Garmin StreetPilot c550
Mar
1
2006
Garmin is getting ready to release a new GPS receiver in the StreetPilot line, the Garmin StreetPilot C550. Little is known about all of the specs and features, however it will have an SD slot which will store MP3 files and JPEG pictures in addition to maps. The StreetPilot c550 obviously includes an MP3 player [...]
Sorin: Whewwwwwww thanks for the reply. I thought I was in trouble. So far my C550 is working very nicely. It operates a little differently than the c340 that I had, but works fine for me so far.
Thanks again.
I have copied mp3 onto a SD memory card. Some mp3 conversions of mp4 did not play, so they were deleted from the SD card. When the SD card is viewed on my mac computer those songs are no longer listed; however, they are still listed when viewed on the Garmin, and are being played without sound.
Can you explain this?
I purchases a Garmin 550 for my husband for father’s day. The charge does not seem to last and I would like to know how this item compares to the Garmin NUVI 250W GPS. Thank you.
Your charge should last about 6-8 hours after a full charge with a new device. Battery life on the 200w is a bit less… 3-5 hours.
Spend 5 months in the USA and did a real test and it worked great. My only complaint is that the Garmin 550 has many more features than in the manual and we were constantly finding new things i.e. intersections. The battery concern worked out without a problem. The manual could be expanded but than would frighten everyone away, as it is very simple to us.
Do you have problems with the suction cup on C550? If yes, what do you use instead?
Most people who don’t use the suction cup mount use the friction mount aka “bean bag mount”.
Sorin: I have a round plastic dash mount that I got with my c340. I use that and so far the c550 is sticking to that. Sometimes just a little real thin coating of vasaline will help it stick.
Alas, my c330 screen got badly cracked, when I was trying to take it down one-handed and it hit the gear shift. Ouch! Garmin wants $150 to repair/replace, which seems a lot for a screen. Is there a way to replace the screen myself? Does anyone sell the screen after-market? While I’m at it, is it possible to replace the battery, which no longer holds more than 30 minutes.
Rather than attempting to replace the battery and screen, why not just go grab a Garmin Nuvi 200 for about $120+?
Bill-
Even with the Garmin External Hands-free Microphone plugged into my c550, people say they can not hear me, or if they do hear me, it is not well. My Garmin is on the dash and the external microphone is on my sun visor facing me. Any suggestions?
Andy: I am guessing you tried the internal mic and that is why the external. I have not tried mine cause I have the little thingy on my ear. Try resetting you connection to your phone.
The battery of my new Garmin 550 lasted about 2h when fully charged. I used the GPS at full luminosity and on highway, so it did not talk much.
Sorin. Let your battery go all the way down so that the GPS doesn’t operate. Then give it a full charge. Sometimes those lithium batteries need that. Do you have your voice feature on??? Was the volume all the way up??? There are updates for all voices for your C550. Use their web updater and download and install the voice that matches yours. Having the screen brightness on all the way should not interfere with the voice, but may use your batter a little faster. I have mine as bright as it will go and my battery lasts longer than 2 hours and I still have voice. My voice is english Jill.
[snip] currently has the Garmin Nuvi 270 & the Street Pilot C550 at the same price. What would be the better model? I’m needing a simple device that would be used on trips but probably not on an every day basis.
Ken, the 270 is likely the better pick.
OK – got my daughter a C550 and love it… One question – what is the logic that causes a ‘recalculate’ vs. a u-turn (with u-turn enabled)? Playing with it arround home and it almost always recalculates vs. asking me to turn arround. For example, if I miss a turn, it will calculate a new route (mile or more longer) vs. turn me back to a shorter route.
Dave, they are separate things. The device will recalculate if you miss a turn, regardless of anything else.
Regardless if it is an original route or a recalculated route the device will offer a u-turn if a legal one is known and it is the most practical route. That however, is rare.
MY Garmin c550 blinks when MP3 is on. ( In the night it appears as a flash of light and blinks constantly when MP3 is on.) IS this normal? If not what needs to be done?
Thanks.
Sanya, I haven’t heard of that before, but I don’t often use the MP3 player. Does it happen with all of your MP3 files? You might need to give Garmin support a call on that one.
I just purchased a refurbished Streetpilot c550 and mine is doing the flash of light like Sanya was describing.I only notice it if I play mp3s.
Will the C550 continue to work normally running on car battery power if the unit’s lithium battery is either at a very low charge level or has failed completely?
