Garmin Striker 4 White Screen Of Death

My 1+ year old Garmin Striker 4 started having issues today.

I turned on the unit - it turned on normally, but the screen looked a little off, colors not right, a little jittery.  I tried re-powering a couple times...and now the screen just comes on 'white'

I've tried hitting the power button a few times (controls screen brightness) hoping maybe it was just too bright, but, no help, just varies how bright the white screen is.

anyone else have this issue?

just to remove variables, I tried a separate battery and power cable - same result, tried that battery and power cable on another unit - worked fine.

Thanks,
Brian.

I didn't have that precise issue, but I just got a warrantee replacement head unit for my Striker 4 Vivid. It was still working, but there was clearly moisture behind the screen. I took a picture, went to the chat option on the Garmin website, and it was all taken care of in 10 minutes. So if there is a problem with it, I'd contact Garmin...

I didn't have that precise issue, but I just got a warrantee replacement head unit for my Striker 4 Vivid. It was still working, but there was clearly moisture behind the screen. I took a picture, went to the chat option on the Garmin website, and it was all taken care of in 10 minutes. So if there is a problem with it, I'd contact Garmin...

My granddaughter's significant other is thinking about buying a Garmin.  This is good information about their customer service to pass along to him.  Thanks.

I didn't have that precise issue, but I just got a warrantee replacement head unit for my Striker 4 Vivid. It was still working, but there was clearly moisture behind the screen. I took a picture, went to the chat option on the Garmin website, and it was all taken care of in 10 minutes. So if there is a problem with it, I'd contact Garmin...

mine is from April '21 so 1 year and 6 months old - 6 months beyond warranty - how old was yours?

guess it doesn't hurt to try regardless.

Mine was less than 1 year old. But, I also returned my previous Garmin many years after it was out of warranty and they sold me a reconditioned unit for dirt cheap. So, definitely worth contacting them to see what your option are…

NWM, Garmin must like you better than me.

they offered me a reconditioned unit for $79 with 90d warranty

new units with 1yr warranty going for ~$115 - so I think I'll go with new, but will also look around at other units as well.

I think I'll see if I can open the bad unit as well - it's behaving like there is a loose connection inside

My old Lowrance Elite-4 DSI unit stopped powering on for me just recently.  Feels like I wore out the power button, but not sure.  All those gps waypoints gone     At some point I'm gonna try and open it up and see if I can do anything about the data.  Sure wish there was a simple way to offload that data via bluetooth or wifi.

My old Lowrance Elite-4 DSI unit stopped powering on for me just recently.  Feels like I wore out the power button, but not sure.  All those gps waypoints gone     At some point I'm gonna try and open it up and see if I can do anything about the data.  Sure wish there was a simple way to offload that data via bluetooth or wifi.

some of the units allow to you use an external memory device to sync to, and I think some newer and $$$er units have WiFi and BT.  Would be great if one of the lines would focus specifically on the kayak angler - frequent water and sand dunking, etc - maybe even an internal battery

So I opened the unit up:
tl;dr:  water in unit, broken case, Brian is clumsy

longer story, see attached photos.

I opened the unit up, surprised there were only 5 screws...and 6 holes, and what are those broken pieces of plastic on my paper?
broken pieces of plastic were remnants of the clamshell behind the enclosure screws.  The 6th screw was still in the case - with a chunk of the plastic case behind it.

I suspect this must have been the result of falling to the ground at some point, must have landed on just the right spot on a hard surface.  Perhaps I should wrap the new unit with 1/4" rubber to 'brian-ize' it

I noticed a significant amount of water in the unit - tasted it, surprisingly fresh water, not salt.  I can not figure out why fresh and not salt - I last used it in the ocean.  Unless the damage occurred after that, and the fresh water got in while I was rinsing it?  But then why is the display acting up?  I'm going to let it dry, gently re-assemble, test again.  If that does not work, I'll try re-seating the display ribbon cable.

IF I can get it to work again, I could just glue the entire closure shut, or possibly 3D print a new back shell, or use longer attachment screws for the problem areas, and use a metal washer on the outside of the big holes, and a bunch of silicone ....hmmm. 

now to let it dry and try again.

ok, problem identified...fatal

The ribbon cable to the display has some badly corroded connections up near 'pin 1'  you may need to enlarge the image to get a good view of it, looks like 4-5 are badly damaged.

so now I wonder, did this just happen recently? or damage from long ago - finally gone fatal?

after a quick search of FF units, I remember why I settled on the GS4, lowest price for a GPS equipped unit, and a nice small profile.

so Garmin Striker 4 will replace this unit as well, though I'll wrap the outer edges with idiot proof ....errrrrrr.....Brian proof impact absorbing tape.

I'm also forwarding the pics to my contact at Garmin - I doubt it will change anything - though they may be interested.

Sorry to hear that Garmin wasn't more helpful.

Is it fixable?

Sorry to hear that Garmin wasn't more helpful.

Is it fixable?

they did offer a discount, though I think new with the 1year is the better option.
this ribbon cable is unique - so I'm throwing the towel now