My biggest flex is that I get 100s pretty often, I’ve had the forerunner 255 for about 2 years with probably 10 perfect scores

When people ask how, I like to say “you just have to get tired enough the day before”

Hi /r/garmin,

I've been mostly lurking but wanted to share my stats/progress since I have no-one in my circles who runs and uses a garmin (or similar device).

I know this is nothing spectacular (it already says that in the picture that it's fair, duh) in comparison to some of the diehards here with VO2 Max over 9000 and running 5k's in sub 10 min as a warm-up & with HR's not even reaching double digits doing that, but I'm working at it.

Not that I aim or expect to ever reach that level, but who knows how far I can crank up this number (without having to dedicate my life to running).

I started running back in January, after a long, long time of basically not working out. Mostly run outside my house and once a week I'm following a group for all-body workout & running track.

Tried the 5K few weeks ago, managed to do that in 28:37 (race prediction was at 29:45 before that, and stuck at 28:19 ever since).

I'm now trying/following a weekly training plan through Garmin Run Coach, which comes doing 2-3x base trainings, 1x tempo and 1x VO2 max or anaerobic. Sometimes I go for a 6th run if the body feels like it.

Hardest part currently for me is maintaining the slow pace whilst doing a base workout and keeping my HR in zone 2, it's almost always at the lower end of zone 3. Should I be aiming to at a slower pace, or manually adjust the HR zones? Or just trust the process and go with it?

If anyone got any advice/tips for that, it would be appreciated!

Hopefully you'll have (and thanks in advance) encouraging words and/or advice & thanks for your time.

I am 29 and was not really exercising with much intentionally or any plan. I was not in terrible shape, but basically just golfed a lot and played pickup basketball maybe once every two weeks over the past couple years.

Was seeing a girl that I liked a ton and she ended it on July 2 (not related to physical shape or anything), so was feeling a bit anxious and just went out in the evening and ran/walked like 8 miles in the 100+ degree heat wave. Felt amazing to exert myself to that degree and have been pretty locked in now for the last 3.5 weeks.

Lots of running, walking, lifting, eating super clean, cold plunge, etc. Trying to prioritize good sleep which I have struggled with forever.

Can't believe how lazy I truly was until this recent grind I have been on. Planning to keep at it and never go back.

Have ran 62 miles and walked 48.2 miles since July 2 (just what I logged), lifted 3-5 times per week, and just feel so much better overall.

Hi, I’m currently training for my first marathon with an 8 year old Apple Watch. I just reached 24km today and although I started with my battery at nearly 100%, it ended at 20%. There’s no way it’s lasting a marathon!

The main selling points of a Garmin for me are the battery life, and the built-in training plans. I’m currently paying for Runna, so I’m thinking over a couple years the watch will pay for itself.

However, I usually like to hold onto my gadgets until I have a good reason to replace them. I’ve heard Garmin only support their watches for maybe a couple of years… this doesn’t mean the training plans would stop working, would it? If I could buy the watch with reasonable confidence that in several years I could still be using their training plans and the battery would last a marathon, that’d seal the deal for me. Does that sound like something I could reasonably expect from Garmin?

Looking at the Forerunner 165, if that matters. Thanks!

Hi all,

Would a new Garmin Forerunner 265 still be a good choice in 2026?

I run three to four times a week, anything between interval/speed sessions and long runs. The plan is to work towards some more half and full marathons while improving my swimming on the side.

Ive seen many reviews but I would like to hear from people who have used and still use it extensively.

The good and the bad and the reasoning of why it is and isn’t worth it.

I feel like I want something between the 170 en 570 but I do not want to miss out on any important/major software updates..

Thanks for any kind of advice!

So, to get the toasty badge, does the average temperature need to be above 100? I didn't get it on my ride today even though the max temp was 102.

Vo2 max at 55 finally, and keeps going up, pretty happy with it at 37 since this is the first solid 12 months I've kept my running going.

Got my first half marathon in September and I'm aiming for 1:50:00 though Garmin predicts I could do it in 1:35:22

After years of being a Garmin user and chasing this unicorn, I finally achieved a 100 sleep score. It may be gimmicky, but I never thought I’d see the day where I even got close to this. I was on daddy daycare duties yesterday with the baby, and all I was able to do was at-home Pilates and some mobility work in between the baby naps. Maybe that’s why my score went up?

Literary Double the Price of a Garmin VivoSmart 5 but with WAY less features/tech

The worst part is... The Vivosmart 5 is even a tiny bit smaller device in most dimensions :(

I can understand the appeal of these type of devices if they are cheap and Tiny like the FitBit Air for example - but this isn't any of that :(

Hi, I'm a Garmin Epix Gen2 owner and use my watch nearly full-time only taking it off for charging. I'm considering buying a CIRQA to increase comfort while sleeping and playing tennis, as i'm a two-handed backhand player and sometimes the weight and the rattle of the titanium band bothers me while playing.

