Why Does My Garmin Watch Have a Triangle?
As the owner of a Garmin watch, you may find that your watch will sometimes display a blue or white triangle. This may be strange or confusing for someone who doesn’t know what that means. Why does a Garmin watch display a triangle?
When a triangle appears on the display of a Garmin watch, it means that the device is resetting. If the device is stuck on a triangle, it is not loading properly after a reset, so it will need to be rebooted by pushing the power button, connecting it to the computer, or removing the battery.
The watch may need to reset for a number of reasons, and depending on the type of watch you have, there are a few different ways to reboot it.
What Does a Triangle Mean?
You may have noticed that the display of your Garmin watch has disappeared and been replaced with a triangle. Whether it is a blue outline, a filled-in blue triangle, or a white triangle, it usually means the same thing; the color is simply different on different types of watches.
When a triangle shows up on your display, it means that your watch is resetting. This may happen because there is an error when the device is powering back on, trying to connect or sync to another device, or charging. Sometimes the device is able to reset quickly and get back to normal, then the triangle will disappear almost as quickly as it appears. Other times, it won’t be so easy.
Garmin watches will sometimes not be able to reset properly, and the screen may get stuck displaying the triangle. This can be frustrating because, no matter how long you wait, it is possible the display may not go away on its own.
However, don’t despair. The triangle may not be able to go away on its own, but there are some actions that you can take to get rid of it yourself.
How Do I Get Rid of the Triangle?
If your watch is frozen on the triangle, the best way to get rid of it is to reset the watch manually. Every type of Garmin watch is designed a little bit differently, and so the procedure to reset one is generally different from the procedure to reset other types of Garmin watches. The first thing to try is a soft reset, which means resetting the device using a power button.
To reset a Vivoactive 4, you will need to plug the watch into your computer. You will need the Garmin Express application so that your computer can properly connect to the device. Plug the device into the computer and hold the power button until the screen goes black, which usually takes about 10 to 20 seconds. You can then hold down the button again to turn it back on. If this doesn’t work, try powering off the device, waiting for the backlight to turn off, and then plugging it into the computer and powering it back on. If you plug it in before the backlight turns off, it may cause the device to freeze up.
To reset a Fenix 6, power off the watch by holding the Light button for up to 30 seconds. Then press and hold down the Start/Stop button. Plug the watch into the computer, with the Garmin Express application open, and wait up to 45 seconds for it to connect. Finally, release the Start/Stop button.
If you have a Garmin watch that does not have any physical buttons, such as a Vivosmart, you will need to plug the watch into the computer and reset it using the Garmin Express application.
If you have a different type of Garmin watch, check the user manual to find out how to reboot it. For a soft reset, the instructions are usually fairly simple, though some devices may have more complicated procedures.
If a soft reset doesn’t work or isn’t possible, you can try a hard reset. This means removing the battery to reset the device. Though hard resets are not as good for devices, they may succeed in fixing the device where a soft reset failed. Remove the battery of the device for ten seconds, then put it back in. This process should be the same for most different kinds of Garmin watches.
If a soft reset and hard reset still do not return the watch back to normal, it may be time to try a factory reset. A factory reset means that you are wiping the data on the device and returning the software to how it was when you first took it out of the packaging.
Many owners will hesitate to do this because that means that you lose your history, setting changes, and connections to other devices. However, if the watch isn’t working, this may be your only other option.
How you factory reset a Garmin watch depends on which model you have. You should be able to find instructions in your user manual. The instructions for factory resetting watches, especially if the display isn’t working, are usually more complicated than a soft reset. This is so that you don’t do it by accident.
If the watch is still frozen on the triangle after the factory reset, that probably means that there is an issue with the hardware. This is not something that you can really fix on your own. Try contacting a Garmin customer service representative; they may be able to help you fix it or know another way to reset your watch. However, in the end, you still may end up needing to replace your watch.
How Do I Unfreeze My Watch?
If your Garmin watch is not frozen on a triangle, but instead is frozen on the display, the process for returning it to normal is essentially the same. Start with a soft reset, then try a hard reset if that doesn’t work, then a factory reset if all else fails. Be careful though; sometimes resetting the device can actually cause it to freeze on the triangle display.