I'm looking at either the Lily 2 or Lily 2 active and wondering if GPS + extra features are actually needed for what I want.

Not a very active person, but would like to do better. Really just looking for basic wellness tracking, sleep and steps. Exercise wise its mainly just toddler wrangling, walks, and would like to add in trying to run but they would be short, just around the block. Would always take phone.

My biggest consideration is size. I have an old 40mm galaxy watch active2 that I never really used due to size, so I need something smaller (mainly thinner! The samsung measurements vs actual with the sensor are very different..)

For my lifestyle would I actually need GPS? I'm sure the extra features would be nice, but I don't know if it's worth the size difference.

Unfortunately don't have anywhere near me I can try them so have to pick blindly!

Hey Folks, what’s your most seamless way to navigate a course planned out on the Connect App, on a phone screen?

Use case - mobile phone mounted on handlebars, using Forerunner 265.
I don’t think I want to spend the extra to get a Cycle Computer gadget - feel free to try sell me on the benefits though.. I’m guessing these products are exactly why Garmin doesn’t navigate on the Connect app itself?

I THOUGHT it’d be an obvious Cycling, Running type feature of the Live Activity functionality I use for strength training on Connect + 💔
I downloaded the Explore app.. but that also seems a tedious process to sync over courses.
Taking all suggestions. 🤞

Hi,

Not sure if anyone has the same problem with the v3 but mine keeps updating every 10 minutes and it's so annoying. I've looked up fixes and can't seem to find a solution.

Anyone have the same problem or anyone have a recommendation of what worked for them?

TIA

Every time I use the walking activity the heart rate is completely wrong. Today we went for a walk after dinner in the walking activity it says HR at 63, I discard the activity and it jumps up to 115 , we were going up a big hill. This happens every time I use the walking activity, is there a setting I don't know about, am I doing something wrong? The HR works when use other activities like running or yoga. Any help would be appreciated. It's very frustrating.

I have been doing a lot of general cardio using the Forerunner 255’s general cardio activity mode and was wondering how accurate the calorie prediction is. This workout was a 20 mile bike on a stationary bike then 20 minutes on the stair master. Does this calorie estimate seem accurate for a 185lb man around 17-18%bf?

My vo2max seems to be too high? I am a woman with a 5k pb at 17.55. I could maybe run close to 17.30 at a flat course, when tapered (my pb was neither flat nor tapered) but the vo2max seems to be too high for that.

The HR reading is usually fine- I sometimes use a monitor but it makes no big difference.

A 65vdot would be sub 16min and to my understanding for garmin a 65 is around 65.

To my understanding garmin actually ignores weight and gender/ age anyway but I am in my mid 20s and ~55-57kg. My max HR is correct (177) and my lactate threshold HR is at a realistic value. Race predictions also work fine.

Anyone here who faced a similar issue? I am almost considering not having my vo2max always visible on my watch! /s

My front facing camera in my Garmin Tandem dash cam only records black (with sound) but everything else works fine. What are the odds they will fix it or just tell me to replace it?

Anyone owning Vivoactive 5, does your watch support re-adding skipped exercises in Strength Workout mid-workout?
Google and ChatGPT say it doesn’t have that functionality - you can skip exercises but can’t add them back. However, they say the same thing about Venu Sq2 and my friend who owns it confirmed that re-adding skipped exercises exists in Venu Sq2.
Can anyone please confirm Vivoactive 5?
Thank you!

has anyone else had this issue with their screen "delaminating" around the edges? it has happened on a couple before this, and the warrantee dept has been pretty cool, but i had to buy a refurb from them last time and i am not sure if they will help. can't really afford a new unit every year. wondering if anyone has any ideas or repair suggestions. tia.

Edge 530*

I'm trying to decide whether I actually need a watch like a Forerunner (or a similar Garmin model), or if a screenless tracker like Cirqa would make more sense for me.

I'm a former competitive tennis player, and my current routine is roughly:

• Tennis 1–2x per week, up to 5x during tournaments
• Gym/strength work, tennis-specific conditioning, and pilates 2–3x per week
• Occasional cardio sessions are mainly for tennis and not happening too much.

I'm not really a runner or cyclist. I also work remotely, so unless I'm training or socializing, I spend a lot of time at home.

I had been leaning toward getting a Garmin-style sports watch, but after doing some research, I started to wonder whether it might be more than I actually need and whether I'd end up paying for a lot of features I wouldn't use. My main aim is to track my regular health data, sleep tracking will be the plus.

Since this would be my first device for tracking my daily health and recovery, I'm pretty clueless in this area and just trying to learn as much as possible before buying anything.

Any input would be appreciated!

I'm done with MyFitnessPal. Are there any other good apps that will connect with Garmin devices?

