The display navigator does not turn off, what should I do? Explay GPS navigator firmware

Part three: Typical faults car navigators

Not long ago we called Moscow service centers serving car GPS navigators. This was done to understand what kind of support an average user can expect. It was about simple questions related to updating and installing maps. And we could only draw conclusions about the quality of service and the desire to help the motorist.

This time we decided to visit the service centers in person to talk directly with those who carry out the repairs. We found out which problems are dealt with most often, how these problems are solved and what design features that affect operation and repair are present in car navigators.

We will have to separate Garmin from other manufacturers again. The fact is that Garmin navigators are practically not repaired under warranty - in case of any serious problems, the device is replaced with a new one. This approach has its pros and cons, which we will definitely talk about. But first, let's talk about the Explay, Digma and Lexand navigators. The discussion of these navigators can easily be extended to other brands. Most manufacturers of navigators presented on Russian market, unifies the approach to production. Essentially, it comes down to ordering one of the models that this plant produces from one of the factories in China. At the request of the manufacturer, the case can be changed and, of course, a logo can be applied.

Inside car navigators different manufacturers may not be any different

The first question that arises is, what is the situation with quality? It was with him that we began our conversation with Andrey Antipov, an engineer at the DiCom service center. It turned out that the situation with quality is very different. And even within the same manufacturer, and sometimes within the same model. We hasten to reassure you that most navigators are assembled quite well: neat soldering, high-quality external elements, neatly connected cables, reliable housing. Contrary to popular belief, the Chinese know how to do things well. However, sometimes from one manufacturer or another, outwardly attractive devices with “internals” slip through the cracks, the quality of which raises doubts among repairmen. It is assessed visually - by how neat the boards and external elements look. It’s a pity that when purchasing you can’t ask the seller to open the device’s case.

You can evaluate the quality of the navigator by the accuracy of the soldering. But the size of the fee is not the main thing

As for the stability of quality within one model, the set of components may indeed differ from batch to batch, but situations where at first the navigator was assembled well, and then haphazardly, are rare. That's why general recommendation quite simple: study the reviews of the owners and try to make a choice in favor of proven devices, and not new products that have never been on the service engineer’s desk.

Be that as it may, navigators break down. We asked Andrey to talk about typical problems and the features of the navigators that he had to repair.

Firmware is first aid for any problems

Changing the firmware is the first thing done in the service if the problem is not obvious. In other words, when there are no obvious mechanical damages visible from the outside or when opening the case. The procedure itself is quite simple. The firmware is written to a memory card, which is inserted into the navigator. Then you need to turn on the device and, holding down the power key, wait until the screen displays information that the software is being changed. What are the nuances of this procedure?

• Not all firmware is made publicly available. But in the service, of course, they exist.
• Unsuccessful self-updating firmware is not a warranty case.

The most common reasons failures when updating the firmware are associated with viruses on the memory card and lack of battery power. To avoid the latter, flash the navigator while connected to external power. Moreover, it must be “correct” charger- with sufficient current and voltage. When flashing the firmware, navigators consume quite a lot of energy and weak source power supply, for example, the USB port of a computer, cannot provide the device with sufficient power. And, of course, for insurance, the navigator battery must be fully charged.

Difficulty in recovery after unsuccessful firmware depends on the situation. At best, you will need to re-install the firmware. In more complex version you have to “dump” the dump (image) from the board of a working navigator. The difficulty lies in the fact that different batches of even the same model may differ in components, which makes it difficult to select an identical board.

Separately, it is worth noting the desire of the owner of the navigator not only to update the firmware or install a second navigation program, but also to “get into” directly into the operating system Windows system CE. Almost any navigator running on Windows CE can be “unlocked” - go to the menu operating system with the ability to change settings and install programs. The meaning of this action is not very clear. Make from navigator tablet computer unreasonable. Turning off the navigator is, in essence, hard reset, resetting to factory settings everything that the “craftsman” installed on top of the operating system. Moreover, in selected models along with its own shell, which is disabled when “unlocked”, the libraries necessary for operation can be loaded navigation system. Finally, the navigator is designed to work navigation programs, and other applications are simply not required to work adequately on this hardware.

