Garmin inReach Plans: The Ones They Don’t Tell You About

[@Hikingguy]

I've got an idea: What would you pay for an inReach plan from Garmin in this new world order where cell phones can do sat SOS and text?

[@wolfeadventures]

$10-15/ month for messaging to family. SOS is only for emergencies and you cant text family or friends. I think the majority of people who use Inreach use it for that. Having SOS on my phone is just a back up for a real emergency.

[@ACiDGRiM]

When att gets their data and voice from satellites I may reconsider. But right now the functionality of a dedicated device is worth having always on even though I rarely find myself needing the service.

[@BillOzanne]

@@wolfeadventures iOS 18 allows you to text anyone if you have an iPhone 14 or newer.

[@memathews]

I'd pay the same amount as the current Garmin plans, but not more. As it stands, most of my outdoor activities are in the PNW and usually under forest cover with thick cloud cover and rain/snow. I do not currently have iPhone or Android devices with sat capability, but I question their sat connection abilities under the circumstances if a dedicated device (e.g., Garmin, Zoleo, etc.) already has somewhat variable connections under difficult conditions (I've had signals delayed or must never transmitted until reaching large open spaces or storms ending). Open land under bluebird skies is easy, but trouble usually comes under more difficult conditions.

[@fjorgand]

@@BillOzanne we still don't know the price and available countries

[@philclement6865]

Cris, you are: Always good Always professional Always excellent Always friendly! THANK YOU !!!

[@Hikingguy]

Really appreciate it, thank you!

[@-zerocool-]

I'm just glad Apple and soon Google/Samsung are doing GPS communications now, hopefully it brings down the Garmin prices a peg or two, their subscriptions are expensive for what you get.

[@Squirrel-Chaser]

I know we can do SOS for the Pixel, but can we text like iPhone?

[@jojo0136]

I use Protegear with my Garmin Messenger. I only activate it, when I do my hikes and climbs in the Bavarian and Austrian Alps. Works fine and it´s much cheaper and flexible than Garmin plans for me.

[@rkatrails]

Very informative, I didn't know these alternatives existed.

[@GetOutsideYourself]

Just got back from Nepal and found my Garmin SAR plan theoretically would not have covered a rescue since my trip entailed hiking higher than 5000m. Garmin's "high altitude" SAR plan costs $1000/yr!!!!! So definitely will welcome some third party options.

[@snowleopard1918]

Might be a good option now because Garmin has just changed all their plans and rates as of September 18/24.

[@heiser_bill]

I voted “yes” on the value question, but mostly because I’m on the “safety” plan for $11.95 per month. I send very few messages and don’t use it for tracking (rather, GaiaGPS and experimenting with OnX). For me the InReach is just a safety net for solo hikes, biking, and even in the car off grid. My InReach is an oldie, the first gen Explorer, and is having issues (won’t power up unless connected to external power, even though the battery still holds a charge). I can’t bring myself to spend $350-400 on the Mini 2, especially with iPhone capabilities coming soon. However with the iPhone I’d miss the SAR insurance I pay for with the InReach (maybe there are non Garmin alternatives for that).

[@ZdronaPL]

@@heiser_bill Garmin Safety Plan costs in Europe about 23 USD. For a half of this price you can have monthly mobile subscription with unlimited calls and data. Garmin has a strange policy here, especially if you look at their emergency call map. There are almost no such events in Eastern Europe.

[@twloughlin]

If Garmin's safety plan came down to $6/month or so I'd keep it as redundancy for any iOS/Android systems. It's the old "2 is 1, 1 is none" philosophy.

[@coal6tamarack2374]

Or offer a free plan without any rescue insurance and just charge $100 when you send an SOS. In a real emergency, nobody would think twice about paying the fee

[@billbeyatte]

Good advice. Didn't know.

[@ViewfinderMastery]

wow! thanks for this great info!

