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fēnix 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition reboot loop on update

Honey-badger
9 months ago

The watch did an automatic update on 12 September 2024 (updating from Version 17.28 , not sure what to as it never got there[I am NOT on the Beta program]). On the update it went into a continuous loop when rebooting while downloading maps. After a search of the forums I saw that this has been an ongoing problem with Fenix 7 watches for over 7 months; and other Garmin watches for the last few years. I tried all the advice of resets and hard reset without effect. Eventually I managed to get through to someone in Garmin support in my country who took my through all the advice I had found on the forum; again without any result. There only suggestion was I courier the watch to them and they would get to it within the next three weeks.

While I really appreciate that Garmin has a comprehensive support structure (I'm an ex-Fitbit customer), it is not acceptable that such a high-end expensive device is still "bricking" in the same way after so many years of seemingly the same problem. The inconvenience of not having the Fenix for 3 weeks caused my to immediately purchase a cheaper ForeRunner 55 as backup costing money I should not need to spend, In my opinion that Garmin Fenix is the best feature filled Smart watch on the market that far exceed my needs. The sapphire glass, chunky bulk and titanium body suit my lifestyle.

If I was a serious athlete looking at purchasing a Smartwatch for this sort of price, routine software updates causing a device to "brick" for up to 3 weeks at a time (if they get it right) a little more of an issue than the inconvenience I'm experiencing. I would be forced to add firmware update stability in the comparative studies with competitors like Suunto and Coros etc.

  • 0 9 months ago

    Hi after the update you mention, my issues are:

    1. the face I was using not works anymore, I had to change the face

    2. during the run activity, the voice even if is set in italan speaks in english

  • +1 9 months ago in reply to 8204896

    Hello, I am sorry to hear you are having this concern. If you are experiencing a boot loop, we would recommend following these steps: 

    1. With the watch Off, press the Power button once to tell it to begin powering on. Then immediately begin pressing and holding the Start and Back buttons.
    2. Wait for the watch to beep once, then release the Start button.
    3. Wait for the watch to beep a second time, then release the Back button.
    4. This will have initiated a master reset on the watch. In the majority of cases, this master reset will clear out the problem causing the boot loop and bring your watch back to normal functionality.
    5. If your watch continues to boot loop after this master reset, or if you fail to hear the beeps, please comment again to let us know, and we can continue troubleshooting.
    6. While the watch is resetting, take a moment to clean up the Garmin Connect Mobile app (and your phone) to ensure that re-pairing works smoothly.
    7. Open GCM and go to the More menu, then scroll down and select Garmin Devices.
    8. From the Garmin Devices page, tap and hold on your Fenix/Epix watch. Select the option for Remove Device.
    9. Then also open the Bluetooth menu of your phone and remove your fenix/epix watch from here too.
    10. By this time your watch should have finished resetting, or be close to it. You can now re-pair the watch to Garmin Connect Mobile.
    11. During pairing, the app will prompt you and ask if you would like to restore from a backup. For ease of use, I would recommend following these steps.
    12. Our Device Settings Backup feature will help you reapply your desired settings, such as watch face options and which activity profiles you use. By default, backups are automatically generated around midnight every day. So there should be a recent backup pending for you to be able to restore from.
    13. Following the steps to restore from backup will help your watch get back up and running without you needing to remember all your preferred settings. Please note that wifi networks and Garmin Pay details are not included in the backup, for privacy reasons.
    14. There is a rare chance that the boot loop you experienced is because of a specific device setting. In which case restoring from the backup might reintroduce the boot loop you've seen. I do not expect this to occur for you, but if this happens please let us know, and we can investigate further.
    15. More info on using this Backup and Restore feature is available here:  https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=fLogiPl4Vr5p8u0bFNWmK7
    16. You do not have to restore from a device backup if you do not want to do so.

    If this does not resolve the concern, we would recommend contacting Garmin Product Support. 

  • +1 9 months ago in reply to Garmin-Laurie

    Hi Laurie, 

    I have the same problem since the update installed to version 18.14 this morning. Although I have had problem 'Cannot Unlock Maps' for months but didn't seem to affect functionality. 

    I got to the complete point 1 to 3 above but no change (I did hear the beebs), not sure I released the buttons in a timely manner though as it was quick. It didn't correct the problem; the watch simply has the green Garmin triangle displaying.

    I've been trying to do it again but can't get to point 2 ie no beebs are heard.

    Please advise as the watch is now totally disfunctional.

    Thank you

    N

  • +1 9 months ago in reply to 8204896

    Thanks for your reply. I had picked up this advice on the forum but a master reset did not work. Once I managed to turn it off but could not get back to a situation where I could turn it off again. Contacted my countries (South Africa) support center and they took me through the master reset steps again, without success. On their request I couriered the watch to them, within 3 days I was informed that they could not get the watch working (and as it was under warranty) they are replacing the watch.

    Firstly, 10/10 for Garmin's support. Exceptional.

    Secondly, this is not acceptable for a high end Smart watch. Let me explain I utilize probably less than 10% of this fine watch's functionality and ruggedness. Its not the watch that failed, its still pristine. Its the bloody software update that bricked a perfectly good watch.

  • +1 9 months ago in reply to 7873097

    I advise you to contact your country/regions support center. The South African support center was exceptional, after I couriered it to them they replaced it when they could not fix it (it was still under warranty). However I'm still concerned that a software update could brick a perfectly good watch that was in pristine condition.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to Honey-badger

    I have had the same issue.  One possibility I have gleaned from the forum is the possibility that Explorer and waypoints may be causing some problems.  I have done a reset on my watch and NOT using Explorer for the past day and so far no problems.

  • +1 9 months ago in reply to Honey-badger

    Hi, thanks - yes I contacted them and I got it back up and running following their instructions. Appreciate your comments. :-)

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to Garmin-Laurie

    It’s *** that every time there’s a new software update, my FR265S gets stuck in a boot loop. Are you doing any QC before pushing new code. And if you think it might be because of a specific device setting I have, don’t blame the user. 

  • 0 5 months ago in reply to Garmin-Laurie

    Laurie, I have this same problem with my Fenix 7 Pro, but at step 5 the watch continues to reboot itself. I tried initiating steps1-4 when the watch shuts itself off. What should I try next?