Hi
My son's second Garmin fenix is now playing up. Before we replace are there any opinions on Suunto watches? They seem to be a bit cheaper. What would the equivalent of a Garmin Fenix be?
Only anecdotal, but all my running friends (3 or 4) that have swapped to Suunto (including a couple that were gifted them/sponsored by them) have quite swiftly gone back to Garmin due to watches freezing/uploads failing/various other usability issues.
Which fenix does he have/what's it doing? The only time I've had issues over the last 4/5 years it's been with failed upload/connectivity to my phone and it's always been fixed by doing the software update I've been ignoring for a few weeks.
I'm sure others will be along to say the opposite, but from the small sample of experiences I've seen they don't seem to be that well sorted/reliable.
I had an older Ambit2 watch and it was excellent. Great build quality and stability. I ended up being able to get a very good deal on a Garmin which has been ok, but maybe not quite so nice
Thanks @jfab , current issue is that the Fenix 6s solar resets itself either overnight or during an activity. The connection to Garmin Connect or the Garmin express macos app is then lost. Fix seems to be a full reset on the watch and then reconnect, a real PITA 2-3 times a day. Waytch is running 26.0 SW.
I’ve had an ambit 3 for the past 6 years, it’s a good robust thing. As hardware it’s been good.
I’m pretty annoyed with Suunto switching off the web portal with no equivalent solution being released. All the while they were still selling said model new without flagging all the functionality that was about to be switched off. It seems as a brand they’ve decided it’s more lucrative chasing the smart wearables end of the market rather than functional outdoors kit. Who wants to plan routes on a phone app!
Always worth plugging it into Express and seeing if there are updates needing to be installed?
@beargrease that's an odd one, I have the 6s non-Solar and it's never done anything like that. It'll just occasionally not upload to my phone automatically when it's due an update (I reckon that's a programmed feature to make you update!).
I did just google it though and it seems quite common, so I guess I'm on borrowed time! Jinxed it...
Hi @nickc express says it’s up to date….
Poobumwee. Contact Garmin, see what they say? That does sound pretty shoddy though for an expensive watch
Interested in following this, I get a reaction to nickel in stainless steel so would be forced to get the Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar for the Titanium backing which is more than double the price of the Suunto 9 Peak Pro with the Titanium body..
I’m pretty annoyed with Suunto switching off the web portal with no equivalent solution being released.
That happened a long time ago now though. The current app works well. Plotting a route in it is easy enough (easier than say strava's). The latest model watches seem to have caught up.
I had a Fenix 6 and had a couple of issues, mainly after I'd done a software update. Doing a soft reset on the watch would fix any problems.
I've now got a Fenix 7 Solar and it's been faultless. I'm seriously considering upgrading to one of the new Epix Pro models as the new screen looks great on them.
As suggested above, contact Garmin. I had a Fenix 5, just over three years old. The battery got progressively worse, until it would hardly last the day. Out of guarantee, but they replaced it without question. Have now in effect got a brand new watch. You may be surprised in how they can help.
Suunto watches are good but the interface and support are crap. Garmin for me next time.
Garmin replaced my out of warranty Fenix 6X as it stopped recording HR when it was warm.
Went through their support system, the usual turn it off and back on again, then more in-depth stuff.
In the end, they sent a SAE and I returned mine and got a new (refurbished, but immaculate) one the next day.
The first edge computer I had - an explore model - had major issues with connect requiring constant resets. Got returned under warrsnty but they found no issues. Afyer bejg returned to me i was still unable to connect to my phone so i kept on at garmin and they eventually let me chose an alternative model...
Which worked flawlessly and still does.
Maybe you have a duff unit and just need to be more assertive with garmin.
Garmin Instinct 1 user here. Had the watch 3 years or so and it’s been brilliant. I wouldn’t hesitate to get another.