Parts supplier for Fenix 6 Pro? HR / PO sensor not working

I just picked up a used Fenix 6 Pro which I will use as a backup to my 6X Sapphire. Everything seems to be working well except for the heart rate and pulse ox sensors. I've tried resetting the watch, updating the firmware to the latest available, and making sure that HR / PO is turned on in the menus, but it's still not working.

The sensor lights briefly when the watch boots, and then doesn't light again, though selecting the pulse ox widget will sometimes get it to light briefly and then go out. Once after leaving it for a while I picked it up off the counter and the green HR light blinked for a few seconds. That's the most I've gotten out of it, and the HR field remains empty while wearing it.

Since it was bought used, I don't see any way to convince Garmin to warranty it, so I'd like to attempt repair myself.

Does anyone know where I can source parts? A Google search didn't turn up anything useful for me yet. I'm thinking of replacing the lower housing with the sensors in it if I can find one at a reasonable price.

Thanks for any help you folks might be able to provide.

Top Replies

CMA-CPH over 4 years ago +1

You could give it a try here:

www.aliexpress.com/wholesale
Eric K. over 4 years ago in reply to CMA-CPH +1

Thank you. I had checked Aliexpress before posting, but it looks like my search terms were not as productive as yours. ;-)

It looks like there are plenty of back cases available for decent prices. I opened…
Ɛpsilon over 4 years ago in reply to Ɛpsilon +1

www8.garmin.com/.../collection.jsp

All Replies

0 CMA-CPH over 4 years ago

You could give it a try here:

www.aliexpress.com/wholesale

0 Ɛpsilon over 4 years ago

In settings, does it list any of the version numbers in the firmware sections correctly? Could it be worth trying a forced firmware reinstall?

0 Eric K. over 4 years ago in reply to CMA-CPH

Thank you. I had checked Aliexpress before posting, but it looks like my search terms were not as productive as yours. ;-)

It looks like there are plenty of back cases available for decent prices. I opened the watch up a few minutes ago and didn't find any obvious issues, so I cleaned the contacts and closed it back up for now. I may try one of the F6 backs on this and see how it goes. If it works, great. If not, it will still make a good backup for my 6X. I use a strap for HR and running metrics anyway, so having the HR sensor working isn't a requirement for me, but it would be nice.

0 Eric K. over 4 years ago in reply to Ɛpsilon

Yes, there are no empty version numbers, and they all match the ones on my 6X Sapphire which is also up to date.

Still a complete wipe and forced reinstall might be worth a try. Is there anything special I'd need to do to force a reinstall?

I did the Garmin Express updates the other night, and since it didn't fix the issue, I did try just copying the gcdupdate file manually into the Garmin directory on the watch, but that didn't help either. Is there a better way to do a clean wipe and reinstall?

0 Ɛpsilon over 4 years ago in reply to Eric K.

Apparently on the PC Garmin Webupdater can do a clean wipe and forced re-install. Never tried it myself mind

0 Ɛpsilon over 4 years ago in reply to Ɛpsilon

www8.garmin.com/.../collection.jsp

0 Eric K. over 4 years ago in reply to Ɛpsilon

I never knew that existed, thanks! I'll give that a try and see if it helps before continuing to pursue a hardware solution.

0 Ɛpsilon over 4 years ago in reply to Eric K.

Good luck!

0 Eric K. over 4 years ago

Just an update, in case it may help others. I swapped the back case with one from another F6 and the sensors worked perfectly, so it's definitely the sensor hardware that was the problem rather than a software issue or something on the mainboard.

I'm going to proceed with the original plan and replace the back case / sensors with one from AliExpress.

0 JeyJey over 3 years ago in reply to Eric K.

Hi good luck! A disassembly tutorial could help to everyone if you post as a video outside here. Thanks and keep us informed. As I understand for open the rear cover and replace it you should first open the front side and disconnect an internal wire. Thx