Garmin GPS systems are great if you don’t know how to find your way to an address but their maps often get outdated in a few years as new infrastructure is developed in your city. Many find the $80 update somewhat of a pinch in their pockets so here is a solution for those people!
Using this guide you will be able to update your Garmin GPS system to the latest (2009) map data, all you need is a little bit of patience and careful reading.
So let’s get started.
NOTE: The Garmin 2010 Update guide is now up!
What do you need?
- - Garmin Key-generator (here), (here) or (here)
- - Garmin North America Map Update 2009
- - A Garmin GPS with a USB cord
Once you have those files, follow the instructions below:
1) Download torrent, unzip the completed download to your desktop, open up the folder.
2) Go to Windows\Msi\ folder in the folder extracted and run CNNANT2009Update_ENU.msi if you want english language.
4) Select a directory to install or just leave it as the default and move on.
5) Once the installer is finished a Mapinstall icon should be on your desktop now. Run it.
6) Get Unit ID from your GPS device. Turn on unit, tap agree to pass agreement.
7) Tap: Settings –> Systems –> About See Unit ID: Write it down.
8.) Run the Key-generator
9) Put in the unit id (the # you got from your gps’s about screen) in the top box
10) Next, in the Select Map Product area of the keygen choose custom mapset and enter 325 when prompted:
11) Now, click Generate at the bottom of the program & copy the Unlock Key generated at the bottom.
Now to install the maps!
12) When you run Mapinstall it will tell you that your maps are locked, click on the unlock maps button
13) Now a new window will appear, click the Add button on the right side. Enter unlock key you copied from the keygen to the top box
14) Add the key and you will be prompt after 30 seconds of scanning for where you want to install the maps.
15) For an SD card, choose the drive. For the GPS, choose the GPS drive letter, mostly this is chosen automatically.
15 a.) If you don’t want to buy an SD card, you’ll have to remove your old maps from the GPS device. Plug in your GPS using the USB cord into your computer, open the device, and find a file named gmapprom in the folder named Garmin which will be the biggest file on your GPS at almost 1GB or somewhere around there. Backup this file to your desktop and save it in case something goes wrong, this file has all your old map data. After backing that file up delete it from the GPS.
16) You should now see a screen with the map of North America. Choose the areas you want on your GPS system, the selected areas will turn pink once clicked.
17) Finally click the Finish button. Now the process of building and transferring the maps will begin and this whole process takes about an hour.
Once done you will have the new 2009 maps on your GPS system.
Enjoy! Leave us a line if you liked this guide 
61 Comments so far
Skip to comment form
Stalker June 13th, 2008 at 3:54 am
(Quote)
Great Super!!!!
Thanks guys, you are the BEST!!!
Works perfect!!!!!!
brazel June 13th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
(Quote)
This will inhibit your ability to update your maps down the road becasue the map image file name will not be the same if you load it from Map Install as it would if the update created and loaded it. Good Luck.
labrat June 14th, 2008 at 10:23 am
(Quote)
Well I think you mean it wont be possible through an official DVD maybe but almost all new DVD updates are now released on torrent sites so no worries
fabioschi August 9th, 2008 at 9:12 am
(Quote)
Hey, guys, is it working also for European maps with NON NT versions?
If it should, is it correct the 325 code for the generation?
Thanks for your attention.
scooby November 9th, 2008 at 3:05 am
(Quote)
this works great… i have 3 GPS units.. it worked on the first one.. for the second and third, i have to uninstall and reinstall the software so that i can enter a new map unlock code otherwise it wont load
Hunter November 18th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
(Quote)
How do you install all of the 2009 north america map. The original 2008 map on my gps say’s “all”, do I highlight all the map? What is that code “325″ for?
Thanks all.
Shane November 19th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
(Quote)
How long should it take to download the torrent? I am on a “high speed” network in a hotel, but am not sure how fast it really is. But I see that the torrent is like 3 GB and it says it will take like 3 days to complete! I know that isn’t totally correct, but it keeps going up and down between 2 days and 4 days, so it seems like it is going to take forever.
