Garmin Megathread-Ask your questions here-See post 1 on how to search thread

CassieManson · 04-09-2019 10:13am

Jim Gazebo wrote: »

Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS Running Watch with Wrist-Based Heart Rate and Workouts - Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01K9W5EJ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gqWBDbGWY85TJ

This a decent deal? I am looking at jumping into the triathlon world and want to track stuff more accurate. But I don't want to break a bank so need something cheap that works. Thanks for your help.

That is a good deal for a good watch. I have used this for 2 years without problems. You can use it while swimming but it does not track your swimming performance.

They are selling it off now because there is a new version out - the 45.

Jim Gazebo · 04-09-2019 1:32pm

CassieManson wrote: »

That is a good deal for a good watch. I have used this for 2 years without problems. You can use it while swimming but it does not track your swimming performance.

They are selling it off now because there is a new version out - the 45.

That's great, thank you. Not worried about the swimming tracking. Been using the mi fit app with my phone but the gps jams a lot and drives me insane, I assume the watch works off its own gps?

CassieManson · 04-09-2019 2:13pm

Jim Gazebo wrote: »

That's great, thank you. Not worried about the swimming tracking. Been using the mi fit app with my phone but the gps jams a lot and drives me insane, I assume the watch works off its own gps?

Yes it uses its own GPS and can also do activity tracking eg counting steps, heart rate when not working off GPS. I use it as my everyday watch and it connects to my android phone..

Jim Gazebo · 04-09-2019 5:38pm

CassieManson wrote: »

Yes it uses its own GPS and can also do activity tracking eg counting steps, heart rate when not working off GPS. I use it as my everyday watch and it connects to my android phone..

Thanks very much. I wonder will it drop more or should I just take the hit now and get something that actually will work

HelenAnne · 25-09-2019 10:15am

CassieManson wrote: »

That is a good deal for a good watch. I have used this for 2 years without problems. You can use it while swimming but it does not track your swimming performance.

They are selling it off now because there is a new version out - the 45.

Hi!
I've just got this watch. I love the look of it / flexible strap etc.

I just want it for pace and distance. Is there any way of turning off the heart rate monitor?

opus · 25-09-2019 10:57am

HelenAnne wrote: »

Hi!
I've just got this watch. I love the look of it / flexible strap etc.

I just want it for pace and distance. Is there any way of turning off the heart rate monitor?

Don't have that exact model but on my Garmin watch there's a setting called Wrist Heart Rate that lets you turn it off.

HelenAnne · 25-09-2019 2:38pm

opus wrote: »

Don't have that exact model but on my Garmin watch there's a setting called Wrist Heart Rate that lets you turn it off.

Thanks! I'll have a look (I thought mine might be in Settings, but it's not). (I'll read the book, I just don't have it with me today and am wearing the watch.)

Thanks!

juke · 25-09-2019 3:54pm

HelenAnne wrote: »

Thanks! I'll have a look (I thought mine might be in Settings, but it's not). (I'll read the book, I just don't have it with me today and am wearing the watch.)

Thanks!

You have to go to your online Garmin Connect account I think. I don't know if you can use the app. On the browser there are 4 icons on the top right, one is 'device and sync status'. If you click on it, you come to a page with 'device settings' and you can turn off heat rate there.

edit/ you can use the app -just click the watch icon on the main page, and then device settings and then unclick heart rate.

Darren 83 · 27-09-2019 6:21am

Did a treadmill session with my vivio active 3, I did 1 mile easy so I could calabrate my watch the distance was fine but pace was way off about 2mins off any ideas why this would be?

Would a foot pod improve this?

Sam the Sham · 27-09-2019 7:36am

Darren 83 wrote: »

Did a treadmill session with my vivio active 3, I did 1 mile easy so I could calabrate my watch the distance was fine but pace was way off about 2mins off any ideas why this would be?

Would a foot pod improve this?

