fēnix 8 Series - Recent Threads

RE: Restart while viewing the morning report - Fenix 8 Pro

Garmin - DK — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:17:54 GMT

Thanks for the comment, 4621882 . We will continue to update this thread with meaningful updates as they become available. If additional info is needed we may reach out to you or others experiencing it.

We recommend that folks experiencing this bookmark this thread to watch for updates as well.

Restart while viewing the morning report - Fenix 8 Pro

Mierzej87 — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 08:43:30 GMT

Hello everyone.

Model: Fenix 8 Pro

Version: Amoled 51 km

SW: 21.39 stable

The new software causes the watch to restart every time I read the morning report.

I've cleared temporary files, restarted with the Light button to refresh the cache, and synced with Garmin Express. I don't intend to completely reset the software, as I don't have much time at the moment to spend several hours laboriously resetting all activities and data fields, adding payment cards, and a few minor settings. Backing up doesn't restore everything either.

Next time, I'll try to capture a video, as the problem is recurring and recurs daily.

I ask users and the development team to please check this error.

Regards.

Fenix 8- inaccurate pacing after update. Not accurate

9806178 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:32:14 GMT

Hi, I’ve recently updated my F8, and I’m noticing that pacing is wildly off, despite having FULL GPS signal before each run.

Got marathon next week and it’s bit of nightmare, as it’s sayin I’m running faster than I am and I know I’m not running at that pace at such a low heart rate?

Fenix 8 Auto Dim Sucks

9115071 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:24:42 GMT

Dear Garmin,

My Fenix 8 auto dims to the point where it is unreadable in daylight. I boot it up and can read it just fine. But after a few seconds the sensor kicks in and it dims past recognition and becomes permanently locked into this brightness level. Touching the screen and pressing buttons and adjusting settings do not change anything. I have a video of the issue if you want to see it in action.

This is NOT a problem with brightness settings. I’ve tried all of them in various permutations.

This is NOT a problem with watch face. I have tried the default watch faces in addition to 3rd party and experience the same issue .

This is NOT a problem with night/sleep mode. The problem exists during the day.

This is NOT a user experience issue. This is a software problem. If I bought a car and the engine ran fine, but the transmission could never get out of park, this would NOT be a user experience problem. It would be an engineering problem.

This is NOT a minor issue. The whole point of a watch is the screen. If that is not usable, then the entire product becomes useless.

HOW HARD IS IT TO ADD AN OFF SWITCH IN SETTINGS FOR AUTO DIM?

I don’t care if it wastes more battery.

I don’t care if it is more work for you and would be easier for you to ignore this thread.

I basically own, for all intents and purposes, a $1,000+ brick. I run outdoors all the time and cannot see my pace, workout duration, heart rate, or any of the features that caused me to buy the watch in the first place as opposed to a cheaper option.

I am also past the 12 month return window. Why did I wait so long? Here’s why—

Before, I used to be able to “trick” the sensor by booting it up under super bright light and it would stay at full brightness. But sometime during the past few months an update ruined this workaround and it no longer works. (Again, I have video proof if you need it.)

All this goes to show that—as customers—we are willing to put up with a partially broken product if there is a workaround, even if we have payed good money. We offer good faith to you as a company because we trust that you will listen to our problems and fix them in the future. But when the product ceases to serve its advertised purpose—and we are being gas lit that this is a “user experience problem” or told that we have not adjusted our settings properly (when we have) or that the problem is “being looked into” (does it take two years??)—then that is when you have permanently broken trust with your customers.

I have owned this watch for almost two years now and—even though this is a known issue—no one at the company has stepped up to fix it.

FIX THIS OR WE WILL NEVER BUY YOUR PRODUCTS AGAIN.

Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

6849825 — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 22:05:42 GMT

After the update on 21.25 disappeared power on animation (blue triangle and animation topo Fenix 8). When I turn on the clock, the screen doesn't display anything. After a time, is turned on watchface. Reset settings does not help. What can I do?

RE: Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

StephChamp — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:20:04 GMT

If you have the watch for a while it means that you had firmware updates between 15.32 and 21.25, so the bug won’t affect you. It’s only happening is you unbox a new Fenix 8 and update from 15.32 directly to 21.25.

RE: Need a way to turn off adaptive (auto) brightness

Iant.. — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:02:15 GMT

Exactly

Need a way to turn off adaptive (auto) brightness

Horgh — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 17:32:10 GMT

Dear Garmin,

The Fenix 8 43mm AMOLED is extremely hard to read in dark rooms and/or at night due to the adaptive brightness. That "feature" dims the display in dark environments to the point where older eyes can't read it. In brighter environments it is easy to read, and I can readily reproduce the problem if I turn the display on while my hand is covering the watch. It is absolutely the light sensor that's driving this behavior.

