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Fenix 6X Pro - freeze and endless reboot after applying map update

rtrella01
over 3 years ago

I have a Fenix 6X Pro, purchased in December 2019.  It has been working flawlessly until I applied the North America map update 2021-20.  The update was unsuccessful, and when I rebooted the watch, it went into a loop cycling between the Triangle and the Garmin logo.  Initially, I was not able to perform either a Hard Reset, or a Soft Reset, but after a lot of button pushing, I was able to Hard Reset the watch to factory defaults.  However, now the watch will freeze if I try to access any function beyond looking at the base watch face.  If for example, I try to sync the time with GPS, the watch freezes.  If I try to sync the watch with my phone, the watch freezes.  After the watch freezes, i will take me several attempts to Hard Reset the watch. The Hard Reset approach I am using is:

  1. Turn off the watch by pressing and holding the power button
  2. Simultaneously press and hold the Down & Back buttons.
  3. Press the power button, release after the Triangle appears
  4. Release the Down & Back buttons after approx 30 seconds.

Note that this approach only seems to work about 20% of the time.  For the rest of the time, the Hard Reset fails, and the watch goes into the Triangle/Logo loop.

I have tried this reset approach, which doesn't work, it just places the watch into the Triangle/Logo loop:

  1. Power down the watch.
  2. Power on and as soon as you see the triangle press and hold the top and bottom right together.
  3. Release top right on the first beep.
  4. Release bottom right on the second beep.
  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Tried GArmin WebUpdater on a pc with a wired connection to reinstall the firmware?

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Ɛpsilon

    Thank you for the suggestion.  I downloaded WebUpdater (v 2.2.1 for Mac).  However, there is a bit of a 'Catch-22' - the WebUpdater doesn't see the watch as connected, because when I reboot the watch and connect, the watch freezes.  I've tried rebooting the watch while connected, and it either goes into the Triangle/Logo loop, or it freezes as soon as it reboots, so the WebUpdater can't see the watch as connected.  Frustrating. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to rtrella01

    Reach out to Garmin support via livechat on the website. I think you're looking at a replacement, I think...

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Ɛpsilon

    I reached out to Garmin Live Chat support.  They had me execute the following sequence:

    • Ensure the watch is powered off.
    • Press and continue to hold the bottom left, top right, and bottom right buttons. (all three at the same time)
    • Press and hold the top left button until the Garmin logo appears. (while still holding the three buttons)
    • After the first beep release the top right button.
    • After the second beep release the remaining buttons
    • Then -  power it off and, plug the watch into a computer USB port (not an external USB hub) and then press and hold the LIGHT button on the upper left for a full 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, release the button, wait a couple of seconds, and then press the LIGHT button again for approximately 2 seconds.

    Unfortunately, this did not resolve the issue - the watch returned to the Boot Loop.

    Finally - the support rep offered to replace the watch, even though my watch was well beyond the warranty period. Great customer service and focus from Garmin.  This is my third Garmin watch, and the first time I've had any trouble. Based on this experience I'll continue to be a Garmin customer in the future!!

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to rtrella01

    They did the same for my old F5 (charging port issues) and my F6x Sapphire (wifi v. 65535) I can't fault my interaction with their support myself. Glad it's being sorted!