The Garmin nüvi 50LM
Related units
- Drop down to the nuvi 40LM and you’ll get the same features, but with a smaller 4.3” screen
- Or keep the 5” screen, but give up lifetime map updates with the nuvi 50
- To see how the nuvi 50LM stacks up against other models, check out my Garmin nuvi comparison chart
Two versions
Two versions of the nuvi 50LM series are available – one with the entire US except for Alaska and Hawaii, and one for all 50 states plus Canada
NOTE: Much of what follows is based on my hands on review of the nuvi 40, a very similar model.
Key features
Generally speaking, all nuvis will get you from point A to point B; when you pay more, you’re primarily doing it to get bells and whistles. Nevertheless, the nuvi Essential series has some nice features. Here’s a look at several:
Speed limit display and warning
As noted above, the nuvi 50LM includes speed limit display. In my testing of the Essentials series, I’ve seen speed limits not just on highways, but on many secondary roads as well.
And if you exceed the speed limit, the current speed field will turn red…
Lane Assist
The next turn icon in the top left corner highlights the proper lane to be in. You’ll primarily see this on freeways and on some surface streets in urban areas. Coverage is fairly extensive.
Junction View
The model I tested was a pre-production unit, and it did not have the Junction View .jcv file installed. Nevertheless, it is a listed feature for the Essential series, and should look something like this…
Customizable data fields/display
If you tap the lower left data field, you can customize what is displayed there. Different choices are offered for whether you are or are not navigating.
Want more info displayed? Go to Settings > Map, press the down arrow icon and select Map Data Layout > More Data, to get the setup shown below, giving you two extra data fields. Tap a data field to change what is displayed.
Trip Log
The trip log allows you to display where you’ve been (which can be a big help navigating mega-mall parking lots, and even in everyday city driving). The trip log is the thin blue line shown below.
There are options to Show or Hide this info, but unfortunately (unlike on other nuvis) there appears to be no way to clear the trip log short of a hard reset! Perhaps this is just an oversight that will be fixed in an upcoming firmware update; I’m certainly hoping Garmin hasn’t decided that privacy features should be limited to higher priced models!
Where am I?
Tapping the car/current location icon on the map brings up the Where Am I? screen, with the options shown below.
What’s missing?
Not much. There is no multi-destination routing (although you can add a single via point to a route) or powered mount, two popular options. The latter means that you’ll need to attach the mini-USB lead for the power cord each time you use the unit. Also, unlike other recent low-end models, you cannot add a traffic receiver. Here is Garmin’s rationale for this:
The nuvi 30, 40, and 50 series devices are not compatible with any traffic receiver or traffic service. Although these devices come with a variety of popular features, other features such as traffic compatibility have been left off so that we can provide our customers with the option of more basic devices at much lower price points.
Garmin nuvi Essential series performance
I noticed no routing irregularities while using the Garmin nuvi Essential series, nor did I notice excessively long waits for satellite acquisition. Except for the missing bells and whistles, it performed as well as my other nuvis. I did have trouble getting it to go into USB mass storage mode when connecting to my computer, but this was solved by ensuring that the unit was on before connecting it. And this issue went away entirely once I updated to firmware version 2.10. The only other item of note is that I found the mount a little awkward to clip the nuvi into at first, but after awhile I got used to how it attaches and rarely had problems with it.
Garmin nuvi 50LM pros
- 5” screen
- Lifetime map updates
- Low cost
- Speed limit display
- Lane assist and junction view
- Customization options
Garmin nuvi 50LM cons
- No powered mount
- Cannot add a traffic receiver
- Can only hide Trip Log; cannot clear it without resorting to a hard reset
- Only includes maps of 48 states (although a version that adds Alaska, Hawaii and Canada is also available)
Conclusion and recommendation
Highly recommended. This is without a doubt the best entry level navigator Garmin has ever released. It has an ultra-wide 5” screen along with features previously restricted to mid-range units. You can’t hardly go wrong with this one.
More Garmin nuvi 50LM reviews
- There are consumer-authored Garmin nuvi 50LM reviews
being posted at Amazon
- New Straits Times reviews the Garmin nuvi 50LM
- Sweet Makes Three has posted her own Garmin nuvi 50LM review
I’ll be posting more hands on GPS reviews as they appear, but in the meantime, here are some…
Other Garmin nuvi 50LM resources
- Want to see how the nuvi 50LM stacks up against other models? Check out this Garmin auto GPS comparison tool
- Or check out my own comparison chart for links to more reviews of Garmin GPS car units
- There is a dedicated Garmin nuvi message forum at GpsPasSion and another nuvi forum at GPS Review
- The Garmin nuvi 50LM owners manual
- Our auto GPS FAQs, which includes quite a few nuvi tips and tricks
- The official Garmin nuvi 50LM web page
Compare prices on the Garmin nuvi 50LM at these merchants:
- Check the current Garmin nüvi 50LM
- Get a great deal on the Garmin nuvi 50LM from GPS City
- Find the Garmin nuvi 50LM US 5.0 GPS Navigation System with Lifetime Maps
at Beach Camera, the folks behind BuyDig.com
- Get the nuvi 50LM
direct from Garmin
About Rich Owings
Done that.. next step is returning the GPS and getting my money back…. This is so frustrating.
