Why Garmin Watches Are Showing a ‘Blue Triangle of Death’ (and How to Fix It) [UPDATED]
If your Garmin watch is showing a blue triangle, you’re not alone—Garmin has acknowledged that other users are experiencing this, and has published instructions for fixing it. The issue affects several models of watch, including Fenix, Epix, and Forerunner watches.
The company initially told me in an email: “Garmin is researching reports of devices displaying a blue triangle when starting a GPS activity. A reset by pressing and holding the power button may restore functionality. We will provide more information on a permanent fix when available.”
They have since updated the message on their website to say: “We are aware of an issue causing some devices to be stuck on the start up screen or a blue triangle. To resolve this, press and hold the power button until the device turns off, then power it back on, and sync with the Garmin Connect app or Garmin Express. If this does not resolve your issue, Please click here for more information.”
What is the problem?
Users are reporting that their watch will go into a “boot loop,” where it keeps rebooting but never managing to fully start up. The watch displays a blue triangle, as shown in this Reddit post.
Epix, Fenix, Forerunner, Venu, and Vivoactive watches seem to be affected, according to comments in various Reddit posts. The page that Garmin linked with reset instructions also mentions Edge bike computers, and Instinct and Approach watches. Only some models are affected; for example, the Vivoactive 4 is mentioned on that support page, but the Vivoactive 5 is not.
The blue triangle issue may have been triggered by starting a GPS activity, which Garmin acknowledged in its initial statement, but the company has not confirmed whether this is the precise cause. Some users noticed it happened after logging a non-GPS activity, and one says it started when they scrolled over a “weather app/widget.”
Reddit users are speculating that the issue may have been caused by a faulty GPS file. According to this theory, it doesn’t matter when your watch was last updated, or whether you are in the beta program (which grants early access to new features). Rather, the corrupted file would be synced to your watch during normal use. That would explain why it started affecting so many people at once.
That said, I wasn’t able to reproduce this issue on a Vivoactive 5 or a Forerunner 265. On both, I started and finished a GPS “Walk” activity several times and the watch stayed functional. Earlier this morning I did a non-GPS strength activity on my 265S and also viewed the weather from the same watch. No issues so far, but I’m hesitant to try a GPS activity.
How to fix the issue (maybe)
Garmin’s offical advice is is to hold the power button until the watch turns off, and then turn the watch on again. On a Forerunner, the power button is the top left one, labeled “light.” Here are instructions for how to do this on other watch models.
If that doesn’t work, they point you to this support page that appears to explain how to do a hard reset on your watch. This will delete some data, like your Wallet setup and some of your Body Battery and step count data. (Some devices have a backup and restore feature that may help.) Once you follow the steps, you’ll need to reconnect your watch to your phone.
Redditors came up with an alternate solution while waiting for this one, recommending that users connect the watch to a PC with a data/charging cable, and deleting a specific file from the watch. Here is the Reddit comment describing this procedure, but Garmin has not confirmed whether this accurately describes the issue or will fix it. That said, if they are correct, and if Garmin fixed the corrupted file on their end, the reset procedure may work by deleting that file. I’ll update this post again if Garmin provides more information confirming the cause.
