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Vo2 Max no longer being measured

6148517
10 months ago

I have been using my epix gen 2 for a few months.

My only sport activities are hiking and skiing. Since I started using it, my vo2 max score has been updating roughly on a daily basis. To be clear, when I say "updating" I don't mean that the score changed (it has been stable at 48 for months) but that the watch indicated on the screen that the score had been taken recently (on that same day or the prior day).

This updating used to occur whether or not I engaged in a hiking (or skiing) activity:  apparently, just casually walking around the city with the watch on was sufficient for the watch to take a new measurement.

Since last June 4 (over a month ago now), the watch has stopped updating the vo2 max score entirely even though I have continued wearing it as before (and went on a few hard hikes as well since). The screen on the watch continues to say "June 4" at the bottom of the vo2max screen since then.

Can anyone help?

  • 0 10 months ago

    Exact same issue. Last V02 Max “hit” or recording was on May 17, and despite multiple runs since, it hasn’t recorded anything. All other sensors look ok. I reached out to Garmin on May 26, got a confirmation of email receipt and nothing since. 

  • 0 10 months ago
    6148517 said:
    Since last June 4 (over a month ago now), the watch has stopped updating the vo2 max score entirely even though I have continued wearing it as before (and went on a few hard hikes as well since).

    Could you post a weblink to a recent activity that you believe should have given you the VO₂max value? And also the value of your Max HR as shown in the User Profile of the watch? Perhaps we can see some clues.

    Also, if you did not see it yet, please read the following article, explaining the required conditions for an updated VO₂max value:

    My Recorded Activity Did Not Update the VO2 Max Estimate | Garmin Customer Support

  • 0 10 months ago in reply to trux

    See this one for instance: <iframe src='connect.garmin.com/.../16269107496' title='Caslino d&#39;Erba Hiking' width='465' height='500' frameborder='0'></iframe>

    The max heart rate in my watch user profile is 183.

  • 0 10 months ago in reply to 6148517

    The reason for no update of the VO₂max is that you use the Hiking activity. Vo₂max (apart of Running and Cycling with a power meter), calculates the VO₂max only at Walking activities. It can also calculate Vo₂max from the all-day HR, but only if there were no activities recorded in the past 30 days. That's very probably how you got your initial value, but won't get an update since you use Hiking and not Walking.

    All of this is described and explained in greater details in the document I linked in my previous post.

  • 0 10 months ago in reply to trux

    I got daily vo2 max readings since I bought the watch last October until June 4 without doing walking running or cycling activities, though I did weekly recorded hikes. It was not just an initial reading as you suggested. 

    What I am hearing is basically that all these vo2 max readings should never have occurred and thus the watch was malfunctioning then and is working correctly now that it has ceased making any further readings. 

  • 0 10 months ago in reply to 6148517

    As I wrote, you should get VO₂max reading either when you record a Walking activity (not a Hike!), or when you do not record any activity at all for more than 30 days. I do not speak about running and cycling, since you wrote, you did not use these types of activities.

    So the solution for your situation is using the Walking activity instead of Hiking. You could also use Trail Running (and making sure VO₂max is enabled in the activity profile). Once recorded, and saved, and having the VO₂max value updated, you can then change type of the activity back to Hiking, in Garmin Connect, if you prefer keeping it so.

  • +1 10 months ago in reply to schmjoe

    I am sorry to hear you are not receiving a VO2 max score. Unfortunately I can confirm, it is true that Hike is not an activity that qualifies for VO2 max. To receive a V02 max score, and have this update with your workouts, it would need to meet these qualifications: 

    • You need to be using one of these Activity apps: Run, Ultra Run, Walk, Trial Run, Multi-sport. 
    • When recording these activities, you need to be outdoors recording with GPS for minimum of 10 minutes.
    • Activity needs to have HR data recorded from a wrist HR or HRM strap.
    • HR needs to be 70% of your max HR for the minimum of 10 minutes. 
    • If you are recording a Bike activity, you need a paired power meter, and the length needs to be minimum 20 minutes. 

    My Recorded Activity Did Not Update the VO2 Max Estimate

    And for these, you want to be completing the qualifying workouts at least 1 -2 times per week. 

    While Hike may not be included, it is possible to receive a VO2 max score from only your All day HR, when no qualifying activities have been recorded within 30 days. 

    Watches announced after April 2017 that feature an optical heart rate sensor are capable of generating VO2 max from all-day heart rate data when the following requirements are met:

    • Smartwatch Mode is used, meaning no activities that qualify for vo2 max have been recorded in the last 30 days.

    • Optical Heart Rate is enabled.

    A VO2 max estimate from all-day heart rate can take up to 30 days to populate.

  • 0 10 months ago in reply to Garmin-Laurie

    If that is the case then there still is bug because I have been using the watch continuously in Smartwatch Mode, have not done any vo2 max qualifying activity according to the above rules and yet I see no vol2 max estimate since last June 4, which is over 30 data ago. 

  • 0 10 months ago in reply to 6148517

    I already told it to you, but it looks like you did not see it, so here you go again:

    From the article My Recorded Activity Did Not Update the VO2 Max Estimate | Garmin Customer Support

    VO2 Max Estimate From All-Day Heart Rate

    Watches announced after April 2017 which feature an optical heart rate sensor are capable of generating VO2 max from all-day heart rate data when the following requirements are met:

    • Smartwatch Mode is used, meaning no activities have been recorded in the last 30 days.
    • Optical Heart Rate is enabled.

    A VO2 max estimate from all-day heart rate can take up to 30 days to populate.

    Please note the bold text. Apparently you recorded some Hiking activities in the past 30 days (at least you claimed it), so it looks it is not true you used exclusively the Smartwatch Mode during the last 30 days.

    And as I wrote previously, the fix is simple - use the Walking activity instead of Hike.

  • 0 10 months ago in reply to trux
    trux said:
    Smartwatch Mode is used, meaning no activities have been recorded in the last 30 days.

    So I have confirmed with my engineering team, you can receive VO2 max while recording Non-Qualifying activities. So even if they are recording Hikes, it is possible to receive this. 

    • Smartwatch Mode is used, meaning no activities that qualify for vo2 max have been recorded in the last 30 days.

    • Optical Heart Rate is enabled.

    But activities recorded or no, there would need to sufficient times where the All day HR spiked and for prolonged periods of time. Enough to indicate an improvement in train. 

    It is true though, that recording these as a Walk activity instead would be a great solution!