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Troubleshooting Your GPS Watch

 

At some point your GPS watch is going to encounter a problem. It might freeze, not start, or die mid-run. My new Garmin likes to auto-update, which freezes the screen (tip: hold the power button for 15 seconds, then push it again!). Keep reading to learn how to troubleshoot your GPS watch.

So how do you troubleshoot your gps watch? Follow these steps:

  • Recharge the watch. Yes, this is obvious – but it could be something that simple. Especially if the watch is old, the battery can’t keep its charge as long as it used to.
  • Plug the watch into a computer. Similar to recharging the battery, sometimes the GPS watch will reset itself simply by being reconnected to a computer.
  • Do a soft reset. This essentially forces the GPS to restart. This also prevents any data loss. Click the links below to find out how to do a soft reset on your specific watch.
  • Do a hard reset. This reset returns the GPS watch back to its original, factory preset condition; however, doing so will ERASE ALL DATA ON THE WATCH including un-synced activities and customization. Use this only as a last resort. Click the links below to do a hard reset.


Garmin Forerunner 10/15

Forerunner 10/15

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold down “Light” button – Forerunner will power down
  2. Release “Light button” and press once – Forerunner will turn back on

Hard Reset

  1. Press and “Light” button – Forerunner will power down
  2. Press and hold “Enter” button (top right) and “Down” button “bottom right”
  3. Press and release “Light button” (while still holding “Enter” and “Down” buttons) – Forerunner will turn back on
  4. Release “Enter” after first beep (still hold down “Down” button)
  5. Release “Down” button after second beep
  6. Forerunner will finish powering up. If it doesn’t, repeat steps

Ready for an upgrade?

Garmin Forerunner 25

Forerunner 25

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button for 15 seconds
  2. Press and hold down the “Power” button to restart

Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the Forerunner 25 by pressing and holding the “Power” button (top left), then select “Yes”
  2. Hold the “Runner” and “Down Arrow” buttons (top right and bottom right buttons, respectively) at the same time
  3. While continuing to hold the “Runner” and “Down Arrow” buttons, press and hold the “Power” button
  4. After the first tone, release the “Runner” button
  5. After the second tone, release the “Down Arrow” button

Ready for an upgrade?

Garmin Forerunner 35

Forerunner 35

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button (top left) for 15 seconds
  2. Press and hold down the “Power” button to restart

Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the Forerunner 35 by pressing and holding the “Power” button (top left), then select “Yes”
  2. Hold the “Runner” and “Down Arrow” buttons (top right and bottom right buttons, respectively) at the same time
  3. While continuing to hold the “Runner” and “Down Arrow” buttons, press and hold the “Power” button
  4. After the first tone, release the “Runner” button
  5. After the second tone, release the “Down Arrow” button

Ready for an upgrade?

Garmin Forerunner 110

Forerunner 110

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold down “Light” button – Forerunner will power down
  2. Release “Light button” and press once – Forerunner will turn back on

Hard Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Light” button to power off the watch
  2. Press and hold the “Start/Stop” and “Lap/Reset” buttons
  3. While still holding the “Start/Stop” and “Lap/Reset” buttons, also hold down the “Light” button
  4. After the first beep, release the “Start/Stop” while still holding down the other two buttons
  5. After the second beep, release the “Lap/Reset” button but continue to hold the “Light” button
  6. Release the “Light” button
  7. The Forerunner 110 will power up to the set-up wizard. If it doesn’t, repeat steps

Ready for an upgrade?

Garmin Forerunner 210

Forerunner 210

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold down “Light” button – Forerunner will power down
  2. Release “Light button” and press once – Forerunner will turn back on

Hard Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Light” button to power off the watch
  2. Press and hold the “Start/Stop” and “Lap/Reset” buttons
  3. While still holding the “Start/Stop” and “Lap/Reset” buttons, also hold down the “Light” button
  4. After the first beep, release the “Start/Stop” while still holding down the other two buttons
  5. After the second beep, release the “Lap/Reset” button but continue to hold the “Light” button
  6. Release the “Light” button
  7. The Forerunner 210 will power up to the set-up wizard. If it doesn’t repeat steps

Ready for an upgrade?

