Here’s a handy trick I picked up over at One More Kilometre that lets you add your contact details to the start-up screen of your Garmin Edge device.

I’ve seen this information floating around a few times over the years, but hadn’t taken much notice. My Garmin hardly goes out of sight, pretty much from my K-Edge mount, to my charger, and back again. That said, anything that might help me get it back if I do misplace it must be a good thing, especially now that I’m back to travelling a little more. I use an Edge 830, but this works for all Garmin Edge devices (I think) and is super easy, taking around five minutes tops.

1) Connect your Garmin Edge. You will need to use a USB data cable not a charge-only cable. I’m on Windows, so if you’re on MacOS the layout and steps may differ ever so slightly.

2) Open the “Garmin” folder. The main device folder may pop up automatically, otherwise open File Explorer on your laptop and scroll down the side-bar menu to find your Garmin device.

3) Scroll down and locate the “startup.txt” file. Open this file in Notepad. The top line of text should read “Edit this file to display a message…”

4) Edit your message. Underneath the last line of text enter the message you wish to display, and set the number of seconds you want the message to stay on the screen for. I’d say 10-15 seconds is more than enough.

5) Save and exit! Save your file, safely remove the device from your laptop, then power cycle it off and on again if needed. Your message should now display every time you switch it on.

Technically, you could add any message you like. It doesn’t need to be your contact details. You could add a little motivational message or really anything that takes your fancy! Contact details are the sensible option though.

Will this help get my Garmin back if I lose it? Possibly. It’s better than not having my details there. For a couple of minutes messing around I think it’s certainly worth doing.