Garmin and ForeFlight Looking into ADS-B Challenges

Firmware ‘compatibility issue’ is being blamed for recent traffic display interruptions.

ForeFlight and Garmin are presently working together to fix the issue.

The aircraft passed off our right— not terribly close, as we saw it and avoided it with ease. But we had a mystery: Why didn't the ADS-B give us an announcement?

The answer came this week in the form of an email from ForeFlight that stated "the ForeFlight and Garmin teams identifying ‘a compatibility issue’ between ForeFlight and recent firmware versions (v3.13 and later) of Garmin's GNX 375 GPS navigator and ADS-B In/Out transponder.” According to the email, "the issue can temporarily interrupt or disable the display of ADS-B traffic in ForeFlight Mobile while connected to this device."

A Garmin spokesperson confirmed the situation, noting that “customers using software version 3.13 or later may experience ADS-B traffic interruptions in high-traffic environments on their ForeFlight display.”

ForeFlight and Garmin are presently working together to fix the issue.

A representative of the ForeFlight pilot support team said it is "working closely with Garmin to understand the timing and availability of the necessary firmware update to correct this issue and will advise with additional information when available."Said Creighton Scarpone, Garmin's director of airline & business aviation sales: "Traffic display and alerting on the GNX, or any other Garmin display, as well as Garmin Pilot, are not affected. The firmware update is expected to be available in September 2023."

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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