Garmin Pilot for Android -- Tech Support, Tips, Tricks

UPDATE: Deleted data, uninstalled and reinstalled 5.0. Deleted and reentered pilot info. Do not reenter the CSC DUAT info, Lockheed Martin is anonymous service and requires no user profile data.

If you are having issues, reinstall 5.0 (first release of 5.0 last night had an error).

--When you add a flight plan to the "Trip Planner" form you need to reselect the pilot name, even if it shows the right name. This will bring in Lockheed Martin as the filing provided under Filing Information.

They know having to reenter the pilot name is a bug, look for a fix when they provide an app update.


The bleeding edge... :mad2:
 
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Matthew said:
When did the update get sent? I haven't seen it yet.
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Check your apps for update using the Playstore app. You will see it there.

I haven't downloaded it yet, since I'm in the middle of a multi day flight and don't want any unpleasant surprises. I'll let y'all work out the bugs first. ;)
 
Jay Honeck said:
Check your apps for update using the Playstore app. You will see it there.

I haven't downloaded it yet, since I'm in the middle of a multi day flight and don't want any unpleasant surprises. I'll let y'all work out the bugs first. ;)
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Usually I get some notification when it gets pushed to me. I just haven't seen it yet, I know they spread it out over several days.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Check your apps for update using the Playstore app. You will see it there.

I haven't downloaded it yet, since I'm in the middle of a multi day flight and don't want any unpleasant surprises. I'll let y'all work out the bugs first. ;)
Click to expand...
Mine auto updated since I'm too lazy to turn that off... Just be sure to wipe data and cache after the update. I've seen that on both of my devices so far.
 
I was a bit distracted with the minor issue of getting a new rating (glider!), so I couldn't really test this 5.0 version much. But one point which really annoyed me when I first saw it, is apparently not too bad at all.
This is the basic concept of getting to the "home" menu page, which was originally a relatively large icon, easy to hit in turbulence and now is a triple bar icon which is smaller and harder for shaky fingers to hit when the going gets rough.
But I just discovered that swiping the entire left side to the right also brings up this main menu, so this should be a breeze, maybe easier than the original home button.
So this jury is still out, but this particular item is definitely not a negative.
 
OK - Installed it this afternoon, didn't have to wipe out any cache or do any resets, it fired right up. It seems more "crisp" when changing screens, and I know I'll have to play with it a while to figure out all the new ways around the user interface.
 
Just got notification that version 5.01 was installed. So the bug fix is in. Have fun!

Will fly with this over the weekemd for a real trial. Other than the small buttons on a 8 inch android tabler, I am begining to warm up to the new user interface. Very responsive and the sweep from the left for the menu bar works well. So far, on the ground.
 
Brianflys said:
Just got notification that version 5.01 was installed. So the bug fix is in. Have fun!

Will fly with this over the weekemd for a real trial. Other than the small buttons on a 8 inch android tabler, I am begining to warm up to the new user interface. Very responsive and the sweep from the left for the menu bar works well. So far, on the ground.
Click to expand...

Also looking at 5.0.1, OTA'ed this morning. And I too am warming up to the new user interface and features. To be honest, my initial reaction was it's a royal POS screw-up, but after playing with it a bit, I can see it has potential, and the left sweep menus are clearly an improvement for in-airplane use and general accessibility. I use multiple tablets which must be sync'ed, so the new easily accessible sync buttons are very useful. Also, we obviously need ICAO now (mandatory for RNAV), so getting a good implementation for its use is important. I've been using LockMart for a while now for my international flights, so getting them hooked up is a big plus. Looking forward to putting this version through the wringer in upcoming flights.
 
OK - had a chance to play and ran into the same problems others have seen.. I did get the 5.0.1 update and found out I can't get a briefing, I get an error message instead ...

... hmmm ...

... tried it again as I was typing, and now it works.
 
Well, the new version appeared to work OK on a short hop, but now I have an important longish IFR/IMC trip coming up, and the Trip Planning mode seems to have died. Any time I try to go there (either directly or via Flight Plan) , the app exits with an error (have sent a million reports while testing it). Tried un- and re-installing from zero, and reloaded all the charts etc., to no avail. Can't really deal with it now, will have to work around it until after the trip. :mad2:
 
They've added so many options to the vector map that I've broken it more than one and had to reset to default. I'm just glad the reset button is there...

A buddy brought up wanting airspace altitudes on the vector map, and now I kinda want them too.
 
mkosmo said:
They've added so many options to the vector map that I've broken it more than one and had to reset to default. I'm just glad the reset button is there...

A buddy brought up wanting airspace altitudes on the vector map, and now I kinda want them too.
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The reset button that I am aware of (under General) will only reset the layer opacities. Is there another one?
 
RotorDude said:
The reset button that I am aware of (under General) will only reset the layer opacities. Is there another one?
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Click on the little arrow next to VFR or IFR and you can play even more. The reset for that is in the upper right under the three dot.

c0fe53b93ec3deff7b28bbfd459f2b44.jpg
 
mkosmo said:
Click on the little arrow next to VFR or IFR and you can play even more. The reset for that is in the upper right under the three dot.

c0fe53b93ec3deff7b28bbfd459f2b44.jpg
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OK, got it now, thank you. You mean "Restore Defaults", right?

