Mini 2 sometimes has the Bluetooth insignia in the middle of the blue arrow.

FWIW, Garmin Explore iOS stopped giving device position for my Fenix 7 as well, shortly after updating to 16.22.  It still syncs the active activity track, but the position triangle no longer shows the BT icon and stays at the activity starting point.  I tried killing the app, rebooting the watch, rebooting the phone, repairing watch to phone, turning PDL off & back on.  Nothing worked… so something is definitely broken between Garmin devices and Garmin Explore app.  I have not tried it with my inReach mini 2.  It had worked for years before.

Thanks for the info. It seems to be a widespread issue.

For now, I just turned PDL off and use the phone to provide location. Live activity track still syncs, but I would rather not use my phone for location, I figure it’s a bit more battery drain.

Yes, I don't see the sense in using the app, which just causes the phone and device to drain faster. I would use the app in a situation where a lot of custom texting is required.

I have exactly the same problem with my eTrex Solar since at least a month ago and I thought I messed up some settings. Tried everything you mentioned except resetting my eTrex Solar. Garmin really sucks in software.

How long did it last before it stopped working again? I am contemplating whether to reset my eTrex Solar.