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Lost Device

Any one else disappointed by Garmin's lost-device policy of ignoring the help they could provide in recovering lost devices? The policy is that you are on your own, both to report and recover a lost device and to report and return a found device. I guess this is typical liability dodging. Garmin believes they aren't responsible if they avoid knowing if a device has been lost or stolen.

Top Replies

mcinner1 over 4 years ago in reply to e7andy +1

e7andy said:
Good tip. How do you change that?

Edit the file „startup.txt“ in root directory of the device!

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0 10110011 over 4 years ago

Not disappointed. They're doing what they can/should legally do.

dmaffitt said:
The policy is that you are on your own

Not entirely true - Can Garmin Do Anything About My Lost or Stolen Fitness Device? | Garmin Support

0 ted_shwartz over 4 years ago

One of the first things I do with Garmin GPS's is change the boot screen to show my name, phone number and email.

Many years ago I had a crash in the woods on the mountain bike, and carried the bike out 2 miles to the car. Upon getting to the car I realized that my gps had fallen off. Rather than backtrack in the woods to find it (i was with a bunch of middle schoolers) I elected to call it a day and go home.

A few days later, someone found my unit and called me to return it

0 e7andy over 4 years ago in reply to ted_shwartz

Good tip. How do you change that?

A very easy (low tech) way to do the same is to put a sticker on the backside of the device with your phone number or other contact info.

0 mcinner1 over 4 years ago in reply to e7andy

e7andy said:
Good tip. How do you change that?

Edit the file „startup.txt“ in root directory of the device!

0 ted_shwartz over 4 years ago in reply to e7andy

support.garmin.com/.../

0 dpawlyk over 4 years ago in reply to 10110011

10110011 said:
Not entirely true - Can Garmin Do Anything About My Lost or Stolen Fitness Device? | Garmin Support

You did not really read this, did you.

It says either find it yourself (GC might help you with that), hope that somebody turns it in, or call law enforcement.

Garmin won't do anything to help you.

0 bw over 4 years ago in reply to dpawlyk

Well, technically they can't unless the device gets in contact with Garmin Connect. And that will only happen if somebody else plugs it into a computer and tries to register it with their account...

And would a users name - Emmet Brown or Lucky Luke - help you getting your device back? Or even an IP from that it connected? Only law enforcement has the possibility to get a "real" identification with that information -> law enforcement inquiry...

0 dpawlyk over 4 years ago in reply to bw

Law enforcement is not likely to be interested in doing much. They’d have to get a warrant. Only Garmin would know about the user name of somebody registering the lost device.

0 e7andy over 4 years ago in reply to dpawlyk

It is too much work for the Police to do any of that for something that is relatively cheap and very hard to pin anything on a real person and it might not even be the thief. Even if it was the thief that person is of little interest to the Police. Just let the insurance company handle it.

I don't think it is common to lose a Garmin device so it is unlikely that Garmin will spend much on creating some sort of tracking system and handling of lost devices. The use case is too small.

Most of devices is on the wrists of the users and some on bikes. At least my 1030 got a security leash that I always use to secure the device if it pops off from the holder. It will always be attached to the bike if it falls off.

0 10110011 over 4 years ago in reply to dpawlyk

dpawlyk said:
You did not really read this, did you.

I did. I agree, it's next to nothing, but they do offer some advice. They are not going to track down the device or contact law enforcement for you.