Send GPX to a Garmin Zumo 396 or 595LM

On a Zumo 396 and a Zumo 595LM the route file goes in the GPX folder at the top level of the drive. That path is /GPX/. It is not inside the Garmin folder, which is where advice written for other Garmins tends to send it.

Plug a Zumo 396 or 595LM in with a USB cable and it mounts as a drive named GARMIN, so you can drag the .gpx file straight into that GPX folder yourself. The same GPX folder on the memory card works too, because a Zumo 396 or 595LM reads routes from either storage.

INVIA sends over the same cable from a browser tab and writes the route file into that same top-level GPX folder, which is the folder a Zumo 396 or 595LM reads. The route file lands there when you select the GARMIN drive itself in the picker rather than a folder inside it.

Where the route file goes on a Zumo 396 or 595LM#

That is the automotive layout, which is why a route file belongs at the top of the drive rather than inside the Garmin folder.

The Garmin/GPX path is the handheld layout, carried over from the Oregon, the GPSMAP 66 and the older eTrex line, and Garmin/NewFiles, Garmin/Courses and Garmin/Tours come from cycling computers and watches. Advice copied from a handheld sends the route file to a folder a Zumo 396 or 595LM does not read. The file sits on the drive, which is why the route never appears in the Zumo 396 or 595LM's own route list. Everything already on the Zumo 396 or 595LM is untouched and your copy in INVIA is untouched, so move the file into the GPX folder at the top level of the drive.

If a route you sent does not appear#

INVIA writes the route file into the GPX folder at the top level of the drive, because that is the folder a Zumo 396 or 595LM reads. A route that reached the drive and still does not appear went to the storage you were not expecting, or the cable came out before the write finished.

• What you see: the route file is listed under On Device in INVIA. The route may not be in the Zumo 396 or 595LM's own route list.
• What still works: the route file is on the drive and complete, your copy in INVIA is untouched, and everything already on the Zumo 396 or 595LM is untouched.
• What to do: open the GARMIN drive and confirm the .gpx file is in the GPX folder at the top level. Check SD Card as well as Internal on the Device page, because a Zumo 396 or 595LM keeps a separate GPX folder on each storage.

Transfer a route from your browser#

1. Plug the Zumo 396 or 595LM into the computer with a USB cable and let it power on. It mounts as a drive named GARMIN, so nothing needs setting on the Zumo 396 or 595LM itself.
2. Open INVIA in Chrome or Edge and go to the Device tab.
3. Press USB drive on the status card. The card reads No Garmin connected before you press it. Do not press File transfer (MTP), because a Zumo 396 or 595LM has no file transfer mode to reach.
4. Watch the card change to Finding your device…, then to Looking for your Garmin drive. It connects on its own once it mounts.
5. Press Select my Garmin drive → when the card reads Almost there. The card holds for a moment first, and this step happens on the first connection only.
6. Click GARMIN in the sidebar of the window that opens, using Finder on a Mac or File Explorer on Windows, then press Select. Select the GARMIN folder itself, with no folder opened inside it, so INVIA can reach the GPX folder for you. INVIA reconnects on its own after that, with no picker.
7. Choose what to send. Press From INVIA for a saved route, ride or collection, or From computer for a .gpx file on your machine. Route and ride cards in your library also carry Send to Device.
8. Check the name in the SEND TO DEVICE dialog, choose Internal or SD Card if both are loaded, set Directional arrows to Off, Forward or Reverse, then press Send.
9. Check the Zumo 396 or 595LM's own route list before you unplug. The route file lands in the GPX folder at the top level of the drive, which is the folder a Zumo 396 or 595LM reads, so the route shows up in that list.
10. Eject the GARMIN drive the way you would any USB drive, then unplug the cable, so the write finishes before the drive goes away.

What you see once the Zumo 396 or 595LM is connected#

The status card shows the name of the Zumo 396 or 595LM with a Drive badge and a Disconnect button. It also lists the storage it found, which is Internal, plus SD Card when a memory card is loaded. Add memory card appears when only one storage is showing, so you can load the card without unplugging. Everything already on the drive is read and drawn on the map, so you can see what the Zumo 396 or 595LM is carrying before you add to it.

The route file appears in the On Device list after the send, which is your confirmation that it reached the drive.

Internal storage or the memory card#

INVIA sends to internal storage unless you choose the memory card.

• The memory card in a Zumo 396 or 595LM mounts as its own volume beside internal storage, so it can hold route files as well.
• INVIA lists it as SD Card next to Internal, so you pick which one receives the route file.
• Add memory card loads the card when only one storage is showing.

A route you sent and cannot find is on the storage you did not expect, because a Zumo 396 or 595LM keeps two separate GPX folders and shows you routes from both.

• What you see: the route file is not in the GPX folder you opened.
• What still works: the route file is on the Zumo 396 or 595LM and complete, and your copy in INVIA is untouched.
• What to do: check SD Card as well as Internal on the Device page, then pick the storage you want on the next send.

What lands on the Zumo 396 or 595LM#

INVIA sends the planned line as a track, so the Zumo 396 or 595LM draws what you planned rather than recalculating it into a route of its own. The route's own named waypoints travel with it as named via-points, which keeps them attached to the line rather than detaching into saved places.

Copying the route file by hand#

A Zumo 396 or 595LM mounts as a drive, so you can copy the route file yourself without a browser.

1. Open the GARMIN drive.
2. Open the GPX folder at the top level of the drive.
3. Drag the .gpx file in.

That is the folder a Zumo 396 or 595LM reads, so use this path on a computer without Chrome or Edge. The browser path is quicker when the route is already in your library, and it reads the Zumo 396 or 595LM back afterward so you can see what arrived.

Garmin Express handles maps and software updates, not route file transfer. BaseCamp is one option rather than a requirement, because a Zumo 396 or 595LM takes a file from any file manager.

If a route you copied by hand does not appear#

The route is not in the Zumo 396 or 595LM's own list. Your copy in INVIA is untouched and everything already on the Zumo 396 or 595LM is untouched, so nothing has been lost. Check three things in this order, because each one is a place a route file can land where a Zumo 396 or 595LM never looks.

1. The route file is in the GPX folder at the top level of the drive, or in the GPX folder inside Garmin.
2. The route file is on the storage you expected, internal storage or the memory card.
3. The cable stayed connected until the write finished.

Converting the route file is almost never the fix, because the cause is the folder, the storage or the cable rather than the file itself.

A Zumo 396 or 595LM mounts as a drive#

The Zumo 396 and 595LM are the pre-XT generation, so a Zumo 396 or 595LM hands its storage straight to the computer. A volume named GARMIN appears in Finder or File Explorer. There is no file transfer mode on a Zumo 396 or 595LM, which is why you press USB drive rather than File transfer (MTP).

The Zumo XT and XT2 do the opposite and never mount as a drive. The Mac workarounds written for the Zumo XT and XT2 do not apply to a Zumo 396 or 595LM, because a Zumo 396 or 595LM already appears as a drive.

The same Device page also connects Garmins that never mount as a drive. INVIA is the only web application outside Garmin that sends files to a Garmin over the media transfer protocol, straight from a browser tab. A Zumo 396 or 595LM does not need that path.

What you need#

Transferring over the cable works in Chrome or Edge over a secure connection, because those are the only browsers that let a web page open a drive. A Zumo 396 or 595LM needs nothing extra on macOS or Windows, and everything else on INVIA works in any browser.

For the full model table see supported devices and troubleshooting. For the connection itself see connecting a Garmin.