Yet another watch stuck in boot loop

But is it CPE.BIN of GPE.BIN

I didn't had any problems because I haven't done a GPS activity yesterday. But I connected the watch and removed the CPE.BIN file thinking DC Ray forgot his glasses (GPE = CPE) 
Then I noiticed it should be a GPE... Anyhow, now I know it could be any of these. Everything is still OK with my Garmin. CPE didn't reapear yet. Lots of fix time, even synced with Express. Nothing. But the important thing, GPS is fine

Option 4 below solved my issue and device rebooted

Your Garmin Epix Gen 2 being stuck in a boot loop is a known issue affecting some users. Since you've already tried different troubleshooting steps without success, here are a few more options you can attempt before seeking professional support:

Possible Fixes:

1. Hard Reset (Forced Restart):

   • Hold the Light button for 30–60 seconds until the watch turns off.
   • Wait a few seconds, then press and hold Light again to restart.

2. Soft Reset via Buttons:

   • Hold the Light + Back (or Down) buttons together for 15 seconds until the screen turns off.
   • Release both buttons and press Light to power it back on.

3. Charge & Retry:

   • Leave the watch on charge for an hour, then try the hard reset again.
   • Try a different charger or cable if possible.

4. Access Recovery Mode:

   • Hold the Light button for 30 seconds while connected to a PC via USB.

   • Go into the watch, Garmin folder, and look for a folder called “RemoteSW”

   • ⁠Delete “RemoteSW”

   • ⁠Unplug your watch and it should restart + work. You can confirm by starting a GPS activity

   • If it enters recovery mode, follow the on-screen prompts or attempt to reinstall firmware via Garmin Express.

5. Garmin Express or WebUpdater:

   • Try connecting to Garmin Express or WebUpdater to check if a firmware update or reset option is available.

Next Steps if Nothing Works:

Since this seems to be a widespread issue, you might need to contact Garmin support for assistance. Given that your device is unresponsive even via USB, they may offer a replacement or repair service.

 Garmin South Africa Support:
 Phone: +27 11 251 9999
 Email: support@garmin.co.za

Sorry for not being clear in my messages.

Here is my algorithm of solving the issue (now it works but the previous data has been lost):

I tried all four steps from the above and neither of them worked for me.

I installed open MTP app on my Mac, got to the folder and deleted all files (in my case there were three ones down there)
After doing that I finally escaped from the "boot loop" but neither my Mac nor my iPhone were able to connect to my watch.

When I got to work (where I have a Windows laptop) I installed Garmin Express app and got my watch successfully connected via wire.

The next challenge was to connect the watch to my phone.
I've deleted the watch from the phones Bluetooth devices as well as the Garmin connect app.
Reinstalled everything back but couldn't get these devices connected.

I've tried to find out if bluetooth actually works (i have installed nRF DeviceManager and nRF Toolbox). After getting a confirmation that the watch actually creates some bluetooth signal (the used terminology might be wrong, sorry about that) I've decided to keep trying to connect the watch to Garmin connect (on my phone).

After several removing and reinstalling the Garmin connect on my phone and several rebooting of the watch I've got it connected!
(I cannot be more precise about the order of actions at this stage, sorry)

Now everything works fine but the previous data is gone.

I am using Epix Pro (Gen 2)

Hope this will help.


Update: today I've got all my previously saved activities back. probably it happened over night.

I did it, 955 solar. I did a hard reset. Then I deleted my watch from Garmin Connect. Then I deleted the watch from the Bluetooth menu of my iPhone. I added it back to Garmin Connect as new. I pressed the sync icon in Garmin Connect and it took about 2-3 minutes. Then I restored the backup and did not lose any data. Before that, when I did not do at least one of the steps described - restoring from a backup led to an eternal reboot.

When you did the reset and got to the pair screen , there is a QR code page , i normally page down to the next page.

Also did you remove your device from GC app and Bluetooth settings on the phone before trying to re-pair

I would also try to completely remove the GC app from the phone (after doing the delete from GC app and BT settings mentioned above) and then reinstall the GC app.

Thanks legend, I battled a bit but finally got it to reconnect! What a nightmare!

Great!