XT2 turns off and restarts

[Pete Martin]

It worked. I had to go back to the previous version, 4.6 and reinstall the latest version and it resolved the problem.

thanks for the suggestions.

[jfheath]

Sometimes I just get lucky !

Thankyou for trying that, and for the feedback. - I knew that it was possible, but had never done it before, so I had to verify that it would work on mine before suggesting it.

But it is really useful to know that it solved that particular problem. I should have suggested a cold reboot or a restore original settings first - but you mentioned that it happened after a software update, so it seemed to be the way to go.

[marcmarc]

This started happening to me on my recent trip to Bosnia. So in my case its having issues synchronizing GPX tracks, its randomly reboots itself every 30 second to 3 minutes for two days, it shows me tripadvisor bullshit near my destination and shows me my speed, together with incoming speed limits, which I can't turn off.

[King]

Come è andata? Te lo hanno sostituito?

How did it go? They replaced it for you.

[FelixHauser]

hello there!

I never thought that I would be registering to a new internet forum as of August of 2025, but here I am...

I've read all the posts on this thread with my upmost interest because I am recently also a victim of this problem. However, I think, I've been able to narrow down a bit the root of the problem. So, grab your favorite drink or snack and read along.

Introduction
I purchased the Zumo XT2 in late summer 2023 after my BMW Navigator 6 began with its display ghosting issues as I was traveling back from Ireland. I was really skeptic about the Zumo because Garmin already let me down once with an overpriced SatNav device. But, alas, since all the reviews on Youtube were praising it so much, I went for it.

Use up until now
I've been using the device without any issues since then. I used it to plan routes (own navigation routing), I've used it to save my road trips, etc. I've also used it to navigate GPX tracks both downloaded from the internet (ACT- and TET websites) as well as generated by 3rd party Apps (first Calimoto and later on Stegra). Apart from some minor usability issues here and there, I was pretty happy with the device and I found it a huge step up compared to the Nav 6. The Threads App is somehow clumsy, but still did the job of being able to upload/download gpx files to/from the device. Last eastern I used the device to ride the ACT-UK and it worked very well.

So, what happened then?
Two days ago I came back from my road trip around Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway (7200 km in 4 weeks). I like to use the Track Recorder feature when I travel, so I can later have a look at home and know where I've been. So everyday the first thing I do I start the recorder. Anyway, the first couple of days I experience no issues whatsoever with the Zumo. I did some legs of the TET Sweden for which I navigated the GPX track (no converted to route, mind you), I used the build in routing to ride here and there, etc. No problem.
At some point, one day the device restarted while driving. The first time, I did not pay much attention to it, however the problem was arising more and ore often. At that point I suspected power connectivity issues and all sort of things. I recently fitted a new battery on my BMW and I was freaking out. At one point, when we stopped to a nice café somewhere in Sweden, I removed the microSD card and I went ahead and deleted all the files (after I backed them up on my phone) and I factory reset the device.

At that point it worked fine for a couple of days and then started again. One day, which we wanted to power through and ride 495 km in one day, I planned the route with Stegra, I uploaded the gpx and started the navigation (again, just following the gpx track. No turn-by-turn). To sum up my day, the device restarted itself 37 times. How do I know, you ask? because I can see my recorded track and count the gaps. One gap on my track each time it restarts.
So that day, while I was fighting the mosquitos on a lake in Sweden, I had a look at the file storing system on the device. I noticed something I overlooked previously: a collection of(or folder, or whatever) called “Unsaved Tracks”. In there there were A LOT of individual gpx files. Apparently, if I am using the Track Recorder, every time I start the bike it records the track until I switch the engine off. I assume, that when I stop the Track Recorder, it puts together a single file, which is what I rename and save. Anyway, I thought maybe there is too much stuff in there. So, I deleted everything in there. And beginning that day, every evening I saved my daily track and emptied the “Unsaved Tracks” container.

Lord and behold, the device run without issues from that point on.

Until… two weeks later when we were heading home. We wanted to ride from Bergen to Kristiansand and I wanted to ride through Odda, so I prepared my route with Stegra (somehow the routes the Zumo calculates are sometimes… not ideal, but that’s a topic for another time). The track I got from Stegra was 470 km long (1,1 Mb). I was positive the Zumo was working fine as long as I kept it clean, so I thought… what the hell, let’s convert it to a route this time. Well, it didn’t work out. I had barely started the engine when the Zumo restarted. So, I deleted the route and wanted to use the gpx navigation (just a freaking magenta overly on my map). Nothing, same behavior. Then I deactivated the gpx navigation (the track is still shown on the map)… same again. Restarting. Also, at an alarming rate. Ultimately, I deleted the gpx track completely and, voilà, problem solved. I tried a shorter gpx (from Odda to Kristiansand, 330 km). The same issue. Happily enough, however, the build-in navigation worked without any problems. So I was able to use that. Since there were no alternatives, it was fine this time.

My conclusion so far
It seems clear to me that the device has a problem with “big” files. A posteriori, after the day we rode 495 km in one day, all the other routes we planed and used gpx with, were much shorter than 495 km. Say, maybe, 200 to 250 km. As soon as I used a longer route, the problem started again. I don’t believe it is a hardware issue, but a software one. Some kind of memory management deep in the operating system, I would assume. But I am no software engineer, so what would I know.

