Denied to activate account because previous device owner didn't pay his bill

I bought a Inreach Mini second hand for my son who is planning a bike trip from Ushuaia to Colombia (South America). He leaves next week. BUT Garmin denies to activate it until previous owner contact them for a billing problem (I guess he didn't pay all his bills).

Is this normal Garmin threats its future customers? I want to buy the service and I will be glad to pay why should I be taken into hostage because of someone else action? This is never mentioned anywhere on Garmin web. This does not happen when you buy a second hand smartphone (unless it has been reported stolen which is not the case here).

PLEASE GARMIN RECONSIDER YOUR SURREALIST DECISION AND LET MY SON LEAVE SAFER TO HIS TRIP. ACT URGENTLY!!!

Top Replies

Garmin-Andrew over 4 years ago in reply to wildingo +1 verified

Hi, @wildingo,

Please review our Support Center article, Why is My inReach Device Locked?, for more information and options. In most cases, the best thing to do is contact the previous owner and ask them…

All Replies

0 twolpert over 5 years ago

Unfortunately, a given device can only be activated for one account at a time. There are procedures which the original owner is supposed to follow to prepare the device for ownership transfer. This includes both performing a factory reset on the device and cancelling any existing service plan. I'm sure that cancelling the plan involves paying any outstanding balance. Until any existing plan is cancelled, it's simply not possible to activate the device on a different account. You've been victimized by an unscrupulous owner looking to profit from the sale of the device and duck the outstanding bill.

That said, if you have not done so, you should contact Garmin support and/or customer service. Even if you have contacted them, you might try again to see if you get a different answer, or perhaps can talk to a supervisor.

If Garmin won't budge, you should pursue a refund from the seller.

Finally, note that this is a peer to peer forum. Garmin employees do sometimes read the forums and will occasionally post. But customer service or technical support is the appropriate channel for a problem like this. I'm not being critical - just pointing out that posting here is not as likely to get your problem resolved as going through the appropriate channel.

0 WD over 5 years ago

You might even check and see what the local laws are concerning the practice of disabling of the device, vs disabling just the account.

0 wildingo over 4 years ago in reply to twolpert

Hi T Wolpert,

Did Garnin help you in the end, as I think I'm in the same boat as you?

Thank you

Chris

0 twolpert over 4 years ago in reply to wildingo

Sorry, all I did was respond to the original poster, @JiPi. If you are in a similar situation, you should contact product support. However, you are probably better off pursuing a refund from the seller (or asking him to cancel service and pay his bill so you can reactivate the device).

To be perfectly clear, YOU can perform the factory reset on the device itself. But that's only half the issue. The other half MUST be handled by the seller. He/she needs to remove the device from the active account.

+1 Garmin-Andrew over 4 years ago in reply to wildingo

Hi, @wildingo,

Please review our Support Center article, Why is My inReach Device Locked?, for more information and options. In most cases, the best thing to do is contact the previous owner and ask them to remove the device from their account. If that isn't an option, request a refund. From the article:

"As these are potentially life-saving devices, we cannot cancel the service without speaking to the registered owner."

0 7760588 over 3 years ago in reply to Garmin-Andrew

Have to say by Garmin this is an absolute terrible reply. First all inreach devices are coupled with GPS location. If a device in question is sitting inside an address that is a house building or any other non remote location it is in no way being used as a life saving device. Also of the new second hand owner can show legitimate purchase IE eBay FB Mecari what have you. Garmin 100% has ability to absolve the previous inreach registration so new owner can now register and start paying them. This type of answer is utterly rediculous and certainly not business minded considering passive revenue for Garmin comes from people paying to use inreach services. Get with the times Garmin!

0 twolpert over 2 years ago in reply to 7760588

There are good reasons for this policy. Until properly released by the prior owner, the device and the account technically BELONG to the prior owner. Garmin cannot legally do anything. Your only recourse is to get the prior owner to properly relinquish the account (which might involve paying a bill) OR demand a refund and return the device.