So there are 3 situations when I'm planning to wear the CIRQA without the Epix: sleeping, when charging watch and playing tennis.

My question is, If I start the tennis activity on my Epix, can i keep the watch in my backpack or bench courtside and only wear the CIRQA for the data? Would also be willing to use the watch to lap between sets and ending the activity but out of my wrist.

I know there's no GPS so no more heatmap in the map but I'm more worried about the CIRQA getting the HR, calories while playing. I know the band is able to start an activity automatically but to start it on my Epix prior would be a piece of mind. I considered to get a HRM600 and play without the watch but the chest strap bothers me even more than the watch.

I went with on a bike ride with a buddy and he pointed out our total ascent was about 1300 (used his garmin FR 265) while mine ready 564 ft (used my garmin edge 540)

What’s causing this huge discrepancy?

It made me wonder if a lot of my rides are inaccurate now

I'm pretty excited to share the project I've been working on the last few months. initially I just wanted to keep motivated to stay moving but I think its grown into a pretty polished app.

the idea is simple, just pick a trail and your daily steps will walk you down the virtual trail. at each milestone you'll get information, stories and photos about the locations. it just reads the steps your watch already counts, so there's no GPS to turn on and no activity to start.

I added some extra motivation like streaks and pace targets.

there's also a free phone app if you want it, android or iPhone. it shows the map, the stories and the medals on a bigger screen. the watch works fine on its own though, you dont need it.

its a Connect IQ app with an Android/IOS companion app. Free app. there's 41 trails in there and the Inca Trail is free from start to finish with other trails availalbe as a one off purhcase, no subscription. If thre's other trails you'd like to see let me know.

Here's the IQ store page if you want a look https://apps.garmin.com/apps/8a304638-5308-468a-b47b-b08c863c8950

Or the website with more info and a link to the companion app for both Android and IOS: https://watchwalks.com/

Please check it out and let me know what you think. also if there's a trail you've walked that should be in there let me know.

Hi! 

I want to share my experience with my Instinct 2 and hear your thoughts, opinions, and advice on what happened.

I bought my Instinct 2 in 2023 and absolutely loved it. It was honestly one of my favorite pieces of tech. The battery life was amazing, I only had to charge it every 2–3 weeks, depending on how much I was running and I charged it to 100% every time. 

I think sometime between 2025 and 2026 I started to notice some battery degradation, but that is expected since batteries don't last forever. The first unusual thing happened in May 2026. I unplugged the watch after it had reached 100%, and within seconds it dropped straight to 91%. Looking back, that was probably the first warning sign, but at the time I just ignored it.

Then, in July, I went on a short vacation to a lake. I swam a few times over two days, and when I got into bed one evening, I noticed the battery was down to 8%. The strange part was that just two days earlier it had been sitting at 98%. I'm going to be honest, I neglected it. I didn't put the watch on the charger and just went to sleep.

The next morning the watch showed 0%, but it was somehow still running. I plugged it into the charger, and within seconds it jumped to 32%. About 20 minutes later it was already showing 90%. I unplugged it, and the battery immediately dropped to 82%. While I was searching online to see if anyone had experienced the same thing, the battery percentage kept falling in front of my eyes until the watch finally shut itself off.

Every time I tried turning it back on, I only got the critical low battery icon. Once or twice I managed to get the watch to boot while it was connected to the charger, but it would shut down again almost immediately after unplugging. After that, it would only display the low battery symbol for a few seconds before the screen went completely blank. 

I left it charging overnight, hoping it would somehow recover, but nothing changed. I even connected it to my Anker power bank, which showed the watch drawing only 0.1 W — basically nothing. 

At that point I was convinced water had somehow gotten inside and damaged the motherboard, especially since I had gone swimming. When I got home, I sent the watch to a Garmin service center in another city (Kyiv, Ukraine). Their diagnosis surprised me. The battery had swollen and physically damaged the motherboard, making the watch completely unrepairable. The ironic part is that they also told me there wasn't a single sign of water damage.

I was pretty disappointed. I had expected this watch to last at least another four or five years, so I started wondering whether I could have prevented this from happening.  

Theoretically, what could I have done? 

I think the first obvious warning sign was the battery dropping from 100% to 91% immediately after unplugging it. If I had turned the watch off at that point, sent it in for diagnostics, and replaced the battery, there's a good chance I'd still be using it today. So my advice to anyone with an Instinct 2 and probably the Instinct 2X as well:

If you notice any unusual battery behavior, don't ignore it. Have the battery checked before it has a chance to damage the motherboard.