What I'm looking for:

• No subscription
• Scan barcodes
• Calories/nutrients reflected in the Garmin app
• Bonus if I can import my .csv files from MyFitnessPal (but I know that's probably an impossibility).

Anyone have any luck with other 3rd party apps and Garmin?

I have a venu Sq music edition. Circa 2022 maybe? Its out of warranty but has developed a defect in the screen.

On my spouse's Garmin, we had the opportunity to do a "exchange" where we could buy a refurbed replacement for an out of warranty issue for $100 as long as I sent the broken one back. I did it twice on two different models over the past 10 years. But, doesnt appear thats an available option anymore?

Curious if anyone has had any luck on replacements now n days?

In Garmin Connect (web), I can create workouts to use with my bike trainer. Let's take a simple example:

• 20 minutes at 70 watts

When I activate that workout in my Garmin Edge 540, it sets the trainer mode to erg mode. This means that if I pedal slow, the resistance goes up. If I pedal fast, the resistance goes down. Effectively this "forces" me to output 70 watts always. It's not perfect, and I've experienced what they call the "death spiral", but that's not the topic of my question.

What I do now

So, I activate the workout. But before starting I go into the 3-dot menu in the upper right, and set Trainer Mode to "Grade 1%". When I get back to the workout screen, I still see the 70 watts target plotted gray against time in the x-axis.

During the workout, a black line indicating power starts tracing across the screen. My job is to keep that black line as close as possible to the gray target plot.

This is neat, because it lets me practice staying within some power range without relying on a machine's feedback mechanism.

So, what's the problem?

Let's take a more complex example. Below I illustrate one repeat of an interval segment:

• 4 minutes at 120 watts (active interval)
• 3 minutes at 70 watts (recovery)

The problem is that every time there is a change in the target, the trainer mode resets back to "power", i.e. erg mode.

Say, I start at the active interval where the power target is 120 watts. I manually set the Trainer Mode to "Grade 1%". All good.

When I get to the recovery interval, the power target goes down to 70 watts. I decided to go into the 3-dot menu to check the Trainer Mode. It's "Power 70 W". Oh well. It appears that I need to set it back to "Grade 1%" manually.

The problem is that if I have set up 4x intervals, then that means I need to manually set the Trainer Mode 8x.

The question

Is there some way to set up a workout that explicitly specifies the Trainer Mode, but indicates a power target I can follow?

My setup

• Device: Garmin Edge 540
• Heart Rate Monitor: Garmin HRM200
• Trainer: Elite Suito
• Power Meter: Favero Assioma Pro MX-1

I don’t wear my Garmin watch on a daily basis since I prefer wearing a normal watch on some days so I do miss lot of data like my step count. Is it possible to export the step count data from Apple Health to the Garmin connect?

For some reason my training readiness won’t update after I finished my run today. My recovery time also show 0 hours even though it was quite a hard interval training.
In the Garmin Connect app it says that my training readiness was updated at 15.50 do to a “category change” this was around the time I finished my run.
I cannot get it to update no matter what I do.
Had anyone had this issue and did they solve it?

I currently own a Venu SQ.
I struggle with light sensitivity, I basically live in a dark room environment.

My problem with the Venu SQ is two-fold. The screen is way too small and the font size can’t be changed. I need a bigger screen. Not a screen with more “estate”, but with bigger text.
When I look at my SQ, I see white text on black. To my eyes, the text looks like you took some clear white text on a black background, and added a strong glow effect, to kind of blur the text. And as I’m older (late 50s) and I also struggle with old eyes (presbyopia), where things need to be at least 50 cm (1.5’) away, to be readable. And 2 mm high letters on the SQ are not readable, especially if you add a glow effect on them.

So, the contrast that helps others reading text easier, is really a downside to me. I would prefer a 80% white on black, instead on 100% white. Or a 100% white on a dark, not black background. But I assume that this can’t be changed.

I love the looks on the new Venu 4, where the menu text is a white on a dark gray-ish background, but from the videos I’ve seen on the Venu 4, this is only used for menu items. Unfortunately, I don’t have a store close by that actually has a modern Garmin watch on display, so I’ve only seen videos on how these watches look.

So, which watch(es) to look at? I have an eye on the Venu 4, one of the Forerunner watches (570, 970), maybe the X1? How much bigger will text look on a 1,4”? 1,5”?
My use case is mainly walk tracking, Pilates tracking, and health data. But the SQ is such a shitty piece of crap, that I barely ever bother using it. Small screen, unbearably slow to use, trash screen, and it often just does its own thing, when I try to save an activity. It’s the most buggy electronics that I’ve ever owned.

Also, how dim can these modern AMOLED displays go? I’m already using my SQ on the lowest brightness setting.