Unlocking a car navigator allows you to gain access to the standard interface of the operating system

If previous paragraph caused you a storm of indignation, then perhaps you are the right craftsman who will not be scared by either a hard reset or the need to resolve issues with the libraries necessary for Navitel to work on this specific device. In this case, we do not discourage you from experimenting, but we remind all other users that studying alternative software developer forums and abusing your navigator is most likely not what you bought this device for.

Antenna and satellite signal reception

The navigator does not pick up satellites - a fairly common symptom. However, to definitely say what caused this, diagnostics will be required. There may be several reasons:

• firmware failure;
• almanac failure;
• feature of a car windshield;
• mechanical damage or failure of the antenna itself;
• impressive age of the device (which, however, can be attributed to the previous point).

We have considered firmware issues in sufficient detail, so let’s move straight to the second point. There are three types of navigator location modes: cold, warm and hot start.

During a cold start, the navigator does not have the slightest idea about its location, so searching for satellites takes a long time - up to 10 minutes or more, depending on external conditions. In this mode, the navigator receives an almanac and orbital parameters that allow satellites to be identified with fairly high accuracy. Then the navigator receives ephemeris - more accurate information for a more accurate calculation of the location of the satellites and the exact time.

A warm start means that the navigator has stored in its memory the almanac obtained the previous time it was turned on, and also saved time information, albeit with a small error. The signal reception time is reduced to several minutes.

Finally, a hot start - when the navigator was turned off quite recently and the almanac and ephemeris data had not yet become outdated. Positioning time can be reduced to 10–20 seconds.

The lifetime of the ephemeris is only a few hours, after which the data becomes insufficiently accurate and needs to be obtained again. The almanac's lifespan is 2–3 months.

So, turning off the navigator on long term or transporting it over a long distance with it turned off leads to the fact that the almanac becomes outdated. Usually this just means that the navigator will boot into cold start mode again, but software glitches can confuse the GPS receiver, and it will spend many hours trying in vain to find itself on the map.

This is exactly the case when the saying “time heals” works. This navigator should be left on long time in satellite reception mode. Preferably where good review sky. If after an hour of being in an open space there are no desired results, then you can try leaving the navigator on the window overnight.

Quite a funny (funny for us, not for the owner of the navigator) reason bad reception satellites may be athermal windshield car. The special composition of this glass does not allow satellite signal. However, such glass does not always interfere. Firstly, the signal can pass through the side windows, and secondly, some manufacturers provide “windows” for devices operating in the radio frequency spectrum.

The most serious reason why navigators refuse to catch satellites is the failure of the GPS antenna. With approximately the same frequency, manufacturers use antennas soldered to the board and connected separately. A soldered antenna is more difficult and expensive to replace. True, this is compensated by the fact that such antennas are less likely to fail. External antennas break more often, but they are also replaced in a matter of seconds, not counting the time required to disassemble the case. Majority external antennas are interchangeable, which greatly simplifies both diagnostics and the search for spare parts.

Most detachable antennas are interchangeable

Batteries and power from the cigarette lighter

Car navigators use the most common lithium-ion batteries. Therefore, we will outline their features very briefly. Such batteries do not like low and high temperatures, as well as full discharge. This can lead to a significant reduction in capacity and even complete failure. So, it is not recommended to leave the navigator in the car overnight and discharge it until it turns off completely.

Often the navigator does not turn on precisely for the reason deep discharge battery In this case, you need to leave it on charge overnight or even for a day. Of course, some of the capacity will be lost, but in general the functionality of the device will be restored.

The most common batteries are used.

You can keep the navigator on charge as long as you like - the controller is on motherboard makes sure that the battery is charged exactly as much as it needs. It is recommended to fully charge lithium-ion batteries, but this is not a requirement. U lithium batteries The “memory effect” is quite insignificant and can be ignored. However, if the navigator is actively used in offline mode, then at least once every 2–3 months it is recommended to do full cycle discharge-charge. Or better yet, two. It is better to use a charger from a 220 network. When connecting to a computer via USB for full charge It will take almost two days, which, you see, is not very convenient.

