New Garmin InReach Mini Satellite Communicator

[Traillium]

...and tick off stream crossings, tight trail bends, landmarks, lakes, etc. as you go so you at least know where you’ve been and anything important that might be coming up.
Wayne

And if I’m injured, I know several fantastic paper airplane designs that I can use to get an emergency message out as well! Come to think of it, that waterproof REI paper could be a real boon for paper airplanes back in the boonies …

[Venchka]

And if I’m injured, I know several fantastic paper airplane designs that I can use to get an emergency message out as well! Come to think of it, that waterproof REI paper could be a real boon for paper airplanes back in the boonies …

Makes more sense than a lot of what is posted on the internet. Thanks for the grin!
Wayne

[DLP]

I bought an InReach Mini in August after coming within 2-3 miles of the Donnell Fire on Sonora Pass this summer. I own an "old" 2nd generation (or is it a 1st gen...?) SPOT that I purchased in 2012. However, the fire freaked me out sufficiently and made me think that two way communication might be a good thing, or even necessary. My sister also owns an older, larger InReach that she bought in 2015 when Delorme owned the company. She is really happy with it. So I bought the Mini.

I took the Mini to Big Basin Redwoods for 4 nights in August and on the JMT for 9 nights in September.

I ended up returning the InReach Mini to REI yesterday. The reasons that I returned the InReach:

1) I had several messages that didn't go through both in Big Basin and on the JMT. Obviously, I couldn't test the SOS button, but it seriously made me wonder if the thing would tell me to go find more open sky if I had a broken leg and pressed the SOS button.

I've dragged the stupid SPOT all over California, Nevada and Hawaii for 6 years, and all of the messages have gone through. To the best of my knowledge, I have not had a single dropped message... even in valleys and (gasp!) under 2-3+ trees.

Not receiving messages drove my husband insane. I texted him and told him that the InReach was super picky about locations and super frustrating and not to worry. I was hardly "alone" out there, and very safe. But he still worried. (Ideally my husband wouldn't worry and I wouldn't have to carry ANY satellite device. I think of the "Stupid Spot" as a half pound of sleeping pill that I carry everywhere so that my husband can sleep at night.)

Every single InReach message that did eventually go thru in Big Basin took 30+ minutes to send. I stood in a GIANT parking lot with totally open sky and it took 35 minutes for the message to go thru. The one exception was at Waddel Beach. I'd say that about 25-30% of JMT messages took 20-30 minutes to send. My perception was that the InReach Mini also burned thru the battery charge while attempting to send a message. I sometimes lost 10-15% of the charge attempting to send just one message.

2) The battery. Or more specifically, the (plural) batteries. I had to carry a second backup battery and charge cord for the Mini. I had to recharge the InReach after 5-6 days. What's the point in having a lightweight "mini" if you have to carry 4-8 oz of backup batteries? (My sister carries all kinds of electronic stuff and doesn't mind carrying spare batteries and cords. I resent it. I feel like, "If my phone dies... it dies... and yeah I might miss a great photo... but that's okay".)

I've have NEVER had the SPOT batteries die. I take the (still charged) lithium AAA batteries out of the SPOT and put three new ones in for my first trip of the year. Those same 3 batteries last me until the next year. I carried back up batteries for the SPOT on my first trip, but I don't bother any more.

Yes, it was fun to be able to text with the InReach Mini (when it wasn't totally frustrating and the messages were actually going thru quickly!) But it was more frustration than it was worth. And it is unacceptable that some messages that don't go thru at all - in totally average hiking conditions. I no longer think that I need somebody to text me and tell me that I'm too close to a fire. I'm guessing that smoke and ashes falling from the sky is message enough.

So after talking it over with my husband, we concluded that the one way SPOT communication has been working for us just fine for 6 years. I returned the InReach and got my $350 back.

[FreeGoldRush]

Thanks for the review. Your InReach experience sounds exactly like mine, but I have the earlier generation device. All summer messages have gone through slowly, even when standing in a wide open area. Yet at other times they went through in a pouring rain, from inside my tent, while the InReach was under a half full pack and laying sideways.

