Device
Connect almost any Garmin from the browser, send routes and collections, bring recorded tracks back, and manage waypoints, maps and files.
The Device tab connects a Garmin to INVIA over the USB cable, so routes go out to the Garmin and finished rides come back without Garmin Express or BaseCamp. INVIA reads the folder layout off the Garmin itself rather than matching a model name against a list, which is why almost any Garmin that plugs in over USB connects.
The order matters. Connect the Garmin first, then send. Press a send action with no Garmin connected and INVIA parks the route rather than dropping it. The route is still in your library, so connect the Garmin and press Send now on the banner to finish the job.
Which button to press#
A Garmin connects over USB in one of two ways, and which way yours uses comes from the exact model rather than from how new the Garmin is.
| Press this | What the Garmin does | Models |
|---|---|---|
| File transfer (MTP) | Connects like a phone and never appears as a drive on the computer. | Zumo XT, XT2 and XT3, Tread, Montana 710 and 760i, GPSMAP 67, eTrex SE |
| USB drive | Mounts as a drive or folder you can open, like a flash drive. | Montana 700 and 680, GPSMAP 66 and 64, Oregon, older eTrex |
Plug the Garmin in and watch the computer when you are not sure, because what turns up there names the button for you.
- A drive or folder appears on the computer: press USB drive.
- Nothing appears: press File transfer (MTP).
Those model lists are examples rather than a limit, so a Garmin named nowhere here still connects and still receives routes. The full model table.
The first connection is the slow one#
Press one of those buttons and the status card reads Finding your device. Allow a minute for a first connection, because the browser has to ask you to point at the Garmin once and an MTP Garmin takes its own time to enter file transfer mode. The hint under the card reads Leave it plugged in. This can take up to a minute.
Some Garmin models blank the screen and relight it while they switch USB mode. That is the Garmin changing mode rather than a crash, so leave the cable in and let INVIA keep trying. After that first time INVIA finds the Garmin on its own, which means you plug in the cable and it connects with nothing to press. Connecting, step by step.
Chrome or Edge, and the Bridge on Windows#
Sending to a Garmin over USB works only in Chrome or Edge, because they are the only browsers that let a web page reach a USB device or open a drive. In Safari and Firefox the Device page reads Different browser needed, and everything else on INVIA works in any browser, so open INVIA in Chrome or Edge for the cable alone.
On Windows, install INVIA Bridge, a free background app that lets Chrome reach your Garmin, because Windows claims MTP devices with its own driver before a browser can. It installs once and runs in the system tray, so there is nothing to launch before you connect, and you need it whether the Garmin connects by file transfer or as a drive. On a Mac nothing extra is needed for either connection, because Chrome and Edge reach the Garmin on their own there.
What the page shows#
A full-screen map fills the right of the page and a sidebar of panels fills the left, so you read a list on one side and see it drawn on the other.
| Panel | What it holds |
|---|---|
| The status card | How far the connection has got, the device name, the transport badge and Disconnect. |
| From INVIA and From computer | The two ways to put something on the Garmin. |
| On Device | The tracks and recorded activities on the Garmin, drawn on the map. |
| Waypoints | The Garmin's saved places, grouped by the file they came from. |
| Maps | The .img maps installed on the Garmin, each with its size. |
| Advanced: Device files | A file manager for the Garmin, at any folder and any depth. |
The badge on the status card reads WebUSB, Bridge or Drive and names how your Garmin is attached. Sending, importing, waypoints and maps work the same on all three, so nothing else in this section changes with the badge. Every panel in turn.
Sending a route#
A send starts from the route builder, from a saved route or ride, or from the Device page, so you reach the Garmin from wherever you already are. INVIA draws the line on the device map before it writes anything, which lets you check you picked the right route while it is still easy to change your mind.
The SEND TO DEVICE dialog carries the name the file takes on the Garmin, the storage, Internal or SD Card, and Directional arrows, which draw the direction of travel into the line itself.
What lands on the Garmin is a track rather than a route of via-points, so the Garmin draws your exact line instead of re-routing it on its own map. Your named waypoints arrive as saved places, and INVIA matches your route color by hue to the nearest color the Garmin carries.
