Right here I used to be, simply minding my very own enterprise attempting to take pictures for my Intuition 3 evaluate, when some, however not all, of the watches stored crashing and rebooting each time I opened up the game menu. Little did I do know, this was the start of a really dangerous day for Garmin. The top of which isn’t but recognized.
However for now, right here’s what’s occurring, and a few preliminary choices for fixing your watch.
The small print:
Presently, a large spectrum of watches are crashing/rebooting when a consumer opens up something that begins/triggers the GPS. The watch record contains, however could be very a lot not restricted to:
– Garmin Descent collection (newer fashions)
– Garmin Forerunner 165/255/265/955/965
– Garmin Epix Collection
– Garmin Fenix 7/8 Collection
– Garmin Intuition 3 Collection
– Garmin Tactix 7 Collection
– Garmin Vivoactive 4/5 Collection
– Garmin Venu 3 Collection
I say ‘not restricted to’, as a result of Garmin hasn’t offered an inventory. As an alternative, the ‘Web at Massive’ has, by way of numerous boards & social media websites. Roughly talking, this record seems to align to units utilizing Garmin’s present GPS chipset.
When it comes to the crashes, it’s particular to any time you open up the game record, trying to start out a GPS-based sport. Or, for every other app that accesses GPS. This contains:
– Beginning the game menu to see an inventory of GPS sports activities
– Opening a GPS sport
– Opening the ‘Navigate’ app
– Opening the ‘Tides’ app and selecting nearest location
– Trying to do something with navigation/routing/and many others…
All of which can consequence within the watch rebooting, again to the watch face. Even trying to get an indoor (non-GPS) exercise will be difficult, as relying on the precise mannequin, it’ll instantly begin looking for GPS within the background whilst you select the game mode. Nevertheless, in my expertise in case you faucet to the indoor mode and choose it fast sufficient, you’ll be OK.
The Trigger:
So what’s the repair? Properly, there isn’t one but. Garmin has put up a discover on its help pages, with a workaround within the occasion you’re by some means in a crash loop, although, this actually isn’t a repair. It simply will get you again to the watch face:
So what’s the trigger?
The identical trigger it was a 4 years in the past when this occurred: The satellite tv for pc pre-cache file (additionally known as the CPE or EPO file). Mainly that’s the file that the GPS chipset makes use of to extra shortly discover GPS satellites. In a world earlier than pre-cache information, it will take 20-60 seconds. Now, it takes 1-3 seconds. Consider it like a cheat-sheet for the sky/satellites.
That file will get up to date each few days, and customarily goes stale inside per week. Nevertheless, if a nasty model of the file will get delivered, then chaos can ensue – as we noticed a couple of years in the past, when it impacted way over simply Garmin, but additionally Suunto, Polar, Wahoo, COROS, and others on the Sony chipset on the time. Within the case of back-then, this resulted in offset GPS tracks, relatively than on the spot restarts of the watch.
The repair on the time was to pressure a sync of this file, as soon as the right/right model was obtainable. In fact, getting that file to sync when an current file already exists is likely to be difficult.
The Repair Choices:
Now, there’s primarily three completely different fixes at play, starting from ‘easy-peasy’ to ‘@#$#’. You’ll attempt these successively till resolved, although, I’d wait earlier than doing the final repair. Garmin has confirmed the difficulty here’s a corrupted CPE file (satellite tv for pc precache file).
Repair 1: Sync to Garmin Join Cellular (or Garmin Categorical) to replace
- Assuming your watch isn’t boot-looping (crashing always time and again), then open up your telephone.
- Subsequent, in your telephone, open up Garmin Join Cellular.
- Then choose ‘Extra’ to entry extra choices
- Choose ‘Garmin Units’ to see your units
- Then faucet to sync. That ought to sync a brand new file over.
In my case, Repair #1 didn’t work. So, I moved on to Repair #2
Repair #2: Gentle reboot your unit, then sync
- Lengthy-hold the higher left button for about 20-30 seconds, till it forces off. Then energy again on.
- Subsequent, in your telephone, open up Garmin Join Cellular.
- Then choose ‘Extra’ to entry extra choices
- Choose ‘Garmin Units’ to see your units
- Then faucet to sync. That ought to sync a brand new file over. You’ll discover it’d take a bit longer to sync.
This mounted certainly one of my watches, although it hasn’t mounted one of many different ones but. I’d advocate pausing till Garmin has different repair choices, earlier than resetting your watch. However, within the occasion you need to try this (or it’s determined that’s the one possibility), then to reset the watch, you’ll do that subsequent step:
Repair #3: Manufacturing facility reset:
This methodology is in case you can’t get your self out of a boot loop. You’ll lose all information in your watch, although, all your exercise/historical past/and many others is already on Garmin Join. That is principally annoying in that you could be have to re-setup all of your settings (some Garmin watches will restore them robotically).
- Energy off the watch (lengthy maintain energy button till it shuts off).
- If the watch remains to be boot looping, then do an unprompted manufacturing unit reset (steps right here).
- Then undergo organising your watch once more. Sure, it sucks.
The dangerous CPE file has already been faraway from Garmin’s servers, so all of those steps are actually about getting it cleaned off your watch, and getting the recent copy again.
What’s Subsequent:
At this level, in case your watch is working, you’re good to go. With the offending file eliminated, it’s not going to start out inflicting your watch to crash. Likewise, for people who do have a crashing watch (both solely when accessing GPS, or continuous rebooting), then you should use one of many fixes above. Clearly, if Repair 1/2 don’t work, then Repair 3 isn’t superior, however it is going to work.
As for Garmin, actually, they’ll must be how this slipped by way of. I’d have assumed (nicely, I do know) they put in place procedures to forestall the earlier CPE problem from a couple of years in the past from occurring sooner or later. However as with most software program/platforms meltdowns, their mitigation/QC steps to forestall points with the earlier CPE from reaching customers didn’t account for in the present day’s situation. Each on the file-checking degree (as these information are generated each day), but additionally on the watch degree. Definitely, a malformed/corrupted/no matter file, shouldn’t be inflicting the watch to crash both. Clearly, that signifies a technical bug within the GPS stack for lots of Garmin units (all sharing the identical code). As is normally the case, there might be many classes discovered right here for Garmin, and equally, most likely quite a lot of actually indignant customers.
Thus, in the present day looks as if a great day for a (non-GPS) yoga session. Or, you may choose up that superior Dumpster Fireplace stuffed animal (or espresso cup) my spouse acquired me for Christmas. Good timing.
Thanks for studying!
FOUND THIS POST USEFUL? SUPPORT THE SITE!
Hopefully, you discovered this put up helpful. The web site can be a labor of affection, so please contemplate changing into a DC RAINMAKER Supporter. This will get you an ad-free expertise, and entry to our (principally) bi-monthly behind-the-scenes video collection of “Shed Talkin’”.
Help DCRainMaker – Store on Amazon
In any other case, maybe think about using the beneath hyperlink if procuring on Amazon. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t value you something additional, however your purchases assist help this web site loads. It may merely be shopping for bathroom paper, or this pizza oven we use and love.
