Garmin Electronics

Sturdy watch, good fit on my small wrist – I originally got the Garmin Fenix Rose Gold and got a lot of comments on how nice it looked, however it felt a bit bulky (heavy) to wear for everyday… Read more

use, so I swapped to the Forerunner. I have it in white and like how it looks when I’m wearing activewear. Pros are a longer battery life, I can leave it uncharged for a few days in a row with no issues. It also feels sturdy, is easy to use and switch up face designs. It also connects to gps relatively quickly compared to other Garmin models I’ve had.

Cons were the initial price I paid (over $500) felt expensive as the watch didn’t really offer many improved features than my previous Garmin, except being a sleeker design.

Wonderful as a watch and calendar, as well as tracker for steps, heart rate & calories burned – My Garmin goes with me everywhere. I download the information each evening via WiFi onto my Tablet App. My health has improved and my weight has dropped considerably. Very happy. Show details

Just Rubbish – For the amount of money you pay for these toys, they don't last anywhere near long enough. The band kept breaking. Garmin send you replacement bands… Read more

(their Customer Service Dept in Oz is actually excellent) but, after 3 bands, they felt that they'd fulfilled their obligation, more or less. Trouble connecting Bluetooth. Now, to connect the watch to your phone you have to have the Garmin Connect app. The battery suddenly only started lasting about 4 hrs, suspiciously, after an update. The time is always wrong. If you try to change the time manually it is never accurate. The automatic time is wrong. After an hour trying to set the time accurately to the 1194 clock, I peaked and threw it into the bin, along with my original with the broken band. That's about $400 in the bin. I pulled my trusty old $49 Casio out of the draw, waiting patiently there for me! Still ticking after all these years.... It's a pity, I was addicted to the step counter, the weight and the sleep part of it and I'll miss that. But, I'm tired of being conned into modern devices that do not last. These criticisms are probably applicable to all smart type watches.Update: I've since bought a Garmin Instinct and I'd give that 5 stars! Yes, addicted to the health monitoring!

Garmin all the way for me! – Have always had Garmin watches and never had problems. Was deciding between this one (Forerunner 735XT or the… Read more

VivoActive) and decided to get this one due to the features it offered. Pros: Very easy to operate good size (not too bulky) long life battery easy to charge great tracking swimming & cycling Cons: no REM Sleep tracking tells me to "get moving" about 1hr after a 30km bike ride - seriously man - EASE UP!

Band broke - owned <3 weeks – Really disappointed. We have owned this for < 3 weeks and the strap is already broken, right where the buckle joins the strap. The other thing we've… Read more

noticed is how difficult the display is to read. Anyway, the response from Garmin is that they'll replace the whole device ... for $114. This has made me realise that my own Garmin Vivosport is also in the same situation - when the band breaks, I may not be able to replace.

Replacement Strap! – I like the watch but I am very disappointed that the strap broke and I couldn’t replace the strap- fortunately, my brother is a dab hand with sue… Read more

glue and was able to cobble it together. How ridiculous- that a perfectly functioning watch becomes unusable because the strap is moulded on. In this age of eco-awareness why create this type of watch!

Over priced hyped and no support – These are a very poor quality product. I was nagged and hustled to get some for my kids. What a waste of money. The screen is extremely low… Read more

resolution, they offer very poor graphics, low quality games and apps. Battery life is shocking. When one of the ones I bought stopped working after just a few months for no reason the support from Garmin was non existent. Don’t wast your money.

I really liked the watch, but a little over a year old with fairly conservative use (running and hiking 5 hours/week) the charging port in the back… Read more

of the watch became loose and I could no longer charge the watch. Unfortunately Garmin product support are extremely slow to respond and make you jump through many hoops. Unlikely to be worth the time and trouble to try and get it fixed and will probably end up replacing the watch. I thought the reason for registering your details when you buy the watch was to get ongoing support for the product, but seems like it might just be a data harvesting exercise.

Great when it works but battery dies far too quickly. First model lasted 6 months, second 11 months and third is dying rapidly after 20 months. Going… Read more

in the bin this time, batteries are simply not robust enough and can't be bothered sending it back to Garmin a third time. Back to my 30 year old Omega.

