Select your product to confirm this information applies to you

Deleting GPX Files From an Outdoor Watch or Handheld

GPX files contain data such as tracks, routes, and waypoints. There are a number of reasons to delete GPX files from your Garmin device, including removing old data, freeing up storage space, or resolving specific errors such as: 

  • "Maximum number of GPX files exceeded"

  • "Memory Full"

  • "Low Memory"

  • Device charged but not powering on

These errors appear when the amount of files has exceeded what the device can accept.

Removing GPX files from the device itself can be tedious, but doing so via a computer is much easier. Some devices may also have FIT files that can be deleted. You can find steps for these processes below.

IMPORTANT: It is recommended to back up any important data before proceeding:  Backing Up, Viewing And Transferring Data Using Garmin BaseCamp™
Use caution when deleting. DO NOT delete files outside of the GPX folder; deleting the wrong files from your device can cause the device to fail.

Deleting GPX Files via the Computer

Windows

  1. Connect the Garmin device to the computer.

  2. Press the Windows key + E on the keyboard to open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.

  3. Select This PC (Windows 10 & 11 only).

  4. Open the Garmin drive listed.

    Windows 10/11

    Devices and Drives on Windows 10

    Windows 7/8

    Devices with Removable Storage on Windows 7

  5. If listed, open Internal Storage.

  6. Open the Garmin folder.

  7. Open the GPX folder.

  8. Select the file(s) you wish to delete.

  9. Press Delete on the keyboard.

    • Confirm you wish to permanently remove these items if prompted.

  10. Safely eject the device from the computer by right-clicking the Safely Remove Hardware icon on the taskbar, then selecting the device. For more details, see - Safely remove hardware in Windows.

Your device will no longer display the deleted files.

Mac

NOTE: The eTrex® SE, eTrex® Solar, Foretrex® 801, Foretrex® 901, Montana® 710, Montana® 710i, Montana® 760i, GPSMAP® 67, and GPSMAP® 67i outdoor devices, and Garmin watches with on-board music storage use MTP mode, which prevents them from appearing as a separate drive on Mac computers. For these devices, a Windows computer must be used.

  1. Connect the Garmin device to the computer.

  2. Open Finder.

  3. Select Go in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

  4. Select Computer.

  5. Open the Garmin drive.

  6. Location of Garmin Drive in Finder

  7. Open the Garmin folder.

  8. Open the GPX folder.

  9. Drag file(s) you wish to delete to the Trash.

  10. Click the Trash icon.

  11. Click the Empty button in the upper-right corner of the Finder window.

    • Confirm you wish to permanently remove these items if prompted.

  12. Drag the Garmin device drive to Trash to safely eject it from the computer.

Your device will no longer display the deleted files.

Checking the Available Space on Your Device

NOTE: The eTrex® SE, eTrex® Solar, Foretrex® 801, Foretrex® 901, GPSMAP® 67, GPSMAP® 67i, Montana® 710, Montana® 710i, and Montana® 760i outdoor devices use MTP mode, which prevents them from appearing as a separate drive on Mac computers. For these devices, a Windows computer must be used.

  1. Connect the Garmin device to a computer.

  2. Locate the drive for your device.

    HINT: The drive will be labeled Garmin, or the name of your device.

    • Windows:

      1. Press the Windows key + E on the keyboard to open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.

      2. Select This PC (Windows 10 & 11 only).

      3. Locate the drive for your Garmin .

    • Mac:

      1. Open Finder.

      2. Select Go in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

      3. Select Computer.

      4. Locate the drive for your Garmin.

  3. Highlight the drive.

  4. Examine the drive's properties.

    • Windows: Right-click on the drive, and select Properties.

    • Mac: Press the space bar on the keyboard after highlighting the drive.

The free or available space should now be displayed.

Links That Detail Data Limitations for Your Device

Devices That Can Record GPX and FIT

Some devices have the option to change the output of track or activity files to GPX, FIT or both GPX/FIT. For these devices, you should also delete the associated FIT file. See Related for steps.

  • D2™

  • eTrex® Touch series

  • epix™

  • fēnix®

  • fēnix® 2

  • Foretrex® 601 & Foretrex® 701

  • Foretrex® 801 & Foretrex® 901

  • GPSMAP® 276Cx

  • GPSMAP® 66/67/86 series

  • Instinct® series

  • Montana® 610/680 series

  • Montana® 700 series

  • Oregon® 600/700 series

  • quatix®

  • Rino® 750 & Rino® 755t

  • tactix®

In the future, you can change to the FIT output which creates smaller files. For how to change the output, refer to your owner's manual.

If your device is not recognized by the computer, follow the steps in Outdoor or Marine Handheld Not Recognized by Computer or Garmin Applications prior to deleting data or update files.

Related

Contact Us for More Help