The peculiarity of batteries in car navigators is their short battery life. battery life. If the charge lasts for 1–2 hours, then service center has the right to refuse to repair even a recently purchased navigator. This is due to the fact that a relatively powerful GPS antenna requires a lot of power, and manufacturers do not strive to reduce power consumption. If only for the reason that car navigator It is supposed to be constantly powered from the cigarette lighter.

There are two more features related to power from the cigarette lighter. For most navigators, only one of the two negative (side) contacts works. If the navigator “does not see” external power, then you need to try turning the cable in the cigarette lighter socket. In addition, the depth of the cigarette lighter may be greater than the power plug itself. Only finding a longer fork will help here.

Other problems and malfunctions

A problem may occur with the navigator that is not directly related to the features of this particular type of equipment. Such malfunctions include mechanical damage, failure touch screen, breaking out connectors and breaking cables.

The USB connector was broken unsuccessfully: the mounting tracks were damaged. So you'll have to tinker

So, for example, if the navigator does not respond to pressing the screen, then the cause may be a loose touch plate cable, damaged contact, or invisible damage to the sensor. If the navigator was in the cold, then the first thing we can advise is to warm it up. The glass display and plastic touch film shrink differently when exposed to low temperatures. This unevenness can cause the navigator to respond inadequately to pressing or not respond at all.

A cracked touch plate does not interfere with the display of the image. But it still interferes with working with the navigator

Features of repairing Garmin navigators

At the beginning of the article we promised to talk about the features of the repair Garmin navigators. Structurally, these navigators are not very different from those we reviewed above. But the approach to repairs in official service centers is somewhat different. The situation was commented on by Vitaly Chuyakov, a service engineer at Naviline, an authorized Garmin service center in St. Petersburg.

Most authorized Garmin service centers do not perform mechanical repairs. If the problem cannot be solved programmatically, the navigator is changed to a new one. The advantage of this approach is obvious, but there is also a disadvantage. If you left warranty period, then finding an official repair center is almost impossible. And the official “paid repair” is actually the replacement of the navigator with a new one with an additional payment, often commensurate with half the cost of the new device.

Needed if the device does not turn on, or the original software has stopped functioning. Updating the software will help if the device is slow or loading slowly. In other cases, it is better not to perform any such manipulations with the device. As long as the device works stably, there is no need to experiment with it.

Changing the firmware is quite simple. To do this, you don't need to understand technical features Explay navigator. But if you do something wrong, the gadget may become unusable. Therefore, reinstall the software only as a last resort.

You need a computer, a USB cable included in the package, and a microSD card (minimum 2 GB - the size depends on how much memory the Firmware takes up). May require PC connection.

Before you reflash Explay navigator, do the following:

Firmware via computer

Here's how to flash the Explay navigator using a computer:

1. Turn it off.
2. Unpack the directory with Firmware on your PC (you need to download it in advance). The folder name must not contain Russian characters or spaces.
3. Connect your navigator to your computer using a USB-microUSB cable. If you have not connected the device to your PC before, the drivers will be automatically downloaded. If the system does not find them, you can specify the path to them.
4. Go to the directory where the firmware is located and run the installation (double-click on the executable exe file).
5. Follow the installation wizard instructions.
6. If that doesn't work, try the same thing by turning on the device.

Each device has its own Firmware. If you try to load software designed for Explay SLS7 onto an SLK5 model navigator, nothing will work. And that's the best case scenario. Most likely, the gadget will simply break.

Not worth installing unofficial applications, if you are not sure that they are working properly. Programs developed by enthusiastic users can be useful. But sometimes such software produces errors. Even one “broken” file can lead to problems.

Firmware via SD card

Here's how to install the firmware on the Explay SLS7 navigator and other models:

After this, you can download programs to Explay.

