VIRB Elite, locks up and will not respond to any of the buttons

Not sure why, but don't pull the battery to fix it as IMHO I think that causes even more problems. Hold the power button in for 20 seconds and that will allow the camera to shut down and restart properly.

Ok, I'll give that a try next time this happens. Now, the unit is essentially new, so I am concerned that it is happening in the first place, but also, since I have taken the battery out on 2 occasions to fix this, hopefully there will not be additional problems awaiting. Any idea what those further problems night be or become?

I think if you shut off by removing the battery, it leaves corrupted files behind which cause more problems.

Ugh...is there a clear-cut way to identify and remove those corrupted files?

I dont think there is a differenc between pulling the battery of trying to kill it with the off switch. Compare with a totally locked computer. But it will be better for the battery connector to try the off button first.

I have the same issues with mine. Really frustrating.

If you like you can always reset the unit to default settings. Press arrow down while powering on. Hold arrow down until asked about reset to default. You can also erase the sd card. Now there wont be any traces left.

I have a new VIRB Elite and a VIRB. My VIRB elite has been a massive pain. I can't edit settings without the thinking sign coming up and it often hangs with a green light showing and I need to reset the device using the above settings. The VIRB (non elite) has worked fine. I am just going to send the VIRB elite back to Garmin to get a new one. It is to much to put up with from a new device in my opinion

I dont think there is a differenc between pulling the battery of trying to kill it with the off switch.

Think what you want but when I pull the battery to stop the VIRB when it looks like it's stopped responding, it often continues to do the same thing. When I got into the habit of using the power button, the VIRB became a lot more reliable. It's only locked perhaps twice for me in the last two weeks.

Also, the rubber bumper in the battery compartment may start moving on you if you pull the battery often. You can see mine here had moved, preventing the battery cover from closing. Better to avoid this by taking the battery out as little as necessary.

Ugh...is there a clear-cut way to identify and remove those corrupted files?

No need to look - but I think it does make sense to wipe the card clean, IN THE CAMERA. Some people just delete the files via computer, but it's far better to do it in the camera itself. This is the same with GoPro cameras; they recommend clearing the card in the camera too.

Geomonster: I agree its better to shut off with button than remove battery.
Anyone confirmed it is an actual format taking place or is it just deleting the files?

Try holding the power button in for 10-20 seconds instead of pulling the battery to recover from a lockup. You just might end up with a more reliable camera.