Lowrance h20c issue

[ducker]

Just bought an h20c and it keeps losing its position. Is that common with that model and should it be brought back? It happened alot even in open areas.

[MJCatfish]

Very, very rarely does my H2O C lose signal. Maybe only if I'm in a tunnel, culvert, or something of the like. I'd cal Lowrance customer service. They'll take care of you.

Good Luck!

MJ

[picksbigwagon]

is it pointed up? I know my H20 did that in my boat when I laid it down on the the bench. Once I got a mount for it, it has never lost position...........

[PerchJerker]

Make sure you are not set to require WAAS. It should be an option in the GPS Setup menu or something like that. Make sure it's not checked, then try it again.

[ducker]

Thanks PerchJerker. I think that was the issue. Works like a charm.

[wareagle]

Hey Ducker,

Glad to hear that your problem is solved. I had the same issue, except my unit would run for 5 - 10 minutes and then lose position and never lock in again even after I turned the WAAS off. It would show that it was reading 5-7 satellites, but no position. I called Lowrance and they had me do a soft restart but it still would not lock on my position. I ended up having to send it in. Hopfully, the problem will get fixed. Thank god it is still under warranty.

War Eagle!!!

[Blaze]

War Eagle - any update on your H2O? Mine has been doing the exact same thing for a long time and as of recently, it won't lock on position AT ALL. I've had this unit for 3 yrs now and have not been impressed with it at all - had less than one yr before started having issues.

[iceman16]

could the WAAS setting be my problem too. i was on rainy this weekend and got the rainy chip and as i was driving across the lake the depth info wouldnt load up fast enough so i could see in shallow reefs were coming up. thanks

iceman

[mmclain6101]

Are there any other hand held GPS units with maps that would work better than the H20?

[AaronM]

could the WAAS setting be my problem too. i was on rainy this weekend and got the rainy chip and as i was driving across the lake the depth info wouldnt load up fast enough so i could see in shallow reefs were coming up. thanks

iceman

If that happens zoom out. There are so much detail on those maps that it's hard for the GPS to keep up when zoomed in. Zoom out far enough so you can still see reefs if they are coming up, but far enough out so every single little contour isn't showing.

[wareagle]

Blaze,

I got mine back about 3 weeks ago and it works like a champ. They didn't say what they did on the invoice, but it worked well on Minnetonka as well as a couple of test runs from Ramsey to the office in Montrose.

I do know that the WAAS navigation was clicked off, but I had clicked that off when I started having the problems. You may want to go to the Lowrance HSOforum and follow the instructions for either a soft or hard reboot or call Lowrance and have them walk you through it. I'm guessing that your unit is not under warranty anymore.

Iceman16,

I had the same trouble on LOTW and found that if you are zoomed in to far the chip can't load the data fast enough. I had to zoom out to 0.2 miles before it would keep up at 30 MPH.

War Eagle!!!

[Muddog]

You may have it setup to require WAAS. Turn it off. WAAS is mainly for aircraft and works better on the ground as you get closer to the equator. Past 45degrees north or south it should be turned off.

[wareagle]

Well, I thought Lowrance had fixed the problem of losing and not regaining position, but while on Mille Lacs Saturday, my H2O started losing position again even with the WAAS off. I was never able to lock a position the rest of the day even with picking up seven satellites. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy, so I returned the unit to Cabela's and asked if they have had many problems with this unit losing position and never regaining a lock and they said that there must have been a bad batch of the H2O's because for about 2-3 weeks they received numerous returns with the same problem.

Anyway, I took a chance and replaced it with another one. I know of a half a dozen guys that have them and have had no trouble with them. Hopefully, this one will perform better.

War Eagle!!!

[ChuckN]

My H2Oc has developed this very same problem after 3 years of faithful service. I had intermittent issues with it not locking in last winter, and now it won't lock in at all with a total of 7 confirmed satellites in full lock today in the middle of the lake.

I have tinkered with all the settings for several hours all week, and I kept it on all night hoping it would lock in. Nope...

The only thing I haven't tried is the hard reset, and that's next. If that won't do it I'll have to send it in.

[MarkAlm]

I purchased a h20 about 3 years ago or so right after they came out. Mine had all the problems that all of you mentioned. Did the soft restart, talked to techs on the phone, but still would not work right. They had me send it to the factory and they sent me a different unit which worked just fine. Well this summer it started again and I turned off the waas , which I'm not sure how it was turned on in the first place. It seems like a good unit but I find it frustrating to have to deal with it like this.

[fuzzyray]

Same issue here. Had H2Oc for about 3 years. Last winter it would take a while to lock in position. By end of winter it would show 7 sats but never lock in. WAAS turned off (never turned it on). Tried Hard and Soft reset and updated firmware with no luck. Guess I'll be sending it in to.

[ChuckN]

FYI- If your's is out of warranty (like mine) Lowrance wanted $162.45 for repair service and 4 weeks turn around to get one back, with a 6 month warranty. No guarantees you will get your original unit back, but you'll get one back that works (not new).

I picked up the phone and called Dave (PerchJerker) at ProFishingSupply for a new one. I spent the extra money and a MUCH shorter turn around and a year warranty... Thanks Dave.

[harvey lee]

I have had issues in the past with my H20 numerous times and each time Lowrance fixed or exchanges mine for no charge. I called the repair center and worked through them and not the main office.

The last time it was in it was 2.5 years old and well out of warranty.

[kapp]

Mine went bad, tryed hard resert 3 time called lowrance

they said most likely bad attena. they want $150 to fix it and it will take 4 weeks.........hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[rcatcherman]

I would talk to Harvey Lee and ask who he talked to.

[jjohnson5150]

Wow, I thought I was alone on this. Mine has had the same issues & I figured I was hosed. My unit has not been knocked around or anything, so I'm as disappointed as the rest. You would think that 200-300 bucks would get you a product that would last & it would not cost almost that much to get it fixed. POS in my opinion. The power cord is just as good as the main unit. Perhaps one of the other heavy hitters is set to launch a better product.

[Rick]

Same issue here. If it's over a year old good luck. It will cost you around $160 plus shipping. If it's typical to what I experianced you will also spend a good deal of your time on phone related issues.

[hotrod1]

I thought I was the only one with issues with lowrance hand held units. After the first year of having it, I wanted a new one. I have the Huntc and it takes forever to pick up satelites on open water, and forget even trying to find satelites when in the woods...it won't happen. the other thing I dislike about it is that it drains the batteries way too quick. And the power cord for it is junk.

IMO...Lowrance handhelds=Junk.

[mtheis]

When I was considering buying one of the units (I own the H2Oc version), I hadn't heard much about the failure problems Lowrance was facing. This is why we need a free flow of information that enable us to make informed decisions on products that are pushed on this HSOforum. At my age, I just want it to work...I don't want it to fail and send it in because of their great "customer service." How can I feel happy that my unit will be "speedily repaired" when I am up north on a trip that costs me hundreds of dollars, required months of planning, only to have something so critical fail? When it's junk, it's junk. Period. Power cords, lost tracking positions, yuck!!!!

[spudhauler]

I have an older ifinder pro, which is similar to h2Oc I believe. My screen has gone blank but I believe everything else is working correctly. How do you do a hard and soft reset? Thank you.