Garmin inReach Messenger Plus Review
Incredibly innovative, lightweight, reliable, robust SOS messaging device
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January 13, 2025
Our verdict
Garmin’s inReach Messenger Plus is one of the most innovative SOS and GPS capable satellite communicators available today. For the first time, a shirt-pocket-sized, 4oz, GPS device can send photos, 30-second-long voice messages and 1,600-character texts from anywhere in the world. 🤯
To accomplish this, Messenger Plus utilizes an upgraded form of satellite connection, the Garmin Iridium Certus network and the Iridium Messaging Transport (IMT) system. This is the same Iridium satellite network Garmin has always used for inReach and GPS devices, but with a significant boost in satellite connectivity and communication ability that required significant software and hardware upgrades, one being a more sensitive antenna. Basically Certus and IMT allows bigger, better, faster everything.
In the future, IMT will be able to support more advanced features, like multimedia sharing of photos and videos.
As a standalone device Messenger Plus can track a trip, share location/s, check the weather, send preset messages, send (and receive) messages, and send an SOS.
To fully utilize the Plus’s functions requires pairing with a cellphone and using the free Garmin Explore and Messenger apps. With the Explore app, Messenger Plus has the ability to function as a GPS and do basic navigation. The Plus can use maps, download custom maps (all onto a cellphone), create a visible track, set a course, place waymarks, and do a trackback. With the Messenger app, the Plus can send and receive messages (preset and custom), with the ability to create 1,600-character texts. Messenger can send photos and do a 30-minute long voice message.
All these upgrades from Messenger do come at a significant cost increase. Whereas the original Messenger 1.0 can be purchased for $250, Messenger Plus costs nearly twice that.
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Specs
Weight: 4.1 ounces
Dimensions: 3.1 x 2.5 x 0.9 inches
Water resistance: Rated IPX7, meaning it can withstand submersion in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes
Operating temperature: Functional between 14°F to 149ºF (-10°C to 65°С).
Connectivity
The Messenger Plus can utilize cell towers when available, but mainly uses the Iridium satellite network switching between the two depending on connectivity. When paired with a smartphone, Messenger Plus uses Garmin Messenger and Explore apps for navigation, text, photo, and voice messaging.
Charging port: Charges with a USB-C cable.
Battery lifE
According to Garmin’s user manual, Messenger Plus has a battery life of up to 600 hours or 25 days in low-power messaging mode with 10-minute tracking intervals. There are options to extend battery life even further including an Expedition Mode.
In Expedition Mode the Plus minimizes GPS logging frequency with longer intervals—up to an hour—between tracking points. This is ideal for trips where tracking isn’t as important as battery longevity.
To enable power saving options go to system settings on the Plus’s homescreen or in the paired Garmin Explore app to make a selection..
The reality of Messenger Plus battery life
For three different days, I left the Plus powered on 24 hours a day, used it with 10-minute tracking intervals for navigating, mapping, messaging, sending photos, voice messages, and texts in winter weather varying from -20 degrees, (the device stopped functioning at 4 degrees and shut itself down several times) to 40 degrees. At night I left it on the dash of my truck. Under these harsh conditions Messenger Plus lasted 120, 196, and 168 hours before needing to be recharged. That’s 5-7 days of rigorous testing.
Battery life could have been extended by bringing it inside at night, shutting the unit off at night, keeping it in a warm jacket pocket during use (and yes, the Messenger like most Garmin satellite communicators does not always need a clear view of the sky to function), or putting it into one of its several battery-saving modes. Sending photos, voice messages and long text messages also uses up battery life.
That’s pretty extreme, of course. In more normal use I left the Messenger on every day all day and night, used it daily at 10 minute tracking intervals, sent voice messages and photos, and kept it warm in a pocket on cold days. It lasted 20 days or 480 hours before needing a charge.
When plugged into my laptop with the USB-C cord, Messenger Plus went from a zero to a 100% in speedy 2.5 hours. Overall, the Messenger Plus’s battery life and recharging time were impressive.
