Garmin 530 screen repair ?

[milky4130]

1 hour ago, babse said:

After a bit of rain a few days ago my 530 seem to have lost its GPS for good. First struggled to switch on now goes on but without finding its bearings.

For what its worth, I'll be sending it to Garmin. What discount we talking? 20% off new 550 is still too much mid Januwarry 🫣

if I'm not mistaken it was +-30%

[babse]

1 hour ago, milky4130 said:

if I'm not mistaken it was +-30%

Okay lets see.

 

I'll be using my watch in the meantime. Damn i hate how convenient garmin connect is and therefore feel like im locked into garmin until forever.

[Spinnaroonie]

On 1/9/2026 at 8:49 PM, babse said:

After a bit of rain a few days ago my 530 seem to have lost its GPS for good. First struggled to switch on now goes on but without finding its bearings.

For what its worth, I'll be sending it to Garmin. What discount we talking? 20% off new 550 is still too much mid Januwarry 🫣

It's difficult to say exactly, as evidently, Garmin itself can't tell you exactly. I called them well before sending my watch in to get a sense of turnaround times and cost. They said it would likely be 20-30% discount. I saved up and sent my watch to them in December and was offered a present day equivalent replacement at 48% retail price in the same week, so the turnaround time was significantly less than quoted too. 

The person I spoke to over the phone, was also the person who handled the actual claim, so I'm not sure why the mis-match in quote vs reality. Could be that they under promise and over deliver (which is refreshing), could be that I sent the watch in its original packaging with proof of original purchase.




 

Edited January 12 by Spinnaroonie

[Skubarra]

On 1/9/2026 at 8:49 PM, babse said:

After a bit of rain a few days ago my 530 seem to have lost its GPS for good. First struggled to switch on now goes on but without finding its bearings.

For what its worth, I'll be sending it to Garmin. What discount we talking? 20% off new 550 is still too much mid Januwarry 🫣

cwc still had some end of range 530s on discount in December, bought one after the start switch on my old 530 decided to stop working and its not as trivial to fix as a broken screen... Not sure if the special is still on

[babse]

5 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

cwc still had some end of range 530s on discount in December, bought one after the start switch on my old 530 decided to stop working and its not as trivial to fix as a broken screen... Not sure if the special is still on

only the 540 @ R6k 

[Skubarra]

4 minutes ago, babse said:

only the 540 @ R6k 

I'm really not sure but that might just be a better deal than what you could get directly from Garmin... Januwory a real sucky month for bike equipment to fail 🙈

[milky4130]

10 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

I'm really not sure but that might just be a better deal than what you could get directly from Garmin... Januwory a real sucky month for bike equipment to fail 🙈

I reckon he will get a 540 at +-R3K

[Skubarra]

7 minutes ago, milky4130 said:

I reckon he will get a 540 at +-R3K

That would be way more discount than they offered me the last time I tried that route, but that was a few years back so maybe things changed.

[Spinnaroonie]

One thing to note is that if you go the Garmin replacement route, the warranty is only 6 months. So, if you can find a similar deal at a retailer, it might be better to go that route for a full warranty. 

[babse]

43 minutes ago, milky4130 said:

I reckon he will get a 540 at +-R3K

....boxed up and ready to send!!!

[Skubarra]

40 minutes ago, babse said:

....boxed up and ready to send!!!

Please give us feedback on the outcome, if they give you a good deal I will take that route when my Garmin inevitably breaks down within the next 2 years...

[NGM]

On 11/12/2025 at 11:15 AM, Skubarra said:

Just some feedback - I am a complete DIY retard, had a similar situation & same temporary solution. Ordered a new screen online months ago but postponed replacing the screen as the tape was still holding and I don't trust my DIY abilities. Then this morning on a training ride I hit a cat-eye and the screen came completely loose and stopped working altogether.

Got home. took out the replacement screen and swapped screens in 2 minutes. Garmin looks as good as new, it was flippen embarrassingly easy - didn't even need to watch the Youtube video.

