Customer reviews from Garmin
Garmin - InReach GPS with Built-In Bluetooth - Red/Black
Average customer rating
4.1
(717 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 717 reviews
5 Stars
411
4 Stars
133
3 Stars
74
2 Stars
45
1 Star
54
Customer Reviews for Garmin - InReach GPS with Built-In Bluetooth - Red/Black
Customer Rating
5
Provides you peace of Mind.
on April 4, 2022
Posted by: Asp_951
I paired my mini inreach with the Garmin Overlander. It provides the peace of mind in that my Family can view my progress and know where I am and having the ability to send text while of cell phone service is GREAT.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
2
Terrible instructions!!
on April 4, 2022
Posted by: Panamintjim
I bought the InReach so I could keep in contact with people at home via text. I was able to link the unit to my IOS phone with no problem. I then spent hours trying to set up a contact list and was unable to. I am very disappointed and this defeats my reason for buying the InReach. I have a SPOT which works great, but the InReach has great features which are useless if I can’t figure out how to access them. I’m really bummed.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 6, 2022
Thank you for your review and experience with the inReach Mini. We would like to discuss this further over email. If you would please email us at product.support@garmin.com.
Thanks Jenny
Thanks Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
GREAT DEVICE
on April 7, 2022
Posted by: TRAIL1
I have only had the device for a month and have only used it in the field once so this is early for a review. I still have lots to learn and discover about the device. The Garmin customer service is AMAZING! The set-up and activation was pretty much easy and straightforward after carefully reading and watching video tutorials. I found that the two way messaging has worked as advertised. That's the main reason that I bought the device. Navigating through all the options is a bit confusing at first, but with practice it get's much easier. This device is an independent functioning sattelite 2 way communicator, but to get the complete capability of it, you need to become proficient with the Bluetooth interfacing with the Earthmate app on your smartphone and also the syncing interface with your computer (not a tablet). You can navigate with the device using the Earthmate app, but I have yet to master that function myself. One last important thing, if you have a computer with Windows 10 or 11 in "S mode", you will have to disable/turnoff the S mode function on your computer to update and sync the Garmin InReach. The software that the Garmin devices run off of are not compatible with Windows 10 and 11 in S mode. I learned this the hard way just after I bought a new laptop. Disabling the Windows 11 S mode feature on my laptop was easy and now all systems are operating as advertised. From my limited use so far, this is a dependable rugged device that I'm sure will live up to it's reputation. Garmin has lots options to choose from with their plans as well.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 7, 2022
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
3
Must be highly motivated to operate.
on April 10, 2022
Posted by: Bend Guy
I love the size, weight, battery life and it has been very durable. When it is clipped on my backpack I forget it there.
I hike and bike alone a lot and it gives me and my wife peace of mind knowing that I can call for emergency help when needed.
It is to complicated. I have spent hours trying to learn the features and still after two months of ownership I am still lost in endless menus and get into features I am not ready to learn. The task of just sending a simple Preset messages is frustrating beyond belief.
My suggestion to Garmin is to allow a customer to ease into the features by having a beginner, intermediate and advanced setting which is selected through the Garming Explore web site.
I hike and bike alone a lot and it gives me and my wife peace of mind knowing that I can call for emergency help when needed.
It is to complicated. I have spent hours trying to learn the features and still after two months of ownership I am still lost in endless menus and get into features I am not ready to learn. The task of just sending a simple Preset messages is frustrating beyond belief.
My suggestion to Garmin is to allow a customer to ease into the features by having a beginner, intermediate and advanced setting which is selected through the Garming Explore web site.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 14, 2022
Thank you for your review and experience with the inReach Mini. We would like to discuss this further over email. If you would please email us at product.support@garmin.com.
Thanks Jenny
Thanks Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
peace of mind
on April 15, 2022
Posted by: chamorro1
we used our inreach last month in death valley and it worked great. the peace of mind knowing that we have comms in case of an emergency is such a relief. we also used the tracking mode in the mojave and it worked great. love this thing
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 18, 2022
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
3
Works great setup is a pain
on April 18, 2022
Posted by: Alpaxhia
I love the capability to track and message. Software was difficult for me to set up. Too many steps between desktop computer, smart phone and InReach itself. I found some messages on InReach not clear but by multiple test I was able to figure it out. Previously a “spot” user on and off for 15 years, the InReach is my preferred tracker once through the setup.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 18, 2022
Thank you for your review and experience with the inReach Mini. We would like to discuss this further over email. If you would please email us at product.support@garmin.com.
Thanks Jenny
Thanks Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Great for communicating with families back home
on April 20, 2022
Posted by: Derek H
I have owned a satellite communicator for several years and the inReach Mini for a couple of years. I use it primarily for backpacking with our scout troop. It allows me to communicate with our families with short daily updates ("checking in. all is good") on multi day trips plus they like the tracking feature to follow our progress. I've thankfully never used the SOS feature but it's nice peace of mind for our group.
We are getting ready to do a 2 week backpacking trip in New Mexico at Philmont Scout Ranch and the mini is definitely going. I will use the extending tracking feature which saves battery power plus a daily "checking in, we're all good" message to the parents back home.
As a BSA Scoutmaster I highly recommend this device and have to other troops.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 20, 2022
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
2
Need to use in combination with Earthmate to text
on April 24, 2022
Posted by: Carolyn the Hiker
I bought this Garmin to use on a southwest trip where there would be many areas without cell service. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to text, unless I used the Earthmate app and my phone as the keyboard. If your phone has enough power, that will work. Without Earthmate, texts can be pre-written and sent via punching small buttons on the device (not very convenient) or created letter by letter (cumbersome).
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 25, 2022
Thank you for your review and experience with the inReach Mini. We would like to discuss this further over email. If you would please email us at product.support@garmin.com.
Thanks Jenny
Thanks Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin