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New owner - a few concerns & questions

Former Member
Former Member over 6 years ago
Hi,

So I've had my Fenix 5 Plus for just under two weeks now. I really love the functionality of the product but I have a few concerns which have led to some questions.

1: The first thing that I've noticed is that how easy the silver bezel around the watch face seems to mark. After two weeks use and not having any obvious scrapes/knocks of the watch, there are already a few minor blemishes. This is quite frustrating, but of course I suppose it will never stay perfect forever. I can almost compare the feeling to that of when you wash your car and find scratches that weren't there before! Has anybody else noticed this problem? I know there isn't really a fix beyond "suck it up" and I'm hoping I can look past these blemishes and enjoy the watch.


2: Optical HR - My weekly workout routine includes a circuits class. I give everything in class and tend not to hold back. Most of these classes include short sprints followed by bodyweight/light weighted exercises. My HR did not show to go over 140 in today's class. Either I'm really in shape, or something is wrong. However, strangely, when running a steady 5k - my HR stays within the 150-170 range, whilst I'm not overly exerting myself.

3: Navigation data fields - So it looks like there's two different settings to configure for Navigate and Navigation. However, I can't seem to get the data fields to show in the order I want with the fields I want. On one of the settings, I can only turn the screens "On/Off". On the other section of the settings, I can edit the data fields similarly to how you edit the run/other activity settings - which is ideal. My problem is that the actual data fields shown when using the Navigate to not match that of the ones in the settings. Mainly, I can't seem to get rid of the generic time/date screen and I am unable to remaining screens viewable when pressing up/down.

4: Battery life degradation - I understand the battery use is going to be worse during the initial period of configuring the watch, testing out all of the features etc. My concern is that, in 1/2/3 years time, will the battery still hold up to what I'm getting out of it now? My last fitness device was a Fitbit Surge - great device - but after 2 years, the battery wouldn't last 4 days without even using GPS. Fitbit would only offer me a discount on a new product and provided no other support.



So to conclude, I'm debating with myself on whether to return the watch as Amazon have stated they will provide a full refund if I wish. However, part of my debate is the question to myself - is it really worth the £560 I paid for it? Part of me misses the simplicity of just using my phone on an arm strap and not pondering too much about my heart rate / setting up data fields.

I would appreciate any insight!

Kind regards,

Ash
  • 0 over 6 years ago
    I'm in a similar situation however the watch arrived with a scratch out of the box (TItanium Orange band). So although I opened it I now have the option of a refund. However thinking I may just get the replacement and keep it. If the F6 comes out it won't be on sale til June 19 at earliest. Will just sell the F5+ and upgrade at end of 2019 assuming there the F6 is worthwhile. Garmin seem to be working hard to address issues and this forum seems to be quieter on things like GPS and battery issues recently, unless people have given up! But I always assume a negative bias on here as you don't tend to hear from the satisfied user. That said it is a scary amount of money, only got a 10% discount and nothing better out of Black Friday.....I justified it to myself by keeping my phone going another 2 years...a Sansung S6..
  • 0 over 6 years ago
    Regarding the GPS question: I am a new F5S+ owner (upgraded from FR235). I absolutely love this watch. I've spent the weekend reading the manual from cover to cover, trying out every feature and Googling to get additional info. My research on what setting is best for GPS is as follows (I am in Chicago): If you are in the U.S. or similar latitudes, GPS only is prefered. Glonass is Russian and provides best accuracy at higher latitudes. Glonass can also assist GPS if you are in heavily covered areas where your watch can't "see" enough GPS satellites (skyscrapers, trees, clouds). Galileo is European and will not be fully implemented until 2020. Galileo would only be useful in addition to GPS if you are in Europe. My biggest frustration with my FR235 was the inaccuracy of the GPS. With my FR235, I used GPS+Glonass. A 10 mile run would measure short by 1/4 mile. My new F5S+ set with GPS only measures spot on.
  • 0 over 6 years ago
    Galileo would only be useful in addition to GPS if you are in Europe.

    Are you sure about that?

    I have absolutely no knowledge of satellite orbits, but unless a satellite is in geostationary orbit, I would expect it to cover all longitudes equally over time.
  • 0 over 6 years ago
    Are you sure about that?

    I have absolutely no knowledge of satellite orbits, but unless a satellite is in geostationary orbit, I would expect it to cover all longitudes equally over time.


    I believe you are correct once Galileo is fully deployed. There are supposed to be 30 satellites in the final system. There are a handful of satellites yet to be deployed and the system is not yet fully operational. I am pleased that Garmin chose to put Galileo on their chip as a future proof feature.
  • 0 over 6 years ago
    I believe you are correct once Galileo is fully deployed.

    I am not talking about the full set of satellites. I am talking about each individual satellite. If it is not in a geostationary orbit, it will not hover over Europe. It will orbit around the earth.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 6 years ago
    Galileo is European and will not be fully implemented until 2020.


    Galileo only has very few black spots left. However, it is blocked for the US in many devices due to the FCC.
  • 0 over 6 years ago
    I've had the 5 Plus Titanium for a few months now and I have no regrets with my purchase. My bezel has a few nicks but IMO they add character and it still looks great. I do a few interval workouts a week and the HR sensor seems to do a pretty good job. I also haven't experienced the battery drain of some users. I have a fairly simple watch face (one of the Breitling knockoffs) but I do keep the HR sensor on at all times. 15-20 hours in GPS mode is pretty much what I've been seeing when I use it for golf and hiking, but for normal usage (on all day, off at night, 3-4 workouts/week, a bit of navigation) I typically get about two weeks.
  • 0 over 6 years ago
    As does most other optical HR when attempting to measure HR during 'active' activities. It works for some, but doesn't cut it for most.
  • 0 over 6 years ago
    As does most other optical HR when attempting to measure HR furing 'active' activities. It works for some, but doesn't cut it for most.


    My apple watch is 1-2 bpm from my garmin strap during activity. Much more precise than garmins ohr.