H2OC Won't aquire satellites

[nolte]

Has anyone else had the problem of their GPS not aquiring satellites and what Lowrance suggested. My H2OC couldn't find them for the first time ever this weekend. I tried the older h2O and it got them fine. I'd really like to not have to send it in or get another one, since I've got all my points/trails saved on mine.

Thanks,

Nick

[leech~~]

nolte, even if it doesn't read satellites, and you have to send it in. You can write down all your way points and re-enter them in your old one. Just hit work inside since it will take a while to do it. Good luck.

[fishermatt]

I have had issues with my H2O aquiring also. I had installed a RAM mount on my boat's console for it, but had to move it because the windsheild seemed to be blocking the signal. Same thing happens in my truck, so I have to hold the unit out the window above the top of the cab to get it to lock on.

[ChuckN]

Yes, one day my H2Oc would not show my position, however it was communicating with satellites! It was a crystal clear day. I was in the middle of the lake, no obstructions at all. I spent hours trying to get it to work to no avail. I did find my spot with a Garmin auto GPS in the truck (I could enter coordinates into that )

Ever since that one bad day about a month ago I haven't had any issues. I've used it a lot since.

[eyebjim]

I have had mine do it a couple times where it wont acquire a fix but it will show that it has many sattelites with good signal. A couple things I have done to get it to acquire. 1 turn off remove batteries, replace and retry. If that does not work. go to the gps setup menu and select initialize GPS. floow the instructions and it should acquire a position. It seems sometimes they get confused or something. I think eventually they will acquire on their own but one of the times it happened I waited 30 minutes and still nothing till I did the remove batteries thing. After that it took 30 seconds to lock in.

[PerchJerker]

I can't help you with it not locking on, but if you do need to send it in or replace it you don't need to write down your info to transfer it, you can use a blank SD card and transfer your data to that.

[BottomPounder]

I have also had the same problem. Found that by zooming it all the way out it picks it up quicker. Then zoom in as far as you want!

[Charley]

Eyebjim--Is right in my experience. I don't have a hand held unit. I soon as I played with the power cord it worked.

[dhuth]

Make sure you aren't in "external antennae" mode. If nothing else works, download your points to an SD asd send it in and wait...and wait...and wait. Mine took about 4 weeks but they sent me a new unit. Hopefully it doesnt happen again.

[DTro]

I thought there was a hard reset or initialize process you could try to fix the problem.

Anyways, believe it or not there are some spots/conditions that will cause problems. Early this winter up on Elephant Lake near Orr a bunch of us were up there and not a one of us could grab and hold a satellite signal in the middle of the lake. It was weird for sure.

[leech~~]

I have found very cold weather to be an issue from time to time, and when you go a long ways from the last time you used it, it has to find it's spot again. Also check in the setting what map datum zone area you may have it set to? There are some better then others.

[perchking]

It happened to me also, but mine was brand new. Well after 2 months and about 100hrs of being put on hold they sent me a new one. I am sure glad work paid for all the long distance calls:)

[hunter101]

some times you have to be moving to aquire a fix. even tho there are trackable sattelites they may be in areas on the horizon which cause low accuracy. But remember your working with a computer, commons sense answers dont always apply.

[Traxxx]

I've found, sometimes if you zoom in as close to where you think you are it will pick it up quicker

[ottertailguy]

I have the black and white unit and never had an issue. My neighbor though has the color and takes a long time to get satellites. We notice that they run a different software so I wonder if that is the reason. Even checked to make sure they are running the newest version of software.

[huntingmaxima]

I had the same issue. I would be going down the road and all of a sudden I would not have any sat. I had a friend of mine send it in and the sent me a new one. Mine was about 3 yrs old.

[savageangler]

I had an H20C do that when it was 18 mos old, so I called the manufacture (and sat on hold for quite some time). We tried a few things (software version, re-set etc) and the manufacturer instructed me to send in the non-working unit with a check for $162.45. (which I did) The replacement unit will have a 6 month warranty. This was last week (3/26). I am curious to see how long the replacment unit will last.

[Fredd]

Try the hard reset (you will have to call Lowrance or look in the manual if its there I don't know) and also make sure to update the software to the most current version. I buy all my products from a place that will do free updates for all my electronics. I think these are also available through the HSOforum.

[minnducker]

You can do either a "soft" reset, or a "hard" reet. If you do a "soft" reset, it should not erase waypoints or trails you have saved. (note - it "should" not erase; I'd still save my stuff to an SD card before resetting). A "hard" reset will erase your saved data. Not positive about the H2O, but on my 334C GPS/Sonar unit, you do a "soft" reset by holding down both the PAGES button and the power button when turning on unit. A "hard" reset is done by holding down both the zoom in and zoom out buttons, plus the power button when turning on. If successful, a map display showing the whole US will appear. All software options choices are set back to factory defaults with either type of reset. I've had to do a "soft" reset twice in 3 years to "fix" problems/corruption of the operating system. It worked.

[ZEEK1223]

I sure hope this doesnt happen too me, I dont think I saved the receipt for mine.

[para1911]

My old H2OC has issues too. It will not lock onto sat's. It communicates with several sat's but will 99% of the time it will not aquire my position. This all happened right as I was leaving for a fishing trip so I saved my waypoints to a sd card and bought a new one before I left for the trip. I held one in each hand on the lake and the new one worked and the old one didn't.

I have not sent the old one in because the warranty had ended and I thought I just got a lemon. Does anyone know how to do a "hard reset" on these units? Anyone sent anything to Lowrance that was out of warranty? If they'll fix it cheap I'll just have a spare I guess.

[savageangler]

I recently exchanged the unit with the manufacturer, the old H20C was out of warranty (2007). It took about a month and the cost was $162.45. The replaced unit has a 6 month warranty and works (so far).

There are a number of self help troubleshooting tips on the manufacturers HSOforum. I also called their technical support department, and the hold time was around 30 minutes I suppose. Perhaps future competition from other manufacturers will force this company to answer their telephone in a more timely fashion, maybe all of the manufacturers provide this level of service, I am not sure.

I ended up getting a RMA# and sent in the non-working unit with a check.

I am not 100% certain if this was worth it or not, time will tell.

[RonT]

Mine too has a problem locking in. The difference is that it has been happening only on days that are clear and sunny and only during the middle of the day. It works fine in the morning and after dinner and also works on cloudy days.