Review on 📡 Garmin InReach Mini 010-01879-01 - Compact and Lightweight Satellite Communicator, Black, 1.27 inches by Josh Tadder

I have SE+ and have decided to buy this. It was nothing but trouble. First, full disclosure, the mini software is not updated. Therefore, some of the issues described below may be related to this issue. The software update requires a Windows or MAC computer and I only have a Chromebook. For most people this is not a problem. However, keep in mind that you don't have easy access on a Mac or PC. To update the software, you must borrow someone else's computer and install the Garmin software on it to update your device. But my complaint isn't just about software updates. I absolutely love the Garmin Inreach SE+ and hate this device. So if you're considering buying one or the other, read on. Another caveat. Don't make the same mistake I did by not returning this if you still have the chance. I called during the return window after using it on two trips. But I made the mistake of letting Revain refer me to Garmin and letting Garmin convince me to stick with it. Then, after a few more trips, when I decided this really wasn't for me, it was too late to go back. OK. Now let's get down to business. What don't I like about it? 1) The UI is terrible. But you want less, and you're willing to make that compromise, right? Think carefully. Figuring out how to do a thing on a device isn't that hard, but nothing was intuitive to me. Some functions can be found in the standard menu system, others only in a special menu system found by pressing "OK" on the main screen. Some features that are clearly "Settings" are not in the Settings menu, but are hidden elsewhere. Also, don't think that you can just use your phone instead of messing around with the device itself. Most functions (e.g. changing device settings or doing what I do most often - sending a preset message) are not available through the phone interface, so you have to use the actual physical device interface - which, as I said, is terrible. 2) To compose a message, you should use your phone. Typing character by character is incredibly slow and difficult. I've found that I keep the messages I write about the MINI as short as possible because it's very difficult to send them that way. But then I found out that they were misunderstood (exacerbated by the fact that the messages were sent out of order and heavily delayed (see below)). If I ever got into an emergency, I'd rather have the SE+ than this thing. are the only user. It may not sound that bad, but think about it. If one of the main reasons you're getting this is to deal with an emergency, do you really need a device that only you can use? For me, that's a deal killer. To use the device properly, you need to pair it with your phone (see step 2), but other members of your group may not be able to use your phone in an emergency. The interface isn't too complicated if you spend a few hours using it, but will other people in your group spend that time? Compare to SE+ as opposed to my experience. For example, when I went camping with me as an 11-year-old, I showed my daughter how to use it, asked her to compose a test message and send it to my mom. I spoke to her about how the SOS message works and asked her to send a message with it. She was just as confident as I was that if I couldn't help, she could call for help in an emergency. Try it with Mini. It will not work. It's not just that she's 11 years old. I think many adults would find it difficult to pick up this thing on their own and get the right information about SOS. I also have two devices because sometimes when I'm on the road I want to disconnect and we still want to communicate. It's so nice to be able to gift another device to my wife, boyfriend or child. But will I ever give it to them? No way. It is too hard. 4) My particular device is very picky when it comes to charging. According to Garmin, it was probably because I was using a different manufacturer's charger. The? It's USB only. The same charger that works with other items will not work with this one. It has also been suggested that a software update could solve this problem. 5) My particular device does not reliably send satellite news. Again, Garmin believes a software update will fix this issue. But anyway, there's something going on here and I can't help but compare it to my experience with SE+, which always works well (even without a software update). The difference between the SE+ and this was most noticeable when hiking in the canyons. Both my SE+ and Mini struggled to send a message due to the gorge's high walls - you basically had to wait for a satellite to pass overhead, which in my experience can take 20-30 minutes. But on SE+ there was a screen that showed me what was going on, ie. when the message has been checked. There was no way of telling what was going on with the Mini. I also noticed that the Mini sent some but not all of the messages I wrote between satellite flights. Why? Who knows. After the hike I drove an hour home and when I was home for over 30 minutes my wife (who was in cell range the entire time at home) received two additional messages from the Mini that were a little apart on her cell phone. .As noted above, issues 4 and 5 may well be due to my inability to update the software on the Mini. But even if I trusted the device, I wouldn't want a Mini because it just doesn't work as a standalone device.