Did the "4/6/19 GPS rollover" affect your device?

[CannondaleKid]

The date/time field for GPS systems was originally a 10-bit number denoting the number of WEEKS from the start, so... the GPS week started January 6, 1980 and it became zero for the first time midnight August 21, 1999. Since that was before many devices were in the hands of the public it was just a matter of resetting the devices manually... or something like that.

Anyway, being another 1024 weeks since the August 1999 reset, the GPS Week Number was to reset to zero at midnight April 6, 2019. To push the issue off until such time as the current GPS system may be redundant and/or replaced, the 10-bit has been changed to a 13-bit Week Number. So the next reset will be 157 years from now... and thus, not our problem any more.

Ok, so what does this all mean to us?

While the huge majority of GPS-reliant devices have already been updated to use the 13-bit Week Number (phones, etc.), if you have not kept the firmware of your device up-to-date, you may experience inaccurate time and/or location.

For most of the Garmin handhelds, connect your GPS to your computer while running BaseCamp and if there is an update for your GPS BaseCamp will ask if you wish to update your device. Follow the prompts from there.

For other devices, contact the manufacturer.

[Sredfield]

How timely! We are pin-flagging 12-14 miles of new route starting tomorrow. I'll see what Basecamp does to my two antique Garmin GPS76CSx's.

[SAMBA]

I have an Oregon 4??, which I rarely use, and I was aware of the potential problem, so I started my Oregon 4?? yesterday to see if my unit was affected by the reset problem. I checked a lot of screens, but not knowing the symptoms, I shut it down and told myself "c'est la vie".

That said, if I can find the connector cable, I'll try CK's BaseCamp update solution.

TIA CK

[Tough_Boots]

hmmm...

I went in and checked for updates. I have an old Etrex Venture HC. An update became available last month but I can't get it to successfully update-- I'm sure because its a dinosaur. I'm always amazed it still turns on. Back to the junk drawer it goes!

There are no new updates available for my 60csx. Garmin's website shows the most recent firmware version update was to 4.0 in 2009. That seems odd to me-- anyone find anything different?

@Grasshopper is the reigning 60csx king.

[DixieFlyer]

I uploaded the most recent software update for my gpsmap 64s this morning, which is version 5.30. I checked and my device is showing the correct date, although I do not know if there was a date issue prior to installing this update.

[SAMBA]

@CannondaleKid
Yo CK, I did as you recommended, and the update supposedly went well. I, being the "doubting Thomas" I am, though, would like to verify for myself the update was successful. Got any ideas how I can?

LaFong (aka SAMBA)

[big_load]

Thanks for the heads up! They discontinued support for my GPSMap 60 csx years ago, so I was surprised to find an update available, which it said was for the M3 GPS chipset. It took a few attempts to get at it, since Garmin Express couldn't recognize my device. Fortunately WebUpdater is still available and that did the trick.

[DixieFlyer]

It looks like some Boeing 787's in China had problems with the 20 year rollover issue and had to be grounded while waiting for a software update

[CannondaleKid]

Got any ideas how I can?

Time/Date: Check it against the calendar and known accurate clock. (Computer or phone is good)
Quick check for location: At a known location, does your GPS show it correctly? (like your home... or favorite pub?)

@DixieFlyer
Nowadays, one may begin to wonder if flying is as safe as we are told...

[Sredfield]

I checked it by attaching it while Basecamp was running. Something downloaded, so I'm assuming it is current. On one unit the date was 2007 until it found some satellites, then immediately updated.

[toddak]

I still use my old Garmin venture etrex HC, although I don't do anything more sophisticated than loading some waypoints to use as sanity checks when hiking in unfamiliar or difficult terrain. When my PC running Windows 10 Home couldn't find it, Garmin help said I would have to connect it to my old Windows 7 PC to keep using it. A pain, but it works. Garmin also said the rollover shouldn't affect anything other than the internal calendar (which currently shows the correct time but the date shows August 23, 1999).