A Review of Garmin Hand Held GPS Battery Life

When choosing a hand held Garmin GPS device, especially if you’re planning on using it for some of the activities I touch on below, knowing approximately how long the batteries will last with protracted use is of key importance. Check this comprehensive listing by model name below.

Hand held Garmin GPS battery life varies from model to model. All Garmins do not take the same kind of batteries. Some require common AA and AAA batteries in varying numbers. Just because two models use the exact same number and type of batteries doesn’t mean that they will operate for the same length of time. Other Garmins call for integrated rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

If you’re planning on using your portable for extended trips into the backcountry for backpacking or climbing, you’ll want Garmin GPS batteries that not only last long but can easily be replaced with the spares you bring along. You might want to think about that for hunting too (check out A Review of the Best GPS Devices for Hunting.

Day hikes and geocaching will be covered by almost any of the models because the majority last more than 12 hours. It’s important to note that most models don’t come with batteries included, so don’t buy one and head out to remote areas without making sure you have batteries.

The following is a list of the most popular Garmin hand held GPS units with the battery type and the operational life you can expect to facilitate your decision making process:

THE MOST BASIC HAND HELDS

The affordable eTrex® H runs 17 hours on 2 AAs.

The ultra light wrist-strap Foretrex® 101 operates for 15 hours on 3 AAAs.

The ultralight Foretrex® 201 operates for 15 hours on an internal lithium-ion rechargeable.

The Foretrex® 301 and 401 operate for 18 and 17 hours respectively on 2 AAAs.

The no-frills Geko 201 will only give you 12 hours on 2 AAs.

The Geko 301 lasts even less at 9 hours on 2 AAAs.

The mariner friendly GPS 72 has a battery life of 16 hours on 2 AAs.

MORE ADVANCED HAND HELDS WITH MAPPING CAPABILITIES

The highly effective, feature-laden GPSMAP 60CSx operates for roughly 18 hours on two AAs.

The Oregon® 400t needs 2 AAs (NiMH or Lithium recommended) which will give it a 16 hour operational window.

The Colorado® 400t needs 2 AAs (NiMH or Lithium recommended) which will give it a 15 hour operational window.

The eTrex Legend® HCx uses 2 AAs to give it outstanding 25 hour functionality.

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A Review of Garmin Hand Held GPS Battery Life

Garmin Service Locations to Repair your Garmin GPS

Where do you turn when your Garmin device stops telling you where you are? Or when the built-in functions fail to work properly? This article provides helpful information regarding Garmin GPS service locations, warranty information, and the best options for getting your Garmin operational again.

Garmin Support Services

Garmin has a good reputation when it comes to prompt service and support. Nobody wants to think that they’ll ever have to face a possible repair issue when their Garmin GPS malfunctions or becomes inoperable but it is good to know that they can expect timely assistance and support from the manufacturer. Furthermore, some Garmin devices might not be that intuitive to folks unfamiliar with how GPS units work and they’ll want the assistance of Garmin technical support to learn all there is to know about getting the most out of their model. Garmin support also offers updates and new software to their existing customers (loading more maps for example) as technology improves and becomes available for the model they’ve already purchased. Like all other software, there is a chance that glitches will occur and Garmin provides updates when this happens free of charge.

Garmin Warranty

First of all; know the warranty on your Garmin so you don’t make the mistake of taking it to someone local for paid repairs when Garmin is fully responsible to fix it for free. Most Garmin GPS products are warranted for one year and within that period only Garmin International, Inc. is allowed to do the actual repairs or replacement. The customer is responsible for shipping costs and as usual; it isn't responsible for the failures due to abuse, misuse, accident, or unauthorized alterations or repairs. This means there might be circumstances which cause the thing to break down that you might want to explain carefully. The Aviation GPS devices have a two year warranty.

Garmin Support and Service

Therefore, your first course of action should be to go online to Garmin Support and browse their troubleshooting guide to see whether or not you can easily fix it yourself with the steps they offer under a particular category. A search mechanism is there for you to type in the kind of malfunction you’re experiencing. You can also email your queries to a technical expert from this web page.

To contact Garmin customer service by phone from the U.S. or Canada:

Monday – Friday: 8 AM – 6 PM Central Time (closed holidays)

US: 913-397-8200

US Toll Free: 1-800-800-1020

Canada: 1-866-429-9296

Garmin also has many Customer Service Support centers in several European countries listed at Contact Garmin Support. Once you have received a Return Material Authorization (RMA) number after their technical people have determined that you need to send it into them for repairs or replacement you will more than likely be sending it to the following address with the information you receive from their customer support people.

Garmin International

1200 E. 151st Street

RMA Number: (insert your RMA number here)

Dock Door (insert the dock number here)

Olathe, KS 66062 USA

There are times when you’re on a trip for instance, when you will want the most timely support and service to get your GPS up and running. Garmin offers a Dealer Locator which allows you to find the nearest authorized Garmin dealer in any state in the U.S. or from any country you are in. So find the Garmin service locations nearest to you on the website instead of searching blindly. It might be the case that once you find an authorized dealer somewhere near you that someone knowledgeable and hopefully helpful at that store might be able to assist you without the process of sending it back to Garmin. But remember what was stated about the warranty. It’s just good to know both options are available for you.

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Garmin Service Locations to Repair your Garmin GPS