Garmin Instinct and Swimming

I have researched this question high and low and don't know what the exact answer is. I used to have a forerunner and before that a fitness band. As I am now doing swimming I decided to some research on getting the right watch. I thought it was Garmin Instinct Original as it supported swimming and open water swimming (I live beside an ocean) instead of the Garmin 245. What I learned after doing a swim is that my heart rate is not tracked. Unlike the 245 that is. Ok I get that so I thought if I bought an HRM then I would get heart rate data. No apparently you don't during a swimming activity. I looked on the Garmin website and only the HRM dual is supported.

So here is my question how do I get heart rate data while swimming and using the Instinct watch as I just bought it. A refurbished watch which I can't return, but am understanding why it was returned in the first place.

I have a galaxy Watch 4, which I could also use, but really don't want to...

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trux over 2 years ago +1 verified
There are several ways how to get the HR even without a chest belt, though the accuracy is not guaranteed under water.
1. First of all you could record your swim as another type of activity, and then changing…

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+1 trux over 2 years ago

There are several ways how to get the HR even without a chest belt, though the accuracy is not guaranteed under water.

First of all you could record your swim as another type of activity, and then changing the type subsequently in Garmin Connect, though you would lose some stats like the stroke detection, in this way, and there could be perhaps also GPS accuracy issues (I never tested it, so cannot tell exactly).
Then you could downgrade the firmware to v10.72 - Garmin forgot to disable the HRM at swimming in that version (see the thread Heart rate with swimming now works? - Instinct - Wearables - Garmin Forums). Old Instinct firmware versions were placed by a fellow user to the folder instinct - OneDrive (live.com) (copied from the thread Instinct - 18.10 Public Release Candidate - Instinct - Wearables - Garmin Forums)
And then, there used to be the following hack available (not sure whether it still works): My "hack" to enable heart rate during pool swimming - Instinct - Wearables - Garmin Forums

Otherwise, you can use Garmin HRM straps having the "Store and Forward" feature (HRM-Pro, HRM-Pro Plus, HRM-Swim, and HRM-Tri), though I fear that only Instinct Solar is compatible with that feature. It will probably not work with your Instinct, if it is the standard edition, although I never tested it, so cannot tell for sure.

Belts transferring the HR to the watch live in real-time will not work underwater, since neither BT, nor ANT+ can work underwater.

The best would be getting Instinct 2, though - it supports HR at swimming natively, both with and without the strap.

0 ChristianGross over 2 years ago in reply to trux

Hi, thank-you for answering.

WRT to your answers...

1) Yeah thought about that, but yes it loses stroke detection.

2) Ugh ok, why on earth did they disable it in the first place. It is annoyance.

3) I tried that, and it does not work. They seem to have closed that loop.

WRT to the other advice, yeah ok I feared that. I think I will get the Vivoactive 4. I was originally thinking about that one, but it lacks open water swimming. However, meh maybe I will just bite the bullet and return the watch.

0 trux over 2 years ago in reply to ChristianGross

ChristianGross said:
Ugh ok, why on earth did they disable it in the first place. It is annoyance

Because Instinct does not support HR under water. Although it may work for some, for many users it would not work, or its accuracy would not be sufficient, hence leading to a big number of support cases, and Garmin apparently wanted to avoid that.

Install the old firmware, it is simple, and there are no really important improvements in the later FW versions, as far as I remember, so it will work just fine.

At water sports, an additional advantage of Instinct vs. other watches (except of the top models like Fenix, or Descent) is the roughness and water rating to 100m vs. the standard 50m (which in no way means you can dive to 50m with it )

0 taozengwa over 2 years ago

There is a hack to enable heart rate recording while swimming for Instinct. Search the forum. But, like trux said, it may not be reliable for everyone. You can try it and see how it works for you.

0 trux over 2 years ago in reply to taozengwa

taozengwa said:
There is a hack to enable heart rate recording while swimming for Instinct.

Yes, a link to the hack (besides others) is provided in my first post (the one pinned to the top, and marked as the accepted answer)

0 2938044 over 2 years ago in reply to trux

Could you repost the link for v10.72 for Instinct please?

Thanks

0 trux over 2 years ago in reply to 2938044

2938044 said:
Could you repost the link for v10.72 for Instinct please?

Posting the same link would not help, since it does not work any more. The owner removed the files, or the storage expired.

0 taozengwa over 2 years ago in reply to 2938044

These are the steps I am using.

First, assign a hot key for heart rate broadcasting, I am using the long-press Back key.

Now select the Swim activity, when you are on the option screen (BEFORE pressing Start), use your pre-assigned hot key to open the heart rate broadcasting screen, then start broadcasting. You can confirm the heart rate is on by checking the laser light on the back of the watch.

Then press Back key back to swim option screen, press Start to swim. When you are done, remember to stop heart rate broadcasting.