Shane November 23rd, 2008 at 2:11 pm
(Quote)
What part did you have to uninstall and reinstall? Just the Garmin key generator? I am hoping you don’t have to download the torrent again-takes so long!
Thanks!
Shane November 23rd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
(Quote)
Well this sucks! The link above that takes you to the 2009 map update torrent is for the MAC version! What a watse of 3 hours! Oh well, back to the drawing board.
labrat November 23rd, 2008 at 10:16 pm
(Quote)
The torrent is a .uif image of the update dvd. If you are not familiar with the format I recommend MagicISO to burn it on a DVD : http://www.magiciso.com/tutori.....essuif.htm
Shane November 24th, 2008 at 10:39 am
(Quote)
Okay, I just figured out what you meant. It wasn’t the key generator that needed to be removed. Its the actual map install s/w that needs to be reinstalled so that you can enter a new unlock code each time. So I removed it, reinstalled it, and ran again. But it never let me enter new unlock codes. What am I doing wrong?
Shane November 24th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
(Quote)
Scooby, I really need your help here! My first download and install worked great. But I cannot seem to get the second one to work. I have tried everyhting but cannot get the map installer to run without the previous unlock code already in it. I even deleted EVERYTHING and started over. I downloaded the torrent, unzipped it, installed the map installer. But still can’t put in a new unlock code. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Jason November 25th, 2008 at 11:52 am
(Quote)
Hey Shane,
I’m no expert on what Garmin does, but a lot of software authors out there leave residual registry entries or files that may contain your original unlock code. It’ll be a pain in the butt, but one of the first things you can do is uninstall the Garmin software, and go through your registry pulling out Garmin-related items.
As a side note, I had downloaded “Garmin City Navigator North America NT 2009 update”. Will this work on my C550?
Keith December 2nd, 2008 at 8:58 pm
(Quote)
Did everything you said to do. The maps show still locked on my 60CSX. I’m loading North America 2009, Arizona Topo and Calif Topos all the same time.
After I am done it says my maps are unlocked.
However, my MapInstall program says the North American maps are unlocked because I ran the generator and entered the key.
I guess my next step is to uninstall all the software, MapSOurce, Trip and Waypoint Mgr, and look for those Garmin registery entried.
Please let me know if I am doing something wrong.
Keith
Keith December 2nd, 2008 at 8:59 pm
(Quote)
Oops, I meant to say my maps are still locked on my GPS. Not unlocked.
Keith
james December 3rd, 2008 at 4:19 pm
(Quote)
um well when i download the update into my GPS , when it turns on it says could not upload.. what can i do to fix this problem it just wont get into the gps?
james December 4th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
(Quote)
its keeps saying “no detailed maps found that suppourt routing. the nuvi cannot be used without them” what do i do ?
JP December 6th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
(Quote)
I did not have to reinstall, but I did have to delete the unlocked maps before I switched units. I restarted map install, entered the next unlock code while it was detecting the new unit, and they went on just fine. Make sure you are using the “unit ID” and not the serial number printed on the unit. Unit ID is in the main menu tools/settings/system/about on my Nuvi 200. A big thanks to whoever came up with this! I spent $900 on Garmin stuff and updates, yet they would not let me install an Ontario map on my Nuvi 200. “You have to buy the Canada version.” Actually, no, I don’t!
las23 December 7th, 2008 at 11:48 am
(Quote)
I was able to successfully load the maps onto an sd card for my garmin c340. When the device boots up it says “cannot unlock maps”. Does anyone know how to get around this?
Elperdorf December 11th, 2008 at 1:38 am
(Quote)
Does this procedure also update the Points of Interest?
las23 December 12th, 2008 at 8:01 am
(Quote)
Elperdorf,
I do not believe the Points of Interest were updated.
Thanks.