1. Turn off your navigator.
2. Insert the SD card into it and turn it on again.
3. The device should automatically install the software. But sometimes you have to press certain keys to do this. It depends on the model (SLS7, CTS5, ND-41, Onliner and so on). Detailed instructions should be in the instructions.
4. Do not restart Explay while downloading is in progress. In some cases it is not displayed at all.
5. To prevent the device from running out of power, connect it to a power outlet. This shouldn't take too long. The battery will not have time to drain. But it's better to be safe.
6. After the update, you will have to re-enter the keys for the programs.

Calibration

The firmware of an Explay device can “knock down” the screen calibration parameters. Here's how to restore them:

1. Hold left top corner display.
2. Or place your finger in the middle of the monitor and simultaneously hold the power button to the right.
3. After 30 seconds, the calibration menu will appear - a cross on a white background. You need to “hit” it several times with the stylus.

Reflashing the Explay navigator will help if there are any problems with the device. Updating the software will improve its efficiency. Installing new Firmware is quite easy. But if the device is working normally, it is better not to reinstall anything.

If the navigator does not start, there may be many reasons for this. First, let's look at the most basic of them and name ways to eliminate them. So:

• Sometimes there is a glitch in software. The reason for this is low-quality software that was used during the firmware. Reflashing will help correct the situation.
• Also, due to mechanical damage or as a result of moisture, the Flash chip may fail, and then the chip needs to be replaced.

If, when you try to start the navigator, the program displays English text, but the navigator itself does not turn on, then you need to personal account download the program archive using the download manager for your device. Next, you need to unpack the program archive and copy it to a flash drive or to the device’s memory, depending on where the program is located, having previously deleted the old one. Then try to start navigation again.

If the navigation itself stops starting and the program version is reset to the menu, then you should connect the device to the PC, save the Navi folder on the computer and delete it. Then you need to turn on the Navitel program, where it will again create the Navi folder. Then configure the program.

If an error was made when updating the program, the navigator will also not start. In this case, you need to update the maps and the program manually. To do this, download the program archive for your device, unpack it, delete the Navitel folder from it, and copy it from the archive. Next, launch the program on your device, and if it loads in demo mode, then download the activation file from your personal account and put it in the Navitel folder.

If during installation new version When the demo version appears at startup, the reasons may be as follows:

• The wrong navigator program was installed.
• You forgot to copy the activation file (folder with the program).
• Your program is on a flash card, and you replaced the flash card, forgetting to re-register the program on another flash card.

In this case, you should send a request to deactivate the key, you will receive a confirmation letter, wait for the next letter, which will contain instructions regarding activation and a message that your key has been deactivated. Re-register for that serial number, which is indicated on new flash map in the downloaded Navitel program on your navigator.

There are times when Explay navigator does not turn on, and this situation requires the owner to take actions aimed at solving the problem that caused the inability to turn on the device. Of course, it’s difficult to figure it out on your own, especially if you don’t obvious reason, so it’s better to turn to professionals. Our service center has been servicing equipment of this type for a long time and it will not be difficult for our employees to figure out why Explay does not turn on GPS navigator in your case, and eliminate those factors that provoke such behavior of the device.

If we talk about the reasons why Xplay does not turn on, then they should be divided into two groups. The first includes problems with charging, the second - breakdowns of device parts.

When the Explay navigator is not charging, it does not turn on - this is natural, but it is also obvious that it is worth looking for the reasons for the inability to charge the device normally. The answer to the question why the Explay navigator battery does not charge may be a breakdown of one of the following elements:

• connector If it is damaged, it cannot be restored; in such cases, the connector is replaced; and if the connector is partially torn out from printed circuit board and because of this there is no contact, then in case of such a malfunction the printed circuit board is restored;
• power controller. In case of damage, the controller must only be replaced;
• Battery If battery is faulty and needs to be replaced.

All these replacement and repair services can be ordered at our service center. But before you come to us, try to charge the device and see how long the Xplay navigator charges, whether it is charging at all, and how long it can work after it. And if it doesn’t turn on at all and doesn’t respond to attempts to charge, then come to us right away - this task is for a professional, because only experienced specialist will cope with solving such a problem.

