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How to download free maps to your Garmin Edge GPS

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The Garmin Edge series of cycling computers is roughly split into two categories: Those that have a mapping function, and those that don’t.  Mapping in this case means that the units also have routable navigation – just like your car GPS does.  Whereas the cycling GPS units without mapping may be able to follow a breadcrumb trail, but can’t route you on actual streets or provide visual maps.  They’re more like an Etch-a-Sketch than a phone with useful maps.

The challenge though with the higher end mapping units (Garmin Edge 705/Edge 800/Edge 810/Edge 1000) is that as expensive as they are, they don’t actually include any maps.  Well, ok, I’ll be fair. They technically do include what’s known as a ‘basemap’.  However said basemap believes there are (for example) only three streets in New York City, and two in Paris.  Obviously with such completely useless maps, you’re not going to be able to navigate very far – or very accurately.

So instead you need to purchase more detailed maps, typically at a cost of $70-$110 per region/area.  The definition of a region varies – both in size as well as the type of map.  No matter the case, you’re spending more money on top of what you already spent.

Now there’s always been a free mapping option, but it hasn’t been until semi-recently that the process of getting these maps has been made really easy.  I outlined this within the Edge 810 review, but I wanted to call it out and make it more accessible – especially to all those owners of Edge 520/705/800/810/1000 units (also useful if you want to add maps for a region other than you’ve already bought).  Additionally, I’ve simplified those instructions some.

So here’s step-by-step instructions for how to get the free Openstreet maps onto your Garmin Edge device.

This page is applicable to all the following unit types: Edge 520, Edge 520 Plus, Edge 530, Edge 800, Edge 810, Edge 820, Edge 830, Edge 1000, Edge 1030, Edge Explore, Edge Touring, as well as Fenix 5X (but not Fenix 5/5S), and Fenix 5 Plus (including Fenix 5s Plus and Fenix 5x Plus).

Requirements:

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Despite how long all these screenshotted steps may look, the whole process is actually really quick and super easy.  It’s just that I was probably overly thorough in the screenshots.

Active time: 5-8 minutes
’Baking’ Time: A number of hours
Device: Garmin Edge 520, 705, 800, 810, 1000
Storage: A $12 Micro-SD card to put the maps on (omit for Edge 520)

The step-by-step pieces only take a few minutes.  There’s a tiny bit of work to get the maps requested, which then puts you into a queue where your map request is processed and ultimately a link e-mailed to you a few hours later.  Thus the ‘baking’ time.  Then there’s a few more minutes to copy the maps to your expansion card.  Of course, there’s no reason you need to sit there and watch paint dry.  Just like you wouldn’t sit and watch dough rise.

You can get any size of Micro-SD card.  I’ve tested all three Edge units using a variety of cards from 4GB to a highest capacity 32GB cards.  I had no issues there with the latest firmware on any of them.  Most of the maps you’ll create are less than 1GB in size, so a 16GB card is more than sufficient.

Note that these steps require the Garmin Edge 520, 705, 800, 810, or 1000.  All three of these units have mapping capabilities.  This won’t work on the Garmin Edge 20, 25, 200, 500, or 510.  Those units don’t support the mapping function.  Nor will it work on any other 3rd party units.  Sorry!

Part I: Downloading the maps

This entire post is ‘made possible by’ OpenStreet maps, which are free community driven maps.  Openstreet maps have become in many areas just as good as maps from traditional providers.  And best of all, they’re free.  The below site simply does all the hard-work that you used to have to do manually a few years ago if you wanted to use OpenStreet maps.  Now, it’s literally as easy as 1.2.3.

First up, going to the site.  Which, will bring you here:

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(Note: There are a few other free sites out there, but none offer as simple an interface, nor as widespread a geographic mapset to download)

You’ll want to then choose ‘Routable Bicycle’ as the map type.

Choose Routable Bicycle:

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Now you’ll select which maps you want.  Because highly detailed maps like these can be somewhat large, you’ll likely need to pickup a cheap Micro-SD card.  Some smaller maps may fit directly on your Edge device, but only if you’re talking a fairly small area.  For me, I like to load up maps for anywhere nearby I might ride.

In any case, you’ll start by choosing your continent, then country.  In some areas (such as the US and Canada), you’ll also choose the state/province.

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In my case, I went ahead and selected North America, then United States, then Washington State.  You’ll see how the map then will zoom in and show me the ‘tiles’ that represent Washington State.  Tiles are ways that the entire world can be broken down into consumable map chunks.  Tiles don’t usually map directly to states, but rather to large swaths of land – ideally designed to keep tile sizes somewhat consistent.

You can see below that it’s highlighted all tiles that ‘cover’ Washington State.

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Now, if you plan to venture outside your selected area – or if you want to choose a smaller area, simply enable ‘Manual tile selection’, which allows you to just pick and choose exactly which areas you need.

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For my trip to Seattle, I did just this.  I narrowed it down to just the local area that I was likely to ride in.  This would reduce my download time, as well as my transfer times later on to my device.  But, if you plan to have the maps around for a while on your device, choose a larger set so you always have coverage.

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Once that’s done you’ll go ahead and enter in your e-mail address to build the map.  I’ll explain this in a second.

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The service works by generating the maps for you based on your specifications.  This means it takes a bit of time, sorta like putting in an order at a restaurant.  To do this it places you into a queue, and your e-mail address is simply used to notify you when your maps are ready.

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You’ll get an e-mail a couple seconds later with a link that you can go to and check the status of your map creation:

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The delay may range from a few minutes to a few hours.  No worries, when it’s done it’ll send you another e-mail and you can go pickup your files then:

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With that, click on the link to be taken to download the maps.  Once there, you’ll see you have a few options.  The only one we’re going to pay attention to is the one ending with ‘gmapsupp.zip’.  This is essentially a self-contained map file ready to drop right onto your Garmin.

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With that, download the file someplace handy (like your desktop or downloads folder), and we’ll come back to it in a second.

I should point out that there’s a ‘Donate’ button on that site (I have no affiliation with it, nor do I even know them or ever contacted them).  Obviously, good karma dictates that if you find their (free/community hosted) service valuable, sending a couple bucks their way is probably wise – especially given how much money you’re saving.

Part II: Installing the maps

Note: For the Edge 520, see the next section for the Part II applicable to the Edge 520.

Next comes the easy part.  The file you downloaded is a standard Zip file, which means the actual map file is inside it.  Just like a package from FedEx.  So you’ll go ahead and open up the Zip file to access the map file inside (gmapsupp.img).

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Now take your Micro-SD card and insert it into your computer via the Micro-SD card adapter that likely came with it, or stick it into the Edge unit and plug that into your computer and access it via that way.  Note, on the Edge 520, you’ll just connect your Edge 520 directly to your computer and it’ll show as a USB drive.  Follow the below instructions as normal from there.

When you do so you’ll now have a blank card ready to dump some files on…err, a single file.  First you’ll create a directory on it called GARMIN .

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Then, simply copy/move the gmapsupp.img file right inside the GARMIN directory on your Micro-SD card.

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And just like that, you’re done.  Well, do remember to put the Micro-SD card in the slot if you haven’t done so yet.

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Ok, now we’re done – for real this time.

Part II: Edge 520-specific instructions:

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Now, the Edge 520 is slightly different than all other Garmin units.  The reason being that the other units have a micro-SD card slot that you stick the maps on, whereas the Edge 520 doesn’t.  Instead it has internal storage (105MB total,~49MB free on a default unit).  What you’ll be doing is replacing the ‘Global Basemap’ with one local to your area of riding that’s far more detailed.  Note however that you’ve only got about 98MB of space to play with once you remove the 49MB default basemap file.  And of course you want to leave some space for your actual activity files, Strava segments, courses, and workouts (all of which are tiny, a few megabytes in total).  Simple math is 100KB (.1MB) per hour of GPS activity files.

For the most part, the steps are identical to above, so instead of re-writing them, I’ll just tell you what to do differently.  Let’s dive right in!

1) Download the map section of interest per the ‘Part 1: Downloading the Maps’ section (again for the Edge 520, remember to keep it small*: See note at end of this section!).
2) Plug-in your Garmin Edge 520 to your computer.
3) Within the \Garmin folder on the Edge 520, you’ll find the gmapbmap.img file (Disc Image File).  Make a backup copy of this on your computer for long-term safe keeping.
4) Within the \Garmin folder on the Edge 520, delete the gmapbmap.img file (after you’ve copied it elsewhere). Note: If on a Mac, you must now empty your Trash bin, otherwise you won’t reclaim the free space.  This is not required on Windows.
5) Copy the gmapsupp.img map file you downloaded into the \Garmin folder on your Edge 520.
6) On the Edge 520, rename that map file gmapsupp.img to gmapbmap.img – don’t worry if you can’t see the .IMG extension, just rename it to gmapbmap, like below.

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7) There is nothing extra you need to do on the Edge 520 itself as far as configuring maps – it’ll happen automatically, so you can ignore Part 3 of the instructions.
8) Done, go outside and ride!

If you travel elsewhere, you’ll want to either copy back the backup file to the Edge 520 (overwriting your detailed maps), or just download detailed maps for the region you’re travelling to.

*When looking at the size and picking tiles on the site using manual tile selection, you can see the size on the left side.  The original map file you’ll delete will be 49MB (gmapsupp.img).  After that, you’ve still got another roughly 49MB of default free space to work with (for a total of ~98MB).  Again I’d leave at least 5-10MB for activity/segment/workout/course files though – so aim for less than 90MB for your map site.

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Part III: Enabling and using the maps

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When you first turn on the Edge for the first time with the new maps, it’ll inventory the maps and then make them available to you.  Depending on how big a mapset you created, this may take a few seconds – or a few minutes.  Don’t worry, just let it complete.

Once that’s done, the map should be ready to use.  In the unlikely event your new mapset isn’t enabled, you can do so manually.  It’s pretty quick and easy.

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Here’s how to manually enable the map layer (again, only if for some reason it’s not enabled), on each of the units out there today (side note: fiets simply means ‘bike’ in Dutch – thus OpenBikeMap):

Edge 705: Menu > Settings > Map > Next to “Openfietsmap Lite” select the checkbox under ‘Show’

Edge 800: Menu > Wrench Icon > System > Map > Map Information/Select Map > Select “Openfietsmap Lite” and choose Enable

Edge 810: Wrench Icon > Activity Profiles > Your activity profile name > Navigation > Map > Map Information/Select Map > Select “Openfietsmap Lite” and choose Enable

Once you’ve got the maps enabled (if that didn’t happen), then you’re ready to use them.

It should be noted that these maps are fully routable, and also include plenty of POI’s (Points of Interest).

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To demonstrate this, you can see how I can search for various nearby eateries and find results:

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And then you’ll see how it provides routable directions on streets or even paths in this case.  For each step along the way it’ll provide ‘Turn left on Maple Street’ type directions:

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You can of course always enter in a specific address or other destination, and it’ll route to that.  And if you simply have created a course online (you can do that free on Garmin Connect and transfer it to your Edge), then it’ll provide the map information for that course as it routes.

With that, you’re ready to roll (quite literally).  Go forth and enjoy!

As always, thanks for reading!

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1,171 Comments

  1. Tom

    Hi DC;
    I have a new Garmin Tour and have been attempting to get the Open Street Maps for Netherlands onto an SD card to use when we bike there in June. I have followed your instructions and got the gmapsupp(.img) file directly from an Openstreet download, dragged out of the zip file to the SD card.but when I follow the Garmin path (wrench-screwdriver symbol/trip pages/map/map information select map) no maps come up. All I get is a tile Enabled-AMR Standard Basemap.NR and no maps. What am I doing wrong?
    Thanks for your help.
    Tom

  2. Tom

    Hi DC:
    I have done my best to follow your directions for downloading gmapsupp to the micro SD without success. I formatted my card and made sure it was FAT32, “do not blocked,” its path, dragged it from the opened zip directly to the SD, “sent to” it on an unzipped attempt, unzipped and saved it to the SD and IT STILL DOES NOT SHOW UP ON MY BRAND NEW GARMIN EDGE TOURING. This is very frustrating as the file shows as a gmapsupp 0f 314682 mb on the SD and will not open on the Garmin.
    What am I doing wrong? Help please. We are headed for bike touring in Netherlands on my 72 birthday May 22 and need these maps. Appreciate any help.
    Tom

    • Hi Tom-

      Are the maps (after unzipping them), in a folder called ‘Garmin’ on the MicroSD card? If so, can you take a screen-shot of that folder in Windows Explorer and attach it to a comment here?

      Cheers.