Definitely. Foot pods are very accurate. The accelerometers in the watch itself, given the positioning on a moving arm, are much less accurate.

Darren 83 · 27-09-2019 7:47am

Sam the Sham wrote: »

Definitely. Foot pods are very accurate. The accelerometers in the watch itself, given the positioning on a moving arm, are much less accurate.

Any recommendations for a foot pod?

Sam the Sham · 30-09-2019 6:22pm

Darren 83 wrote: »

Any recommendations for a foot pod?

I don't actually own one at the moment. I'm waiting for either a new Garmin footpod (the current one is old and there have been rumours of a new one on the way) or shelling out for a Stryd. Stryds are supposed to be great but are quite expensive (€200 or so). That's because they measure all kinds of other things: running power, wind resistance, etc. The garmin foot pod is pretty basic but it will accurately measure distance on a treadmill. It's also a lot cheaper.

Garmin also has a Running Dynamics pod. This isn't a footpod: you attach it to your clothes. It measures running power, ground contact time. These are things you can also get with the HRM-Run chest strap so if you own one of them, there's no need for the RD pod.

Lazare · 13-10-2019 8:51pm

Switched from Samsung phone to Huawei recently and am having issues with the connect app auto synching.

I need to open the app and press the watch icon a couple of times for it to connect to it and upload.

Anyone experience this and know how to fix?

opus · 15-10-2019 11:24am

Could be the phone stopping the app running as the Chinese brands are noted for doing that in the name of power saving. I've an ASUS phone & had to manually allow some of the apps to start automatically.

Lazare · 16-10-2019 9:34pm

opus wrote: »

Could be the phone stopping the app running as the Chinese brands are noted for doing that in the name of power saving. I've an ASUS phone & had to manually allow some of the apps to start automatically.

Cheers for that, I've changed it's settings, hopefully that fixes it.

chris85 · 21-10-2019 4:08pm

Anyone having problems with Spotify on their watch? Usually no issue but since yesterday I cannot play music via spotify. My headphones connect as normal and then I go to play a playlist and just nothing there. From the spotify app on Garmin seems others having issue but dont see any resolution. Kind of need it for marathon this weekend so bit annoying.

Reg'stoy · 04-11-2019 11:47am

Just a follow up on my forerunner 30 that I bought second hand and was worried about the battery life and the Dublin Marathon.
Anyway charged it fully the night before and unplugged it about 7am, switched off the bluetooth on my phone so as to not get updates to it every K. I had the watch set up to display average pace and current heart rate and nothing else. I wanted the pace displayed as I had to stay under 6-23 per K to break 4hrs 30mins (I did by 10 secs) and the heart rate to prompt me to slow down should it get too high.
It never lost signal and the average pace worked out perfectly, it did display my previous K time after each K for a couple of seconds. I used the average pace and heart rate to pull back on the reins every so often. I didn't want to panic over total time so never checked it the once and relied entirely on the average pace which seemed to me to react quickly to my bad 3K at 33/34/35 and dropped back down once I got going again
Finished the race with two bars of battery life left and it actually lasted till thursday morning (granted no use of GPS at all).
Have to say that the watch did exactly what I needed and wanted it to do, so I might just upgrade to a forerunner 45 as to be honest it would have all the functionality I needed.
So if you are thinking of buying a second hand garmin watch, their battery life seems to hold up very well as they age.

racersedge · 05-11-2019 11:41am

Looking for a bit of advice/tips/sage wisdom for my Forerunner 235

During Dublin, I struggled to open a gel late on and the upper part of the watch got slathered in some gel. Got home and gave it general clean with a wet wipe and used a tooth pick to try to clean around the red start/stop button on the watch. Despite this, the button doesn't feel the same when I press it down (admittedly, that could also be a placebo effect knowing it got gelled and I'm aware of it.)

