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Garmin question (Read 103 times)

robin from maine


    My old Garmin was not holding its charge particularly well, and the band is in pieces, held together with a rubber band and twisties, so I bought the same model on e-bay, lightly used (taken out of the box to be charged twice.)

     

    I ran with it in the rain, more than a drizzle, but less than a downpour, and the watch face clouded up and then went blank. It still beeped, and the next day the display came back, but the watch face was still cloudy with condensed moisture, and has blanked again.

     

    Since then I mislaid it.

     

    Question: is it worth while trying to find it?

     

    I'm back to running with the patched together old Garmin, and charging it after every 1-2 runs.


    an amazing likeness

      My experience has been that you can get them to come back from internal moisture -- by putting it in a ziplock with some rice, or those small silicon desiccant packs in any electronics package, and letting it slowly dry out internally.

       

      But, once that water infiltration starts (and it is often from the buttons), there's no hope for stopping the moisture problem, even sweat or a real humid day will bring it back. Long-winded way of saying it's not long for this world.

      Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

      runmichigan


        I agree with Milktruck that particular Garmin is basically done with, however, I think there are two possibilities:

         

        If the Garmin is under warranty (not likely I know) you can contact Garmin and they will likely send you a replacement.

         

        If the Garmin is not under warranty, you can send it back to Garmin for repairs - need to pay a set repair fee Could be as high as a $100) in advance and get an RMA from their web site.  If they cannot fix it, they will often send you a refurbished model as a replacement.  Whether you can do this or not depends on how old of a model it is and what they have in the way of refurbished stock.

        KCRuns


          I don't know what model you have, but the instructions that came with mine say to keep it "locked" when using in water, like heavy rain or a shower, etc. to keep moisture out.  If it was "unlocked" during your run in the rain, that could explain how moisture got in.  I bought my first watch on ebay and had some issues with it not holding a charge.  I took it into the Garmin store and they were great to work with and replaced it right away.  I've heard others don't have as good an experience over the phone with customer service, so try to go into a store if you have one nearby.

          robin from maine


            My experience has been that you can get them to come back from internal moisture -- by putting it in a ziplock with some rice, or those small silicon desiccant packs in any electronics package, and letting it slowly dry out internally.

             

            But, once that water infiltration starts (and it is often from the buttons), there's no hope for stopping the moisture problem, even sweat or a real humid day will bring it back. Long-winded way of saying it's not long for this world.

             

            Thanks -- if I happen to find it, I'll try the desiccant packages, but I guest that I won't look too hard.

            robin from maine


              I agree with Milktruck that particular Garmin is basically done with, however, I think there are two possibilities:

               

              If the Garmin is under warranty (not likely I know) you can contact Garmin and they will likely send you a replacement.

               

              If the Garmin is not under warranty, you can send it back to Garmin for repairs - need to pay a set repair fee Could be as high as a $100) in advance and get an RMA from their web site.  If they cannot fix it, they will often send you a refurbished model as a replacement.  Whether you can do this or not depends on how old of a model it is and what they have in the way of refurbished stock.

               

              I doubt that it's under warranty, and I'm not sure that it's worth $100 to replace, but I will probably inquire of Garmin.

               

              Thanks.

              robin from maine


                I don't know what model you have, but the instructions that came with mine say to keep it "locked" when using in water, like heavy rain or a shower, etc. to keep moisture out.  If it was "unlocked" during your run in the rain, that could explain how moisture got in.  I bought my first watch on ebay and had some issues with it not holding a charge.  I took it into the Garmin store and they were great to work with and replaced it right away.  I've heard others don't have as good an experience over the phone with customer service, so try to go into a store if you have one nearby.

                 

                It's the same model as my old Garmin, which hasn't given me any problems in much heavier rain.

                 

                No Garmin store near by, but I'll try the phone route, if I happen to find the darned thing.

                 

                On the basis of advice, I may not keep looking for it.

                 

                Thanks Smile