Sticky buttons - the fix

Yeah, I think this is what Garmin recommends for when the altimeter goes bananas and says you're at Colorado elevation on one of the coasts.     Makes sense... especially if you run trails a lot, these watches are going to get full of dirt and sweat gunk, and the buttons and altimeter hole are gonna get clogged up.  I did have to send a Forerunner 935 in to them once because a couple of the buttons got jammed inside of the casing, and I couldn't pry them up to save my life.  I wonder if it's a good idea to soak the watch once a month or so just to keep it clean?

I have been struggling with this issue for a few months now.

Soaking/washing seems to last for a short while but now I and finding that I have to wash it nearly every week and even then it does not keep it at bay.

Strange how none of the other buttons have this issue.

Problem has got so bad that soaking every couple of days was a very temporary fix and now I think water has entered watch as it is now malfunctioning. Out of warranty period so I guess I'm going to have to pay for a refurbished watch. Not happy as this seems to a bit of an issue with this model.

I contacted Garmin who have now replaced the watch. Just setting everything up again but so far so good...I wonder if my battery stats are better on this one

I had this experience with other watches.

I found out that taking the watch into the shower caused the problem.

It looks like the soap gets inside the small gap around the buttons and cause this problems - it cannot be washed off 100%.

You can notice that as a white 'dirt' around the corners of the watch.

I dont shower with last 2 watches i wear. They are 100% clean and buttons as new even after 2 years.

Not to mention that many of people complain about the skin irritation under the watch - mainly because of moist staying under the watch....

Not saying this is a general solution, but for sure its the solution for me. 

To fix sticky buttons? I think the cleaning the buttons in service is the only solution. After that, you can try the above.

hope it helps and give some ideas.

My brand new Garmin Fenix 5 Plus does the double-clicking on the buttons. I just thought it was normal.  It's not???

Just outside of warranty, and mine is now so bad, I had to do something. Garmin wants $160 to get a refurb replacement. This happened to my Fenix 5, too, but at month 11, so they replaced it for free. I'm at month 13, so I have to pay. So frustrating as there's clearly something wrong here.

I've never had it in a pool or the ocean, and rinse it after any workout. I have been doing weekly warm water soaks, Still happened. Now, it's like a process every 2-3 days just to keep the watch working where I do a warm water soak for 30 min, then click the button a ton (with the watch off), and it's ok for a day or so, but not perfect, then starts getting stuck again.

If you look at the buttons, the Action (stop/start) button is different. It's exposed on the sides in a way none of the others are. So clearly there's an ability for stuff to get into the mechanism. 2 Fenix 5 watches (original and 5+), same issue. I do none of the things Garmin warns about that could lead to this, and do all of the things they say will resolve it, and it doesn't work.

To me, this is a design flaw. They should a) be changing the design, and b) standing by customers regardless of the warranty. When you spend $600+ on a watch (some of us are over $1k on our Fenix, depending on the model), you shouldn't be met with this happening.

I'm really frustrated with Garmin anytime I have to have a support action. I spend way too much with them, and totally stuck with their ecosystem because of all the gear I have from them that all ties together in Connect, and I feel like they could care less. I would totally move to another watch, but then what about my Edge, and everything else with the little blue triangle logo on it? I tried the Apple Watch, but the accuracy and richness of data and training options can't compete. I feel like Garmin knows it has its customers over a barrel, and has no intention of respecting us rather than taking advantage of that position.

Repeated attempts soaking my fenix 5 did not resolve the stuck button. I contacted support and they sent me a new unit. I decided against my urge to open up the case to inspect for any foreign contaminants

Yeah, it never works. Or, if it does, it doesn't work for long. My new unit is fine, but I honestly don't expect it to last a year at this point. I'm hoping it lasts long enough for the next gen Fenix to get released (hoping to see Solar in the non-X version), and maybe they'll fix the hardware so this stops happening.

Not holding my breath.