Hi. There seems to be a year 2010 bug with my Garmin Geko 201.
When switching it on date and time are calculated wrong. But making it even worse almanac data is also lost. So it needs to search for all satellites whenever it is turned on. Indeed the whole celestial mechanics is wrong: trying to display sunset results in a hung up geko - I needed to remove the batteries to switch it off.
First I thought this problems might be caused by a broken buffer battery. But I tried it using two Geko 201 with different firmware versions. The problem is repeatable with both devices.
On the Garmin web-page there's nothing about this - no FAQ entry, no Firmware update...
Would you please check whether your Garmin is also affected? May be only the german firmware is affected. Or it's a fundamental problem with the phasetrac12 chipset used in this series of GPS devices.
I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
> Would you please check whether your Garmin is also affected? May be only > the german firmware is affected. Or it's a fundamental problem with the > phasetrac12 chipset used in this series of GPS devices.
> I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
My Geko 201 is still working fine, as usual. I've used it a few times in the last week or so, including for a run today. I'm using firmware version 2.60. I've tried setting the language to German, it still all works fine, including displaying sunset times etc.
> My Geko 201 is still working fine, as usual. I've used it a few times in > the last week or so, including for a run today. > I'm using firmware version 2.60. > I've tried setting the language to German, it still all works fine, > including displaying sunset times etc.
The problem with my Geko 201 is the date, not the time. Each track segment is recorded with a differing date, some are ok and others years in the past or future. To verify this scroll to the page where you see the recorded track and select the option "Pan Track Log". Then you can move back and forth with the Up/Down buttons. Time and date of the recorded track point is displayed below the map.
> I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
Today I received a reply from Garmin germany: the bug is non reproducible for them. They admit this error may only affects few devices. Therefore there's no bug-fix available.
So unfortunately Garmin doesn't recognize responsibility for their products. They simply shift issues onto customers. The lesson is clear: if there will be any new Garmin device I can also pick an US or far east import as Garmin's german support not nearly justifies the 40% surcharge.
> I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
Today I received a reply from Garmin germany: the bug is non reproducible for them. They admit this error may only affect few devices. Therefore there's no bug-fix available.
Unfortunately Garmin doesn't recognize responsibility for their products. They simply shift issues onto customers. The lesson is clear: if I will buy a new Garmin device I can also pick an US or far east import as Garmin's german support not nearly justifies the 40% surcharge.
>> I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-( > Today I received a reply from Garmin germany: > the bug is non reproducible for them. They admit this error may only > affect few devices. Therefore there's no bug-fix available. > Unfortunately Garmin doesn't recognize responsibility for their > products. They simply shift issues onto customers. > The lesson is clear: if I will buy a new Garmin device I can also > pick an US or far east import as Garmin's german support not nearly > justifies the 40% surcharge. > Regards, > Andreas
OTOH, if they really can't reproduce it, how could they possibly fix it?
Been there, failed that, so I'm sympathetic with the tech support...
>On 1/27/10, Andreas Weller posted: >>> I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
>> Today I received a reply from Garmin germany: >> the bug is non reproducible for them. They admit this error may only >> affect few devices. Therefore there's no bug-fix available.
>> Unfortunately Garmin doesn't recognize responsibility for their >> products. They simply shift issues onto customers. >> The lesson is clear: if I will buy a new Garmin device I can also >> pick an US or far east import as Garmin's german support not nearly >> justifies the 40% surcharge.
>> Regards, >> Andreas
>OTOH, if they really can't reproduce it, how could they possibly fix >it?
> in 24086 20100128 053031 Gene E. Bloch <lett...@someplace.invalid> wrote: >> On 1/27/10, Andreas Weller posted: >>>> I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-( >>> Today I received a reply from Garmin germany: >>> the bug is non reproducible for them. They admit this error may only >>> affect few devices. Therefore there's no bug-fix available. >>> Unfortunately Garmin doesn't recognize responsibility for their >>> products. They simply shift issues onto customers. >>> The lesson is clear: if I will buy a new Garmin device I can also >>> pick an US or far east import as Garmin's german support not nearly >>> justifies the 40% surcharge.
>>> Regards, >>> Andreas
>> OTOH, if they really can't reproduce it, how could they possibly fix >> it? > If they can't fix it they should replace it.
I agree, especially if it's unique to the OP's device.
>> I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
> Today I received a reply from Garmin germany: > the bug is non reproducible for them. They admit this error may only > affect few devices. Therefore there's no bug-fix available.