And regarding the new 5.0.1 version and the big bug that's locking me out of the Trip setting page (and all my trips and trip planning) on my two devices, according to Garmin this is a known bug with this version, along with some others, and the devs are working full steam on it. Hopefully a bug fix release should come out very soon.
 
Okay, I've got a few hours on the new version, now. First thoughts:

It worries me that Garmin is larding on so many features that the app is going to end up bogging down and/or crashing.

I use this app 2 - 3 times each week, for 1 - 3 hours at a crack, and have since it came out in 2012. I load the proposed flight plan, check the weather on the map (while connected to wifi), put the tablet in the plane, it connects to the GDL-39, and off we go. It's simple, and -- for the last two years -- rock solid.

The other stuff they've added (integration to LockMart, trip planning, stop watch, scratch pad, etc) is just fluff, for me. So far, none of it seems to have harmed the app's core usability, but I've seen apps add so many "features" (think: Microsoft Word) that they become nearly unusable. I hope Garmin doesn't go too far in that direction.

I like the new swipe menu, and everything looks a bit crisper, to my eyes. The app takes much longer to load, but once it's open its nice and snappy on my Samsung tablet.

It remains our go-to navigation app for the back seat (in our RV-8) pilot, and is a more-than worthy backup to our EFIS.
 
Garmin has issued bug fix release 5.0.2 this evening. My initial experience with it: it now lets me access the trip planning page without crashing, but still crashes here and there, esp. when it comes to filing IFR flight plans (ICAO in my case).
So a definite improvement (I can now do the actual planning with it), but apparently far from clean. This version 5 is probably the buggiest release I have seen so far since I got on board a few years ago. Maybe decided to skip beta testing?
 
I wondered about this as well. Sent an email to GP support after 5.01 wouldn't allow my subscriptions to register, even after uninstalling and reinstalling, refreshing, etc. I've had a (mostly) good 2.5 yrs. with GP, but feel they are taking our $$ support for granted in the last two major updates and have rushed out changes without reflection on how serious it is to not have charts. While I carried paper copies of IFR charts and IAP's since utilizing GP as my primary EFB, I never had to pull them out. Now, my trust level is considerably lower post-update (and the prior update gave me uncertainty as well ).

I've requested my $$ back from my recent subscription and I intend to change platforms. They just don't seem wedded yet as a programmer group to the concept of tested product. How long should that take? :dunno:

Johhny

RotorDude said:
Garmin has issued bug fix release 5.0.2 this evening. My initial experience with it: it now lets me access the trip planning page without crashing, but still crashes here and there, esp. when it comes to filing IFR flight plans (ICAO in my case).
So a definite improvement (I can now do the actual planning with it), but apparently far from clean. This version 5 is probably the buggiest release I have seen so far since I got on board a few years ago. Maybe decided to skip beta testing?
Click to expand...
 
Maybe they were trying too hard to hit a Christmas deadline for getting installed on all the tablets that get sold this time of year.
 
Flew 6.4 hobbs on GP Android 5.0.2 today, up and down the east coast in pretty much solid IMC: rain, constant chop, howling winds, low ceilings (below mins for many airports in the NYC area which caused major headaches for the big boys), etc.
The basic navigation function worked, well except for the one time one GP just crashed and immediately restarted, and the other needed forced recycling to start loading the charts (they were stuck at low res, like in the old days).
But the most frustrating problem was that the GDL-39 stopped getting traffic and weather updates. It was definitely connected on BT, just showing 0 stations and 0 traffic. This was the flight where getting the current METARs would have been extremely useful -- with all airports socked in, I was desperately looking for one above minimums, and with that storm hammering the plane, it would have been nice to see the Nexrad reflectivity map. But nada...
I suspected the antenna, but reconnected it and moved the unit around, with no change.
In addition to the above, I still saw a few crashes with 5.0.2 related to the flight plans, and was unable to send any ICAO flight plan to LockMart. The app told me the flight plan was "accepted" and I got the email confirmation, but there was no flight plan in my LockMart account other than the ones I put in manually.
This evening I got a PM from a Garmin dev working on the new version. I've offered to help, and I hope they can get these issues resolved quickly.
 
I thought they said that the lockmart integration was independent of your account.
 
mkosmo said:
I thought they said that the lockmart integration was independent of your account.
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Yes, that's what I now understand. So I am trying to figure out how to modify or delete the plan filed via the GP.
 
RotorDude said:
Yes, that's what I now understand. So I am trying to figure out how to modify or delete the plan filed via the GP.
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You should be able to cancel it from trip planning if required and then just delete then. I do wish GP would show us the graphics package from lockmart.
 
mkosmo said:
You should be able to cancel it from trip planning if required and then just delete then. I do wish GP would show us the graphics package from lockmart.
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By now, having seen enough app bugs to shake my confidence, I'd like to verify/modify the flight plan on the provider's site, i.e. LockMart in the case of ICAO (needed for modern IFR flying). Nothing else would keep me from worrying my flight plan would be MIA when I call for it with the engine running.
 
