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Help: mini 2 refuses to pair with S22 ultra (Explore) or PC (Express)

cantareSF
11 months ago

I'm about at the end of my rope here. I have an inreach mini 2, galaxy s22 ultra (new) and s8+ (old) smartphones, and a couple of Windows PCs.  

  • I had the mini working fine with my S8+ and Explore. I just want to pair it with Explore and Messenger on my new s22 ultra. All Garmin software is current on the S22. Bluetooth is enabled and working fine with my Fenix 6X in Connect. 
  • I can initiate device search in Explore, select "pair phone" in the mini settings, and click the 'InReach Mini 2" entry that appears on the Explore pairing screen. But it fails to connect, just times out.
  • If I unpair and re-pair in android settings, I can get as far as the passkey exchange, but no farther. I fired up the old S8+, and the mini sync'd successfully in Explore. I quit that app, unpaired it from bluetooth settings, and then turned off the s8 bluetooth radio just in case pairing with the old phone was an issue. No dice, still same behavior when pairing with the S22.
  • I tried installing Messenger on s22 next. It connects to the mini & says the device requires a software update. But the update always fails to transfer. My s22 is on a 500 megabit fiber wifi network or strong 5G, and the devices are literally touching.
  • I then tried plugging the inreach into two different PCs using different USB cables and ports. I know the USB data connection is up, because the mini appears as a browsable mass storage device in the Windows filesystem (win 10, win 7). But Garmin Express (yes, it's up to date!) will not connect to it, just searches endlessly. It can see my Fenix 6X when I plug that in, but not the mini.

I'm stuck. I've rebooted. I've retried. I've waited. I can't update the device software, if that's the issue. After returning an Index S2 "smart" scale that absolutely refused to recognize my profile via Connect, I am rapidly reaching the conclusion that Garmin software is a confusing hodgepodge of overlapping functionalities & unintuitive UX that couldn't network its way out of a proverbial paper bag with both hands and a static routing table. What am I missing here? 



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  • +1 11 months ago

    Can't speak to anything Android. With regard to Express on Windows, this smacks of some kind of problem with the device itself or its file system. You might try a factory reset on the M2. This is a big hammer. It will require you to repeat the outdoor portion of device activation.

    Or you might open a support ticket/

  • 0 11 months ago

    Hello I'm not sure exactly where to start here; however, I would recommed the following and make sure you are doing it with only 1 phone the main phone you want to be using with the device. 

    On your Messenger App

    1. Open the Messenger app
    2. Touch the profile icon or   (gear icon) in the top left.
    3. Touch Selected Device . 
    4. Touch Remove Device.
    5. Touch  Remove again to confirm selection.

    On your Phone

    1. Go to Settings
    2. Select Connections 
    3. Select Bluetooth and then select your device 
    4. Select Forget/unpair device

    After the device has been removed from the Messenger app and forgotten from the Bluetooth settings please pair to the Explore app with the steps in the article below

    Pairing Instructions for Garmin Explore Compatible Handhelds

    Once successfully paired to the Explore app you can pair back up to the Messenger app. 

    If you have tried these steps and pairing to the Explore app still fails please let us know so we can investigate further!

  • 0 11 months ago

    I did all of what Leslie suggested in my various attempts before posting. I didn't really want to do the reset, but with a trip looming I had little option. It did resolve the issue--after I activated again, Garmin Express saw it when plugged into PC, and I got the software update done. Explore paired as normal after that. I uninstalled Messenger entirely, was just using as a troubleshooting tool.

    No idea what was so screwed up on the device, or why it was recognized by the old phone and Windows but not Express or Explore app on the S22. But the factory reset did work.