Marine electronics run on constantly evolving, highly technical software. When manufacturers become aware of issues that may be on the horizon, they will preemptively issue software updates to keep these issues from happening to your unit. Software updates also fix bugs reported by users, and can often add new features. To keep your units tip-top, reliable, and current with the latest features it is imperative that you do regular updates.
Updates are generally pretty simple to perform. Many of the newest units can be updated via wifi, just turn your phone into a hotspot, log into that network and use the settings menu on your unit to get the latest updates. Older units need to be updated via Sd or Micro-SD cards. In this case you can download the update from the manufacturer's website, transfer it to the card, then insert the card into the unit. Most manufacturers will include instructions on how to do the update, with the update or on the page where you found the update.
It is possible your unit is no longer updatable. In this case the best you can do is update to the latest update available. Units do become obsolete at some point. They can often continue working just fine for years to come.
To figure out if you need an update, go into your unit settings and find the section of the menu where you can get system info. Often this is in a "System Info", "Software Version", or "About" option on your menu. Once you know your software version you can go to the manufacturer's Support area of their website to see if anything newer is available.
Here are some links to the most popular brands:
Garmin This brings you to their general software page where you can download the update. Garmin bundles all of their updates for most products into one file.
Raymarine You can search for your product and go straight to the update.
Furuno This takes you to the support page where you can navigate to your product and find the software.
Lowrance Pick your product and go straight to the update.
Simrad Pick your product and go straight to the update.
Humminbird Choose your Series and download your update.
If you have any trouble finding your update, or updating your unit please call us. In areas where we have Installation Technicians we can perform these updates for you.
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BOE Marine installs at 4 locations: Annapolis MD, Fort Lauderdale FL, Stuart FL, and Lake Norman NC. Lifetime tech support included.
