Watch Entered Test Mode: How to Factory Reset?

Same here for an Instinct Solar. Mine shat itself at the first sign of water when i was trying to save my first swim session in a year. Great......

the usual answer is to hold the ctrl button until it switches off and then press again to start. The usual answer to that is it didn't work. You've got to hope garmin dont supply the military or make  devices where your life is at stake. 

I've also tried the CTRL button technique, but it didn't work.

What have you done? Gave up on your watch?

its only just happened. That's why I am here. i will contact the support people on Monday. Despite my frustration I will give them the benefit of the doubt until then. If I get anywhere I will post here. 

I won't spend too much longer looking at it today and do my run "naked"! at lest that will stop me looking at my speed and HR whenever I pass someone or someone passes me. A funny habit I see lots of people doing. 

looking at the test pages it appears to be picking up all the signals OK so it doesn't appear water damaged. there is one screen where it say "forced test mode enabled"

I got this issue a couple of hours ago.

Mine also appears to be working, except I can't exit these forced tests mode.

I am in South London so it could be, literally, something in the water!! I will leave mine on the funny square pattern screen. 

The watch is only a few months old and has been fine for running, cycling, the gym and even in the bath. The swim appears to have killed it. I cant quite get the hang of the auto pause mode in running. I have to be moving as i press start or it pauses. It will be interesting to see how that works in my race of choice- the PARK RUN.....

The watch enters the test mode when you start the watch while pressing the ABC button. To exit it, reboot the watch without pressing the ABC button. 

If the ABC button is blocked, it may be a mechanical problem - for example due to dirt, salt, or soap residuals. Try letting the watch for an hour in water to see whether it helps. If not, contact the Customer Support.

thanks but if you read the posts 2 of us (and many more on the internet) have tried the reboot using the control only button. My watch only misbehaved when it was exposed to water, it is only a couple of months old so i would hope there hasn't been too much exposure to dirt and salt etc. I have contacted support and I will give them a ring on Monday. It's annoying. If customer support is good it will become less annoying and the opposite is also true. an I have nothing to loose I will soak the watch for an hour or so. my concern would be that if a couple of month normal use knackers the watch, how bad will it be in a few years? I would hate to think there are no serviceable parts inside and another item goes into landfill.......

That's the best piece of advice I've got so far.

It makes sense. That's probably why the ABC button is not working. It might be stuck.

Thank you. ;)

5312421 said:

how bad will it be in a few years?

Hard to tell, mine works flawlessly since 2 years, but I do care about it accordingly, rinsing it in fresh water after each sweaty or dusty activity, or after sea swims or diving, and avoiding soap residuals on it when taking a shower. Still, I am aware it will not hold eternally.

I plugged into a charging port and tried again after a couple of days and everything is back working again. i have swum with the watch again and it has been OK. 

One reason i got this watch was because of the time between charges so it stays on my wrist all the time. I cycle into work every day and will run, swim, gym, footy etc on most days a week . I also bath and shower!! so the watch has to endure some hard work as my body does. Hopefully it will be more resilient than I am at times.