Discussion: Garmin 305 buttons disintegrating

The rubber buttons on my Garmin 305 are disintegrating, leaving the device open to water intrusion and rendering the buttons difficult to operate. Some have suggested that the device may be refurbished. Would such a refurb replace the rubber buttons?

Contact Garmin!

I have nothing but praise for their tech support, they have fixed my GPSs at least 6-7 times over the years, many times replacing entire units or all the internals.

+1 for the garmin support

I just got a refurbished 310XT last week (my second refurbished model). The refurbished one you get isn't the same one you send to them and yes it's like new.

Too bad Garmin Support says: "Repair services no longer available."

http://www8.garmin.com/support/outofwarranty.html

RIP FR305

*sniff sniff*

Oh dear, is the 310XT next?

Garmin supporting the 305 model with repairs for well over ten years was excellent service, I think.

I sent my 310XT to http://www.fixyourgps.com/ when a button started crapping out on me and I didn't want to pay Garmin $75 to replace it (more than the street value of the device at this point). Nice guy, reasonable prices, and prompt and good service. Definitely a good resource to keep these venerable devices chugging along.

https://cateruns.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/garmin-3...
Pretty sure this fix has featured in AP before.

The water got into my 310XT last time the rubber casing was breached before I realised it had an issue so no chance of this working for me.

thank

My 305 has started switching off in mid run. Even if I notice and switch back on I lose the first part of the run. is there anyway of locking it on?

When my power button disintegrated, I kept it plugged in for a few months (except while running), but that wasn't really a sustainable solution, so I bought a used Garmin 25 for $70. It has all of the features of the 305, a few additional ones, a longer battery life, and can be worn as a daily watch. Still, I wish I had thought of the duct tape-and-beads solution.