jaspvan margarete siffre
Edilma Howard
My Vivoactive 4 (one year old) has an inaccurate GPS tracking since around beginning of this year. For example on a hiking tour today I "walked" 4k during a break. The 24km long hiking tour were 36km long with my clock. Friends of mine who where on the hiking tour today, didn't have this problem. Furthermore after stopping the tracking no map is shown on the clock as well as in Garmin Connect. GPS signal is activated. I tried combinations of GPS with or without Glonass and Galileo but it did not work. Can you please give me a hint what I can do?
I haven't used my vivoactive as a GPS for a few months. We just moved cities, and there are new walks that I'm trying, so it was time to fire up the GPS again. Similar issue to you, that after the walk, no map data. I thought it was because the GPS wasn't ready at the start, or at the end I was walking into the building so losing GPS at the end. But after a week of testing, no maps regardless of what I tried.
I also had an outdoor run today. Waited for GPS to go green before setting off. When I was finished, there was no map on the watch, just a black area. No GPS data had been recorded. The run activity is set up to use GPS. I will try to power off my watch before my next GPS activity.
I think we should get used to powering off/on the watch, phone, and sometimes the BLE sensors (Speed/Cadence) whenever any firmware/software/GCM/CIQ content is updated. I started doing it in November last year. Seems like this works for me.
Yes, the Garmin Fenix 6 Series & Forerunner 945 will get *all* of the new features noted above. Yup, all of them. For the Fenix 6 series, that update is slated for here in September, whereas for the Forerunner 945, that update is expected this fall.
And then also see all the trending data on Garmin Connect Mobile within the respiration rate section under health stats. You can slice and dice by day or longer periods, and also get awake and asleep averages:
This is a dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart cycling cadence sensor that you strap to your crank arm, but also does dual Bluetooth Smart, so you can pair it both to Zwift and another Bluetooth Smart app at once if you want.
This is one of the top straps I use daily for accuracy comparisons (the others being the Polar H9/H10). It's dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart, and in fact dual-Bluetooth Smart too, in case you need multiple connectons.
Seriously, this will change your life. $9 for a two-pack of these puck Garmin chargers that stay put and stay connected. One for the office, one for your bedside, another for your bag, and one for your dog's house. Just in case.
This speed sensor is unique in that it can record offline (sans-watch), making it perfect for a commuter bike quietly recording your rides. But it's also a standard ANT+/BLE sensor that pairs to your device. It's become my go-to speed sensor.
This wifi-connected scale will track your weight and related metrics both on the scale display and in Garmin Connect (plus 3rd party apps like TrainingPeaks). It'll also then sync your weight to your watch/bike computer, to ensure accurate calorie data.
The HRM-PRO Plus is Garmin's top-end chest strap. It transmits dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart, but also transmits Running Dynamics & Running Pace/Distance metrics, stores HR data during a swim, and can be used without a watch for other sports. Also, it can transmit XC Skiing Dynamics as well.
I have a 645M and it did get PacePro. But I agree with your sentiment and pricing these newer watches against the previous gen ones is strange. You can get a 645M on Amazon now for $20-$30 more than this new VA4, as well as other options in this price range.
Elevation is one of the most interesting things!
The VA3 is so bad at elevation, that this (more or less) would be the only reason to change to the VA4.
You can see, that they moved both sensor holes to the top, next to where the band is attached.
Seems legit to me and better than the side, where Garmin tried to fix it at the music edition.
As part of your in-depth review, will you check on altitude capability? My VA3 consistently reads negative altitude in San Francisco (currently reading -174 feet). It temporarily shows correct elevation right after I do a workout with the GPS, but within a couple of hours, the altitude reverts too negative.
I was on a hunt for a new watch couple of months ago, but i ended up sticking with my vivoactive3. I am pleased that nothing major really happened and i will be able to stick with my watch for a little bit more. I am missing music in the gym and while running, but using the phone is not that bad.
Hi,
Do you expect the new features (Hydration tracking, Estimated Sweat Loss post-workout, Respiration Rate for all-day and sleep metrics, and Breathwork Exercises) to appear on the other new models (FR945 and Phoenix 6) and old models (i have FR645)?
As I understand the hydration and sweat tracking is mainly software, whereas the latter two might require the updated optical element.
