Backlight use is a large contributor to battery drain. Having the backlight set at 100% will drain a lot of battery while the backlight is on. The manual setting for the backlight uses the least battery power. Having the backlight turned on when any button is pressed will use additional battery. For more information on how to adjust the backlight settings, select your device below:
Select your product to confirm this information applies to you
Improving the Battery Life of Garmin inReach Products
There are a few settings that can noticeably contribute to overall battery performance when using an inReach® satellite communicator.
Enabling or disabling settings, as well as adjusting timed intervals, will all affect the expected battery life . These settings should be adjusted based on usage before going out into the field.
NOTE: Before you address some of the functions that affect battery life, first ensure your inReach handheld firmware is up to date. See Related for steps.
Features and Conditions That Impact Battery Life
The amount battery life impacted by connecting to a smartphone is dependent on several different features. The more messages that are sent/received, notifications or times the handheld must search for the Bluetooth connection due to being taken out of range, will all impact how quickly the battery drains.
Android users may see some additional battery drain when connected with certain inReach handhelds as keeping the inReach connected requires the handheld's GPS to remain on.
For more information, select your device below:
inReach handhelds are designed to be used outdoors. We suggest testing the device before you head out on your trip, but do so outside. If the device is powered on indoors, the battery will drain noticeably faster as the handheld will not be able to find the signal for sending/receiving messages or tracking points. Additionally, the handheld will have to try a lot harder to find a GPS signal.
The Send Interval determines how often the inReach SE+, inReach Explorer®, inReach Explorer+, inReach Messenger series, and inReach Mini series will send track points via the Iridium satellite network to your LiveTrack™ page or MapShare™ page. This feature can be changed in the device settings. Reducing how often the handheld sends these points will improve battery life.
The Moving Interval setting in the GPSMAP 66i/67i/86i/86sci, inReach SE®, and Montana 700i/710i/750i/760i handhelds perform this same function.
For more information on send interval and tracking settings, select your device below:
The Log Interval sets the frequency at which the inReach SE+/Explorer/Explorer+ and inReach Mini logs your location and updates the track line on the map. Reducing how often the handheld records these track points will improve battery life.
The Activity Recording setting on the inReach Mini 2 determines how often a track point is recorded to the track log on the device. The Standard setting will use less battery than the High Detail setting.
The Recording Controls app in the GPSMAP 66i/67i/86i/86sci and Montana 700i/710i/750i/760i determines how often a track point is recorded to the track log on the device. The GPS is always on whether a track point is recorded or not so, there will be no real improvement in battery performance by reducing how often track points are recorded.
For more information on Log Interval and Recording settings, select your device below:
NOTE: Hardware and software improvements have eliminated the need for Extended Tracking or Expedition Mode settings on the inReach Messenger and inReach Mini 2.
Extended Tracking
Extended Tracking will disable several features of the inReach SE+/Explorer+ and inReach Mini (listed below) to conserve the battery life of the device for tracking.
Bluetooth
Message Listens
Navigation
Log Interval
If any of these options are manually turned on, after Extended Tracking is enabled, the device will automatically leave the Extended Tracking mode.
Extended Tracking does not change or affect the track Send Interval for the inReach device.
While in Extended Tracking mode, the device will go into a "sleep" mode and the screen will appear to be turned off. Tapping the power button will "wake" the device up to be used as normal.
For more information on the Extended Tracking setting, select your device below:
Expedition Mode
Expedition Mode features for the GPSMAP 66i/67i/86i/86sci and Montana 700i/750i:
Track points are dropped via a smart recording mode that determines the best interval to log based off movement and other factors.
Track log detail will be reduced when the setting is enabled.
Bluetooth connections are disabled.
ANT + connections to Heart Rate monitors or other sensors are disabled.
Using the Expedition Mode (with a clear view to the sky) can increase the device’s battery life by days or even weeks.
Expedition Mode allows the user to prolong the battery life of the GPSMAP 66i/67i/86i/86sci and Montana 700i/750i. When enabled, the screen will turn off and the green light next to the power button will occasionally flash to let you know the unit is still powered on and recording data.
While in Expedition Mode, the device will go into a "sleep" mode and the screen will appear to be turned off. Tapping the power button will "wake" the device up to be used as normal.
For more information on the Expedition Mode setting, select your device below:
All devices that use batteries are subject to reduced battery run times in cold conditions. Conditions below freezing will significantly reduce the battery capacity and charging can only occur above freezing.
Connecting the handheld with a watch through the inReach Remote feature will create an additional drain on the battery. Another example would be connecting the GPSMAP 66i/67i/86i/86sci or Montana 700i/710i/750i/760i with a tempe™ sensor. If the additional sensor/device is not in use, it is a good idea to disable the connection so the handheld is not searching for the additional information unnecessarily. For instructions, select your device below:
Press MENU twice to access the main menu.
Select Setup.
Select Sensors.
Select an option:
Fitness: Select a sensor type, then select Off.
Tempe Sensor: Select Off.
XERO: Select Status to toggle the sensor Off.
inReach Remote: Select Enabled to toggle the sensor Off.
From the home page, press
or 
to scroll through the main menu options, then select SETTINGS 
.Select inReach Remote
.Select Status to toggle the sensor Off.
