Customer reviews from Garmin
Garmin - inReach Messenger 1.08" GPS with Built-In Bluetooth - Black
Average customer rating
4.3
(204 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 204 reviews
5 Stars
127
4 Stars
41
3 Stars
15
2 Stars
14
1 Star
7
Customer Reviews for Garmin - inReach Messenger 1.08" GPS with Built-In Bluetooth - Black
Customer Rating
4
Very good product
on March 16, 2023
Posted by: MarkC
I bought this about 2 months ago and have used it hiking about 6 times now. Overall I find it to operate exactly as advertised. Great battery life, lightweight, fairly easy to use after using a few times. For my purpose of having a device to use in an emergency, I am happy with the purchase. Some things that I am not super impressed with are :
- I don’t like that you have to send a message to someone so they have a way to reply to you. I would rather the Messenger use my regular phone number so people could text me using my regular phone number.
2- I signed up for the Safety plan. For me using the Messenger for emergencies is the main reason I bought it. However, I do wish the Safety plan offered unlimited tracking so I could turn on tracking and use more of the device features.
- I don’t like that you have to send a message to someone so they have a way to reply to you. I would rather the Messenger use my regular phone number so people could text me using my regular phone number.
2- I signed up for the Safety plan. For me using the Messenger for emergencies is the main reason I bought it. However, I do wish the Safety plan offered unlimited tracking so I could turn on tracking and use more of the device features.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, March 16, 2023
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
3
Love the ability to stay connected with family
on March 21, 2023
Posted by: Rserrano
I brought this unit for letting loved one that we are of while in remote hikes. I would have scored the inReach higher if the unit was easier to navigate. Trying to change users in order to allow my son to use it and that involved resetting it back and removing users. Not a "friendly user" set up. I wanted my son's name to show up as the new user and it still shows my name, even if he is the one using it. Which developers would create a simpler way to adding users.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, March 21, 2023
Thank you for your review and experience with the inReach Messenger. 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
4
Can be useful
on April 6, 2023
Posted by: Off-road enthusiast
I purchased the Messenger a month ago for the purpose of emergency notification for my upcoming off-road trip. I signed up for Freedom Safety Plan. It has a useful feature that you can suspend on a monthly basis. I tested the Messenger, and it sent notifications to contacts via satellite network. So, the device works very well. I have not used it in the field so I cannot comment on that. The setup is a bit cumbersome and may be complicated for some users. The advantage of the Messenger is a powerful battery, so it should last in the field. I have some concerns about the way it is set up. The way I understand it is that it will send the message to all contacts at once. Please, correct me if I am wrong, but this seems like a deficiency. I would like to send different messages to selected contacts. I do not know how to setup to send an SOS message if I only need a recovery and do not know where to send it. Please, explain. For these reasons, I give it 4 stars and need more practical experience to upgrade to 5 stars.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 10, 2023
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
3
Great device. Plans are too expensive
on April 7, 2023
Posted by: Aircooledtype1
Use it when skiing. Quick messages from app work well. Device seems reliable. Service plan is a ripoff
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 10, 2023
Thank you for your review and experience with the inReach Messenger. 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 little unit
on April 8, 2023
Posted by: Idahofishman
We’ve had this a month and have been happy with it. Battery life is great and app is easy to use. It takes a bit to get used to using the messenger without the app but it’s nice that it has that capability. Nice price point too and reasonable subscription options too.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 10, 2023
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Great product
on April 13, 2023
Posted by: AMRCNmale
I really like the ability to add satellite coms to my cell phone when needed.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 13, 2023
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Great features, user friendly.
on April 15, 2023
Posted by: FreefalleRnrs
I haven’t bought this very long ago and have only had it out of cell phone range once. It easily picked up the satellite signal, the weather conditions, and my track back. Very impressive so far.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, April 17, 2023
Thank you for your review. Jenny
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
3
Easy to set up
on April 20, 2023
Posted by: KP67
I have not been in a position to make use of the Messenger.
Response from GarminBy Garmin, Outdoor, May 2, 2023
Thank you for your review and experience with the inReach Messenger. 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