Garmin Nuvi 255w Manual

							nüvi® 205 and 205W series
owner’s manual
for use with these nüvi models:
205, 205W, 215, 215W, 255, 255W, 265, 265W, 275, and 285W 
						

							© 2008–2010 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiariesGarmin International, Inc.  
1200 East 151st Street,   
Olathe, Kansas 66062, 
USA  
Tel. (913) 397.8200 or 
(800) 800.1020 
Fax (913) 397.8282 Garmin (Europe) Ltd.
 
Liberty House  
Hounsdown Business Park,   
Southampton, Hampshire, SO40 9LR UK 
Tel. +44 (0) 870.8501241 (outside the UK)   
0808 2380000 (within the UK) 
Fax +44 (0) 870.8501251 Garmin Corporation 
 
No. 68 
Jangshu 2nd Road,  
Shijr, Taipei County, 
Taiwan 
Tel. 886/2.2642.9199  
Fax 886/2.2642.9099
July 2010  Part Number 190-00973-00 Rev. E  Printed in Taiwan 
All rights reserved. Except as expressly provided herein, no part of this manual may be reproduced, 
copied, transmitted, disseminated, downloaded or stored in any storage medium, for any purpose without 
the express prior written consent of Garmin. Garmin hereby grants permission to download a single copy 
of this manual onto a hard drive or other electronic storage medium to be viewed and to print one copy of 
this manual or of any revision hereto, provided that such electronic or printed copy of this manual must 
contain the complete text of this copyright notice and provided further that any unauthorized commercial 
distribution of this manual or any revision hereto is strictly prohibited.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Garmin reserves the right to change 
or improve its products and to make changes in the content without obligation to notify any person 
or organization of such changes or improvements. Go to the Garmin Web site (
www.garmin.com) for 
current updates and supplemental information concerning the use and operation of this and other Garmin 
products.
Garmin
®, the Garmin logo, nüvi®, and MapSource® are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries, 
registered in the USA and other countries. Garmin Lock™, myGarmin™, ecoRoute™ and nüMaps 
Guarantee™ are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. These trademarks may not be used without 
the express permission of Garmin. 
The Bluetooth
® word mark and logos are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc., and any use of such name 
by Garmin is under license. Windows® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United 
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trademark of SanDisk or its subsidiaries.  
						

							nüvi 205 and 205W series owner’s manual i
Introduction
Introduction
Manual Conventions
When you are instructed to “touch” 
something, use your finger to touch 
an item on the screen. 
The small arrows (>) used in the 
text indicate that you should touch a 
series of items. For example, if you 
see “touch Where to? > Favorites ” 
you should touch Where to?, and 
then touch  Favorites. 
nüvi® Tips and Shortcuts
• To quickly return to the Menu 
page, touch and hold  Back.
•  Touch 
 and  to see 
more choices. Touch and hold 
these buttons to scroll faster. 
•  Screenshots in this manual are 
taken from a widescreen unit and 
may look different than your unit.
myGarmin™ 
Go to http://my.garmin.com  to access 
the latest services for your Garmin 
products:
•  Register your Garmin unit. 
•  Subscribe to online services for 
safety camera information (see   
pages 46–47).
•  Unlock optional maps. 
Contact GarminContact Garmin Product Support if you 
have any questions while using your nüvi. 
In the USA, go to www.garmin
.com/support, or contact Garmin USA 
by phone at (913) 397-8200 or (800) 
800-1020.
In the UK, contact Garmin (Europe) Ltd. 
by phone at 0808 2380000.
In Europe, go to www.garmin
.com/support and click Contact Support 
for in-country support information, or 
contact Garmin (Europe) Ltd. by phone at 
+44 (0) 870.8501241. 
						

							ii nüvi 205 and 205W series owner’s manual
Introduction
Table of Contents
Introduction .......................... i
Manual Conventions  .............. i
nüvi® Tips and Shortcuts ........i
myGarmin™   ........................... i
Contact Garmin  .....................i
Getting Started  ....................1
Step 1: Mount Your nüvi  ....... 2
Step 2: Configure Your nüvi  .. 3
Step 3: Acquire Satellites  ..... 3
Step 4: Use Your nüvi  ........... 3
Finding Your Destination  ...... 4
Adding a Stop  ....................... 5
Taking a Detour  .................... 5
Stopping the Route  ............... 5
Adjusting the Volume  ............ 5
Locking the Screen  ............... 5
Where to?  ............................ 6
Finding an Address  ...............6
Setting a Home Location  ...... 6
Go! Page Options  .................7Finding a Place by Spelling 
the Name  
............................. 8
Searching Near Another 
Location  ................................ 8
Finding Recently Found 
Places  ................................... 9
Favorites  ............................... 9
Finding a Place Using the 
Map  .................................... 10
Entering Coordinates  .......... 11
Using Photo Navigation  ...... 11
Navigating Off Road  ...........11
Walking to a Destination  ..... 11
Using the Map  ...................12
Trip Computer  ..................... 13
Turn List  .............................. 13
Next Turn  ............................ 13
Making Hands-Free Phone 
Calls ................................... 14
Pairing Your Phone ............. 14
Receiving a Call   ................ 15
In a Call   ............................. 16 
						

