Deleting the preinstalled maps via a hack?

What model of SE/Explorer do you have? It's been so long that I am no longer sure just which map types are compatible with which units. To put that another way, are OSM maps available for download (from the Map tab at explore.garmin.com) for your unit?

I have inReach Explorer+. 

OSM maps are available from the map tab and they are the ones I like to use. 

If the built-in maps cannot be removed from the Map tab, I'd hesitate to remove them manually if it was my device. I don't have an active Explorer+, so I have no way to poke this any more extensively.

I decided to just try it, and it worked. I made a copy of the preloaded maps to my computers harddrive and then deleted the preloaded maps from the inReach. Then I loaded the OSM maps via the webpage and inReach sync. It appears to have worked without any issues. There are now OSM maps for the whole of north america and a lot more space on the device. Before not all 48 contiguous states' OSM maps would fit. 

The main improvement with OSM is the inclusion of so many hiking trails that the topo maps don't have. 

I think the removal of the preloaded maps really should be an option. 

Martin, please check back and let us know if you have any problems with this procedure, or if it continues to work for you.  I confirmed that I can see files and get disk/folder sizes when syncing maps.  (That seems to be the only way of getting that info, since the device's tracking screen only shows "percent free" available for logging/routing points, not for the internal disk as a whole; when I added or removed maps the "percent free" did not change.)

I have used the device a few times since removing the preinstalled maps and everything seems to work just fine. The Satellite communication test works. Tracking works. Everything I use the phone for that I can test still works like before.  

As a side note, I used "visual studio" to debug the sync process and paused it during a map sync so the sync would not unmount the drive of the inreach when it finished. This allowed me to take my time and I didn't have to race the sync when copying/removing the preinstalled maps. 

Hi, MartinDWhite. Is there any other program than "visual studio" or way that I can debug the sync process and pause it. I have an older Garmin GPS with a bunch of maps with more detail I would rather use than the preloaded maps that you get on the explorer. 

Regardless of the mechanics, Garmin maps from another handheld GPSr will not work on the Explorer+. This is a legacy device which uses maps in the old DeLorme format. That format is incompatible with any Garmin handheld format. The first inReach device to use Garmin maps is the GPSMAP 66i.

Visual studio community edition is free from MicroSoft. 

There are other programs that can pause a running program, just about any development tool with a debugger can to do, but I don't know of any off hand. 

I don't think you can just drop the maps on and have them work. I only used this hack to delete the built in maps and them install the maps available from Garmin on the inReach website. I didn't try to put other maps on there. It would be interesting to see if you could make it work.   

I have been using this GSP pretty regularly without any issues. I love having the maps installed that I want installed, and not others wasting space.