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Adding Marine Charts to a Garmin Chartplotter

Downloadable charts can be purchased for Garmin® chartplotters, supplementing them with charts of areas not included in the base model and in some cases, additional features for an area already covered.

NOTE: This FAQ is applicable to Garmin fixed-mount chartplotters only. STRIKER™ devices can never download supplemental charts. Handheld devices cannot use charts that are registered to a vessel. However the chart is obtained, either purchased on a preloaded SD card or downloaded to a micro/SD card later, the card must stay in the chartplotter while the purchased chart is being used.

Purchasing New Charts

New charts can be purchased from the ActiveCaptain app by selecting Chart > ☰ > Download Charts > Purchase Charts. New charts can also be purchased from the Garmin site.

  1. For Garmin Navionics+™ and Garmin Navionics Vision+™ 

    • Select an area of the map or use Search by location or lake name, and available chart products for the selected area will appear on the left side of the screen

    • Select a chart product to view the covered area

    • Select Shop Now on a chart product to view purchase options

  2. For BlueChart® g3 or LakeVu™ g3 

    • Select a chart product for more details and purchase options

  3. If applicable, enter a discount code

  4. Select Check Out and complete the purchase

If the Download option is selected, the chart can be downloaded either via ActiveCaptain from a mobile device or Garmin Express from a computer.

Downloading the Chart Using ActiveCaptain™

NOTE: Installing charts requires ActiveCaptain to download large files. Regular data limits or charges from the mobile service provider apply. Contact the service provider for more information about data limits or charges.

ActiveCaptain can be used to install charts on a mobile device which can then be transferred wirelessly to a micro/SD card of up to 1TB* capacity in a compatible chartplotter. Due to download and transfer time, possible space limitations on the mobile device, and possible issues with data limits, it is recommended that ActiveCaptain be used to install smaller portions of a chart at a time.

  1. Connect the ActiveCaptain app to the chartplotter to register it

    • Use the same log-in information for ActiveCaptain that was used to purchase the chart 

  2. Reconnect the mobile device to a data connection

  3. In ActiveCaptain select Chart > > Download Chart

  4. Select the chart to be downloaded

  5. Select a tile on the map to begin downloading that area to the mobile device

  6. When the selected areas are finished downloading, reconnect ActiveCaptain to the chartplotter

  7. The charts will begin transferring to the ActiveCaptain card in the chartplotter 

After the transfer is complete, the chart is available for use.

Downloading the Chart Using Garmin Express™

Garmin Express is a computer application used to register, update, and manage devices on a Garmin account. Before charts can be downloaded in Garmin Express, a vessel must first be created. See Creating and Deleting Vessels in Garmin Express for details.

  1. Insert a micro/SD card with up to 1TB* capacity into the computer

  2. In Garmin Express, select the vessel

  3. Select Charts

  4. Select the chart to be downloaded

  5. Allow the download to complete

Chart downloads can take several hours depending on data speeds and the size of the chart.

*Not all devices offer support for 1TB capacity cards. To verify your device's compatibility, refer to New exFAT support on Garmin Marine Devices