Fenix 5X - 2.96 Beta Release

Hello Fenix 5X users,

We have new beta software ready for your upcoming adventures! Please read the 'notes' and 'installation instructions' in the 'Updates and Downloads' page found in the links below for your specific device. We look forward to your feedback.

Fenix 5X:http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=11665

Please send all bug reports to [email][email protected][/email], and indicate which model of the fēnix 5 series you have in the subject line.

Note: Please allow for the updates to propagate across all servers. There is no need to post that the link does not work. It will after a bit of patience. :)

2.96 Change Log Notes:

Added support for a new app, 'Boating'.
Improved the responsiveness of steps auto-goal.
Improved the power controls menu and introduced a ‘disabled’ state for connected features like Find My Phone, Music Controls etc. These applications will no longer disappear from the power controls menu, when the user has lost connection to the Garmin Connect Mobile App.
Improved the lap times accuracy reported by the Stopwatch.
Fixed a potential issue, where ‘Music Controls’ would intermittently lose connection with the smartphone.
Fixed an issue, where the device could crash when attempting navigation to a nearby location with all GPS enabled profiles disabled.
Fixed an issue, where the watch would incorrectly report that GPS signal was lost, while using UltraTrac.

Send all bug reports to [email][email protected][/email]

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Yup; as i suspected.

The NoFrills face does indeed show a HR number, but it's incorrect and doesn't update.

It's sitting there on the same value regardless of what the HR widget says (which does update as I move around and so on).

Since all these faces work on the other Fenix models and the 935, I would assume it's to do with how or where the HR data is stored since the Fenix 5X is the only watch to have different storage capacity (for maps).

The watch faces probably pull the data from the stored HR data.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

The NoFrills face does indeed show a HR number, but it's incorrect and doesn't update.

He is updating every 60 seconds.

EDIT: Is updating every 60 sec, when the activity is included. (e.g. "bicycle")

0 tickerguy over 8 years ago

It's not though, thats the issue.

It's happening with all watch faces that try to display HR (and some other) data.

They ALL work fine on Fenix 5, Fenix 5s, Forerunner 935. It's only the Fenix 5X that they don't work on.

Except that's not true; I have two ConnectIQ watch faces on my 5x and both display heart rate.

0 kdelios over 8 years ago

Except that's not true; I have two ConnectIQ watch faces on my 5x and both display heart rate.

Same here. "My watch" watchface I am using, displays HR and elevation correctly.
Refresh frequency is approx. 1 min for battery economy. Garmin says that it can be less than 1 sec without battery cost because the new CIQ. But is up to the developer to select the frequency.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Except that's not true; I have two ConnectIQ watch faces on my 5x and both display heart rate.

And as I have said repeatedly in the several posts I made above; they work for some people, but not for most.

Pick pretty much any of the popular watch faces on the store that should display HR, look at the reviews and see how many 5X owners are stating they don't work; I'm not making this up, it was talked about by the garmin folk at the connect IQ conference (as in they know there is an issue).

I just want something from Garmin to say that they actually have a fix in the works.

And how ever they ARE working for you lot with their 1 minute+ refresh time and so on; these faces work perfectly on all the other fenix watches and the FR 935, updating every second or so to show real time updates of the HR data.

Are you really suggesting that the Fenix 5X being the only one that can't refresh HR data quicker than once a minute is fine?

0 tickerguy over 8 years ago

Are you really suggesting that the Fenix 5X being the only one that can't refresh HR data quicker than once a minute is fine?

Prior to the most-recent CIQ rev you COULD NOT, as a developer, select higher refresh rates when the watchface was in low-power mode (which is all but 8 seconds when you roll your wrist.)

That constraint was removed in the most-recent CIQ update (which officially, I believe, is still considered a beta.)

0 jim_m_58 over 8 years ago

That constraint was removed in the most-recent CIQ update (which officially, I believe, is still considered a beta.)

