Garmin inReach Mini 2: Stay Connected with Satellite Communication

Seth Christiansen: Always comforting to have a back up if needed when going out Dirt-bike riding

United States on Oct 10, 2023

KM: This device, though a little pricy, is worth every penny. Im able to check weather, send and receive texts, and if necessary, use it for navigating. Plus, SOS button in case of emergency. It will send out my position and call appropriate rescue. Battery lasts for days. Use my cell phone, along with the app to send the messages. If the cell battery goes down it can be used as a stand alone device. Device only was about three ounces and is small. It can easily fit in a pocket. Mainly use it when I go offshore fishing and lose cell service.

United States on Sep 22, 2023

April W.: Works good. The text count isn’t always accurate which isn’t the greatest thing if wanting to keep under your limit.

United States on Jul 21, 2023

John Harris: I do not normally write alot of reviews but felt I needed to in this case because this is a potentially life saving product and people need to understand what they are buying. First, I primarily bought the mini for the SOS feature. I hike and kayak alone in many remote locations and wanted the piece of mind. I have not used it yet and hope I never do but I am confident it will work. I did a ton of research and I think many of the negative reviews stem from people not understanding what they bought, how to use it, or where to use it. The mini is an saty receiver and transmitter that relies on the iridium saty network. It’s not a cell phone, it doesn’t work like a cell phone. For any saty transmitter to work it MUST have a clear view of the sky facing toward the satellite. Trees, clouds, and even curvature of the earth (sorry flat earthers) will all affect how your mini works. It pays to take some time before you leave on your trip to understand where in relation to you the saty birds are so you know where to point your inreach. It’s not a cell phone. Taking 20 or 30 min or longer to hit a saty bird and communicate is not unusual that a quite normal. When I was in the military...

United States on Jul 12, 2022

J. Kruger: I will update this after some actual field use. The inReach Mini was well packaged with the optional charging items. Set up, activation and initial testing of the unit was extremely easy and straightforward. The device is very small, but feels substantial and very good quality. It looks like it should stand up to typical use, and some abuse quite well.

The Garmin Explore website makes it easy to set up your 3 preset messages. The Earthmate App (I use an Android phone) makes syncing the device and using many of the features very easy. The app is intuitive and easy to navigate and use. The Explore website also has other functionality and is also easy to understand and navigate. Please note that for the mini, firmware updates need to be done with Garmin Express. If you don't already have it, it's a free download. I connected the mini and within 2 minutes the update was installed. All other syncing functions like waypoint updates, messages, etc., are done from your mobile device when you connect to the mini via Bluetooth.

Even without a mobile device, the mini is completely functional, and scrolling through and selecting the various functions is easily accomplished. You...

United States on Mar 02, 2020