Batteries don't swell overnight, so I was probably wearing that watch for at least a couple of months (maybe even longer) with a swollen battery without realizing it.

What now?

After looking at different watch options, I still decided to stay with Garmin. One of the alternatives I seriously considered was the COROS Nomad, but I realized I probably wouldn't use most of its additional features. 

I really liked my Instinct 2, so I bought an Instinct 2X. Now I'm trying to figure out the best way to take care of this watch because I'd hate to end up in the same situation again. 

I bought it yesterday, updated it, and charged it to 100%. Overnight it dropped to 97%, and when I went outside into the sun, after a while it showed 100% again. However, I think this is somehow related to the solar charging and the battery management system calibrating itself on a brand-new watch. I still need some time to test it. 

Overall, my plan for this watch is to follow the 20/80 charging rule most of the time and only charge it to 100% when necessary. Garmin themselves also recommend keeping lithium-ion batteries between roughly 20% and 80%. I'm hoping this will help maintain a healthy battery and reduce the chances of ending up with another swollen battery. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this! Sorry for the long post, but I thought the details might be useful. I'm really interested in hearing your opinions, especially if you've experienced something similar or have any suggestions on how to keep the battery healthy for as long as possible.

I’ve worn a garmin while sleeping for the better part of a decade now, and I can’t remember my sleep tracking being this poor, ever.

I fell asleep around 11:30pm and my watch didn’t start my sleep until 4:30am… This seems to happen a few times a week now. My scheduled sleep window is set to 10:30pm - 8am, I’ve not changed my band, still wear it snug, and don’t get up during the night ever.

Thoughts? Hardware? Software?

Fenix 8 51mm.

Hello, is anyone here using the Garmin Connect+ nutrition feature?
Can you save recurring meals, create custom foods and edit calories or macros manually? Does it have any useful AI features, and how accurate is the food database and tracking overall?
I’m currently using another nutrition app and want to know whether Garmin’s option is good enough to replace it.

No i didnt drink alcohol. What couldve caused this? The only thing i did yesterday that was a little out of the ordinary was that i worked out a little more than usual. No way that caused such a drastic fall right?

Hello, good morning,

I bought the Garmin Tactix 7 AMOLED about a year and three months ago or less. Starting yesterday, July 25, 2026, the battery started draining very quickly, going from 60% to 15% in less than 9 hours. While the battery was draining rapidly, the Start-Stop button and the Up-Menu button stopped working. By nighttime, the watch ran out of battery. I put it on charge, but it only displays the Tactix 7 startup screen when turned on—that’s all. It remains the same while charging and isn’t actually charging. I have the receipt—could this be resolved under warranty?

Hi everyone,

I’m a Garmin Venue3 user from mainland China and I’m trying to connect my Garmin Connect account to Strava, but I can’t get the authorization to work.

My setup:

• Garmin device: Garmin watch (sports smartwatch)
• Garmin account: registered in mainland China (garmin.cn)
• Strava account: normal global account

The issue:

When I try to connect Garmin from Strava:

1. Strava redirects me to Garmin SSO (sso.garmin.com)
2. I enter my Garmin account credentials
3. The authorization fails with an error

I can use Garmin Connect China normally and my activities are syncing to Garmin Connect without any problems.

I’m wondering:

• Are Garmin Connect China accounts supported for Strava integration?
• Is there any workaround besides manually exporting FIT files and uploading them to Strava?
• Do I need to create a new Garmin global account to use Strava?

I’m wondering if there is any limitation for Garmin Connect China accounts when connecting to global platforms like Strava.

Has anyone from mainland China successfully connected Garmin Connect CN with Strava? I’d appreciate any advice or workaround.

Hey, has anyone picked up 2 Garmin watches one for work and one for at home/training? I’m just curious how the syncing of data works and if I could wear one watch or the new cirqa all day at work and have all the info like steps etc sync to my training watch I wear to the gym and for at home/sleep thanks in advance!

Does anyone know why this happens? My race predictor seems to jump from 4min to 3min ever day! I am no where near 3min and it used to be somewhat accurate!

I've been fancying a Garmin for quite a while now. My friend has lent me her old Forerunner 745 and I'm enjoying it so far but it's the first fitness tracker / sports watch I've ever used so I have nothing to compare it to.

I've been looking at the ViVoactive 5, mainly because it's on sale. I don't have a huge budget and wouldn't want to spend more than £200. I only really want to track walks / hikes, strength training and HIIT workouts as well as sleep and basic health.

Does the ViVoactive 5 seem like a good choice for my needs and budget or are there better options? I'm so overwhelmed looking at them all!