Just downgraded to 17.28 - Wow, I got my old watch back!

8637591 1 month ago

After almost selling my Tactix 7 due to crashing issues and endless bugs, I downgraded to SW17.28 thanks to socorsu who provided me with the file. Garmin should really provide all users with an archive of every stable SW version so we have the option to downgrade if we're having trouble with the latest version.

I have turned off wifi, bluetooth and auto-update and will only use the watch offline for GPS recording and maps. So far, it works great. Many of the features that were broken in future SW versions are working once again. And best of all, it doesn't randomly restart during an activity.

Top Replies

#Matthias# 1 month ago in reply to altairr +6

altairr said:
now it says that I have to update my watch in order to install Spotify...

That's one big downside of backdating Firmware. Many CIQ apps will require a higher CIQ version and will not install…
8637591 1 month ago in reply to trux +3

Thanks trux. I was unaware that the FW files are saved on my Windows PC. However I no longer use Garmin Express, so this is not possible for me. Ideally, Garmin should have a dedicated FW webpage where…
trux 1 month ago in reply to bluefish +3

bluefish said:
However, it will not be installed if you copy it to the /Garmin folder of the watch. You have to force the “update” (the topic here is downgrade).

Yes, you can indeed downgrade easily by…

All Replies

0 trux 1 month ago

8637591 said:
Garmin should really provide all users with an archive of every stable SW version so we have the option to downgrade if we're having trouble with the latest version.

They already do - if you use Garmin Express, the archive is on your disk. On Windows machines it is typically in the folder C:\ProgramData\Garmin\CoreService\Downloads\Firmware\

0 bluefish 1 month ago in reply to trux

8637591 said:
Garmin should really provide all users with an archive of every stable SW version so we have the option to downgrade if we're having trouble with the latest version.

trux said:
They already do - if you use Garmin Express, the archive is on your disk.

Correct. The gupdate file is located there. However, it will not be installed if you copy it to the /Garmin folder of the watch. You have to force the “update” (the topic here is downgrade).

0 8637591 1 month ago in reply to trux

Thanks trux. I was unaware that the FW files are saved on my Windows PC. However I no longer use Garmin Express, so this is not possible for me. Ideally, Garmin should have a dedicated FW webpage where users can download any stable release for their devices, the benefit being that even people who use their devices 'offline' such as myself can have access to such FW releases.

0 trux 1 month ago in reply to bluefish

bluefish said:
However, it will not be installed if you copy it to the /Garmin folder of the watch. You have to force the “update” (the topic here is downgrade).

Yes, you can indeed downgrade easily by simply adding an empty file force.tmp together with the gupdate.gcd firmware from the GE archive to the folder //GARMIN/ on the watch

0 twinsen 1 month ago

How do you downgrade software on this.

Mine won't turn on after it updated itself to 20. 22 ?

0 trux 1 month ago in reply to 8637591

8637591 said:
However I no longer use Garmin Express, so this is not possible for me.

If you used it previously, old firmware might be still there (unless you uninstalled the app, and cleaned up the drive. Though it is not impossible the archive stays preserved even upon uninstall - I did not test it).

0 bluefish 1 month ago in reply to trux

trux said:
Yes, you can indeed downgrade easily by simply adding an empty file force.tmp together with the gupdate.gcd firmware from the GE archive to the folder //GARMIN/ on the watch

I know. But this is not on the pc ;)

0 trux 1 month ago in reply to bluefish

You can create an empty force.tmp file on any PC instantly. It is not some magic file that you'd have to search somewhere online.

0 chris 1 month ago

Can someone guide me to firmware 17.28 for fenix 7 pro sapphire?

And also how to do it?

0 socorsu 1 month ago in reply to chris

Contact me by DM on this forum