Brand new device, shipped with 0% charge, damage to battery?

I wouldn't be overly concerned. You have time to return it if there's a problem. Give it few charge/discharge cycles and see how it performs.

It's the long term health of the battery that I'm concerned about which wouldn't be evident after a few cycles.  The battery experts at my company (a certain global smartphone semiconductor company) states that keeping a lithium ion battery at its extremes, i.e. at 100% or 0% state of charge for long periods of time are the biggest factors to pre mature capacity loss.  That's why EVs are often recommended to stay between 20 and 80% SOC.  Just wondering what state of charge everyone else's unit came at?  Were you able to boot up for the activation without having to charge it first?

I understand and I'm familiar with the statistics and conventional wisdom. There is no way to tell how long the unit has been sitting in the warehouse. Not to put too fine a point on it, other people's experiences are not going to tell you anything about the state of your particular unit. If you think it might be a problem, return it. But prepared for the possibility that the next one will arrive in the same state.

In my experience with several iR units over multiple years, the state of charge on arrival varies from nearly fully charged to flat. I have never returned one on that basis. I have never had a battery life problem with any of them, regardless of initial state. OTOH, I do replace the devices somewhat frequently based on available new models/features.

When you order by mail, particularly from a third-party (Amazon and/or the independent storefront hosted by Amazon), there is no way to predict. If you want to be sure, purchase from a physical retailer where you can check the state of charge before walking out of the store.

twolpert, I appreciate your input.  I agree, other's experiences doesn't tell me anything about my unit.  But it at least confirms that it's not standard practice to ship them with a battery at 0%.  If I heard every one respond, "yes, that's how mine was", then I would know there's nothing I can do.  But based on your response, it sounds like I should return my unit and try to get one with a partial charge at a physical store.  I plan to keep this device around for a few years - at least until SpaceX gets their global satellite coverage up and running.  :)

It's the long term health of the battery that I'm concerned about which wouldn't be evident after a few cycles.  The battery experts at my company (a certain global smartphone semiconductor company) states that keeping a lithium ion battery at its extremes, i.e. at 100% or 0% state of charge for long periods of time are the biggest factors to pre mature capacity loss.  That's why EVs are often recommended to stay between 20 and 80% SOC.  Just wondering what state of charge everyone else's unit came at?  Were you able to boot up for the activation without having to charge it first?

Why don't you open a support case with Garmin and ask, since it's new?

Mine also arrived with zero charge. I have only used it for 3 months but I use it 3-4 times per week. No issues so far. The way I use it the battery life is great.

HI - I also just received my inReach Mini with zero charge. Can I ask you for an update on your situation? Did you return it? If not, has the battery health been as expected?

I reached out to Amazon, and they were going to follow up with Garmin, but I never heard back.  I had too many things going on at the time and I wanted the device with me on my trip, so I never followed up.  It seemed to be ok for that trip.   I haven't used it since.  I should try to test it out again before the warranty is up.

Same here with one ordered through campsaver... any updates if this ended up being an issue?