Fit a memory card in a Zumo XT2, Zumo XT3 or Tread before you send. The Zumo XT2, Zumo XT3 and Tread import a sent track into their own database on the next boot and delete the route file they read. Without a card the route still works on the Garmin and you can ride it, while the file is no longer listed under On Device and cannot be copied back off. With a card fitted the file survives the boot, which is why INVIA can still show you everything you have sent. Sending, step by step.
Bringing rides back#
INVIA reads every track the Garmin holds and draws it on the device map before you save anything, so you choose what to keep by looking at the lines rather than at filenames. Press Activities to show only what you rode, then Save All Activities to INVIA to save everything shown, or Select to pick out single tracks.
Importing copies, so the tracks you did not select stay on the Garmin, unchanged and still listed under On Device. INVIA never clears tracks on its own, and it offers to remove the imported ones only after it has confirmed a copy of each in your library. A failed check reads Import verification failed, tracks kept on device for safety, which means every track is still on the Garmin and you can import them again. Getting recorded tracks off.
Waypoints on the Garmin#
The Waypoints panel lists the Garmin's saved places grouped by the file each one came from, so you take a whole file with Import all or select single places and press Import N. Import copies here too, so nothing is removed from the Garmin.
A place you already have is skipped and not saved a second time. INVIA counts a place as one you already have when it sits within 15 meters of one in your library and the names agree, so you can press Import all after every ride. Re-importing never creates duplicates, and the waypoint already in your library is left as it is, so a second import cannot undo a name or a note you edited.
Garmin keeps waypoints inside files rather than one at a time, so deleting on the device removes the whole file and every place it held. Your INVIA waypoint library is unchanged by that delete, so send those places back to the Garmin from your library when you want them there again. Waypoints on the device.
Maps and the file browser#
The Maps panel is an inventory of the .img maps installed on the Garmin, each listed with its size, so you can see what is taking up room before you add another. Upload a map (.img) to the device puts a new one on, and you do not pick the folder, because INVIA writes where your Garmin model reads its maps.
Deleting a map takes it off the Garmin and off the list, while your routes, rides and waypoints stay untouched. Press Save a copy to your computer before you delete, so you can put that map back without building it again.
Advanced: Device files is a file manager for the Garmin, for a file the other panels do not list, and it opens any folder to any depth. Every file offers Import, Download to computer and Delete, and the panel behaves the same however the Garmin is attached. IMG maps and the file browser.
Free and Pro#
Connecting, browsing, importing and sending stay free on every account, so you can get rides on and off a Garmin without paying anything. A free account has a device-send allowance, and once it is used up the page reads Device send limit reached. The route is not sent and stays in your INVIA library, while connecting, browsing and importing carry on working, so you can keep pulling rides off the Garmin.
Pro covers deleting from the Garmin, managing .img maps, the advanced file browser and importing 20 or more files at once.
- 1Connect a Garmin to your browser
Connect a Garmin to INVIA from the browser: File transfer (MTP) or USB drive, the one-time chooser, the file transfer wait, INVIA Bridge on Windows, and the three transports.
- 2The Device page
Every panel of the Device page: the status card, From INVIA and From computer, Save All Activities, On Device, Waypoints, Maps and the advanced device file browser.
- 3Send a route to your Garmin
Send a route, ride or collection to a connected Garmin: from the builder, a library item or the Device page; the Send to device dialog, arrows, nearby waypoints, and what lands on the unit.
- 4Get recorded tracks off your Garmin
Get recorded tracks and .fit activities off a Garmin in the browser: everything drawn on a map, save all or select, verified before anything is cleared from the device.
- 5Waypoints on the device
The Waypoints panel on the Device page: the device's saved places by source file, Import all or a selection, the 15 meter duplicate skip, automatic region, and waypoint-only files.
- 6IMG maps and the file browserPro
Load custom Garmin .img maps onto the device, list and delete the maps already there, and use the advanced device file browser to import, download, upload and delete any file. Pro.
- 7Supported devices and troubleshooting
Which Garmin devices work with INVIA and how each one connects, GPX folder paths, microSD behavior, and fixes for every common connection problem.