  3. Tom

    DC thanks so much for the quick response.
    I’m not a smart phone guy (yet?) so attached Panasonic screenshots of opened SD card on my laptop.
    Hope it is what you were looking for. Let me know or if you meant a screenshot of the Edge Touring when I try to see the maps there let me know.
    Tom

  4. Tom

    OK here’s another shot

  5. Tom

    Here’s a shot of what comes up when trying to access maps on Garmin Touring

  6. ted

    I have spent time on the link to garmin.openstreetmap.nl website, but seems all the downloads I try are too big and get rejected because of the 4gb max file size. I want a map of Mexico, canada, usa, which would easily fit on one 16g microsd.

    Anybody have a way to download essentially north america?

    thanks.

  7. Geoff

    Thanks just bought a 520 the mapping is terrible considered returning it. found your article easy to read and follow, the course function makes the edge 520 exactly the device i wanted.

  8. Nathan Silver

    For some reason I’m unable to get this to work on my Edge 800. I think I’m following all the steps correctly, and I have a folder labeled Garmin on a freshly formatted sd card, with the unzipped img file gmappsupp in it. But when I navigate on the 800 to spanner>system>map>map information/select map, the only option that shows up is AMR Standard Basemap, NR. What the heck am I doing wrong? At first I thought I might have built too large a map, but I tried again with a much smaller area selected, but still no joy.

  9. Daniel

    I’ve tried all sorts, but I can’t make this work. Where do I save the file to?

    I’ve inserted the microSD card in the Garmin 810, when I hook it up to my laptop the SD card has been given a number of folders by the Garmin, eg Activities, Courses etc.

    I still created a folder called Garmin and imported the IMG file to there. When I turn on the Garmin nothing out of the ordinary happens, ie it doesn’t seem to be sorting it’s inventory of maps.

    When I go to enable the new map, only the base map is listed.

    Any help would be much appreciated!

    • Dan

      I found that even though I dragged and dropped the .img file into the newly created ‘Garmin’ folder, the Macbook saved it outside of this folder within the SD card. I just dragged it into the ‘Garmin’ folder from here, then disconnected the SD card from the mac, inserted uSD into 810, booted up and map is now available. I did not notice this until 2 days of tinkering and swearing at the computer.

  10. Puck Yuen Yan

    Thank you for providing such useful informations

  11. Lolek

    I was successful in downloading a map of Portugal to my micro sd card and the map was read by my Garmin Edge 1000. However, the map seems to lack detail. Only larger streets are marked. I am certain that I selected the routable cycling map. Is there a way to acquire a more detailed map? Did I do something wrong?
    thank you,
    Lolek

  12. Richard Millar

    Brilliant cash-saving info, thanks. I used your instructions to download maps for Gran Canaria for a trip last year and everything worked perfectly. I’m going to France soon and will require maps for the area around the Alpes-will these override my existing GC maps or do I need to download GC with France in order to have both available on my Garmin? Thanks in advance.

  13. ERIK

    Great site!!

  14. Paul

    Hey DC,

    Thanks a mil for this. Just purchase 810 and followed above perfect instruction = a happy 810 with local route maps :-)

    If you want to free up more space – take a look at the other folders in Garmin, such as PDF (30+meg – right click fold icon to check memory size of folder).

    They are just pdf documents – They play no part in software functionality of the device, so its pretty safe to move them off the device.

    Not sure if the 520 has a similar folder setup – but worth investigating if you are looking for additional space.

    Basically I moved them onto my laptop without compromising the device software functionalities.

    slán and good luck
    Paul

  15. Evan S

    Long time user, first time poster. Just wanted to say thank you for all your effort, in creating such user friendly pages and info. I didn’t need any info today – was just wasting time and thought you deserved a ‘thank you’ for absolutely no reason other than just being you. Evan :)

  16. David Green

    Followed your instructions for my Garmin 520 and it worked on my 2nd attempt (I’m Mr Thicky with computers). Thanks!!!!

  17. Tim Muir

    Thanks for the excellent review and instructions. Appreciated. Donated to the web page and big thanks to you. Toptastic!!

    Regards

    Tim

  18. RYAN STARBUCK

    Just a comment because I had some trouble getting the file to load and I finally figured it out. Maybe it’s a Windows 10 thing but when I renamed it to gmapbmap.img it didn’t work.
    Instead I had to get rid of the .img in the title and just call it gmapbmap. Maybe Windows 10 has a different way of changing the file extension but the Edge 520 wouldn’t load it if it ended in .img.

    • Kevin

      Hey Ryan, you don’t have to add the .img extension yourself since Windows knows it’s an image file. Just walked through DC’s instructions tonight and it worked like a champ. The key for you is instruction #6 from his guide. “6) On the Edge 520, rename that map file gmapsupp.img to gmapbmap.img – don’t worry if you can’t see the .IMG extension, just rename it to gmapbmap, like below.”

      Only change I noticed is that there is not an email option to receive your map files. It’s now real time. I just had to read the instructions to know that in the real time download, the file I needed was the gmapsupp file. Again, all worked as advertised and I cut my map size down from 49MB to just the 12MB in the area I normally ride.

    • Ryan

      I was saying that I had to remove the .img because windows actually included that in the file name already but it wasn’t displayed. So the filename was actually ****.img.img vs ***.img.

  19. Graham WT

    Hi
    Great article but I just can’t get this mapping thing to work.

    I went through all you said and ended up with a gmapsupp.imp file on my windows 10 PC. I then created a garmin directory in my 16gb sd card and copied the .imp file to it. When I go into the 810 I see two map files, the Basemap, NR (which I have disabled) and the Openfietsmap Lite file which it says is enabled. However, there’s no mapping at all on the screen and I’m still left with a breadcrumb map only?
    Help??!!

    • Since you can see the map files on the unit, that’s a good sign.

      It almost sounds like perhaps you’ve got the wrong map location though or something (assuming GPS is on/enable and with full signal). Meaning that it can’t find the right overlay for your area. Perhaps try downloading again if you used a custom option?

    • Graham WT

      Ok, so who’s a numpty!

      When I went on the open street maps it had chosen all the UK maps. I hadn’t realised this so I clicked on each one I wanted. In doing this I actually unchose all the tiles I wanted. Doh!!

    • Where the sum of everything is the sum of nothing. :)

      Enjoy!

  20. Anthony Harper

    I have an Edge 520 and I don’t have a gmapbmap.img file on my device. I have a gmapbmap.sum file which is 1 KB in size only.

    Any light you can shed on this would be appreciated?

    Thanks

  21. Tracy McAvoy

    Really helpful article, followed your instructions loading a map covering Mallorca onto my Garmin Edge 810, with no problems, thanks for taking the time to share this and doing all the hard work for those of us who are a bit more technically challenged :-)

  22. Chris

    Hi,

    Great website…

    I’ve done this for Azerbaijan on a garnin 1000 and the map works but I can’t get the round trip planning feature to work (I.e 30 mile round trip and the garmin plans the route)

    Any advice?

    Cheers

  23. Michael

    great article! quick question what is the purpose of the gmapbmap.sum file? does it hurt if i remove it?

  24. Ray

    Am I doing something wrong here? I followed the instructions, and everything worked exactly as you suggested, but the size of the file, for just the immediate Toronto area, was 369MB. A little bit too big I’d say.

    • Ray

      Please ignore my last post. Apparently I was trying to download all of Ontario EXCEPT Toronto …. DOH!

      Works just fine now. Toronto, my cottage, all the roads inbetween, and my Gran Fondo site for August all in 49MB! Perfect!

      Thanks so much for providing these instructions.

  25. Karen R. Pettus

    Ray, sadly, I am not very computer knowledgeable. I downloaded the open source map and was able to save the file to hard drive and then copied it into my edge 520 folder. However, when I try to use my edge, the map does not show up. Any suggestions for what to try?

    THANKS

    • Ray (not DC, another Ray)

      Did you unzip the open source file first?

      Did you rename the open source file to the name of the original 520 map? (after copying the original to your hard drive of course)?

  26. Ian

    Can you have multiple maps in the Garmin folder? Either the direct image files or folders naming the country then the image file inside that? Eg. Garmin – Australia – gmapsupp.img Will this work? Anyone know?

  27. Ian N

    Upload worked great as am heading off to Andorra and have uploaded the local area to Garmin Edge 800 which I can see on my Garmin. However, I had the whole of UK on Ordnance Survey map on the same SD card which now doesn’t appear on my available maps on Garmin. Does anyone know how I can get this restored, or have I unknowingly wiped this from the SD card?

  28. Stephen

    Don’t normally leave feedback but wanted to say how much I appreciated your excellent website and these instructions for downloading maps. I’ve just used them to download a full set of UK maps to my Garmin 810.
    Cheers

    Off riding now!!

  29. Allan

    Much thanks for all of the great info, but just a comment on the comments section itself. Maybe limit the number of posts that automatically load. This page in particular is over 700 and makes the scroll bar pretty much useless for navigation :-/ Maybe I’m just old school, but just a usability thing.

  30. Steve Van Slyke

    Found your site while doing a search for Garmin Edge maps after checking prices on Amazon. What a great site you have (and can’t believe some of the Neanderthal comments).

    I downloaded maps of the Dordogne region of France following your directions without a hitch.

    Question: I apologize if this answered somewhere on your site or in the comments thread which is quite long. If I want to add another region, say part of England, can I just add that region or will it overlay the French maps already on the SD card?

    Thanks,
    Steve

  31. Yenare

    Thanks for the wonderful article. I am contemplating getting an Edge 1000 from Europe(pre-loaded with Europe maps) to use in the US. If I load the maps on the SD, is it similar or the same as if it were pre-loaded? This will be my first Edge device and so I don’t know if there is there any other functionality that I would lose? Also, should I just spend an extra $170 and buy it from the US? Help please.

  32. Mike

    Thank you so much for providing this detailed writeup! I was able to download several maps a couple weeks ago for my new 520 and it has been fantastic!

    However this week the second email with the link to download the map does not arrive. When I use the first email to click on the link to check on the status of the map request I get the following error message: “This request could not be found in the queue. Most likely the map is already generated and you received another email containing the url where the map can be downloaded, or you should receive that email shortly.”
    I know the openstreetmaps is not a service that you maintain but I thought you might have a suggestion on how to remedy this. I would have posted a request in the openstreetmaps forum but new users are currently not allowed. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps you know of other resources to download garmin compatible maps? Or, it looks like I can still download individual tiles but then I would need to know how to compile them into one file for the garmin. If you have advice on to run Mkgmap to combine the requested tiles that route that would be great too.

    Thank you again for your writeup and and thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

  33. Bart De Ketelaere

    Thanks for this informative post.

    Just as some other people, I do not receive the second file after requiring my custom map of about 5 tiles (region: Belgium). Waiting for 3 days now, did several attempts. If anyone knows how to solve this issue, would be greatly appreciated! µ

    When clicking on the link in the first mail to retrieve the status, I get: “This request could not be found in the queue. Most likely the map is already generated and you received another email containing the url where the map can be downloaded, or you should receive that email shortly.”.

    Bart

  34. Gijs

    I’m facing the same problems with receiving the second email with the file of the selects map area. I just guess this will be solved soon?

    And thanks for all great information! It’s because of your website and reviews that I bought the Garmin Edge 520. And so far I’m happy with it and here is still much more explore.

    • Henrik N

      Experiencing the same issues for 5 tiles for Norway. Tried several days ago, and also today. Noticed in their homepage that is said “disk full” on one of the instances. Maybe that is an issue.

      A bit more work but now using the method I used for my previous device (Edge 800) – following the guides on link to velomap.org

  35. Jan

    Hey Ray, wonder if you can update this to include the new Edge 820 device?

    Thanks, Jan

    • Eli

      The 820 comes with maps. Maybe useful to compare the two before just going to replace them. Part of the full review maybe?

    • Jan

      Those directions allow you to install only one type of map. On my Edge 800, I have the local topo as well as the street maps and I can enable one and disable the other depending on what type of riding I’m doing: mtn vs. road. I can also load Europe maps if I’m traveling there. I was able to combine any combination of different maps by using the MapInstall app on my Mac but it doesn’t seem to work on the 820. Any other thoughts?

  36. Arthur Hass

    A friend gave me a link to your web site. Your instructions are wonderful! I’d even say that it is easier than you make it sound. It took me all of 15 minutes to create a map set of five local states where I do most of my cycling. I also created a set for a trip to Europe we’ll be doing later this year. Really nothing to it with you instruction in hand.

    Thanks so much for creating the web site. I’m looking forward to my first ride with OpenStreetMaps :)

  37. Arthur Hass

    I just created a USA map set which is 4.3 GB in size. I currently have a small map file of just my local states installed on a 32BG micro-SD card in my Garmin 810. However, when I try to paste the USA map set into the Garmin folder, I get a message that the file is too large. Is there a limit to the size of an img file? I checked the free space on the micro-SD card and it says 29.4 GB free.

    Any idea why my 4.3GB img file load onto my micro-SD card?

    Thanks.

  38. Chickenlicken

    Awesome, thanks so much. Your site is great.