Interesting new features!
Do you expect the hydration related features to become available on older watches (i have the FR 645)? As I understand it they are software based, whereas the breathing features most likely will require the new version of the optical sensor.
I was surprised to see that the PacePro feature is available in Garmin Connect (web) independent of the watch model.
Been looking at the 945 (the Fenix is just too much watch), but the Vivoactive 4 is what I want.
The only thing I want from it compared to the 3 is for it to natively support power meters. That way I can use it for CX races and crits, and not have to worry about the safety of my Edge 1030. Not understood why Garmin block it in the older Vivoactives.
Power meters are a premium feature and one of the things they use to differentiate products. The vast majority of users in the Vivoactive target market are not power meter users. So to get that premium feature you have to jump up to a higher end watch.
I wrote Garmin support to ask if the hydration widget would come to FR645 and they would not give an answer to the question.
Instead, I have submitted a request to Garmin for the feature and suggest that everyone interested does the same. This is in the hope that sufficient requests might make them prioritize the development.
Link: link to garmin.com
Seriously, this is extremely annoying! Why would anyone at Garmin ever think it makes any sense to delete an activity after x amount of time? Why would I want to delete a 4 hour activity? Is this designed for people who need to hide they walked to the the bar around the corner instead of a completing a workout? Even if I want to delete it, I can just delete it after it was saved.
My wife found the GPS staying on after an activity was the real battery drainer. By starting an activity without the GPS and immediately stopping it, like indoor walking, the GPS turned off and the battery lasted much longer.
Example: I create my workout in connect of three sets of squats, 15 reps per set using 100 lbs. I download this to my garmin watch and go workout. After my first set I only get 12 reps, so my second set use 90 lbs instead of 100 and get my 15 reps. Can I record those differences from the prescribed workout on the garmin watch and have it write back to connect basically as a lifting log?
Looking at the Garmin specs, they changed the lug size by 2mm each way. 18mm for the 40mm case version and 22mm for the 45mm version.
Can we please have a side by side comparison of the new VA4s, the VA3 and the F245/645?
hi.
I love your in depth reviews. helping a lot for my decision upgrading to a garmin watch. I was checking for the 645music as I found a good price offer. now that the VA4 is announced I am not sure which one to get. I am little into running and want to improve more but not becoming a pro. So other sports activities would also be in my range as amateur and fun sports like.
So what I like is having the music and gps to not carrying my mobile phone around with me. Will the 645 compared to the VA4 be outdated soon? I like the more sports activities on the VA4 but what I have seen in the reviews that the trainings status on the 645 is something thats very nice and motivating and helping to improve and not overpace. Is there something similar on the VA4 or any workaround to get this information?
The VA3M works great now, including altitude (the non-music has altimeter issues due to ports on bottom of watch). Most (all?) sw issues have been ironed out and VA3M covers swim/bike/run and many other activities just fine.
Thank you, Markus. I wonder if you could provide a link for that price? Sorry for the dumb question, probably it was discussed before, does VA4 have ANT+? It looks rather difficult to choose between VA4 and 645M. If 654M would have a 46-47 mm diameter version then things would have been much easier for me. :)
Looking around at firstbeat, i saw that Vivoactive compared to 245 (which I was keen to buy) has many features missing. I am doing basic walking, running, cycling activities, so I was wondering which could or rather should be my next smart watch.
Another question. Do these watches have a pre-defined (or user-adaptable) watchface that shows date+time, steps + climbed floors?
My current Gear S3 Frontier has such a custom-made watchface, very useful for me.
Hi there, can you confirm that the VA 4/ 4S measures HRV? I see that it samples hear rate regularly, but nowhere can I find if this 4/ 4S version measures hear rate variability. I would assume so, but would love to confirm if anyone has knowledge/ confirmation on this. Thanks in advance!
I am upgrading from my VA3 and I was aiming for a VA4 (which is probably the best fit for my needs). I was considering Fenix 6s sapphire exclusively for the battery-life and the more resistant screen, but it appears quite expensive.
However, I noticed that the COROS Apex Pro could be a good middle ground between the two Garmin watches. I am wondering if anyone has recommendations or suggestions; I found reviews of the APEX but not of the Pro version.
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