Select your product to confirm this information applies to you
Sending a Location, Coordinates or GPX File through the Garmin Drive App
You can use the Garmin Drive™ app to search for an address, business, or point of interest and send it to your Garmin device for navigation.
See Installing the Garmin Drive App for instructions on installing the Garmin Drive app.
See Error when Sending Address from the Garmin Drive App on iPhone to an Automotive Device if you receive an error.
Tips on Searching for Locations in the Garmin Drive App:
To search for an address near you, enter the house number and street name.
To search for an address in another city, enter the house number, street name, city, and state.
To search for a business name, enter all or part of the name.
To search for a city, enter the city and state.
Coordinates are not searchable.
As you type, suggestions appear below the search field.
A second location can be sent to the device to add as a via point.
If you search for and select a location without being paired to the device, it will send the location to the device the next time they are connected.
- The app will display the location on a map.
You can also send an address from the contacts on your phone to the device using the Garmin Drive app. The following steps can vary by phone. Consult your phone's owner's manual for instructions on opening or sharing an address with an app if necessary.
Getting Started: The Garmin device is powered on and connected to the Garmin Drive app on your Android phone
NOTE: Only one location can be sent at a time.
1. Open Google Maps on your Android phone
2. Input a location or coordinates, then tap the search icon
Inputting a Location:
Inputting Coordinates:
- Separate with a comma (for example 40.748817, -73.985428), and tap the search icon.
3. Confirm the location on the resulting page and Tap Share
4. Select the Garmin Drive app when prompted to select an app to share to
5. Ensure your Garmin device is turned on and has acquired satellites
6. On the Android phone, the Garmin Drive app will open and confirm the destination. Tap Go!
7. The destination is received by the GPS, and the route begins calculating
- Optional: Once finished calculating, tap the green bar to see destination and turn-by-turn directions.
- Optional: The destination and turn-by-turn directions are shown. To see a route on a map overview, tap the 3-lines, then Map.
- Some devices skip this step.
- Optional: The destination and turn-by-turn directions are shown. To see a route on a map overview, tap the 3-lines, then Map.
- Optional: Tap – or + to adjust the view. Tap reverse two times to return to the map screen.
- Tap reverse one time on some devices.
- Optional: Tap – or + to adjust the view. Tap reverse two times to return to the map screen.
The location will be added to your recent searches in the Garmin Drive app as well as the recent locations on the device.
NOTE: When entering coordinates, the coordinates may display differently on the GPS than what was entered on the phone’s map application. This is because navigational components default to and use multiple GPS coordinate formats. Your automotive device will still navigate to the entered location.
Getting Started: The Garmin device is powered on and connected to the Garmin Drive app on your iPhone
NOTE: Only one location can be sent at a time.
1. Open Apple Maps on your iPhone
2. Input the location or coordinates, then tap search
Inputting a Location:
Inputting Coordinates:
- Separate with a comma and do not add a space between the comma and the next set of numbers, (for example 40.748817, -73.985428), then tap the search icon.
3. Confirm the location on the resulting page. Touch the Share icon
4. Tap the Garmin Drive app Icon
5. Ensure your Garmin device is turned on and has acquired satellites
6. Tap Send on the iPhone once the Garmin Drive app pop-up confirms the destination
7. The destination is received by the GPS, and the route begins calculating
- Optional: Once finished, tap the green bar to see destination and turn-by-turn directions.
- Optional: The destination and turn-by-turn directions are shown. To see a route on a map overview, tap the 3-lines, then Map.
- Some devices skip this step.
- Optional: The destination and turn-by-turn directions are shown. To see a route on a map overview, tap the 3-lines, then Map.
- Optional: Tap – or + to adjust the view. Tap reverse two times to return to the map screen.
- Tap reverse one time on some devices.
- Optional: Tap – or + to adjust the view. Tap reverse two times to return to the map screen.
The location will be added to your recent searches in the Garmin Drive app as well as the recent locations on the device.
Note: When entering coordinates, the coordinates may display differently on the GPS than what was entered on the phone’s map application. This is because the navigational components default to and use multiple GPS coordinate formats. Your automotive device will still navigate to the entered location. For additional information, see Entering Coordinates on an Automotive Device.
1. Select the GPX file on the phone
2. Select the Garmin Drive app
3. Select the desired device (scroll over if multiple compatible devices are listed) when the Garmin Drive app displays the "GPS File Received" message
4. Touch Send
The GPX file will send to the device if they are paired. If they aren't, it will send it the next time they are paired.
1. Select the GPX file on the phone
2. Touch the iPhone upload icon
3. Select the Garmin Drive app icon
4. Select the desired device (scroll over if multiple compatible devices are listed) when the Garmin Drive app displays the "GPS File Received" message
5. Touch Send
The GPX file will send to the device if they are paired. If they aren't, it will send it the next time they are paired.
This does not apply to Garmin DriveSmart™ 55, Garmin DriveSmart™ 65, and Garmin DriveSmart™ 65 with Amazon Alexa GPS navigators.
The Garmin Drive app will store a maximum of 5 recently searched addresses when "Where To?" is used in the Garmin Drive app and that search result has been sent to the device.
Upon searching a sixth location and sending it to the GPS unit, the oldest search result within the Garmin Drive app will be overwritten.
The recent search results in the Garmin Drive app cannot be cleared or deleted, only overwritten by new searches.
Each location sent from the Garmin Drive app to the GPS navigator will also be added to the Recent Locations List on the device as well.
Refer to Managing Recently Found Places on an Automotive Device for information on how to access the device's Recent Locations List, and how to clear the Recent Locations List.
See Saving Locations on an Automotive Device Received from the Garmin Drive App to save the location on your device.