Yes, it's a beta, and with that, it can't be used to upload things to the app store. The every second update of the display works great, and I have a few watch faces doing that now. But's it's limited in what you can do on the one second calls. (like only update the second area of the screen, and not the full screen).

The delay in HR is a different thing (and really specific to the 5x) in that watchfaces can only see the history saved in the firmware, which is a about every two minutes, but can take much longer to see for some reason on the 5x.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

I hate that I'm having to mess about doing this when all I want is a Garmin rep to say "yes there is a fix in the works"...

But since some people seem to think there is no problem, and since I have both a Forerunner 935 and a Fenix 5X I have recorded some videos of both watches, with the same watch faces (2 of which were mentioned as working fine), on the same wrist to see if they work the same on both watches.

Lets ignore the fact that it also shows how wildly inaccurate the wrist based HR monitor is...

Watch Face: GearMin (the one I actually want to use)

In use-
https://youtu.be/eeR82EGoTF0
Selection Screen -
https://youtu.be/32F2xnGjlww

5X - HR sits at 68bpm and never moves. Any changes made to the settings either by the mobile app or using garmin express either do not save, or will later revert to defaults anyway.
935 - HR updates, frequently after a gesture, less frequently at other times. HR matches roughly what the HR widget says at the time. Settings changes work fine.

On the watch face selection screens both watches update the face just fine; issues start on the F5X once the face is actually selected.

When working; this is my preference for a watch face to use. It updates frequently enough for the data to be accurate to what you have just been doing.

---

Watch Face: My Watch

In Use -
https://youtu.be/o14mFHWcJok

Selection Screen -
https://youtu.be/iqBAfKGheiQ

5X - Can't get it to actually show a HR number, at all. It does pull in the back data from the last 4 hours to build a graph though.
935 - Displays a HR but doesn't update often.

On the watch face selection screens both watches update the face just fine; issues start on the F5X once the face is actually selected.

---

Watch Face: NoFrills
https://youtu.be/ni2XkY9X41s

Both watches show a HR but in the duration of the video the number on the 5X only changes once, changes a few times on the 935 but the number displayed on the 5X is never anything like what the HR widget is saying and just looks pulled from thin air; where as on the 935 the number is relatively close.

---

Note: when selecting a watch face, the 5X will present a "Loading Watchface" screen for a few seconds, where as the FR935 just loads the face up instantly.

So overall from these 3, all of them are either non-working or less functional on the Fenix 5X than they are on the Forerunner 935. Note that when I've tested these and other watch faces on the 5X, the behaviour has been erratic at best. They didn't always do what they did in the video. Sometimes they crashed, sometimes they didn't load and it displayed a default garmin face, sometimes they displayed no data, sometimes they had data but it was wrong or never updated.

They have all worked fine on the 935.

So clearly something is wrong with the 5X; presumably because it has expanded storage when compared to the 935 and the other Fenix 5 models in the line.

0 loaruns over 8 years ago

I hate that I'm having to mess about doing this when all I want is a Garmin rep to say "yes there is a fix in the works"...

There is certainly no "have to".

Have you messaged the beta team at the email address in the OP? That's where this discussion would actually have impact.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

There is certainly no "have to".

Have you messaged the beta team at the email address in the OP? That's where this discussion would actually have impact.

I wasn't particularly trying to have a discussion about it; as far as I know Garmin already know about the issue. I just wanted them to confirm a fix was in the works.

My above post was in response to people suggesting that there wasn't actually any issue; that it worked fine for them and using phrases like "thats not true because..." then listing a watch face that apparently works when I have that same watch face installed on 2 watches infront of me and can see it not working on the 5X.

It's a little frustrating trying to get info from Garmin about a known issue and then be told I'm imagining it by people for whom it's working, or appearing to be working fine for; when part of the issue I had mentioned was that the problem didn't affect everyone.

I'll leave it at that since it's just narking me off now feeling like I'm having to defend myself; I will probably just return the watch and get a refund and have done with it.