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Updating Marine Charts on a Garmin Chartplotter

There are several reasons why the chartplotter with built-in mapping or a preloaded chart card may require an update. Both types of chart updates are available for purchase through Garmin Express or the ActiveCaptain App. Garmin publishes chart updates twice a year. Not all regions see an update with each publication. 

Reasons for updating charts

  • Charts are outdated: missing data or the boat is in the channel, but the map shows something different

  • New Features: new sand bar after a storm, buoys have been added or removed

  • Chart errors: missing or wrong information 

Water charts change less frequently as fewer agencies record data for water charts. If errors display on the chart, it's time to update to the latest chart. Report chart errors, missing data, or new features with position coordinates helps improve charts and aids in making these changes sooner rather than later. The Marine Cartography Error Report allows the user to notify Garmin's cartography team, provide as much detail as possible when reporting an error, coordinate positions, and screenshots of the chart in the area of the concern are valuable information in these reports.


NOTES:

    • Transfer of chartplotter registration is possible, but the built-in or purchased supplemental maps associated with that chartplotter do not follow new registration. The new owner of a previously-owned chartplotter will need to buy a preprogrammed update card or a full version chart via Garmin Express or ActiveCaptain App. 
   • Charts installed on proprietary Garmin Data Cards cannot be updated or exchanged.


Charts can be updated using the ActiveCaptain app, the Garmin Express desktop application, or a preprogrammed micro/SD card. Select the applicable link below for instructions.


ActiveCaptain1

ActiveCaptain is an app that can be downloaded to a smart device such as a smartphone or tablet to wirelessly update the charts. See ActiveCaptain Application Compatibility to check whether the device is compatible with wireless chart updates.

To update charts in ActiveCaptain:

    1. If the ActiveCaptain App is not yet downloaded to a smart device, download it from the App Store or Google Play Store

    2. Create or log in to an ActiveCaptain account

    3. If the chartplotter or charts have not been registered, register them on ActiveCaptain

      • See Registering a Garmin Marine Device for instructions

      • Note: Charts on preprogrammed cards cannot be registered using ActiveCaptain. Use Garmin Express to register preprogrammed charts

    4. Disconnect the smart device from the chartplotter's Wi-Fi network and connect to another Wi-Fi network

      • It is not recommended to use cellular data to download charts or software updates

    5. In ActiveCaptain, select Chart

    6. Select the Three horizontal black bars stacked vertically menu icon in the upper right corner

    7. Select Download Charts

    8. Select the chart to be updated

      • If the chart is eligible for a free update under the null, redeem the update on this page

      • If the chart is not eligible for a free update, purchase an update on this page

    9. When the ActiveCaptain App displays the chart, select the tile(s) covering the preferred regions to be downloaded

    10. Allow the chart update to download to the smart device

    11. When the download process is complete, reconnect the smart device to the chartplotter's Wi-Fi network

The ActiveCaptain App will automatically sync the chart update to the chartplotter when connected to its Wi-Fi network.

NOTE: In order to display features such as Raster Charts, Relief Shading, Satellite Imagery, etc., charts must be downloaded via the ActiveCaptain App with the appropriate layers enabled. See Selecting Map Layers in ActiveCaptain.


Garmin Express

The Garmin Express desktop application can also be used to update marine charts. See How Do I Install Garmin Express? for system requirements and steps to install Garmin Express onto a compatible Windows PC or Mac computer. The chart update process requires a high-speed internet connection.

NOTE: Do not use a micro/SD card that has a preloaded chart. Garmin Express will format the card before downloading the chart, which will erase all its contents. It is recommended to use a blank micro/SD card for chart updates.