> Unfortunately Garmin doesn't recognize responsibility for their > products. They simply shift issues onto customers. > The lesson is clear: if I will buy a new Garmin device I can also > pick an US or far east import as Garmin's german support not nearly > justifies the 40% surcharge.
I cannot repair your Geko but there is a workaround:
Gartrip comes with a new version 210c. When detecting a jump beyond one year in the time stamps of a track, it asks the user for the correct date and it repairs the track accordingly. This should help until Garmin fixes it. See www.gartrip.de
> >> I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
> > Today I received a reply from Garmin germany: > > the bug is non reproducible for them. They admit this error may only > > affect few devices. Therefore there's no bug-fix available.
> > Unfortunately Garmin doesn't recognize responsibility for their > > products. They simply shift issues onto customers. > > The lesson is clear: if I will buy a new Garmin device I can also > > pick an US or far east import as Garmin's german support not nearly > > justifies the 40% surcharge.
> I cannot repair your Geko but there is a workaround:
> Gartrip comes with a new version 210c. When detecting a jump beyond > one year in the time stamps of a track, it asks the user for the > correct date and it repairs the track accordingly. This should help > until Garmin fixes it. Seewww.gartrip.de
My Geko 201 has the same problem. The pan track feature is essentially non-functional, and if I try to download tracks with Mapsource I get an error message saying the track is invalid, using g7toWin I can get the track and it shows some good 2010 dates and then some 1991 and 1952 dates.The trip odometer worked fine for a while and then suddenly went bonkers after I had the gps off changed location by a few miles and re-started the gps. It also is acting like it is having a problem remembering the almanac.
> Hi. > There seems to be a year 2010 bug with my Garmin Geko 201.
> When switching it on date and time are calculated wrong. But making it > even worse almanac data is also lost. So it needs to search for all > satellites whenever it is turned on. Indeed the whole celestial > mechanics is wrong: trying to display sunset results in a hung up geko - > I needed to remove the batteries to switch it off.
> First I thought this problems might be caused by a broken buffer > battery. But I tried it using two Geko 201 with different firmware > versions. The problem is repeatable with both devices.
> On the Garmin web-page there's nothing about this - no FAQ entry, no > Firmware update...
> Would you please check whether your Garmin is also affected? May be only > the german firmware is affected. Or it's a fundamental problem with the > phasetrac12 chipset used in this series of GPS devices.
> I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
> Regards, > Andreas Weller
I use my 201 to record hillwalks so its track dates and times are central to that. This Sundays (yesterday) track had a date in September 2029 and the GPS has its time in August 1988. My 201 also produced a very corrupt track for part of the day with errors like exagerated SA of 1 or 2 Km which is assume is another symptom of the problem. I have mailed Garmin on their website. I hope this leads to a new firmware version and a fix.
> On Jan 24, 6:34 am, Andreas Weller <wel...@andreas-weller.de> wrote:
> > Hi. > > There seems to be a year 2010 bug with my Garmin Geko 201.
> > When switching it on date and time are calculated wrong. But making it > > even worse almanac data is also lost. So it needs to search for all > > satellites whenever it is turned on. Indeed the whole celestial > > mechanics is wrong: trying to display sunset results in a hung up geko - > > I needed to remove the batteries to switch it off.
> > First I thought this problems might be caused by a broken buffer > > battery. But I tried it using two Geko 201 with different firmware > > versions. The problem is repeatable with both devices.
> > On the Garmin web-page there's nothing about this - no FAQ entry, no > > Firmware update...
> > Would you please check whether your Garmin is also affected? May be only > > the german firmware is affected. Or it's a fundamental problem with the > > phasetrac12 chipset used in this series of GPS devices.
> > I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
> > Regards, > > Andreas Weller
> I use my 201 to record hillwalks so its track dates and times are > central to that. This Sundays (yesterday) track had a date in > September 2029 and the GPS has its time in August 1988. My 201 also > produced a very corrupt track for part of the day with errors like > exagerated SA of 1 or 2 Km which is assume is another symptom of the > problem. I have mailed Garmin on their website. I hope this leads to > a new firmware version and a fix.- Hide quoted text -
> - Show quoted text -
I have spoken to Garmin this morning on their UK support number and they are aware of this problem now and it is in the hands of their US people. They took my phone and email with a promise to keep me updated. Watch this space.....
> On Feb 1, 10:28 pm, jairichard <mccul...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > On Jan 24, 6:34 am, Andreas Weller <wel...@andreas-weller.de> wrote:
> > > Hi. > > > There seems to be a year 2010 bug with my Garmin Geko 201.
