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Tracking stops, I have to send a test message for it to start again

8348425
over 1 year ago

Hi,

I've had my inreach mini 2 for a few months now, and its had a really annoying bug that has not yet been resolved through firmware updates.

During a lot of my activities, tracking will stop without any kind of notification -- the tracking 'on' symbol is still showing on the screen, the navigation screen still shows breadcrumb history. I only know it has stopped when I check in the Explore app, and the blue line has stopped. I have to send a test message to get tracking to resume, and when it does, a straight blue line is drawn from where it stopped to where it starts again, having not saved my track during that time it wasn't.

I can't see a pattern to it. My questions:

1) why does tracking stop without me asking it to stop, and without any warning or notification it has stopped, with the tracking symbol still showing tracking is on?

2) why does tracking resume when I send a message?

3) why has my track not been saved between the time it stopped to the time I send a message?

I have tracking set to high detail, and I usually check my track in the Explore app occasionally during the activity just to check everything is working.

Im happy to share gpx files of activities that have had this problem.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I have not seen this behavior.

    IMO, the most likely cause of the behavior you see is that the device lost its fix. This is consistent with the "straight line" between distant points. Both M1 and M2 are notorious for losing their fix and being slow to (re)acquire. Some iR devices apparently suspend sending track points (via iR) when they lack a fix. Presumably, they would also suspend logging points. This is not, however, consistent with up to date "breadcrumbs" on the mapping screen. That would also require a fix.

    Sending a message would likely cause the device to try very hard to get a fix first.

    The M1 had a glance (in the up/down arrow rotation from the home screen) for location. It would display "wait for GPS" if the device had no fix. Of course, the Location glance attempted to acquire. This is missing from the M2. On the M2, similar functionality (display of coordinates) is available on the third page of the Navigation glance. (From Home screen, up/down to Navigation, OK, down twice to coordinate page.)

    The next time you notice that "tracking has stopped", you might try the Navigation glance to see if the device lacks a fix. This is not entirely conclusive because the glance will attempt to acquire (because you asked for coordinates). The other thing you might try is to carry the device in a way which gives it a good sky view. The best location is high on your shoulder (for example, on a pack strap).

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    What is your "send interval" (settings -> Tracking -> Send Interval)

    Track set to high detail is different from the Send Interval.  High detail impacts what you see on the device.  Send Interval is how often the point gets sent to the servers.

    Also, how do hold/store your mini 2 while on these outings?  Is it in a pocket or backpack until you send a message?  Maybe it's getting GPS but not iridium satellite connection. It should still make up the points in this case.

    All of this is I assume is via the Mini 2 directly and not via the inReach widget on your watch?

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to ekutter-dnu

    Inreach is mounted on a quarter-turn mount with a clear view of the sky.

    Send interval is either 10min, 5min, or 2min depending on the needs of the family viewing my progress. Most of the time, it is set to 5min.

    I typically view my progress and change settings with the Explore app on my android phone. In fact, the only way I know tracking has stopped is when I look at it in the Explore app.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 8348425

    Well that takes care of my questions.  That really should just work then.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to ekutter-dnu

    If this happens frequently (and you are not riding in an area with challenging conditions), open a support ticket. You may have a hardware problem.