Did not last long! – Disappointed in the Vivofit 4, failed after less than a year. I previously had Vivofit 2 which lasted 6+ years. I thought I'd upgrade to the 4.… Read more

Worked great for about 5 months then needed a battery change. Screen went blank after 5 months, had battery replaced again. All ok for a few weeks then the screen went blank/weird. I successfully restarted it for a few days then nothing. Got my husband to replace the battery yesterday and it worked for less than 24 hours now it looks as though the display is damaged. This is my 3rd Garmin watch and I really don't want to change to another brand as all my info is on the app, however I'm not keen on having a rechargeable watch, but not keen on buying another Vivofit 4 either. Unfortunately it's over a year since purchase now and out of warranty.

Defective Garmin 245 Music – Loved this watch and used it for all running, walking and fitness training in general (daily). Watch was only two years old when it fell off my wrist… Read more

due to the watchstrap attachment point failing. It has snapped for no apparent reason, which is clearly a product defect.

Can't begin to tell you how much I dislike Garmin. One of the worse purchases I've ever made. I thought spending a lot of money on a watch would mean… Read more

having less problems and better service but how wrong I was. Do yourself a favor and just buy a cheap smartwatch instead of wasting your money.

watch won't recharge after battery ran flat while away from home without charging cable. Tried seeking assistance through Garmin apps and web site.… Read more

Both useless. Apps could locate watch (because it had a flat battery) and Garmin website wanted the watch serial number etc. before offering any assistance. Suggest looking at less troublesome brands

I love my smart watch, but there are 2 issues that I think could improve it. When I set an alarm, there are not enough subjects to cover what my… Read more

alarms are for. If they added the subject ‘Meds’, it would help greatly. Also, today I customised my step stride because I do 10,000 steps a day, which takes an hour and a half, and covers 6kms, and my daily calorie burn for this task is only 120 cals, and that does not seem right. I used to own a $25 cheapie smart watch which used to cover my same steps and distance, and it used to tell me that I was burning 359 cals which sounded more realistic, so let’s hope that tomorrow with my customised step stride, the calorie burn will be more accurate. Other than these two things, I absolutely love this smart watch.

Garmin Epix Gen 2 (Sapphire Glass, Titanium Body) Disclaimer: There will be no proof of purchase as I am kind of too lazy to find it. I guess a… Read more

photo of watch is enough. The content was rewritten by AI for better stylistic, formatting and grammar.

*** Pros ***

Watch Faces & Interface: The watch has a bunch of different faces, and you can put all sorts of data and sensor info right on them. Plus, you can download even more (free and paid ones) from Garmin's store. There are tons of ways to customize what’s on the watch face – colors, where stuff goes, the format, you name it. The interface is pretty simple. Because it has 5 buttons, using the watch feels a bit like navigating a computer, with functions organized in easy-to-follow cascading menus.

Screen: It also has a touch screen that works well. The brightness can be adjusted, but generally it is okay under the sun even on low.

Functions: It has a ton of functions. Besides the normal time and calendar, it has a flashlight, pulse monitor, step counter, respiration rate, HRV (Heart Rate Variability) measurement, blood oxygen saturation, barometer, GPS, sleep monitoring, and stress/body battery tracking. There are also heaps of fitness apps for walking, running, cycling, strength training, snorkeling, swimming, cardio, and more. When it comes to fitness, this watch offers way more than I could ever imagine or actually need.

Sleep Monitoring: Even if you're not a fitness fanatic and just use it as a regular watch, the sleep monitoring is really useful. It shows your sleep stages (deep, light, REM, awake) and your heart rate variability (HRV), which basically gives you an idea of your stress and recovery. It's helped me build better sleep habits. For example, I've seen how drinking alcohol cuts down my deep sleep and how much less recovered I feel. Physical activity, especially something light before bed, seems to promote good sleep for me. It's interesting to see how trying to manage stress can make my HRV look healthier, and honestly, it just makes me feel better.

