SD Memory Card Capabilities for Navigator V

[Deezal Man]

I apologize if this is old news for some of you..however based on the research required to discover what I posted below, I thought I would share and save some of you the hassle and hours to research.

 

Numerous articles on the web suggest the new BMW Nav V will support a MicroSD card as large as 64 Gig.

 

Per the official response from Garmin posted below: Internet articles including this reference are incorrect.

 

Per Garmin Customer Service (4/2/2014): The largest size microSD card we recommend using with the BMW Navigator V is 8 gigabytes. Using a microSD card size larger than 8GB is not supported for these devices. However, using one will not harm the device but it may or may not work. Also, Garmin supports all speed ratings (including unmarked cards).

 

I suspect the 8 Gig limitation is based on the use of the old Microsoft Windows 'FAT32' file system where file size is limited to 4 Gig. New SD cards larger than +8 Gig now arrive with the current 'exFAT' file system which is incompatible with the Nav V and likely all other Garmin systems. Simply stated, the GPS won't recognize it.

 

With a little research and help from Google, I was able to find a piece of freeware to format a 64 Gig memory card using the old FAT32 file system. My Nav V now recognizes the 64 Gig card and I have been able to read/write to the card with no issues during my limited test. Time will tell if I encounter downstream 'issues' with this work around but at least I've managed to get this far!

 

Please feel free to share your experiences with this subject matter!

 

Cheers,

Mike

 

[Blind Squirrel]

I had a 660 and now have a Nav IV.

 

I found that if I use a card that is larger than 8 gig, it takes a looooooooooong time for the garmin to index all the music I put on it. This translates into it appearing to be hung.

 

I divided my music up on multiple 8 gig cards and swap them out when I am tired of listening to the music on the currently installed card.

[Deezalman]

Good to know! I'll give it a try this weekend and let you know how I make out. Since I am able to connect my phone to the Nav via Bluetooth, am I better off streaming music from my phone vs. memory card in the Garmin?

[marcopolo]

I've got a 32GB card in my Nav V and it seems to work just fine. That said, I haven't loaded much on it. There are some that suggest pairing an iPhone and using that for a music source, e.g., Pandora radio. If you haven't already, I'd suggest checking out the long thread at ADVRider about the Nav V. There are lots of very useful tips and tricks there on all things Nav V. In fact, I just went through the entire thing again yesterday, as I'll be heading out on my first road trip with the Nav V next week. Here's the link:

 

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=921189