Garmin presents official solutions for device breaking bug with the threat of data loss for some models

Garmin has now updated its advice for an issue impacting almost all of its cycling computers and smartwatches. For reference, affected products include new devices like the Edge 1050 and Fenix 8 (curr. $1,099.99 on Amazon), as well as various Forerunner models and the older Vivoactive 4.

In other words, the bug is software agnostic and could have occurred from a GPS file that Garmin silently updated earlier this month. If you own an affected device, it will crash when starting a GPS-led activity and get stuck in a bootloop, during which only a blue triangle will be visible.

Garmin still recommends a forced restart as the first port of call for getting past the so-called 'triangle of death'. If successful, syncing said device with the Garmin Connect app should resolve the issue. For devices that fail to restart, Garmin now claims that the issue can be overcome by forcing a restart while it is connected to a PC or Mac with Garmin Express running.

Alternatively, Forerunner, Venu and Vivoactive smartwatches may need factory resetting to flush out the bug that is currently causing boot loops. Doing so will incur data loss though, the full details of which can be found on Garmin's dedicated support page. As it stands, it seems that smartwatches that support Garmin's backup and restore feature, such as the Forerunner 965, can revert to a backup after performing a factory reset. Please see Garmin's support page for advice across all affected devices.