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Inspector Device Requirements for Garmin eLog ELD

Each jurisdiction is only required to support ONE of the two transfer options for local-only ELDs:

The Garmin eLog ELD supports both Bluetooth and USB transfer methods. 

  • Bluetooth - (Personal Area Networking User - PANU)

OR

  • USB - Use of USB drive with encrypted inspector file 

Inspector Flash Drive Requirements for USB Transfer:

  • The flash drive must be between 1 GB and 32 GB in size

  • The flash drive must be compatible with USB 2.0

  • Inspector must enter the Key/PIN on the Flash Drive

  • The flash drive must use hardware encryption and be formatted using FAT32

  • The flash drive cannot be using software encryption like BitLocker or Veracrypt

The Inspector's flash drive must have a specific authentication file loaded before the Garmin eLog app will send the ELD Data File.  This file is supplied by FMCSA.  The message, "Cannot verify the Inspector's device" will display on the Garmin eLog app if the authentication file is missing or corrupt.

The Garmin eLog ELD will display a red ring when it cannot mount to the FAT file system.  Unplug the flash drive to reset the red ring LED.


Bluetooth Requirements:

The inspector's device must support the required Bluetooth profile (Personal Area Networking - PAN) and the role and can open a connection to FMCSA Web Services.  Garmin does not expect inspectors to support the USB if PAN fails either due to the inspector's device or the Garmin eLog ELD adapter. 

There are two roles for transferring data:

  • Inspector's Device - (Network Access Point - NAP), the device providing the network connection
  • Garmin eLog ELD adapter - (Personal Area Networking User - PANU), the device accessing the NAP

The Bluetooth PAN standard requires that the inspector's device provide the NAP role, and the Garmin eLog ELD adapter implements the PANU role.  

If neither of the above options works:

The driver's display is the fallback FMCSA intends inspectors to use in the event of PAN or USB unavailability.

The inspection menus for the Garmin eLog app and the dēzl™ 780, dēzlCam™ 785, dēzl™ OTR800 and dēzl™ OTR1000 can be seen below. Touch the Upload button  to send logs.


Garmin eLog app Inspection Menu

dēzl™ 780, dēzlCam™ 785, dēzl™ OTR800, dēzl™ OTR1000 Inspection Menu


Note that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) compliance requirements state that electronic logging devices (ELDs) must support one of the two following options for the transfer of driver log data in the event of a roadside inspection:

  • Telematic type: Using wireless web services and email
  • Local transfer type: Using USB 2.0 and Bluetooth

More information can be found in the FAQ  Compliance of the Garmin eLog's Electronic Data Transfer Methods.