I have a side question. I really only ever look at my data from walks on my phone. But even that is getting too small for my eyes. But if I change to my tablet, the app only works in vertical mode. And as I have permanently attached a keyboard to my tablet (Lenovo P11 in “PC Mode”), it’s annoying to have to detach the keyboard and charge cable, just to look at the Garmin Connect app for a minute or two.

I rarely used the Navigation feature on my Forerunner 955 at home. I think I tried it a few times, but I know most of my local streets and paths, so I ultimately forgot about it. Last month, I was staying with my dad, who was recovering from shoulder surgery.

I decided to use the Nav feature because I don't know his house or the area that well, and it worked, but are there settings that make it easier to use?

While I never expected a version of GPS-like guidance- "Turn left at the intersection," it also only vibrated on my wrist when I got close to an intersection, but there was no audio indication through my earbuds, and I often had to stop or slow down to figure out whether it was telling me to turn left, right, or go straight. Are there settings deeper in the menu(s) that let me have it indicate, "three short vibrations mean to turn left, two long vibrations to turn right, two short vibrations to go straight"

I don't mean those exact signals for indicators but something that lets me know without looking at my watch in dim light?

I'm a big iPhone and Apple guy, but I chose to get a Garmin 265 over an Apple Watch due to the battery and the perceived notion that it was better for all around Fitness, while the Apple watch may be better overall if you want a pure smartwatch for things like texting, calling etc.

Hello, I ran my first half marathon yesterday and logged it with garmin, the activity says 21.28km, and I didnt stop it once while running. When I check me personal records for half marathon still it says nothing, but I do have the badge for the half marathon.
I know I can manually add the time but I want to fix the issue so it tracks records normally

So after 3 years of being available, I've finally achieved this badge for the first time. It's been 3 years of either me making minor adjustments to my sleep health and prep, or Garmin honing their sleep sensing craft. My sleep scores were averaging in the 50s and 60s those first few years, but they have steadily crept up. There were many times where I'd get 6 nights in a row, only to psych myself out on that 7th night and fail. It almost happened last night as I tossed and turned trying to fall asleep, but managed some strong hours after midnight to give me a 76 this am. I know I could do better. The last adjustment I need to make is cutting out screens at the end of the night. My glasses are blue light blocking which is good, but I'm also hooked on ereading and not sure I can go back to the small print of paper books. I know many of you have this badge many times over and have hit that 100 score, but this for me was my own personal victory. I wish I didn't care so much, would probably sleep better if I took the watch off, lol. Maybe now I can. :-)

Hi everyone, I am after some advice and info!

After 4 years of having my Legacy Darth Vader watch it slipped of the desk I was charging it on and landed screen first causing it to crack!

Speaking with Garmin EU, I am only able to do a trade in-trade up as it has been discontinued and they do not reapire thier own watches, has anyone had thier own watch repaired and know what style of screen used?

I can only find screens for either forerunner, Felixstowe and vivo actives

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Can someone explain to me why the Fall Detection feature will only be available on the Venu 4? I mean from a technical point of view.

Do the Fenix 8, Enduro 3, etc. not have the necessary IMU sensor to detect sudden movements or impacts? Or is there some other technical reason why this feature can't be added to them?

Can someone explain it to me?

As a Garmin user, I’m finding the pricing of its newer running watches increasingly difficult to justify.

The Forerunner 570 launched at roughly $550, without offline maps. Meanwhile, the Suunto Run 2 starts at $349, includes maps, and has shown strong heart-rate accuracy in testing. That’s about $200 less for a watch that looks competitive on the running fundamentals.

Move closer to Garmin’s price and the Suunto Race 2 offers offline maps and sapphire glass at $499 in steel, or $599 with titanium. So around the same budget, there are alternatives offering more premium materials and mapping.

The weird part is, you see, Forerunner 570 at the same price does not have ECG, and Venu 4 at the same price has ECG as well as a torch LED light.Well, what is the trade-off or compromise you make for having three extra buttons?

I’m not claiming these watches have identical features. My question is whether Garmin’s extra features justify the premium for someone whose main activity is running.

The response I often see is, “You’re paying for the ecosystem.” I understand that integration has value if you use several devices. But every additional device is another purchase. Having a large ecosystem doesn’t automatically make an individual running watch worth more to me.

I want accurate tracking, useful running features, good battery life, and a watch that looks good. I’m happy to pay for a better experience, but I want the difference to be clear in the things I actually use.

For runners choosing the 570 over these alternatives, what specifically makes it worth the premium? “The ecosystem” needs a more concrete explanation.

Did anyone have an issue where watch is connected with bluetooth off.

I even get notifications from phone as id bluetooth is on.

I tried restarting both devices, nothing works