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Garmin Lock

Mar
8
2006

Garmin Lock has been introduced in the latest Garmin GPS receivers. We previously broke the news of the new Garmin StreetPilot c550 which includes this new feature. Garmin Lock was created to help prevent against GPS theft… a growing crime.

Garmin Lock works by requiring the user to type in a four digit PIN number before the GPS receiver becomes operational. If the PIN number is not known, Garmin Lock will prevent the GPS receiver from working.


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28 Responses


  1. [...] The Garmin Nuvi 360 comes with Garmin Lock which is a system for requiring an PIN number to access the GPS receiver functions. Text-to-speech is also an advantage the Garmin Nuvi 360 has over the Nuvi 310. June Mid July is the target availability date. [...]

    Reply
    Garmin Nuvi 360 GPS Review - June 10th, 2006
  2. My c550 was stolen out of my car last week. It is protected by GarminLock but I was wondering if this is known to be cracked already. I’m asking this question because I had these (tini) anti-theft-stickers at the windows but this didn’t prevent the bast**ds to break the window and take away the c550. From the police I learned that there is a gang going around which seems to be well organized so chances are that they didn’t care much about GarminLock.
    I would really love to see a way to report this device as beeing stolen just to make sure that it is useless for the new “owner”…

    Reply
    Olaf - November 12th, 2007
  3. Olaf, one of the best things you can do is to contact Garmin and report it stolen. They will mark it as stolen in their database. Then if someone contacts them about a repair (like if they can’t get past the lock) then they have a chance of assisting the recovery of your GPS.

    Reply
    Tim - November 12th, 2007
  4. This GPS lock is useless. It doesnt prevent it from being stolen, just being used after it is stolen. Doesnt help you as you still have to buy another one. Silly function worth nothing. And I love Garmin. But this feature missed the mark.

    Reply
    Darren - April 18th, 2009
    • It is good as it was intended. Somewhere down the line we need to be responsible for securing our property.

      Reply
      Larry - March 16th, 2010
  5. Mine was just stolen, too. I presume the lock works with cogent thieves who know it won;t do them any good to steal it, and that’s the disincentive to them and the benefit to owners. That said, I have little faith that the pros don’t have a way to crack the codes.

    I wish I knew what else Garmin could or would actually do to ID the thieves. I know of no place on the Web site for reporting stolen units.

    Reply
    Robert - June 5th, 2009
    • Robert, the best place to report it to (other than the police) is Garmin themselves.

      Reply
      Tim - June 5th, 2009
    • It is not Garmin’s job to protect our equipment. Its ours.

      The Garmin lock software, if used, makes the GPS useless to a thief. Thieves are stupid and just maybe one will call Garmin to learn how to unlock the unit or will sell it to an unsuspecting person who will call Garmin and the person may get their GPS back.

      Reply
      Larry - June 25th, 2009
  6. I just bought the mechanical locking device to help prevent theives from stealing the Garmin from its mount. It’s not fool proof, but like any lock, it will deter the less determined crooks from taking the Garmin from its mount.

    Reply
    Larry - June 10th, 2009
  7. Fyi – it’s not going to work right away. However, if all GPS Units come equipped and utilizing the locking feature, then the concept will work. Thieves will be guaranteed that a PIN is needed an hence won’t bother stealing something they can’t sell.

    Reply
    Michael - June 23rd, 2009
    • Part of the problem is that too many people know how to bypass it.

      Reply
      Tim - June 23rd, 2009
  8. I just had my Garmin stolen last night outside my hotel room. Here’s my question.. It’s a GPS system. Why can’t Garmin just track it down through the system and tell the cops where it’s at?

    Reply
    Steve Baxter - July 20th, 2009
    • GPS is only a one way communication protocol. Your device receives information from the GPS satellites but nothing is transmitted back. There isn’t any way (through the GPS system) for your GPS to transmit anything.

      Reply
      Tim - July 20th, 2009
      • That is what they say but I don’t buy that for a second.

        Reply
        Aaron - March 25th, 2010
        • Then do some basic research and if you still don’t believe start prepping your tinfoil hat.

          Reply
          Tim - March 25th, 2010
  9. There are worse things than having a GPS stolen, including having the thief use it to visit you or your friends. Hopefully if there is a way to reset the PIN, it erases everything, but I haven’t yet determined if that’s true.

    Reply
    Bob Sadur - September 16th, 2009
  10. I reported a stolen GPS to Garmin and on

    Not saying I’ll ever see it again, but hopefully the thief will get caught. What else can I do? Why doesn’t Garmin track these stolen GPS units – seems pretty easy to do; it is a GPS after-all.

    Reply
    K - November 24th, 2009
    • GPS is a one-way technology. The GPS receives data from the satellites but does not transmit any data. Therefore Garmin cannot “track” a GPS.

      Reply
      Tim - November 25th, 2009
  11. I forget my password so how can can sin in?

    Reply
    Søren Gregersen - December 27th, 2009
    • Go to the place where you were when you created the password.

      Reply
      Tim - December 27th, 2009
  12. Just had my nuvi 765 stolen . Can’t seem to find a Ph # to call for reporting it stolen. Anybody?

    Reply
    Dan - January 19th, 2010
    • In order to report it to Garmin, you need to fax a paper with your full name, contact info, serial number, and a brief explanation of what happened to 913-440-8280. You also need to fax a copy of the purchase receipt (only if you didn’t already register it on the Garmin website).

      Reply
      Jon - February 4th, 2010
  13. The garmin lock is a good feature, but badly implemented. If you mis-type your pin just once, the only way to gain access to your gps is to go back to your security location. I have a Zumo 550 and this recently happened to me, fortunately I wasn’t miles away from home, so it wasn’t that bad, but I hate to imagine what would happened if I’d been miles away from home.

    Reply
    Keith Fox - February 28th, 2010
    • You do not have to go back to your “home location” if you mis enter your security code. Just turn off the unit then back on and take off your gloves and re enter the code. If it is the correct code the unit lets you in. At least that’s how my Zumo 450 works. BTW, the security location seems to be useless. I am on my bike in the same location (within 5 feet) and still must enter the code. If I put in the wrong code. I have to turn off then on and re enter the code.

      Reply
      Larry - April 1st, 2010
      • Larry, thanks for that, just tried it and it worked. Why couldn’t it be in the instructions.

        Thanks again, Keith

        Reply
        Keith - April 7th, 2010
  14. I had my gps stolen # 1gt065765, also my comerciant # 532318-1141.

    Reply
    ed - March 9th, 2010
    • STOLEN on 4/21/2010 in Chicago
      Product name: StreetPilot® c550
      Serial number: 119322834
      Unit Id: 3385750246

      Reply
      Radek - April 23rd, 2010
  15. I purchased a garmin 255wt Saturday, June 19th 2010, in Lufkin,TX. This device along with an iPhone 3gs (white) was stolen from my truck in the Ralph & Kacoos parking lot while I was having lunch between 2 & 3 pm, Friday, June 25 2010. I reported this to the police, who requested a serial number for the gps device. I don’t have this written down, and cannot find it in the paperwork. I have all the original packaging, and the receipt for the device as well the “Black Tie” protection plan. Any ideas? Any help will be appreciated.

    Reply
    Susan - June 25th, 2010

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