Garmin Messenger iOS - Recent Threads

Can I share my Garmin Inreach Mini 3 with my family accounts?

4783710 — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 06:24:28 GMT

I have a Garmin InReach Mini 3 and I pay for the subscription and it is paired to my iPhone. How can I share this with my son who is going for an outback trek without having to reset the whole device? Also does the subscription that I am paying for attach to my garmin account or does it attach to the garmin inreach mini 3 device itself?

RE: Can I share my Garmin Inreach Mini 3 with my family accounts?

4783710 — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:33:02 GMT

Hi, Garmin,

My son does not have a Fenix, he just has an iPhone and my Garmin InReach Mini 3 Plus. How can he connect the inreach mini 3 plus to his iphone and have his messager details and his livetrack name? Right now, if he connects my garmin inreach mini 3 plus to his Garmin Messenger on his iPhone, he has to login with my Garmin account to be able to connect to the InReach device which uses my name and my mobile number. that won't work for our sharing purposes.

RE: Verification Code when setting up Messenger

4291012 — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:17:27 GMT

I just had the same issue and same remedy. I switched from Vz to T-MOBILE with a new S26 ans couldn't receive the verification code until I texted "HELP" to the above number. Probably wasted 2 hrs trying to troubleshoot w Garmin.

Thanks so much

Verification Code when setting up Messenger

7477556 — Sun, 20 Aug 2023 07:32:43 GMT

I am not receiving the 'verificaiton code' text message when setting up messenger. I have asked for the code to be sent 4 times and it has not come through. Can you hlep me with this?

RE: Can I share my Garmin Inreach Mini 3 with my family accounts?

BeneGi — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:00:56 GMT

The easiest way to do it would be to just hand it to him set up like it is. the subscription is linked to your account and the device itself. This has been a problem for people owning an InReach and buying the Fenix 8 Pro, only one active device per InReach User Account was possible.

If your son isn’t already on its way: Install the Explore or Messenger App on his phone, connect the InReach to his watch (if a compatible watch is used) as a remote. Don’t change the settings on the InReach but connect it to the App and to the watch like it is.
On the watches there will be no problem, in our hiking group we connect 3 watches as a remote do my InReach Mini 2 at the same time. If you need to log into the App with your account to use it for communication, i dont know. If you want to record also a track on the InReach, disable automatic sync in the app and download the record before you sync. This way it wont appear under your account.

iPhone update (26.3.1), problems with my vivoactive 5

3835512 — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 21:56:11 GMT

Since the latest iPhone update (26.3.1), my phone alarms are no longer mirrored on my Vivoactive 5. In the previous version this worked fine, but now the alarms don’t show up on the watch anymore.
Has anyone experienced the same issue or found a solution?

como sincronizo whats app en mi garmin fenix 8

2600278 — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 02:56:42 GMT

No puedo sincronizar mi whats app en el reloj. Cómo puedo hacerlo

"Add contacts in the Garmin Messenger app"

Volker — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 06:57:25 GMT

If I choose "New Message" on my F8x or Epix 2 Pro (all on newest sw), I always only get "add contacts in the Garmin Messenger app". Of course I have contacts in the Messenger app/on my M+ available. I am on iOS 2.2.1 (1182785) MESSanger app version. Is it just an user error/I am to dumb to check it or ...???

I have power cycled phone/watches, unlinked watches from Mess app and readded them. Did not help.

RE: "Add contacts in the Garmin Messenger app"

Demers0317 — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 14:00:40 GMT

I’m experiencing the same problem contacts don’t show in Garmin Messenger app (V 2.6) and Fenix 7 gives me the prompt to add contacts in the Garmin Messenger app. Has it been confirmed that Messenger will only show contacts who also have the app. Is their a fix for this issue?

Garmin Messenger does not always show the same battery percentage as shown on InReach Mini 3 device

JasonPursell — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:35:01 GMT

[UPDATE 1/11/26]: I've figured out what is happening and have updated the steps to reproduce below. This is a cosmetic/temporary bug only, but should probably be fixed because it could be encountered after charging the battery]

I also posted this in the InReach Mini 3 Plus forum, but posting here for visibility since it's probably a Messenger bug and not a device bug.

