Garmin Ltd. is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of global positioning system (GPS) devices in North America. Garmin specializes in automobile as well as aviation navigation systems. The Garmin GPSMAP 296 is a high-end GPS specialized for automobile, aquatic and aviation navigation. Because this is a portable GPS, it can be mounted and moved between vehicles with minimal effort through the use of its docking clamps.
Black Screen
One of the most common difficulties with the GPSMAP 296 is a black screen where the device turns on and then the screen goes black. While the 296 is reinforced with hard plastic and rubber to protect itself, it can be adversely affected by strong magnetic and electrical fields. These fields cause the electronics inside the GPSMAP 296 to short circuit. Other unshielded electronic devices and liquid crystal display displays (LCD) will also be adversely affected. Often, this is temporary and can be solved by removing the device from the strong fields or shutting the fields off. Unfortunately, on many hybrid or electric cars as well as some twin-engine Cessnas, this is not possible. In this case, you must use a different navigation device.
Internal Clock Issues
The release of the 4.7 firmware update for the Garmin GPSMAP 296 caused thousands of users to experience serious problems with their device. The most obvious problem is that the date and time do not update properly which results in slow map updates and route navigation problems. For several months, Garmin tech support was unable to solve this problem without an expensive repair bill. It turns out the actual problem lay in the new 4.7 firmware update. To correct this problem, you can revert to the older 3.7 firmware or update to a 5.0 or higher version. It is often a good idea to save multiple versions of the firmware on your device instead of deleting the old copies when you upgrade.
Red Screen
One of the rarest problems with the Garmin GPSMAP 296 is the red screen. A red screen appears when you turn on the device typically with one of hundreds of seemingly random error codes. Once a red screen appears, the device must be put through a hard reset as described in the user manual. A hard reset will destroy all your personal data so make sure you have backed it up onto a memory card. The hard reset is performed by holding down the "Quit" key while powering the device on.
Tags: firmware update, Garmin GPSMAP, hard reset, adversely affected, aviation navigation