It should continue to work fine on a low charge– I don’t know if it would work with a defective/failed battery. Probably depends what broke.
Sanya – Same screen blinking thing keeps happening to me. It doesn’t seem to matter what MP3 file is playing or if its day or night (although you definitely notice it more at night) Let me know if you find a solution
Does anyone have a phone that their phone book actually downloads to a Garmin? I have a Samsung A707 and it doesn’t but I’m buying a new phone in a couple of months and want to get one that does
Is there a way to delete some of the “genres” listed on my c550? I can’t figure out where they are coming from; like AC,misc,etc.
Also my brand new C550 also flashes at night but haven’t noticed if only when playing mp3′s.
Does anyone know which Verizon phones work well with Garmin C550? Verizon does not know. Also love my Garmin of 2 years and plan to buy one for my daughter. Based on thread, is C550 still a good buy or should one go with a Nuvi model?Thanks.
Alice, you can see an official list of supported phones at garmin.com/bluetooth
Alice: I have Verizon with a Motorola Razor phone and I made connection with it.
Tim: I would like to download and use a different auto icon for my C550. Can you give me the page for it????
garmin.com/garage
Tim: My C550 came with the traffic warning ability for 90 days. When I get ready to renew, does the subscription that I buy cover the entire US or just the area where I am living. I saw the subscription is $60 for a year, but don’t know what it includes.
The subscription covers all areas their service is available– not just your local area.
Tim: When I renew my traffic subscription for $60, does it include the entire US, or just one area??? If it is for just one area, it could be a little expensive to travel cross country if you have to purchase several subscriptions just to travel.
Bill, See answer #131.
Tim: Is there any information on where their service is available?????
Bill – see our GPS Traffic page.
Tim – Are there any additional “voices” that can be downloaded and installed in the C530 other than the ones that came with it? I find the various female voices in the C530 a bit too soft to hear distinctly in my noisy car.
You can install a few others in the ‘additional updates’ section of webupdater which only appears after you’ve checked for application updates.
i just bought one c550. so how can i update the map?
You can register your device at my.garmin.com and it will tell you how to get or purchase a map update.
Hi all. I have a dump question. Does the cigarette FM traffic receiver charge your C550 battery or just provide power while you’re using it? If so why are they also selling the cigarette charger for this unit separately? I am confused.
Thanks
And roughly how long does it take to fully charge the C550 using USB (if different from other method)?
Yes, the traffic receiver/power cord does charge the battery. It is sold as an accessory in case you break one… but you would have no need to purchase it separately otherwise.
Charging via USB will take roughly twice as long… so perhaps 10 hours+.
Tim,
Can’t believe how you manage to answer all these questions quickly and they’re very helpful :~). Thanks so much and great job.
Glad to help how I can.
Tim and All,
I think I have a defected unit. I ordered a c550 and it arrived 2 days ago. This is my first GPS unit (as you can see I am asking very basic questions). It was ok the first day, but yesterday I noticed that sometimes during the route, there’s no voice though I the direction still running. I thought something wrong with the speakers so I tried make a call using my phone (it’s been paired) to see if the speakers work and it worked. Once I hung up, voice started to come on again. One other problem also started yesterday that TTS stopped working. I now only get Turn Right or Left, but not the street name. I checked the firmware, unit software and all is up to date (or only 1 version old) from the manufacture. Any idea/advise? Has anyone experienced the same thing?
Thanks in advance
HT
{deleted duplicate comment}
Hi HT
Ok I think I know what happened, whenever your phone is actively on a call (you’ll see a phone icon with the red square around it on the map) it disables voice directions so as not to interrupt your call. I’ve been noticing that if I don’t actually press the red button to hang up the call on the GPS, sometimes the GPS still thinks I”m on the call and won’t say my directions.
As far as it not saying street names, I believe I read in the manual that if you have picked a voice that does not have a persons name, it will not say the street names. Go back to the Locale selection and see if you can choose a voice option with a name attached (like American – Lee) and see if that helps.
HT, see our article on how to enable text to speech.
Hi,
Thanks for the response. I found my stupidity yesterday about the TTS (I apologize for this). As to the voice problem, what I’ve noticed is that when I powered on the unit and route to an address, voice won’t come on even though phone is NOT actively in use. To make it come on I had to make a fake phone call (to kick off the speaker) and hung up, as soon as I hung up the voice started to work. I do understand that voice is not working while you’re on the phone, but this isn’t the case. Also every single time I turned the unit on, I got a “false” incoming call (it’s ringing, but no one is calling). I had to hit Ignore or Answer to continue. Does this happen to anyone?