I just got my nüvi 50 LM and am already primed to return the thing. Here is why: According to the mini-manual: Connect USB cable between GPS and computer, got to garmin.com/dashboard and follow onscreen instructions.
To do so you’ll first have to register. (THAT took three tries), then “follow the onscreen instructions”. They don’t tell you that to do so you first have to download their plug-in. Did that, hoping to be ready for action. Not so, instead it claims I don’t have the plug-in and need to install it first. For whatever reason the GPS does not communicate – through my laptop – with Garmin and all I have at this time is a unit that will take address instructions, but provides no help such as restaurants, gas stations etc. I assume this sort of information would be uploaded via their website, which in turn won’t recognize my downloaded ‘plug-in’ and without that, one can’t even register the unit. The last time I tried to call Garmin, the wait time was 30+ minutes, so I hung up. The fiddling with plug-ins etc. required 2 hours of my time, time wasted and never to be recovered by having the unit. Bye bye Garmin, I’ll return the thing and buy something easier to deal with, P.
How do you Delete track log on movi 50?
As it says above… “Can only hide Trip Log; cannot clear it without resorting to a hard reset”
I just called Garmin. He the 2012 line can not clear the trip log. That is a deal breaker for me. I’ll will buy something else.
Not true. Just the low end models won’t. The 2xx5 series will.
Is the garmin nuvi powered mount 010-11271-03 worth the money for the convenience?
No, it has to be hard-wired in and you still have to connect the mini-USB plug to the nuvi at each use.
My Garmin Nuvi50LM not respnding, stays on showing garmin, would not react to computer connection and computer doesn’t show that device is connected. Does anybody had that problem before?
I am having this problem now.Trying to figure out what to do.
And it will not go into mass storage mode if you connect it to your computer?
I am having the same problems. I have the nuvi50lm and this is the 2nd model that the exact same problem is happening to. Does anyone know what could be causing this. I dont want to keep having this replaced with same model if this is a known problem.
thank you
I might be able to help but I need to know — will it go into mass storage mode if you connect it to your computer?
Let me present a use case for powering the GPS unit directly, not through the mount.
During very cold weather storing the GPS unit in the console leaves it so cold in the morning that the battery will not power up the unit long enough to set the destination. The powered windshield mount makes for a long reach to enter a destination address. The powered unit makes it convenient to hold the unit in your hand to enter the destination address.
Good point. That’s one reason I use a friction mount though.
Will the 50LM work on waterways in boats?
Yes, but it doesn’t come with lake charts, so don’t expect realistic shoreline outlines. Nor is it waterproof.
It’s Christmas eve and we received TWO gps systems…a Garmin NUVI 50LM and a Magellan RoadMate 5220-LM…I’ve been reading reviews and would like a recommendation as to which one we should select. We generally use a gps for longer road trips, not for daily activity. Thank you.
By all means, keep the nuvi!
Will the 50LM Say recalulating if you miss a turn. Thank you.
No, none of these models do.
What model garmin or Tom Tom will recalculate. Thank you
Not sure about TomToms. Any Garmins except these will though.
I got for X-mas 2 Garmin. One 1490 LMT and one 50 LM. Which one to keep?
The 50LM is two generations newer, but is more basic. The 1490LMT adds traffic, Bluetooth, multi-destination routing, the ability to clear your driving history and some different screen layout options. But if you don’t need those things, the 50LM is quite capable.
Re Nuvi 50 LM: Place for a micro SD. I bought a micro SD trying to use it for downloading Map Source topo in my Nuvi 50 LM. Doesn’t seem to work. Any suggestions? Or is the Nuvi 50 LM incapable of accepting addtional maps?
You need to create a Garmin folder on the card and put the .img file in it. Then you need to go into map setup and enable the map.
I’m in Haiti and need to add a map from Open Street Map to my Garmin Nuvi 50 LM. I don’t have a SD card, and have saved the Haiti gmapsup.img file to the Garmin folder on the device. When I turn on the device, and go into settings\map\info, the map does not appear. I only see the pre-installed “CN North America NT 2013.10″. What gives?
That should work.
Thanks for great information! I, too, received 2 units for Christmas, the Garmin 50LM and TomTom VIA 1505TM. The TomTom has traffic and the voice gives both route number AND street name when prompting for the next turn. I can live without the traffic, but I really like the route number. Is there a way to turn that on in Garmin? What’s your opinion on the TomTom?
No, you can’t enable it on Garmins. It is what it is. The TomTom VIA series are good models, though personally I prefer Garmins.
Hi,
You say that the Nuvi 50 LM has speed limit display and warning.
Is there also a sound warning ?
Regrads,
Peter
No.