Comparison table
| DEVICE | MSRP* | WEIGHT (oz) | DIMENSIONS (in) | COVERAGE | WATERPROOF RATING | BATTERIES | BATTERY LIFE | SMARTPHONE INTEGRATION? | MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garmin Messenger Plus | $499 | 4.1 | 3.1 x 2.5 x 0.9 | Global | IPX7 | Rechargeable lithium ion | Up to 600 hours (25 days) with a location sent every 10 mins | ||
| Garmin inReach Messenger | $300 | 4.0 | 3.1 x 2.5 x 0.9 | Global | IPX7 | Rechargeable lithium ion | Up to 28 days in 10-minute tracking mode | ||
| Garmin inReach Mini 2 | $400 | 3.5 | 3.9 x 2.0 x 1.0 | Global | IPX7 | Rechargeable lithium ion | Up to 5 days in 10-minute tracking mode | ||
| Garmin inReach Messenger Plus | $500 | 4.0 | 3.1 x 2.5 x 0.9 | Global | IPX7 | Rechargeable lithium ion | Up to 25 days in 10-minute tracking mode | ||
| Garmin GPSMAP 67i Handheld | $600 | 8.1 | 6.4 x 2.5 x 1.4 | Global | IPX7 | Rechargeable lithium ion | Up to 17 days in Expedition Mode |
Who is it for
Who is the Messenger Plus for? The Plus is all about connectivity, precise global GPS coverage, and speed and volume. While Plus’s GPS navigation is fairly basic and a bit wonky, its ability to send 1,600-character texts, or500–700-word texts along with photos and a 30-second long voicemail is extraordinary.
The Plus can be used in the field by bloggers, influencers, social media posters, writers, journalists, photographers, parents, and people who just like or need to communicate with the outside world. You don’t have to describe the weather or a landscape, you can send a photo of it. You don’t have to compose a message in short, 160-character disconnected bursts, you can write a novel—or at least a few pages of one.
The author testing out the voice messaging functionality.
Note: the person on the receiving end of Plus’s messaging must have the free Garmin Messenger app as well. When you send a location sharing the end user will receive a message with the downloadable Messenger app embedded.
For outdoor adventurers, the Messenger Plus offers increased safety in emergency situations by sending an SOS quickly with a more precise GPS location than ever before. The Plus’s enhanced satellite and communication capability offers real-time, two-way communication during an emergency.
An SOS initiated on Garmin devices goes to the IRETC or Garmin International Emergency Response Coordination Center recently purchased by Garmin and formerly known as GEOS.
While the Messenger Plus has some GPS navigation capability, navigation is not the device's best use. Messenger Plus’s appeal is texting, photo and voice communication, and tracking and location sharing.
How we tested
We tested the Plus for six weeks using it while hiking, mountain biking, and ski touring, subjecting it to a moderate amount of hard use—including long hours powered on, and freezing temperatures, snow, dust, and rain in the process.
The Messenger Plus, utilizing the Messenger App, was always fast and dependable in messaging, including when sending long texts, voice messages and photos. Startlingly fast actually.
The GPS, when using the Explore App, was accurate, pinpointing my location.
Testing of the SOS, on the Messenger itself, was always successful. The Plus has a “test device” function on its home screen making testing easy and efficient.
Even without the Explore and Messenger apps the Messenger Plus offered quick location sharing, accurate GPS location, preset check-in texts and emails, basic custom messages and fast weather updates.
What we liked
What’s not to like about being able to send photos, long descriptive text messages, and voice messages from remote locations super fast in a palm-sized 4oz device?
Messenger Plus is small enough to fit in a shirt, pants pocket, or bikepacking frame bag, and its GPS and tracking works in those places as well. Of course, attached to the outside of a pack or pocket with a clear view of the sky is the recommended way for the best satellite connectivity.
Antennas on older inReach devices could be slow to send or receive signals in obstructed places and especially so in dense forests, canyons, or inside a car or building. Plus has a redesigned antenna that works better with the Iridium Certus network and the Iridium Message Transport system, allowing faster satellite acquisition even in challenging environments.
While other Garmin satellite communicators like the inReach Mini 2 and inReach Messenger 1.0 could send 160-character messages and trigger an SOS alert, the Messenger Plus allows users to send 1,600-character messages, as well as photos and voice memos when connected to the Garmin Messenger app on a smartphone.
Tracking is easy to initiate on the Messenger Plus. Plus’s home screen, and the device’s other screens are easy to navigate (though not with gloves or mittens, even with “smart” finger tips) by using the right and left arrow buttons located on either side of the “okay” button on the unit’s bottom.
Current weather conditions, forecasts and updates are easily accessed from the main unit’s homescreen, as well as in the Explore app. I found the weather feature to be quite accurate.
The SOS button, if you need it, is easily located under a protective cap on the top right of the Messenger Plus.
Messenger Plus has a small (1 x 1.5 inch) monochromatic low resolution viewing screen that is bright enough to be easily read in direct sunlight. Messenger Plus has a backlight for nighttime use that is activated by lightly tapping the power button.