  39. Albert

    Hi DCR,

    I was able to add OSM map into my Edge 820 successfully.

    I just copy the downloaded “gapsupp.img” directly into the “X:\Garmin” folder found in 820’s internal memory.

    I test it by disabling all pre-installed maps (base map, gmapdem, cycle map, etc.) and only enable the OSM map I installed. Then I did a search for a couple of addresses. My 820 was able to find the address from the OSM map.

    So you may want to edit the title of this article to include the new Edge 820 :)

    One question, I’m in Asia and my Edge 820 is pre-installed with EU maps. Will it be better to Enable OR Disable the pre-loaded EU maps on my device?

    • Alex Latam

      Hi Albert. I did the same you did but the OSM map does not show up in the “map selection” menu of any of the profiles: (profile)/navigation/Map/Map Information-Map Selection/ When the Edge 820 starts I can see it recognizes there is an OSM in the unit, but no possibility to select it….. Any suggestion of what I might be doing wrong? Thank you!

  40. Toby

    Hi – i have followed the instructions and can see the Openfietsmap Lite file in my Garmin 810, but cannot get a map to appear on my unit. There are no streets and no names, only very high-level items (eg River Thames). There is detail there as when i look for points of interest, i can see more detail, but it is not there in the standard map view or when I am actually riding. Any help or advice welcome. TIA Toby

    • Arthur Hass

      You have to “enable” the Open Street map set. Tools/Activity Profiles/Train/Navigation/Map/Map Information/Open Street/Enable

      Leave the Base Map enabled.

      Good luck. I hope this is you problem.

    • Toby

      Hi Arthur

      Thanks for taking the time to write. When I try and set a route to a POI, the unit tells me that there are no rout able roads. This despite following the instructions to select a bike-routable download file. I have defo enabled the map in the profiles, and can clearly see it there.

      Anyone any thoughts?

      Thanks
      Toby

  41. Robert Silvers

    Once you delete the basemap on a 520, and have about 98 MB free, and that is really like 80 MB free – how much of an area of detailed mapping would fit into 80 MB? Could you fit from Boston MA to Provincetown on the end of Cape Cod?

    Or do I need an 820 for that?

    Right now I am using my iPhone with a bike mount and a battery case. I get about four hours of battery and have a great screen and mapping apps. Not sure if I should replace the iPhone with an 820 given that I have to carry an iPhone anyway for communication.

  42. Frank Cooke

    Hi firstly let me say thanks for the info posted. It must be me but have followed instructions and downloaded the zip file gmapsupp.img unzipped and placed on an SD card formated fat32 then placed in my garmin but the file is not seen to enable. now pulling hair and teeth…….what am I missing?? for info im using a iMac and completed the instructions 3 times……

    • Frank Cooke

      I have now re-formated to Fat 32 on my iMac and even renamed the file gmap.img I have then copied onto the sd card, placed it into the Garmin 800 as per instructions to the letter but only Enabled -INTL Standard Basemap, NR can be seen to enable or disable. I have disabled the standard basemap and restarted the Garmin but the added file gmap.img can’t be seen………..

    • ITMA

      Drrrrrrr if al else fails read the distructions which reads: The Garmin device loads a single map file called “gmapsupp.img”. This file must be in a directory called “Garmin” on the SD-card (so the full path is “Garmin/gmapsupp.img”). If the “Garmin” directory does not exist on the SD-card, you will have to create it.

      Now call me stupid I named the SD card Garmin and placed the map file inside! after reading the distructions above I made another directory on the SD card called Garmin and placed the map file inside and hey presto it works………thats nice (thats a Mrs Brown’s “thats nice” :)

  43. Rod

    Thanks for your instructions DC – I find your site ever so helpful and have promoted it to my friends. I have just followed this instructions and successfully loaded maps onto my Garmin 810. I now need to follow your site to understand why my live segments are not working properly. keep up the good work the cycling world is a better place with people like you

  44. Lori

    I’ve tried to download the maps, which appeared to be working just fine. Then I extracted the map and saved it to my desktop (thinking that I would check the file before putting it on the microdisc, but when I double clicked the file, I got a message saying that the disk image file is corrupted. Seems like I am stuck. BTW, I’m downloading the Washington state maps.

    Your thoughts and advice are much appreciated.

    Thanks.

    • Lori

      I tried this on a different computer and everything worked! I believe something weird happened when I unzipped the file.

      I now have maps on my Garmin Edge 810. Thank you so much.

  45. Jonathan Lauthers

    I have a edge 1000, so far I have tried all the methods except overwriting the base map file and I get cannot unlock the map every time. I don’t see my new map under wrench>activity profile>train>navigation>map>and it does not come up. It is a small one 64k so I loaded it directly onto the edge. When I reboot get cannot unlock and that it

  46. Dennis

    Hey Guys,
    is it ok to have two Maps activated?
    I’ve downloaded a year ago the maps of Germany and added the Alps now for my Transalp.
    In the menu, both Maps are listed as actived.
    Is it ok, or should i have just one map enabled?

  47. Baz

    Do you know if these maps will work with a Garmin GPSMAP 64s Handheld Navigator

  48. Tom

    I just downloaded the OSM Maps for the Garmin 820 it was quite simple to say the least and the unit read the map. I followed your instructions for the 520 (since there is no SD Micro card for the 820) but with out having to do the renaming since there are multiple maps on the 820 I just enabled the one I wish to use and disabled the rest. I’m not too worried about space since there is 16gb on the 820 but only 7.5gb is for user files baring this in mind than space does have limitations.

  49. Lise Van

    I have a garmin edge 810. I bought sd card but I cannot insert it in my computer. So I inserted it in garmin. I have donwloaded the maps. I am ready to upload them on my sd card. I dont see sd card separately. Ho do I create folder Garmin on the card?

    Thanks

    • Eli

      The SD card appears as a different drive from the internal storage when plugged into USB

    • Lise Van

      Thanks. It woked. I transfered 2 routes and I can see them. There is just a small glitch and I dont know if it can be fixed. When the garmin displays the list of routes available it shows the route name on the first line and on the second the distance and the time. For my new france routes the 2 lines are merged in one……

      Thanks

  50. Joe

    Do you think larger map files= more battery drain? Part of me is wondering if it would take longer to load when opening the unit, and therefore use more battery in the process and then use more battery thinking about the map your whole ride. Is one way to save battery life to use the smallest map size possible?

    • Arthur Hass

      I have the entire USA loaded into my Garmin 810. When I turn it on, it takes about ten seconds to load all the maps. Ohter than that, battery use seems pretty normal – not excessive.

      You might ask Garmin and report back.

  51. Stanley

    Many thanks for the clear instructions on downloading free maps. I was able to install a map of Raleigh NC and the surrounding area. My only problem is this: when I start a ride and choose a POI for destination, I always get “Route calculation error: Maps do not have routable roads in this area”. I followed your instructions to a T, and made sure that “Openfietsmap Lite” is enabled. The Edge 810 does show many POI’s and locations that weren’t there before; it’s just the maps that appear to be hosed.

    Any insight would be appreciated!

    • Hi DC,
      Thanks a ton for this site which helps folk out…good on you!
      I wonder if you or your readers can point me in the right direction (pun intended!), please?
      I’m cycling solo from Seattle to Miami in Sept and have downloaded all the US maps and transferred them to my Edge 800 without hitch.
      Please forgive this dullard, but do I disable the Garmin built-in base maps? Even though the transferred Openfletsmap Lite are enabled I don’t see them on the Edge’s screen. What am I doing wrong/not doing?
      Thanks in advance!
      All the best,
      Simon.

    • Stanley

      Simon, are you getting “Maps do not have routable roads in this area” when you try to browse the Openfietsmap Lite? I disabled the built-in base maps, but am still seeing this message. I do see plenty of POIs in the list, but none is routable. I have the Edge 810 with a 32GB microSD card.

    • Simon Nicholl

      Hi Stanley,
      Thank you for your pronto reply! I have now realised my error: I’m a cretin, hah-hah!
      The maps are installed after all…d’oh!
      All the best,
      Simon.

  52. adoc

    Just tried this on my Edge 520 for UK maps, works brilliantly. As others have said, thanks for taking the time to put this guide together Ray.

    I’ve used your guides before buying my Forerunner 225, Vivosmart HR+ and now the Edge 520. I’m now a subscriber, hope you can keep the great guides coming.

    All the best, A

  53. Matt

    I just picked up the new Garmin Edge 820. I’ve downloaded an openstreetmap file to put on this device. When I go to my Garmin folder there appear to be several disc image files: gmapbmap, gmapdem, gmapqc, gmapprom, gmaptz.
    Do you know which of these I should replace with my downloaded gmapsupp file?

  54. Alex

    Hi I would like to know if I can search with post codes with this maps… as I have downloaded and try it and doesnt give me any option to search with it… please let me know if I do can and how to do it…
    thanks

  55. Bill Doody

    Hi,

    Just noticed in your review of the 820 that you cant install a microSD card – do you know if that means we cant install the Freemaps/

    Many thanks

    • With the Edge 820 you follow the exact same steps as the Edge 520. Super easy. :)

    • Bill Doody

      Excellent – Thanks for the quick response!

    • R Bruce MacDonald

      Before I found this article, I asked Garmin tech support if the 820 supposed OSM maps, like my 810 does? They told me “Although you may be able to use OSM maps on Edge devices, we do not encourage loading third party mapping onto Garmin devices”. Is this just marketing 101 to get me to purchase Garmin map? OSM maps have always worked on my existing 810 and old 800.

    • Andre DiBiagio

      With the 820 you don’t have to delete the basemap or any other map and you can use whatever file name you wish for the new map.

  56. Alex

    Hi DC, me again… I would like to know if I can search with post codes with this maps… as I have downloaded and try it and doesnt give me any option to search with it… please let me know if I do can and how to do it…
    thanks

  57. flor

    work perfectly on my edge 820……

    • Izzy

      Long thread… short question: Are there any specific differences in the instructions when using a Mac? Sorry if this has already been addressed in the Comments.
      Thanks!

  58. Robert

    The instructions use web browsers. So they are only computer specific to the degree of things one needs to know anyway – like how to safely unmount a drive and where downloaded files go.

  59. Steve

    Just returned from 12 days of cycling in Cornwall in England and Dordogne region of southern France. The Flietsmaps were amazing. While riding the national cycleway in Cornwall it even showed the sections that were single-track dirt paths! They saved me from making numerous mistakes and having to stop frequently to check maps and instructions. Just had to follow the dashed lines. Same in France. Showed all the backroads and paths. The only thing I had to watch out for in France was that it often tried to send me off on dirt paths instead of sticking to the tiny paved roads of my route instructions–it obviously knew I was on a bike and not in a car. Thanks again for your instructions and pointing me to the Flietsmap website.

  60. Ted

    Hi there, well I used DC Rainmaker for the first time and it worked. thanks you for your hard work in putting this system together. My bike trip isn’t until next year but I am trying to put all my ducks in a row.
    couple of questions, even though I think I know the answer, once the a map is installed into the garmin can it be used from anywhere? can I open up my map of Europe in Canada?
    how does one install information like Warm Showers or Couch Surfing onto the Garmin maps?
    again thanks for this service.

  61. Mke B

    Just got the new edge 820 with a nice discount from European shop. Need OSM for the North America as its loaded with Europe basemap.

    Anyone know if the Garmin 820 or the other, runs faster with smaller, single region map files as opposed to the whole continent?
    I can fit the entire US on the internal memory card, but should I?
    Half a dozen regions in the local area will probably be 99% of my rides.

    • Ted

      thanks Mike
      still not sure if what I have loaded is going to work
      infor looking for is if my map of Austria should be able to open here in Canada or do I have to wait until I get there
      also can I overlay things like warm showers or couch surfing onto the garmin
      thanks again, happy riding

    • Frank

      Any luck with the Garmin 820 maps??

  62. Alex Latam

    For non experts like me about Downloading Garmin ready maps and Edge 820 in particular.
    I am a total newbie in this arena and struggled for about a week to figure how to get an OSM (free and reasonably updated) map into my new Edge 820. first it took me a while to figure the most critical issue: OSM as downloaded directly from OSM or OSM suggested sites, ARE NOT READABLE by any Garmin device (at least neither NUVI nor EDGE). They have to be converted to a disk image format readable by Garmin. I figured there are a number of softwares that do this but could not find any free one that left me at ease about executing in my Win10 laptop. Finally, I found a site (link to garmin.openstreetmap.nl) where you can download any map in GARMIN READY format. After unzipping I uploaded into the appropriate folder (/MAP in Nuvi and /Garmin in Edge 820) and ONLY THEN the device recognized them and could select them as “active” with the corresponding configuration menu in each of the devices. I hope this helps other newbies like me to figure this particular step in between OSM and the device which was not clear to me from the otherwise extremely detailed and clear article above.