Sleep Tracking Quirks: Of course, the sleep tracking isn't perfect. It can make mistakes, like not automatically recognizing a nap if it's outside my usual sleep hours and I don't tell the watch I'm napping. Sometimes it won't record a nap if I don't set the nap timer. Or, if I wake up in the night and lie still, it might not always realize I'm awake. But, it will definitely pick up on a restless night because my pulse and HRV won't look like I'm getting good sleep.

Timers: Another feature I use a lot is the timer. You can set up multiple timers and start them whenever you need to. This is super handy when I'm cooking.

Connectivity: The watch connects to my Wi-Fi and my phone using Bluetooth. It vibrates for calls and messages and shows me what they say.

Battery Life (General Use): The battery life is decent. If I'm just using it as a regular watch with the screen set to only turn on when I look at it, the battery lasts about 15-16 days. This means the screen is off most of the time, but it tracks my movement and turns on the moment I move my hand to look at the watch. It rarely gets this wrong or turns on when I don't want it to. There's also an option to have the screen always on but dimmed, which, of course, will use more battery.

Battery Life (Active Use): However, using a lot of the active features can really drain the battery. An hour-long training session without GPS will knock a day or two off the total battery life. Anything using GPS burns the battery even faster. So if you're an active person, you might need to charge your watch every 4-5 days. If you're not doing much sport, maybe once every two weeks. Luckily, the watch charges pretty quickly. I find the best time to charge it is when I'm in the shower – I don’t need it then, and it's usually fully or almost fully charged by the time I get out.

Durability (Water & Heat): The experience shows that the watch is suitable for surface swimming only. If you dive with it or snorkel, which involves occasional dives to the depths greater than a couple of meters, then the survival of the watches is a matter of luck. I had a few dives 5 - 10 metres with it and ended up with watches becoming unusable due to the water damage. Fortunately, I got away with a button replacement, but judging by the internal watch layout that fact that it was only the button I was lucky. For diving, you’d probably want something like a Garmin Descent, which is built for divers and is very cool but also very expensive.

I'd avoid wearing it in a sauna or banya. It can survive it – it won't die immediately (I've tested it). However, temperatures around 100C aren't great for the battery in the long run, sealed or not. The official temperature range is from -20 to +60, which means you can take the watch into hamam or the "relaxed" banya for kids without doubt. You know the drill, first adults having fun, then the fire is down, the temperature goes down and kids wearing Garmin Epix may enter. :)

Sapphire Glass & Titanium Body: The sapphire glass is a must-have for me. I wouldn't even consider buying such an expensive watch without it. I've been wearing this watch for over a year, and it's hit many hard objects and often rubs against walls. I even hit it with a knife point once. Not a single scratch on the glass. My previous Seiko Solar with its Hardlex glass got so scratched in two years that I sometimes had trouble reading the time. The watch design also helps protect the glass. Its bezel is raised just a tiny bit above the glass – maybe a quarter of a millimeter – but it protects the glass from most knocks. Impacts usually land on the bezel and don't reach the glass. The titanium body is a bit lighter than steel. Both get scratched.

Comfortable Wristband: The rubber wristband is pretty comfortable and very soft. It mostly doesn't cause any issues, unless I wear the watch snugly and sweat a lot in hot weather. In that case, I might get a bit of skin abrasion or irritation. The best way I've found to handle this is to either switch it to my other wrist or just take it off for a day if I see any signs of skin irritation.

*** Cons ***

The Price: This watch is pretty expensive.

Workout Planning Issues: The workout planning is mostly useless for me. It uses such cryptic or over-complicated names for exercises, and there are no pictures or videos. So, it's hard to plan anything because I can't easily figure out which exercise from its long list matches what I'm actually doing in the gym.

*** Conclusion ***

Overall, if you have the money or find a good deal (I got about 50% discount):

If you like lots of customization options and many functions, this watch is for you.

If you're into fitness or a healthy lifestyle, it's a watch for you.

If you are a diver, this isn't the watch for you. Check out the Garmin Descent instead, or maybe Apple Watch Ultra 2/3.