As a carry-along standalone unit for initiating an SOS, sending pre-set check-in messages, checking for messages, getting weather conditions, sending tracking and GPS locations, Messenger Plus works as a sturdy, weatherproof handheld satellite communicator.
To really utilize Messenger Plus to its full capability the device must be used with the apps: Explore for GPS, real-time tracking, creating courses, putting down waypoints and using maps, and Messenger for sending and receiving messages (on a much larger keyboard), composing longer texts up to 1,600-characters, as well as sending photos and voice messages.
The Messenger Plus has no maps on the unit itself.
We also liked the reverse charging feature. If a smartphone is running low on battery power plugging it into the Messenger Plus will give a bit more life, enough to see a person through an emergency, but not enough for a full charge. Note: Using reverse charging is a big drain on the Messenger Plus’s battery.
What could be better
Showing me off course (blue arrow) using the TrackBak feature on the inReach Garmin Messenger Plus as viewed on the Explore app.
Tracking sent by the Garmin inReach Messenger Plus as it appears on a smartphone screen using the Garmin Explore app.
For “seriously-lost-in-the-woods navigation,” the Messenger Plus wouldn’t be my choice of inReach devices. While the maps available are plentiful, including satellite, 3D, burn areas, Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service maps, USGS topographic maps, GMU (game management units), street maps, and others, there’s just not enough detail for precise navigating, creating intricate courses, and trackbacking. There are other units more capable of doing mapping and navigation if that’s a person’s main desire for having a GPS device.
The most problematic navigational feature for me was the Plus’s TracBack. Unlike the Garmin inReach Mini 2, which lays down visible breadcrumbs to follow back to a starting point, the Messenger Plus navigates from waypoint to waypoint as put down as you’re tracking. So you have to scroll back through all the waypoints you’ve created to the very beginning. While trackback gives you the distance to the next waypoint and an overall distance to your starting point, there is no visible means of following your trail on the device itself. There is no guidance, no breadcrumbs to follow, no off-course warnings noting how far and in what direction you’ve strayed. The unit itself offers a compass that only works when you’re moving.
Using the Explore app improves trackback a bit, but not quite enough for a person who gets consistently turned around in the world, as I am capable of doing.
There are always drawbacks to me in the use of a GPS device that has to be paired with an app on a smartphone to be fully functional or to have enhanced function. Lose or break the phone and units like the Messenger Plus are crippled as is your ability to navigate and communicate. But that’s just me.
Features
A screenshot of the Garmin app showing the author’s tracking and Bluetooth-enabled device.
Two-way satellite messaging
Because of the upgraded satellite connection along with software and hardware improvement, the Garmin Messenger Plus offers faster two-way messaging, more pinpoint GPS location, and more reliability in remote areas all over the world.
24/7 SOS emergency response
The upgraded satellite connection along with software and hardware improvement offers faster SOS emergency response despite your location. The ability to have lengthy, two-way texting—1,600 characters—the ability to send photos and voice memos to rescuers in real time is priceless in an emergency. Imagine the value in being fully able to describe a life threatening situation and the exact location and circumstances and send a photo of the injury!
Garmin acquired the GEOS (Globally Operating Search and Rescue Hub) emergency response center and now calls it International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) which has worldwide 24/7 monitoring.
When an SOS is activated on your inReach, an emergency technician on the receiving end will communicate with you and coordinate with the local search and rescue team closest to you, generally the Sheriff’s department first then the responders. The IERCC person will stay in communication with you until your situation is resolved. I know from personal experience—having been rescued once—that this all works quickly and efficiently.
Battery life
According to Garmin, Messenger Plus has a battery life of up to 600 hours (25 days) in low-power messaging mode, which includes 10-minute tracking intervals and can last up to one year in extreme power-saving modes.
The Garmin inReach Messenger Plus includes options to extend battery life through its Low Power Messaging Mode and features like Expedition Mode.
Here's how these work:
Weather updates for current and forecasted conditions
Current weather conditions and a weather forecast as it appears on the screen of a smartphone using the Garmin Explore App.
The Plus can provide real-time weather reports for safer planning.
Messenger Plus has the fastest response for current weather and weather updates that I have encountered on a GPS device. Getting current weather and weather updates took seconds rather than minutes. The results can be viewed on the device itself on the Explore app on a cell phone.
App compatibility and Bluetooth pairing
Messenger Plus works with the Garmin Explore and Messenger apps. Both are free downloads to either an IOS or Android operating system and are easy, almost intuitive, to use.
Pairing the Garmin Messenger Plus with a smartphone just takes a few minutes with easy step-by-step on-screen directions on either the device itself or on the Explore app.
