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Purchase a FENIX 6 Pro yes or no? WHR Issues Please Advice

Former Member
Former Member over 5 years ago

Hello Everyone, 

I purchased but not yet recieved a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro. Based on a lot of functionnality that I wanted to switch from an apple watch S5 because I was a lot piss of the poor battery quality. 

Then I read on the internet a little too late that the WHR was a nightmare and almost not usable. Most of the reviewer on the internet say that this watch is almost perfect and not mentionning any issues. Based on them this watch is almost perfect!  I also saw that there was a update of the sensor quite recently 5.06? 

So my question is , what's the actual status? I don't really like to use Chest HR so I loved the optical sensor of the apple Watch but do you still recommand this watch or I should refuse my parcel. We are talking about a watch of almost 700 euros so.. if the WHR is not usable I won't use it... 

Thanks in advance for your good advices. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    You are going to see all sorts of opinions here. Good and bad. So here is mine.

    If you are solely looking for a watch with a decent OHR, do not get the F6 and stick with the AW. I came from an AW2 to a F6 Pro, and the AW2 was significantly better. Yes, even with 4-5 year old technology at this point. The F6 really struggles to catch any kind of accurate pulse, especially during an activity. If you are worried about HR, just go ahead and plan on purchasing/wearing a chest strap with the F6. It is just that bad and Garmin has refused to address it.

    As for everything else, the watch is pretty good. The looks are (IMO) way better on the F6. I firmly believe if Apple actually set out to make a true sports watch that had a round face, they would put everyone else out of business. The GPS and maps are nice on the F6. Obviously battery life is great, but do not expect to get the reported values (14 days) if you actually use your watch. I get about 5 days per full charge. But, the watch does work well with pairing multiple activity sensors, although they have become a large battery drain with the latest update. 

    TLDR: If AW looked differently and maybe had slightly better battery life, I would have switched back a long time ago. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to 3704102
    3704102 said:
    As for everything else, the watch is pretty good. The looks are (IMO) way better on the F6. I firmly believe if Apple actually set out to make a true sports watch that had a round face, they would put everyone else out of business.

    To even come close they'd need to

    a) allow for Android support.

    b) fix the battery life. There's no way I could do an ultra with an AW. The Fenix range is geared to those longer time activities that an AW can't come close to doing.

    And with 70K running per week I still get 7-10 days of battery life. I did the 42 mile Brecon To Cardiff in February in 8 hours and had about 60+% battery left

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Ɛpsilon

    Overall I agree. That would be Apple actually putting out an "activity focused" watch. With their tech capabilities, I just do not think anyone could compete. But, why live in the 'what if world'...

    As for battery life, what type of watch do you have? And what do you have running all day? I have na F6 Pro Sapphire, OHR and Pulse Ox on all day. Put it in battery saver mode at night. Do 1 to 2 hour long activities a day, about half of those using GPS. I can never get more than 5 days out of a charge, and that is pushing it. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to 3704102

    F6Pro

    Don't use Pulse Ox, as I don't do altitude stuff.

    Battery saver at night. Stock watchface and only two custom datafields and two widgets. Consistently get 7-10 days.

    run 4 days a week - 21K 3 days a week then either a long trail or intervals on weekend

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Ɛpsilon

    I think what helps is I use a chest strap as I swear the ant+ uses far less power than the OHR

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Ɛpsilon

    Even with a chest strap, the OHR (green lights) stay on. I use a chest strap for all activities also. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to 3704102

    They don't - the wrist ohr switches off

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to 3704102

    Just tested and yes my lights switch off when Chest HR is used in an activity

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to 3704102

    I think that only happens if PulseOX is on or Garmin Pay is enabled.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    For me personally OHR worked very well on runs (see here) except a few  where it just hovered at ±180 for some reason (might have been a specific Sensor FW that's fixed by now)

    OHR during everyday activities though... (working, walking, sitting on the sofa) is completely unacceptable (see here). Worked perfectly for me on the FR645 though...