Is it possible to turn light OFF and have radar ONLY

Too true! the response from Garmin on the Virb Edit sub-forum is excellent, shame it isn't similar right across the board.

Quote Originally Posted by changrenyong View Post
Not sure if it's only happening to me. Both Edge 520 and the Varia are on the latest firmware. I set the Light Mode to Off and it turns off the LED on the Varia radar. I then turn off the Edge 520, which automatically shuts off the Varia radar. After waiting for more than one minute, i turn on the Edge 520, follow by the Varia radar. As soon as the Edge 520 forms a light network with the radar, it turns off the LED. At this point, it still remembers the "Off" setting. If I turn off the Edge 520, wait more than 1 minute, and then turn it back on, the Varia radar no longer remembers the Off setting. The setting is now "Overdrive". This is kind of annoying because I have to change the Light Mode setting back to "Off" again. Since I commute to work daily, having to turn on/off the Edge 520 and the Varia radar twice a day, I have to change the Light Mode setting to "Off" every day.


This is something that Garmin is aware of and we are actively investigating. I do apologize for the inconvenience.

I stil have this problem. Is problem almost solved?

Has anyone checked to see how much the battery life is improved with the tail light off?

For information, the Garmin vivoactive HR is also capable to switch off the tail light and keep the radar on. The vivoactive HR must have the firmware Beta 2.71 or higher installed (supports the Varia Radar as well).

Has anyone checked to see how much the battery life is improved with the tail light off?

I had 7 hour of radar with the tale light off, and than the battery of my edge died.
So maybe the radar will last longer.

Overdrive

Having a problem where my Varia Radar goes from "Flash" to "Overdrive" and stays there, reading this thread looking for a solution..

FWIW it worked

Thanks to AWEATHERALL - I didn't know to select "Network Options". Problem solved. Of course, just as the problem was solved and everything's working fine, Garmin prompts me to install another update.. (cue ominous music..)

Update

Not sure if it's only happening to me. Both Edge 520 and the Varia are on the latest firmware. I set the Light Mode to Off and it turns off the LED on the Varia radar. I then turn off the Edge 520, which automatically shuts off the Varia radar. After waiting for more than one minute, i turn on the Edge 520, follow by the Varia radar. As soon as the Edge 520 forms a light network with the radar, it turns off the LED. At this point, it still remembers the "Off" setting. If I turn off the Edge 520, wait more than 1 minute, and then turn it back on, the Varia radar no longer remembers the Off setting. The setting is now "Overdrive". This is kind of annoying because I have to change the Light Mode setting back to "Off" again. Since I commute to work daily, having to turn on/off the Edge 520 and the Varia radar twice a day, I have to change the Light Mode setting to "Off" every day.

I have more update on this bug. Just FYI, I validated this using an Edge 820 on firmware 3.10. This bug only occurs if the Varia Radar unit is turned on AFTER the Edge 820 has completed its startup process. This is the sequence of events for the bug to occur:
1. Set Varia Radar to "Off"
2. Power off Edge 820
3. Wait for about 1 minute (until the blue LED stops blinking on the Varia radar)
4. Power on Edge 820 and wait until it has completed the startup process (i.e. Until the device starts to accept your selection)
5. Power on Varia Radar. Edge 820 will display "Forming Light Network" message. Even though the Varia radar light is still off, at this point, it has forgotten the "Off" setting.
6. Power off Edge 820
7. At this point, you can power on Edge 820 immediately while the blue LED on the Varia radar is still blinking, OR you can wait for the blue LED to stop blinking before powering on Edge 820. It does not matter.
8. If you power on Edge 820 while the blue LED on the Varia radar is still blinking, the Varia radar light will automatically power on and will run in "Overdrive" mode.
9. If you wait until the blue LED on the Varia radar to stop blinking before powering on the Edge 820, you will have to manually power on the Varia radar. But regardless, the Varia radar light now runs in "Overdrive" mode.

I don't know if this is applicable to Edge 520 or older Edge 820 firmware (older than 3.10) but there's a way to get around this bug. If (after already setting the Varia radar light mode to "Off") you power on the Varia radar BEFORE you power on the Edge 820, the Varia radar will not forget the light mode setting. In fact, if you power on the Varia radar immediately (like within a second or two) after powering on the Edge 820, it will still remember the light mode setting. But the safest bet is to power on the radar before the bike computer.

I don't know if this is applicable to Edge 520 or older Edge 820 firmware (older than 3.10) but there's a way to get around this bug.

It works for Edge 520 (FW 7.10), and Varia RTL 500 (FW 3.00).
(My Varia works better with FW 3.00 than with 3.40. I don't know why, it's just the way it is.)

Thanks a lot for finding the workaround.

Stig

Edge 510

I have an edge 510 and I just got the varia radar.
The radar is working great.
Is there a way to turn off the light and have the radar on.
I read this thread and it seems that you need the light network.
My present firmware update has added the light network into the edge 510 but I can not find a place to change the light mode or turn off the varia radar light off.
AM I missing something or this features is not available for the edge 510.

Thanks guys for your help