Garmin Explore

In following the official Garmin channel on YouTube, these 2 videos have just popped up in my subscription feed. The app is shown working with the Fenix 5 Plus series too, but I can’t find the app in the Apple App Store yet though. Exciting stuff non the less.

https://youtu.be/6BznYk-5UtY
https://youtu.be/nCXSaYlR4mI

Edit: links don’t work now, see later posts.

0 bgrenda over 6 years ago

iOS app is available but it only mentions the Instinct and the GPSMAP66 as supported devices. If the 5+ devices are supported, I'd expect a firmware to drop some time soon.

The 5.52 Beta is out, but there is no mention of Garmin Explore in release notes. Anyway, the pre-5.10 betas were not mentioning Spotify support, it came as surprise. Fingers crossed.

0 bgrenda over 6 years ago

The YT video on Garmin Explore is back:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMTMb_-7qyA
It shows the Fenix watch being paired.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

It shows the Fenix watch being paired.

Yes, but only after Garmin Explore was "activated" using an inReach device.

0 bgrenda over 6 years ago

Yes, but only after Garmin Explore was "activated" using an inReach device.

Hope this is only the way this movie was cut, and owning inReach devices will not be obligatory. At least it is not if you own Instinct device - I asked Instinct folks for feedback on Garmin Explore on their part of forum, it seems it works (but definitely it needs improvements).

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

I asked Instinct folks for feedback on Garmin Explore on their part of forum, it seems it works (but definitely it needs improvements).

If you can get a Unit ID from an Instinct, you can change the last digits and create a Fake-Instinct on a SD-Card, add that to your Garmin Connect account and you should be able to activate Explore. However, I didn't try that yet.

0 boozy over 6 years ago

I downloaded the Explore App (for Android) in the version 1.0 a few weeks ago and I activated and connected it with the fenix 5X Plus without any problems (and without having another device like Inreach, Instinct or GPSmap 66). And it worked fine: Synchronisation app to fenix and the other way around no problems at all!
BUT yesterday I updated the Explore App to version 1.1 AND the "good times" seem to be over: the fenix 5X plus disappeared and the device is now to be found in the list of "unsupported devices".
I don't understand WHY GARMIN removed this new (ok, not that new anymore) and acutal watch which is supposed to be the High Standard Device of the whole wearable portfolio ... Hopefully it was a programmer's fault and the watch will be back in Explore again! BECAUSE the app and the fenix are working together perfectly like I experienced in the last few weeks while unsing the 1.0-version...

0 bgrenda over 6 years ago

I downloaded the Explore App (for Android) in the version 1.0 a few weeks ago and I activated and connected it with the fenix 5X Plus without any problems (and without having another device like Inreach, Instinct or GPSmap 66). And it worked fine: Synchronisation app to fenix and the other way around no problems at all!
BUT yesterday I updated the Explore App to version 1.1 AND the "good times" seem to be over: the fenix 5X plus disappeared and the device is now to be found in the list of "unsupported devices".

Interesting, nobody with F5 ever reported that Explore was working for them before.
In the meantime, the Explore app (at least the Android one) was upgraded, so we, the (un)happy F5+ users, can now clearly see that our watch is not supported :-)

0 boozy over 6 years ago

Interesting, nobody with F5 ever reported that Explore was working for them before.
In the meantime, the Explore app (at least the Android one) was upgraded, so we, the (un)happy F5+ users, can now clearly see that our watch is not supported :-)

Unfortunately I didn't make any screenshots of the old version of Explore functionally paired with my fenix 5x Plus. If I remember right the app even offered me in the first days of use to pair it with my old fenix 5x (without +) - which is still connected to my Garmin-Connect-Account - but this option was gone even before the first update.
Today I downgraded the Android-Exlore App to version 1.0 by downloading the apk-file on https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/garmin/garmin-explore/garmin-explore-1-0-release/garmin-explore-1-0-android-apk-download/download/ and installing it on the smartphone. But the fenix 5x plus still stays under the list of unsuppored devices and my hope to bring it back to the app was an illusion. So there must be an update of Garmin Connect and/or my.garmin rolled out which went side to side to the Explore-Update. It seems to me that the whole "support-or-not-support-thing" is not an Explore-app-issue but a Garmin internal (policy) issue. And I really don't like to be kidded like this!

So, hope dies last and I'm looking forward to change the status of being one of the (un)happy F5+ users to be a happy one (again) one day. Or maybe I should ask Garmin how much money they'll refund for an "update" (= perfomance downgrade) from my fenix 5x plus tintan to a brand new device like the Instinct ...

0 bgrenda over 6 years ago

So, hope dies last and I'm looking forward to change the status of being one of the (un)happy F5+ users to be a happy one (again) one day. Or maybe I should ask Garmin how much money they'll refund for an "update" (= perfomance downgrade) from my fenix 5x plus tintan to a brand new device like the Instinct ...

I anticipate that the support will come with next major firmware release - say 6.0. The beta 5.53 is out for 2 weeks already, so hopefully the stable release will show up soon.
Meanwhile, it seems that Explore app is half-baked so far - missing some key functionality - like routing along the trails, roads, etc.

0 ralfborn over 6 years ago

Having GpsMap 66st device and a fenix 5 plus, here in Germany on Android Explore app ver. 1.2 both devices workable connected.