Reviews for Garmin Messenger™

Extremely unstable. Causes my phone to crash hard. Messages rarely get out, and if they do, it's days later.

Incredibly frustrating app, poorly designed and architected. It can't even stay in the right language, and the support suggestion for fixing this is to uninstall and reinstall the app.

took awhile to figure out how to send messages, it's not user-friendly, but once I tested it with friends a couple times and figured it out it's really nice to know I can do so no matter where I'm at

I am puzzled as to why the Garmin Quatix 8 was released without direct connectivity to my inReach Messenger, while another model does offer this feature. I kindly request that you consider releasing an update for the Quatix 8 to enable direct functionality with my inReach Messenger. The inReach Messenger has proven to be a reliable tool, allowing me to stay connected with my loved ones during both short and long flights.

Seems like I am stuck in a loop. Phone doesn't recognize the device. Device is searching for connection despite being outside.

Needing to add each contact phone number as a friend in order to even send a message is too redundant. The whole watch messenger is redundant and less convenient than just using the phone that you need for it to work anyway.

@Bug report for engineering team My wife sent me a URL. This app renders an image of the website the URL points to. However I am unable to see the address of the URL. When a single click the message or rendered image, I am taken to the message details screen. The correct behavior for single clicking the rendered image would be to open my web browser with the URL.

Got the app set up on my phone, paired with Messenger device, and tested while I still had online access. While offline in the back country, I needed to pair my phone to another Bluetooth device. That apparently severed the link, and from then on, I was completely unable to re-pair the app with the Messenger device, which meant that all outgoing messages for 10 days had to be tediously and laboriously typed on the Messenger device using its very user unfriendly typing interface. App was useless.

It will not pair a Mini2 with my Pixel 7 Pro. The transceiver is detected via Bluetooth but then times out during the pairing process. I've tried multiple times. The transceiver should work fine for emergencies but the monthly service fee is too expensive for that limited functionality. I will be returning the device and buying a different brand.

This app is cancer. If someone else has ever installed this app on their phone and uninstalls it, you can no longer text their cell number. It fails silently, so you'll never know this until days later. The only workaround is for them to re-install the app and go through a process of unregistering the app on their phone. This app and paid service are buggy as heck. Many unsuspected hidden limits to its function, which is dangerous to discover at inopportune times. Overall bad value.

Why did they make a separate app from earthmate that is incompatible with older Inreachs. there is literally no reason they should have made one or the other backwards compatible. very cumbersome having 3 different apps for the same line of products for no good reason. first time I have ever rated a Garmin product poorly and I have had thousands of dollars in Garmin product over the years.

Useless with Inreach Messenger. Just about to go backcountry and it's not letting me log in "Something went wrong. Try again later". It's meant to be a safety device, and I regret buying this product. Spent over four hours trying all troubleshooting approaches to get this to work, while I'm meant to be on vacation. Poor form, Garmin! If you design a system to work through an App, then make sure the App is robust! So many bad comments about the app, too! Should have stuck with my trusty Spot!

I don't see how to send messages to people who don't have the app. Garmin keeps responding to other reviewers that you can, but I don't see that option. After clicking "New Message", you have the option to search for a phone number or email, but when the search doesn't find an app user with those, it prompts you to invite them to install the app. I do not see anywhere to send a message to a person who does not have the app. Garmin - is there a difference between Android and iPhones on this?

complete failure of a product and app. i have taken it in the field about a half a dozen times. every time the device or app has failed in different ways. this latest time inspite of testing ability to send messages with a friend 2 days before the trip, this app showed my inreach as unpaired, could not use the app for the trip. lacks reliable confirmation that messages have been sent. messages i sent delivered weeks after sending. i could go on but i am out of space.

Honestly, this app sucks. Garmin should be ashamed of this app, and should get it fixed! We pay premium price for these products, and they can't even give us a reliable app. I've contacted Garmin support several times, trying to get help with it. I don't know if the techs aren't aware of the issue, or are just told to act like they don't know there are serious issues with it. How can I rely on the product in an emergency, when they can't provide a simple app? Fixed the issue myself.

I don't get how this app has a 3.8 star rating when the majority of all recent reviews are 1 star. I was hoping to be able to finally enter custom messages on the fly from my Fenix 7X, but the app doesn't work properly. Garmin says you can send messages using your phone rather than requiring an inreach device, but there is no way to do that. All it does when you enter a phone number is to ask to invite others to 'the community' meaning they need to also install the messenger app also. ???

got inreach to use for hunting, but it requires 2 separate garmin apps. it isn't user-friendly, and i wasn't able to text other inreach numbers. I'm currently wasting time trying to cancel my subscription until next year when I look forward to hours of figuring out how to turn it back on. dying alone on a mountain somewhere is starting to feel preferable.

The activation process of the inReach is very kludgy. Nowhere in the quick start guide nor in the process of setting up the app or device is it made clear that you have to subscribe in order to complete set up. While this may seem intuitive, there are devices that subscription is after syncing and linking. Another thing that may seem obvious for a satellite device is having to be outside to complete the process. For $500, the ux & process should be much, much easier. Now in value deficit.

Not user friendly when there is an issue. Consistently will not stay connected to my inreach device. Some days it works great, other days it won't work at all. I have the latest software update, and I even tried deleting the app from my phone and reinstalling it...still won't stay connected. Worst $300 I've ever spent. Thanks a lot Garmin. I have used Garmin watches for years and they work great! This is trash.

Functionality is good, but it's truly ridiculous that you can't use the app when offline because you can't login! WTH Garmin?!? We were stuck on a train between Madrid and Seville during the blackout last week, which also took down most of the cell networks. I have a new phone and hadn't logged into the app on it and thus was unable to use the app at all and had to send all messages character by character on the nReach Mini 2, which does not have a keyboard. Seems like a *massive* oversight!