Now the issue.. out for a run last week and my watch inexplicably stopped mid-run. Looked to it, saw the red stop image and just restarted it to keep running. Thought I might of flexed the arm in a way that brushed against the stop/start button and caused it this morning. Few other runs last week and they were all fine. Come to this morning though and it did it again - this time it actually shut down and restarted the watch before allowing me to continue (When it restarted, it was still running the same session activity... entirely possible it did the start/restart the week before and I just didn't cop it).

Never had an issue with it before and naturally putting two and two together and thinking what happened during Dublin is the cause of it. Wondering if there are any recommendations on how to clean it? Anything that the watch could be dipped in/left to soak in that might help? Or is something that is ultimately going to be the end of it.

Thanks in advance folks!

05-11-2019 1:38pm

Water and a soft-bristled brush. The FR235 is water-proof, so immersing it should be fine (although personally I'd avoid pressing the buttons while underwater). Would also be worth doing a hard-reset to rule out software issues - this will take it back to factory settings

Tigerandahalf · 06-11-2019 7:43pm

Any sign of AIB adding garmin pay to their digital wallet.

Is there any cheap google watch that could be used?

rovers_runner · 15-11-2019 2:03pm

Forerunner 45S seems to have hit the €150 mark.
Can anyone recommend it or have ye found any drawbacks?

Going from a 230 and am looking for wrist based HRM as main feature.
Can workout programs be modded for a full marathon plan?

finisklin · 30-11-2019 9:56am

Hi,

the heart rate monitor of my forerunner 235 has stopped working.

It doesn't kick in like the other settings.

I have checked the watch and the app, and I haven't changed the settings.

The forerunner is 3 years old.

Any advice appreciated.

donnacha · 06-12-2019 11:37am

Thought this thread was the most appropriate place to post this. Strap went on a Garmin Forerunner 30 and had been looking to buy a replacement on Amazon as it was 16mths old but could only find copies with average-good reviews. Was able to put the serial number into the Garmin IE website and send a mail requesting a replacement strap as couldn't find any official ones to buy. Within hours I had a reply with a link to a free replacement order sitting in a basket waiting for me to confirm the address. Kudos to Garmin support!

Sussex18 · 08-12-2019 11:38am

Anyone else had an issue with their Garmin Forerunner 35 freezing? By that I mean the screen freezing for several seconds, sometimes even minutes then eventually returning to normal? Argos told me to contact Garmin but I think they should replace it. It's only a few weeks oldmThoughts appreciatedðŸ™‚

DeepBlue · 08-12-2019 2:30pm

If it's acting up at this early stage then get a refund or a replacement I would say.

Sussex18 · 08-12-2019 3:46pm

DeepBlue wrote: »

If it's acting up at this early stage then get a refund or a replacement I would say.

So stand my ground with Argos? Again the manager said it was a matter for Garmin and to contact them.

Kellygirl · 08-12-2019 9:26pm

Sussex18 wrote: »

So stand my ground with Argos? Again the manager said it was a matter for Garmin and to contact them.

If you contact Garmin customer service they will probably replace it. They are excellent in my experience.

Sussex18 · 09-12-2019 5:42pm

Brought it to Argos again today and they will exchange it once they get the same model in stock again. I've heard that Garmin are good, but they wouldn't presumably cover postage. So as it's new, best to exchange..

crisco10 · 18-12-2019 12:19pm

Have 735Xt, I know the wrist based HR is only a guideline. But has anyone else experienced it just not really picking up the increase in HR at all when running? (e.g. average HR of 120 over a 20 min 5k)

It seemed to work okay for me over the summer, but recently it's gone pretty crappy. Does sweat (something there isnt much of in winter) help the connection or something?

arybvtcw0eolkf · 25-12-2019 10:36pm

Santa brought me a new Garmin 735XT this morning, took her out for a test run this evening and was very disappointed in how dim and small the display is compared to my Polar M400

I've looked online to see if there's anything I can do with the display in terms of brightening it up and making the data bigger but can't seem to find anything.

Anyone else here have the same issue and found a fix?.

OOnegative · 25-12-2019 10:54pm

Pearl Scarce Polygamy wrote: »

Santa brought me a new Garmin 735XT this morning, took her out for a test run this evening and was very disappointed in how dim and small the display is compared to my Polar M400

I've looked online to see if there's anything I can do with the display in terms of brightening it up and making the data bigger but can't seem to find anything.

Anyone else here have the same issue and found a fix?.

Nope, I’ve same watch since February and if it’s anything like the one I have it’s incredibly glitchy. With mine the minute you have and kind of overhead coverage(trees, tall buildings etc) the pace falls away and lately if you run any distance at all it’s recommending at least 3 days recovery!!

arybvtcw0eolkf · 26-12-2019 12:20am

OOnegative wrote: »

Nope, I’ve same watch since February and if it’s anything like the one I have it’s incredibly glitchy. With mine the minute you have and kind of overhead coverage(trees, tall buildings etc) the pace falls away and lately if you run any distance at all it’s recommending at least 3 days recovery!!

I've tried it twice today.. I took my dogs for a walk (it doesn't have a walk profile, that was disappointing since my dogs are walked all the time), the first walk the watch didn't record for almost the first km, the second it didn't record any distance or pace but just the HR.

Right now I'm putting it down to operator error because I use a Garmin cycle computer which has never given me a moments trouble.

Right now I'm finding it hard to access my data from my laptop, Garmin is telling me I don't have the privilages to view my own data!.

Hopefully these are just teething problems which I'll iron out, but from memory my Polar worked great from the off.

I was attracted to the Garmin for open water and indoor pool swims, I hope they're smoother running that I've found the running profile.

Fingers crossed, thanks for the reply

arybvtcw0eolkf · 27-12-2019 1:49pm

Two days at this watch now and I'm about ready to return the thing and go back to my reliable Polar M400.

It is driving me completely banana's.. I'll be wearing both my Polar and this piece of crap for tomorrows parkrun but using the Garmin as my primary watch (Polar backup). At this stage I've no confidence in it recording reliably.

As for setting up the data fields, forget it. I just can't seem to get it showing what I need. I downloaded what I thought I needed from the Connect store but, followed all the steps to finding it on my watch ~ it ain't there.

So far my recommendation for anyone looking for a GPS sports watch is to go with Polar, this may change if I ever get this thing sorted.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 27-12-2019 9:43pm

All sorted, all fields in my running and swimming activities are done, now to do my cycle stuff and I'm a happy bunny.

The watch was great in the pool tonight, it was brilliant having it count down my laps (1,250), took a lot of the guesswork out of my workout.

Northern Monkey · 28-12-2019 9:53am

The fenix 5 plus titanium is £350 on sports pursuit at the minute (possibly need an account to view it)

https://www.sportpursuit.com/sales/garmin-161219

event · 28-12-2019 12:38pm

Is this good value lads?

https://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10152&catalogId=15051&langId=111&productId=1613060

Whats the battery like, hearing its not great?
And is the music side of it good?

EDit · 28-12-2019 12:46pm

crisco10 wrote: »

Have 735Xt, I know the wrist based HR is only a guideline. But has anyone else experienced it just not really picking up the increase in HR at all when running? (e.g. average HR of 120 over a 20 min 5k)

It seemed to work okay for me over the summer, but recently it's gone pretty crappy. Does sweat (something there isnt much of in winter) help the connection or something?

I have the 935 and the wrist-based HR has been iffy since the latest software update a week or so ago (not sure if the 735 had the same update?). Worst example is that it had me in Zone 5 while on a light jog earlier in the week! TBH, if you hold much stock in HR for your training, probably best to get a chest strap monitor anyways.