Since people are reporting the same issue with the mini I am starting to believe this is a satellite availability issue and not a device issue. The device provides no useful data other than a green or red LED, so we can't know if this is an analog issue (blocked radio signal) or an issue of them simply not buying/configuring a wide enough channel on the satellite.
Supoort told me to reset the device to factory settings and it would fix the problem. I asked why. The woman had no idea, although she did say it is a common issue and she has fixed it this way for many people. I told her this was very unlikely and I expected more professional support. She reiterated her confidence it would work. So I followed her instructions, went hiking again, and had the same issues you described with slow transmit/receive.

My support call experience leads me to believe: 1) It is a known issue as she told me on the phone, 2) Phone support people have not been told what caused the issue. 3) Support claims that if the red light is blinking you need to move to an open area because the radio signal is blocked. That is incorrect. The red light almost always blinks regardless of where the device is or how it is oriented. Messages go through during those tiny windows of time where it does not blink red. It appears random.

But it's really frustrating to pay all that money for the device and fees, find it does not work reliably, and receive no useful support to fix the issue.

Again, I believe the issue is not with the device but with their inability to provide proper satellite bandwidth for all their subscribes.

[DLP]

Yet at other times [messages] went through in a pouring rain, from inside my tent, while the InReach was under a half full pack and laying sideways.

My sister has sent message via InReach from inside her house!

That is interesting about the bandwidth because I did feel like some times of day were better/worse for the slow message transmission problem.

[Venchka]

1. The Iridium satellites are being replaced and reconfigured. The process is not complete yet.
2. The #1 customer for the Iridium system is the USA Government. ALL of the Government. Civilian. Military. The entire government.
3. Does it make sense now?
Good luck Y’all!
Wayne

[Odd Man Out]

Anyone have any experience with the new(ish) SPOT X. This new product had two way communication which has been the big advantage of the Garmin product over SPOT. One attractive feature is that it comes with a cell phone number, so you can send and receive text messages as if it were a cell phone. Also, it has a QWERTY keyboard (like an old Blackberry device) so you don't need to pair it with a cell phone to get a keyboard (in fact it doesn't have Bluetooth so it can't pair with a cell phone). It doesn't have maps, but it will tell you your GPS coordinates and how far you are from a pre-set waypoint and which direction it is with a digital compass. Their satellite system isn't as global. According to their service map, the 2-way communication only works in the N. America, S. America, Europe, and N. Africa. The other continents have only 1-way communication (crap, I really want to trek in Nepal). You're probably screwed if you get lost in Antarctica (in more ways than one). It's not as compact as the mini, but may be worth considering as an alternative to the full sized Garmins. Curious to ind out how they perform in the field.

[DuneElliot]

I have had the complete opposite experience...zero issues with messages going through. I have the older DeLormer InReach but it runs on the same satellites and never had an issue with messages being transmitted in a timely manner...except when under dense leaf cover. I moved to a slightly more open spot and had a message sent within 10 minutes even with trees all around.

I also hiked, recently, with someone who had the InReach Mini and who didn't have a message-sending issue over 7 days in the Wind River Range (also open and remote terrain). It honestly sounds like more of a device issue than anything.

[Venchka]

It’s possible that BLP got a dud unit.
Wayne

[FreeGoldRush]

I have had the complete opposite experience...zero issues with messages going through. I have the older DeLormer InReach but it runs on the same satellites and never had an issue with messages being transmitted in a timely manner...except when under dense leaf cover. I moved to a slightly more open spot and had a message sent within 10 minutes even with trees all around.
I also hiked, recently, with someone who had the InReach Mini and who didn't have a message-sending issue over 7 days in the Wind River Range (also open and remote terrain). It honestly sounds like more of a device issue than anything.

On some days my inreach has the experience you just described. But I expect it to work that way everyday I hike.

[jefals]

On the trt recently, I was sending inreach messages. some went thru fine. Some had the "blue circle" going around for days. This makes it look like they were having trouble going thru, and I'm not sure if they did in fact go thru, didn't go thru, or maybe they went thru without the map.
For the most part, tho, no problems. I was confused about one thing - sometimes, trying to send a message, the phone would say something like "can not determine location - send anyway or wait"? The inReach folks tell me that if I select "send anyway", it will send the message but without the map, whereas if you select wait - then it will send once it determines your location. (Since I wanted to send messages and then turn the thing off to save battery, I usually selected 'send anyway').

