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fēnix 8 swim workouts - empty set

DJHERBERTDJ
1 month ago

I bought a Fenix 8 in November 2024 and when I upload customised swim workouts from Garmin Connect, almost every time I use the workouts it skips one of the sets.  On Friday I was doing 300m, 600m, 900m, 1200m repeated 3 times 3 but when it got to the 900m it merely showed me an additional rest, then it prompted me to swim 1200m.  Naturally I swam 900m while I figured out what to do, then restarted the workout and used the lap key to jump forward to 1200m to complete the session.  The rest of the session was fine in other words for the repeats it never missed the 900m set or any other set.  When I showed my son later that day, on dry land, it missed the 600m set!  I can no longer trust it because this has been going on since I first got the watch and it adds too much stress to my swims.  Can anyone suggest a fix?  This is the main use I have for the watch so am not sure what to do and my race is only 6 weeks away.

  • 0 1 month ago

    Not sure I understand correctly, but could it be that you accidentally pushed the lap button skipping so the workout step? If so, then locking the keys would help preventing it to happen again.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to trux

    I thought it might be that - of course I have to press the lap button once to indicate that I've completed the set (I've tried it with Auto Rest on and off) but I have tested the hypothesis that I may have been pressing lap twice.  I've paid close attention to this and I have not been pressing it twice, but even if I had, it should merely stop my rest prematurely and tell me to set off and swim 900m without a rest, not present me with an orange rest screen doing an empty countdown before telling me to swim 1200m.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to DJHERBERTDJ

    You can try cleaning (dipping the watch into fresh water for some time), and also recalibrating the buttons. Frequent use in water can result in stuck buttons, which then can malfunction easily. See for example the following thread for the calibration instructions: Can’t seem to calibrate Fenix 8 buttons using the file - fēnix 8 Series - Wearables - Garmin Forums

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to trux

    It can't be the buttons that are the problem because they respond every time I press them (I had trouble with the buttons on my EPIX Gen 2 which resolved itself) but also because what the screen shows is nonsensical, which couldn't be the effect of a faulty button.  The screen shows an empty set, meaning 0 metres, and does a countdown.  I've also tried deleting the workout on both the watch and Garmin Connect and starting from scratch.  Same problem and what is strange is you can never predict which set the device is going to suppress beyond that it is always in the first round of a repeated set.  In a way this is revealing in that the second and third pass through the repeated section is fine, showing that the coding behind it is fine - it just misses one of the sets in the first round.  I have been observing it closely now for four months hoping that the error will go away but I can't take it any more.  Too stressful and, as I said, my race is 6 weeks away I need to focus on the swimming!

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to DJHERBERTDJ
    DJHERBERTDJ said:
    It can't be the buttons that are the problem because they respond every time I press them

    That does not exclude that the button is oversensitive and fires twice or three times when you press it, or that it fires alone with just hitting the water surface during the swim. I am not telling that it is 100% the reason, but to exclude it, in your place, I would try the calibration anyway.

    Does it happen when you test the workout dry (starting a dummy pool swim activity while sitting at the desk, and stepping through the workout)?

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to DJHERBERTDJ

    Then, in your place I would call the Support and report it to them. Making a video of the dry attempt, may help them understand the issue quicker. And consider posting the video here too. Also please post their response - it may help others with the same problem. 

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to trux

    Thanks very much for your help. I have done the calibration of the buttons and am now wearing the Fenix 8 on my other arm (EPIX on my correct arm, can’t risk more shenanigans) and it does seem better so far though often completes the session before the end. Will recalibrate the buttons and keep trying. Will post the results here. 

    Unrelated to the swim workouts I can’t get the Garmin wallet to work on the Fenix 8 plus the thermometer on the EPIX in open water is much quicker. With the Fenix 8 I’m out of cold water before it has taken a proper reading