Northern Monkey · 28-12-2019 12:59pm

event wrote: »

Is this good value lads?

https://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10152&catalogId=15051&langId=111&productId=1613060

Whats the battery like, hearing its not great?
And is the music side of it good?

That’s £175 on SportPursuit at the minute with a different colour strap.

event · 28-12-2019 1:27pm

Northern Monkey wrote: »

That’s £175 on SportPursuit at the minute with a different colour strap.

Not the music version?

https://www.sportpursuit.com/catalog/product/view/id/1895441?click=eyJxdWVyeSI6MTc4MTIsInBhZ2UiOjEsInBhZ2VTaXplIjoyLCJwb3MiOjJ9

Reg'stoy · 28-12-2019 2:00pm

event wrote: »

Is this good value lads?

https://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10152&catalogId=15051&langId=111&productId=1613060

Whats the battery like, hearing its not great?
And is the music side of it good?

Picked one up prior to Xmas for €239 in Harvey Norman's thanks to their price match promise (it was on sale in Argos for €239.99)
The watch is very light, compared to my previous forerunner 30 and the strap is unbelievably soft, so very comfortable to wear. I had been looking for a new watch and had been planning on buying the forerunner 45 for €170 but really fancied the chance to listen to music without carrying my phone, plus it's a nice looking watch (I have the black strap).
I matched up the watch with these bluetooth earphones bought on amazon for £8.99 and they work perfectly. I was able to download my spotify playlists no bother including podcasts. I even took an old crane bluetooth heart rate chest strap which had refused to connect to runtastic any more out of retirement and it hooked up no bother.
Loads of information on garmin's connect App and website and the watch sync's with my phone in seconds once you finish a run and it finds GPS signals straight away.
So the battery life, well I'm coming from a second hand forerunner 30 and that watch lasted 5 days with a couple of runs and did a 4-30 Dublin Marathon and still loads of life left in it. If I connect the earphones and chest strap and go for a run it does obviously use more battery but nothing that makes me worry. It does charge very quickly (2hrs or less) and they're are loads of hints about saving battery life online. I've tried loads of different watch faces, connect IQ is great between watch faces and data screens, one thing I do do to save battery is not display my heart rate or seconds on whatever watch face I'm using. I've let it get down to 10% battery life and that was wearing it for nearly 4 days with about 2hrs of GPS tracked runs. You can download a battery widget which will prompt you to charge the watch and show you the discharge levels.
I really like mine and haven signed up to do the Cork Marathon and will have to do the training by myself so I'll be using the music on it much more.
I'm also looking forward to using garmins training plans (hopefully they'll do a full marathon one soon). I also like the community on garmin, a couple of friends and myself do challenges, as in steps and distance and it does actually make you want to do more.

Sam the Sham · 28-12-2019 2:04pm

event wrote: »

Is this good value lads?

https://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10152&catalogId=15051&langId=111&productId=1613060

Whats the battery like, hearing its not great?
And is the music side of it good?

I've had that watch for a little over a year. Make sure to upgrade the firmware to 6.5 as there have been problems with (the calculation of?) battery life on earlier firmware. I find the battery life to be fine but I'm not attempting to run ultras with GPS + Galileo while playing music the entire time... Playing music and using bluetooth/ANT+ sensors will run down the battery more quickly, so I would forego some of that if I were running a marathon. Even so, I'm pretty sure the watch would last 4 hours even with all the bells and whistles going.

The Music side is a mixed bag, mostly because the Garmin Express app--at least the mac version--is a piece of junk. If you plan on syncing some part of your music library to the watch, there are a few restrictions. For one thing, you have to be using iTunes (or maybe Windows Media Player in Windows). And, at least in the iTunes/mac scenario, your music cannot reside on an external hard drive and has to be on your startup drive. There are workarounds, but all of them are inconvenient. And, even in the best case, the syncing of music is just too time consuming and a hassle.

