Garmin users are reporting that their watches crash when using apps that require GPS access and then get stuck in a reboot loop, showing a blue triangle logo.
Since early this morning, thousands of customers have complained on social media that their devices are unusable. The issue impacts multiple watch series, including the Garmin Descent, Forerunner, Epix, Fenix, Instinct, Tactix, Vivoactive, and Venu series.
The company updated its status page earlier today to acknowledge the ongoing reboot loop problems impacting customers’ watches. It also asked those affected to turn their devices off and resync them with the Garmin Connect or Garmin Express apps.
“We are aware of an issue causing some devices to be stuck on the start up screen or a blue triangle,” Garmin said on its status page.
“To resolve this, press and hold the power button until the device turns off, then power it back on, and sync with the Garmin Connect app or Garmin Express.”
The company also advised customers whose watches are still stuck in a boot loop to do a factory reset using the instructions available here.
However, it’s important to note that factory resets will also delete Connect IQ content (watch faces, apps, data fields), Body Battery and Garmin Wallet data, shortcut and hotkey controls, and more.
While Garmin has yet to share the root cause of these crashes, the most likely explanation is a bad firmware update impacting the affected watches’ GPS subsystems.
A Garmin spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by BleepingComputer earlier today.
Four years ago, in July 2020, Garmin was also hit by a WastedLocker ransomware attack. This attack caused a worldwide outage of its Garmin Connect, Strava, inReach, and flyGarmin navigation and fitness services after the company was forced to shut down all systems to prevent them from being encrypted.
