Resetting Your GPS Before Selling: A Step-by-Step Guide

Selling your GPS? It’s crucial to make sure all your personal information is wiped clean. To accomplish this, you’ll need to reset your device. Don’t fret! I’ll show you exactly how to do it. Just follow these easy steps:

Step 1: Backup Your Data

Before we start the reset process, it’s important to safeguard any important data or settings you might have on your GPS. You can do this by transferring the information to your computer or using a memory card. This way, you won’t lose any valuable information.

Step 2: Disconnect from Networks

To ensure a thorough reset, you’ll need to disconnect your GPS from any active networks, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connections. This will prevent any potential data transfer during the process.

Step 3: Factory Reset

Now it’s time to perform the factory reset. This will wipe clean all the data on your GPS and restore it to its original settings. The exact steps for a factory reset may vary depending on your GPS model, but generally, you can find the option in the device’s settings menu. Look for options like “Reset” or “Factory Reset” and follow the prompts on the screen to initiate the process. Remember, this will erase all your personal information, so double-check if you’ve backed up everything important in step 1.

Step 4: Remove Personal Information

Although the factory reset removes most of your data, there might still be some residual information stored in the device’s memory. I recommend taking an extra step to protect your privacy. Delete any saved addresses, favorites, or recent destinations from your GPS. This way, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your personal information is completely removed.

Step 5: Verify Completion

After performing the factory reset and removing your personal information, it’s important to verify that the process was successful. Check that all your settings have been restored to their default values. Additionally, go through the menus and options to ensure no remnants of your data remain.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully reset your GPS and safeguarded your personal information. Now you can confidently sell your device, knowing that the next owner will start with a clean slate.

Let me tell you something I know for sure: when you reset a GPS device, it doesn’t erase the data in the unit. I’ve owned enough Garmin GPS devices to figure that out.

What I’m about to tell you applies specifically to Garmin devices, but it could be relevant to other GPS brands as well because they likely leave behind the same data.

If you’re looking to sell a Garmin unit, here’s what you need to do:

Clear the track log

The track log is a record of the last 50 to 200 miles you’ve driven. You need to clear it, and the unit has a function for that. Once cleared, reboot the unit so it’s completely wiped from memory.

Truly delete your Favorites (Waypoints)

Garmin GPS devices have a reputation for not properly deleting Favorites when you tell them to. They keep making backups internally, so it’s quite annoying. A system reset doesn’t delete them either.

After deleting the Favorites from the touchscreen menu, you have to connect the device to your PC or Mac. Look for the “GPX” folder and delete everything in it. You might see many backups there, and even an “Archived” folder. Get rid of all of it. Before deleting, make a copy of the folder on your computer just in case something goes wrong.

In order to prevent your Favorites from reloading into the device, you must delete all Favorites from the touchscreen menu first. Then, connect it via USB, delete everything in the GPX folder, unplug it, turn it off for at least two minutes, and then the Favorites data will truly be gone.

Clear the travel log data

This data includes how many miles you’ve driven since the last reset, your miles-per-gallon, and additional track logs that show where you’ve been. It all needs to be cleared.

Once you’ve done all of the above, you can perform a system reset.

What happens if you don’t clear your GPS data properly before selling it?

Well, the person who receives the unit can learn a whole lot about you.

They can easily extract the track logs and use Google Earth to see everywhere you’ve driven. They’ll know your home, workplace, relatives’ houses, and even your favorite stores.

And if you didn’t delete your Favorites properly, they’ll have even more information. The named locations in your Favorites list can reveal where you live. So, essentially, they’ll know your full name, address, and all the other details I mentioned above.

For Garmin units, it might be a good idea to take it to a West Marine store and pay them to reset it properly

West Marine is an authorized Garmin dealer, and many of their stores can perform a complete reset of Garmin GPS systems upon request. It’s not free, but it’s definitely worth it to ensure that the unit is completely cleared.