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Major outstanding issue with MARQ

I am pretty happy with all aspect of my MARQ Expedition but one. Bluetooth performance is rubbish (audio);

I am still experiencing problems with each of the 10+ pairs of bluetooth earphones (including Garmin approved ones) that I bought. My watch was exchanged for a new one, which has the exact same issue. The old watch was sent off to the US for closer inspection almost 3 weeks ago. I have heard absolutely nothing from the team that was, supposedly, meant to investigate.

I have not been given a point of contact or any means of following up with whoever is handling this issue. In the meantime, I can only prey to god-knows-who that someone at Garmin will finally do their job and update me on why my £1600 is having issues playing music back.

Yes, this is not the most important feature of the watch but a part of the whole package that I paid good money for. Because selling a premium product also requires a premium level of service, which is not the case here.

I am nearing the point of requesting a refund so I can go out and buy a cheap (comparatively) and plastic FR945 that will just work....rant over.

Garmin-Heath Garmin_ODQA Garmin-Shawn

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0 Odie21 over 6 years ago

I believe the 5+ series had similar issues when it was first launched. I’m sure over the next few months, they’ll get the bugs worked out.

0 Dr Phil over 6 years ago

Really! 10+ pairs of bluetooth headphones? Wow just wow! You really must want to listen to music while you workout. That apart, I don't have problems with my Apple AirPods (v1) when I do use them. Granted it's not very often or for very long, but they do work when I do want them to work. Maybe my expectations of sound quality are low. Might also be a possible difference between the Athlete and Expedition?

0 NYanakiev7 over 6 years ago in reply to Dr Phil

Yeah, not really. I have seen plenty of reports by people with Expeditions that they have no issues with any earphones they try.

I am fortunate enough to have a very friendly electronics store manager, who lets me try return stuff that doesn't work as expected.

I got the B&O E8 2.0 as the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless had massive cut outs...

For me having music on the watch means I can go out running without my phone, which I would love.

0 NYanakiev7 over 6 years ago in reply to NYanakiev7

The B&O E8 2.0, earphones costing £300 are also playing music back with massive cut-outs. I cannot believe how ridiculous of a situation this is.... I will most likely be requesting a refund.

0 NYanakiev7 over 6 years ago in reply to Odie21

What is really frustrating is that the FR945, which shares the same hardware, seems to work like a charm with no one reporting problems. The MARQ series seem to also work quite well with few reporting a problem.

Me, on the other hand, now that's a different story....

0 morpheus.at over 6 years ago

hi,

so from my point of view and usage...and i also like to listen with high quality...i can say, that i have no issues playing music with the following speakers/headphones:

Bose Soundsport Free

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

Bose Soundlink AE2

Bose Revolve+

JBL Charge 2+

During activities i use external sensors with the Soundsport Free:

Running: HRM Tri / SBM4

MTB: Cadence / Speed / HRM Tri

to be honest: i had last week for approx 1 minute minor sound issues...but then for 4hours of biking no further issues.

i also can confirm that the range for listening to music without signal los is higher than it was with my f5x+

as i wrote in another post: i had such issues with my fenix. but they where gone when i made a complete reset.

0 NYanakiev7 over 6 years ago in reply to morpheus.at

Thanks for this. I will report this to Garmin- I not only did a full reset but also had my watch exchanged and set up on a brand new GC account.

0 NYanakiev7 over 6 years ago

I sent the following email to the support team I have been dealing with:

Dear XXX,

I hope you are well. I have been in touch with X, who has kindly informed me that there is not much we can do as the device is now, supposedly, with the relevant team in the US.

I am a bit concerned as it's already been a few weeks without a single piece of feedback. In the interim, I have tested the following earphones (please refer to the list below in bold (numbers 9 and 10);

At the same time, I have seen reports of the following:

No issues playing music with the following speakers/headphones:

Bose Soundsport Free

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

Bose Soundlink AE2

Bose Revolve+

JBL Charge 2+

I trust that I will receive a response as I have spent a lot of time and money on trying to resolve this.

I love the look of the Expedition but if this cannot be sorted out within a reasonable timeframe, I would prefer a partial refund and a replacement with a Forerunner 945 that will be guaranteed to work correctly.

Many thanks in advance- I apologise for having to reach out again but the situation has not improved and I am not being given any hope that this issue will ever be resolved.

I cannot be the only one with problems and, if I am indeed, it should be very! easy to identify where the problem lies.

Many thanks in advance,

Nick

What I have tried so far:

1) Jabra Elite Active 65T Bluetooth 5 (wouldn't stay connected after switching on/off; infrequent dropouts);

2) -->had the Jabras exchanged for a brand new pair- same problem!

3) TaoTronics TT-BH07 (dropouts when activity started)

4) TaoTronics TT-8H16 (dropouts when activity started)

5) Anker Slim+ Bluetooth 5 (dropouts when activity started)

6) Plantronics Backbeat Fit 3100- dropouts but somewhat tolerable

7) Aftershokz Trekz Air- hurray, almost no dropouts but horrible!!!!! sound-->returned

8) Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless (dropouts) £300 dropouts

9) Bang&Olufsen E8 v2 £300 dropouts

0 AdamTKincaid over 6 years ago in reply to NYanakiev7

Nick,

This must be very frustrating for you, no doubt. I’ve tried to replicate as many scenarios regarding connecting Bluetooth headphones and using them in situations as you. Usually I’m connecting a Tempe, HRM, and headphones at the same time. I’ve never had anything but a pleasant experience.

That being said, part of paying for a premium product like the MARQ should result in premium communications and support.

I look forward to your review of interactions with Garmin customer service.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago in reply to NYanakiev7

How do you know the Marq has the same hardware as the 945? Pretty sure the Marq has more memory so it's not outside the realms of possibility that other things are different also.