Help...inReach mini problems

[Logan T]

So I received a garmin inReach mini for this past Christmas and it has sat in the box until yesterday. I let it charge all day and tried to get it going last night. The Problems-- I couldn't get it to turn on. It would "flash" on but then shut off almost instantly. I tried the "soft reset" after looking around online for similar problems, which I found there to be. No joy. I read to also try a different charging cord, so I let it charge all night with a different cord and tried again this morning. It actually turned on and so I got my account all set up online, paid for a plan and went outside to get it in the open to activate it.

Things seemed to be going fine, it said "activating the unit keep in clear view of sky" and then i looked at the screen again after a minute and it had received some kind of message from garmin, I tried to scroll down to keep reading but couldn't and it went back to blank within 3 seconds of whatever message the unit received. Back to the same problem.

I can't see anything and can't "wake it up" unless I hold the power button on- then the screen "starts up" and i get a 1 second flash of the same "activating info" screen as before. It immediately blanks the screen and I'm getting nowhere. The unit has been like this now for 3 hours this morning.

Any help or advice? Anyone have this problem before??

 

[Elk2008]

I have one and it doesn’t do anything like that. Sounds like it might be a faulty unit.

 

[Marbles]

I would contact Garmin.

Garmin Customer Support

Garmin Support Center is where you will find answers to frequently asked questions and resources to help with all of your Garmin products.

support.garmin.com

 

[Corey Paulsen (teamkabob)]

Email support and get it fixed. Mine as never turned off like that. They can run the serial number and see it’s newer. Like Marbels said! They will fix the issue. Also you might need to update the firm ware.

 

[Logan T]

Not sure how I can update the firmware when I can’t get it to stay “running”..??

I will be contacting garmin this morning. The unit is still acting the same as it was 2 days ago. Hopefully they can get this straightened out quickly.


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[Dos Perros]

I had a unit go tits up after sitting stored for almost a year. Something to do with an old version of firmware won’t allow it to be charged after is gets so low on battery. And the.man if it can’t be charged you can’t update the firmware. They sent me a new one.

Probably a good idea for anyone reading this to check for a firmware update.

 

[Corey Paulsen (teamkabob)]

Not sure how I can update the firmware when I can’t get it to stay “running”..??

I will be contacting garmin this morning. The unit is still acting the same as it was 2 days ago. Hopefully they can get this straightened out quickly.


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You got a lemon. After they fix it or replace it don’t forget to update it.

 

[Logan T]

Called garmin at 6:40am mountain time. Just got off the phone with a rep. She walked through a bunch of steps with me but the screen just keeps shutting off. Garmin is sending me a new unit. Pretty good customer service so far...


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[Logan T]

Figured I'd update this in case anyone else runs into the same issue.

Garmin sent me a new unit after talking with them at 6:40 am mountain time on monday morning. (Leslie rocks- very easy to deal with). Received the unit on Saturday, would have been earlier but I only get mail delivered 3 times per week. Just got it set up this afternoon. Went through all the steps listed in the email Leslie sent me to get the account switched over to the new unit. Followed all of the steps carefully and Bang..... the new unit is working like a charm. I can't complain about any of the customer service at all, and Garmin took care of the faulty unit fast. Excellent experience.

"First unit should have worked right away without having go get a new one" you might say.... I have a feeling its more of where the unit came from (and how long it sat on the shelves) than anything else. The wife used her points from her Cabelas card and got it from there... I'm sure/know the firmware was way out of date on that one compared to the unit Garmin sent out to replace it. Im guessing that they sit on the shelves a little longer at those big box stores then other places.

As long as it continues to work like it seems to be now, overall it was a good experience dealing with Garmin.