Sometimes the Explay navigator turns off for the same reasons, that is, if it is not charging or the charging process does not occur correctly, or in full. Although sometimes Explay navigator turns off and in the presence of malfunctions of components other than those of the charging circuit. And also in connection with the breakdowns described above, you can see that the Explay navigator is quickly discharged. As you can see, everything is very closely connected and because of this it is so difficult to figure out why the Xplay does not turn on, turns off, or quickly discharges. At the same time, the same breakdown can lead to different manifestations. Therefore, only diagnostics at a service center gives accurate answers to all questions related to navigator malfunctions. We have it for free.

Also, your Xplay may not turn on for the following reasons:

• the power button does not work (it could be broken and needs to be replaced);
• the processor is faulty (usually also requires replacement);
• moisture got in or there was mechanical damage (after the device gets wet, hit or dropped, it is necessary to diagnose it, only then the extent of the damage to the mechanism and the number of damaged parts become clear).

Sometimes the problematic situation is different - the Xplay navigator gets warm, which also alarms the user and requires contacting the service. If you notice that your Explay is heating up, contact us - we will find out why the mechanism is heating up and offer required types repair. We have the ability to repair all models PN 990, PN 980, PN 970, PN 935, PN 930, PN 925, PN 920, PN 445, PN 430, PN 375, GN-510, etc.

In any case, you will need the help of the service center employees, because only after diagnosing it becomes clear what needs to be done if the Xplay navigator does not turn on or does not charge, turns off or is discharged. Come - we are waiting for you!

Your screen Explay black? You cannot turn it on and, of course, use it for its intended purpose. This is a rather delicate and fragile technique that is difficult to do without. But you shouldn’t throw away the device right away; you shouldn’t buy a new one. We work to ensure that your equipment serves you well for as long as possible. If Explay GPS navigator does not turn on, Don't get upset right away. Before drawing conclusions whether your device is broken or not, make sure that the battery is charged. If it happened complete discharge, then in order for the navigator to work again, it will take more time to charge. As a rule, difficulties with turning on arise after the Xplay has been in a damp and cold place for a long time.

If you suddenly cannot resolve the problem on your own, come to our gsmmoscow service center and do not delay with the solution. We will determine the cause of the breakdown and also advise what to do. Whatever the situation you find yourself in, we are always ready to provide qualified assistance.

Reasons why the Explay navigator does not turn on:

1. The first and most common problem is when the power button fails. It is quite fragile, so the slightest fall or impact can cause serious damage. All this can be solved quite simply, come to our workshop in Moscow - specialists will replace the button with a new one in just a few minutes.

2. The cause of the malfunction may also be hidden in the software itself. It is absolutely impossible to solve such a problem on your own. Only a high-quality firmware change will help here. Our workshop will do it efficiently and quickly.

3. The flash chip itself can also fail. The device will work again only after the chip is replaced.

4. Also the reason why Why The navigator does not turn on, the power controller may also be damaged. It is difficult to damage it, but if you still encounter this problem, then we are ready to provide help.

5. In very rare cases, other problems may arise. It is difficult or even impossible to figure this out on your own. Our specialists first carry out diagnostics, which last for 30 minutes. Once the results are known, we can get to work and implement high-quality repairs.

In order for your GPS The navigator has served you for as long as possible, you must try to adhere to all operating rules. First of all, it must be kept away from moisture. The liquid that gets inside the device causes corrosion and oxidation. As a result, all working parts become unusable. The technique is also very sensitive to various mechanical damage. Any falls or impacts can cause serious damage. If Explay stopped functioning normally, it is best to immediately contact our service center for help to determine the breakdown and fix it.

How long will it take to fix the problem if the Explay navigator does not turn on?

1. If the navigator is broken and you don’t know why it doesn’t turn on or doesn’t work correctly, it’s important to first determine the cause of the breakdown. We do this using special equipment. We perform diagnostics free of charge and within 30 minutes.

2. In order to replace controllers or microcircuits, it will take more time, as a rule, it takes from 2 hours.

In any case, we will try to carry out high-quality repairs of the Eksplay car navigator in the shortest possible time.