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If you're stuck on loading maps...

CuriousConstruction
over 2 years ago

I'm honestly not sure if this will help you if you're in this state or not but if your watch reboots and sticks on loading maps, hard power it off (power menu for 30 seconds) then power it back up while holding the Lap button.  For my acting up watch this pops up a menu "Restore Defaults" that I'd never seen before.  Saying Yes allowed the watch to boot although it had a "Unable to unlock maps" error afterwards but at least it boots right so in theory you can try to side load an older firmware to do an actual system wipe. 

For mine it ended up crashing again after a little time and then got stuck in a triangle to fenix splash boot loop and I'm having to get a replacement out of warranty ($199). 

But it 'might' help someone recover a watch to working order so I thought I'd post it. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    In such cases, Garmin should take care of it without charging $200 for it.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Farron

    Well I for one agree with you. :). But to be fair to them, they only officially offer a 1 year warranty and this watch was bought at release back in August 2019 so I understand their point. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to CuriousConstruction

    This unfortunately happened to my 6XPS when updating to v25.81 thru Garmin Express.

    I got 6XPS restarted and without being prompted, found it had done a factory reset. ;(

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I had some more luck when suffering from the same last week:
    I updated my 3rd party maps, and named some of them within the limitations of the FAT32 file system. But not hte old DOS (8.3) filename limitations. And after trying to boot the watch I suffered from the error, constant reboot of the watch while loading maps. I tried to connect it to the PC and delete/rename them but the watch rebooted before it should appear on screen. So, I reseted the watch, it became worse. Next day I went to 'local' Garmin, and since my Fénix 6 Pro was under warranty, they replaced the watch within 10 minutes with renewed 2 year warranty. In these minutes the tried hard/master reset, too, but it didn't work for them either.

    The problem is casued by the software's quality: there aren't any error management in it. That's a huge mistake, and shame. This problem could and should be managed with an error message instead of the watch going dead. It may take in the code about few hundred lines, and about 100kB in size addition in the software. But if they don't want to manage these errors, the watches should have an emergeny mode, where the filesystem and only the filesystem sould be manageable on PC for correcting SW error - if not publicly, at least in Garmin shops/services.

    It's my opinion. Because they replaced an otherwise fully working watch because of a SW-error which could be avoided...

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to BeeZee

    See my first answer.
    To charge $200 because of a presumably avoidable software error is ...

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to CuriousConstruction

    The malfunction was caused by Garmin and is widespread, so they are obviously obliged to fix it, regardless of how old the watch is.

    This is apart from the software mess that the Fenix 6 is in general. I've been using sport watches for 25+ years now (the first one was a pulse meter only), but this is the worst experience by far. First Garmin watch, by the way. Will most certainly also be the last.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Farron

    Yeah, of course, the errors made by poor quality software should be repaired or the product replaced for free after warranty, too.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I've got the same problem, so first time i've had to use Express and Connect. A little surprised by the error messaging throughout the entire ecosystem, makes troubleshooting extremely difficult. And the Guide is very limited, with no explanation on what actually happens on a filesystem level for each type of reset. I updated the maps on Express (over 8-hours) but they rolled back... No explanation to be found (if anyone can help, would appreciate an explanation (expecting there's a Running Memory store that should be overwritten by the one we can see in Express/Windows on reboot)... unless you have a watch stuck on the wrong time, so rolls-back instead. I then see Tactix watchface with Stealthmode Enabled - so no ability to adjust the time (always Auto, no GPS signal), can't connect BT or WiFi. Going to try to update maps via Express once more, but its been two full days of testing (excluding map download). 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to BeeZee

    After a couple of days attempting to use Connect and Express to correct the Loading Maps issue, I've tried a full reset (Light-Start/Stop-Lap/Up, release Start/Stop on first beep, release others on second beep), but the watch did not go in to language profile dialog (etc.), just straight to Loading Maps for hours, followed by the software for Tactix in Stealthmode - in my opinion, this should take us back to a working out-the-box watch. So I then tried updating the firmware using webupdater, then used Express to: "reinstall" the maps (where each showed as correctly updated in the watch drive seen in Windows explorer), added a new wifi network (hoping to sync after reboot), removed any potentially dodgy third-party apps, sync'd a few profile/setup changes from Connect portal (in hope to feed the watch updated config files specific to Fenix)... but it still reboots in to Loading Maps, followed by Tactix in Stealth Mode. I can change almost everything in this interface except Time (no manual setting, no GPS), Stealth Mode Enabled ( no GPS, Wifi, Bluetooth) - leaving USB/Express as the only option to connect, and always seems to rollback to a previous set of maps that I can delete by return from somewhere I have no visibility on. the the watches functionality is extremely limited... especially as unable to sync the time to gps or Connect over Bluetooth or Wifi. 

    From my POV, the hardware is good - theres been zero activities or potential cause for such a change when it stopped working - no bangs, no water that morning even - this is a bad software update. I've connected to Wifi and Bluettoth at times during loadup, so the hardware controllers are fine, they are just disabled by Stealthmode of the Tactix software (which i doubt even tactix watches have turned by default). 

    We should be able to reset a watch to wipe the device to factory firmware /OS / base apps at the very least... as exactly what we paid for. Really don't mind losing activities, etc. Just don't think its right to say the watch hardware needs a replacement where its obviously a Tactix update error pushed to the wrong watch with a Control setting enabled that a fenix doesn't even have access to (or the update doesn't offer as a Control).

    the scenario is similar to mercedes pushing out its computer hardware for hybrid vehicles to gas cars, whilst locking the software to only use the electric engine and disabling Over-The-Update so it can't be changed..., then offering the owner the option to buy a second hand gas vehicle from a dealer. Or Apple updating older iphones to ipod software and disabling the ability to rollback. we know the hardware works, its the software update that is incorrect version (tactix) for the model (fenix). the one button that controls the function (stealth mode) that we need to disable to rollback the software isn't available on our watch (fenix). We should be able to use Express (or the watch itself) to reset and boot in to a Fenix watchface with access to enable bluetooth, wifi, gps and all sensors as the watch was originally delivered (stealthmode turns all this off). There needs to be a software update from garmin that we can push from Express to replace this Tactix version. If a manufacturer pushes a software update that removes functionality, it needs to provide a fix... especially if that includes setting the correct time on a watch. 

    An explanation/diagram on how the watch reboots to its new config delivered by Express would be useful too.