From the home page, press
or to scroll through the main menu options, then select SETTINGS 
.Select inReach Remote
.Select Status to toggle the sensor Off.
From the home page, press OK to open the main menu.
Select Setup.
Select ANT+.
Select Status.
Select Off.
From the home page, press OK to open the main menu.
Select Settings.
Select inReach Remote.
Select Status to toggle the sensor Off.
Select
to access the main menu.Select Setup.
Select Sensors.
Select an option:
Fitness: Select a sensor type, then select Off.
Tempe Sensor: Select Off.
XERO: Select Status to toggle the sensor Off.
DogTrack: Select Status > Off.
inReach Remote: Select Enabled to toggle the sensor Off.
The following devices have the ability to use a Barometric Altimeter for elevation.
GPSMAP 66i | GPSMAP 67i | GPSMAP 86i | GPSMAP 86sci
Montana 700i | Montana 710i | Montana 750i | Montana 760i
Based on the setting this can cause battery drain. See the following steps to help improve battery life.
From the main menu, select Setup.
Select Altimeter.
Select Pressure Trending.
Select Save When Power is On.
Save When Power is On saves altimeter information only when the device is powered on.
Save Always is always looking for pressure even when the device is powered off.
Expected Battery Life for inReach Products
NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, battery life estimates are with full sky view and can be significantly impacted by obstructions or tree cover.
| Profile | Recording | Sending | Extended Tracking | Battery (hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected to Phone (Default) | Not Applicable | 10-min | Not Applicable2 | Full Sky View: Up to 672 Moderate Tree Cover: Up to 336 |
| Connected, Expedition or Premium Plan | Not Applicable | 2-min1 | Not Applicable2 | Full Sky View: Up to 144 Moderate Tree Cover: Up to 72 |
| Profile | Recording | Sending | Extended Tracking | Battery (hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected to Phone, Low Power Messaging Mode (Default) | Not Applicable | 10-min | Not Applicable2 | Up to 600 |
| Connected to Phone, Performance Messaging Mode | Not Applicable | 10-min | Not Applicable2 | Up to 110 |
| Connected, Low Power Messaging Mode, Expedition or Premium Plan | Not Applicable | 2-min1 | Not Applicable2 | Up to 120 |
| Connected, Performance Messaging Mode, Expedition or Premium Plan | Not Applicable | 2-min1 | Not Applicable2 | Up to 70 |
| Profile | Logging | Sending | Extended Tracking | Battery (hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected to Phone (Default) | Off | 10-min | Off | 90 |
| Standalone, No Phone | Off | 30-min | On | 575 |
| Connected, Expedition or Premium Plan | 1-sec | 2-min1 | Off | 25 |
| Profile | Recording | Sending | Extended Tracking | Battery (hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected to Phone (Default) | Standard | 10-min | Not Applicable2 | Full Sky View: Up to 336 Moderate Tree Cover: Up to 96 |
| Connected to Phone | High Detail | 10-min | Not Applicable2 | Full Sky View: Up to 120 Moderate Tree Cover: Up to 48 |
| Connected to Phone | Standard | 30-min | Not Applicable2 | Full Sky View: Up to 720 Moderate Tree Cover: Up to 240 |
| Profile | Logging | Sending | Extended Tracking | Battery (hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected to Phone (Default) | 1-min | 10-min | Off | 115 |
| Standalone, No Phone | Off | 30-min | On | 1100 |
| Connected, Expedition or Premium Plan | 1-sec | 2-min1 | Off | 50 |
| Profile | Recording | Sending | Expedition Mode | Battery (hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected to Phone (Default) | 1-sec | 10-min | Off | 35 |
| Standalone, No Phone | Smart | 30-min | On | 225 |
| Connected, Expedition or Premium Plan | 1-sec | 2-min1 | Off | 25 |
| Profile | Recording | Sending | Expedition Mode | Battery (hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected to Phone (Default) | 1-sec | 10-min | Off | 165 |
| Standalone, No Phone | Smart | 10-min | On | 425 |
| Connected, Expedition or Premium Plan | 1-sec | 2-min1 | Off | 120 |
| Profile | Recording | Sending | Expedition Mode | Battery (hrs) With Standard Lithium-ion Battery Pack | Battery (hrs) With High Capacity Lithium-ion Battery Pack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected to Phone (Default) | 1-sec | 10-min | Off | 18 | 24 |
| Standalone, No Phone | Smart | 30-min | On | 300 | 400 |
| Connected, Expedition or Premium Plan | 1-sec | 2-min1 | Off | 15 | 20 |
Additional information on these settings and how to adjust them can be found in the owner's manual.
My Battery is Still Draining Rapidly
If battery drain continues after making some changes to settings, try returning the handheld to factory defaults and seeing how long the battery lasts on a full charge without pairing it to smartphone again.
If the battery lasts like it used to, then the battery drain would be the result of the choice of customized settings on the handheld, or Bluetooth-connected features.
1 2 minute tracking is only available with select inReach plans.
2 Hardware and software improvements have eliminated the need for Extended Tracking or Expedition Mode settings on the inReach Messenger series and inReach Mini 2.