[TX Aggie]

I’m detecting a pattern with people who are having issues vs those without problems.

For those having issues: are you leaving the InReach powered up and tracking the entire time, or simply connecting when you want to send a message? If you’re leaving powered up, what are your logging and tracking settings?

[DuneElliot]

I’m detecting a pattern with people who are having issues vs those without problems.

For those having issues: are you leaving the InReach powered up and tracking the entire time, or simply connecting when you want to send a message? If you’re leaving powered up, what are your logging and tracking settings?

I only power up to send messages and have no tracking or logging info. I turn it on in the morning for a check-in message and then again in the evening. That's it. I also have the older, larger version. I'm starting to wonder if it's more the Mini that's the issue...or maybe software issue.

[jefals]

I also normally keep it off unless I want to send or check for messages. I've tested the battery charge with tracking off, - just letting it sit out back on my patio table for 8 hours - and where the battery went down about 30% . So, to preserve the battery - until I figure out what the problem is - I mainly keep it off.

[TX Aggie]

I only power up to send messages and have no tracking or logging info. I turn it on in the morning for a check-in message and then again in the evening. That's it. I also have the older, larger version. I'm starting to wonder if it's more the Mini that's the issue...or maybe software issue.

I also normally keep it off unless I want to send or check for messages. I've tested the battery charge with tracking off, - just letting it sit out back on my patio table for 8 hours - and where the battery went down about 30% . So, to preserve the battery - until I figure out what the problem is - I mainly keep it off.

Just an educated guess, but I’m thinking turning it off is where the issue lies with messages not going thru. Frankly, if you’re using the InReach primarily SOS device, I don’t understand why you would want tracking disabled. Those tracks will help others find you even if your message doesn’t get out because if someone is expecting a regular tracking interval, a sudden drop off could help alert them to both the possibility of you having issues as well as a course plot of where you are more likely to be.

Transmitting takes much more power and a consistent signal to get out vs receiving signals from multiple satellites.

Just my $0.02.

[DuneElliot]

Just an educated guess, but I’m thinking turning it off is where the issue lies with messages not going thru. Frankly, if you’re using the InReach primarily SOS device, I don’t understand why you would want tracking disabled. Those tracks will help others find you even if your message doesn’t get out because if someone is expecting a regular tracking interval, a sudden drop off could help alert them to both the possibility of you having issues as well as a course plot of where you are more likely to be.

Transmitting takes much more power and a consistent signal to get out vs receiving signals from multiple satellites.

Just my $0.02.

Complete opposite. I'm one of those who has zero problems with messages going through and I always keep it off.

[Venchka]

Just an educated guess, but I’m thinking turning it off is where the issue lies with messages not going thru. Frankly, if you’re using the InReach primarily SOS device, I don’t understand why you would want tracking disabled. Those tracks will help others find you even if your message doesn’t get out because if someone is expecting a regular tracking interval, a sudden drop off could help alert them to both the possibility of you having issues as well as a course plot of where you are more likely to be.

Transmitting takes much more power and a consistent signal to get out vs receiving signals from multiple satellites.

Just my $0.02.

Bingo! Where have we heard that advice before?
CJ: You don’t have the new Mini. The reports here seem to be coming from the new Mini. However, I didn’t count every post.
Wayne

[DuneElliot]

Bingo! Where have we heard that advice before?
CJ: You don’t have the new Mini. The reports here seem to be coming from the new Mini. However, I didn’t count every post.
Wayne

That was the point I put forward with my experience being that I have no issues with the full-size device...and that it seemed like a Mini issue

[FreeGoldRush]

I’m detecting a pattern with people who are having issues vs those without problems.
For those having issues: are you leaving the InReach powered up and tracking the entire time, or simply connecting when you want to send a message? If you’re leaving powered up, what are your logging and tracking settings?

It stays powered up and on my shoulder strap in front of me with antenna pointing skyward. It attempts to send my Location every ten minutes, but many of those don't go out due to the poor transmit capbsbility of the device/network. Many Location points are lost. On several nights it remained powered, outside tent/tarp, with antenna pointing skyward. One time I was woken at 3:00 a.m. by the successful transmit tone. It finally sent the messages I "sent" six hours earlier before going to sleep.

[FreeGoldRush]

My issues are with the full size; not the mini.