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inReach mini battery question

Former Member
Former Member over 5 years ago

Hello,

I notice you can take off the back cover and replace the battery yourself, even though you're told in the instructions you can't. I cannot afford to replace electronics every 2 years when the battery life ceases to be very good and I'm wondering what model of battery the unit uses? Where can I buy one? If I can replace the battery every 2 years, that would be great. I asked garmin and they said they will replace it free of charge in warranty. I guess no manufacturer plans for the customer to own anything longer than a year, haha.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    This is no different than your phone, tablet, smart watch, or (these days) your laptop. Very few of those devices have a user-replaceable battery. Yes, you can probably replace it yourself if you can find the battery. But for something like the Mini, you run the risk of compromising the water seals and so forth. Even outside of warranty, Garmin will replace the battery for you - but it will be chargeable. I have no idea of the cost, but I would imagine that they would quote you the current cost if you asked.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to twolpert

    It's considerably different to a phone. Phones use adhesives and whatnot to seal the perimeter of the unit. The Garmin Mini is just a few screws with a silicone gasket around it i.e. if you unscrew the screws, take the battery out and swap it, it should take no more than five minutes to reassemble. The battery does have a small amount of adhesive on it to prevent it moving around but the device itself isn't glued together like a phone is. It's the same with the explorer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM_lbzx2ctc. Pardon the confusion but this thread isn't about how to replace the battery. I already know how to do that (it's easy), it's about finding the model number of the battery and buying one. 

    Garmin have said they won't change the battery; they will replace the entire unit for $120. If the unit is no longer being manufactured, then I'd be out of luck. I'm not paying $120 when the battery can probably be bought somewhere for $5.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    My point was that a non-replaceable battery is now the norm for consumer devices. I realize that the physical tear down is different. It might be easier, it might be harder, it might be more or less dangerous to the water-tight integrity of the device...

    This is primarily a peer-to-peer forum. Garmin employees do read the forums and post occasionally. But unless one of them responds and is willing to share the information, I doubt that you're going to get an answer here. Nobody here knows any more about this than what you saw when you disassembled the device. If the manufacturer and model number are not on the battery, nobody here is going to know.

    I can't comment on the reasonableness of the $120 charge. It's probably cheaper for Garmin to swap the unit than it is to do the labor involved in replacing the battery and seal, as well as the integrity testing afterwards. But that's just a guess.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to twolpert

    You said this is no different than your phone, tablet, etc. Components in tablets are soldered down, welded in certain cases, heat sensitive adhesives are used, etc. This doesn't follow that approach at all. Your claim was inaccurate and misleading to people who find this thread on google.

    It's not a case of "it might be". From a design perspective, it's more in line with a remote control or the garmin tempe where you remove the back and put a new battery in. Seals don't need changing. The battery isn't soldered down, etc. I will try find a battery that's the same voltage, size and chemistry, that should work.

    "I doubt that you're going to get an answer here"

    I hold no grudge against people not knowing the answer to something. Deliberately misleading people out of some kind of irrational brand-based loyalty... That's another thing altogether. Please put things into perspective... You have to unscrew four screws, pull a plug, replace the battery & screw the back back on. If someone charged you $120 to change the 2 AA batteries in your television remote control, how would you feel about it?

    You may not be able to comment, but unscrewing four screws and putting in a new, $5 battery, is not worth $120 to me. Especially when I know this model will become obsolete and it's unlikely they will even offer this service in a few years from now.