Performance in the field
The Messenger Plus can utilize either the satellite network or a cellular network, depending on which is available and it switches seamlessly between the two. Messenger Plus provides fast two-way messaging, accurate tracking performance, and precise GPS locations globally—even in areas with minimal cellular coverage.
Garmin inReach Messenger vs. Messenger Plus
The Garmin inReach Messenger 1.0 and the new inReach Messenger Plus share some important basic functions. Both Messenger Plus and Messenger 1.0 can switch seamlessly between satellite and cell coverage. Both are similar in dimensions and weight. Both have the ability to send an SOS from any location in the world, get weather updates, send preset texts and check in messages, have TracBack routing for navigation, and are water resistant for 30 minutes to a depth of 1 meter. Both have reverse charging and offer a battery life of up to 25 days. Both can be paired with a cellphone and utilize Garmin’s Messenger app for sending emails and texts.
That’s where the similarity ends. Messenger Plus introduces some significant upgrades, including the ability to use the Messenger app to send photos, 1,600-character texts, and 30-second-long voice messages. The Plus enables real time group chat, allowing multiple users to exchange photos, texts, and voice messages, particularly useful for coordinating with groups or sharing updates with several contacts simultaneously.
Dean tested the messaging and functions for voice and text in the Garmin app both ways, sending and receiving.
Utilizing Garmin’s Explore app the Plus offers basic GPS navigation and can use downloaded maps for planning routes, creating courses, and setting waypoints.
The Plus has a more sensitive antenna along with upgraded software and hardware. It also uses the Cerus satellite network and the Iridium Messaging Transport (IMT) for faster transmission of messages, photos and audio, more accurate GPS location and navigation in more difficult terrain. Whereas Messenger 1.0 can send text lengths of 160 characters, the Plus can send 10 times that — 1,600 characters.
Garmin’s Messenger 1.0 is for those who prioritize simplicity and cost.
Read our review of the Garmin inReach Messenger to learn more.
Should I buy the inReach Messenger Plus?
Should you buy the Messenger Plus? If you venture frequently into the outdoors and need a dependable and highly accurate GPS device that pairs with a smartphone and is capable of mapping, route planning, tracking, navigation, route sharing, and weather forecasts, as well as being able to send an SOS from anywhere in the world, then yes, the Plus may be for you.
More importantly, if you are looking for advanced communication technology, the ability to reach out to other users and family and friends, being able to send photos, long texts, and voice memos from remote locations there is no other device on the market like the inReach Messenger Plus.
Otherwise, there are many satellite communicators that are less expensive and entirely capable of filling your needs.
What makes the Garmin inReach Messenger Plus Different
The Garmin inReach Messenger Plus and Zoleo both use the Iridium satellite network for worldwide two-way messaging, SOS calls, and location sharing. Both devices switch seamlessly between cellular, Wi-Fi, and satellite networks.
Spot X uses the Globalstar satellite network, which provides regional rather than worldwide coverage on a network of low earth orbiting satellites (LEO) and relies on connections to ground stations for communication. Because of this, Spot X has coverage limitations in some parts of the world, including the Arctic Ocean, Antarctica, some high-altitude terrain and parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. Spot X does not utilize cellular or Wi-Fi.
Garmin Messenger Plus utilizes the Certus Iridium network and Iridium Messaging Transport, offering faster connectivity, more precise GPS location in extreme environments and the ability to send photos, voice messages, and longer, 1,600-character text messages.
SOS can be initiated on all three devices without pairing with a smartphone.
All three devices have companion apps that pair with a smartphone. The Plus offers easy texting on the phone’s keyboard, group chats, and location sharing, along with mapping, GPS navigation, and SOS capability.
Zoleo’s app offers SMS, email, location sharing, and SOS, but has limited navigational ability. Zoleo has no maps, waypoints, route planning, or real-time tracking on the device itself or the app. Zoleo does allow sharing of current GPS coordinates by way of messages or check-ins with contacts. The Zoleo app shows a user’s location on a map and can share it but doesn’t support mapping features for planning routes or tracking movement.
Zoleo is primarily intended for communication and emergencies. With its app, Zoleo can be paired with a smartphone and used to compose custom messages. Without the app, Zoleo allows limited communication by way of check-ins and can send an SOS.
Spot X has a keyboard on its home screen and does not require an app for typing messages.
Messages can be typed on the Plus’s virtual keyboard but it is tedious and slow. When paired with the Messenger app, however, typing and sending messages is easy.
