Edge Explore goes blank and locks up during ride

Because you think a firmware upgrade may have caused the problems...

If you are in the mood for some experiments, you may install firmware a few versions older. Say version 4.40, or still older. Older versions can be found here: http://gawisp.com/perry/edge/ Look for the file EdgeExplore_440.gcd, rename it to GUPDATE.GCD and copy it to the folder ..\Garmin on the device. Detach the device in a clean way ('Safely remove hardware'), and install will start when the device has rebooted. If not, start the install manually: Menu / System / About / Software Update. Be aware that all your personal settings are lost and have to be re-entered if you downgrade to an older firmware version.

Now with the older firmware check if the lockups persist, preferably with settings as basic as possible (no Bluetooth, no IQ Apps, etc.). Stepwise from here you hopefully can nail down to the cause of the lockups, by enabling functions one after another, install newest firmware, etc.

If this sounds too complicated and at least it is time consuming, I'd go for the referb or even maybe a new device.

thanks for the excellent pointer to a very useful archive, bikepc01.  I have pared my device back to a near bare bones configuration but am certainly game to experiment further.

for what it's worth: I have the same problem with my Edge Explore (november 2019), software version 5.1. I think it has to do with a bug in the battery save mode, the screen goes blank, but the device still responds to touch commands and is still navigating (beeps).

Holding the power button long enough to re-start is indeed the workaround, though on some occasions I did remove the course (not able to see which touch command I gave)

I'm experiencing the same problem as the OP except with a brand new device on 5.10. So to answer the OP it could be very well related to the upgrade to 5.10

I planned route ... started riding and it crashes after 5 km, the only thing I could do was to push the power button for 10 s,it it also sends an emergency message to my assigned emergency contacts. After 30 km the same scenario, it send an emergency call even with the emergency call disabled.

The next day I connected it with GE, stating the software was up to date, but the maps needed to be updated, so I installed a new map. Besides that I also did a system reset (incl erase data), some fora claim it might be fixed by doing that.

The next ride, without a planned route went smooth (35 km) so I thought the problem might have been solved.

Two days later I plan a route of 35 km, after about 5 km ... dang!, crash again, luckily I removed my emergency contacts (since disabling the emergency call was not enough), 10 s power button, .... ok back on track... all went well until the 30th km ... crash again..

Please note : the battery was far from empty, the first crash on the two rides it was near 100% and the only way to light up the device was pressing the power button for 10 s.

I was a bit frustrated so I will send it back this noon to the vendor. Since i'm a bit IT minded (rooting android devices, etc) I could do the software downgrade, and hope it fixes it, but what about warranty... 

I've had the same issue on my Edge Explore with version 4.4. Screen goes blank and device is locked. Only a reset by pressing the power button for several seconds helped. This became exceedingly annoying when it failed at least 25 times on my 465km ride last weekend. It seemed to continue recording after every reset until I got home and uploaded the ride. Speed, distance, heart rate, cadence were all there.... except for 180km of gps data. Also, navigation became very painful during the ride so I had to resort to planning from one city to the next instead of following one route for the full distance. Maybe I'm asking too much but I was under the impression that this device was made for touring. Like others mentioned before I get the impression this freezing is due to a bug with the power saving functionality. I will be sending it back for repair and see what they have to say. To be continued.

Those of us with this problem seem to be a real (but I assume small) subset of the Garmin universe.  See this thread on the Garmin 830 forum, for instance https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/cycling/f/edge-830/170912/830-locked-up-during-a-ride

I'm still hoping for the firmware upgrade that magically fixes this.  When the device works, it works well.  But this is a frustrating glitch that at least in my experience, can happen at any time....

How do you do a ride of that length with this battery?

The Garmin battery is pretty decent especially in combination with the power saving features of the device. I had a small power bank with me. It was unfortunate however that due to frequent restarts the Garmin kept on recalculating the route which turned into a real power drain and emptied the power bank. That’s why I resorted to navigating short distances to avoid lengthy and energy intensive route recalculations. 

Same is happening here. Now, as soon as it goes blank/unresponsive I am force-restarting it. It is something to do with screen turning off and on by itself/user-input.

I too am having this issue after the last software update. Now running 9.4  Only fails when a course is loaded.  Garmin Edge 1000.