InReach Mini 2 wont activate

I have been thinking about getting an InReach Mini 2 for a long time, decided to go on a solo hike tomorrow so got one after work at REI. I went through the whole signup process and it's been stuck on "Activation Pending" for three hours. Customer service says "oh there's a delay, we have no idea how long it will take." I'd intended to test it tonight. I think I'm going to return it, if a $400 device can't quickly complete something as basic as device registration I don't have very much confidence it will actually work in an emergency. Am I wrong to think that?

  • Based on forum traffic and Garmin's posted maintenance windows, Garmin has been having a LOT of problems with activation lately. That's not an excuse - just an apparent fact.

    IMO, never wait until the last minute. Sign up and activate well in advance of needing the device. By "well in advance", I mean days or weeks, not hours.

    Note that it is very rare to have an outage which affects SOS or (all forms of) messaging. 

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