I have a Garmin c550 GPS. It’s worked great until yesterday. The battery no longer will power up the GPS. I can plug it into the cigar lighter and it powers up immediately. When I turn it off it shows unit is charging. I’ve left it charging up to two hours but it still will not power up even for one second. Can the batter be replaced. I was told the battery expected life is 10000 hours.
If it worked fine until yesterday, it isn’t a capacity or “life” type issue, but rather something suddenly broke. I’d try a reset.
Tim, the GPS works fine if it’s plugged ito a cigar lighter, but doesn’t work if it’s not plugged in. Therefore it could be that the battery no longer is taking charge.
I’m having the exact same problem as Art. I’ve had my c550 for a year and 6 months and it just started not being able to hold a charge. When plugged into the cigarette lighter it works fine. When unplugged it immediatley shuts off, without asking “Do you want to continue on battery power?” like it use to. Any suggestions?
Hi all – great list here – just got my c550 today and am trying to figure out speaker stuff. Is it true that if I enable Bluetooth it shuts off volume to internal speakers as well as audio out plug? Thanks
Thanks Stewart! Nice to know someone else relizes that the battery can go bad. It only makes sense that it’s the battery, when it immediatley shuts off when you disconnect the cigarette lighter. I wonder if a person can order just the battery and install it yourself????
I realize a battery can go bad– that is what I was implying in my response. When you said “expected life” that seems to imply the *capacity* of the battery— exceeding the “expected life” will diminish the capacity, but not cause it to fail entirely. Thus my suggestion that you try a hard reset, otherwise the battery is “broke”.
You can hard reset a hard drive but how do you reset a battery??
Kyle, the bluetooth only overrides the speakers when an active phone call is in progress. Otherwise, the speakers will always be on…
I have a C550 and have seen several posts here about battery problems. If my battery does go, is there a way to replace it and if so, can I do it if I had the replacement battery????????
For anyone that was having the screen flashing problem when MP3s are playing: I had several email exchanges with Garmin support (including sending them a video of the screen flashing) and they think that its a hardware problem and gave me an RMA. Does anyone have any experience for how long it takes to do an exchange with Garmin by mail? Thanks!
Hello All,
Great website and much information.
I am liking the C550 as my Magellan Roadmate 200 got a cracked screen but I noticed the C550 has been discontinued by Garmin any thoughts from the group on this as pricing now is really within my spending zone.
Thanks in advance.
-g-
Stevie – You can read here about Garmin Discontinued Status.
does this unit have the option for commercial trucks??
Depends what type of commercial routes you are trying to make. It doesn’t know things about weight or height restrictions for example.
Since I got my c550 the TTS feature has not worked. I got it refurbished off Buy.com. Has any other person had this issue and if so was it resolved. Thx.
folarin – make sure you have selected a computer voice labeled TTS. See “Enable Text-to-Speech” and scroll to the Garmin section for instructions.
Never mind people…solved the TTS issue
Apparently no one knows if a battery can be replaced in a Garmin c550. Mine is totally dead and only runs if I keep it plug in all the time.
Art
Art: I contacted Garmin and you have to send your GPS back to them to replace the battery. Contact them and they will send you a shipping label.
A friend of mine lives on a ‘rural route’. He gave me his exact GPS Lat & Long (available on his GPS). Can I enter these numbers into my C550?
My Garmin c550 screen flashes only while the mp3 is playing, every 3-5 minutes. I sent it back to Garmin, they sent a refurbished one and it also does it. I called them on it and they said they had no other complaints of this..they will work on making a patch to fix this problem.
Please call this problem into Garmin so they will fit it ASAP. It is not suppose to do this.
It flashes when your SD card is in or when it is out and heir 7 preloaded songs are playing it does it too.
At night when the car is dark it is like you are getting your picture taken with a flash camera.
We paid alot of money for the MP3 feature, we want to use it!!!
Also verizon LG cell phones work with my garmin my phonebook shows up on the screen.
I had the C550 but it was stolen. I LOVED IT!!!!! does anyone know of another GARMIN that has ALL the same features as the C550 but has a flat screen. If not I guess I’ll be buying another C550. It is wonderful!
The closest are the Garmin Nuvi 360 and the Garmin Nuvi 265T.
