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Just did a 3 day backpacking trip in the Yosemite High Sierra with the 66i - Had major issues making the unit unreliable

NVRDUNN
over 4 years ago

Just got back from Yosemite backcountry, where I was with a group of 7. I was using my Garmin 66i as my primary navigation device, PLB and communication device (was a Scout outing). We did have normal backups, maps/compass, and a SPOT. Here are the observed issues with the device:

  1. Device lockup
    1. Pressing the power button would show the last screen you were on
      1. The behavior was like the buttons were not working/display not updating
      2. Most of the time I could press & hold power to shut down and power back on
      3. Video: (https://photos.app.goo.gl/5azAMqmQHkw2YVDq5)
      4. One time the power button wouldn't respond, it would only power off display once the timeout hit
        1. In an effort to gain access back to the device, pulled the SD-CARD, which changed the screen to a rolling shutter look. At that point, the power button started responding and force a shutdown. 
        2. Have a video of this occurrence from my cell phone (https://photos.app.goo.gl/C3hKPh4dwq54CJYR9)
    2. Stopped counting after 3 times in 2 days
    3. As noted, most of the time had to power cycle the device to restore normal behavior
    4. It appears that when the unit did lockup it no longer was sending tracking points every 10 min until I noticed the issue and power cycled.
  2. Bluetooth dropout (for comm with a cell phone)
    1. Happened a couple of times, had to power cycle GPS to restore Bluetooth connectivity
  3. During one of the lockups/restarts, all messages that had been sent/received on the device disappeared. Only new messages going forward would show up
  4. Activity page has garbage data and is of no use, had to go into "Recording Controls" to view all the data

Did pair with a tempe device, which was nice to get air temp. Also got the backpack mount, which was a must. Left that mount on my pack and switched to the carabiner mount when hiking without the pack.

Having used many of the older GPSMAP devices and Delorme InReach, I was really looking forward to this device. After this outing, I just can't trust this device as my primary navigation and PLB, which is disappointing for the cost of this device. I should be able to trust the device that might save the life of one of the Scouts that we responsible for or myself. Would have to say, if an issue did come up we would have had to use the SPOT since it was locked up...

Garmin, if you want to discuss these issues and not sure if there is a log that I can send, please reach out. I want to help make this device better as it's a great marriage of product lines but us users need to be able to trust it will be responsive when we need it.

-Chris