> > > When switching it on date and time are calculated wrong. But making it > > > even worse almanac data is also lost. So it needs to search for all > > > satellites whenever it is turned on. Indeed the whole celestial > > > mechanics is wrong: trying to display sunset results in a hung up geko - > > > I needed to remove the batteries to switch it off.
> > > First I thought this problems might be caused by a broken buffer > > > battery. But I tried it using two Geko 201 with different firmware > > > versions. The problem is repeatable with both devices.
> > > On the Garmin web-page there's nothing about this - no FAQ entry, no > > > Firmware update...
> > > Would you please check whether your Garmin is also affected? May be only > > > the german firmware is affected. Or it's a fundamental problem with the > > > phasetrac12 chipset used in this series of GPS devices.
> > > I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
> > > Regards, > > > Andreas Weller
> > I use my 201 to record hillwalks so its track dates and times are > > central to that. This Sundays (yesterday) track had a date in > > September 2029 and the GPS has its time in August 1988. My 201 also > > produced a very corrupt track for part of the day with errors like > > exagerated SA of 1 or 2 Km which is assume is another symptom of the > > problem. I have mailed Garmin on their website. I hope this leads to > > a new firmware version and a fix.- Hide quoted text -
> > - Show quoted text -
> I have spoken to Garmin this morning on their UK support number and > they are aware of this problem now and it is in the hands of their US > people. They took my phone and email with a promise to keep me > updated. Watch this space.....
You will also need to do a master reset on your unit. Doing a master reset will delete all user data, but it will also delete any corrupt system data which may be causing the issue. Be sure to back up all user data, if possible, before continuing. To do the master reset, with the unit off, press and hold 'up' + 'ok' + 'page' + 'power' at the same time for about five seconds.
The above two steps should take care of this issue. If it doesn't, the unit will need to come in for repair/replacement. The flat rate to repair/replace a Geko 201 is $59 plus any applicable tax. "
I already had the latest firmware, but the master reset did the job for me.
PLEASE NOTE: 1) The master reset only occurs if the device is OFF before pushing the buttons !!! 2) Immediately after the reset, the track log dates were still screwy, but after turning the unit off and then back on I am getting a normal tracklog with the correct dates and times.
> On Feb 2, 4:04 am, jairichard <mccul...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > On Feb 1, 10:28 pm, jairichard <mccul...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > > On Jan 24, 6:34 am, Andreas Weller <wel...@andreas-weller.de> wrote:
> > > > Hi. > > > > There seems to be a year 2010 bug with my Garmin Geko 201.
> > > > When switching it on date and time are calculated wrong. But making it > > > > even worse almanac data is also lost. So it needs to search for all > > > > satellites whenever it is turned on. Indeed the whole celestial > > > > mechanics is wrong: trying to display sunset results in a hung up geko - > > > > I needed to remove the batteries to switch it off.
> > > > First I thought this problems might be caused by a broken buffer > > > > battery. But I tried it using two Geko 201 with different firmware > > > > versions. The problem is repeatable with both devices.
> > > > On the Garmin web-page there's nothing about this - no FAQ entry, no > > > > Firmware update...
> > > > Would you please check whether your Garmin is also affected? May be only > > > > the german firmware is affected. Or it's a fundamental problem with the > > > > phasetrac12 chipset used in this series of GPS devices.
> > > > I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
> > > > Regards, > > > > Andreas Weller
> > > I use my 201 to record hillwalks so its track dates and times are > > > central to that. This Sundays (yesterday) track had a date in > > > September 2029 and the GPS has its time in August 1988. My 201 also > > > produced a very corrupt track for part of the day with errors like > > > exagerated SA of 1 or 2 Km which is assume is another symptom of the > > > problem. I have mailed Garmin on their website. I hope this leads to > > > a new firmware version and a fix.- Hide quoted text -
> > > - Show quoted text -
> > I have spoken to Garmin this morning on their UK support number and > > they are aware of this problem now and it is in the hands of their US > > people. They took my phone and email with a promise to keep me > > updated. Watch this space.....
> You will also need to do a master reset on your unit. Doing a master > reset will delete all user data, but it will also delete any corrupt > system data which may be causing the issue. Be sure to back up all > user data, if possible, before continuing. To do the master reset, > with the unit off, press and hold 'up' + 'ok' + 'page' + 'power' at > the same time for about five seconds.
> The above two steps should take care of this issue. If it doesn't, the > unit will need to come in for repair/replacement. The flat rate to > repair/replace a Geko 201 is $59 plus any applicable tax. "
> I already had the latest firmware, but the master reset did the job > for me.
