Live weather and real answers, on any inReach.
Your inReach can already text any phone number over Iridium. Point it at Relay and it can ask anything — forecasts, first aid, fire closures, tides — and get an answer sourced from live data in one message.
Setup in three steps
- 1
Create your free Relay account
Sign up at northstarrelay.com with the phone number you message FROM (the one linked to your inReach account) — or skip the website entirely: text SIGNUP to Relay from the device and your account is created over SMS.
- 2
Save Relay as a contact
In Garmin Messenger or the Explore app, add a contact with the number +1 (864) 387-3529 and sync your device. On older inReach models, add the contact in your Garmin Explore web account and sync.
- 3
Text it like a friend
"Forecast tonight?" "Nearest ranger station?" "Blister on heel, pop it?" Short questions work; abbreviations are fine. Replies come back compressed to a single message.
Location: inReach messages can attach your GPS position automatically — Relay reads it, so "forecast tonight?" alone usually just works. You can also link your MapShare page in the Relay dashboard so continuations use your latest track point, or type @lat,lon explicitly.
Works with inReach Mini and Mini 2, Explorer+, SE+, Messenger, and Montana/GPSMAP models with inReach — anything that can send a two-way text.
Things people ask from a Garmin inReach
Every factual reply is tagged with its source (src: NWS, src: NOAA) — see why you can trust Relay.
Put Relay on your Garmin inReach before the next trip.
Sign up free, add your number, and save 86-GETRELAY in your device before your next trip.
Get started freeFree during beta · 100 messages/day · no app required
No laptop handy? Text SIGNUP to 86-GETRELAY — the whole account is created over SMS.