    • Shaun

      With my Edge 820 I did the following:

      1. Open the website:
      ‘http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl’.
      2. Select the region(s) required.
      3. Select ‘Download map now!’.
      4. Select that the last option ‘osm_generic_gmapsupp.zip ‘.
      5.
      6. Unzip and rename the filename to suit your preference.
      E.g. Australia.img
      7. Mount the Edge device to your computer via USB and navigate to the GARMIN folder where
      the existing map .img and .sum files are located.
      8. Copy and paste your OpenStreet map file from Step 6. to the Edge’s GARMIN folder.
      9. Dismount the Edge from the computer and navigate to the
      Menu/Settings/Activity Profiles//Navigation/Map/Map Information
      10.Disable all maps not required.
      11.Enable the map file added at Step 8.
      12.Exit out of the menu’s.
      13.Select your applicable activity profile modified in Step 9.
      14.Scroll to the map screen, the desired map should now displayed be useable for navigational purposes.
      ————————————————————————————-
      15.Free up Edge disk space by deleting any map files disabled in Step 10; ensure you also
      delete the associated .SUM files with the similarly named .IMG files.
      – This equated to ~3GB for me personally!
      (Follow Ray’s comments regarding OS computers by emptying your Trash Bin).

    • Shaun

      5. Play with your Edge while the file downloads!

    • Mike B

      Follow the 520 instructions for the 820.

    • Ted

      thanks Alex
      I did use the site that you recommended, great and easy site
      just not sure if the map of Austria that I downloaded will work. should it open up now in Canada or do I have to wait until I get to Austria?
      happy riding.

    • Alex Latam

      Ted, I would figure that if you can actually see and select the image file in the Garmin Maps selection screen, then it should be ok when you are actually in Austria. I do not know a way to actually see the map itself when you are not in the coordinates covered by the map. Enjoy riding in Austria!

  63. Dimitar Nechev

    Dear DCR,

    Thank you very much for the helpful tips. I downloaded maps for my Garmin Edge 820 and did donate to the open street map website.
    May I ask you if subsequently I chose to download more maps do I follow the same process? The new file would have the same name, do I rename it?

    Many thanks.

  64. Shaun

    Yes you do have to rename the file if you wanted to have different regions on the Garmin device, refer to ‘http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download’ for some notes on the topic.

    Note as per my step-by-step above (Step 6.) is arbitary for the purposes of identifying the file because the Garmin device see’s the file name as per the Open Street Map Designation -i.e. gmapsupp.img file renamed Australia.img is actually registered in the Garmin device as OpenFietsmapLite(AUS_04-09-2016) with the date in the filename representing the latest version of the file.

    It doesn’t matter which region(s) you download the file is always named ‘openfietsmap_lite_gmapsupp.zip’ so renaming each downloaded file is required unless you merge the map files – which I wouldn’t advise for various reasons.

  65. Mark Buckwalter

    I followed the instructions for the edge 520 but no map appears on the navigation screen. If I click on the downloaded map file on my desktop, it states the “The disk image file is corrupted”. Any suggestions, thanks.

    • Shaun

      I don’t have a 520, but it sound like the map file you downloaded is faulty. I would repeat the procedure again (especially downloading a new map file – perhaps even try a smaller map region), ensuring the (Edge) map files to be replaced are deleted as per the instructions and posts above; especially the .sum file which has the same map file name. Also try different files names like my original post above #800

  66. Helen

    This post is really useful – thanks. However, I have been unable to get any OSM maps onto my 810. I have followed all above instructions. I have put the .img file on the sd card Garmin folder. Also changed my Garmin setting to ‘record to memory card’ and also tried reformatting sd card in FAT32 format. Basecamp can see the osm map on the 810 but the 810 itself does not see it. (I am using a mac but have also tried on a PC with no success).

    If anyone has had similar problems please enlighten me. I am so frustrated with this. I am tech savvy and my other half is a software architect. How can this be so hard and generate so many web discussion threads?!

  67. Mike Latchem

    For some reason my Garmin 810 won’t find the map on the SD-card. I’m also having trouble mounting the SD card using an adapter into both my laptop (PC Win7) and Mac. I can transfer files onto the SD card if it’s in the Garmin and plugged in via USB. Has anyone else had experiences like this? Is it likely I need to use a different SD card?

    Thanks

  68. Mark

    hi DC or anyone else who could offer advice
    I’m struggling with this download ive followed the instructions when I come to unzip the file it tells me the image is corrupt and therefore isn’t recognised when I put my SD in my garmin ? has anyone else experienced this ?thanks

  69. Touch0Gray

    very concise, straight forward explanation, wish I had found it before I had to reinvent the wheel, LOL.

    been doing this on my eTrex Legend hCX for years now. I died last week and I have a new eTrex Touch 35 coming (today hopefully) with the assumption that it will work the same way.

    As an add to your suggestions, it is also a good way to archive your purchased gmapsupp.iso files in case the original card bites the dust or goes missing!

    • Colin Campbell

      So sorry to hear of your death! I’m guessing you left out a little “t”, so that “It died” became “I died”.

      We _are_ lucky to have Ray Maker’s treasure trove of information about so many different devices!

    • Izzy C

      I just download some routes from Ride with GPS as .tcx files. These will provide turn-by-turn instructions for an upcoming bike trip in Italy. But, I don’t know if they will include maps of the area and would like to download street maps to work with the .tcx files. Maybe a basic question, but if I manage to get the Italian street maps onto my Garmin 800 using the instructions above (I have a microSD card inserted in the Garmin) will the .tcx files and the maps work together–or would I have to select one or the other from the Courses menu…
      Thanks for the help!
      Izzy C

  70. Ted

    hi all riders, thanks for your comments to my problem of seeing the downloaded maps.
    the file is showing on my garmin 800 but does not go to the site. I phoned garmin and they told me that the map of Austria is to far away from BC to open. once I am in the Austria area is will work. satalite thing. hope it works.

  71. BigBelly

    Hi Rainmaker,
    can the process of removing the downloaded file to a Garmin 520 be reversed? After trying to reload gmapbmap.img file back onto the Garmin it says there isn’t enough space even after I removed the downloaded file. Apologies in advance if i’ve missed something. thank you

  72. Jason IRONMANDERTON

    hello Dc

    Thanks for you help, instructions were excellent…
    I was wondering when I’ve looked at the 810 tutorials I have noticed they can use Zipcodes / post codes.
    However with the open maps I downloaded I don’t seem to have this option, would I have to use a bought from Garmin map to have this facility….

    How do I reverse direction of a route on a return journey…?

    Thanks DC

    Jason

    • Colin Campbell

      On my Edge 800, there is an easy to find “Return to Start” choice. On the Edge 1000, this choice doesn’t exist, so you should take a moment to mark the location where you start most of your rides.

      Swipe down from the top of the screen to get the Connections screen. Tap the “GPS Ready” string,and on the screen that appears next, tap “Mark Location”. Work your way through the steps to identify this location (I call one of mine “Home” – very inventive). I have a few other locations marked, such as my daughter’s house.

      Now, what if you started from a new place, and you might want to return to the place where you started? Again, Mark Location so that you’re prepared. This is a smart thing to do if you travel and ride at the travel destination, where you probably don’t know the area as well as your home roads.

      When you actually do want to get to a marked location, it’s not too hard. Tap the Edge 1000 screen, so that the “Home” icon shows at the bottom. Tap that icon, tap the “Where to” icon, tap “Saved”, tap “Locations”, and choose the location you want. Then tap “Ride” and follow the directions.

    • Colin Campbell

      The above comment isn’t totally worthless, but the Edge 1000 _does_ have a “Back to Start” option. The only trick is, you don’t see it unless you have started going someplace, with or without navigation.

      Once you’ve started a ride, tap the screen, so that the “Home” icon shows. Then tap “Where to?”, and select “Back to Start”. You’ll be able to choose whether to return via the same route you’ve been taking, or using the most direct route.

    • Colin Campbell

      Note: I hope this applies to your model of Edge!

  73. Alan Douglas

    I tried to use your system to download maps on my Garmin 810. This is where I get stymied (please see pic)
    Thanks for your help
    ps I really enjoy your site and info

  74. Jonathan Lauthers

    I have used these directions with a Garmin Edge 800 with great success, however they don’t work with the new Edge 1000. Has anybody got the img file to work with a 1000?

  75. DJ

    Just wondering if anyone with an Edge 820 is having problems with turn by turn navigation (i.e “Turn left in to XXX”) are not appearing. OSM’s are working fine on the device, i.e the route follows, but it just won’t prompt me on upcoming turns etc. I have ‘guide text’ enabled in routes/maps well as ‘Turn Guidance’ enabled in courses.
    Any ideas?

  76. micael

    Congratulations for this excellent post!!!

  77. Dutch

    Thanks DC Rainmaker. Easy to follow instructions and I now have a European map set up for my tripped, but better than that I now have the ability to generate bespoke maps for any trip I go on in future either hiking or cycling. Last year I relied on a base map, and inadvertently ended up on a highway – needless to say the locals weren’t happy! Anyway, no fear of that happening again.

  78. Chris

    Excellent, well informed reviews and instructions. Thanks very much. I’ve previously used OSM on a garmin etrex Hx20 so have been able to find my way around downloading and transferring OSM maps. A new problem for me is the OSM tile selection with email request on the OSM website. Useful for limited memory and no SD card. I requested five tiles (Qld, Australia). Five days later the email arrived, went to pick up the combined gmapsupp.img but it wasn’t there on the web address. Only the individual tiles (for linux) were available in a directory. Using an edge 520 btw so need to limit the file size, hence the selection. New problem?

    Thanks again for reviews and tutorials. Garmin owe you.

  79. CENK BAYRAKTAR

    Hi dcrainmaker, garmin.openstreetmap.nl address no more offering single garming imagefile, instead giving openfietsmap tiles seperately zipped to a single file. I think it needs a new tutorial how to build it to a single image file. I will share it if I can find a way to do it.

  80. nice site to down load cycling maps, issue with a Dakota 20 used for cycling. picked France mid north and north west, Benelux and Holland to down load for future trips, I find that some of the coast in France is not on the maps down loaded even though the specific tiles have been selected, i.e. the top of the Cherbourg peninsula.

    any help would be appreciated.
    Ian

  81. Jason King

    I have an edge 820 and can’t get the maps to work. I have followed the directions to the letter but when I go to try and enable the map or even navigate it will not produce a map

  82. Tomo

    Thanks! super useful!

  83. John

    Hi. Hopefully a quick question.

    I have purchased an 810. Downloaded the UK map via link on page, SD card loaded and Garmin working fine.

    I’ve also downloaded a Spain map to laptop. Question, can I have a UK and Spain map on the SD card at the same time, as they both have the same file name when they download?

  84. Graham Watson

    Hi John,
    Yes, you can have both maps on your SD card but you will need to rename them with different names before transferring then from your computer to the card otherwise the second file will overwrite the first one.

  85. Jonathan

    I’m wondering if you can give some advice on installing multiple OSM maps on my PC.

    I’ve downloaded two separate maps I created using the tiles on the OSM website. I extracted the first one and got a gmapsupp.img file. I then used the openfietsmap_lite_windows.exe program to install it on my PC.

    Basecamp recognized the file. Then I used JaVaWa GMTK to change the name and the id#. So far so good.

    But then, when I tried to run the .exe program on the second map, I got the first map re-loaded. I can’t seem to get openfietsmap_lite_windows.exe to operate on the second map. I tried moving the map file (which I renamed from gmapsupp(1).img to gmapsupp.img) and the .exe file to a new directory, I re-downloaded the .exe file, and did a few other things to see if I could get the .exe file to create a map file that Basecamp could use. No go.

    I haven’t tried to load the maps onto an SD card yet because I haven’t purchased one yet. Since I think I just have to rename the .img file, I’m not anticipating any problems with that part.

    By the way, I’ll be using the maps in my new Edge Explore 1000…which has some issues of its own!!

    Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    Jonathan

  86. Sasha

    HI DC and fellow readers.
    Firstly great instructions and thank you for your help. Ive followed your instructions to the tee, and it seems as something has changed in the process.
    when the email is sent when the map is generated i dont get the the that ends with ‘gmapsupp.zip’ i get something similar ‘openfietsmap_lite_tiles.zip’ similar to one in your picture with the penguin tile and this is linux friendly by the looks because in the description it says ‘compressed file that contains the tiles and overview map. This is useful for applications like Qlandkarte and Linux users.’
    I mean this is the only zip file that i get. So i have downloaded it to see if IMG file is in there. there are about 6 or so. Sadly different to your instruction. Do you have any idea whats going on if the host site has changed the way they generate maps?? im trying to get South Australia. Ive tried other parts of the world and same outcome.
    thanks for your opinion.
    here is a link to my map if it works for anyone
    link to osm2.pleiades.uni-wuppertal.de
    FYI my unit is Garmin Edge 520
    im trying to download South Australian map (size 46~mb)
    Sasha

    • Sasha

      ok so since the map generator now creates multiple IMG files I have come up with a fix on how to merge IMG files. i pretty much googled the question. and after lengthy reading from different sites best options is OSM Combiner download that and install it. follow instructions from this website and it will create 1 IMG file for you.
      link to osm.pleiades.uni-wuppertal.de

  87. Billy

    Are you aware if this is possible for the Garmin 700 Oregon? Looking for maps for the Southeastern USA. Appalachian Trail specifically.
    Thank you.

