[ck2]

have wished for decades now there was an open-source Garmin on the level of Cyanogenmod / LineageOS for Android

not sure if it will happen this decade but definitely next decade

proper running/cycling metrics are hard as demonstrated by how many well-funded competitors are somewhat close but not there 100% yet (Coros, Amazfit, etc)

someone once hacked and decompiled older Garmins but newer ones are encrypted/signed/locked-down

[rjsw]

Have you looked at the specs for the upcoming PineTime Pro [1]?

[1] https://pine64.org/2026/03/28/pinetime_march_2026/

[xrd]

I'm very excited about this. GPS was the final piece of the puzzle.

I love(d) my bangle.js. Such a true hacker device. Really fun to use WebUSB and push JavaScript files as apps.

But the GPS on that device was a mess, honestly. I know this is a complicated problem but having to synchronize to satellites and recalibrate all the time was beyond me.

I really wanted it to work because I built my own toy run tracker visualization tool.

I am curious about this new lilygo device because it sounds like it has an alternative location sensor: "A u-blox MIA-M10Q GNSS module provides accurate location tracking..."

I'll need to look that up. Anyone have a summary on what's the difference between that and regular GPS?

[branon]

Oh nice, didn't realize they were doing a second one. Loved the original but I took mine rock climbing and cracked it :(

[m463]

> newer ones are encrypted/signed/locked-down

I have a garmin watch and didn't know this.

That said, I just used it out of the box, and never (on purpose) hooked it to wifi, bluetooth, garmin connect, etc. Can't do that with an apple watch.

[jerlam]

The underlying Garmin platform is so old that it predates iPhone/Android. I think you can plug in many Garmins via USB without any special software and simply copy activities and data off the watch.

They had a segment of customers who wouldn't have or be allowed to connect a phone - triathletes, long-distance hikers, military. But it's been slowly changing as users want more modern features and the company wants to increase sales.

[mghackerlady]

I have a garmin from the late 90s and am saddened by the lack of FOSS software to even sync a new map onto it

[ck2]

not sure if this will help you but there is a neat website that allows you to build free maps for older Garmin models that didn't have them at first like Fenix5

https://garmin.bbbike.org/

1990s is going way back though, they didn't even have mass-storage mode then, it was their proprietary "garmin mode" for usb which only things like BaseCamp can talk to

[mghackerlady]

oh bud, mine doesn't even mention USB in the manual. I got the thing for like a dollar at goodwill haha