inreach SE damaged

A couple years ago his was dropped about a foot and then got a "Your inreach has been damaged. Messages cannot be sent or received. Contact tech support for assistance" message on the screen. I contacted support and was told they aren't repairable. I was very disappointed that a device intended for life or death situations was so fragile. It sat on my desk for a year, then one day I turned it on and it worked. It will send an activation message to garmin, and garmin receives it, but will then stay on the 'awaiting activation" screen. I have examined the circuit board with a magnifying glass and didn't see any issues. has anyone had success with repairing one of these?

0 twolpert over 1 year ago

Garmin never repairs YOUR device. If it's under warranty (not likely in this case), they will exchange it for a refurbished device at no charge. If it is out of warranty, they will exchange it for a refurbished device but you will have to pay for the exchange. Ask about the exchange charge when you call tech support for the RMA.

Typically, iR devices are pretty rugged. But any device can be damaged if you drop it just the "wrong" way. In this particular case, the damage might have been to the iR antenna. Or not. Even if the device appears to be working again, I would not want to trust my life to it.

0 3467727 over 1 year ago in reply to twolpert

Thats what I figured. I've already replaced it but was thinking I could use the old one as a backup. I do find it interesting that they aren't repairable but can be exchanged for a repaired one.

0 twolpert over 1 year ago in reply to 3467727

They ARE repairable. That's where the refurb units come from - you're getting one that somebody else sent in after a failure. Garmin found whatever it was, fixed it, and put the unit back in the refurb pool.

It's just that they won't repair YOUR unit and return it to YOU.