							nüvi 205 and 205W series owner’s manual iii
Introduction
Phone Menu ....................... 16
Managing Files  ..................19
Supported File Types ..........19
Loading Files  ...................... 19
Loading Pictures for Photo 
Navigation  .......................... 20
Deleting Files   ..................... 20
Using the Tools  .................21
Settings .............................. 21
Where Am I?  ....................... 21
Help  .................................... 21
MSN
® Direct  ........................ 21
ecoRoute™  .......................... 22
Picture Viewer  .................... 25
My Data  .............................. 26
World Clock   ....................... 26
Calculator   .......................... 26
Unit Converter   ................... 27
Viewing Advertisements  ..... 27
Using FM Traffic  ................29
Traffic in Your Area  .............30 Severity Color Code
 ........... 30
Traffic on Your Route  .......... 30
Viewing the Traffic Map  ......31
Viewing Traffic Delays  ........31
Traffic Subscriptions  ........... 32
Customizing the nüvi  .......33
Changing the System  
Settings  .............................. 33
Changing the Navigation 
Settings  .............................. 33
Adjusting the Display  
Settings  .............................. 34
Updating the Time 
Settings  .............................. 34
Setting the Languages  ....... 35
Changing the Map  
Settings  .............................. 35
Changing Security  
Settings  .............................. 36
Setting the Bluetooth 
Technology Options  ............ 36 
						

							iv nüvi 205 and 205W series owner’s manual
Introduction
Changing the Proximity 
Points Settings  ...................37
Viewing Traffic Subscription 
Information  ......................... 37
Restoring All Settings  .........39
Appendix  ........................... 40
Caring for Your nüvi   ...........40
Locking Your nüvi  ............... 41
Calibrating the Screen  ........ 41
Resetting Your nüvi  ............ 42
Updating the Software  ........ 42
Clearing User Data  ............. 42
Battery Information   ............43
Charging Your nüvi  ............. 43
Changing the Fuse  ............. 43
Removing the nüvi and  
Mount  ................................. 44
Mounting on Your 
Dashboard  .......................... 44
nüMaps Guarantee
™  ........... 45
Additional Maps  .................. 45About GPS Satellite 
Signals
 ................................ 45
Extras and Optional 
Accessories  ........................ 46
Garmin Travel Guide  .......... 47
Specifications  ..................... 48
Declaration of Conformity  ... 50
Software License  
Agreement  .......................... 50
Troubleshooting   ................. 51
Index .................................. 53 
						

							nüvi 205 and 205W series owner’s manual 1
Getting Started
Getting Started
  See the Important Safety and Product Information guide in the product box for product 
warnings and other important information.
Speaker
Mini-USB connector
Memory 
card slot
 Power key:
Slide to the left to turn the nüvi on/off;  slide to the right to lock the screen.
Microphone
 note: Memory card slots on units may be equipped for an SD card or a microSD™ 
card. 
Warning: This product contains a lithium-ion battery. To prevent damage and potential 
bodily injury, remove the unit from the vehicle when exiting or store it out of direct sunlight.   
						

							2 nüvi 205 and 205W series owner’s manual
Getting Started
Before mounting the nüvi, see the Important Safety and Product Information guide for 
information about laws pertaining to windshield mounting. 
Step 1: Mount Your nüvi1. Plug the vehicle power cable into the back of your nüvi. 
2.  Snap the cradle onto the suction cup arm. 
3.  Remove the clear plastic from the suction cup. 
Clean and dry your windshield and the suction 
cup with a lint-free cloth. Press the suction cup 
firmly on the windshield.
4.  Flip the lever back toward the windshield.
5.  Fit the bottom of your nüvi into the cradle.
6.  Tilt your nüvi back until it snaps into place. 
7.  Plug the other end of the vehicle power cable 
into a power outlet in your vehicle. Your unit 
should turn on automatically if it is plugged in 
and the vehicle is running.
8.  If you are using a traffic receiver in Europe, 
connect the external antenna to the traffic 
receiver and secure the external antenna to 
the windshield using the suction cups. (Traffic 
receivers are included in some nüvi 205 and 
205W series packages.)
Lever
Suction cup mount
Cradle
Vehicle power 
cable 
						

							nüvi 205 and 205W series owner’s manual 3
Getting Started
Step 2: Configure Your 
nüvi
To turn your nüvi on, slide the  
Power key to the left. Follow the 
on-screen instructions. To turn your 
nüvi off, slide the 
 Power key to 
the left.
Step 3: Acquire 
Satellites
1.  Go outdoors to an open area, 
away from tall buildings and trees.
2.  Turn on your nüvi. 
Acquiring satellite signals can take a 
few minutes. The 
 bars indicate 
satellite strength. When at least one 
of the bars is green, your nüvi has 
acquired satellite signals. Now you 
can select a destination and navigate 
to it.
Step 4: Use Your nüvi
➊➋➌➍
➎➏
➐➑➒
➊  GPS satellite strength
➋ Bluetooth® technology status 
(Available on the nüvi 215, 
215W, 265, 265W, 275, and 
285W.)
➌  Battery status
➍ Current time. Touch to change 
time settings.
➎ Touch to find a destination.
➏ Touch to view the map.
➐ Touch to make a call when 
connected to a  compatible 
mobile phone . 
➑ Touch to adjust the volume. 
➒ Touch to use the tools such as 
settings and Help.  
						

							4 nüvi 205 and 205W series owner’s manual
Getting Started
Finding Your Destination
The Where to? menu provides 
several different categories for you 
to use when searching for addresses, 
cities, and other locations. The 
detailed maps loaded in your nüvi 
contain millions of points of interest, 
such as restaurants, hotels, and auto 
services. 
1. Touch Where to?.
2. Select a category.
3. Select a subcategory.
4. Select a destination.
5. Touch Go!.
 tiP: Touch  and  to see 
more choices.