New Montana

I just unboxed my new Montana GPSr. Now What?


Congratulations! You are the proud new owner of Garmins most advanced handheld personal navigation device to date! You're probably just aching to power the Montana on and get outside right away, but your new Montana is not quite ready yet. It is highly recommended you first complete the tasks below to ensure your Montana is prepared with all the latest features and fully able to provide you with the best user experience possible.

  1. Install a screen protector (You did order one, right?)
  2. Install the battery (Li-ion) or batteries (AA)
  3. Power the unit on by pressing and releasing the power button
  4. Select desired language
  5. Connect the Montana to your computer with the USB cable
  6. Complete Montana driver installation as necessary
  7. Register your Garmin Montana and receive a 10% discount coupon from Garmin
  8. Activate a free 30 day premium membership at Groundspeak (or add 30 days to your existing premium membership)
  9. Save an archival backup of your device
  10. Update your Montana Firmware
  11. Load some maps to your Montana
  12. (610/680/680t only) Rename [GPSr]\Garmin\GGZ\preload.ggz to [GPSr]\Garmin\GGZ\preload.old (this disables outdated geocache data)
  13. Allow the Li-ion battery to charge fully
  14. While the battery is charging, visit Applications, Setup, Features, and Operation to familiarize yourself with the Montana
  15. Power on the Montana and place it in clear view of the sky (preferably outdoors) for ~30 minutes to perform a first time location initialization
  16. While you're waiting, check the Common Issues list and see what others are saying about their Montana GPSr
  17. Get outdoors! (take the Montana with you)