GPSrChive Discussion Forum

I have never seen this problem between Garmin Explore and the 66sr.

mimichris wrote: ↑Sat Dec 24, 2022 2:30 pm I have never seen this problem between Garmin Explore and the 66sr.

Those who only have a handful of waypoints, tracks or routes are less likely to experience these issues, but they are not immune.

Those with collections containing more data are much more susceptible to these issues, regardless of device.

This is a Garmin Explore issue, and has nothing to do with the device itself.

The Garmin Forums are full of examples from many users that have experienced Explore Database Corruption issues.

GPSrChive wrote: ↑Thu Oct 14, 2021 6:24 pm If you haven't needed it yet, I would recommend leaving it alone!

inReach devices require it, otherwise I don't touch it.

For various reasons, I have never synchronized my gps with the phone, but after the last update 16.50 on my montana 750i, Garmin has ``Added support for upgrading from inReach Presets to Check-Ins.''

Instead of Preset 1, it now says Check-In 1 in the message box on the GPS.

Out of curiosity, I went to the inreach.garmin page and changed the Preset's messages to
1, Test 111
email, sms,
2, Test 222
sms,
3, Test 333
email,

Without syncing after the change, I went outside and sent one of each message.
Three minutes later, 1 and 2 had come to my phone, 1 and 3 to my e-mail.



What I'm wondering is if you need this app for inreach devices.

Contacts can be entered and saved by hand and the Preset message worked during this test even though the correct text or receiver is not written in the GPS.

My subscription was activated before September 27th, 2022

Before the Garmin Messenger and Messenger App, Explore Mobile was how changes on the Explore website were transferred to your synced device, and also how data from your device was transferred to the web interface. Without the Explore app on these devices, inReach capability was virtually non-existent.

Now more devices are receiving firmware updates to make them work with the Messenger app also, but for what purpose? The Messenger app is severely handicapped when compared to Explore, and both have their own unique issues that keep me as far from them as possible.

'Upgrading Preset Messages to Check-Ins' is purely misleading marketing speak and the farthest thing from an upgrade possible. Only older accounts have the option to keep 'Preset Messages', which can be custom configured at will by the user. All new accounts and those that buy into the 'Check-In Upgrade' lie will not have this flexibility. Only the three default messages configured by Garmin can be sent.

On Garmin inReach devices, one of these two mobile apps will be required for changes made on the device to be synced to the web, and vice versa.

To recap:

1. Explore is still a complete disaster that will wreak havoc on databases with more than a handful of waypoints, tracks etc.
2. Messenger has far less capability than Explore, and introduces phone-number hi-jacking as reported in many online forums.
3. Unless you require inReach capability, we still recommend staying as far away from these apps as possible.
4. If inReach capability is a must, we recommend an external stand alone inReach device, such as the MINI 2 or Messenger.