[mention:529b5ec2b19b4e38be1e1d2d86ed6846:46448885d0e64133bbfbf0cd7b0fd6f7]

Issue: The battery percentage shown in Garmin Messenger device status page is not always consistent with what is shown on the InReach Mini 3 device itself if the app is opened after the InReach battery was recently charged to more than what it was the last time Messenger connected.

Environment:

InReach Mini 3 Plus
iPhone (17 pro, iOS 26.2)
Garmin Messenger app 2.6 (1423752)

Prerequisites: The InReach is registered and paired with the Garmin Messenger app.

Step to Reproduce:

Close the Garmin Messenger app. It should not be open or connected to the InReach for the next step. Important step
Let the InReach Mini 3 discharge to a lower battery level. I chose 90%.
Now open Garmin Messenger app let it connect to the InReach. View the battery level on the status page. It should match the level of the InReach (e.g. 90%).
Close the Garmin Messenger app so that is no longer connected to the InReach. Leave it closed for the next step. Important step
Plug in and recharge the InReach battery to 100%.
Once the InReach is fully charged unplug and start it if it's not already. Wait for it to boot up fully.
Now open the Garmin Messenger app on the phone and view the InReach status page.

Observed: The battery percentage is lower in the Messenger app than it is on the InReach device. In my case the Messenger app read 94% while the InReach read 100%.

Expected: Battery level in the Messenger app is the same as on the InReach device.

Workaround/Mitigation:

Simply waiting for the InReach battery to naturally drain one percentage point on the device causes the app to "resync" and display the correct value again. In the example I used for the steps to reproduce both Messenger and the InReach would now show 99%.

NOTE: You can speed up this workaround in a couple of ways. 1. by setting your phone to airplane mode with no wifi and checking for new messages on the InReach while inside a building (to force faster battery drain). Or 2. you can close the Messenger app so that the InReach will be forced to use sattelite. After the InReach reaches 99%, reopen the app and it will show 99% too.

This is really just a cosmetic issue only. It is some kind of initialization/optimization bug where the messenger app is not setting the battery level to the new value after the InReach has been recharged while the app was closed. One interesting thing is that the Messenger app chose to display 94%, not 90% that it showed in step 3 of the Steps to Reproduce. Maybe that's a clue as to what or where the bug is?

These two images show the results after Steps to Reproduce:

These two images are after the "workaround" where InReach device's battery drained from 100% to 99%. Now Messenger shows correct value. I actually watched Messenger update in real time:

RE: Messenger not connecting to Venu 3

Garmin - DK — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 19:31:21 GMT

While the Venu 3 is not specifically called out in this Support Center article, the troubleshooting will be the same: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=4U1rUmI9LrAPazoGCKpuC6

Please give those steps a try, especially the ones in the "IMPORTANT" box.

Messenger not connecting to Venu 3

Ɛpsilon — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:46:28 GMT

Messenger app and inReach work perfectly fine with my Enduro 3

I add the messenger app to my Venu 3 - then add it as a device to the iOS Messenger app - it adds it, but is permanently stuck on Not Connected, the Registered and Last Seen time/date is when I add it - and Messenger on the watch is permanently on Setup Required

have deleted/re-added to both Connect and Messenger

RE: Verification Code when setting up Messenger

spatty999 — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 17:13:29 GMT

I had the same issue and sent a text to 31061 (it was not blocked) and magically the verification text came through. Thanks!

RE: "Add contacts in the Garmin Messenger app"

GrigorisLambakis — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 16:44:22 GMT

Confirmed the contacts that appear in the messenger app on my phone have the messenger app set up on theirs. This is also very strange. In today's update of the messenger app (2.4.1), if someone sends me a message through Messenger, it now appears on the watch as a unique contact. If I go to select new message, the known error "add contacts ..." appears..

Edit : It seems that I can now send a message from my watch only to contacts that I have sent - replied to. The "add contacts..." message no longer appears. soft ver on watch 23.16B

RE: "Add contacts in the Garmin Messenger app"

candy_dish — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 15:12:56 GMT

GrigorisLambakis Do your contacts in the Messenger app actually have the Messenger app installed on their phones? That's the only way I was able to get them to show up on my Garmin watch.