To install chart updates in Garmin Express:

    1. Insert the micro/SD card into the computer or a connected card reader

    2. Open Garmin Express

    3. Sign in to the Garmin account to which the device is registered

    4. Garmin Express should automatically check for available updates. If it does not, select the example of circular blue arrow curled right refresh icon to check for updates

    5. If there are updates available, Garmin Express will state Chart Updates Available. Select View Details

      • If the chart is eligible for a free update under the null, select Download

      • If the chart is not eligible for a free update, select the price button next to the chart to purchase an update. Garmin Express will provide a discounted price on the chart update

    6. If prompted, sign in to your Garmin account again

    7. Read Important Notes Before We Begin, then select Continue

    8. Read the Terms and Conditions, then select Accept

    9. Select the drive letter of the micro/SD card, then select Continue

      • Verify that the micro/SD card meets the capacity requirements listed on this page

      • The update will start at this point and may take a long time to install to the micro/SD card

    10. Garmin Express will give an Updates complete! message when the process has completed. At this point, safely remove the micro/SD card from the computer

      • Do not remove the micro/SD card before Garmin Express gives this message. If the micro/SD card is removed prematurely, Garmin Express will stop the update and give an error message. Refer to the Support Center for Garmin Express troubleshooting steps

    11. If prompted, follow the on-screen instructions to install the chart update to the chartplotter's internal memory2


Preprogrammed micro/SD card

If you are not able to update the chart using ActiveCaptain or Garmin Express, you may purchase a micro/SD card preloaded with the chart update file. To purchase this card, contact Product Support with the name of the chart(s) and/or the serial number of the chartplotter(s) to be updated.

After receiving the update card, insert the card into the chartplotter to use the updated chart.2


1 ActiveCaptain updates are only available on certain chartplotters compatible with Wi-Fi. See  ActiveCaptain App Compatibility for more information.

2 Some chartplotters may have not enough internal memory to copy the chart update from the micro/SD card. If this is the case, you must keep the micro/SD card inside the chartplotter in order to use the chart.


For more information on Garmin's marine map update program, see http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/marine/programs.html




Marine chartplotter micro/SD card files


The following information is meant to help users identify the parent Garmin Folder and sub-folders on a micro/SD card and to briefly explain what information may be in the folders.

      • User can access the files using a Windows or Mac operating system

Follow these steps to see if the micro/SD card has a "Garmin" folder:

      1. Insert micro/SD card into the computer SD card slot

      2. Open File Explorer

      3. Select the drive associated to the SD card slot and micro/SD card

      4. If there is a Garmin Folder it will appear in the drive

      5. Select the Garmin Folder

      6. Sub-folders may appear

        • There may not be any Sub-folders or there may be several different sub-folders under the Garmin Folder

        • Sub-folders may be visible depending on the information that was saved to the micro/SD card from the Garmin chartplotter.  Every user has different needs and configurations so as a result each micro/SD card may have different sub-folders showing  (See the images below: Example of Garmin Parent and Example Sub-folder files)

      • See below to see some of the possible Sub-folders that may be visible inside the "GARMIN" parent folder.  This is not an all inclusive list

        • acbd

        • OneChart

        • OTAUpdates

        • UserData

        • Software

        • XML files

        • Cartography (GMA, LVxx, HXxx, VUxx)

        • Quickdraw Contours

        • Screenshots

        • Device logs

        • Debug

        • updates

        • GUPDATE

        • scrn

        • Polars

NOTE:  Garmin does not recommend copying, moving, or modifying sub-folders on the original micro/SD card or copy/paste data to another micro/SD cards.  Users do so at their own risk

                                                                      Garmin Parent Folder

Example Parent Garmin Folder


                                                       Example of Sub-Folders in the Garmin Parent Folder

Example Sub Folder 

Copying, Moving, or Modifying Folders and Sub-Folders:

      • Preprogrammed or built-In charts or cartography cannot be copied or transferred to another micro/SD card.  See the devices Owners Manual to Copy Built-In Charts

      • Garmin does not recommend copying, moving, or modifying sub-folders on the original micro/SD card or copy/paste data to another micro/SD cards.  Users do so at their own risk.  The exception to this is Quickdraw Contours.  See Quickdraw Contours below for more information

      • ONLY Quickdraw Contours can be transferred (copy/paste) onto a different micro/SD card