Garmin Forerunner 210

Forerunner 220

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold down “Power” button (top left button with light bulb icon) for 15 seconds – Forerunner will power down
  2. Press the “Power” button for 1 second – Forerunner will turn back on

Hard Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button (top left button with light bulb icon) and select “Yes” to power off the watch
  2. Press and hold the “Lap/Reset” button (bottom right button with Reverse Loop Arrow icon)
  3. While still holding the “Lap/Reset” button, press the “Power” button
  4. Select “Yes”

Ready for an upgrade?

Forerunner 230 & 235

Forerunner 230 & 235

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button for 15 seconds
  2. Press and hold down the “Power” button to restart

Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the Forerunner by pressing and holding the “Power” button (top left), then select “Yes”
  2. Press and hold the “Circle Arrow” button (bottom right button)
  3. While continuing to hold the “Circle Arrow” button, press and hold the “Power” button
  4. Select “Yes” when prompted

Ready for an upgrade?

Forerunner 310XT

Forerunner 310XT

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Mode” and “Lap/Reset” buttons for 10 seconds
  2. Release both the “Mode” and “Lap/Reset” buttons at the same time
  3. Power the device back on

Hard Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button to turn off the 310xt
  2. Press and hold down “Mode” and “Enter” buttons at the same time
  3. Press and release “Power” button while continuing to hold down “Mode” and “Enter” buttons
  4. Press and release “Lap/Reset” button while continuing to hold down “Mode” and “Enter” buttons – this will power down the watch
  5. Wait 3 seconds while continuing to hold down “Mode” and “Enter”
  6. Release “Mode” and “Enter” buttons
  7. The Forerunner 310xt will power up to the set-up wizard. If it doesn’t repeat steps

Ready for an upgrade?

Forerunner 610


Forerunner 610

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button until the screen turns off
  2. Hold down “Lap/Reset” button while pressing the “Power” button
  3. Select Yes at prompt

Hard Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Light” button to power off the watch
  2. Press and hold the “Start/Stop” and “Lap/Reset” buttons
  3. While still holding the “Start/Stop” and “Lap/Reset” buttons, also hold down the “Light” button
  4. After the first beep, release the “Start/Stop” while still holding down the other two buttons
  5. After the second beep, release the “Lap/Reset” button but continue to hold the “Light” button
  6. Release the “Light” button
  7. The Forerunner 610 will power up to the set-up wizard. If it doesn’t repeat steps

Ready for an upgrade?

Forerunner 620

Forerunner 620

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold down “Power” button (top left button) for 15 seconds – Forerunner will power down
  2. Press the “Power” button for 1 second – Forerunner will turn back on

Hard Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button (top left button) and select “Yes” to power off the watch
  2. Press and hold the “Lap” button (botton right button labeled “Connect”)
  3. While still holding the “Lap” button, press the “Power” button
  4. Select “Yes”

Ready for an upgrade?

Forerunner 630

Forerunner 630

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button for 15 seconds
  2. Press and hold down the “Power” button to restart

Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the Forerunner by pressing and holding the “Power” button (top left), then select the “Circled Checkmark” icon
  2. Press and hold the “Circle Arrow” button (bottom right button)
  3. While continuing to hold the “Circle Arrow” button, press and hold the “Power” button
  4. Select the “Circled Checkmark” icon when prompted

Forerunner 645

Forerunner 645

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button (top left) for 15 seconds
  2. Press and hold down the “Power” button to restart

Hard Reset

  1. Plug the Forerunner into a power source
  2. Press and hold the “Power” button (top left) for 15 seconds
  3. Press and hold down the “Power” button to restart

Forerunner 735XT

Forerunner 735XT

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button for 15 seconds
  2. Press and hold down the “Power” button for one second to restart

Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the Forerunner by pressing and holding the “Power” button (top left), then select “Yes” when prompted
  2. Press and hold the “Circle Arrow” button (bottom right button)
  3. While continuing to hold the “Circle Arrow” button, press and hold the “Power” button to turn on the Forerunner
  4. Select the “Yes” when prompted

Forerunner 910XT


Forerunner 910XT

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button to turn off the 910xt
  2. Press and hold down “Mode” and “Power” buttons at the same time
  3. When “Do you want to Erase All User Data” appears , release both buttons
  4. Select “Yes” on the watch display
  5. The 910xt is reset but ensure it works by leaving outside for 15 minutes to ensure it finds satellite signals

Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the 910xt by pressing and holding the “Power” button
  2. Press and hold the “Mode” and “Enter” buttons
  3. While continuing to hold the “Mode” and “Enter” buttons, press and release the “Power” button
  4. Release the “Mode” and “Enter” buttons

Ready for an upgrade?

