Hey everyone,
I’ve been a proud Garmin user for years, but I just had the kind of support experience that left me seriously questioning the brand—and I wanted to share it in case others have dealt with the same thing.
I bought my Fenix 3 HR from Costco Canada, and I used it almost every day. I loved that watch. I barely ever took it off—just for charging. I had no interest in upgrading. If it wasn’t for what happened, I’d still be using it today.
A couple of weeks ago, while cleaning the back of the watch, I noticed cracks all around the heart rate sensor. I did some digging and quickly realized this was a known issue with the resin used in that model. A defect, not user damage.
So I contacted Garmin support. Since the Fenix 3 HR is discontinued, I had no choice but to start looking at current models. I wasn’t chasing an upgrade—I just wanted a fair replacement for a defective product.
Here’s how it went:
Support first told me:
“Normally with your Fenix 3 we would have exchanged it for another Fenix 3, but we no longer have any more. That is why we normally offer 20%.”
I explained the situation clearly—that this wasn’t normal wear—and asked if anything more could be done. They agreed to increase the discount to 25%.
At that point, I checked what models were available and went with the Fenix 8, mainly because it was on sale, and I thought the 25% discount would help a bit more.
But after going through the whole process—and being required to send back my defective Fenix 3 HR—I found out the 25% discount was only applied to the full MSRP, not the sale price. So I ended up paying nearly the same as the public sale price anyway, plus I had to return the broken watch.
And what really frustrated me:
The whole conversation with support felt robotic and impersonal. The rep (Christian) kept calling me “Srjmoh,” which is just part of my email—not my name. I brought this up in my first reply, and it was ignored. Only after I repeated it did I get this response:
“It looks like it took Srjmoh as your first name. I will get that updated…”
No apology. No acknowledgment. Just cold policy and copy-paste tone.
Honestly, I expected more from Garmin. This wasn’t just about a broken watch—it was about how a company responds when its product fails because of a known issue. I had hoped for empathy, flexibility, or at least some ownership.
Has anyone else had issues with the Fenix 3 HR cracking, or a similar experience with Garmin support? I’d really like to hear how your case was handled.
—MoMo