  88. Is there any free maps for the Garmin 520 of the UK, or are they all for the US?

  89. chayh

    Just an update that the link to garmin.openstreetmap.nl link now only gives users a single openfietsmap_lite_tiles.zip file to download.

    You will need to manually rename the files to gmapsupp.img before copying to your Garmin device.

    On a side note, does anyone know what should I do if I have multiple img files and want to load everything?

    • Dan

      I also have the same problem downloading maps from garmin.openstreetmap.nl
      Getting img files and not sure how to work with them. Since i have a edge 520 i am haevily dependent on this system :(

      Would appretiate any help!

      Thx

    • chayh

      Dan

      I found out that it is ok to just copy the img file(s) directly into the folder described in the article above. There is no need to rename the file to “gmapsupp.img”. You can ignore the “ovm_XXXX.img” file

    • Dan

      Unfortunately copying the img files (5-7) to the new doc. folder did not do the trick for me.

  90. Ross

    Thank-you. One of the most clear, well put together guides I’ve ever worked through. Saved hours and £££s. I also laughed at one very angry man’s post below – it cheered me up no end after the events in the USA this week.. You’re well known and so well regarded amongst my riding friends – Chapeau!

  91. Chris B.

    Not sure what I’ve done but I’ve done something to stop maps working on my Edge 520 and looking for any suggestions.

    Maps previously worked OK for home region using a file created using the instructions above.

    Replaced with an a different file for another area for a ride away from home (again created using these instructions) . Map never worked when I got there! Copied back the file for home area and that doesn’t work either now.

    Tried resetting 520 and copying original/previously working map file back onto it but still doesn’t work.

    Any suggestions / things to try appreciated.

  92. Matt Kramer

    Hey,

    I did as you said. When I insert the SD card into my Garmin 810, it keeps saying loading maps. It won’t move from the screen. I reset my garmin. I bought a new SD card thinking maybe the other one was defective. No dice! Do you have suggestions??

  93. matt wild

    just got myself a new 520 and tried to install a local section of maps, followed all the instructions, kept the file size down to 60,deleted the old maps but when i try to install the new maps it says there is not enought space, does anyone have any ideas? it is only just out of the box so havnt added any apps/widgets ect yet.
    cheers
    Matt

  94. Karla Frank

    Can I adapt these instructions for downloading free maps To a Garmin 820 Explore? If so, how? I’ve are going to Girona Spain in June and I would like to create some routes before we go.

  95. Charles Morrone

    i want to download Australian maps

  96. John

    I’m having trouble getting the maps to show up once I’ve downloaded them according to the instructions. Based on additional research I suspect this might be due to the fact that I’m using a work computer, so files may arrive in my inbox with encryption. Will try to access the map file from my home computer and see if that’s the issue. Any other suggestions?

    Thanks in advance for any help you and your readers have.
    John

  97. John

    BTW, for #863 my device is the Edge 520.

  98. steve

    hi, i have downloaded a map for the uk which works spot on Thanking you kindly,
    how ever if i download another map for another region for when ii go away that works fine too but overwrites the uk one, is there no way i can just switch from one map to another?.
    have noticed that i never seem to have 3 maps in the settings, its always the basemap and one other, the other being the latest one iv’e downloaded.
    many thanks

  99. Victor

    I tried using the website, and when the new tab in my browser appeared, with the text:

    There are currently 115 requests in the queue…
    The email containing the tracking URL is successfully sent.

    I got no email in my inbox, even though I know the email address is correct. I then retried the “Build My Map” button, and got the same as above, except the 115 was now 116, but still no email. So I’m unsure if the site is working or not. Have any of you seen something similar?

    Regards,
    — Victor.

    • I just tried it for a custom map for Australia, and got the e-mail for my place in the queue within 5-6 seconds. So it seems to be chugging.

    • Victor

      Thanks for the reply. I tried it again using a different email address, and it worked. I don’t know why the other one doesn’t work, since I receive emails for it frequently.

      Regards,

      — Victor.

  100. stuart lloyd

    Hello DC
    Great instructions. Is the file name important? I would like to rename the files to reflect what country they refer to but if the garmain is expecting gmappsupp I guess it won’t work.
    Stuart

  101. Scott Goode

    please someone help me i have followed all instructions for 2 days and still can’t get uk maps to my 810 from my mac book I’m starting to lose the will to live!!!! can anyone advise me.

  102. Eugen

    Great article. Pity some of your readers are somewhat PC challenged and try blame you for their shortcomings. Please, don’t be discouraged by the few, many readers will be most appreciative. (don’t know how to copy and rename a file – for heavens sake!!).

  103. Mark

    I think I’ve screwed up my 520 when trying to upload maps.
    Maps aren’t showing on device but I only have 24mb space left so I’ve filled it with something
    Is there a fix guide for idiots like me ?

    Thanks

  104. Mark

    This is a screenshot of the files on my 520

    • Ben

      Sorry I read the instructions but I’m not entirely clear…. MUST you delete the basemap to load any new OSM maps? Or is there some way to keep both the basemap and add a new OSM map (space permitting of course)? Thanks.

  105. Dean Dodds

    Hi, I try to download the maps for Newcastle upon Tyne, I get the email, but it only has 4 docs attached, and none of them look to be the map. Is there something I’m doing wrong.

    • Dean Dodds

      In the build log it comes up with this at the bottom – Status codes:
      0: success
      1: wrong parameters
      2: missing files
      3: error in processing files
      4: unhandled exception

  106. Zhizhong

    Hi, is there any guide for downloading the maps for edge 820?

    The title of this article is written as How to download free maps to your Garmin Edge 520/705/800/810/820/1000 & Touring but didnt see any related to edge 820. Pls advise.

    Thank you

    Best regard, Zhizhong

    • Colin Campbell

      This is coming from an Edge 1000 owner, so it’s really a guess. Ray’s original article on the Edge 820 says that with the supplied map, there is about 6.1GB free on the 820’s internal memory. The 820 has no slot for a MicroSD card, so your additional map has to fit on the internal memory.

      So get your map, and load it onto the Edge 820, doing the required naming and renaming steps, and you should be ready to “route and roll”.

    • Just follow the Edge 520 instructions. It’ll work perfectly.

    • Zhizhong

      Thank you Colin Campbell.

    • Zhizhong

      Thank you

    • Sharess

      Thanks so much for the step by step instructions. Do someone like me who is not too tech savvy, it really helped. Only problem I found after my ride today is that it doesn’t load to Strava. :( Did I do something wrong or am I doing something wrong? All my rides and runs automatically load to Endomondo, Garmin Connect and Strava. It still loads to Garmin and Endomondo but for some reason not to Strava. I haven’t changed anything apart from follow the steps above. I even tried syncing again. Turning everything off and back on again.

      Please help!!!

    • Colin Campbell

      I tell Garmin Connect to send my ride on to Strava. As far as I know, that is the only way to get a ride to Strava without a manual step. So if your ride still loads to Garmin Connect, I think you should check to make sure the connection between Connect and Strava is still “in force”.

      I can log in to Strava, go to my settings, and see that I am “Connected” to Garmin Connect. I think that’s your key.

  107. Kiver

    The linked map download website is currently saying for the last few hours “Sorry but this service is currently not available. Please come back later…” just a bit of bad luck/bad timing on my part or has something fundamental gone wrong with the source?

    • It was available a couple of days ago. So my guess is that it’s just down for a few hours. Bad timing/luck. :-/

    • Kiver

      No worries, still down this morning it seems but thanks for clarifying. Great instructions btw, looking forward to getting some better localised maps on my 520 when the site is back up.

    • Kiver

      Just had time to dig around on the forums and found this for anyone else wondering:

      “service interruption due to power cut
      Dear all,
      the server room hosting most of the servers is going to have a power cut for works at the power lines. This means that the service will be mostly down from Friday, Feb. 3rd, around noon, to Monday, Feb. 6th, around noon.
      Sorry for the inconvenience.”

    • Kiver

      Site back up and working like a charm. My new 520 has a detailed map of the south east of England, thanks again.

  108. Pete

    greetings. I just got a new Garmin 810. I followed your instructions on how to get the open street maps. They sent me the maps super fast but I’m running into a couple problems that have me stumped.
    I’m using a surface 3 with windows 10
    1. I get the following error Unable to mount – the disc image file is corrupted. I requested the map again and same issue. I’ve googled till the cows come home, twice, and all the suggestions I’ve tried to fix the issue have failed. Even tried opening on my wife’s computer and no luck but she is running 10 too so it might be the same issue with her
    2. I went ahead and loaded the map on my microsd card and popped it into the device. Both this map and the base map are enabled but no map will display on my device.

    Any thoughts? thanks in advance

    • CH

      There is no need to mount the .img that arrives in your email. Just copy it into your SD card in the correct folder.

      Do you have any other maps that are enabled? Try to disable everything else except the OSM that you just downloaded.

    • Pete

      I just have the base map. I can see it when I turn the unit on. I did disable it leaving only the downloaded map enabled but no luck.
      You say to copy the file to the sd card, do I still need to unzip it?

    • CH

      Yes, you will need to unzip the folder, and copy all the .img files into the Garmin folder on your SD card

    • Pete

      Went through it all again and got it to load. I think I may have been dragging the wrong file onto the sd card. Anyhow, thanks again for the help

    • Matthew Siviter

      The site might be down at the moment does anyone know of an alternative?

  109. DocG

    Just received my 520. I submitted a request for a map per the instructions. My answer: “This request is #1631 in the queue. The delay is approximately 6.8 days.” Yikes! What’s with the delay.

  110. Stephen Stocks

    Great guide, is it possible to get UK postcodes working?

  111. Victor

    The maps website doesn’t seem to work for me anymore. I get the email saying I’ve been added to a queue, but the email to confirm the map file is built never arrives. I’ve tried 3 different emails, 2 for home and 1 for work, and got the same result.

  112. Stephan

    At the beginning of my ride today, I realized that I hadn’t loaded my planned route onto my Garmin 520. I could access it in the ridewithgps app on my phone (Android), but couldn’t seem to figure out how to transfer it to my Garmin. Is this even possible? Seems like it should be possible using Bluetooth, but I haven’t been able to find the procedure. Any help?

    Thanks.

    • RudeDawg

      If it is a course in Garmin connect you can select it in the android app and send it to the 520 via Bluetooth. I don’t think ride with GPS or strava have this functionality yet.

  113. Case Ameri

    hello

    few weeks back i bought the garmin edge touring. i work in china, so the idea was to install the beijing maps.

    the garmin touring is a little different from the garmin edge 800/100. in the sense that when you access the sd card there is already a garmin folder, inside this garmin folder there are a few files. one of them is about 3.5 gb, the file extension is .img i assume this must be the US map p reinstalled? however i have not taken it out.
    the file i put in was a map of beijing, I have enabled the map when switching on the garmin. but it does not show anything. and when i look at a route that has already been done, there is no map showing or any terrain at all, it just a line which i assume is the route.

    any suggestions will be much appreciated

  114. David Reid

    I did this but received message ‘Cannot Unlock Maps’ (Edge 1000)

  115. Scott

    Thanks for all of the posts. Keep up the good work. I’ve been using the open map Openfietsmap Lite(US-CA_31-03-2015).img for the last year and a half. Recently, when my Garmin 810 powers up, it says ‘loading maps’ but when I look at the map function it is as though there are no maps installed. Any suggestions?

  116. simon

    hi just downloaded a map for iceland for my next vacation – using an edge 1000 performance bundle..

    Do i have to ”disable” the other manufacturer installed maps ?

    thanks – great website – great advice

  117. Joe MM

    Great tips and instructions – thank you.

    I followed these and updated my Edge 520 in a few minutes.
    Are there any similar services that can provide a map with more topographic detail? The OSMaps are good for road and urban use but less so far off-road. I tend to carry a paper map and compass with me anyway but it’s handy to have the map detail available on screen too.

  118. Alex Baker

    Fantastic set of instructions! Clear as crystal, easy to follow. Updated my 520 in minutes. The only thing I managed to screw up was the initial selection of map tiles. I overshot the available storage capacity of my Garmin device without realising it, and had to go through the process of map selection and download twice.