[@stephenbland7461]

I still rely on paper maps (ordinance survey) and a compass, but I never go anywhere without my mini 2 for emergencies, track back and messages as it is very small and light. But what annoys me is that here in the uk, the subscription rates are more expensive than in the USA. Why? It’s the same satellites?

[@shaazy]

Wow this is super helpful! Does one have to activate the device through Garmin first before moving on to Protegear or Trackme? That iOS 18 feature is something I'm truly looking forward to.

[@Hikingguy]

No you just sign up with TrackMe or Protegear, give them your device IEMI code and they handle it all. No need to have an existing Garmin account.

[@harenber]

@@Hikingguy I had a Garmin account before I signed up with Protegear and they created a new one but then merged these two. Worked pretty well.

[@helvettefaensatan]

This is great. Thank you. I have a question about setup: I'd really want my 66i to warn me of cliffs and to know about avalanche risk zones. My use case is for Norway. There is a national service with avalanche risk assessments that provides RSS but are there any interface systems that could combine a location based risk assessments with units like the 66i? Are there any protocols that I can discuss with the national service and ask if they provide support for those? I'd really like my Garmin to show discharge zones for avalanches like the ones provided in the app 'Varsom', which you can get most places you get apps. The news information about snow assessments is more important when planning, not necessarily 'in the field' where I only want one unit and screen to contend with. Do you have any ideas or suggestions?

[@Hikingguy]

I like where your head is at but I think that's beyond what a Garmin can do. It could be something you do by creating custom maps before and loading before you go out, but off the top of my head, no easy way to accomplish this.

[@rcuadro]

If you had to pick one device and one service what would it be? My wife is planning a 10 day hike in France and, should poop hit the fan, I want her to be able to contact emergency services so she can get rescued if needed?

[@Hikingguy]

I would look at a cellphone coverage map, Europe doesn't have a ton of dead zones like the USA west does. Otherwise a Motorola Defy with the $4.99 plan is a good deal for France: alnk.to/dWcxj8r - Check out my videos on it - otherwise check out a rental or upgrade an iPhone to a model with satellite SOS (14 or higher)

[@LifeOfMikey1]

i have a garmin 66i and im confused on how to buy the 7 day tracking plan from protegear. is it the basic inreach plan or the A Live plan 7 day plan. i dont know what A Live is. when using the advisor it says the plan will be 15 for 7 days but on the A*Live for 7 days it says 7,56. 🤷‍♂

[@Hikingguy]

A*Live is a different device that they sell - I'd just email them and confirm what you're looking for

[@Gilotopia]

I just want a subscription that allows me to turn it on from my inreach device

[@matte-d349]

Thanks for this video, I had no idea these were options. In light of Garmin's new subscription model these seem even more appealing. TrackMe looks like it improves upon the abysmal UI of the Garmin portal, and also improves on Garmin's awful customer service, for around the same annual cost as Garmin's new plans (need to price this out for my usage to confirm). Protegear looks like you get the exact same Garmin Explore portal UI that I'm used to but for WAY less money.. I feel like I must be missing something here...am I missing something here???

[@Hikingguy]

Ha not missing anything and yes, they're great alternatives with the new Garmin pricing.

[@matte-d349]

@@Hikingguy I have crunched the numbers and it looks like, at least for my usage (2-4 trips spread throughout the year in non-consecutive months) there are a lot more similarities than I thought but Protegear is the clear winner. The TrackMe plans are very close in price to the new Garmin pricing, although the Garmin still retains SOS functionality in its "dormant" state (a.k.a. enabled) which could be a nice feature. These offerings would be a 30-40% increase in what I paid this year for the exact same usage. I would have saved $12 this year with Protegear. Assuming Protegear keeps their pricing where it is, they should end up costing about the same as Garmin's old "Freedom" plans for many users, although if you rack up more than a few multi-week trips or many short trips in a year Protegear looks like it can add up quite quickly despite seeming cheaper on the surface. I should mention that I'm in Canada, so YMMV due to exchange rates, etc.

