After not even four months of usage, my Garmin GPS watch has stopped working. It still works as a regular watch, but no longer record distance. It would pick up satellite signal and count the time as I start moving, but the distance remains zero. At first, I thought perhaps I pressed some wrong sequence of buttons and, since I was out for a walk, I simply stuck with a rectangular path for which I know the distance. The next time it was a run and I wasted some minutes to try to "fix" it. Luckily I did not waste too much and it still turned out to be a decent run. Afterward, I simply mapped the route using DailyMile.com's tools. It is a bit tedious but it works fine.
I looked at the Garmin manual, online, and it did not offer much useful troubleshooting info for my scenario. The most I can do is shut down the device and that I did, to no avail. What I read next in the online forums only disheartened me. It seems some files got corrupted on the GPS watch and while it is possible to re-install the files the action can only be done via a Windoze machine, which I do not have at home. Argh! It is not a life-and-death situation so I decided to write to Garmin tech support and wait for their answer, which is supposed to come in 3 business days. In the mean time, I will just run without a GPS watch. I did it for more than two years, it is not that difficult. I already have a few routes plotted out in DailyMile. While it means I will need to stick to the route, it is no biggie. The running is the important part here, how precisely I record it is secondary.
Still, I refused to believe there is no way to reset the device, back to factory default if it comes to that. I Googled again and this time found the link at
https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces;jsessionid=2066DB0E5EB57DB81D9FC438C8AF99FF
Sure enough, there IS a way to reset the thing. I tried it and even though it was already past 11 P.M. and snowing lightly outside, I just had to verify that all was well again. Yessirree Bob, all is well again in Qaptain Qwerty's running life.
Glad all is well in your world.
ReplyDeleteIt is cold here on top-of-the-arch too. Snow is expected tomorrow and freezing weather for the week.
Enjoy reading your regular posting. It is February, so I need to keep up the tradition of posting everyday (all 29 posts).
Keep warm and have a good week.
TOTA
That link doesn't seem to work - how do you reset the device. I am having exactly this problem with my Forerunner 210.
ReplyDeleteWith all the new technologies these days, grabbing links off the browser address bar does not work, doh! I even tried to email the info to myself in hope that I would get a link to the article but that does not work either. Oh well, here's the instruction verbatim:
ReplyDeleteHow do I reset my Forerunner 110, 210 and 610?
If for any reason you feel as if your Forerunner 110, 210, or 610 needs to be reset, use the steps outlined below. Only use this reset sequence sparingly and only when needed. The device being locked up or you would like to reset to factory default settings would be reasons to perform the reset
.To reset your Forerunner:
Power the device Off (Press and hold the light button)
Press Light and Lap/Reset to power the device on
Select Yes on the Clear User Data? message
Press the Page/Menu button to select ok and to confirm the reset
The watch will shut off and power back on
Proceed through the initial setup
Oh, in the spirit of sacrificial journalism, I actually tested the process on my Garimin Forerunner 210 to make sure it works. Luckily re-entering info and re-doing the setup took little time, including a short trip outdoor to auto-set the time. Happy Running!
ReplyDelete