r/Garmin

Hey all,

Looking to see if anyone else has run into this over the past week (around late Sept / early Oct).

I've been using my Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses for the past year with my Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED to get workout audio prompts for the past year without issue. A few days ago, the audio prompts completely stopped coming through during activities.

When checking the Meta app, Garmin Connect is no longer listed under connected apps at all, so there's no way to re-authenticate or re-link them. On the watch, the data screen still shows connectivity, but no audio comes through the glasses.

I'm on iOS and have already tried restarting devices and checking background app permissions. Did a recent Meta AI, Garmin Connect, or iOS update break the integration or drop partner support?

If anyone has found a workaround or knows how to force Garmin to show back up in the Meta app, I’d really appreciate the help.

Hi all, trying to decide if investing in a Garmin is worth it for me.

Background: I am a college athlete who plays beach volleyball. Currently, I own two Apple Watches. One I wear to sleep and class, and one to practice. My Apple Watch battery can’t stay alive for practice, class, and sleep, and tracking my sleep is important, thus I have two.

I mainly use my watches to track my health, like heart rate, sleep, intensity of workouts, steps, etc. I like getting text notifications, but I don’t respond on my watch. I don’t really use my watch for anything else besides health tracking, time, and alarms.

In addition, my Apple Watch can connect to my Spotify so I can pause or play music on a speaker directly from my watch. Not a dealbreaker, but a really nice feature.

My biggest concerns with Garmin are a smooth integration into my life and on my phone, and feeling like I’m getting enough health data to make the lack of app integration worth it.

Thoughts? I appreciate any and all advice.

TL;DR: Garmin’s daily “Calories Burned” was extremely accurate over a 4-week period (0.5% variance).

Detail:

ETA: 6’4” / 53 yo

At the risk of ridicule…

I am objectively obese despite very good health markers and a generally active lifestyle. I did not feel like my diet was to blame and thought maybe Garmin was over-estimating my daily burn. So I did … “science”… I tracked calories, recorded weights, did math, and recorded.

Here is the breakdown:

Diet

Start 332.6 20260907
Day
1 - 2100
2 - 2400
3 - 2300
4 - 2140
5 - 2280
6 - 3100
7 - 2700

Calories consumed: 17020
Garmin 7 day burn: 34986 (4998/day avg)
Deficit per Garmin: 17966
Weight lost if Garmin was accurate: 5.13 lbs

End weight: 329.9 20260914
Weight lost: 2.7 lbs
Net Cal lost: 9450
Actual Calories burned: 26470 (3781/day avg)

Garmin variance: +24%

Week 2

Day
8 - 2200
9 - 2400
10 - 2400
11 - 2700 - higher calorie lunch
12 - 3100 - higher calorie lunch / stress induced
13 - 2200
14 - 3050

Calories consumed: 18050
Garmin 7 day burn: 29886 (4269/day avg)
Deficit per Garmin: 11836
Weight lost if Garmin was accurate: 3.38 lbs

End weight: 326.8 20260921
Weight lost: 3.1 lbs
Net Cal lost: 10850
Actual Calories burned: 28900 (4129/day avg)

Garmin variance: +3%

Week 3

Day
15 - 1870
16 - 2300
17 - 2300
18 - 1865
19 - 2300
20 - 4840
21 - 2000

Calories consumed: 17475
Garmin 7 day burn: 29701 (4243/day avg)
Deficit per Garmin: 12226
Weight lost if Garmin was accurate: 3.49lbs

End weight: 321.4
Weight lost: 5.4
Net Cal lost: 18,900
Actual Calories burned: 36375 (5196 / per day)

Garmin variance: - 22%

Week 4

Day
22 - 2400
23 - 2370
24- 2405
25 - 2499
26 - 2240
27 - 2940
28 - 2550

Calories consumed: 17404
Garmin 7 day burn: 27,836 (3977 / day avg
Deficit per Garmin: 10,432
Weight lost if Garmin was accurate: 2.98 lbs

End weight: 317.8
Weight lost: 3.60
Net Cal lost: 12,600
Actual Calories burned: 30,004 (4286 / day)

Garmin variance: - 7.78%

I'm looking to switch to a Garmin from my Apple Watch SE (2nd gen). I've used Apple Watches for the last 4–5 years, almost entirely for sport and workouts: rowing, running and weights. I'm obsessed with metrics and GPS tracking.
I'm stuck between the 570 and the slightly older 265S. A common argument for the 570 is that it'll get updates for longer, but realistically how much longer, and is that worth an extra $400–500 AUD?
I know the 570 has extras like better heart rate accuracy and skin temperature, but I'm not sure I'd use them, especially since I haven't needed them before.
Is there anything else that makes the 570 worth it over the 265S? I always want the newest model (and it's within my budget), but if it's not meaningfully better than the much cheaper option, I don't see the point.
(I’m not looking at the 970 as it want the smaller model)

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to buy a running/fitness smartwatch and after doing a lot of research, I’ve narrowed my options down to two:

Garmin Forerunner 265
COROS Pace 4

I’ve read a ton of reviews and compared them using websites and AI, but most of what I’m seeing says they’re quite similar, with many people recommending the Pace 4.

Before I make the final decision, I’d really like to hear from people who have actually used either of these watches.

My priorities are:

Durability and build quality — I want something that can last for years

Reliability — fewer bugs, crashes, syncing issues, etc.

Accurate and useful training data

Good running + workout tracking

Long-term software support and updates
Good battery life

I don’t really care about smartwatch/phone features, apps, notifications, music, etc.

I mainly do running + bodyweight/strength training, so training and recovery data are much more important to me than smartwatch features.

If you’ve used both, which one would you personally buy today and why?

Also, if you’ve owned one of these for 1–3 years, I’d especially appreciate your experience with long-term durability and reliability.

Thanks!

Hi Guys, I saw in Facebook marketplace, someone who resell second hand watch and make it into a good condition. The watch has box and everything and he is selling it for 100$ for a Garmin 245 FR Music? Do you think its still worth it in 2026?

Note: I cycle a lot so I need the GPS and beside that just my weight lifting, and sleep

I want to lend my Garmin Insight mini 2 to my dad for the SOS feature for when he goes backpacking by himself. I have an active subscription, the most basic one. Can i just give him the fully charged device and expect the Sos feature to work? What happens if he has to use the SOS feature?

Has anyone regulary ran DSW's with their dog? How did it go? Is it fun or not ideal?

I'm a beginning runner and really want to take my 7yo labrador with me, and I like the DSW's bc I don't need to think about what kind of run I need to do, my watch can tell me. Right now when my dog wants to take a sniff/pee break I just let her and pause the watch. I have my DSW type set to HR.