Enough for my needs – I got the Vivosmart 4 as a present a couple of years ago and it has turned out to be a great tool for me to track my sleep and other health data… Read more

points. I like that it's simple but complete. Mine had an issue with the band which got like a bubble. However, I contacted Garmin and I got an exchange even though my watch's guarantee had expired. Great customer service and good product.

Have had Venu 3 for around 5 months. When I first received the watch and after going through the startup sequence, I was quite impressed and that was… Read more

after moving across from Samsung Galaxy watches. Unfortunately, the Google Assistant feature on the watch no longer functions and I have attempted everything to try and recover the Assistant feature but have not been successful. It's very disappointing as this is an essential element of a smart watch and degrades the initial impression I had for the watch. I'm ever hopeful that the developers at Garmin can come up with a solution to this problem. Apart from that issue it's a very good watch but it's let down by this major flaw.

Great customer service – I ordered the wrong band for my garmin. Emailed through and customer management helped me pick the right band and sent it to me. Show details

Garmin is great – Does everything I need it to. Got this for my husband who has early Alzheimer's and wanted to be able to locate him if required. Show details

It it so dimly lit that you can't see it at night or in low light. So pointless unless you're in full sunlight and hold it at the correct angle. The band is fine. Just doesn't function well as a watch since you struggle to see the screen Show details

Died in under a year – Bought less than a year ago after a lot of research. Rather liked it at first but I’ve noticed lately that it tells me to get up and move even though… Read more

I’m actually walking .. then it tells me to take a break when I’ve been laying about for an hour reading ‍.. then last week it stopped working altogether and all I get is a triangle on the face. I googled this and read that it’s a known fault and the watch needs to be returned to Garmin. I followed the links to return it and guess what … Australia isn’t a country that’s listed for return. So I’m left with a completely unusable watch that I’ve had for under a year, with no receipt from where I bought it. The following day I went to Harvey Norman and bought an Apple SE watch for way less than what I paid for the Garmin. This watch far surpasses the Garmin in every way and I’m so much happier with it. I won’t ever buy Garmin again.

Pretty good watch so far - I've had it for 4 weeks now. Pros: - Measures many different components of health/fitness in an easily digestible way… Read more

(on the app) - Reliable battery so far (lasts about a week easily) - Somewhat customisable (you can show quite a few things on the watch face like heart rate, steps, temperature, time etc.)

Cons: - The watch needs to be strapped pretty tightly to record your heart rate (I find switching from one wrist to the other reduces discomfort) - The watch needs to be strapped extra tightly at night to record sleep (if it's even a little too loose you lose a whole night's data)

Good for measuring (roughly) things like: - VO2 Max - Resting heart rate - Heart rate variability - Sleep - Training readiness - Stress

We've had nothing but issues with both the garmin Bounce devices our two kids have. They constantly fail to deliver and send messages despite no… Read more

connectivity issues.

They constantly fail to provide location updates, rarely notify when our kids travel through geofenced areas, and hardly ever refresh accurately.

Garmin support has been terrible. The number of times we've been asked to factory reset the devices or restart is painful.

Voice message feature is poor quality and has no capability for the child to write a free text message, rather they have to choose from 20 presaved messages.

Garmins next best solution is to send the device (purchased new) back to garmin, only to be replaced with a second hand refurbished unit, not to mention the time the child is without a device while all the postage plays out... oh, or they'll happily take your money in a holding account while they send you one and wait for yours to be returned.

Battery life is terrible too. With minimal to no activity, the battery barely lasts a full school day.

I wouldn't recommend these to anyone. A simple dumb phone would be far more reliable and practical product.

An OK watch that is overpriced and has questionable build quality. Firstly its extremely difficult to charge. The charging cable and port, like many… Read more

of the Garmins, is awful. The screen is dull even at full brightness and difficult to read in sunlight. The brightness settings are turned down on most menus. After the 1 year warranty expired the Start/Stop button stopped working. The solar just isn't worth it. It barely even trickle charges during strong sunlight.

Installing & updating the Garmin UHD2 95sv – Have just newly installed the Garmin Echomap 95sv. Well that went well enough. Then tried to update the software. Forget it nothing works with that. Just hope it's updates are low importance Show details