InReach turning on inside of backpack

Yesterday I opened my backpack at a trail head to find my Garmin InReach Explore+ turned on inadvertently with the battery essentially dead... I noticed that for some reason now my GPS does not require the confirmation selection of "turn on" to power the device. I use to have to [power button] -> [left button] -> [check button] to power the device. I cannot find a setting to regain this behavior. Was there a software update??? This seems like a step in the wrong direction and now I will have to worry about storing my GPS in a location it is less likely to get activated

Does anyone know how to change the startup sequence to what I describe? Breaking out the map and compass although a good refresher was not what I was planning on. 

  • The latest firmware update deleted the power on confirmation (confirmed by the release notes.) I'm not sure why this was done, perhaps due to complaints about the extra keypresses necessary to turn it on? But I agree that it was a good feature and should at least be selectable. I definitely want it back, as it is right now it's an accident waiting to happen (or I guess already has happened.)

  • The feature has been removed. You can try contacting tech support to let them know you don't like it. I'm sure there are a lot of people who agree with you (myself included). However, none of the newer iR devices have this feature. Somebody at Garmin has decided it's not needed - field experience notwithstanding. So I doubt that they're going to put it back.

  • Interesting, they did retain the "Turn Off" confirmation.

  • After purchase, the first time I started the unit and noticed the turn-on confirmation I thought 'wow, these people understand outdoor gear.'  I wonder why this regressive decision was made.

  • The original design came from DeLorme. The SE+/Explorer+ were the last models actually designed there, before Garmin purchased DeLorme. I suspect that Garmin has a different philosophy and, perhaps, a different demographic in mind. Starting with the 66i, the newer units are full-featured handhelds first, with iR features as an afterthought. This inevitably leads to different design decisions. 

  • If you're saying that Garmin seems to understand the true outdoors demographic less than Delorme then you may be right. This particular piece of gear is an emergency unit and may not be used at all until it is needed, at which time it must simply work. There is really no downside to the turn-on confirmation other than perhaps as you intimate, someone has decided they want a 'cohesive user interface across the product line' or some marketing pablum that isn't going to be very important when you reach into your pack to activate an SOS and the battery is dead. They could have least required a long press to turn on the unit, as it stands now it is very easy for some object to activate the switch unintentionally.

  • Furthermore, the GPSMAP 66i, with an identical, physically, on/off button, includes neither the "Turn On" confirmation nor the "Turn Off" confirmation.

  • I wonder how many people only use this for the SOS feature. I use the device extensively as a GPS and satellite communication device when in the Backcountry. I think the Inreach mini would be a better choice for people just wanting the SOS feature and nothing else.

    Unfortunately I think this unit was near perfect the day I bought it. Just nearly every firmware update has left a bad taste in my mouth for some reason or another

  • I have been caught out TWICE with zero battery after it turned on inside my pack. Removing the confirm to power  on is a ridiculous change move  and could very well lead to loss of life. The Delorme InReach has been turned from a reliable outback companion into into a very risky proposition.

    Does anyone have a solution; either mechanical or software to reduce the risk of being without this essential device

  • You can open a support ticket. I don't think it's going to do any good, but the more people who complain, the better the chances are. Do note, though, that this is not a "new" change. I don't recall when the power-on confirmation disappeared, but it's been along time ago.

    Now sure what kind of pointy objects you have in your pack. The power switch is flush with the unit body, and it's located fairly close to the antenna. Difficult to push by accident, I would think. And it takes a fairly long press. Not that it means anything, but anecdotally, it has never happened to me with any of the iR units. At this point in time, virtually all of them (other than the Messenger) share this physical design.

    One thing to check - be sure it's really OFF before you stow it. It does have a power-off confirmation. If you fail to confirm, it stays on. If you have something pending send, I believe you are going to get a second confirmation. If you ignore that, the unit stays on. Screen goes blank, red LED blinks. I don't know if it turns off if the send ever succeeds, or not.

    Lacking a f/w solution, you might try a mechanical work-around. Perhaps a small piece of cardboard and a rubber band to hold it on? I don't know if there are any available cases which might help. These are pretty old devices. Maybe worth looking around, though.