Thousands of Garmin’s smart watches devices freeze when using applications requiring access to GPS, and hang up on the screen with a blue triangle. The problem touched on a wide range of models, including Descent, Forerunner, Epix, Fenix, Instinct, Tactix, Vivoactive, and Venu.
From the early morning of January 29, users began to massively complain on social networks about the inoperability of gadgets. Garmin quickly recognized the existence of a problem and posted recommendations on her status page. Owners of devices are invited to turn off the clock, then turn them on again and perform synchronization via Garmin Connector or Garmin Express.
The company clarified that if the device remains in the reboot cycle, you can try to discharge to the factory settings. However, in this case, the Body Battle data will be deleted, the Garmin Wallet settings, installed dials, and other user parameters.
There is no official information about the cause of the malfunction yet, but experts suggest that the fault is incorrect Update firmware, which affected the operation of the GPS subsystem. Garmin has not yet provided explanations about this.
A similar large-scale failure resembles incident in July 2020, when the company faced an attack of the WasteDlocker Master-Main Millet. Back then, cybercriminals paralyzed the Garmin Connect, Strava, Inreach, and Flygarmin services, forcing the company to turn off the systems to prevent their encryption.
So far, it remains unclear how soon Garmin will be able to eliminate the current problem and whether the company will offer any compensation to the affected users.