inReach Mini 3 & 3 Plus

My Mini 3 Plus is delivered tomorrow. I’m looking forward to playing with it.

Joey G, yep. I’m a sucker too. Amazon has the 3 Plus for $450 right now, lands Wednesday. Only disappointment is the built in map doesn’t have topo background, per the Garmin deep dive video. Hope they upgrade/update that. A bunch of new features for an additional ounce penalty. The voice to text and voice commands alone is a big deal as on-device typing was, er, BRAIN DAMAGE.

I’ll be interested to see how useful the map is in the mini size. I can get a map on my Fenix, but it’s not worth it when I have my iPhone ready at hand for photos. Of course it would be a backup, but how useful.

Good to see some new features hitting the market.  As satellite SOS & messaging rolls out to smart phones, Garmin faces an increasingly uphill battle.  I think a lot of us seasoned veteran InReach users would agree that Irridium satellite based communicators still have distinct advantages over smartphone satellite messaging, but for a growing portion of the market, smartphone satellite messaging is “good enough” and Garmin, Zoleo, et-al are facing a shrinking market.

Hiking Guy is the go-to for backcountry coms. Great review. The lack of a real basemap is a huge bummer, but it seems like they should be able to update the firmware and solve that, fingers crossed. Here is his early write up:

https://hikingguy.com/hiking-gear/garmin-inreach-mini-3-plus-first-impressions/

Note the device uses the Iridium Certus IMT modem, which is tied to Iridium’s highly upgraded NEXT constellation they launched in 2017. It was originally not found in consumer devices, but really glad to see it in this (and the Messenger). So basically, this is sort of a messenger in the smaller Inreach Mini form factor. I’ve seen lots of commentary like “I don’t need to send images so I’ll stick with my OG mini”. The Certus modem alone is worth it alone, this coming from a guy who didn’t upgrade from the OG Mini until now. Check the transmit power numbers:

Device Transmit Power (Watts)
inReach Mini – 1.48 W
inReach Mini 2 – 1.51 W
inReach Mini 3 – 2.63 W
inReach Mini 3 Plus- 4.68 W
inReach Messenger Plus- 9.33 W
GPSMAP H1 Plus- 1.99 W

Funny that the Mini 3 only has 56% of the transmit power if the Plus. Along with voice commands and voice to text, I see absolutely no reason to get the plain jane Mini 3.

“The Certus modem alone is worth it alone, this coming from a guy who didn’t upgrade from the OG Mini until now.”

This is an interesting take as I still use the original Mini and have been contemplating an upgrade for years.  I appreciate the power numbers. In addition to just power the effectiveness of the antenna and battery life are also important. I’m all about the SOS use case, since I will still likely have a phone at hand for composing messages and navigating. I currently don’t use tracking and have the least expensive plan so I pay for every message.  I guess I might use tracking if I was pushing my comfort zone in the future.   I asked if I should upgrade from the Mini in the hiking guy’s YouTube comments and the short answer was no.

I’ll be interested in real world feedback on the Messenger Plus and Mini 3 Plus for overall satellite messaging reliability and battery life.

Bob, proof is in the pudding. I’ll get my grubby hands on it this Thursday.

I’ll say the OG Mini is dumb as a barbell and just works. Main gripes: the GPS fixing was unbelievably slow, sometimes never worked and sending was too. Sometimes it was really hard to know if a message was sent. The device rarely synced messages between the unit and the crappy Earthmate app, creating mass message thread confusion, although the Mini 2 used the much better Garmin Explore app. I’d have instances of messages landing weeks later. And typing custom messages the unit is straight up torture, I’d argue useless. Weather updates were clunky.

If those issues are resolved, I’d say it’s a worthwhile upgrade. We shall see.

I didn’t know lack of power was a problem. I haven’t heard of any failed rescues from failure to communicate. Speed is always of essence. Saving a few minutes in an hour long rescue might be important.

Comparing the Messenger Plus and Mini 3 Plus, besides the touchscreen capability, I see the Messenger Plus wins on battery life (up to 600 hrs) vs. the Mini 3 Plus (up to 350 hrs), and has a more powerful transmitter and larger more sensitive antenna (according to AI).  It’s also .32 ounces lighter and available at a discount!

The Mini 3 Plus has a better IP67 water/dust rating and of course the potential value of the screen and messaging interface if your phone and/or connection is not working.  I’m still discounting the navigation advantage, as I would have my Garmin fenix 7 Pro watch actively tracking my hike with pre-loaded TopoActive maps.  The screen is small, but as a backup it seems pretty close to or maybe better than the Mini 3 Plus for navigation.

This thread, and my AI queries are helping to talk me into a Christmas gift from Santa!