I just got a NUVI 50 LM and used it from Kansas City to New Orleans. It worked fine going south but on the return was not indicating my actual MPH, always indicating 69 MPH. The worst problem, though, was it displayed my car on an interstate I was NOT on. I was foolish and followed my NUVI only to end up on a highway 75 miles away from where I was supposed to be.
Has anyone ever had a GPS unit that displayed your position very different from what it actually was??? If so, any thoughts why this happens???
thanks
I’ve seen it happen but it usually just places you on a road a few hundred feet away. A restart usually takes care of it. Is your firmware up to date?… http://gpstracklog.com/2012/12/how-to-update-garmin-firmware-using-webupdater.html
Does anyone know where I can buy the map for Alaska for the 50LM?
The Canada map includes Alaska… https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=253&pID=8750
not worth the money 2 settings fastest & shortest way only, does not let you use highways.
my trip from Pa. to south NJ took me thru every local road.
I’m going back to my old Magellan, (over 12 years old).
support told me to use a paper map to use highways or buy a better unit
Are you sure you don’t have Highways checked in Avoidances? Or are you using shortest route instead of fastest? Those are the only reasons I can think of that it would be doing that.
Playing with a friends 50LM, would NOT connect in “computer mode”, just Garmin. Discovered two things: a) by trying different cords (the Motorola plug ones) that they seem to be different because after trying 6, one DID work! and retrying the others, none did. Also, once able to get it recognized, updated the firmware from V 2.10 to v 3.10 which it says resolves, among other things, a connectivity problem in “computer mode”. Now it responds as it should.
FYI: The memory fills up fast with only one map update download. No way to add a SD memory card like older models.
There’s a microSD slot on the side.
Thanks Rick, will get a Micro card
I’m a low-tech newbie so please bear with me as I have several questions, if I may. This seems like a nice place for information and I appreciate what’s been reviewed and written. I’m looking into GPS devices, as my navigator/map reader passed away. Keep coming back to the Nuvi 50LM. I wish there was a bigger screen, but seems like 5″ is considered large.
Bestbuy has it bundled with Friction Mount for 149.00. Is this friction mount what I should be getting or are there better recommended mounts that anyone knows about?
From what I read from the helpful links listed above, although the 50LM doesn’t tell you it’s recalculating if you miss a turn, it does actually do the recalculation. Has everyone found that to be workable? (My son’s Tom-Tom verbally says it is “recalculating.”) How do I know it’s recalculated the route — is something shown on the screen that says you blew it?
I’m reading that the 50LM has no ability to clear track log, only hide it. Does the firmware update to 3.1 fix that issue or is it simply the way this model is made?
I’m confused over the issue of multi-destination functions. If I’m going from point A to point B, with stops along the way to sight-see and sleep, I can’t plug those into this? Does this provide restaurant, hotel, sites information?
Is there an adapter for an old fashioned cigarette lighter type connection to keep the power going? My Explorer is ten years old and doesn’t have a usb port.
Last question — if many of the above aren’t available, what would be a model that would provide more functions that you see as good?
Me again. Did a lot of reading and found several of my answers on this great website! Now thinking the Garmin 2595LTM is more suited to what I’m looking to own. We’ll see. Sorry to have bothered you and asked before thoroughly reading.
No problem! Glad you found what you needed. BTW, there is a 7″ model coming out soon, but unless you have a big truck or plan to mount it low, it may well be overkill.
Hi Rich,
I have the Nuvi 50LM and have finished updating my software to 3.10 and my map, CN North America NT 2013.40, lower 49 states from the installed Garmin Express on my computer. It shows that I have 57.8mb left in my internal memory of 1.8gb and suggests that I install a Micro SD card. I installed the max acceptable, 8gb, for this unit and it shows in mass storage, disk K, Garmin Nuvi, and disk L, Garmin Micro in My Computer. It doesn’t show the SD card memory on the Garmin Express or anywhere that I can see, on my GPS. Over time, if I ever completely use the 57.8mb that I have left in my internal memory, will it automatically continue on to my Micro SD card of 8gb or do I have to configure it in some way? Also, how do I access the SD card using only my GPS to show how much memory that I have left in my device. I hope that you can explain this in layman terms because this GPS works great and I really love it. I’m just getting prepared for any future installs or extras of any kind so that I don’t run out of memory. Thanks, Steve
It should prompt you to put the maps on the microSD card when you get to that point.
I think you would have to connect it to the computer to show how much memory is left.
I just bought nuvi 50lm. Not as good as my old 40 bought in 2007, but workable. Issue I have is the voice Samantha that speaks street names, the voice sounds like a bad speaker, hard to understand. So went to MIchelle, which sounds great, but no street names. I looked for a different voice for it on Garmin, but it only had silly voices. Any way Garmin has another voice that speaks street names I can understand?
First I would try updating voices using Garmin WebUpdater (http://www.garmin.com/webupdater). Run it and then check for “additional updates.” There may be other voices available via WebUpdater as well.