Why does my sat nav keep losing satellite signal?

[Alime66]

Hi all, has anyone else experienced issues with sat nav losing satellite signal? We're having trouble with our Garmin 795 camper sat nav, it worked fine for the first 6 months in the UK then started randomly losing satellite connection whilst travelling in UK and Europe. We've an Autotrail Mohawk and hubby originally blamed all my clothes in the overhead storage cupboard for blocking the signal but we've moved it to different positions on the windscreen and also on the underside of the clear plastic skylight in the roof, the signal strength is better in this position but still loses satellites. We've done a factory reset on the Garmin but this didn't help so Garmin replaced it with another unit which is now having the same problem. We can't fault Garmins customer service and don't believe there is anything wrong with the unit as we tried it in a car briefly and it worked fine so believe something within the van is interfering with the sat nav as signal, as our phones often lose signal at the same time. The motorhome has always had a Scorpion tracker fitted and we thought this may be the issue so asked them to disable the tracker for a few hours while we travelled but the problem persisted. We've also had a few false alarms from Scorpion whilst we've been in Portugal and don't know if this is related. We are on our first trip to Europe and find the sat nav a godsend WHEN it's working but are pulling our hair out trying to elimate and get to the bottom of this intermittent problem so would appreciate any thoughts please. Thanks in advance

 

[Vanman]

Might be worth trying to establish a pattern. Weather conditions can affect reception, is it worse when it's cloudy / raining? See if you can find anything that is different when it stops.

 

[Two on Tour]

Garmin satnavs use the Russian GPS satellites system called GLONASS as well as Galileo and others, and the Russians have been jamming GLONASS due to the Uranian war, and it has been reported that this GPS jamming has affected car satnavs in some instances.

 

[Bill-H]

I seem to remember that the instructions with my Garmin 770 camper satnav said to lay as much of the power cable as is free along the windscreen as the cable was part of the antenna. Maybe that instruction is only for receiving the travel info but may be worth looking at.

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

Hi all, has anyone else experienced issues with sat nav losing satellite signal? We're having trouble with our Garmin 795 camper sat nav, it worked fine for the first 6 months in the UK then started randomly losing satellite connection whilst travelling in UK and Europe. We've an Autotrail Mohawk and hubby originally blamed all my clothes in the overhead storage cupboard for blocking the signal but we've moved it to different positions on the windscreen and also on the underside of the clear plastic skylight in the roof, the signal strength is better in this position but still loses satellites. We've done a factory reset on the Garmin but this didn't help so Garmin replaced it with another unit which is now having the same problem. We can't fault Garmins customer service and don't believe there is anything wrong with the unit as we tried it in a car briefly and it worked fine so believe something within the van is interfering with the sat nav as signal, as our phones often lose signal at the same time. The motorhome has always had a Scorpion tracker fitted and we thought this may be the issue so asked them to disable the tracker for a few hours while we travelled but the problem persisted. We've also had a few false alarms from Scorpion whilst we've been in Portugal and don't know if this is related. We are on our first trip to Europe and find the sat nav a godsend WHEN it's working but are pulling our hair out trying to elimate and get to the bottom of this intermittent problem so would appreciate any thoughts please. Thanks in advance

Try these instructions I received from Garmin UK when I had a similar issue with my Camper 660,
it work for me 4 years ago and has been fine since.
Good luck

I advise what we call a GPS soak. I need you to reset the device, followed by leaving the device under the open sky for 30mins, then fully update the device. this gives the device the opportunity to communicate, sync and calibrate with local satellites, which will then increase your GPS accuracy, and decrease the time taken to get a GPS fix. please ensure that you sync all your activities to Garmin connect beforehand, so you don't lose any data. Once the soak has been performed, please then re sync and update your device.

