VA3 stuck in a boot loop (Garmin logo) - How to reset to factory - HELP!

RobertK of course I realize that. Vivoactive 3 would be perfect for me if it worked right, it has everything I need. That's why I am contemplating on 5s, don't really need that extra stuff, I just do simple runs and hike once in a while. But at $500 price tag I think it's fair to expect better than mediocre work of sensors and software. Otherwise anything can be advertised at higher prices with that moto!

RobertK of course I realize that. Vivoactive 3 would be perfect for me if it worked right, it has everything I need. That's why I am contemplating on 5s, don't really need that extra stuff, I just do simple runs and hike once in a while. But at $500 price tag I think it's fair to expect better than mediocre work of sensors and software. Otherwise anything can be advertised at higher prices with that moto!

What i do is to buy used unit, not refurbished one but basically fairly new that has been used for a while and its working well. That way i avoid majority of the issues right away. Price is way lower and warranty is there anyways. I bough the Fenix 3HR when it was £375 new i got it for £250 few weeks old, now i bought the Vivoactive 3 basically brand new in pawn shop for £165 when cheapest new on ebay is £255...granted i had to replace is right away the next day for another unit but still..the difference between NEW and sort of new is none and pricewise yes. Plus manufacturer warranty still applies same way.

I've got a fix for this!!! I got my VA3 2 days ago (12/31/2017) and hit the same problem just a few hours after starting to play with its features. I bumped into this forum and was ready to return my watch, but fortunately I've managed to fix it. I noticed the problem started after I installed a new watch face (so, most likely, the face has a bug that crashes the software every time it starts, right before anything actually appears on the screen).

So... I downloaded the Garmin Express software to my PC, connected the watch to the PC via USB and started Garmin Express. The watch started up in the PC connection screen (time + battery shown). I then used Garmin Express to delete all watch faces I had downloaded to the watch. That fixed the problem because the buggy face was deleted so the watch then rebooted to the default face.

Still, I was troubled by the fact that I could not find a way to reset the watch to factory defaults just through a button combination. So... I called Garmin and they told me you can reset it to factory defaults by holding the power button for 30+ seconds, then releasing it (at that point, the watch will already be off). Then turning it back on. Disclaimer: I did NOT try this hard reset trick because my issue was solved by deleting the buggy watch face using Garmin Express and at this point, I don't want to be more adventurous with my new watch. If you guys have an issue wich was not caused by a buggy face and the Garmin Express solution doesn't work for you, please give the hard reset trick a try and let us know if it works.

I had a similar situation after updating a watch face on my Vivoactive 3 (stuck on the logo screen, vibrating every so often). I finally figured out that I could use the side slider on the watch to move to a different widget. From there, I did a long press on the watch screen and then slided down the menu to Watch Face and chose a different watch face. Once off the offending watch face, the watch went back to normal behavior and I could sync with the Garmin Connect app on my phone and delete the offending watch face. Hope this helps.

I had a similar situation after updating a watch face on my Vivoactive 3 (stuck on the logo screen, vibrating every so often). I finally figured out that I could use the side slider on the watch to move to a different widget. From there, I did a long press on the watch screen and then slided down the menu to Watch Face and chose a different watch face. Once off the offending watch face, the watch went back to normal behavior and I could sync with the Garmin Connect app on my phone and delete the offending watch face. Hope this helps.

Same here. The watchface CleanAnalogPlus crashed and my VA3 got stuck on a boot loop, but I figured out I could simply keep swiping up on the screen to change to a different widget before the watchface could be loaded, and then change the watchface on the settings.

I've got a fix for this!!! I got my VA3 2 days ago (12/31/2017) and hit the same problem just a few hours after starting to play with its features. I bumped into this forum and was ready to return my watch, but fortunately I've managed to fix it. I noticed the problem started after I installed a new watch face (so, most likely, the face has a bug that crashes the software every time it starts, right before anything actually appears on the screen).

So... I downloaded the Garmin Express software to my PC, connected the watch to the PC via USB and started Garmin Express. The watch started up in the PC connection screen (time + battery shown). I then used Garmin Express to delete all watch faces I had downloaded to the watch. That fixed the problem because the buggy face was deleted so the watch then rebooted to the default face.

Still, I was troubled by the fact that I could not find a way to reset the watch to factory defaults just through a button combination. So... I called Garmin and they told me you can reset it to factory defaults by holding the power button for 30+ seconds, then releasing it (at that point, the watch will already be off). Then turning it back on. Disclaimer: I did NOT try this hard reset trick because my issue was solved by deleting the buggy watch face using Garmin Express and at this point, I don't want to be more adventurous with my new watch. If you guys have an issue wich was not caused by a buggy face and the Garmin Express solution doesn't work for you, please give the hard reset trick a try and let us know if it works.

Sadly, none of this is working for my 2 month old unit- it's buzzing infrequently but just stuck on the Blue Triangle of Death for last 2 hours

I've got a fix for this!!! I got my VA3 2 days ago (12/31/2017) and hit the same problem just a few hours after starting to play with its features. I bumped into this forum and was ready to return my watch, but fortunately I've managed to fix it. I noticed the problem started after I installed a new watch face (so, most likely, the face has a bug that crashes the software every time it starts, right before anything actually appears on the screen).

So... I downloaded the Garmin Express software to my PC, connected the watch to the PC via USB and started Garmin Express. The watch started up in the PC connection screen (time + battery shown). I then used Garmin Express to delete all watch faces I had downloaded to the watch. That fixed the problem because the buggy face was deleted so the watch then rebooted to the default face.

Still, I was troubled by the fact that I could not find a way to reset the watch to factory defaults just through a button combination. So... I called Garmin and they told me you can reset it to factory defaults by holding the power button for 30+ seconds, then releasing it (at that point, the watch will already be off). Then turning it back on. Disclaimer: I did NOT try this hard reset trick because my issue was solved by deleting the buggy watch face using Garmin Express and at this point, I don't want to be more adventurous with my new watch. If you guys have an issue wich was not caused by a buggy face and the Garmin Express solution doesn't work for you, please give the hard reset trick a try and let us know if it works.

AlexC It worked! Not the 30-sec reset though but connecting it through Garmin Express. Thank you so much!! I remembered the last thing I did wars changing the watchface before the booting issue happened.

Well it seems that I also have this problem now. Yesterday after installing an app my watch got stuck in a boot loop. I was able to fix this by attaching the watch to my pc and connecting with garmin express. After that I did a factory reset, that seemed to work and I dared to install same apps again. I only installed apps that I've had on my phone for the last month but when in installed them again yesterday my phone got stuck in boot loop again and now I'm not able to connect it with garmin express.

I am able to shut it off with the 15+ second button press, but when I start it again it is still in a boot loop. The 30+ second button press does not seem to make any difference, it does not do a factory reset. I now this because the garmin logo is still upright. I'm using the button on the left, if the watch was back to factory settings it would default back to right and the logo would be upside down.

I'm planning to bring the watch back to the shop, do any of you have any other suggestions for me to try?

I've just installed ActiFace watchface and have had a few settings changed from phone to this watchface which crashed my VA3 at once, and VA3 restarted automatically at once into bootloop. 15+ sec or 30+ sec kept staying on blue triangle which I've tried so many times. Plugging in USB with Garmin Express or disconnecting USB doesn't help. What a nightmare experience of my first using Garmin smartwatch!!!