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Explore App

Elite Cyclist
over 6 years ago

I don’t understand how the Explore operates.  Can someone guide me through or  is there video tutorial?

  • 0 over 6 years ago

    What is the purpose for an Explore App?  To keep records of all the activities?

  • 0 over 6 years ago in reply to Elite Cyclist

    That and more. Connect does a better job with activities but Explore will display them as well althoug it's purpose is a bit different..

    Explore is more like the missing end of a GPS navigator your watch is not well suited for. It displays maps and can download them offline. It can also let you manage "Collections" or cloud saved backups of your location data (waypoints, routes, tracks) and allows you to upload and download that data from the Instinct.

    I already have other more sophisticated nav apps on my phone, but Explore is a pretty nice perk if you don't already have a solution. I actually use it often for general map referencing, and since it allows you to select individual states to download offline it makes it rather easy to manage how much storage you use.

    I think Explore originated in the Earthmate App used with inReach. A lot of the Delorme app feel to it and that is a good thing. I hope one day Garmin can merge Explore and Earthmate. Even now just having them share the common cloud storage is nice for managing data.

    So just think of it as an app that rounds out your Instinct as a GPS navigator in ways a watch just can't, namely a usable map display and data management.

  • 0 over 6 years ago in reply to Airmapper

    Thx, how do you upload waypoints and routes to an Instinct?

  • 0 over 6 years ago in reply to Elite Cyclist

    The routes which you created in the Garmin Connect app can upload to your instinct by syncing. But the waypoints are not able to create in the Garmin Connect app. You need to use the Explore app instead of the Garmin Connect.

    Unfortunately, it is difficult to create waypoints because of the poor search function. I always create the routes in ConnectIQ app and upload it to the instinct, and next, I syncronize the route with the Explore app and I set the waypoints with seeing the route. And I synchronize again to upload the waypoints to the Instinct.

  • 0 over 6 years ago in reply to moritako

    I use Google Earth to create waypoints which I then bulk export, import into Garmin BaseCamp, and drag-and-drop to the device to manually manage which ones get synced. I have found Explore to be unreliable (especially with syncing) and BaseCamp to lack the features I want in Google Earth (such as decent maps, image overlays for maps I find online, etc.). I'll create simple road-following courses (e.g. for road cycling) directly in Connect but for more custom routes (e.g. canoeing through an archipelago) I'll create a track in Google Earth, export as gpx, and import into Connect (and sometimes add course points here).

    As someone who does a lot of back-country navigating, Google Earth is essential to managing my collection of maps and creating and organizing waypoints and courses. I keep my interactions with Garmin software to just the bare minimum to get things copied to my Instinct.