Why do I lose the preloaded Tide information on my GPSMAP® 162 or GPSMAP® 168 when I load marine mapping to the device?

The GPSMAP® 162 and GPSMAP® 168 are preloaded with Tide information. This information is stored in the 2.5MB of internal memory in these devices. Anytime additional mapping is loaded to this device, it will erase the preloaded Tide information.

There are a few ways to correct this issue if the Tide information is wanted on the device.

The first option is to reload the original data to the device and overwrite the mapping that was loaded. This will load the device with only the preloaded Tide data. No additional mapping will be visible on the device. If both the factory Tide data and the marine mapping are desired on the device, skip to the second option.

Please follow these steps to recover the preloaded information.

1. Visit the update page for the device to download the file to replace the preloaded information
   1. GPSMAP 162
   2. GPSMAP 168
2. Find the section called "Download Factory Tide Settings" and click on the Download link in that section
3. Click the Save button and choose an easy to find folder to save the file to
4. When the download completes, open the folder where the file was saved and double-click on the file called FactoryTideSettings.exe
5. Follow the instructions to install this program onto the computer
6. When asked if a shortcut on the desktop should be created, click the Yes button
7. After the program is installed, find a icon on the desktop called "Load GPSMAP 162-168 Tide Points Database" and double-click on this shortcut
8. When the program opens, click the Auto Detect button to make the computer find out which Com port the device is connected to
9. If the device is found by the computer, skip to step 10. If the device is not found by the computer, follow these steps
   1. On the device, press the Menu button twice to get to the main menu
   2. Highlight the Comm tab on the left side of the screen
   3. Press the Right arrow one time to highlight the Serial Data Format setting
   4. Press the Enter button one time
   5. Highlight Garmin Data Transfer and press the Enter button
   6. On the computer, click the Auto Detect button to find the device
10. Click the OK button
11. Click the OK button to start the transfer of the information
12. The process will take about 2 minutes to complete

Once this procedure is done, the factory preloaded Tide data will be installed into the device.

The second option is to load both the preloaded tide data and the marine mapping to the device at the same time. Please follow these instructions:

1. Visit the update page for the device to download the file to replace the preloaded information
   1. GPSMAP 162
   2. GPSMAP 168
2. Find the section called "Download Recommended MapSource US Tides Software" can click on the Download link in that section
3. Click the Save button and choose an easy to find folder to save the file to
4. When the download completes, open the folder where the file was saved and double-click on the file called RecommendedMapSourceUSTidesSoftware.exe
5. Follow the instructions to install this program onto the computer
6. On the last step of the install procedure, make sure to check the box titled "Run MapSource Now" before clicking the Finish button
7. When MapSource opens, the preloaded Tide data from the device will be able to be selected as a map
8. In MapSource, click on View at the top of the screen and choose Switch To Product
9. Choose GPSMAP 162/168 Tide Points
10. Now the area needed can be selected as a map. Click on Tools at the top of the screen and choose Map.
11. Left click in the area needed and it should turn the area pink. This means the area is selected. If multiple areas are needed, click each area to add that map to the list.
12. Now click View at the top of the screen and choose Switch To Product
13. Now select the marine mapping program and follow steps 10 and 11 to select the areas needed from these marine maps
    1. The GPSMAP 162/168 can only store up to 2.5MB of mapping in the internal memory. When all the maps are selected, a list should be created on the left side of the map under the Maps tab. At the bottom of this list is the amount of space the selected maps will take up on the device. As long as this is less than 2.5MB of space, the mapping will all fit onto the device.
14. With all the maps selected, click Transfer at the top of the screen and choose Send To Device
15. Make sure the device is listed in the box that appears. If it does not appear, click on the drop down menu to see if it is listed in another location.
16. If the device is found by the computer, skip to step 17. If the device is not found by the computer, follow these steps:
    1. On the device, press the Menu button twice to get to the main menu
    2. Highlight the Comm tab on the left side of the screen
    3. Press the Right arrow to highlight the Serial Data Format setting
    4. Press the Enter button. Highlight Garmin Data Transfer and press the Enter button
    5. On the computer, click the Find Device button
17. Once the device appears in the box, make sure to insert a check mark beside Maps
18. Click the Send button to send the data to the device

This method will provide the device with both the preloaded Tide information and the separate marine mapping.

Either of these options will reload the preloaded factory Tide information back into the device.