I can not find away to import the data from trip planning to flight plan with this new update. If I just enter my departure and destination in trip planning and then pick an atc route there is no way to send that route to the flight plan and display it on the map.

I can get it to work just fine on my tablet but not my phone
 
Marky_24 said:
I can not find away to import the data from trip planning to flight plan with this new update. If I just enter my departure and destination in trip planning and then pick an atc route there is no way to send that route to the flight plan and display it on the map.

I can get it to work just fine on my tablet but not my phone
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The latest 5.0.2 release is still very buggy, or quirky at best. The trick to do what you want is to click the "Activate" button on the top right of the Trip Planning page. But if you have issues on some devices I wouldn't be surprised, since I too have seen strange behavior and crashes. I understand from Garmin that they are aware of at least some of the issues are are working on them, so I presume 5.0.3 is forthcoming.

Edit: I just tried to replicate your scenario, and it seems that I need to delete the current flight plan for the ATC routing to be sent to the flight plan upon clicking "Activate". If I just click Activate without deleting the flight plan, it doesn't seem to take.
 
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I have the activate button on my tablet but not my phone
 
Yep and yep I sent an email off to tech support so I'll see what they say
 
Marky_24 said:
Yep and yep I sent an email off to tech support so I'll see what they say
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can you double check? I'm actually showing 8.0.1 on the iphone but 5.x on my android. I also didn't have the 'activate' button on my iphone. I checked for an app update, which was there, and after I updated it the 'activate' button is now there. but it's still cleugy.
 
The top 2 are my android phone and the bottom 2 are my android tablet.
I just can not find a way to activate flight planning to the flight plan/map on my phone





Screenshot_2015-12-26-10-58-49.png

Screenshot_2015-12-26-10-59-06.png

Screenshot_2015-12-26-11-02-10.png

Screenshot_2015-12-26-11-01-46.png
 
Marky_24 said:
The top 2 are my android phone and the bottom 2 are my android tablet.
I just can not find a way to activate flight planning to the flight plan/map on my phone
Click to expand...

Scroll down the form and make sure all required fields are filled in. E.g., if your altitude is not specified, the Activate button will not appear.
 
I have been asked offline to comment on my experience with GP Android (GPA) and Nexus 7 (N7), and we agreed I'll reply here.
For me too, the GPA dynamic mapping feature is crucial. I am not aware of anything that competes with it, and had previously used AnywhereMap's dynamic mapping so was already hooked on the concept -- not having it would be a show stopper for me.
I have been using it for a few years now, and in general find it very good, although the latest version that has just come out is a bit buggy.
I am currently in touch with a Garmin dev who wants to work with me to iron out the latest bugs, which sounds encouraging, but time will tell.
I believe Jay (who started this thread) has been using the 8" Samsung, but for me the N7 has been the ideal platform. I like that form factor and size a lot, and performance (speed and display) is more than sufficient. I fly hard IFR flights quite often, so have two N7's mounted on my two yokes, as backup of each other. Both are hooked to ship's power via dual outlet USB adapter, so they stay at 100% charge with their internal battery as backup. They are also hooked to the GDL-39 for ADSB and GPS via bluetooth, but each N7 has a good internal GPS in case the GDL goes south.
I would say that if the current issues with the new version 5 are resolved, it should continue to be a very decent platform for my IFR needs. Having weather, traffic (partial due to ADSB-IN only, I also have Zaon on board to complement it), and geo-referenced approach plates is almost like having the latest glass panel stuff that costs orders of magnitude more. I also have GTN-750 in the panel, which makes the combination even more powerful.
Feel free to ask me about anything I missed.
 
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Thanks for the info GD.

This is a large thread to go through all 80+ pages to check, but I was wondering do any of you posting there have any links to in flight videos or otherwise of you using your Android tablet with your flight software?
 
BrianNC said:
Thanks for the info GD.

This is a large thread to go through all 80+ pages to check, but I was wondering do any of you posting there have any links to in flight videos or otherwise of you using your Android tablet with your flight software?
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Hi Brian, check your PMs.
 
How do the subscriptions differ between IOS and Android? Checking the latest versions of the apps I see "U.S. Standard" with "Garmin Worldwide Navigation Data" on IOS vs. "Garmin Pilot" with "U.S. Navigation Data" on Android as the base subscriptions. The Android version also has no in-app links to purchase Canada, Global or Jeppeson North America NavData.

Do any of these other subscriptions work on Android if purchased through an iPad or online, or is the Android version absolutely useless outside of the US? I've tried the demo and like the subscription info says, it's US only.

Can anyone with the paid base subscriptions on both sytems do me a favor and check for canadian airspace and airports? I don't care about charts or anything else, just the vector/dynamic info. Thanks all.
 
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