Forerunner 920XT

Forerunner 920XT

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button for 15 seconds
  2. Press and hold down the “Power” button to restart

Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the 920xt by pressing and holding the “Power” button then select “Yes”
  2. Press and hold the “Down Arrow” button
  3. While continuing to hold the “Down Arrow” button, press and hold the “Power” button
  4. Select “yes” when prompted

Ready for an upgrade?

Forerunner 935

Forerunner 935


Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button (top left) for 15 seconds
  2. Press and hold down the “Power” button to restart


Hard Reset

  1. Turn off the 935 by pressing and holding the “Power” button (top left) then select “Yes”
  2. Press and hold the “Back” button (bottom right)
  3. While continuing to hold the “Down Arrow” button, press and hold the “Power” button
  4. Select “yes” when prompted

fenix Series

fenix, fenix 2, fenix 3 series, fenix 5 series (5S, 5, 5X)

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button until screen turns off
  2. Press “Power” button to restart fenix

Hard Reset

First method:

  1. Power off the fenix by pressing the “Backlight” button to power off the watch
  2. Press and hold the “Down” button
  3. While continuing to hold the “Down” button, press the “Backlight” button to power on the watch – make sure to release the “Backlight” button when it powers back on (but don’t let go of the “Down” button)
  4. When “Erase all user data” appears, release the “Down” button
  5. Select “Yes”

Second method:

  1. Turn off the watch (or check that the watch is turned off)
  2. Press and hold the “Down”, “Start”, and “Back” buttons simultaneously
  3. Turn on the fenix while holding these buttons
  4. After the first beep release the “Start” button
  5. After the second beep let go of the other buttons


Vivoactive 3

Vivoactive 3


Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button (top left) for 15 seconds
  2. Press and hold down the “Power” button to restart


Restoring Defaults

  1. There doesn’t appear to be a way to hard reset the device
  2. Instead, to restore the factory defaults:
  3. Hold the touchscreen
  4. Select: Settings -> System -> Restore Defaults -> Yes

Magellan

Magellan Switch & Switch Up

41l7CAtO1TL

Soft Reset

  1. Hold down the “Power” button until the watch shuts off.
  2. Restart the watch.

Hard Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Enter” and “Down” buttons at the same time
  2. Wait 5 seconds until a menu appears
  3. Select “Factory Reset” Warning

New Balance

New Balance NX990 GPS Cardio Trainer

Soft Reset

NA

Hard Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Mode” button to enter the System settings
  2. Use the “ST/STP” or “Lap / Reset” buttons to navigate to “System Reset”
  3. Select the “View” button
  4. Use the “ST/STP” or “Lap / Reset” buttons to select the appropriate option
  5. Press “View” to confirm the system reset

Nike

Nike Sportwatch GPS

Soft Reset

  1. Press and hold the “Up” and “Select” buttons at the same time
  2. Wait 5 seconds until the firmware version displays
  3. The watch will shut off and turn itself back on

Hard Reset

  1. Connect the watch to a computer and launch Nike+ Connect
  2. Select the “Settings” option in Nike+ Connect
  3. Click “Factory Reset” (found on lower left of screen) on Nike+ Connect
  4. Click “Reset” when the warning message pops-up

TomTom

TomTom GPS Runner & Multi-Sport

Soft Reset

  1. Connect the watch to a computer or wall charger
  2. When the watch shows the battery symbol, disconnect the watch from the charger or computer
  3. The software will restart, completing the soft reset

Hard Reset

  1. Connect the watch to your computer
  2. Log into your mysports.tomtom.com account
  3. Select “Factory Reset”



Ben Drew

Ben Drew

Ben is an avid road and trail runner, and has completed multiple marathons and ultras. A former running store owner, he now shares his knowledge and experience writing these articles.

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