I have a 5 year old Humminbird Helix 9 Gen 3 Mega+ SI unit. I have watched every video and tried at least 3 different Micro SD cards. None of them are recognized by my unit.

I downloaded the proper software update for my stated unit as well as the updated base maps onto 3 different and clean Micro SD cards. The first was a 64G card, which I figured out later was a mistake.

The second and third Micro SD cards 32G and 16G and both were SDHC. I loaded the software update and base map updates on each of the smaller cards. I tried copying and pasting, using the Send To function. And yes, I even reformatted the 2 smaller SD cards using FAT 32.

No matter what I've tried, my Helix will not even recognize the SD cards.


I am currently waiting on an external power cord and a power supply so I can work at my kitchen table instead of a hot garage.

In the meantime, any suggestions?

You mentioned it is 5 years old, have you updated it every year. I believe that you can’t skip an update. Find what version your unit is and step it up from there, one update at a time until you are current. to find out what version you have :
The easiest method is to turn your unit on. After the unit has stopped loading Press and Hold the View button. This will pull up an express menu. Scroll down and select System, then System Status.it should show what version software is currently on your system.

Thank you sir! This is exactly what I wound up doing. There was an intermediate software upgrade that I needed to do prior to latest one. I am good to go now!

Glad you got it fixed...may of had that problem myself some time ago...