What now?
I wrote an email to Garmin. I don’t think replacing the device would solve anything, but I hope that my report regarding the problem with long gpx files can help to narrow down the issue.

Why I registered to the forum?
I think it would be interesting to all of us, if each of you who suffered from the problem could try to recall within which conditions exactly did the device fail. Were you also following a gpx track, where from? (Internet, an App, etc.), how long?, were you just navigating?, were you navigating but you did have a long gpx track saved in the device?, etc. The more we can narrow it down, the better.

I’ll be looking forward to your reports.

[Multirider]

This may not be helpful after such a complete report however:
Mine occasionally simply restarts whilst on but with no route running. with the right hand portion of the screen dedicated to music a number of times the main map goes into the background, music fills screen and freezes to touch for a few minutes. Won’t respond to anything.
Then it goes off and comes on fine.
Told Garmin and “wait for it “ ……….. they would like a video of it doing it. Really !!

[jfheath]

Welcome to the forum @FelixHauser .

That is very impressive for a first post. Thank you.

So if I have understood this correctly - you were using a track - not a route.
You said it was a magenta line - So I guess that you loaded a track and selected GO ! There would be no navigation, but you probably had an 'Off Course' button in the bottom right corner.

So the re-starts would be when the Zumo had 'crashed' and needed to reboot itself ?

That is an interesting new take on this problem. I wonder if you have a lot of music files stored in the MP3 folder, or if you have downloaded a large area of maps into internal storage ? How much free space is there in Internal Storage?

You also mentioned Track Recorder.

There are two type of recorded tracks. The ones that happen automatically - that are stored in Internal Storage/GPX/CurrentTrackLog.gpx and in the Archive folder. Broken track logs associated with this set of files could be inidicative of another problem. But of course the track log cannot be recorded if the unit has switched off for a while. I'll check out the behaviour of the manually recorded track when the unti is rebooted.

The other sort are the ones that you start recording yourself. They continue the recording when the Zumo is switched back on again. But if you device has re-booted - well I don't know about that ?

[FelixHauser]

So if I have understood this correctly - you were using a track - not a route.
You said it was a magenta line - So I guess that you loaded a track and selected GO ! There would be no navigation, but you probably had an 'Off Course' button in the bottom right corner.

That's exactly right. Magenta bold line (or whatever color you set it on) and just follow the line with the "off-course" indicator.

So the re-starts would be when the Zumo had 'crashed' and needed to reboot itself ?

As I've observed it, the problem arises when a "long" gpx track is loaded. When the device restarts, the gpx track is still on screen and the Track Recorder is still recording.

That is an interesting new take on this problem. I wonder if you have a lot of music files stored in the MP3 folder, or if you have downloaded a large area of maps into internal storage ? How much free space is there in Internal Storage?

I don't have any kind of files in the device other that gpx tracks and maps downloaded from Open Street Maps. To that, let me add that, the maps were stored on the microSD card, which I removed halfway through my road trip. Also, I used those maps last eastern in the UK and was no problem.

You also mentioned Track Recorder.

There are two type of recorded tracks. The ones that happen automatically - that are stored in Internal Storage/GPX/CurrentTrackLog.gpx and in the Archive folder. Broken track logs associated with this set of files could be indicative of another problem. But of course the track log cannot be recorded if the unit has switched off for a while. I'll check out the behavior of the manually recorded track when the unit is rebooted.

The other sort are the ones that you start recording yourself. They continue the recording when the Zumo is switched back on again. But if you device has re-booted - well I don't know about that ?

Yes. After I was done riding for the day, I deleted all the automatic tracks the device recorded but kept (and backed up, just in case) the one I recorded.


This problem annoys me to no end. For the price I paid, I could have gotten a Carpe-Iter tablet and be done with it. In one and a half months I'm traveling solo two weeks through Morocco and the Zumo is the only NavSat I have. I will try to go easy on the length of the GPX tracks I prepare and hope for the best, but I believe one shouldn't have to worry about 1,1 Mb size files on 2025.

[jfheath]

So if I have understood this correctly - you were using a track - not a route.
You said it was a magenta line - So I guess that you loaded a track and selected GO ! There would be no navigation, but you probably had an 'Off Course' button in the bottom right corner.

That's exactly right. Magenta bold line (or whatever color you set it on) and just follow the line with the "off-course" indicator.

That cannot be exactly right.

If you are using just a track plotted on the map to navigate - you can have it whatever colour you like and it will show on the screen in that colour. Use it like a highlighter pen line drawn on a paper map.

If you select the track and then select Go! then the track always gives a magenta coloured line. It does not give you any instructions, but it does tell you where the route is and how far off course you are if you wander away from it. And it draws a dotted straight line back to the closest point if you wander away from the plotted line. But in this case track will always be magenta coloured, reagrdelss of the colour that you assigned to it.

I'm just trying to understand exactly how you are using the XT2.

[FelixHauser]

If you select the track and then select Go! then the track always gives a magenta coloured line. It does not give you any instructions, but it does tell you where the route is and how far off course you are if you wander away from it. But if you have the 'Off Course' button in the bottom right corner, (with trip data displayed) then the track will always be magenta coloured.

I'm just trying to unsderstand exactly how you are using the XT2.

yes, you're right. My mistake. Just tested it to be sure.
I have all my tracks saved as magenta and I just assumed wrong there.
Thanks for clarifying!