[@Hikingguy]

@@matte-d349 Yea it's a good choice, you just have to invest 15 minutes in the dashboard / how to turn on/off service. Not brain surgery but not as intuitive as something from Apple. That's the only downside I can see on Protegear. In fact, when I was done testing, I couldn't find an option on the dash to release my device so I could move it back to Garmin. When I reached out to support asking how to do it, he said that no one had asked for it before (he did it promptly and manually), so that's a good sign that it's better.

[@RobertGertsen-r3d]

I could not find a youtube that trouble shoots the GPSMAP 66i to leave you a message. I grabbed this one so here goes. My unit will not load anything and it will not shut down. It stays on continuously. How do I power it off and why wont it load? It just stays on the GARMIN screen. Thanks for helping.

[@Hikingguy]

Sounds like you have a hardware problem - I'd contact Garmin support - it's def not normal behaivor

[@Squirrel-Chaser]

Does this work for the Inreach mini 2? Im done with Garmins cash grab.

[@Hikingguy]

yes

[@zbutler111]

Do you know of a SAR insurance company that does not require the purchase of a device? I know about the Garmin SAR insurance, and I have that, but some of my group going to the GC in a couple of months are interested in a policy.

[@Hikingguy]

Stay tuned, I might have something in the near future that's new. Outside of that, I think the American Alpine Club offers something: americanalpineclub.org/rescue

[@zbutler111]

@@Hikingguy thanks. Doing an R2R in a couple of weeks. I have an inreach but some of my group are looking for something.

[@joethong726]

If i signed up for protegear who handles the sos? Is it still garmin iercc?

[@Hikingguy]

Still Garmin unless you ask for Focuspoint and pay for the service

[@GadgetNerdvana]

Garmin is, and always has been, the undisputed king of the “nickle-and-dimers”. Zoleo is a much better choice for many reasons (and has been more reliable for me). That said, if the Apple system works, that’s what I’ll be using from now on.

[@HumbleHiker]

I would say Apple is right up there with Garmin in terms of nickel and diming their customers

[@RudyHassallPMP]

It looks like Garmin removed the annual plans and renamed all plans...

[@Hikingguy]

Check this out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIm4f4qIn7Z4n8U

[@yea9008]

Is the protegear coverage the same as garmin?

[@Hikingguy]

Yes, same Iridium network

[@Sandra-dt4ec]

This sounds tempting! When does Garmin do their roll out of new products/service and do you think they will be big changes ahead given Apple’s new satellite service?

[@Hikingguy]

Hard to say but I'm hoping so.

[@billruttan117]

“SOS Only Plan”: Some legacy inReach owners will be tempted to completely opt out of their subscription plans after they acquire smartphones that have satellite texting capability. Considering this, I would like to see Garmin or one of these ‘reseller’ companies offer a very low cost plan that would preserve, as a redundancy, the “Emergency SOS” capability of the inReach devices (which are generally more rugged than a smartphone).

[@Hikingguy]

@@billruttan117 I think that's a great idea, and I think it would probably save them some people that jump ship like you mentioned.

[@banshee107]

IOS 18 made this obsolete. Need to drop subscription to free

[@us24575]

Will they work in Amazon jungle and in Caribbean jungles?

[@Hikingguy]

yes

[@Hikingguy]

yes

[@us24575]

@Hikingguy been tested by anyone? Jungle is different to canyons and swamp lands. Thicker tree cover etc.

[@MIAMIC70]

So, Garmin is leasing their data to 3rd party but the 3rd party is cheaper and better? Also, Garmin will gladly allow you to sign you up with them and charge you more for shittier service? 😂

[@Hikingguy]

Not necessarily cheaper, just packaged differently.

[@memathews]

Just like a regular MVNO. But mamy MVNOs are now owned by their service provider, which means some services are missing to justify the cheaper prices. Translation: read the fine print carefully.