5+ years of Garmin board-level repairs. Anyone else seeing a drop in hardware quality?
Hey everyone,
I’ve been doing professional Garmin repairs for over 5 years. To be clear, I’m talking component-level micro-soldering and board diagnostics, not just basic battery or screen swaps.
I actually love the brand and use their gear for all my hobbies—cycling, hiking, diving, and boating. On my workbench, I mostly handle smartwatches, dog trackers, and handheld outdoor GPS units.
Lately, I’ve noticed a frustrating trend in hardware quality, especially with the premium consumer watches. The most absurd engineering choice has to be putting metal buttons directly into a plastic inner housing (like on the Fenix and Epix series). Because metal and plastic react differently to stress and temperature, the mechanical wear eventually widens the plastic holes, completely ruining the water resistance over time.
It feels like a deliberate shift toward planned obsolescence. Garmin isn't trying to build a Seiko 5 to pass down to your grandkids anymore; they want you in their ecosystem, upgrading every few years.
Interestingly, this drop seems isolated to consumer watches. Their pro-grade gear—aviation, marine, and dedicated handhelds—still holds a solid, industrial standard. But the premium watches definitely feel like they are getting cheaper on the inside.
To any other technicians or long-term users here: am I just biased because I only see the broken ones on my desk, or are you noticing this decline too?