Purchased the 550 for Father’s Day and have used twice but cannot set the time for Ontario. We are stilling running one hour ahead. I thought it would change automicatily as it was on Auto. HELP with the time change.! How do you change time!
Lianne, see page 25 of the manual.
I bought C550, a few months ago. One thing I noticed is, it calculates routes depends on the time as well. It happened for me. When I was driving from Washington DC to Roanoke,VA it showed me I-66 then I-81 in the daylight. However when I travelled from DC to roanoke,va at night, it showed me I-66 then US 29 and other routes. Does anyone face this kind of issues?
Thanks,
Sony, I don’t believe the time of day is the difference, rather the route itself. While it is the “same” end points, with one way sections, differences in on-ramps, and turn directions– those can make a difference. For example a left turn across lanes of oncoming traffic is slower than a typical right turn. So even without time of day you will often get a different route going the other direction between the same two points.
Tim,
Thanks for your reply. However I’m not sure of what you had said. In my case, I was driving from DC to Roanoke. One was around 4:00 pm, the other was around 8:00 pm. It did show different route.
In fact when I had a drive from Richmond to Roanoke, it showed US 460 rather, I-64 W-> I-81 S
In all my cases, i set to the fastest route. None of the settings I changed it from the day one, except the Map update.
Please help.. I’ve spent waaayyy too much time comparing garmins. I finally thought the streetpilot c550 would be best for me; under $200, better sound quality, bluetooth, text to speech, and strong signal through forests or cities were the qualities most important to me. It wasn’t till I found this site that I saw it was discontinued. I drive through cities alot and will definately need up to date msps. So long story not so short.. is it impratical to buy a discontinued garmin even though its more affordable? I really didn’t want to spend alot but would hate to be stuck with a model that in a year I can’t update.. am I over-reacting? I’d appreciate your help!
I’ve bought 2 C550s and they are being delivered today. I am interested in subscribing to the traffic info on one of them, but I have a question. Is the subscription $60 per year or $60 lifetime? I’ve seen references to both scattered throughout the web… Thanks!
It used to be $60/year but was recently changed which is why you see different references.
I have a streetpilot c550 with Navteq map update 2008. Is there a newer update for my C550? When I looked on the page it said there is a Map update 2009, but when I clicked the “eligibility” it said no updates found???? I am confused. Am I not able to update my maps on the C550 any more?????
Is there a way to offset the starting location so that I can check a route from a place other than HOME????? I have a Streetpilot C550 and would like to see the route from someplace other than HOME. Can this be done?????
I don’t recall if this works on the older STP c series or not– but see Offset Starting Locations for the method that works on most of the Nuvi models. Basically you want to disable the GPS chip which puts the device into Simulation mode.
Tim: thanks I have that info, but I cannot find simulation mode on my C550. If there is a way to put my C550 in simulation mode I would like to find out how.
Has anyone seen resolution to the issue of the screen flashing while playing MP3s, as mentioned in several previous posts? This “feature” is VERY annoying.
I just went on the web to see if there are any updates to the map software for my C550. I currently have the 2009 maps. It came up with nuMaps City Navigator North America NT update, which appears to be for the 2009 maps. It looks like it is showing it as “City Navigator North America NT 2009.1″ Any one familiar with this???? If this is a real update for my 2009 maps, which I purchased last year, then I would be interested in downloading it.
Any help will be appreciated.
Yes, the “2009.1″ map is newer than the “2009″ map. You can find many people discussing the new map in our Garmin Nuvi Forums.
I am interested in purchasing a second Garmin GPS for my wife. I have a C550 Streetpilot, which I know is not being manufactured any more. Could someone recommend a Garmin GPS that has a high sensitivity receiver, 12 or 20 channel,Waas enabled with City Navigator maps?
And what is the difference in the maps that are described with some of the Garmin GPS’s. Some just say loaded with maps of the US and Canada and some say loaded with City Navigaror North America NT maps. Can someone explain the differene to me?
What are you doing with the GPS where you would need WAAS? In Garmin’s lingo, the North America maps and the maps that cover the USA and Canada are the same.
Tim: Thanks for your response. I am assuming from your reply that you don’t feel that WAAS is that important. I think from what I can remember without the WAAS the GPS gets you within 15 meters of where you are going as compared to 3 meters with the WAAS. Can you recommend a Garmin that would be comparable to my C550 Streetpilot?? I like the high sensitivity receiver and the secure disk slot.
