Garmin watches are reportedly crashing, displaying a blue triangle

Garmin Watch Users Hit by Widespread Issue, Bricking Devices

Garmin watch users worldwide are facing a persistent issue that’s causing their devices to freeze at the boot screen, rendering them temporarily useless. The problem, first reported by users on Reddit, seems to affect diverse Garmin models like the Forerunner series, Venu 3, Fenix 7, and Epix Pro Gen 2. As of now, the exact cause remains unknown.

In response, Garmin has acknowledged the issue and provided a temporary fix on their website. According to DC Rainmaker, the glitch may stem from a faulty "satellite pre-cache file," and users whose watches are synced with Garmin Connect should now have access to the correct file, preventing further trouble. However, this won’t help devices already stuck in a bootloop.

Garmin recommends users turn off their watches by holding down the Light or Power button for up to 30 seconds, then power them back on. If the problem persists, a more complex reset involving multiple buttons could help. Users are advised to contact Garmin Support or the official forums if their issue remains unsolved.

In the meantime, Garmin users are urged to avoid starting activities on their watches until the problem is resolved to prevent recurrence. The company suggests that if the device displays a blue triangle, users should press and hold the power button until it turns off, then restart it and sync with the Garmin Connect app. A factory reset should only be considered as a last resort.

Garmin watch users had a rough day dealing with their gadgets, with most devices frozen at the boot screen and some even displaying a blue triangle. The outage seemed to impact users in the UK, US, India, and France, and various models including the Garmin Forerunner 255 Music were affected.

Reddit users swiftly shared their experiences and workarounds, with some reporting data loss due to hard resets they performed before Garmin acknowledged the issue. Users who reached out to Garmin Support received automated responses informing them about the blue triangle reports and that a fix was in the works.