How to connect my phone to my navi? Transfer of a Kurviger route to a Garmin Zumo via USB-OTG
This tutorial was created with a Garmin Zumo 396, but the described steps should work for other Zumos or BMW Navigator as well. The tutorial has been initially posted in the Kurviger forum and has been adapted for the documentation. More details on transferring routes from Kurviger to Garmin can be found here.
Preparations
1. Get a USB-OTG cable. These are available at a cheap price on Amazon or any other electronic supply store. Please note, there are two different USB types, that your phone might have micro USB and usb C. Here is a link to a USB-OTG cable for micro USB and a USB-OTG cable for USB c.
2. Install a file manager. In this tutorial we will use the Filemanager from Flashlight + Clock, other file managers should work as well.
Procedure
- Plan a route with the Kurviger App
- Export the route as GPX file with Track, Route, and Waypoints in this tutorial we use the name
route1-gpx
(see the image below). For Garmin devices you can use a regularGPX
file or theGarmin ShapingPoint GPX
. When using the ShapingPoint option, your waypoints will be “silent waypoints”. For more information about this feature can be found here. - Connect the USB-OTG cable with your smartphone and Garmin charging cable and the charging cable with your navi (see the image below)
- Open the file manager and long tap on the exported file (
route1-gpx
- the export path can be adjusted in the Kurviger app inSettings-Application
) - Tap on
copy
in the bottom right corner (see the image below) - Tap on the house symbol at the top and then on
USB device
(see the image below) - Tap on the folder that contains the route files (
GPX
). Tap onpaste
in the bottom right corner - Disconnect the navi and start it. The window to import new routes opens up and allows to import the route via the route planning app. In tracks you can find the the corresponding track ,
route1-gpx
(see the image below)
Potential issues: It might happen that your navi will use up too much energy via the smartphone's USB port. You can try to connect your navi to the mount on the motorcycle and turn on the ignition so the navi will be powered from the bike. If that's not an option you can try a USB Y-cable with an additional power supply (often found with USB drives or here at Amazon). You can connect the second USB Y-cable to any USB charger.