1. Start with the device turned off and unplugged from power
   • To verify the device is powered off and not in standby mode, press and hold down the power button until prompted to turn off the device
2. Power on the device
3. When the first copyright screen appears press and hold the lower right-hand corner of the display portion of the touchscreen
4. Remove your finger from the touchscreen when "Erase all user data?" appears
5. Touch Yes
   • If text language is not in English, this is the button on the right

Updating Automotive Maps and Software with Garmin Express



If the issue persists, I will need images of the issue, so I can see the severity, as well as your proof of purchase, to investigate this further. Thanks.

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[10tenmen]

Have you ever plugged into a computer with Garmin express it will do a firmware update which includes satellite data. Possibly maps will also update depending on the age of your device.

 

[Guigsy]

The GPS signal is primarily a very accurate clock. But it also includes the Almanac, which is the position of all the satellites. The Almanac is transmitted very slowly, it takes about 12 minutes before it loops.

If your GPS device has been off for a long time, or it's moved a long way since it was last on, your device takes a long time to get a fix because it has to receive all the fresh Almanac data before it can map out the signals it's receiving. If you've got a poor signal, it can take a long time before you get a solid fix.

Phones don't have this issue because they can just download the Almanac off of the internet (it's actually very small). And they also have cell towers to give them a rough position, which helps with the GPS calculations to give them a quicker fix.

 

[Bognor Saint]

Just a thought but is your vehicle a Ford? Ours is and there are heating elements in the windscreen. I have noticed that sometimes the sat nav shows difficulties in acquiring a signal.

 

[Alime66]

Might be worth trying to establish a pattern. Weather conditions can affect reception, is it worse when it's cloudy / raining? See if you can find anything that is different when it stops.

Thanks for your reply, sadly there doesn't seem to be any pattern apart from it fails every time when we need it most very frustrating!

 

[Alime66]

I seem to remember that the instructions with my Garmin 770 camper satnav said to lay as much of the power cable as is free along the windscreen as the cable was part of the antenna. Maybe that instruction is only for receiving the travel info but may be worth looking at.

The power cable does run along top of dash so unlikely to be that but thanks anyway

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[Alime66]

Just a thought but is your vehicle a Ford? Ours is and there are heating elements in the windscreen. I have noticed that sometimes the sat nav shows difficulties in acquiring a signal.

Its a Fiat Ducato with no fancy windscreen, thanks for your suggestion

 

[Alime66]

Try these instructions I received from Garmin UK when I had a similar issue with my Camper 660,
it work for me 4 years ago and has been fine since.
Good luck

I advise what we call a GPS soak. I need you to reset the device, followed by leaving the device under the open sky for 30mins, then fully update the device. this gives the device the opportunity to communicate, sync and calibrate with local satellites, which will then increase your GPS accuracy, and decrease the time taken to get a GPS fix. please ensure that you sync all your activities to Garmin connect beforehand, so you don't lose any data. Once the soak has been performed, please then re sync and update your device.

1. Start with the device turned off and unplugged from power
   • To verify the device is powered off and not in standby mode, press and hold down the power button until prompted to turn off the device
2. Power on the device
3. When the first copyright screen appears press and hold the lower right-hand corner of the display portion of the touchscreen
4. Remove your finger from the touchscreen when "Erase all user data?" appears
5. Touch Yes
   • If text language is not in English, this is the button on the right

Updating Automotive Maps and Software with Garmin Express



If the issue persists, I will need images of the issue, so I can see the severity, as well as your proof of purchase, to investigate this further. Thanks.

The GPS soak sounds worth a try, thank you.

 

[Alime66]

Have you ever plugged into a computer with Garmin express it will do a firmware update which includes satellite data. Possibly maps will also update depending on the age of your device.

Have you ever plugged into a computer with Garmin express it will do a firmware update which includes satellite data. Possibly maps will also update depending on the age of your device.

Unfortunately we haven't got access to a computer whilst travelling which is why Garmin sent us a new unit but we'll definitely try this when we get back home... if we can find our way back home