Tracking points when stationary? Important lost feature!

The old firmware on my InReach for Smartphones would send tracking points even when the device was stationary. I think some people disliked this because they "spent" points when they were stopped.

I prefer the old firmware that sent tracking points even when I am stopped. I use the InReach when off-roading in the desert, and if the track stops and isn't moving, it means I am having some kind of problem, and that can be detected by the people watching me, even if I am incapacitated. But with the new firmware V1.9, it doesn't send tracking points when the device is stationary... it might as well be off!

Is this how all of the newer InReachs work? Do any of the units have the ability to set it so they will send tracking points every 10 minutes, regardless of whether the unit has moved?

0 twolpert over 5 years ago

I can't speak to the older models such as yours. When newer models detect the fact that the unit is not moving, they lengthen the send interval to 4 hours. You should get another sent point after 4 hours if you are motionless that long. The iR periodically checks for a sufficiently large position change, which indicates that the unit is again moving. At that time, the send interval returns to whatever you set it to. AFAIK, it is not possible to control this behavior.

I am not sure what additional information would be conveyed by repeated track points at the same location? The fact that you are not moving is conveyed by the lack of additional track points. The last sent point reflects your location (to within the 10-minute send interval radius, which is the best you can do under any circumstances). It is true that the MapShare observer cannot distinguish this condition from "iR powered off". But I'm not sure how that's relevant since you presumably don't power it down during your travels?

0 Veloce over 5 years ago

When newer models detect the fact that the unit is not moving, they lengthen the send interval to 4 hours. You should get another sent point after 4 hours if you are motionless that long. The iR periodically checks for a sufficiently large position change, which indicates that the unit is again moving. At that time, the send interval returns to whatever you set it to.

This is exactly the problem!

I am not sure what additional information would be conveyed by repeated track points at the same location? The fact that you are not moving is conveyed by the lack of additional track points. The last sent point reflects your location (to within the 10-minute send interval radius, which is the best you can do under any circumstances). It is true that the MapShare observer cannot distinguish this condition from "iR powered off". But I'm not sure how that's relevant since you presumably don't power it down during your travels?

No tracking point sent means NO INFORMATION is sent. The unit could be off, you could be in a canyon or under a tree, the battery could have run out: anything could be happening!
On the other hand, repeated tracking points sent from the same location is definitive: the unit is definitely not moving. Watchers know exactly where to find the unit. Without data points sent, you just don't know what is happening, you can only guess and hope.

I ride a motorcycle in remote areas and it is common for a few tracking points to not get sent when I am in a canyon or something. Note that typically I might be moving 30 mph, or 5 miles (8km) every 10 minutes. My watchers know that if the tracking points stop moving and they don't hear from me, something is wrong! They would have rescue sent to the correct location in an hour. You can't reliably do this with this new firmware that seems to try and conserve tracking points when you are not moving. Now all you can say is "We didn't get a tracking point... lets wait 4 hours and see if we get another one from the same location." For those of us moving at higher rates of speed, that is really bad design.

0 relwell over 5 years ago

My recommendation would be:

Prior to the trip send a MapShare message to your followers. They can request your devices location which should mitigate most of your concerns about followers not hearing from you for 4 hours and not knowing your location.

Also, consider configuring a Preset message you could quickly and easily send while truly stationary.

0 Veloce over 5 years ago

Here is an example to make this clear. Imagine you are watching the tracking screen (mapshare) following a motorcyclist crossing the desert. Every 10 minutes you get a tracking point seeing the rider making progress at a 5 to 10 mile rate every 10 minutes. Then a 10 minute interval goes by and you don't get a new tracking point. Where is the rider? Another 10 minutes go by... where is the rider? The rider could be anywhere in a 20 mile radius from the last tracking point! Every 10 minutes that goes by, you don't know if the device has had a battery failure, is hidden by canyons or trees or if the rider is down. And you have no idea where the rider is.

Remember, this tracking CHANGED with v1.9 for smartphones. It used to track when stationary.

0 Veloce over 5 years ago

My recommendation would be:

Prior to the trip send a MapShare message to your followers. They can request your devices location which should mitigate most of your concerns about followers not hearing from you for 4 hours and not knowing your location.

That isn't a bad idea, but is not ideal. But remember this used to work properly. I suspect many people using these devices for safety reasons aren't particularly concerned about conserving tracking points.

Also, consider configuring a Preset message you could quickly and easily send while truly stationary.

You can't count on an incapacitated rider/hiker/traveller being able to send messages. (I do have preset messages, but that isn't the point.)

0 6516325 over 2 years ago

I completely agree with the issue you brought up. If I had know this was the Garmin Inreach behaviour, I would have bought a Spot tracker instead. So stupid.

0 twolpert over 2 years ago in reply to 6516325

If you want to submit an enhancement request, you can do so here:

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/forms/ideas/

However, every iR device that I have ever seen works this way, And no, I have no experience with the "original iR for smartphones devices". I have no doubt that they behaved as the OP described. But all of the newer devices automatically go to a 4 hour interval when stationary. Since this thread is 4 years old, I doubt that any of that is going to change.

I do NOT recommend depending on locate requests from MapShare. Even when they work, they can take a long time. And if the device is off, or has a bad sky view, it's never going to complete.

Will also reiterate my usual soapbox rant. If your watchers at home do not see the expected behavior, they should contact SAR. In this particular example, they might want to wait for a while (more than one moving interval - perhaps 30 or 40 minutes). If no points are received, assume something is wrong and contact emergency services.