Kenneth December 15th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
(Quote)
When I try to unzip file it says file is corrupted.I cant unzip it what do I do?
labrat December 16th, 2008 at 12:04 am
(Quote)
The key-generator file is fine. The .uif file in the 2009 maps torrent is an image file, you need to burn it to a dvd with a program like magic iso.
Kenneth December 19th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
(Quote)
With me being a idiot at computers I just cannt figure out how to do it!!My loss I guess
mhca December 21st, 2008 at 5:39 pm
(Quote)
I have a problem after updating. In this case it is regarding the Europe City Navigator 2009.
When I choose Find and then Address, it asks me to Enter State instead of Enter Country. As I live in Europe it doesn’t make sense for me to enter a State.
If I try to press D (hoping that it will find Denmark even though asking for a state) then it displays that no results were found.
How can I correct this?
Or how do I revert my device to the old maps? I kept the gmapprom file. Should I just delete gmapprom.sum and gmapsupp.img from the device and copy the old gmapprom.img to the device again?
Kind regards
labrat December 22nd, 2008 at 2:05 am
(Quote)
@mhca its possible you loaded the map file that was not meant for europe (could have been labeled wrong)
Try downloading another different copy and follow the instructions again, should work then.
Kenneth December 22nd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
(Quote)
OK I am really frustrated!When I try to unzip the key gen I get the message CRC integrity test failed,The archive file is corrupted and can not be opened,What am I doing wrong??!!!
labrat December 23rd, 2008 at 2:16 am
(Quote)
Here is an alternative link for the keygen only : http://www.filedropper.com/garminkgen
Try that
Altair December 27th, 2008 at 12:30 am
(Quote)
After I installed the update I keep on getting this error in my computer saying there’s a problem with the program, and it won’t let me proceed. I already uninstalled and re-installed a couple of times. Does anybody know what do I have to do?
math December 28th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
(Quote)
hi guys,
im trying to installe the city navigator . but its asking me for a code ! where can i find it ?
thx
whilliam December 29th, 2008 at 3:21 am
(Quote)
Gibby January 14th, 2009 at 12:45 am
(Quote)
That new link for the Key Generator is broken. Old one never works. Any other options?
labrat January 14th, 2009 at 10:30 am
(Quote)
Links have been fixed now. They are all working.
GARMIN_MAN February 4th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
(Quote)
This was quite good if I may say so, a job well done. I highly recommend this approach for people who have never updated a GPS device before.
GPS Hack February 26th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
(Quote)
[...] Via: Haklabs [...]
Warner March 20th, 2009 at 9:18 am
(Quote)
Question: how do I find the GPS device after connecting it to PC? I can’t find it to open the GARMIN folder and delete old maps.
David March 27th, 2009 at 9:29 am
(Quote)
One question:
Where do I find the .msi file? I can’t even locate the windows or msi folder in the image. I only see MAC folders here and there. Could this mean this torrent file is for mac? Please help!!
David March 27th, 2009 at 9:58 am
(Quote)
Yes. This file, for sure, is a MAC version. In previous comments, Shane mentioned he downloaded the mac version, but he doesn’t say how he solved the problem. Any idea? Thanks
ray March 28th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
(Quote)
Excellent! Thank you!
notamac March 29th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
(Quote)
This is not a MAC version, you just need to get something to expand the .UIF. Try google or Yahoo search, and look for that program I used magicdisc
Tomasz April 12th, 2009 at 7:41 am
(Quote)
Help, my garmin nuvi 200w still says “Can’t Unlock Maps” on bootup and its killing me
skinny April 19th, 2009 at 12:59 am
(Quote)
I followed all of the directions but downloaded the 2010 update…. instead of 325 I used 450 to unlock the map…that worked fine and now I keep getting an error “MapInstall Application has encountered a problem and needs to close” Anybody have any ideas??
Steve April 20th, 2009 at 1:11 am
(Quote)
Please provide walk through for 2010 Map update. The 2009 edition is now legacy (obsolete). Garmin’s editions are always one year ahead current year.
