Howdy y'all,
Was very frustrated this afternoon at not being able to install the 5.10 update on my Instinct (Note: I originally wrote this post for version 5.10, but it works for any update version). Express kept throwing an error saying that there was insufficient space to install the update. With the watch plugged into my Mac, it was showing just 770 kb available. Deleting activity files from the macOS browser, Express, and the watch itself was not able to remedy the problem, nor did a delete and reset of the Instinct itself. The watch continued to show 770 kb and Express would not allow the update to proceed.
I discovered a fix for the problem in macOS. Standard disclaimer: you do this at your own risk and I'm not responsible for what happens to your watch if something goes wrong.
- Back up your activities by syncing your Instinct to the Gamin Connect app.
- Clear your activities from your watch. This can be done by holding the MENU button on your Instinct, and selecting History > Options > Delete All Activities.
- Connect your Instinct to your computer.
- Once the Instinct is connected, in the macOS Finder menu bar at the top, go to Go > Computer (or hit Command + Shift + C) and find the removable drive labeled GARMIN.
- If you're like me, at this point you will see just two things in there: a file named AUTORUN.INF and a folder named /GARMIN.
[If you haven't already backed up your activities using the Connect app, then go into the /GARMIN folder and make a copy of the folder named /Activity onto your computer.] - There are hidden folders on your Instinct that macOS does not ordinarily show you. You can reveal these by using the shortcut Command + Shift + . [period].
- At this point you should see a hidden folder appear named /.Trashes. Right click on the folder and select Move to Trash.
- Now attempt to run the 5.10 update from the Express app.