Outdoor and Marine handhelds have reserved internal memory for data, such as waypoints, routes, tracks, activities and geocaches. Most also have a slot for a microSD card.

Handhelds have limitations¹ on the amount of data they can read, regardless of whether the data is on the internal memory or microSD card. The limitations are more than a typical user needs.

As such, there is no benefit to placing data on the microSD card instead of keeping it on the device itself. The only reason for having a microSD card is to store additional mapping.

Understandably, the amount of data in the device can cause concerns about any adverse impact on the device's performance.

Note: User data created on the device can only be saved to the internal memory.

If you:

Think you may be reaching the limitations of your device²
Want to be proactive in removing older data
Notice your device's performance is becoming slower

You can back up important user data from the device to the computer using our BaseCamp program, and then delete the data from the device via the computer too. For steps, see - Backing Up, Viewing And Transferring Data Using Garmin BaseCamp and Deleting GPX Files From an Outdoor Device.

¹For details on your specific device, see below:

Data Limitations on Outdoor Handhelds

²For steps specific to your device, see below:

How to Check the Available Space of Your Handheld

Plug your Garmin in to a computer
Locate the drive for your device
HINT: The drive will be labeled Garmin, or the name of your device
- Mac:
  1. Open Finder
  2. Select Devices
  3. Select the drive for your Garmin
- Windows 10:
  1. Open the Start menu
  2. Select This PC
  3. Locate the drive for your Garmin
Highlight the drive
Examine the drive's properties
- Mac: Press the space bar on the keyboard after highlighting the drive
- Windows 10: Right-click on the drive, and select Properties

The free or available space should now be displayed.