Message threads disappeared from handheld unit and from smartphone

I’ve never actually given this much thought. Best guess would be that messages do not sync between the device and the web site. There is no reason to do so. Messages that originate on the device are sent by satellite and pass through the web site on their way to the recipient. Messages addressed to the device pass through the web site on the way to the satellite network and the device. 

The single exception might be messages which you manually delete on one end or the other. That change would have to sync since it’s not sent via satellite. The mobile app would have to handle that. Also, of course, the app has to keep itself updated for messages that do not originate in the app itself. But that updates only the app, not the device or the web site. 

But I’m just guessing.

Messages don't sync. When they vanished off the 66i, did your unit happen to have any issues like lock up or other odd behavior? I was on a backpacking trip, my unit locked up. Once I got it restarted, all the messages on the unit were gone. 

Chris

Thanks, Chris.  No, my 66i did not lock up.  The only unusual thing that preceeded the disappearance was that Garmin Express said the 66i needed to be updated to 4.20 even though it was already at 4.20.  

Did your message threads also disappear from the Explore smartphone app?

By the way, a couple of people say messages do not sync in the Explore smartphone app.  But there is a sync button under the messages tab, and when it's activated it indicates that it is syncing.  However it never completes.

I don’t see a sync button on the Messages tab.

There is one for each device on the Devices tab. That one syncs the individual device with the app.

There is one on the Account tab. That one syncs the app with the web site.

That said, it is usually unnecessary to tap any of these buttons. Syncs in all directions usually happen automatically.

If any of the syncs are failing consistently, call tech support. It is not unusual to see an occasional failed sync. Although it may be coincidence, it seems to me that this happens more when I have a GPS activity with a lot of points - several thousand. But it always succeeds eventually. Syncs that never complete are a cause for a support call.