Bill, correct. You can read my take on WAAS in our forums, check out the Do all newer Garmin’s GPS use WAAS? thread for the details. For something similar but newer to your c550, check out the Garmin Nuvi 255.
Tim: Thanks for your reply. I will certainly look into that GPS. Also, just wondering. Since the C550 is a discontinued model, do you think there will be any more firmware or software updates, other than map updates???? I have also played with idea of getting another C550 as a back up if I have problems with mine, or when mine stops working. Stupid idea??????
I doubt if there will be any more application updates. Map updates might be available for a little while, but I wouldn’t expect them for too much longer. I’d move on to the newer models if/when you need a replacement.
Tim: Thanks for the response. I appreciate all your advice on these GPS’s. From what you are saying, you dont expect me to update the maps for much longer. Is there a reason why????? I was under the impression that as long as my C550 functioned, I could still update the maps. Apparently I am wrong. Is there a drive space problem????
I guess let me ask it in a more extreme way. 25 years from now if Garmin is still in business would you expect map updates to still be available for your device? Probably not. So at some point the new data will be too big, or in such a different format that it won’t work on obsolete devices. I expect that either memory issues or data format changes will prevent older discontinued devices from getting updates in the future.
Tim: Thanks for replying. I guess my question kind of showed how dumb I can be at times. Just as the question about what GPS you would get yourself. Sometimes my mouth is faster than my brain. I appologize for my lack of thinking before I speak. I value your information and promise I will try not to do it again.
Tim: If you were going to buy a Garmin GPS, for your personal use, which one would you buy??? Also what is your favorite GPS, one that you have right now???
It isn’t really a question that is fair for me to answer. My navigation needs are likely different than yours. So my own favorite is largely inconsequential to the GPS you will like best of what best meets your needs.
Tim: I have tried to send you a question and it will not register. Have you blocked me from here????
Tim: Is there a way of finding out which of the Garmin GPS’s have the high sensitivity receivers???
Tim: Is there a way of finding out which of the Garmin GPS’s has the high sensitivity receivers????
Is there a way of finding out which of the Garmin GPS’s has the high sensitivity receivers???
Hi.
Is the C550 still a recommended GPS? I want it for driving through Atlanta traffic.
Which traffic subscription is best?
THANKS SO MUCH!
Lee, the c550 has been discontinued. I’d look to one of the newer devices that are thinner designs with more features and more room for expansion.
Hi,
I have a c550 gps and in need of a manual and a USB. Where can I get these items ?
Thanks
need to find a way to delete pin on my 550c that i bought of internet and cant get it to work without pin..
Chris, contact the previous owner to get the PIN or you can send it to Garmin and they will remove the pin for something like $175 provided the GPS is not stolen. Otherwise, you are out of luck.
how do you delete the pre-installed music on the c550
I have a Garmin street pilot c550.where do I get the sd memory card or caan i use just any sd memory card? also how do I get an update on the maps or do i have to purchase it ? whats the cost?
Carol: You can use any sd memory card as for as I know. You can purchse the map updates cd for $75 or so or you can purchase lifetime updates for $100. The lifetime updates are good for as long as you use the c550.
was wondering if you could help my partner has a garmin streetpilot c550 and he has recently passed his test and has his class 2 hgv, he has been moaning about how he wants a sat nav that has bridge heights,weight limits etc but as the one he has aint that old we dont really want to buy a new one.Is there anywhere to buy/download to change the setting to truck setting or just to add the weight and height restrictions? we live in the uk so need it to be for there.if anyone can help would be brill as trying to suprise him many thanks kelly
There isn’t any way to buy or change the settings on your existing GPS to turn it into a truck GPS.
i have found something called pro-cab plus which can do it to my sat nav but its £50 and i just wondered if anyone else knew of anywhere free or cheaper thanks
I have a c550 gps & it has worked well for 4 years. Recently it suddenly lost all input memory (favorites & recent searches) All the Garmin data (maps & directions are intact). Any way to retrieve the missing stuff?
What is the latest update for the Street Pilot c550?
brought a garmin street pilot c550 at a yardsale last year an it has a pin that i dont know trying to unlock it so that it can be use
Charlie. There is a little plastic thing that goes around the screen. This is removable. Under neath should be a small hole. Take a paper clip put it in the hole. This should reset it to factory default. Maybe it will get rid of the pin.