The Plus uses a USB-C port for charging. Zoleo uses a Micro-USB port, as does Spot X.
Messenger Plus has 600 hours of battery power with tracking set at 10-minute intervals. Zoleo offers 200 hours of battery power. Spot X with 10-minute tracking intervals has 10 days (240 hours) of power.
Messenger Plus can be submerged under 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. Zoleo can be submerged for 30 minutes under 1.5 meters of water. Spot X can be submerged under 1 meter of water for 30 minutes.
All three devices are designed for harsh conditions including extreme temperatures and are shockproof and dustproof.
Messenger Plus weighs 4.1 ounces. Zoleo weighs 5.3 ounces. Spot X weighs 7 ounces.
Messenger Plus offers global communication and SOS capability, long battery life and enhanced capability through the Garmin Messenger and Explore apps. The Plus can also send 1,600-character texts, voice messages, and photos through the use of its apps. The Plus is best for extended trips and longer usage as well as basic navigation.
Zoleo offers a compact design, SOS capability, and pre-set check in messages. With the addition of its app Zoleo can be used for composing messages on a smartphone’s keyboard. Messages can be sent as SMS, email or app to app messages. Zoleo is for casual to moderate users.
Spot X offers standalone capability without smartphone pairing but is heavier, has less global coverage and can’t switch between satellite and cellular networks. Spot X can be used for basic navigation on the device itself but is limited to a compass and displaying your current GPS coordinates on the screen. Waypoints can be entered into the device and a user can navigate to those points. Navigation is basic and does not have detailed onboard mapping.
Each of these devices has a specific niche, so the best choice depends on a user's size, communication, mapping, and budget priorities.
Other satellite communicators to consider
Read our full guide of satellite communicators.
Garmin inReach Messenger
We go into detail about the Garmin inReach Messenger vs. the Garmin inReach Messenger Plus above. Messenger Plus introduces some significant upgrades, including the ability to use the Messenger app to send photos, 1,600-character texts, and 30-second-long voice messages. The Plus enables real time group chat, allowing multiple users to exchange photos, texts, and voice messages, particularly useful for coordinating with groups or sharing updates with several contacts simultaneously.
Garmin inReach Mini 2
A compact, weatherproof, lightweight (3.5 oz) design using the Iridium satellite network that has text messaging, SOS, navigation tools including a breadcrumb TracBack, a battery life of up to 30 days, and a moderately sized (about 1” x 1”) monochromatic sunlight readable viewing screen. It’s best for adventurers that need a lightweight device that offers SOS, communication and some navigation ability.
The Garmin inReach Mini rings in at the $300-350 price range.
Spot Generation 4
Spot Generation 4 is a mid-weight, (5oz) standalone weatherproof, battery-powered GPS device using the Globalstar satellite network, that has SOS, location tracking and the ability to send preset messages. The Spot Generation 4 has a battery life of about 436 days with tracking set at 10-minute intervals. The Spot Generation 4 does not pair with a smartphone.
The Spot Generation 4 offers affordable basic safety, location and communication features. The Spot Generation 4 can be purchased for between $100 to $150.
Garmin GPSMAP 67i
The Garmin GPSMAP 67i is a heavyweight (8.1 oz) weatherproof, feature-filled GPS satellite communication device using multiple satellite networks—GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS in addition to the Iridium system. It has SOS, onboard TopoActive maps for the U.S, Canada, and Mexico, and access to additional high resolution maps and satellite imagery, all viewable on the device’s 2.6-inch color screen.
The GPSMAP has an altimeter, barometer and a compass, two-way messaging, tracking, location sharing, weather updates, and so much more. The GPSMAP has a battery life of about 165 hours with 10-minute interval tracking and the ability to utilize low power and expedition modes for more battery life. The GPSMAP does not need to be paired with a smartphone to access its features.
The GPSMAP is for adventures who need advanced GPS mapping and communication ability all in one device. The GPSMAP 67i costs about $600.
Read our full review of the GPSMAP 67I.
About the author / Why you should trust us
Dean Krakel is a three-time Pulitzer-prize-winning photojournalist, photographer, and photo editor whose work appears in National Geographic, Rolling Stone, High Country News, National Wildlife, Outside, Time, Newsweek, and Life magazines. Dean is based in Crested Butte, Colorado.
Despite over four decades of outdoor experience, the author is lost in the woods frequently and needs the guidance of satellite communicators.
Dean has used multiple Garmins — including the inReach Messenger, inReach Mini 2, and Garmin eTrex — and various other SOS devices, and also authored our guide on The Best Messengers and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs).