That's why most people (I'm pretty sure) just do what I eventually did and use Spotify on the watch. It's much better. You don't get cover art (big swing) but you can sync any playlist (or podcast) via wifi and don't even have to hook the watch up to a computer.

Amazon Music I found was a lot slower and not as good as Spotify, so I just use that. You will need a Spotify subscription, though, whereas with Amazon Music you can use their free tier.

If I were shopping now, though, I'm not sure I'd buy the 645M. The newer watches have some features (PacePro, notably) that make them attractive and I'd say Garmin has learned a bit about music from the 645M experience. What the 645M has that the 245M does not, and which may be important to you, are Garmin Pay, which only really works with KBC or some Revolut cards in Ireland, and the barometric altimeter, which is necessary for measuring running power with an HRM-Run chest strap. I've found the barometric altimeter to not be very accurate, but I don't really care that much...

YMMV (literally)

Down South · 28-12-2019 2:13pm

Just to say that I added a Boon MasterCard to my 645 today

Only have since Xmas but v happy so far. V comfortable and looks great. Lots of nice extra performance features over my previous 235. Too soon to comment on accuracy

event · 28-12-2019 2:20pm

Cool. I have a 235 already (220 before that, and few others before that

) so love the garmins.
The music is what will swing it for me, got a pair of JBL bluetooth earphones for xmas so would partner with this fine. I only use spotify so be perfect. PLus the price. I dont "need" a new watch (do we ever) but at this price, it looks good. I might sell the 235 though, less than a years use with it

Tigerandahalf · 04-01-2020 4:17pm

Couple of questions -
Is it possible to find routes on strava (when visiting new areas) and bluetooth them onto your garmin device to get turn by turn instructions?

Looking online I find strava poor for finding long run segments. They are all just short segments.

Also does the forerunner 230 support 'back to the start'? (As in retrace your route, not as the bird flies?

Thanks

DeepBlue · 04-01-2020 9:23pm

Anyone know how to exit the diagnostic menu on the forerunner 45?

Never mind. A reboot appears to have fixed it.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 08-01-2020 5:18pm

Another question, I've just about got to grips with my 735XT.

At least twice a week I cycle to work and immediately go for a run, can I seamlessly switch from the cycling profile to running without having to stop & save the cycle before continuing with the run?.

I know I can do it in the triathlon profile if I'm recording a swim (a spring triathlon is on my radar) but I'm wondering if I can do it with just the cycle to run?

keane2097 · 08-01-2020 5:26pm

Pearl Scarce Polygamy wrote: »

Another question, I've just about got to grips with my 735XT.

At least twice a week I cycle to work and immediately go for a run, can I seamlessly switch from the cycling profile to running without having to stop & save the cycle before continuing with the run?.

I know I can do it in the triathlon profile if I'm recording a swim (a spring triathlon is on my radar) but I'm wondering if I can do it with just the cycle to run?

Triathletes, duathletes, and other multisport competitors can take advantage of the custom multisport profiles (Creating a Custom Activity Profile). When you set up a multisport profile, you can switch between sport modes and still view your total time for all sports. For example, you can switch from biking mode to running mode and view your total time for biking and running throughout your workout.

https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/forerunner735/EN-US/GUID-4282AA88-E40D-4E61-921F-A189E6E98768.html

arybvtcw0eolkf · 08-01-2020 5:40pm

keane2097 wrote: »

https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/forerunner735/EN-US/GUID-4282AA88-E40D-4E61-921F-A189E6E98768.html

Great, I appreciate that quick response.

Thank you

keane2097 · 09-01-2020 12:58pm

A question of my own now. I've accidentally managed to replace the Dashboard on my version of the mobile app with 'Challenges'. Any idea how to get it back? This is on Android.

RunDMC · 09-01-2020 6:26pm

On mine, just hitting the back button or swiping right brings me back to the dashboard screen.

R

Garmin Megathread-Ask your questions here-See post 1 on how to search thread

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