Inreach message and location request not working while in expedition mode

66i FW 9.20, while in expedition mode will not receive messages sent from the Garmin share webpage, nor will respond to location requests from the web either. Not even after several hours with good sky view (I thought that would check for new mail every hour or so). When switched to regular mode, it will receive pending messages in a few minutes, and will provide also locations asked from the web page. Is that normal?

0 skyeye over 2 years ago

I had some test with expedition mode yesterday. This is in fact pain.

However, I did receive messages which were sent from portal as well as from mapshare. OK, there was delay, the messages did not very fast, thought I was underway and had tracking on with 10min moving.

The location request is an other story again, it works sometimes apparently, often not

0 twolpert over 2 years ago

It's unclear just what expedition mode DOES on any given device. I found some info that indicates that message listens are disabled. That would disable both reception of messages and the location requests. OTOH, I found some info that indicates that messages are implicitly received each time a track point is sent (which is standard behavior - so I believe this to be true. OTOH, some sources say that message notification is disabled. While you might have received a message, you won't know it until you look for it.

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=ptb7ZMockw1DIjBf0aH1z5&productID=623975&searchQuery=expedition&tab=topics

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=xpp5RS5P8J50bUSgy7PoV8&productID=623975&searchQuery=expedition&tab=topics

0 skyeye over 2 years ago in reply to twolpert

as all the explanations in manuals etc are somehow not so clear, here one test today.

3 units 66i

sent location request to all 3, and also a short msg from the portal. Then went for a walk in the town, sitting in park for a while etc. All units are in expedition mode and flashing green LED. The tracking is on, in fact set to 10min. Abt every 10min really a tracking point is sent. After abt 2.5h one of the units replied to the tracking request and dropped the asterisk at that point.

One unit received the outbound message within next tracking point time, the other two after abt 1.5h and 2h, thought they did definitely had contact via Iridium in the mean time, either by sending a track point or as I hope making a mailcheck each hour.

So yes, so far very unclear, the usefulness of the location request particularly in expedition mode are rather questionable.

During all the time there was a clear view of sky, may be some short restrictions due to shadows of buildings etc in the town.

The sad thing is, that location requests are almost the only commands which can be sent via external access to professional account via API from other platform.

0 skyeye over 2 years ago in reply to twolpert

>some sources say that message notification is disabled. While you might have received a message, you won't know it until you look for it.<

OK, checked this one too. In exp mode, even there is setting that notification should ring the bell until read, here it will not do so, but the green LED, which normally flashes abt every 4 seconds, will now produce two flashes instead of one every 4 sec. By that the user is supposed to recognize that there is msg waiting.