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Sapphire (47mm) Boot Loop & Firmware Issues

raybies1
5 months ago

Hello,

I’m experiencing persistent issues with my Epix Gen 2 (Sapphire, 47mm) following recent firmware updates. The problems started with firmware version 20.16, which caused the watch to lock up or stay on or the start/stop button unresponsive while the touchscreen remained functional. Additionally, backups stopped working on February 21st.

I managed to updated to firmware 20.22 last week, but the start/stop button became unresponsive again. I attempted a "Delete Data and Reset Settings", but the watch failed to boot and is now stuck on the EPIX boot screen. Holding the light button for 20 seconds sometimes turns the watch off, but it takes multiple attempts (1-6 tries). Holding back/LAP for 40 seconds does not resolve the issue, and the boot loop persists.

I also attempted to roll back the firmware following instructions from https://forums.garmin.com/beta-program/fenix-7-series/f/announcements/400289/beta-version-20-10---check-for-updates-only copying force.tmp and gupdate.gsp to the Garmin folder and unplugging, but this had no effect.

I originally purchased the watch on March 3rd, 2024 from a retail store. I have contacted Garmin Support twice but have not received a response. Any assistance or troubleshooting steps would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

  • 0 5 months ago

    A helpful person in another forum asked if I had tried "Unprompted Reset" detailed here: https://support.garmin.com/en-MY/?faq=wxPmdnWsev1xGRUf58oDC8

    Which brought the watch out of boot loop. But when it gets in to the watch OS the Start/Stop button still doesn't work, though it obviously from a HW perspective does or I wouldn't have been able to do an "Unprompted Reset" or access the file system from the boot screen.

    If I restore the last back up the watch then goes back to boot looping.

    I then installed fw19.41 by coping the files to watch /Garmin root and via Settings > Update.

    Unfortunately the Start/Stop button still does not work, and Garmin support does not respond or exists.

  • 0 5 months ago in reply to raybies1

    Hello, so then, update to 19.41, delete all data after that, hard reset the watch by pressing the light button till the watch shutdowns, wait 30sec, turn on it again and dont restore the backup file, just config it by yourself, and wait with the 19.41 till the next firmware, dont install 20.22

  • 0 5 months ago in reply to Lewis

    It seems there's something wrong with the star/stop button which either developed as a result of fw20.16 or just at the same time.
    I've gone back to 16.22 and nothing fixes the start/stop button in the watch ui.