Garmin Nuvi 3790

[Shanel Arrendell]

MyNuvi 3790 will use the computer for power when connected by USB but I can not get it to show up as a drive so I can update the maps. Using a 2015 iMac and MacBook Air. Also have newest Garmin Express which can't see the Nuvi.

Some last bonus thoughts. I have two front USB ports on my PC and I find that one port tends to only see my 3597 as wanting power while the other lets the computer and Garmin Express see it. If you have other USB ports on your iMac, try it/them, and do connect the cable directly to the iMac and not to an external USB device. If your 3790, iMac and Garmin Express worked well in the past but now doesn't connect, I suspect the cable or either the iMac or nuvi port as bad. If you have another cable, try it.

My Nuvi 3790 will use the computer for power when connected by USB but I can not get it to show up as a drive so I can update the maps. Using a 2015 iMac and MacBook Air. Also have newest Garmin Express which can't see the Nuvi.Per owners manual. "This USB mass storage device is compatible with Windows XP or newer and Mac OS X 10.4 or later".It should go right into mass storage mode.If you have multiple drives on your mac, you may need to look at how to map the drives.Info should be available in your help files. Not a mac user but found this info -a-network-drive-on-a-mac/

One of the first things you notice with the 3700 series is just how thin they are. You can see this in the image below, comparing it to my nuvi 765T. Also note the standard micro-USB connection (a cable is included to allow you connect it to the USB port on your computer). Micro-USB connections are becoming quite common as PNDs and mobile phones get thinner and thinner.

Also new is the built-in accelerometer, allowing the display to rotate and be viewed in portrait or landscape mode, as seen below. At left you see junction view, which comes up in split screen mode when in portrait orientation. To the right is the map view, giving you a peek at 3D terrain on the 3790LMT.

The 3700 series is the first to use historical road speed data in calculating routes, which should result in improved routing, especially in areas with routine traffic problems. I saw definite improvements in routing behavior over my nuvi 765T, with the 3700 series sending me on locally known shortcuts and alternative routes, routing me on freeways where my 765T would keep me on a parallel road, etc. While I occasionally saw some wonky choices, for the most part the trafficTrends feature selected faster routes.

This feature enables routine routing (home to work, work to home) to be automatically set at that time of day. This feature can be enabled/disabled under Tools > Settings > Navigation > Automobile > nuRoute > myTrends. I did not see this happen with my test unit but then, my schedule has been quite erratic lately.

Garmin has dropped the awkward steering wheel remote found on the nuvi 8xx series units, opting instead for a customizable wakeup phrase to initiate voice command. Once you say the magic words, the following screen appears.

On the 8xx series, you can use voice command for nearly any menu item on any screen. Your options are much more limited on the 3790LMT. I especially missed the familiar Near option, which allows you to search near your destination, along your route, etc.

The menus have changed a bit, and share a similar interface to those found on Garmin-Asus phones. In the sample Where To? screenshot below, on the left side are icons for menu, up, down and back. As with other nuvis, you can hold down the back icon to return to the main screen.

It appears that Garmin has finally listened to years of complaints by nuvi owners and started showing more surrounding street names. You can see this in the screenshots below; the top one is the nuvi 3790 series, the bottom, a nuvi 765T.

The 3700 series performed fairly well in all my tests. The historical road speed database, trafficTrends, generally resulted in superior routing, though it would have sent me on a slower route on at least one occasion. Still, it did so much better that I would definitely prefer it to a unit without this feature.

As a result of trafficTrends though, the 37xx series must crunch a lot more data to generate a route. This does result in a time delay. It was only a second or two for local destinations, but more distant ones took nearly 10 seconds for the initial route calculation (compared to just a second or so for my 765T). Recalculations took up to 7 seconds for long routes.

You can tap a via point to select an item and specify an arrival time or duration of stop. This is quite the useful feature. I plugged in the duration of several stops, the time I wanted to arrive at my final destination, and was able to easily determine when I needed to start my trip.

A couple of things are worth mentioning here. First, you may think the power button is non-responsive. I had no problem powering the unit on or off once I started pressing the right side of it. Startup is nearly instantaneous, by the way, on the order of a couple of seconds.

I do not live in an area with FM traffic coverage, though I did get to fringe reception areas while testing the 3700 series. Traffic functions appear identical to recent nuvis and, as with all Garmin lifetime traffic units, the subscription is ad-supported, as you can see below.

How long does the battery last?

I have a vintage car without a cigarette lighter or sometimes use it in pedestrian mode so long battery life is important. I anticipate turning off features that might consume power to prolong this (voice commands, BlueTooth, etc)

Thank you

The speed limit should show up automatically on roads that have it. You should certainly see it on Interstates, but it should also show on most major roads. Or are you wanting to display your current speed?

I will be upgrading from a Garmin Nuvi 265. I have built up a lot of addresses and destinations in it. Is it possible to sync it to the 3790LMT and transfer them over with out manually entering each one. Thanks

I need a unit that I can also take hiking with me to record maps to follow back later. With as smart and feature full these new units sport you would think that you could use these units for the same task.

The map file is on the SD card in the Garmin folder, no other file in there. I tried in many occasions with multiple maps it it's doing the same no matter which map is loaded. It does not find anything, not even the city or country. For instance I have the map of Switzerland activated, I enter partly the street name, and the autocomplete proposes the correct full name of the street, but then it says it cannot find it. Then I enter Switzerland in the "Look in..." field, it autocompletes "Switzerland" and then it says "Sorry, we could not find Switzerland".

I always have the latest software updates, but it does not make a difference anyway.The device works normally with the Garmin pre-loaded North America map.I put the same SD card on my friend's device - a Garmin Nuvi 3790LMT - and this one finds the address with no problem. But the menus are totally different also.

I have a similar model (2555LMT), and the same things happen when you try to search. Apparently, the OpenStreetMap maps don't work very well with Garmin devices just yet. It's because the developers don't know exactly how Garmin processes addresses, since their software is proprietary. I would talk to a Nominatim developer.

@aseerel4c26: This specific device shouldn't be the problem as Garmin nuvi devices are usually well supported, although the address search is still not ideal and sometimes requires special steps to make it work correctly.

3a8082e126