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

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:

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.
Bluetooth dropout (for comm with a cell phone)
1. Happened a couple of times, had to power cycle GPS to restore Bluetooth connectivity
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
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

0 NVRDUNN over 4 years ago in reply to Volker

Just had one map enabled. Holding off on applying the firmware upgrade and opened a case with Garmin and they have yet to respond to the case. So far the lockups haven't happened since we are back, the activity page still shows garbage. It worries me that it was the conditions (location and/or altitude) that influenced the issue.

0 daniel over 4 years ago in reply to NVRDUNN

I think my unit shipped with an early firmware like that and I did have a lockup with an SD card on day 1. But then I put the newest firmware on it and on a recent 2 week trip I didn't see any of the issues you described. I think if you update, you'll be fine, and hey in 4.1 they actually added a contact book feature too.

But it's yet another classic example of Garmin launching products before they are ready. This recent article discusses this EXACT issue: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/06/competitor-software-instability.html

0 daniel over 4 years ago in reply to NVRDUNN

I think their intention is actually that you use the highly configurable "Trip Computer" screen. you can literally customize it to put whatever data you want on it. I'm not even sure the "current activity" section is in the latest firmware. I can't find it on mine.

0 NVRDUNN over 4 years ago in reply to daniel

Yeah, i've been communicating with Garmin support via email. They confirmed that a couple of the issues I had were fixed in the latest firmware (which released after the trip). They also confirmed that they found another bug based on the logs I sent them. It included an "arithmetic exception and a semaphore deadlock" and "run time exception" which was stated to be a known issue. Based on that feedback they are working on more updates which is good to hear. So far I can't reproduce any of them except the "current activity" which still shows garbage info.

I agree they should have included the "CORE" functions from the InReach from the start, would have saved them some negative press due to the lack of those features.

-Chris