    Thanks for the post!

  119. Ted

    Downloaded from open street of Austria
    Once in the garmin 800 it showed the program and I enabled it but no map
    Do I have to be in Austria for it to read the area
    Thanks

  120. Richard Leake

    Hi…please help !

    I have followed the instructions and have downloaded the zip file map onto my computer, but I cannot open the zip folder to access the file ! I keep getting a ‘Couldn’t mount file’ message saying the file is corrupt. Then it opens a small window for WinRAR saying my free trial has expired and I need to purchase the software. Is this why I cannot access the file ?

  121. Tim Brown

    Hi there,
    Many thanks for the detailed steps you’ve provided. It’s been very useful.
    I live in Singapore and am travelling to Sydney and will be doing some cycling so have downloaded Aus maps. I’ve followed your instructions and Openfietsmap Lite (AUS_24-03-2017) is now flagged as “Enabled”.
    I’ve tried to test if it will find cities, landmarks etc. in Sydney but does not seem to find them. Only see’s Singapore info. Wondering if this is because I actually need to be in Australia with it turned on to see the Sydney detail?
    Thanks
    TIM

    • CH

      Hi Tim

      Fellow Singaporean here. I’ve done similar things on my Edge 1000 when I was planning a trip to Japan. However, I encountered similar issue, when I could not find locations in the cities that I downloaded maps for. I suspect that this has something to do with the indexing of the maps, where the city name, etc is crucial.

      For me, I went to Google Maps to search for a location I want, and inputted the Long/Lat details into my Garmin. It may be a few meters or 10s of meters out, but you will be able to scroll to the correct location easily. From there, I created a Favourite place so I can easily navigate to the location when I am physically there.

      This is my alternative to using the search function. Hope it works for you

    • Tim Brown

      Thanks! Adding coordinates to search found Sydney locations in detail. So I assume when I get there it will be good to go.

    • CH

      Yes, all will be good to go once you’re there. I simply used the “where to?” function on my 1000 to get to my destination when I arrived.

      You can of course create a route segment via Garmin Connect and pre-load it if your Edge does not have the navigation feature (i.e. non-1000, 520)

  122. GREAT ARTICLE!!! Not sure who the the heck Benoit Savoret is but he/she is CLEARLY an ignorant individual with not even BASIC computer skills but he/she was insanely RUDE… Your article was awesome and I was VERY easily able to download and install the maps on my Edge 810. Clearly Benoit has never heard the old saying “Better to keep your mouth (or keyboard) shut and let people think you’re an idiot than to open it and remove all doubt”. Just sayin’

    Thanks again for your awesome work on this!!

  123. BDK

    Great article. Was able to do it last year, but when I visit the site now, I can manually select the tiles, but in the “Request your map or download it directly:” window, I cannot enter my email address (there is no window to do so, neither the Build my map button). Neither there is the indication of size on the left, which usually appears as well.

    Anyone experiencing the same thing?
    Thanks
    BDK

  124. Tony BOLTON

    Hi

    I used the DC Rainmaker advice and got my Garmin 810 up and running for the UK in no time. Awesome! Quick question I am off to Mallorca soon can I put Mallorca on the same micro SD and ‘switch’ or do I need a seperate card?

  125. David Milboer

    Thanks for the great set of instructions. I created my map (it took 3 days for them to send it to me). Once I received the link I downloaded it, followed the detailed instructions, and it worked like a charm. Can’t wait to get out on the open road with my new Garmin 520 with updated maps. (which I bought based on this sites excellent review). Keep up the good work and thanks again.

    • laurent patriarche

      I’ve already put together several maps in the past, no problem at all, took at most a few hours. Did the same yesterday. Initial delay was something like 5 days. The day after, via the tracking link, they mentionned that my map was already generated and I should have had an other mail (or would get one shortly). 12 hours later, no new mail. How did it go for you? Someone else with the same ‘issue’?

  126. Jordan

    Hi Ray,
    Thanks for this post, and all your others. I don’t know how you have time to do all of this, but it’s VERY much appreciated!

    I have the Garmin 800 and bought the North America maps with it, only to find that there are no bike paths on them and the navigation totally loses it’s mind when you go on one. So I followed your instructions to get the OSM maps on the Garmin, but when I go out and try to start the route, the route it wants to navigate makes no sense at all. From the start, it wants to diagonally cut through blocks/buildings, through half the city, before re-joining the route a few km away. If I turn OSM off and the purchase maps on, it correctly navigates me through the city, but then refuses to join the bike path (obviously since it doesn’t know they’re there). Any idea as to why the 800 won’t navigate correctly while on OSM?

    Thanks again!

    Jordan

  127. Craig

    Any idea why the “Request your map or download it directly” feature won’t enable for me? I manually built my map by selecting the tiles I wanted, but I am still getting the “make a selection first” notice. There is no option to enter my email address. I tried using Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge browsers and got the same result.
    Thanks!

  128. Göran Sjödin

    I have a question about the maps. If I dowload them from link to openfietsmap.nl it seems like the maps are larger but older (not updated so often) and if I download them from link to garmin.openstreetmap.nl I will get smaller maps (Lite) but newer (updated). Are there any more differences? Which map is the best to use?
    I´m having problems with the rerouting of my Edge 810. It doesn´t reroute me if I miss the right way, so I have to go back to where I made the misstake. Will the choice of the right/best map solve that?
    Many thanks for a great site!
    Best wishes,
    Göran

  129. Sam Pearson

    I installed maps via raumbezug.eu as recommended by Flemming Mahler because the garmin.openstreetmap.nl website wasn’t working for me. As a heads up I initially tried using a 64GB Micro SD card I had spare and it my Garmin Edge 800 couldn’t find any maps. I found an older 8GB card I had lying around, tried that and it worked perfectly. Be cautious of using high capacity modern cards in ageing devices. If you are having problems, this might be your issue too.

  130. Harvey

    Hi Is the same process applied to the 820 as the 520 as I am having difficulties
    Thnx

  131. John

    I downloaded a map and tried to drag it into my Micro SD card, but I already have a file with that name… can I rename my new one?

  132. Jason

    I’ve used open maps before with short wait. I’m doing Coast to coast in UK from Morcambe to Bridlington but now saying queu now saying 10days!!! But I start tomorrow!

    I need map with tiles : Blackpool/ Bradford/ Harrogate/ York/ Scarborough

    Why such a long delay?!

    Jason

    • Deepak Rao

      Hi,

      Trying the same for Burgandy, but I’m also getting a 11 day wait.

      Did you find any solution?

  133. I just purchased a new Kingston SSD and trying to migrate all my data over from a hard drive. Anyone suggest a good tool to do this?

    • CMV

      I used Macrium Reflect twice to do just the same thing. It’s free and worked like a charm both times.

  134. Shannon

    Hello,

    A friend recommended your site and first off I want to say thank you for all the time and effort you have put into helping others. I am in Spain atm, got a new 1000 right before I left and I am trying to add some maps to it now. I have them downloaded but when I click to open it a warning pops up saying the following disk images couldn’t be opened because no mountable file systems. Any advice on what I am doing wrong?

    Thanks, Shannon

  135. Shannon

    Ok another question…I am trying to create a folder but when I plug in my Garmin it doesn’t show SDcard option under Garmin. It says untitled. I am using a 64GB card, overkill I know but all I could get my hands on where I am in spain. Do I need to try a smaller card? My Garmin 1000 is brand new so I didn’t think this would be an issue. I’m just don’t know why else the sd card isn’t showing up. I just want to ride my bike ?

  136. Marcel Mertens

    Regarding “Cannot unlock maps” error:

    It looks like that Garmin changed something in the past firmware no to accecpt Unicode (UTF8) maps which are not purchased via Basecamp.
    link to extract.bbbike.org also offers the possibility to download maps (with a less shorter waiting queue).
    Unter format select any “Garmin” style you like but make sure you select the “ASCII” version (not UTF8).
    Also advantage on this site is, that you can create you own pattern

    • Sunmeet

      I tried this on my Garmin Edge 820 ,it works and also waiting time is just 3-4 minutes.
      But the maps are not detailed at least for my area (I am from Central India) and also not showing any city names or any POI names ,everything is point 1 ,point 2 and so on.
      Can any one suggest me which is the best maps for India or any one have India maps from this site “garmin.openstreetmap.nl” .my waiting time is 10.1 days.
      Please help me to get the best maps for my area.

  137. Karl

    Thanks for the information but the site in question is incredibly complicated and is obviously only designed for mapping experts or people that have been to college to learn how to use it!It allows you to select a country then shows you a load of squares but doesn’t let you chose then square relevant to the area of interest.Also the Garmin edge touring cannot read GPX files which had I known this I would have never have bought it and stuck with my Satmap Active.

    • If you follow the instructions, it does allow you to choose a given square within that country. You need to enable selective mode.

      Also, the Edge Touring reads GPX files just fine. Simply put them in the ‘NewFiles’ folder.

    • Karl

      Well it won’t do it for me but that could be because of my Browser anyway I ended downloading the whole of Russia when I only wanted a tiny corner of it but as I have an touring I doubt I’ll be able to make use of it anyway.

  138. David Connolly

    First of all thank you for these amazing instructions.

    Quick question – I am going on a cycling holiday to Belgium next week and have downloaded the maps and put them on my Garmin. Is there any way to check if they are definitely on there? i.e. is there a way that I can see the maps in the navigation screen? Right now it just shows my GPS location in a blank space, but I can’t zoom out far enough to check if the Belgian maps are there (I am in the UK)

    Thanks!

    • CH

      What I did previously was to go to Google Maps and find any location in the destination country, note the coordinates (right click on any location and select “What’s here?”. You will see a popup with the location name, address and coordinates)

      Pop the coordinates into your Garmin and you should see the map in your Garmin.

      For example, you can try 50.847948, 4.350169

  139. Not sure if it’s a temporary issue, but the site responds with “This request is #2092 in the queue. The delay is approximately 8.7 days.”, somewhat more than the minutes to hours mentioned in the article.

    • Marcel Mertens

      No, the page is pretty popular. Long waiting queues are normal.
      You can try https://extract.bbbike.org
      offers the same service within some minutes

    • Antares

      Remember, it’s the beginning of the cycling season in the northern hemisphere. A lot of people are preparing maps, not only for cycling, but also running & hiking. The time it tells you you’re going to wait, is on the outside of the prediction line. I find it goes a lot faster than that. My last map download, it said 39 hours, I had it in 12.

  140. Josh Ravn

    Hi,

    Thanks for the tutorial, very easy to follow and helpful.
    Not sure if anyone else has had the same issue, after installing the maps (which all went fine) my Garmin 520 just says locating satellites and just continues to search for satellites seemingly forever, any help would be appreciated, thanks.

  141. James Thomas

    I have a Garmin 820 with the North American Garmin maps installed. I’m heading to Europe for a trip and I want to put some European maps on it too. I followed the instructions and order and acquired a map pack. Following DC Rainmaker’s (excellent) instructions, I find that I need to rename the map pack once it is copied to the device. However, there’s already a file with that name (the NA maps). Can I have 2 packs installed simultaneously, and if so, what do I name the file(s).
    Thanks

  142. paul warwick

    Can I load a map for the UK and separately another separate file for Austria to the Garmin folder of the SD card for an Edge 705?
    Or can the unit only ever have just one gmapsupp file?
    Thanks

    • Karl

      I am sure there’s a way but I could only get one GPX file to show on my Edge touring apart from the map on the SD card.

    • CH

      You can have multiple gmasupp file on your garmin at a time. You can rename them differently. (I use the location name as the file name for the file, for e.g. London.img, Manchester.img, Liverpool.img)

    • Karl

      My Edge touring which has been returned wouldn’t accept more than one GPX file and would not allow to to edit it.

    • GPX isn’t the same as IMG. In either case, you can have multiple of both files on your device (including Touring).

    • Karl

      Sorry to tell you mate but you cannot not on my UK version anyway and even one files takes the edge touring 4 and a half hours to calculate the route where as my Satmap active 10 can accept hundreds of GPX files and only takes seconds before they are ready to ride.

    • I know you keep saying this, but as others have noted – something is either wrong with your specific unit or your procedures.

      There’s plenty of evidence in the Garmin Forums and elsewhere it accepts multiple GPX files just fine (which is very different than IMG files noted here).

    • Karl

      It could be because my edge touring didn’t have the latest software even from new and because I don’t have the latest computer operating system I couldn’t use Garmin connect to update my device.However I have been using GPS devices for at least 10 years and found getting GPX files onto the edge incredibly tedious and as I said before the device would only show on GPX file even though there were two on the unit.Anyway I have sent it back now and won’t be buying another one.

  143. Trish

    Greetings from Colorado!