> PLEASE NOTE: > 1) The master reset only occurs if the device is OFF before pushing > the buttons !!! > 2) Immediately after the reset, the track log dates were still screwy, > but after turning the unit off and then back on I am getting a normal > tracklog with the correct dates and times.
> Tom- Hide quoted text -
> - Show quoted text -
without any advice for a reset etc I was told to wait for news only. I did backup my 201 did a master reset and after that the time was still in error so clearly far from operational. I can confirm the reset loses everything including user information.
> On Feb 2, 7:30 pm, Tom <tbharv...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Feb 2, 4:04 am, jairichard <mccul...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > > On Feb 1, 10:28 pm, jairichard <mccul...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > > > On Jan 24, 6:34 am, Andreas Weller <wel...@andreas-weller.de> wrote:
> > > > > Hi. > > > > > There seems to be a year 2010 bug with my Garmin Geko 201.
> > > > > When switching it on date and time are calculated wrong. But making it > > > > > even worse almanac data is also lost. So it needs to search for all > > > > > satellites whenever it is turned on. Indeed the whole celestial > > > > > mechanics is wrong: trying to display sunset results in a hung up geko - > > > > > I needed to remove the batteries to switch it off.
> > > > > First I thought this problems might be caused by a broken buffer > > > > > battery. But I tried it using two Geko 201 with different firmware > > > > > versions. The problem is repeatable with both devices.
> > > > > On the Garmin web-page there's nothing about this - no FAQ entry, no > > > > > Firmware update...
> > > > > Would you please check whether your Garmin is also affected? May be only > > > > > the german firmware is affected. Or it's a fundamental problem with the > > > > > phasetrac12 chipset used in this series of GPS devices.
> > > > > I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
> > > > > Regards, > > > > > Andreas Weller
> > > > I use my 201 to record hillwalks so its track dates and times are > > > > central to that. This Sundays (yesterday) track had a date in > > > > September 2029 and the GPS has its time in August 1988. My 201 also > > > > produced a very corrupt track for part of the day with errors like > > > > exagerated SA of 1 or 2 Km which is assume is another symptom of the > > > > problem. I have mailed Garmin on their website. I hope this leads to > > > > a new firmware version and a fix.- Hide quoted text -
> > > > - Show quoted text -
> > > I have spoken to Garmin this morning on their UK support number and > > > they are aware of this problem now and it is in the hands of their US > > > people. They took my phone and email with a promise to keep me > > > updated. Watch this space.....
> > You will also need to do a master reset on your unit. Doing a master > > reset will delete all user data, but it will also delete any corrupt > > system data which may be causing the issue. Be sure to back up all > > user data, if possible, before continuing. To do the master reset, > > with the unit off, press and hold 'up' + 'ok' + 'page' + 'power' at > > the same time for about five seconds.
> > The above two steps should take care of this issue. If it doesn't, the > > unit will need to come in for repair/replacement. The flat rate to > > repair/replace a Geko 201 is $59 plus any applicable tax. "
> > I already had the latest firmware, but the master reset did the job > > for me.
> > PLEASE NOTE: > > 1) The master reset only occurs if the device is OFF before pushing > > the buttons !!! > > 2) Immediately after the reset, the track log dates were still screwy, > > but after turning the unit off and then back on I am getting a normal > > tracklog with the correct dates and times.
> > Tom- Hide quoted text -
> > - Show quoted text -
> without any advice for a reset etc I was told to wait for news only. I > did backup my 201 did a master reset and after that the time was still > in error so clearly far from operational. I can confirm the reset > loses everything including user information.
Mine is now showing bad dates again. The time is right, but the date is wrong. The more people report this to Garmin the more likely it will be that they figure there is a firmware bug, and not just a couple of bad units.
> On Feb 2, 3:30 pm, jairichard <mccul...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > On Feb 2, 7:30 pm, Tom <tbharv...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > On Feb 2, 4:04 am, jairichard <mccul...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > > > On Feb 1, 10:28 pm, jairichard <mccul...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > > > > On Jan 24, 6:34 am, Andreas Weller <wel...@andreas-weller.de> wrote:
> > > > > > Hi. > > > > > > There seems to be a year 2010 bug with my Garmin Geko 201.
> > > > > > When switching it on date and time are calculated wrong. But making it > > > > > > even worse almanac data is also lost. So it needs to search for all > > > > > > satellites whenever it is turned on. Indeed the whole celestial > > > > > > mechanics is wrong: trying to display sunset results in a hung up geko - > > > > > > I needed to remove the batteries to switch it off.
> > > > > > First I thought this problems might be caused by a broken buffer > > > > > > battery. But I tried it using two Geko 201 with different firmware > > > > > > versions. The problem is repeatable with both devices.
