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Registering a Garmin Force® Series Trolling Motor

Force® Series Trolling Motors are automatically registered to the Garmin account signed in to with the ActiveCaptain® app.


NOTE: If the trolling motor was registered to a prior owner, it is important to Restore Defaults on the trolling motor before it is paired to a compatible Garmin chartplotter. For more information on this see Registering a Previously Owned Trolling Motor .


Original Owner Registration Process

Before starting the pairing process, you will need the following items:

  • A smart device (phone or tablet running Android 10.0 or newer or iOS version 14.0 or newer)

  • The ActiveCaptain® app

  • Access to Wi-Fi or cellular data

  • Force® Series Trolling Motor and the included Floating Remote

To pair the trolling motor with the ActiveCaptain® app:

  1. Begin with the trolling motor powered on

  2. Connect the floating remote to the trolling motor

    • On the Remote select Three Horizontal Lines Menu Icon Example > Settings > Trolling Motor > Wi-Fi > Mode > ActiveCaptain

    • Enter a name and password for this network

  3. Open the ActiveCaptain® app on the smart device

  4. Select My Marine Devices

  5. Connect the smart device with the trolling motor

    • Open the ActiveCaptain® app on the smart device

    • Bring the smart device near the trolling motor

    • From the smart device settings, open the Wi-Fi connections page and connect to the trolling motor, using the name and password entered in the previous step

The trolling motor is now paired with the ActiveCaptain® app and registered to the email address associated with the Garmin account.


Registering a Previously Owned Trolling Motor

If the trolling motor was previously registered to a different Garmin account, the trolling motor will be displayed as a Guest in the ActiveCaptain® app. Fore more information on ActiveCaptain roles such as being a Guest in the ActiveCaptain app see our FAQ titled ActiveCaptain® App Roles.


If a trolling motor is to be registered to the Garmin account, it must be removed from the prior registered owners Garmin account before it can be re-registered to the new owner's Garmin account. For more information on this see our FAQ titled Garmin Marine Device Unable to Register or Invalid Chart Message.


Once the trolling motor is removed from the prior registered owner's Garmin account, the trolling motor must be rest back to factory default settings:

  • On the floating remote, press the Menu icon > Settings > Trolling Motor > Remote Control > Restore Defaults

  • Complete Pairing the Foot Pedal, Pairing the Remote Control & the optional process of Connecting to a Chartplotter utilizing instructions from the appropriate owner's manual.

  • Perform the bow offset and compass calibration see as instructed in the Preparing for First Use (Calibration Procedures) section of the Getting Started with the Garmin Force® Series Trolling Motor FAQ

    NOTE: If the trolling motor is adjusted during calibration procedures the prop not spinning issue may reoccur. Keep the trolling motor fully deployed during the Calibration Procedures