Vince April 30th, 2009 at 1:24 am
(Quote)
Hi,
the link provided is wrong. I personnally downloaded the “Garmin citynavigator North America 2009 NT” from torrent sites and found the correct file.
Worked like a charm!!
thanks guys.
Marcel May 9th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
(Quote)
I can’t get the keygen to work. I don’t think I know what I am doing. Can anyone help please?
RH May 27th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
(Quote)
Is there anyway to reset the unit ID (step 9) so I can load the maps on another gps unit? When I uninstall and reinstall the software it retains the information that the map is already unlocked. Somewhere there is a registry setting storing my other unit’s ID number. Any Advise??????
labrat May 30th, 2009 at 1:59 am
(Quote)
A new tutorial for the 2010 update will be released soon.
Stay tuned
Squall June 1st, 2009 at 9:01 pm
(Quote)
I followed all instructions and it works. However, now I cannot see any Points of Interest (or waypoints). How do I get the new POI’s on my device?
Squall June 1st, 2009 at 9:02 pm
(Quote)
Nevermind, I re-installed and now everything works.
The Man July 2nd, 2009 at 11:21 am
(Quote)
The torrent for the 2009 North America files is missing…
Deeked Coogot July 11th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
(Quote)
Thank You for the guide m8. You Rock
GUY August 13th, 2009 at 12:39 am
(Quote)
My UnitID is xxxxx and my Serial # is xxxxxx. I’m having problem generate a value code. Can someone please try to generate a few code and send it to me? I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks
labrat August 13th, 2009 at 11:57 am
(Quote)
Numbers removed
Please DO NOT post your serial number or unit ID publicly. It is for your own safety and privacy.
ride August 23rd, 2009 at 12:59 am
(Quote)
The whole process takes 1/2 day time … to download … burning … installing … but its worth it.
thank you soo much.
Bill August 24th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
(Quote)
Pretty sure I solved my own problem. Seems as if I fat-fingered the unit ID when I was generating the key. Ran keygen again, this time making sure the unit ID was right. Copied the key value, and then changed HKEY_Users///Garmin/Mapsource/Codes registry entry. The name of the entry is actually the 25-digit unlock code. So, you simply re-name it to the new unlock code. I also changed the value in gmapsupp.unl file in C:\Garmin to reflect the same value. Started up MapSource, and there were two entries in the Regions tab, one w/ the old code, and one w/ the new code. Deleted the old one, and the new one worked fine (had all the detail). Used Mapinstaller to load maps onto my device, and everything was fine.
For those that have uninstalled and reinstalled, but things haven’t changed, the above mentioned registry entry is what needs to be changed when you do that. Hope this helps.
Solo September 6th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
(Quote)
Very nice explanation. Thanks for taking the time.
I got it working on the first try, on an Omnitech GPS.
Now tell us how to add more maps…..
Alan December 5th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
(Quote)
Works great anyone have a link for vancover island marine charts?
Garry February 13th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
(Quote)
Help me please to connect Magellan GPS to Garmin PC. The program asks for key (password) May be someone knows how to get it? Thanks
hanny March 13th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
(Quote)
master password for garmin 265w
Greg March 21st, 2010 at 3:54 pm
(Quote)
Question: I’ve read most all the comments above, but I think? my question is a bit different and is not? related to any “unlock” codes.
Just bought the Garmin 60CSx and two 24k DVD’s (West & N. central) I installed the N. central Garmin DVD and all went well. Though now I want to install the 2nd DVD (west) to the same PC, though the PC will not run setup , nor can I view anything on the DVD with Explorer (act like its empty), Though if i put the DVD into another PC its then starts up Setup like it’s suppose too. But I want to install both DVD on the same PC. Help. What must I do?
john mish July 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 pm
(Quote)
It wasn’t the key generator that needed to be removed. Its the actual map install s/w that needs to be reinstalled so that you can enter a new unlock code each time. So I removed it, reinstalled it, and ran again. But it never let me enter new unlock codes.
club penguin cheats