RE: "Add contacts in the Garmin Messenger app"

GrigorisLambakis — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 08:07:52 GMT

the same problem. If I choose "New Message" on my Epix 2 Pro , I always only get "add contacts in the Garmin Messenger app". Of course I have contacts in the Messenger app/on my M+ available. I am on iOS 2.4 (1341188) MESSanger app version, and IOS 26 beta 7 15 pro max . unlinked watches from Mess app and readded them uninstall , reinstall apps connect , pair unpair etc Did not help. Any idea or solution? Thanks

RE: Verification Code when setting up Messenger

8073312 — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 21:36:30 GMT

Wow, thank you! So it didn't appear that 31061 was blocked for me. But I texted HELP to that number and received a canned response. Next I tried the text verification and it came right through. I appreciate you sharing what worked, you really saved me a lot of time and frustration.

RE: can i use messenger without an in reach device

6739012 — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 16:49:15 GMT

Thanks. I think my query was clumsy. I was just wondering if I could use Messenger without an in reach type device when I have no wi fi or data. The type of message (text, WhatsApp, e mail or whatever) is less important. I understand from your answer that I cannot. Most helpful of you. My occasional need to communicate “off grid” does not justify the cost of getting an in reach so I will have to think of some other way.

can i use messenger without an in reach device

6739012 — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:31:56 GMT

Totally daft question probably, but can I use the Messenger App to send and receive text (SMS) messages without having an in Reach device. My phone and watch are compatible. I want to use it to communicate by SMS only without access to wi fi or phone network. I don't have an in reach device of any sort or other satellite comms device.

RE: can i use messenger without an in reach device

BeneGi — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 16:06:58 GMT

I think you don’t understand some things.
SMS is only possible when you have access to to the mobile phone network. What you seem to do is like calling without network connection, this wont work.

Garmin Messenger doesn’t use the SMS protocol but uses a data connection to send messages like WhatsApp or other Messengers do. It first tries WiFi, then the mobile phone network (data connection) and if an Inreach device is connected, it will try it if your phone is offline. Similar to iMessage falling back to SMS when there is no data connection (green checkmark instead of a blue one).

You can use Messenger without an Inreach device, but you still need some sort of Data connection your phone can use.

RE: Not receiving authentication SMS

Rob-UK — Thu, 15 May 2025 16:00:48 GMT

I have exactly the same problem in UAE. Etisalat tells me that it is blocked by regulation. Garmin support have been very unhelpful. To even log a ticket I was required to update the firmware on my iPhone to a version released 2 days before! It is clear that the UAE number is the problem, as the messenger app on the same phone can generate a verification code for a UK number.

Looking at the UAE Telecommunications Regulations, any SMS from international needs to have the sender's ID registered in the UAE. Clearly Garmin or their SMS carrier are not following the UAE law, resulting in the blocking of the SMS. Garmin support tell me that they are sending the SMS, so it's my problem to sort out with the carrier. Garmin needs to fix their system, or give an alternative method of verification.

Not receiving authentication SMS

5572168 — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 12:51:41 GMT

Hello, i am not able to receive an authentication SMS to sign in my Garmin Messenger account. I live in UAE, and my cell carrier is e& (etisalat)

please help me find a solution to this.

Verification email every time I use Garmin Messenger

OscarOML — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 19:49:27 GMT

Every time I log into Garmin Messenger I receive an email with a verification code. How do I resolve this?

RE: Verification email every time I use Garmin Messenger

2866772 — Thu, 01 May 2025 15:41:25 GMT

Thanks for asking this. I was having the same issue and deleting/reinstalling seemed to fix it for me as well.

RE: Verification Code when setting up Messenger

ckmotorka — Sat, 19 Apr 2025 00:46:18 GMT

Ok, so, after spending way too much time in chats with both Garmin & my cell carrier, I finally got it working. I saw reference to the number the verification should come from (31061) so I texted that number and I had a message pop up asking if I wanted to unblock that number! [How and when it got blocked, I have no idea]. I unblocked it, sent another text [help] and received a reply. I immediately tried the verification and it worked like a charm. For the record, I had checked my spam/blocked folder multiple times and there were no texts from that number in there. Anyway, if you're having this problem, give this a try before spending a lot of time going back and forth with Garmin support.