Garmin Nuvi 42LM Troubleshooting

The Garmin Nuvi freezes and becomes unresponsive.

If you turn on your device and the screen is not responding to your touch, it may be frozen. The first thing you will want to do is to restart your Garmin Nuvi 42LM. To restart, press and hold the lower right hand corner of the display portion of the touchscreen. Power on the device while continuing to hold the display. Remove your finger from the touchscreen when "Erase all user data?" appears. If the Garmin Nuvi 42LM is not responding, you may have a problem with the LCD screen.

If your screen is not responding at all, you might need to replace it. Please reference our guide Garmin Nuvi 42LM Screen Replacement on how to replace your screen.

The speaker of the Garmin Nuvi 42LM does not produce desired sounds.

If the volume is not turning on the sound may be on mute. Make sure to turn the volume all the way down and then turn it all the way up by holding down the plus and minus button on the screen.

If the volume is not muted, there may be a problem with the speakers. The first thing you will want to do is to plug headphones into the headphone jack and see if you are getting any sound through them. If the sound is coming through the headphones and not the speakers, then there could be a problem with the speakers. If there is still no sound, the speakers may be broken and needs to be replaced. Please reference our guide Garmin Nuvi 42LM Speaker Replacement on how to replace your speakers.

Your Garmin Nuvi 42LM will not turn on.

If your Garmin Nuvi 42LM is not turning on, try to press and hold down the power button for several seconds. If it still does not turn on, try to plug your device into a computer or wall to see if the battery may be at fault. If the light on the charging cord is lit once plugged in, that indicates that the battery needs charging. However, if the device is still not turning on, the battery or the motherboard might need to be replaced.

If the screen is not responding to touch, the device may not have enough power to function properly. Recharge the battery and try again. If the battery does not charge it may need to be replaced. Please reference our guide Garmin Nuvi 42LM Battery Replacement on how to replace your battery.

If the device is not turning on, the motherboard may be at fault and should be replaced. Please reference our guide Garmin Nuvi 42LM Motherboard Replacement Guide on how to replace your motherboard.

If the device is not charging, the USB port may be broken. This is the connector for the battery to charge. Please refer to our USB replacement guide on how to replace the USB port.

Your Garmin will not display uploaded maps.

If there is a problem with the display of the map, you should make sure that the map has been installed correctly. Connect Garmin Nuvi 42LM with your computer -> go to My Computer on Windows or Finder on Mac -> select Garmin Nuvi drive -> double click on the Map Folder (if you can’t find the Map Folder, it means the map hasn’t been uploaded correctly and you should refer to the installation instructions to upload the maps). If the Map Folder is there, the file gmap-supp.img or gmapsupp.img should appear, meaning that the map has been installed correctly. However, the existing road map should be turned off for it to display correctly. If map still does not want to be displayed on the device, it may be the manufacturing problem and you should contact Garmin Ltc.