Garmin Edge Explore and other Edge models

[drossall]

I've tried this with an Edge Touring Plus and one of those cylindrical power packs, which sits on a generic torch mount from eBay, just under the GPS. But I've sometimes found that the GPS gets confused and shuts itself down when it actually has 50% power. Other times it works brilliantly. I've not worked out why the behaviour varies.

[yoav]

Generally this happens if the external power source is interrupted for any reason, even very briefly like you have a loose connection and then you hit a bump in the road. Then the Garmin tells you it's shutting down (even if it's own battery has plenty of charge) and gives you 15 secs to cancel this. If you don't see this notification in time, it switches itself off. When the external power comes back on, the Garmin switches itself back on.

This, to me, is Garmin's (all Garmins) most annoying feature. It cannot be switched off. A mobile phone (and maybe other brands of GPS*) cam cope with with a an on/off external power supply without complaint.

* If you know of one, I'd love to know.

[drossall]

Thanks - that's really helpful (and annoying, I agree, stupid design). At least I know what to do to try to fix it.

[Kim]

That's one of the useful features that they dropped after the eTrex HCx (which had a config option for staying on when external power is lost).

[drossall]

I've still got my HCx. Maybe I should go back to it...

[Paul Smith SRCC]

Generally this happens if the external power source is interrupted for any reason, even very briefly like you have a loose connection and then you hit a bump in the road. Then the Garmin tells you it's shutting down (even if it's own battery has plenty of charge) and gives you 15 secs to cancel this. If you don't see this notification in time, it switches itself off. When the external power comes back on, the Garmin switches itself back on....

That maybe another reason why some prefer to only use a power bank to give their Garmin a quick a 'top up' at a café or lunch stop etc. My Garmin does charge quite quickly; I would imagine for many these 'top up' charges may well be all that is needed to complete a ride.

[drossall]

Generally I get out of the cafe and think, "Oh no, I forgot to charge it!"

[citoyen]

Generally this happens if the external power source is interrupted for any reason, even very briefly like you have a loose connection and then you hit a bump in the road. Then the Garmin tells you it's shutting down (even if it's own battery has plenty of charge) and gives you 15 secs to cancel this. If you don't see this notification in time, it switches itself off. When the external power comes back on, the Garmin switches itself back on....

That maybe another reason why some prefer to only use a power bank to give their Garmin a quick a 'top up' at a café or lunch stop etc. My Garmin does charge quite quickly; I would imagine for many these 'top up' charges may well be all that is needed to complete a ride.

Yes, exactly this.

Plug it in as soon as I arrive at the cafe stop - that usually gives it enough time to charge it enough to last at least until the next stop, unless it's a very fleeting stop.

[JulesP]

Battery life on the Edge 1030 Plus is seriously impressive, but everything else is less so. I’ve mentioned its inability to follow and record routes with lots of points in another thread, but its ETA forecasting is also hopelessly broken.

[De Sisti]

Battery life on the Edge 1030 Plus is seriously impressive, but everything else is less so. I’ve mentioned its inability to follow and record routes with lots of points in another thread, but its ETA forecasting is also hopelessly broken.

Have you tried the My Edge2 app ?
https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/612e0b7a-ac48-47b3-8718-a8f66109ab90

[JulesP]

Yep, I’ve investigated that, but it’s a third-party sledgehammer solution for a stock peanut feature that should work properly on premium Garmin hardware (and does, on other models I’ve had).

[De Sisti]

Is it possible to change the sd card on an Edge Explore?

[neilrj]

Edge explore doesn't have any provision for extra storage

[yoav]

Garmin stopped putting microSD card slots in their devices. I have a Edge 810 and a Edge Touring which I think are the last models with them. The newer models do have larger internal memories, 16Gb IIRC.

[salar55]

Garmin stopped putting microSD card slots in their devices. I have a Edge 810 and a Edge Touring which I think are the last models with them. The newer models do have larger internal memories, 16Gb IIRC.

Bought a GPS MAP 66st as the Edge 1000 is on its last legs. My old 60 series never hung up and the buttons still work, only downside was its battery hungry. Last run a hidden test menu jumped up on the 1000 as I was out on a track. No way to remove or change the screen page. The power button is broken,  so no 3 button reset function. New handheld has a 36 hour battery and an extended life function and I can use all my SD card maps, wish the Edge models were built to the same standard as the handhelds.