Another "keeps rebooting" question

El_Dorado_Mike
7 days ago

The other day, after about 2 years of flawless service my 530 started rebooting upon turning it on.  I looked down at it while I was preparing for a ride and after the Garmin logo was on the screen there were three consecutive dots flashing in sequence,  about 4 seconds the unit would reboot.  Sometimes this happened 3 or 4 times before it would actually boot into its normal running mode.  After searching online I decided to just do a complete factory reinstall and it still hangs on that screen again, although for only 1 reboot before being operable.

I would think a factory reinstall would cure almost anything.

  • 0 7 days ago

    There hasn't been a software release for over two years so that's not a cause.

    Have you upgraded maps in recent times, they can sometimes be a problem if they didn't install properly, re-install via express might fix. Also some users say an enabled  "Populatity" option on x30 maps causes problems.

    Check the NewFiles directory as sometimes a corrupted GPS location / other file can cause issues, if there is anything there then delete it, if it's important it will download again.

    If you had an old SW version you could install that, not that there would be a correction but just installing may rearrange the firmware to remove the issue. It could be a bad section of memory, not a lot you can do with that.

    Although there hasn't been a released software there has been 2 beta versions (9.79 & 9.81) that were never released but you could install one of those (noting that the 9.79 update zip also contains the previously released 9.75 version )
    https://forums.garmin.com/beta-program/beta-program-archive/edge-530-830-1030-series/ 

    Otherwise the 530 was great (including mine) but getting a bit old now, you could upgrade to something newer, my 1040 is IMO better that the 1050 (noting the 850 can't be too far away?) or see if Garmin has a refurbished one to sell? (call support)

    PS also a good idea to tidy up old activities and courses,

    Good Luck with it

  • 0 6 days ago

    After every activity, I perform a soft reset (hold down the power button until the unit reboots) - otherwise I see spontaneous restarts during activities.

  • 0 1 day ago in reply to L.Rouge

    I appreciate everyone's input.  I had previously deleted all courses and rides.  I do this about every 2 months just to keep it organized.  Absolutely nothing has changed in the way it is used.   Since I just did a hard reset and it's still exhibiting this behavior I think I will be contacting Garmin regarding a replacement.  The funny thing is that this is a replacement for my 520 and this will be my 2nd 530.  I have no reason to purchase or trade up to a newer model since the 530 appears to do everything I need a bike computer to do.

    It seems like every relationship with a Garmin product seems to go bad long before it should.