Actually makes me more angry with Garmin's policy on this, completely replacing units on an issue that can be fixed in seconds.

It was this post that prompted me to do the same. I was gifted a garmin 800 with a cracked screen from a family member who doesn't ride anymore. I emailed garmin and eventually got a badly worded email back that essentially said "We can't replace individual screens but feel free to hand-deliver the device and one of our technicians will book it in and then given you a quote on a replacement unit" or something along those lines. 

So I picked up a replacement one from AliExpress and, like you, 2 mins and it was replaced. It's working well so far. The only pain in the whole process is AliExpress' delivery company, imile, who just come across a dodgy. 

[Gerlach]

39 minutes ago, NGM said:

It was this post that prompted me to do the same. I was gifted a garmin 800 with a cracked screen from a family member who doesn't ride anymore. I emailed garmin and eventually got a badly worded email back that essentially said "We can't replace individual screens but feel free to hand-deliver the device and one of our technicians will book it in and then given you a quote on a replacement unit" or something along those lines. 

So I picked up a replacement one from AliExpress and, like you, 2 mins and it was replaced. It's working well so far. The only pain in the whole process is AliExpress' delivery company, imile, who just come across a dodgy. 

My 800 rubber side button decide to go and in this process the micro switch got damage but only picked up that later, but I bought a back side from AliExpress to replace the complete back side. in that time i picked up the micro switch broke loose. This was about 2 years ago and that time stuff was send still with snail mail. but it was actually cheap to get replacement parts from them. 

Keep a eye on Bid or Buy shop to, there some garmin spares up for sale to. 

[Jono]

10 minutes ago, Gerlach said:

My 800 rubber side button decide to go and in this process the micro switch got damage but only picked up that later, but I bought a back side from AliExpress to replace the complete back side. in that time i picked up the micro switch broke loose. This was about 2 years ago and that time stuff was send still with snail mail. but it was actually cheap to get replacement parts from them. 

Keep a eye on Bid or Buy shop to, there some garmin spares up for sale to. 

when you were waiting for the back cover, did you source a switch? Or did you just repair with cover when received? Similar issue on my unit

[Gerlach]

Just now, Jono said:

when you were waiting for the back cover, did you source a switch? Or did you just repair with cover when received? Similar issue on my unit

The micro switch is on the PC board of the unit. Insane small soldering work. I still had my micro switch that was hanging on for life but couldn't solder it back on the board. If you still got the microswitch and yo can find someone that can work on cellphones, then they can solder it maybe back. 

Just check when you put the unit back together, there actually different back side designs, you only pick it up when you put the pc board to the back cover. 

I decided to abended the thing and use my Fenix for the time being, that was 2 years ago. I bought  my self a Geoid 700 Pro the other day for under R2000 and best buy ever!!! 

More info here: 

Yes, I step in the same trap with my other garmin stuff to, where my forerunner touch screen stop working, and garmin was full of stories to replace it. So when my Fenix decide to go, then I will import a chines brand watch 

[Jono]

5 minutes ago, Gerlach said:

The micro switch is on the PC board of the unit. Insane small soldering work. I still had my micro switch that was hanging on for life but couldn't solder it back on the board. If you still got the microswitch and yo can find someone that can work on cellphones, then they can solder it maybe back. 

Just check when you put the unit back together, there actually different back side designs, you only pick it up when you put the pc board to the back cover. 

I decided to abended the thing and use my Fenix for the time being, that was 2 years ago. I bought  my self a Geoid 700 Pro the other day for under R2000 and best buy ever!!! 

More info here: 

Yes, I step in the same trap with my other garmin stuff to, where my forerunner touch screen stop working, and garmin was full of stories to replace it. So when my Fenix decide to go, then I will import a chines brand watch 

Thanks, just had a closer look at mine and the issue does appear to be on the case button and not the microswitch.