Recent Garmin updates could be causing 'triangle of death' bootloop on Fenix, Forerunner and other smartwatches

Garmin has pushed various updates to its plethora of smartwatches this year alone. Generally speaking, its recent update packages have sought to resolve bugs, including one issued to the Enduro 3, Fenix E and Fenix 8 (curr. $999.99 on Amazon) on its Beta Program. A mounting number of reports now allege that the infamous 'triangle of death' has returned, having appeared several times in the last few years.

As the video below shows, the triangle of death describes where an affected Garmin wearable gets stuck in a bootloop with only a blue triangle visible. Based on early reports, this new bug occurs irrespective of a smartwatch's software revision. Likewise, the issue is not confined to a specific model. Instead, people have reported seeing it on Forerunner and Fenix smartwatches of varying generations.

Reportedly, the triangle of death could be caused this time by a malfunctioning GPE.bin file, which is activated when starting a new GPD-related activity. After doing so, an affected smartwatch will crash and then get stuck in a bootloop akin to the one shown below. Garmin has at least acknowledged the issue, although it only offers a general workaround for the time being until it pushes a fix via its servers.

We are aware of an issue causing some devices to be stuck on the start up screen or a blue triangle. To resolve this, press and hold the power button until the device turns off, then power it back on, and sync with the Garmin Connect app or Garmin Express. If this does not resolve your issue, Please click here for more information.