    I just purchased my very own Garmin Edge 810 on Saturday and spent the better part of the evening and night trying to load a map. I got up early before my ride on Sunday to attempt the same thing. I am a tech savvy gal. However, no matter what I tried, nothing worked. UNTIL, I dug a little deeper to find out that my Micro SD card was too big (64 GB) for the Garmin to recognize. Apparently Garmins don’t like SD cards bigger than 32 GB! I went to the store immediately after reading this and VIOLA! The maps work after using a 32 GB card!

    Might I suggest that you add that bit of info to your post somewhere near the top or in bold or underlined? It would have saved me (and possibly many others) HOURS!

    Aside from that snafu, though, I greatly appreciate your site/blog/reviews. SUPER helpful!

  144. Craig

    Hi having finding it hard after down loading the file on my Mac Bookpro to unzip and load

  145. Jacques Dubois

    As always (and I mean, always) an excellent and easy to follow write up. You are a gear god! One quick question which does not seem to be covered (I’m running on an Edge 810) – I have downloaded and copied the *.img file without issue to my SD card and have access to the enabled Openfietsmap – however, if I want to add a map for a different area or country (I live and ride in Québec but also travel to France, Italy, the U.S. to ride) then won’t the image file have the same name and overwrite the maps I already have? If I rename the gmapsupp image file before transferring, will it still work or is this filename specific? I realize I could just overwrite the maps before a trip and overwrite them with my “home” maps when I return, but I want to have my cake….

    • TC

      You can use different file names. This has been mentioned numerous times in the message section

    • Jacques Dubois

      Thanks! I’ll give it a try. I sort of stop reading the comments when they drift off topic….

    • Karl Grosvenor

      My Edge touring didn’t even recognise GPX files I downloaded on the device let alone name them.Anyway I advise cycle tourists to buy a Satmap Active 12 or the new Active 20 for trouble free navigating and even my 7 year old Active 10 is vastly superior to the Edge touring!

  146. Barry

    Hi. Thanks for such great instructions. Very easy to follow. The whole process went well until I tried to view the maps on my Garmin (it’s an Edge 810). Your instruction say to enable the file, but I don’t see the file on the Garmin. Am I missing something?

  147. Jan Stegmann

    Brilliant! Thanks :-)

  148. Ioan-Paul Pirau

    I used these steps to upload a map with the zone where I ride and it works flawlessly.. thanks a lot!

  149. jens van roey

    thanks for the tips for downloading, it worked.
    BUT I do have a major problem when I want to plan a trip. It takes ages to get the map on the Mac, and everytime you move on it is again waiting until the map shows up.
    My need is : plan a biking tour of several weeks from Belgium to Spain and back by a different road.
    How do I proceed? I have downloaded the cyclemaps LIte for Holland-Belgium-France and part of Spain (or at least that is what I indicated with the tiles before clicking ‘download’.
    Maybe too difficult to handle over this forum and any tip is welcome.
    thanks again.

  150. Andy P

    Hi DC,

    I have recently bought a Garmin 520, and have followed your instructions to add a more detailed map to the device. I did this as per your instructions but my device now says ‘memory full’ even though when it is connected to my PC it shows as being less than half full? I then tried to restore the old map and have the same problem.

    Please can you help??

    Thanks

    • Colin Campbell

      Did you remember to delete the original map when adding the new one? Did you remember to delete the new map when restoring the old one?

      How about some details? How much memory did you have with the Basemap in place? How much memory did you have after installing the new map? How big is the new map? Do you have lots of rides stored on the unit?

      DC’s notes say that the 520 only has about 98MB free after removing the Basemap.

    • Andy P

      Hi Colin,

      Yes i deleted the existing map each time. The 520 shows as being half full when plugged in to the computer, but when i try and record a ride it says memory full.

      Could this be something to o with loading the zip file to the 520?

    • Colin Campbell

      You did Unzip the map file before adding it to your 520, didn’t you?

      I have an Edge 1000, so I don’t have any 520 experience. However, your saved rides have to be using some of the memory – do you have lots of saved rides? You could copy those to your computer and delete them. (Of course, they’re already saved on Garmin Connect / Strava if you use those.)

      I think you need more details about file sizes, and the contents of your 520’s storage. You should be able to expand the directories while plugged in to your computer, and see what’s really there.

    • Andy P

      Colin,

      My PC doesn’t seem to be able to unzip the file before i drag it onto the Garmin, so when it appears on the Garmin it is still showing up as a WinZip File. Every time I try and extract the file it says “Cannot open file: it does not appear to be a valid archive”.

      Can anyone help? I have spoken to Garmin and they have suggested returning the device, but ideally I want this to get sorted so I can have a better map on the 520.

      Thanks,

      Andy

    • Colin Campbell

      You MUST have an unzip’ped file before loading to your Garmin! Nothing is going to work until that condition is met. I’d suggest getting the map file again. Maybe the second try you’ll have a file that you can unzip.

    • Ben C

      Andy P, if you’ve got the Garmin 520 plugged into a Mac, empty the trash can on your Mac. The files aren’t erased until the trash can is emptied. ( I don’t know if this anomaly is the same with PC?)

    • Dave Le Fevre

      I believe that yes, it’s the same on a PC. It’s not specific to a Garmin device.

      Attach any external device (such as a USB hard drive), delete a file from it, and it won’t actually be deleted until you empty the Recycle Bin.

      However, I’m no expert. I may well be mistaken.

  151. paul sexton

    Hi DC Rainmaker,

    I love your reviews very helpful and time saving.

    I am having a problem. followed instructions and have got working on 800. 810 how ever no joy.

    Edge 810: Wrench Icon > Activity Profiles > Your activity profile name > Navigation > Map > Map Information/Select Map > Select “Openfietsmap Lite” and choose Enable

    I just dont see the maps to enable when i go to the device.

  152. Ben C

    If you’re using a Mac with your Garmin plugged into the USB port and you’re deleting files off your Garmin (to make some more room for maps) remember to empty the Trash Can on your Mac afterwards !
    It took me an hour to work out why I was deleting files but it wasn’t creating any more free space on the Garmin. Even though you can no longer see the file on the Garmin, the free space isn’t made until the Trash can is emptied.

  153. Kadri

    That’s great friend. Very simple and plain description. Thanks

  154. Bettina

    I cannot believe it. It was so easy (Edge 800). I had no problems. Usually I buy the original Garmin maps at the shop, because I have no Idea with programs. I am only a “stupid” user. But the costs of 50 Euro for a OSM! map of Canada, this is not fair. So after hours of surching, I found your page. Thank you so much.

  155. B Brimer

    I’m hesitating to buy the “new” Edge 820. Does the same approach to upload OSM maps also work with the new Edge 820, knowing that it comes without its additional SD memory card?
    On my old 705 this all worked smoothly to add free maps (sigh). Often with the inbuilt-memory-only the use of such maps is not possible (Garmin wants to make $$$ with its maps). Often inbuilt memory cannot be used like a simple “memory stick” which you can format and rewrite or am I wrong in this case?
    Thanks for advice.

    • Yes, works the same. It’s how I do it when I’m travelling (since the Edge 820 only includes maps for your specific purchased region).

    • B Brimer

      Thanks! So I hope that the EU versions of the Garmin are identical to the US ones :-)

    • They are. Just simply the EU ones have the European detailed maps loaded, whereas the US ones have US/Canada. Australia has Australia/NZ, etc…

      So any maps beyond that you need to load manually.

    • Sean

      Hey DC, fantastic site and thanks for the great instructions.

      I have an 820 (bought in the UK). Is it worth changing the current map that’s preinstalled with the version listed in the instructions above?

      I only ask as it seems as though in London, the maps are relatively detailed (I.e more than 3 roads for the whole city).

      Also, would the 820 have enough memory to download a global map, so I only have to do this process once (do bigger maps cause more delays in calculating routes?).

      Thanks in advance for the advice.

  156. Ian

    Just downloaded a map for Crete (not sure I’ll be doing any cycling but just in case…) for my Garmin 800

    Thank you once again for a great link and very clear instructions.

  157. Duke Smith

    DUDE! Huge help the thought of picking up Portugal Maps was making me sick. Nice one simple and we spent all of $16.00 for 32GB card and can now not only get my maps for the main land but the Azores too….Sick thanks for the very easy to follow instruction…Damn GPS still has me sitting in CT so had to mark a point to test the maps but all looks good. Great stuff

  158. Rob

    Hi

    Unit Grain edge 810
    I been using your instructions for a while now and load up a new France map BUT when i wen to use it went to Navigation>Map>MapInfo,Select Map. Nothing! Not even the base map is there. There is no option which map to choice !

    There is just a blank screen.

    I know the file is on the SD Card but nothin :-(

    any help would be great

    rob in wales

  159. henrik ullum

    very easy, thanks

  160. Sam Hocking

    As other 520 owners have confirmed, I couldn’t get the UTF-8 http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl maps to load either. I used the ASCII option at https://extract.bbbike.org which seems to load fine.

  161. Louisa

    Fantastic instructions. Just what I needed, works great on my new (second hand) Garmin Edge 810 and amazingly the maps are so up to date that my new build street is on it. Thank you

  162. Rowena

    Thanks for your very helpful instructions. I have successfully downloaded and moved the files to my SD card in my Garmin 1000 for my forthcoming trip to UK and Spain. Really appreciate this publication and the work you have put into this. :-)

    • David Goodman

      Hi Rowena,
      I suppose you generated separate gmapsupp files for UK and Spain. How to they coexist in your Edge 1000? David

  163. David Goodman

    Thanks for the clear instructions. I generated a UK map and installed it on my Edge 1000. It seems fine. I will use it when I get to London later this month. I also intend to use a map of Italy. if I go through the same ritual I assume I will get a file gmapsupp.img with the Italy map. What should I do with that when I already have the UK gmapsupp in the Garmin folder on my SD card?

    • Deepak Rao

      I keep a copy of all the maps I create on my laptop, so when I go on the next vacation, I load the needed map. You need to remove the old one.

      Now, I have switched to the Elemnt and it has the world map pre loaded. One of the reasons for switching. We travel a fair bit.

    • Peter

      Hi David

      You can have multiple gmapsupp map files on your Garmin. I rename each file based on the location it contains

    • David Goodman

      Thanks Peter. I suppose it will work if one is gmapsuppuk and another is gmapsuppit ?

    • Deepak Rao

      Your Garmin will run out of space

  164. Daryl

    Everythings fine until I try to open, or to copy or move the openfietsmap_lite…zip file onto my micro SD it won’t load and I keep getting a “disc image file is corrupted” “Couldn’t Mount File” notice. Have tried about 6 times on 3 different maps from 2 separate requests! Put in my Edge 1000 Touring just to see and it doesn’t recognize any new maps. Daryl

  165. Sethrk

    Has anyone tried this with the Fenix 5x watch? It has mapping and a fairly detailed version of the “base map”. I’m traveling to Mexico and would like more detail. Can I load these map files on this unit?

  166. LIAM

    Thanks so much super helpfull

  167. Adrian Prescott

    Hi,
    I’ve used this method to put OpenStreetMaps on my Edge 800 for years. I’m contemplating upgrading to an 820. Could anyone confirm whether it is possible to put my maps on my proposed new Edge 820 using the same method please?
    Any issues that I should be aware of?
    Thanks for your time.

    • Mario Preston

      For the 820 you use the same instructions as the 520 with the bonus of having more memories on your 820.

  168. Gomez

    Heya – Truly appreciated you taking the time and showing how to add the maps to my Garmin 810. Follow your instructions and have the maps installed and working. Perfect timing since this weekend I will be doing the CFITT (Cross Florida Individual Time Trial) and my unit just had the base map. (for info about this ride visit :
    (Singletracksamurai.com)
    Cheers!!!

    Gomez
    Miami Florida

  169. Moe

    Dude! this is awesome!!!

    Thank you very much

    Moe

    California

  170. Scott Steele

    Hey Ray,

    Is there any benefit to buying a larger capacity microSD card, or would I be okay with a 32GB for an Edge 1000?

    Thanks!

  171. Thanks… new to this serious biking with satnavs… easy to follow

  172. Leon Page

    Hey great tutorial, however have now checked the box to select the mapping (i.e. > Settings > Map > Next to “Openfietsmap Lite” select the checkbox under ‘Show’), restarted the edge but still showing the mapsource maps as previous. Am i doing something wrong? Oh btw its a 705 i was given by a pal who went Bryton. Thanks in advance.

  173. Bill

    Hi DC,

    Thanks for these instructions. I have used them before for my 810 and they worked a treat. I have just upgraded my unit to 1030 but I am struggling to get the maps on it ng the instructions above – nothing shows in the unit even when I go to Map Options to select Maps – only the standard ones show.

    Is there any chance you can update this page with instructions for the 1030 please?

