Garmin claims a 44% longer battery over the Mini 2, and I ultimately found that didn’t need to stress about the battery life. The Iridium network was first operational in 1998, but in 2019, they updated the network by completing a replacement of all satellites.įor me, one of the biggest reasons to get this device was the battery life. However, another popular satellite messenger device company, Spot, uses Globalstar, a different constellation that uses fewer satellites but are higher in orbit. There are a variety of other brands and devices that use the Iridium network.

The Iridium satellite network consists of a constellation of 66 low-earth satellites.

The Inreach Messenger uses the Iridium satellite network to offer 100% global coverage, and when using the app, will automatically switch to Wi-Fi or cellular coverage when available. More about this when I review the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar in a few weeks. Being able to pair the inreach with say the edge 1040 is so nice as you don’t need to get your phone out, or the inreach out, but rather just simply press a few buttons on the head unit to message a friend or family member to tell them you are doing good. Like the Mini, the Messenger also comes with BLUETOOTH & ANT+ so you can easily pair it with your phone, or other remote devices such as Garmin watches or the Garmin Edge 1040 solar I’ve been using. Which I’m guessing is why the device itself is larger than the mini, an easy price to pay for extended battery life.

The unit also comes with a larger 1800 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The 114g device comes with a weatherproof usb-c charge port on one side, power and sos button on the other side, and three buttons on the bottom that help scroll through and select menu items. While the body grew, the screen shrunk, now coming in at 2.53 x 1.1 cm. The Garmin InReach Messenger got a little larger than the Inreach Mini, but with more of a proportional shape, coming in at 7.8 x 6.4 x 2.3cm (. The following reiterates much of what was outlined in the video above with a few extra details, including a list of pros and cons, and a specs sheet the bottom.

Messenger down