How to update maps without Garmin Express?

I've tried running Garmin Express myself on Linux under wine, but that simply will not work.

Also tried to make a remote-desktop connection to a Windows computer at work, forward my garmin USB connection there and although Windows then sees a Garmin device, Garmin Express simply fails.

Sharing my WiFi connection with my watch and then download the maps over WiFi takes hours and hours and then fails just before it should finished which also feels like a huge disappointment.

It's not the answer you are looking for, but I ended up downloading a few Garmin maps from this website: https://garmin.opentopomap.org/ and manually copying them to the GARMIN folder on my watch and naming them gmapsupp.img gmapsupp1.img gmapsupp2.img etc.

It's not the official Garmin map, so maybe that's why the rendering is not optimal, not sure, but at least I can see where I'm going now

hope this helps

liskin said:

Garmin Express will update software before updating maps

That sounds strange. I do that all the times with my 15.77 live system and while GE is indeed copying the new software file to the /Gamin folder as soon as you connect you could either deny "perform update" when prompted after disconnect from PC (I have automatic updates disabled at all times) or - even better - you could delete GUPDATE.GSP from /Garmin before you proceed.

liskin said:

glances folders messed every time Garmin Express synchronizes

That happened to me too but only if I enter the section where you can configure it, when I just connect to GE and update maps this doesn't happen. Which FW are you on?

liskin said:

Can I perhaps download

What region do you need? 

Okay, your reply encouraged me to try Garmin Express again. I've been avoiding it for a long time, so I don't exactly remember what FW version I had when it last messed up my glances :-)

Anyway, I started a fresh Windows 10 VM, installed Garmin Express, and did nothing else than let it update the maps. And hooray, it did not mess the glances up!

I'm still a little worried what happens if I boot that VM in a couple months time and let GE do its stuff, because it does attempt to sync the watch with Garmin Connect, as if it was early 2010s and the watch couldn't do that on its own through the phone connection. But I guess I can wipe the VM and start from scratch in a year's time and hope everything's good again.

Thanks!

liskin said:

Windows 10 VM

That's what I do. I never experienced problems resulting from the fact, that I start the VM every month only. Also you may want to take a snapshot...

Also I suggest you either prevent GE to start up automatically or to stop it every time before you connect your unit. After that I suggest to do a full copy of /Garmin before you let GE go and an copy after. So you can at least compare. 

While you are at it, this might be handy:

forums.garmin.com/.../information-restore-settings-after-factory-reset-w-o-syncing-possible