> > > > > > On the Garmin web-page there's nothing about this - no FAQ entry, no > > > > > > Firmware update...
> > > > > > Would you please check whether your Garmin is also affected? May be only > > > > > > the german firmware is affected. Or it's a fundamental problem with the > > > > > > phasetrac12 chipset used in this series of GPS devices.
> > > > > > I sent an e-mail to Garmin (US and EU) but sadly no reply yet :-(
> > > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Andreas Weller
> > > > > I use my 201 to record hillwalks so its track dates and times are > > > > > central to that. This Sundays (yesterday) track had a date in > > > > > September 2029 and the GPS has its time in August 1988. My 201 also > > > > > produced a very corrupt track for part of the day with errors like > > > > > exagerated SA of 1 or 2 Km which is assume is another symptom of the > > > > > problem. I have mailed Garmin on their website. I hope this leads to > > > > > a new firmware version and a fix.- Hide quoted text -
> > > > > - Show quoted text -
> > > > I have spoken to Garmin this morning on their UK support number and > > > > they are aware of this problem now and it is in the hands of their US > > > > people. They took my phone and email with a promise to keep me > > > > updated. Watch this space.....
> > > I sent email to Garmin and got this reply: > > > "Please download, install and run the WebUpdater application to > > > install the most current software version onto your unit:http://www8.garmin.com/products/webupdater/howtoinstall.jsp
> > > You will also need to do a master reset on your unit. Doing a master > > > reset will delete all user data, but it will also delete any corrupt > > > system data which may be causing the issue. Be sure to back up all > > > user data, if possible, before continuing. To do the master reset, > > > with the unit off, press and hold 'up' + 'ok' + 'page' + 'power' at > > > the same time for about five seconds.
> > > The above two steps should take care of this issue. If it doesn't, the > > > unit will need to come in for repair/replacement. The flat rate to > > > repair/replace a Geko 201 is $59 plus any applicable tax. "
> > > I already had the latest firmware, but the master reset did the job > > > for me.
> > > PLEASE NOTE: > > > 1) The master reset only occurs if the device is OFF before pushing > > > the buttons !!! > > > 2) Immediately after the reset, the track log dates were still screwy, > > > but after turning the unit off and then back on I am getting a normal > > > tracklog with the correct dates and times.
> > > Tom- Hide quoted text -
> > > - Show quoted text -
> > without any advice for a reset etc I was told to wait for news only. I > > did backup my 201 did a master reset and after that the time was still > > in error so clearly far from operational. I can confirm the reset > > loses everything including user information.
> Mine is now showing bad dates again. The time is right, but the date > is wrong. The more people report this to Garmin the more likely it > will be that they figure there is a firmware bug, and not just a > couple of bad units.
> Tom- Tekst uit oorspronkelijk bericht niet weergeven -
BRAVO VER 8 Software 2.70 Temp 20C Bat 2.55V Geko-201 #1: S/N: 90414406 Geko-201 #2: S/N: 12933751
I have the 2010 date bug on TWO Geko-201’s! It was fine on 12/31/2009. But 01/01/2010 it says the date is 12/05/1968!!!! When switching it on the date is calculated wrong. But making it even worse, almanac data is also lost. So it needs to search for all satellites whenever it is turned on.
> the date is calculated wrong. But making it even worse, almanac data > is also lost. So it needs to search for all satellites whenever it is > turned on.
> I think the firmware needs to be updated!!!
My Geko 201 shows exactly the same bug symptoms. S/N 90490832, BRAVO VER 8, Software 2.70
I reported the problem to the German branch of Garmin. They instructed me to update the firmware (was 2.50 before) and execute an unit reset, but the problem still exists. Hopefully they consider to fix the bug with a new firmware version.
> I reported the problem to the German branch of Garmin. They instructed > me to update the firmware (was 2.50 before) and execute an unit reset, > but the problem still exists. Hopefully they consider to fix the bug > with a new firmware version.
Meanwhile Garmin informed me that they reported the problem to the development department. They intend to provide a new firmware update but can't tell when it will be available. The update will be announced via the service newsticker (http://news.garminservice.de/).
"Thank you for contacting Garmin International. We have heard of the issue with Geko 201 units not keeping an accurate time and date and we would like to bring a couple of these devices in so our engineering team may inspect them. Would you be interested in sending in your two Geko 201 units? If so, I will be happy to setup a YRMA order to have one of our software engineers inspect your GPS devices. Would you like to have the units returned to the address you provided below?"
I returned one of the units on Wednesday the 10th to Olathe, KS. The other one I need for Geocaching...