      • The easiest way to move "Waypoints, Tracks, Routes, and other User data" from a micro/SD to another micro/SD card is to do it using the Garmin chartplotter. See Backing up, Restoring, and Transferring Marine User Data to accomplish that task

Quickdraw Contours

      • Users can Copy and Paste a Quickdraw Contours file sub-folder to another micro/SD card as long as the micro/SD card has a parent GARMIN file folder

      • If the user does not Paste the Quickdraw Contours file folder inside a parent GARMIN file folder, the Quick Draw Contours may not work on the device

      • Ensure the user does not place the Quickdraw Contours file folder in any other sub-folder within the parent GARMIN file folder

        • If a user does, they run risk of losing, deleting, distorting or damaging the data inside the sub-folder

      • See null for more information

NOTE:  Only Quickdraw Contours can be transferred onto a different micro/SD card


To Create and Verify a Parent GARMIN Folder:

      1. Power on a compatible chartplotter

      2. Select I Agree

      3. Insert a 32GB FAT32 micro/SD card into the micro/SD card slot

      4. Wait approximately 15 seconds

        1. The Garmin file and sub-folder will automatically be written onto the micro/SD card

      5. Remove the micro/SD card 

      6. Insert the micro/SD card into a laptop/desktop micro/SD card slot

      7. Open the drive associated to the micro/SD card

      8. A parent GARMIN file folder will appear

      9. Paste the Quickdraw Contours sub-folder in the parent GARMIN file folder

NOTE:  Only Quickdraw Contours can be transferred (copy/paste) onto a different micro/SD card. 

EULA'End User License Agreement' loaded to any preloaded chart card. The presents of this folder would indicate that the .img files on the card are locked to this particular card and should not be deleted, unless the chart has already been registered to the customers account and is available for redownload
Garmin (Folder)
OneChart (Folder)Contains charts transferred from the ActiveCaptain app to the Chartplotter
  • If there are charts that were transferred from ActiveCaptain to the device that need to be removed, this folder will have to be manually deleted from a computer. In addition, make sure you delete any unwanted tiles within the ActiveCaptain app before syncing with the chartplotter again
Quickdraw (Folder)Contains any quickdraw contours that have been recorded, downloaded from connect or transferred to the device via ActiveCaptain

  • These files are not locked to the micro/SD card or the device they were recorded on in any way. You could copy and paste these files to another SD card if you wanted to share with a friend or get them running on another boat. This would be preferred for the boater that would like to share their quickdraw surveys privately with a friend without uploading to the community. Or someone that has to switch micro/SD card.

  • .svy – Survey files recorded by the device which can be uploaded to the community through connect.garmin.com

updates (Folder)Contains .dat files required for the software update and is put on the card by the software update program
UserData (Folder)This folder contains any ADM or GPX files that have been transferred to the card. This is the only folder that the chartplotter will search for ADM/GPX files when the user chooses the Merge/Replace from card option to import user data
GarminDevice.xmlEvery time an micro/SD card is inserted into a micro/SD card reader of a marine device, it will create or replace this file with the device's current information (Model, Unit ID, Software Version)

  • This is the file that Garmin Express looks for when registering a device. Homeport uses this file to identify the chartplotter as well

  • This file must be deleted in order for express to recognize and register a preloaded chart card

GUPDATE.GCDThis is the update file loaded to the card by the computer based software update program
.img (disk image)These are chart files and are usually accompanied by .unl and .gma files for unlock/authentication purposes

  • Only delete with extreme care, as preloaded chart cards have files that are locked to the micro/SD card serial number and cannot be restored once deleted

  • Only delete if the chart has already been registered to an account and is available for redownload

.UNL FilesUnlock file for chart .img files
.GMA FilesAuthentication file for chart .img files
ActiveCaptainCard.datThe chartplotter writes this file to the card when it creates an ActiveCaptain Memory Card
.QCC FilesThese files can be downloaded from Connect and will be extracted automatically to /Garmin/Quickdraw/Contours by the chartplotter upon startup or micro/SD card insertion


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