inReach SE+ activation pending

I've just purchased an inReach SE+ and am very disappointed.

I have signed up for a Freedom plan but it gets stuck on 'Activation pending'. Logging out of the account and logging back in the unit gets a signal but gets stuck on 'Confirmation Pending' and then goes to 'check online' so I tried logging back in to that but it starts again, asking me to input the unit details. Doing this just results in a message that 'Activation is pending for this device'. So I looked at contacting tech support but they are closed for the weekend and following the weekend is a public holiday. This is for a device intended to be used for emergency situations?

Is it likely there is an issue with the device or is this a problem with whatever servers are used to activate my device?

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Garmin-Leslie 4 months ago +1 verified

2606404 Hello, I am sorry you had this experience in the activation process. We do try to make the activation of these devices as easy as possible. However, with so many factors that could affect the activation…

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0 2606404 4 months ago

Update: In case it helps anyone. Now working. I got an email a few hours after initially trying to activate the device 'InReach Activation Confirmation'. Once I received that I was able to follow the procedure on the device to connect successfully. It would seem it can take a few hours for the device to register on their end and I am assuming there is no point trying to do the device part of the activation until that email is received. It would be helpful if Garmin add that to the instructions as would have saved me a few hours troubleshooting and narky post to forum!

0 twolpert 4 months ago in reply to 2606404

What you observed is not the way it is supposed to work. You should be able to register the device, pick a plan and pay, then (when directed by the web site, which should be immediate) take the device outside and complete the outdoor portion of the activation. The outdoor portion should take no more than a few minutes.

The confirmation email is irrelevant. I have no idea where in the complex process it gets sent.

The fact that you had to register the device again in order to log into the web site indicates that you failed to complete the registration process the first time. This is why you could not complete the outdoor part of the activation. Maybe failed to pick a plan? Maybe a problem with your credit card payment? Maybe just sand in Garmin’s gears. Based on forum traffic and the status page, the registration and activation process is becoming less and less reliable.

0 2606404 4 months ago in reply to twolpert

I didn't fail to complete the registration process and I certainly didn't register it twice. I picked a plan (once) and paid with a credit card (once). I simply tried to log back into the website to try to troubleshoot why I couldn't complete outdoor activation and had a message saying 'activation pending' that prevented me from seeing any more. That was until I received an email a few hours later saying the registration was complete. Following that message, and not on the several times I had tried before, I was able to go outside and complete the outdoor (on device) part of activation. Based on that, I am not sure why the confirmation email can be assumed to be irrelevant. If the registration and activation process are becoming less reliable, that is disappointing. Perhaps someone from Garmin could confirm / comment on this?

0 twolpert 4 months ago in reply to 2606404

If you want a response from Garmin, open a support ticket.

i took your “unable to log in again” at face value.

+1 Garmin-Leslie 4 months ago

2606404 Hello, I am sorry you had this experience in the activation process. We do try to make the activation of these devices as easy as possible. However, with so many factors that could affect the activation, for instance not selecting something correctly, payment declines, system errors etc., things do happen that could prevent the device from activating or taking longer to activate.

I do not know why yours was delayed but there could have been a delay in activations at that time. The email is a great indicator that your service went through and is not irrelevant, but it is also not the finalizing factor either. When activating and getting to the end online you will see Activation Successful then when you select Next a page that says Completing Activation and Messaging with some instructions on next steps. If you do not get these pages then you would know it is not complete yet.

The Completing Activation and Messaging page mentions that once you finish the activation online you will then need to take the device outside with a clear view of the sky to finish the activation on the device. It can take up to 20 minutes to complete the activation outside.