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Disappointment with Garmin Products and Strategy

9869093
4 days ago

Dear Garmin Team,

After many years of using various Garmin products, I now feel the need to express my frustration — and I’m not alone in this. Several friends and training partners share exactly the same opinion.

First, the ELV4 heart rate sensor has been delivering completely inaccurate data during workouts without a chest strap for over a year now. For a company focused on precise sport and health metrics, this is simply unacceptable. The fact that this issue has been known for such a long time and remains unresolved is, quite frankly, a disgrace.

Furthermore, the Garmin Connect app has significantly deteriorated with version 5. The previous version was intuitive and well-structured. The current version feels cluttered and less user-friendly — a view echoed by numerous reviews on the Play Store and in online communities. Yet Garmin seems determined to push this update through, despite all the negative feedback.

What ultimately led me to the decision to move away from Garmin is the introduction of the Premium subscription. Charging €8.99 for features that were previously included in the device purchase is, in my opinion, outrageous — especially for long-time users who have already heavily invested in the Garmin ecosystem (Edge 1030 Plus, Forerunner 945 and 955, Edge 1040, several HR straps, Venue 3s, etc.).

Garmin is increasingly losing touch with its customers, and as a result, we are seriously considering switching to alternative solutions in the near future.

Disappointed regards,
Frank

  • 0 4 days ago

    I am disappointed at Garmin as well. I bought the Fenix 7 pro Solar. One of the main reason was the reputation of Garmin of long support at no extra cost. This has know completely changed. The watch know not receiving bigger updates (even the cheaper and older watches get better update support) and know the app also costs for features that should have been in the app long ago.

  • 0 4 days ago
    9869093 said:
    Charging €8.99 for features that were previously included in the device purchase is, in my opinion, outrageou

    What features are these? I'm not aware of anything that my Fenix 7 or Edge 840 provide now being behind a paywall. 

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to druidh

    Not yet. But I'm sure that it will happen in the future. If you want to see last 7 days or 4 weeks stats you have to pay. Nevertheless it's questionable if it's the right way to let the customers pay additional money for app functions after they paid a lot of money for the watch.

  • +1 4 days ago

    I bet it takes less than 6 months before you have to pay to send your data to Strava or trainingpeaks. I hope those companies will make their own watches in the future. Garmin is done.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to 6693265

    I hope, garmin is done now. I really have enough.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to druidh
    druidh said:
    What features are these? I'm not aware of anything that my Fenix 7 or Edge 840 provide now being behind a paywall. 

    For example, Garmin is now selling special connect+ badges en masse, which of course count towards achieving levels. And that puts existing users at a disadvantage.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to subra
    subra said:
    For example, Garmin is now selling special connect+ badges en masse, which of course count towards achieving levels. And that puts existing users at a disadvantage.

    But those badges were never available before Connect+. The question was if anything has been removed that you had access to before Connect+.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to e7andy
    e7andy said:
    The question was if anything has been removed that you had access to before Connect+.

    Yes, as you know, it takes a lot of time and effort to get a higher badge level, e.g. 7 and above. With the new connect+ badges (if they really count like the old badges), anyone can easily overtake other users. It's like a race where someone runs the whole distance while other athletes only have to cover half the distance.

    From this POV, the chance to win a badge level challenge has been removed or at least made more difficult by the introduction of connect+ badges.

    I know that badges are nonsense and they haven't interested me for a long time. But currently I have found that they help me stay motivated in my activities.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to subra

    Do you pay to use Tacx? That has extra badges.

    Do you have all of the limited edition watches that let you earn extra badges?

    I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Badge Level Challenge. Where do I find that?

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to druidh
    druidh said:

    Do you pay to use Tacx? That has extra badges.

    Do you have all of the limited edition watches that let you earn extra badges?

    I know that some watches have extra badges. That's also unfair. But with connect+ badges there is a massive increase in points or a decrease in the value of a point. About double for monthly badges.

    druidh said:
    I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Badge Level Challenge. Where do I find that?

    The badge challenge is a long term private challenge with my runners group.