Heart rate monitor permanently off after update?

2828556 over 3 years ago

Hey everyone,

i never pay attention if my watch updated but given the timeframe this seems to check out:

- about 10 days ago I put my watch on charge.
- ever since, the heart rate monitor won’t turn on

- I tried toggling it on manually

- I tried a hard reset on the device (Garmin Instinct 1, v17.0)

all to no avail. Is that a known error? Is there a way to downgrade?

any help is appreciated :)

Top Replies

trux over 3 years ago in reply to 2828556 +1

You will have to browse through the past threads in the Instinct Solar subforum, trying to find the previous beta version, containing the right sensor hub firmware. You can also try contacting the Support…
sspanak over 3 years ago in reply to 2828556 +1

The sensor itself can probably still "read" something even if the green light is off, but it would be, as you say, fantasy, because it would detect wrong color and brightness. Why the light is off, well…

All Replies

0 2828556 over 3 years ago

Interesting development:

i went for a run and logged it just for sake of having at least a timer/distance measurement. …IT GAVE ME A HEART RATE…only that there were no green lights.

As I went home, I started a separate activity (hiking, not running this time) and counted my heart beats for a minute. Needless to say they didn’t match the “phantasy” heart beat the watch is giving me. Does anybody know why this is happening?

0 sspanak over 3 years ago in reply to 2828556

The sensor itself can probably still "read" something even if the green light is off, but it would be, as you say, fantasy, because it would detect wrong color and brightness. Why the light is off, well... it may be both a hardware or a software failure. It's hard to tell.

If you don't succeed with the downgrade, I would suggest calling Garmin support or contacting the store where you bought it (if the warranty still applies).