    Kid regards

    Bill

    • Karsten

      Hi Bill,

      I just installed a new map on a 1030. I followed the same steps as for the 520, described above by Ray.
      Since the device has so much storage space we left the original gmapbmap.img file in place and renamed it to gmapbmap.europe.old

      Then we renamed the new map file, originally downloaded as gmapsupp.img, to gmapbmap.img and dropped it into the \Garmin directory.
      We you power up the divide, you’ll see the new map in the list, possibly on top since it replaced the default map.

      HTH!

    • Mario Preston

      Hi Karsten.
      Even though I have an Explore 820 your comment helped me to figure it out and that’s it: the map is in and running.

      Thanks!

    • Mario Preston

      One more thing Karsten:

      Does it really matter which name we give to the map file???

  174. steve nicholson

    Hi if I download 2 seperate maps one for UK one for France do I need to title the folders differently for use on an 810 please ? Just downloaded the first map great instructions and no dramas.

    Thanks Steve

  175. Doug Strott

    Apologies if this is old news:
    For the Garmin Edge 820, I followed the instructions for the 520, except I did not overwrite gmapbmap.img. I simply copied gmapsupp.img to the Garmin. Worked like a charm.

    BTW, lots of good info in the comments. Wish they were searchable.

    • Tim

      In Mac OS Safari, you can search any page by using Command-F and typing in the box that appears in the top RH corner.

    • Mario Preston

      Awesome,
      I just bought a 820.
      You said you didn’t overwrite gmapbmap but did you change the name of the gmapsupp to gmapbmap?
      Thanks!

    • Mario Preston

      Doug Strott thanks for your comment it help me out.
      I finally managed to get my map on the Explore 820.

      Thanks again!

  176. Wolf

    Works perfectly fine on my edge1000 for shanghai

  177. MArk c

    Hi all. I have a rather large map on my edge 520 and am noticing increased battery drain. Ideas on if they are related.. (map and battery drain) appreciated.
    Thanks

  178. michael Belli

    Thank you! Worked perfectly on my 820!!

  179. Judy

    Hi
    I really appreciate your advice – thank you. I’ve got as far as the gmapsupp file and I’ve loaded it on to a micro SD in the sub file “Garmin” as you suggest but when I click on it in my computer an error message appears saying “couldn’t mount image” disc image file is corrupted (I’m thinking that is the computer not recognising the file extension?) . So I’ve inserted the sd card into my Garmin 810 and activated the file named Openfietsmap lite but I can’t actually view the map – Any advice you can offer would great
    Thanks Judy

  180. David J Goodman

    I downloaded gmapsupp.img to my Mac. I already had 2 gmapsupp files on the SD card so I changed the name of the new one to gmapsupp-4.img and downloaded it to the SD card. The map information on my Garmin 1000 shows two Openfietsmap Lite enabled (earlier downloads) and one enabled “OSM generic routable” but I can’t find the new map. Can you help me? David

  181. Gwwo

    Thank you very much indeed. Terrific piece, clear and easy to follow. It worked fine on my Edge Explore 820 which has no card but internal memory like the 520 (although much larger available memory)
    Much appreciated.

  182. Mario Preston

    Hi and thanks to your awesome website.

    I just bought the Explorer 820 and would like to add a map.
    — For the 820, where there is more free space on the drive, do I still have to make a backup copy of the gmapbmap and delete it? or can I just go ahead and copy the gmapsupp map file to the Garmin folder? also, in that case, do I still have to rename the gmapsupp file to gmapbmap?

    Thanks!

    N.B. to bad this unit doesn’t have a better touch screen indeed.

    • Mario Preston

      So I found out that:
      1- with the 820 having way more space “I don’t have to delete any file” if I want.
      2- and as far as renaming the file from gmapsupp to gmapbmap I did it even though I don’t know if it’s really necessary. I had to rename it gmapbmap1 because there was already a gmapbmap.
      I manage to figure it out by reading more of the other comments on this page specially the lattest ones.

      In any case thanks anyway again for your awesome site.

  183. Freckles

    Thank you for the clear instructions. Worked like a charm on the Garmin 520. Bought this month, installed from windows 10. Strava segments, loading routes/courses (made in Strava/gpx) not yet followed a course but i’ll think this is going to be ok. Syncing/uploading the ride to Garmin connect & Strava, works all. Thank you!

  184. Richard

    Many Many thanks
    I have been using another site. But recently thier maps was nothing more than a basic outline.

    Thankyou Richard

  185. Paul Carr

    Fantastic – thank you so much. I bought a Garmin 810 2nd hand and installed the maps as you indicated and it worked perfectly first time. I’ll be using it on my motorcycle here in the UK. :-)

    Good instructions too – crystal clear.

  186. Nigel B

    Hello I am new here. Thanks for an excellent site – terrific resource.

    I need help with installing additional maps on my new Garmin Edge 1030 and I hope one of you can help. I’ve follow DCR’s instructions very closely I think.
    I have accessed and downloaded the zipped files for China where I am living (the 1030 was bought in Europe), have unzipped them, and then saved the gmapsupp.img file to the Garmin/New Files Directory on my 32Gb Micro SD card installed in my device.
    I have disabled the European maps that are installed. But I still don’t see the detail China map I need.
    Any help much appreciated. I have spent a few hours on this already. Thanks so much in advance.

  187. Paul Carr

    Mine are stored to “Garmin” rather than “Garmin/New Files Directory” on my SD Card – have you tried moving the file up one level?

  188. Jeff keverline

    I tried your maps download and was able to get to the gmapsupp file saved however when I tried to run it it kept saying disc image file is corrupted.
    Suggestions?
    Jeff K
    Lenoir NC

    • It sounds like the file might have gotten corrupted while downloading. I’ve seen it happen once or twice before.

      Try re-downloading the file again and see if that helps.

  189. William Scowcroft

    Done everything as said but it not showing up on my garmin 810 when i put sd card in garmin

  190. Chris

    Having some problems with this. Bought the Garmin 520 on ebay (brand new from a UK seller). I’m based in the UK too and was disappointed that it didn’t seem to display UK maps – even in a simplified form. Garmin have been no help at all. Exported map file to my computer and it says it’s corrupted. Downloading files via method above and it says they are corrupted too? Not sure if this is a Windows 10 issue. Anyway, I think at this stage I would happily live with the Garmin basemaps that should have come on the device but I don’t even know if there is anywhere I can get those as the maps available through Garmin are huge.

    What should I try next!?

    • Chris

      Oh – I’ve also tried downloading the file again and it is still showing as corrupted.

    • Bruce

      Downloaded the full UK map to my 800’s SD card and was able to zoom in to my favorite whiskey distillery…Lagavulin!
      Are you creating your own maps? Post the area and I can try to test.

    • Chris

      Glad it’s worked for you. I’m still having no luck. Spoke to Garmin techincal support and they sent me an uncorrupted file, but it was still corrupt when I received/opened it, so I think the problem is Windows 10 rather than the Garmin. Anyone else experiencing similar issues? This is the file by the way – interested to know whether it shows as corrupt on a different PC. Not sure if this is a silly question as I’m not very technical with this sort of thing.

    • I’d definitely try another computer. It sounds like something is going amiss either during download or transfer (I’ve rarely seen, but have seen, corporate firewalls try and inspect files and hose them up like this).

      To date, looking through comments, I think the cause of maps failing like yours is 99.99% corrupted files…somehow. :)

    • Bruce

      Chris,
      Unfortunately you can only upload a picture. Try emailing file to dcr1@gulfcoastsolutions*dot*biz. Will try on Win7 & Win10

    • Chris

      Great thanks. Have sent it over.

      Chris

  191. Ean

    What happens if you want to do this again with another map area? (and keep the original area) Is it as simple as renaming the new downloaded file before you put it on the SD card?

  192. Johnathan Freter

    Does this work with the Garmin 1030? Thanks!

    • Colin Campbell

      Sure does – I have a map of the USA stored on a 32GB microSD card inserted in my 1030. I can switch between the provided Garmin map and the OpenStreetMap version, and navigate with either of them.

    • Johnathan Freter

      Thank you!

  193. Thrill Killer

    Hey DCRM, Will these instructions work with a Edge Explorer?

    I bought one today based off of your review and videos about it.
    Keep up the good work!

    • Mario Preston

      Yes it will work.

    • Mario Preston

      Furthermore, I have an 820 Explorer and it worked.
      Just carefully read all instructions.

    • Thrill Killer

      Thank You.

    • Nick

      Hey TK,

      I just bought the Edge Explore and had to follow a slightly different process:
      1. Go to http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl
      2. Select ‘Routable Bicycle (Openfietsmap Lite)’ for the map type
      3. Select your region and download the gmapsupp.img file
      4. Rename this file to gmapwhateveryoulike.img (I used gmapaus.img, because it was an Australian map file)
      4. Plug in the Edge Explore. Under the main directory where you have gmapbmap.img and the other map files, copy your gmapwhateveryoulike.img file into the same folder
      5. Boot up your Edge Explore and make sure the new map is enabled under the Settings -> Map -> Choose your map menu

    • Thrill Killer

      @Nick, Thanks for the Walk-Through!

  194. Cabraken

    Thank you. A very handy way to get going in a temporary location and way cheaper than the original maps I’ve been buying at home.

  195. Jonathan Cano

    This is a great walk through! I have detailed maps for my home area on my 520 now, thanks!

  196. Southsider

    I’m an Edge 520 user – I can’t empty the trash of the gmapbmap file I discarded from the Edge device as I’m being told that I “don’t have permission to do access some of the items” hence, I can’t create enough space to load my new map files to my 520. Any ideas.
    Thanks for your great guidance and Eric’s a prize dick

  197. K

    Hi .
    Will these maps work for a garmin Fenix 5 plus watch. im just trying to decide on buying the fenix 5 plus but purchasing extra maps at Garmins exorbitant price I can see doing.

    Do these maps have the trail lines line Gaia gps maps ?

    thanks in advance
    kursten

  198. K

    Opps last post should say I Can Not see purchasing extra maps with Garmins exorbitant prices .

    Kursten

  199. J MATH

    Thanks to this article, I could FINALLY use my 705 edge to find locations locally via “Where to? > Find places > Addresses”. Spent way too much time to get this sorted, I don’t think I would have been able to fix this by myself, so thank you, thank you, and thank you !
    Time to spend time riding my bike from street names to street names !

  200. Kevin Russ

    Hi This is an excellent article. I’m going to be riding in Thailand shortly on an organised tour. I wont need to navigate as the routes are already planned rather I just want to record the route and ride. Do I need to download the maps in advance for this or does the Garmin 1000 just record GPS locations and plot it on a map later please ?

    Regards

    Kevin

    • MARIO PRESTON

      Being a Garmin user myself, Edge 800 and now 820, I can tell you it will register your ride but on a global map i.e. without details.
      You need to get the actual area map if you want to see all the details.
      Really easy to get such map, and free, if you just follow the instructions given in this article.

    • Southsider

      Kevin
      Firstly, you may want to check that your tour guide isn’t expecting you to load a gpx file into your Garmin for navigation purposes. Paper based instructions (& maps!) don’t last long in the heat and humidity. My own recent experience was that my Garmin became confused somewhere in the jungle so I reverted to my back up device -iPhone. But in the pouring rain my wet fingers didn’t register on the touch screen so I was left to follow road signs….which got me to where I needed to be.
      Overall, my experience with loading detailed maps was not great. Lots of frustration, similar to others on this chat. The biggest concern was that I couldn’t tell what maps I had on the device until I arrived somewhere within the mapped area, by which time I was away from any means ( ie a laptop) to try again. Fortunately, I did have the maps needed but somehow my 520 didn’t like navigating with them. I could load a gpx file to the Garmin but it couldn’t give me directions.
      I wish I had stuck to the maps that come built in, they would probably have been detailed enough. Im now summing up the patience to restore the originals….

    • Kevin R.

      Guys thanks everyone for the responses to my question. I am in the process now of downloading the maps for Thailand and Laos and look forward to installing it onto my Garmin 1000.

      Thanks everyone

      Kevin

    • MARIO PRESTON

      The beauty of having the Edge 1000 is it takes micro SD cards.
      Like I said before, and I’m sorry to see Southsider having some problems, I never had such problems myself: the maps are working great for me.
      As far as the process to get them: I had some frustating moments but I managed to get it done eventually at the end.
      Have a good trip in Thailand Kevin: a country I bike tour many times and always enjoyed.

    • Kevin R.

      Hi Guys

      I have now (I believe) successfully downloaded the required maps onto my Garmin 1000 in that I can see in Tools –> Activity/Profiles –> Train ->Navigation –> Map –> Map Information, I can now see an ‘Enabled – Openfietsmap Lite’. I presume I cant now check this until I am physically at the location and turn the device on to get the GPS location.

      If this is really all I needed to do then it’s easier than I expected so thanks for excellent instructions.

      I will let you all know how I get on in Thailand.

      Kevin