Factory resetting Garmin becomes useful when the watch becomes frozen and unresponsive to commands or touch.
With us today, are ways you can reset your Garmin watch so that it becomes responsive. We also go ahead and show you how you can restore your data after rebooting your Garmin watch and what to do if Garmin doesn’t turn on.
How to Reset a Garmin Watch
Performing a factory reset is the best way to fix a Garmin watch that is not receiving satellite signals or not functioning as supposed to. Resetting Garmin is also a way to restore the watch back to the factory setting.
A reset will completely erase user data like VO2 max and training effect among other fitness values. That means your Garmin watch will need once more to learn about your data to provide an accurate analysis.
Fortunately, Garmin watches that support Physio TrueUp will be able to restore data once synced to Garmin Connect.
You will need to pair your watch to your phone once again after performing a reset. That means you will need to remove the watch from Garmin connect. Here is how to reset your Garmin watch:
- First, ensure that the watch is off.
- Long press or press and hold Back/Lap.
- Switch on the watch while still holding the Back/Lap.
- An option will show (“Clear User Data?”), release Back/Lap once the message appears.
- Lastly, opt for Yes
Consider the reset successful when the watch turns on and goes through the initial setup process. Perform the process once more in case you are not prompted to the initial setup process.
If the Garmin watch is not receiving satellite signals do the following:
- Start by following the above reset process.
- Place the Garmin watch outside, somewhere there’s a clear view of the sky and wait for about 20 minutes. It is within 20 minutes the watch will acquire satellite data.
If the processes above don’t bear any fruit try the secondary reset. This reset will help you get rid of the blue triangle on your Garmin watch. Here is how you get to secondary reset your Garmin watch:
- Power off the watch
- Long press or press and hold Down, Back, and Start keys. You will find these buttons on Garmin Forerunner 735XT, Fenix 5, Fenix 5 Plus, Fenix 6 Series, Fenix 7, Forerunner 255, Forerunner 55, and Forerunner 245 Music among others.
- Switch the watch back on while still pressing the buttons.
- Release the start button as soon as you feel the first beep.
- Release the rest of the buttons as soon as you feel the second beep. That’s it, your watch should now be reset.
Can I Reset My Garmin Watch Without Losing Data?
The good news is that people who own Garmin Instinct models and the recent Garmin Forerunner are able to soft reset (reboot) their watches without losing their personal data, music, and all activities. Access the system settings menu and use the reset default settings to make it happen.
How Do I Get My Garmin Data Back?
You will want to have all your data back once your screen is unfrozen and is responsive. But is it even possible? Well, getting your data back is so much possible simply:
- Connect the Garmin to your computer using a USB cable.
- Open Garmin Express.
- Choose your device from Garmin Express.
- Select Tools and Content.
- Select Utilities Lab.
- Select Restore Backup.
- From the drop-down menu, click previous back and then click Restore.
How Do I Unfreeze My Garmin Watch?
There is a number of things you can do to troubleshoot a Garmin watch that is frozen and unresponsive, keeps on rebooting, or won’t turn on.
This process will help unfreeze screen the screen on Garmin watches like the Fenix 5, Fenix 3, and Fenix 2. Try the following to fix the issue:
- Long press/press and hold the power key for about 20 seconds or until the watch turns off. Let the watch chill for about a minute or two before turning it back on. In case your Garmin watch doesn’t have a physical button, reboot the watch by plugging it to power using a USB cable for a minute (60 seconds) and then unplug.
- Once the watch is on plug it to power using a USB charging cable then again press and hold the power button until the watch power off.
Hint: Luckily, most Garmin watches will not lose data when reset is done. Unfortunately, those that are using Garmin Vivosmart HR and HR+ will need to set up their watches once again because the process will factory reset the watch.
The reason why the touchscreen on your Garmin watch is not responding to touch or is still stuck on the Garmin screen is that the watch is frozen.
Garmin Watch Will Not Turn On
In case the above illustration does not resolve the powering on issue consider doing the following:
- Long press the power key on the Garmin watch for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Release the power button as soon as the display lights up.
- Plug the watch to power and then press and hold the power button until the Garmin watch turns on.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Force My Garmin Forerunner 245 To Reboot?
When your Garmin watch stops responding you may need to reboot it. Keep in mind, any time you do a reboot on your watch chances of losing all your data are so high. To force our Forerunner 245 to reboot:
- Press and hold Light for 15 to 20 seconds or until the watch goes blank.
- Press and hold Light once more to turn on the watch.
Why is My Garmin Watch Showing a Blue Triangle?
Your Garmin watch is showing you the blue triangle because it is locked to the Garmin logo, frozen, or stuck which is common on Garmin watches like the Fenix.
Thankfully, we have ways to deal with the issue, which is by restoring default through a reboot and updating the watch via Garmin Express – it’s as simple as that.
How Do I Get Rid Of The Triangle on My Garmin Watch?
The other way you can get rid of the blue triangle on your Garmin watch is by. Switching off the watch, long pressing the Start/Stop, Down, and Back.
Push the Light button to turn the watch on while still holding the Stop/Start, Back, and Down buttons. Let go of the Stop/Start button when the first beep happens and the rest when the second beep happens.
How Do I Force Shutdown My Garmin Fenix?
You can forcefully shut down a Garmin Fenix watches like the Fenix 6 by doing a soft reset. To forcefully restart your Garmin Fenix, consider the following:
- Press and hold the Light button until the watch turns off.
- Let the watch rest for a minute or two and then again press and hold the Light buttons to turn the watch back on.
What do You do when Your Garmin Won’t Turn On?
The best thing you can do when your Garmin watch is not to turn on or reboot it. A number of Garmin watches e.g. Forerunner 235 and will lose data when a factory reset is done but the majority will not.
From the first section of this article, we have provided you with procedures to follow to reset Garmin watches.
