're done, you should have the old gpx file and a new one. Upload the new one.

    Travis


    Ok Travis, I am not a software guy and I do not know what is a byte-order-marker and do not know what portion of the file you are referring to in your direction to copy the text - what portion of the file is excluded? I hope that you are not yet exasperated? Thank you.
  • 0 over 11 years ago
    You are killing me. The instructions above tell you exactly what keys to press and in what order to press them. You don't have to be a software guy, you just have to be able to follow instructions.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    You are killing me. The instructions above tell you exactly what keys to press and in what order to press them. You don't have to be a software guy, you just have to be able to follow instructions.


    I am sorry for being so dense and such a PITA!. But I have followed your directions a couple of times and it did not work. It looks to me like you are just replicating the original file. I cannot garner what change(s) takes place in the file as a result of following your recipe. So obviously I am doing something incorrectly and thus, my desire to better understand what changes your recipe impose on the file? Following instructions without understanding the underlying objectives can be problematic! Instructions are often not as comprehensive as the expert believes.