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Current problems of Montana 700i/750i? PLEASE SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE!

4514404
7 months ago

Hi,

I was seriously considering buying the 700i GPS for its simple touch screen. But oh boy... Have I been scared from all the bad reviews, negatives from blog posts and on-going reported problems on this forum that Garmin did not fix for years (!!!). So now I just want to ask you so I know for sure.

  • Is the restarting issues, or "sudden death" problems still an isue with the absolute latest firmware of the Montana 700i (or 750i)?
  • What is your experience for your last usage?

I planned to use it for my yacht where people back home would track me 24/7 to make sure im safe. But with these restarting issues or that it turns itself off all of a sudden... That is perhaps not the best solution, unless they fixed it. Please be honest and share your experience.

I noticed that Garmin support Leslie is often on this forum responding and helping as best as they can which is good. But I just cant understand, as a tech engineer myself, how they can't solve this issue. For the amount of years this have taken to solve, while they still ship out defective device it seems like, its a bit of a shame put to the Garmin brand I got to say. Its not hard to troubleshoot hardware or software. Why is it taking so long? And why is Garmin still selling these devices, years after they first heard about the problem and still did not manage to fix it (it seems like)? Out of respect for peoples money, safety and security, perhaps stop selling a device thats not working correctly until its fixed. Some Garmin-CEO would say "ohh no we cant, its embarassing for the brand". Well dont you think its a bigger embarassment to sell defective devices out of the box, for years? :P Maybe its just me who thinks that...

But agian- maybe its fixed. So please let me know ALLLLLL your experiences :))

Thanks a lot in advance!!

  • 0 6 months ago in reply to 7967165

    Try rolling the firmware back to 19.0 first. The XT 2 has similar issues.

    Easy enough to find it. Simply drag it into the main Garmin folder whilst connected to the laptop then disconnect it. When you start it it’ll install it. Ignore the warning about it being older software.

  • 0 6 months ago in reply to PeterJMolloy

    I also think it is a piece of sh..... T. It cannot even navigate and find simple address. It is causing Garmin brand damage, and they don't care. 

  • 0 6 months ago in reply to GertBez

    If you can’t use it to find an address - it’s not the device that’s the issue.

  • 0 6 months ago in reply to HammyUK1

    Not true. If you know the street name but not the number and take a guess you just hope it finds that number because if it doesn't it will tell you there are no results and to retry your search, you then have to re-enter all of the information which is an antiquated and clunky process which compared to Google maps is like you're trying to find Jesus's address carved in stone. 

  • 0 4 months ago

    On my second 700i and the brass contacts have once again severely pock marked so it will now not charge from the rugged mount on my adventure bike, but this time I’m out of warranty. $1250 AUD down and now having to look for an alternative to achieve the same emergency capability. This device is NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE

  • 0 4 months ago

    One more try. There are two separate issues.

    One has to do with the motorcycle mount and pin/pad damage. I don’t ride so I have no experience with this one. Based on forum posts, Garmin is replacing units and mounts still under warranty. Recent posts seem to imply some kind of change to the mount - maybe additional damping. I do not know for sure. Certainly, the original problem was poor design. Replacement with that SAME design is not going to solve anything.

    The second has to do with random shutdowns not related to the mount. That is, devices shut down when the mount has never been used and is not in use when the unit shuts down. The f/w revision history NEVER says “we found and fixed the random shutdowns not related to the mount.” will not give a straightforward yes or no. Instead, we get the copy/paste “open a support ticket and we’ll help with your specific problem. “ Charitably, I interpret this to mean that that there are a number of different bugs which result in the symptom. Garmin can’t find them. They hope that a large number of support tickets will help expose them so they CAN fix them.

    Meantime, I personally would not trust this device in a life and death situation in the backcountry . Pick a different Garmin iR device or a competitor’s device. My 750i is gathering dust.

  • 0 4 months ago in reply to twolpert

    My personal opinion about the mount pin/ brass contact interface is there is galvanic corrosion developing, particularly in the presence of moist air that is causing the contacts to erode and develop pock marks.

    Galvanic corrosion is caused by dissimilar metals coming in contact with each other and accelerated by the presence of an electrolyte, which in this case is atmospheric moisture, and so it’s my opinion that there’s a galvanic disparity between the pins and the contacts, which is causing the contacts to effectively become sacrificial anodes and eroding. Vibration and friction wouldn’t be helping either. 


    The reason I suggest this is as I took off on my trip across Australia, the contacts my 700i was in perfect condition, and trust me, I’m vigilant about inspecting them after my first device failing.

    So by the time I got into the Simpson Desert, which was 3 days after we started, the contacts had already become deeply pock marked to the point the unit wasn’t charging and I had to use a USB cable to keep it charged from then in. And surprise surprise, we’d had a lot of rain leading up to that point.


    I have to point out that I came from a Montana 650T and that thing has literally been to *** and back, yet has given me great service over many years and is still going strong, so clearly Garmin know how to make a robust mount and device, but infuriatingly have completely dropped the ball with the 700i.

  • 0 25 days ago
    I started using the Montana 700 on 27 October 2024.
    There are a number of issues with the unit. I list a few examples.
    When I create a course it places the DONE button between the up and down arrows which cannot save the course.
    When I create a route and select the route to follow roads it switches off.
    When I select a saved route and want to view the route on the map, it gives the message 'Route calculation error'.
    When I select the map and press the options button it does not allow any selection.
    When I press the home button and select the menu screen, it does not react to a selection.
    I take clients on trips and this unpredictability is problematic.
    I saw on discussions on the net that there are complaints that the unit sometimes shuts off. I have the same problem.
    I cannot everytime reset the unit or restore defaults
  • 0 3 days ago

    I recently bought one. None of the Android apps work. Problems pairing with GPS. Also can't reset trip odometer. Googled and on suggestuons my unit doesn't have menu options. Considering returning it.

  • +1 2 days ago in reply to 4038106

    What do you mean when you say that none of the Android apps work? You may want to look at Garmin Explore App Bluetooth Troubleshooting for the Montana 700 Series or Troubleshooting Pairing Issues for the Garmin Messenger App. You can reset the trip odometer at Setup > Reset > Reset Trip Data. If you are not seeing these menu options, I would recommend a full reset of the device: How to Reset Montana 700 or 750 Series Device