It cheats!  I have only had it one day on a local hike. I noticed it will use the phone’s cell connection to send and receive if there is cell service.  I sent several messages and Garmin said I did not use any messages in the system. And it was only seconds up and a return message. This is obviously a power and resource saving technique, but I worry about one thing.  My Android love to connect to a wifi. If the wifi is weak, it will still insist on using the wifi and my voice and messaging is terrible until I turn off the wifi and make the phone use the cell system.  So, it this thing tries to use the phone and the cell connection is weak, will it switch over to satellite or just keep trying using a bad cell service?  This could be a safety issue. Otherwise, I am liking this thing.

Arthur, very interesting. To be clear, are you saying that it connected through your phone and used the cell phones cell connection to send a message, when cell service was available?

I could definitely see where that’s an issue especially seeing as you always want to test it before you leave cell reception!

DirtNap. Yes,it sure looks that way. I just tested it at home. Sent a text while connected to my phone via bluetooth. it sent the message in about 5 seconds inside the garage.   I stopped bluetooth on my phone, the next text took 90 seconds after I stepped outside. And, on the test before you go page, the instructions say “Ensure that your are connected to the Messenger app or that your device has a clear view of the sky to complete the test.” Why would it ask that?  I have no way to really monitor what it is actually doing so I hope some more technical info becomes available. I hope I am wrong. For now, I will turn off the phone link before I test it. In the backcountry, this should not be an issue.

Another BIG disappointment with this upgrade. One of my primary everyday uses is when I ride or hike backcountry solo. The old inreach had customizable 3 free simple messages. I aways include my Garmin tracking url so those receiving the message could just click on the link in the message and see where I am or my body if I fell and hit my head and did not return in time.  Now, the 3 messages are unconfigurable and only show the location of where the message was sent from. No help if I am 5 miles from the trailhead. So, now I have to configure a preset message and manually select the group that needs to actually track me.  Doable, but a hassle every time at the trailhead having to select a set message, select multiple recipients, and get charged for the message. All on a tiny screen.  I need to do this every time now so that my wife will have my dead body and be able to collect insurance quicker!!!

To the OP:  Your view that the mini 2 was not materially better than the original mini is completely different from my view.  IMO, and in my extensive use and comparison, the mini 2 was vastly better than the “OG” mini.  I’ll sell you my original mini at a good price if you are interested.  Could it be that your use case is different from mine?  I frequently use mine in the mountain west with deep canyons and heavy vegatation?  The 2 has vastly better reception for the original.

I honestly thought the original mini “kind of sucked”.

The Mini 2 was pretty good due to vastly improved reception and some other improvements, but mostly the reception.

I now have a mini 3 + and look forward to comparing.

I’m still using the original Delorme InReach SE which came out in 2014.  I’m holding out to probably upgrade to the Mini-3 although if I was smart, I’d jump on the currently discounted Mini-2.  Either one sounds like it would be a significant upgrade in performance compared to my SE, particularly when it comes to improved reception.

Arthur, I have a question.

The InReach using SMS/cell phone coverage when it is available is mentioned by Garmin as a plus (you don’t get charged for it). I’d thought that this also worked when your phone was turned off or on airplane mode. Did you have a chance to check that? (Im thinking I’ll check mine).

Ta

Megan

Edit: my background thought/ question is that I thought the InReach was using Garmin’s networks to send the sms (when available) not our phones coverage?

The Mini 3 works as advertised.  It tries to use the phone first if the phone is connected to cell coverage.  With the phone turned off or bluetooth off, it goes to the satellite.  And yes, it does not seem to charge me for messages if it uses the phone.  What interests me is that in testing, I have to go back and make sure my phone is off because it sends messages much faster than previous version and in canyons too.   I guess it is the significantly higher transmitter power.  That is advertised as 4.68 watts on the 3+ as opposed to 1.5 watts on for previous versions.  I did previously complain about not being able to customize the stock 3 messages. The new (to me) option of having it send tracking info to selected recipients using LiveTrack as soon as I start tracking is very nice. My routine now is to send the “starting out” stock sms message which allows them to just text me back easily.  Then turn on tracking which sends an email to the same people that gives them a very nice email with a link to the ongoing live tracking info.  Overall, for me, this is a good upgrade. It makes the folks at home more comfortable and therefore allows me to get out for longer and to more remote places with less concern. Happy at home makes for happy on the trail.

@Arthur, the non-customizable preset messages is a disappointment. I am grandfathered in and an important change I made was putting-‘no need to reply’ at the end. “Checking in-everything is ok-no need to reply’ is one of them. Because what good is sending a free message if you get 1-3 replies(usually ‘ok’, ‘glad to hear it’) that eat up your message allotment?

I’m on the enabled plan. If you turn on tracking, say at 10 minute intervals, I thought you then would be charged for a message every 10 minutes. Is this not true?