Is it just me?

I'm experiencing some of these issues too

The Explore 2 features a MIP display, which allows it to be easily visible in sunlight without the need for a backlight. The brighter the ambient light (more sun), the better the display's visibility.

I keep my backlight at 0% all the time, and it's perfectly visible even with sunglasses on.

Welcome to Garmin's universe of a horribly designed UI. The UI is programmed by people who sit in chairs and do not ride bikes. 

I agree about the screen. I really think mine has gotten worse in the last year and it's not my eyes. The glare is horrendous. It's hard to see in direct sunlight and when you live between 18 and 14 latitude, that sun is bright and mostly over your head. I have to use a hand to cover it so I can see it with max brightness. Go under a tree and it's fine. The screen is bad. 

Also, why is there no screen timeouts for basic stuff like "Stop Course" or any other screen? Just time out so it returns to the main screen. 

Why are some features like Tones buried under multiple layers when it's a feature that you should be able to turn on and off quickly.

You could go on and on. It's just Garmin. 

My wife and I have had the EE2 from day one and are very happy with it. Before that, we had the EE1.

The screen is easy to read in all seasons in the Netherlands and Germany. I have the screen off and set it to 60% for popups.

I find the menu and buttons logical and easy to use.

We charge the battery after three long days.

I always create routes in Komoot, and after saving them, they are neatly loaded into our EE2. Navigation is fantastic.

Perhaps my expectations were a bit lower. After all, I bought the EE2, not a more expensive version.

We cycled 17 days through Germany this summer. The routes were all created in Komoot. That was fantastic.

I'd like to share on this forum that there are also satisfied users.

Although, of course, there's always room for improvement.

Kind regards from the Netherlands,

Alex

Thanks, I'll try that.

7873118 said:

There s no simple way to simply get back to the home screen and start again

Press & Hold the back arrow (top-left of screen) on a setting screen and it takes you back to the home in one step.

7873118 said:

it can't switch off because ConnectIQ is open and that I have to close it first

While I also don't use the ConnectIQ widget on the edge I have never seen the message you refer to, could you do a screenshot. Are you sure it says "ConnectIQ" as this sort of behaviour occurs if you have not finished an activity before trying to shutdown the edge, you have to stop the activity (bottom right button) and discard or save the recording and then shutdown the edge.

Otherwise I agree with rbclass / Alex, the screen is very clear for me (and my old tired eyes) with 0% backlight.

Garmin could and should do way better with their user-interface and user manuals etc

7873118 said:

Is it just me?

Lots of people have these and the interface isn't much different than older versions (that have a similar interface) that lots of other people have. That doesn't mean your issues are unreasonable but it also means a lot of people don't have same issues (or learn to deal with them). There can be a bit of a learning curve but, again, lots of people are able to deal with it.

7873118 said:

if I want to switch between screens sometimes it's a swipe, sometimes it's an arrow at the top and sometimes it's an arrow at the bottom.

Switch data pages (the pages you typically care about) by swiping left or right. Swipe down to get widget pages. You can move between widgets by clicking the left or rigth arrows at the bottom of the screen. Hide the widgets by clicking on the up arrow (carrot) at the bottom of the screen.

Widgets let you turn on (or off) the GPS and some other stuff. You cam install other IQ widgets.

7873118 said:

Sometimes when I have finished a ride and want to switch it off I get a message telling me it can't switch off because ConnectIQ is open and that I have to close it first.

You can't use IQ apps when a ride (activity) is in progress. So, this doesn't make sense to me.

I suspect you might be clicking on the IQ on the bottom of the home screen. You can back out of that screen (and IQ won't be running).

7873118 said:

but I do use the Garmin Connect app which maybe it is referring to but even when I close it on my phone I still can't switch off the Explore2 so eventually it runs out of battery.

No, it's not talking about Garmin Connect on your phone.

7873118 said:

I live in a country where the sun shines almost all of the time so I always have to wear sunglasses. This makes the already dim screen extremely difficult to see. Yesterday the screen somehow managed to change the display brightness from 100% to 30% without any known input from me.

These devices use a special screen that uses sunlight reflected through the screen. If you mount the device at 45', it's nearly always going to be in shadow (and not work very well).

It can take some getting used to. The problem with using a backlight is that it uses much more battery life and is hard to be bright enough to overcome the brightness of sunlight.

7873118 said:

I am thinking of cutting my losses

It's likely you'd easily be able to sell it. Check the prices on ebay.

flocsy🤠 said:

I'm experiencing some of these issues too

The UI is much easier to deal with than writing IQ programs.

(If you are having issues, you should ask about them.)

Hi, thanks for taking the time to respond.

dpawlyk said:

it also means a lot of people don't have same issues (or learn to deal with them). There can be a bit of a learning curve but, again, lots of people are able to deal with it.

Indeed, as will I but it feels like Garnin interface designers have little understanding of real life. And it's not that I'm technically illiterate - I am a web designer - it's just that user interfaces should be intuitive. I shouldn't have to revert to the manual every time I want to do something fairly straightforward.

dpawlyk said:

Switch data pages (the pages you typically care about) by swiping left or right. Swipe down to get widget pages. You can move between widgets by clicking the left or rigth arrows at the bottom of the screen. Hide the widgets by clicking on the up arrow (carrot) at the bottom of the screen.

You make my point: there is no consistency about navigating between screens. And just for the record I do not typically care about data pages as I use the EE2 primarily for navigating.

dpawlyk said:

You can't use IQ apps when a ride (activity) is in progress. So, this doesn't make sense to me.

Actually I use the Komoot IQ app when I am riding as I prefer the Komoot mapping. However I have since come to understand that when it tells me I have to close the Connect IQ app it doesn't mean the Connect IQ app on my phone but "a" Connect IQ app on the EE2 which, in my case is the Komoot IQ app. I have now discovered how to deal with it but I would argue that the error message is far from clear and doesn't give any hint as to how to deal with it.

dpawlyk said:

These devices use a special screen that uses sunlight reflected through the screen. If you mount the device at 45', it's nearly always going to be in shadow (and not work very well).

It can take some getting used to. The problem with using a backlight is that it uses much more battery life and is hard to be bright enough to overcome the brightness of sunlight.

Thanks for this tip. I will try switching off the backlight - hopefully it will give me much longer battery life.

rbclass said:

I keep my backlight at 0% all the time, and it's perfectly visible even with sunglasses on.

Thanks I'll try that.