This is NOT an issue with my brightness setting, that's already set to maximum.

This is NOT an issue with night/sleep mode, the problem exists during the day.

This is NOT a problem with my watch face, I'm using one of the default faces.

This IS a problem with the firmware and the fact that there is no way to disable adaptive brightness. This oversight (or terrible design choice) is ruining an otherwise great watch for many of us.

Fix it.

RE: Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

3313609 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:34:32 GMT

They probably rolled update to Fenix E, to test. There is smaller community of Fenix E owners I assume, so if this goes with no problem they will target Fenix 8 as well. That is what I would do as a developer at least.

RE: Restart while viewing the morning report - Fenix 8 Pro

4621882 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:25:14 GMT

I’m experiencing the exact same issue with my Fenix 8 Sapphire Solar 47 mm. I’m currently on software version 21.39, and this morning during the morning report, the watch crashed and didn’t push my Training Readiness and HRV data to the glance.

For now, I’ve switched off the daily morning report to see if tomorrow the watch will correctly push the Training Readiness and HRV data to the glance overview. The interesting thing is that the morning report did show this data, but it didn’t eventually push it through.

Are there any other ways to troubleshoot this?

RE: Restart while viewing the morning report - Fenix 8 Pro

4621882 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:24:54 GMT

Are there any other ways to troubleshoot this?

RE: Need a way to turn off adaptive (auto) brightness

OldDude — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:44:49 GMT

Garmin already said it is working as designed. It's the people who are dragging this thread on... and on... and on... and on... and on... lol

RE: Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

3360618 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:27:30 GMT

Was it confirmed as software bug?🐛

RE: Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

PGyuri — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:05:39 GMT

Yes, it was released for the Fenix E. Until now, the 8 series and the E had the same software version.

RE: Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

Tenanga — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:02:01 GMT

Apparently, it is available for Fenix E only since yesterday: Fenix E System Software 21.40

RE: Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

trux — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:41:24 GMT

[quote userid="2155382" url="~/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/fenix-8-series/431706/fenix-8-amoled-51mm-disapeared-power-on-animation/2024637"]Any Fenix 8 owners receive 21.40 yet and can confirm it addresses the issue?[/quote]

Where did you hear about v21.40? As far as I can see, there was no announcement for v21.40. Neither here, on the F8 forum, nor on the Beta Program forum for F8. The current beta version being tested is v22.21. You can install it if you join the Beta Program.

RE: Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

5237614 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 06:58:02 GMT

Any Fenix 8 owners receive 21.40 yet and can confirm it addresses the issue?

RE: Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

PGyuri — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 06:34:43 GMT

Good news! I have a Fenix E watch (as I mentioned here before), but the problem was also present on it. It was just updated to version 21.40 and everything is fine. The boot animation is back and the watch starts / restarts normally.

RE: wrong voice on Iphone using Garmin Fenix 8 pro navigation

Edwin — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 05:34:32 GMT

The solution is like Garmin KD mentioned;

1: Change the voice by changing on IOS (iPhone) Settings —> Accessibility —> Read and Speak —> Voices —> choose Voice

2: restart your iPhone

This is tested with IOS 26.5 (beta), and Garmin software version 21.39

wrong voice on Iphone using Garmin Fenix 8 pro navigation

Edwin — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:55:32 GMT

Dear support,

I configured on my Garmin Fenix 8 pro a dutch woman voice. If I adjust to use the voice on my watch I got a womans voice, but if I configure to use my Iphone I got a dutch mens voice. What do I have to do to get a womans voice on my Iphone (IOS 26.4)?
The default voice on my Iphone is a womans dutch voice.

kind regards,

Edwin

Fenix 8 AMOLED Depth sensor failure

Lukasz Prendke — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 13:07:05 GMT

Hi everyone!

I’ve been a big Garmin supporter and even greater ambassador for a long time! Recently, I purchased a Fenix 8 AMOLED special edition and have been expecting some issues.

First of all, when I turn on the watch the message pop up “Do not dive. Failed to read depth sensor.”

How can I not dive, when I’m leaving in the Maldives?

Secondly, one of the sensors led (green) is always on, which I did not notice earlier?

Whats wrong?

I would appreciate your assistance.

Lukasz

RE: Fenix 8 AMOLED Depth sensor failure

7392452 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:50:38 GMT

I’ve also tried these steps and getting same result. I do I contact product support?

RE: Need a way to turn off adaptive (auto) brightness

Iant.. — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:22:46 GMT

This thread will still be going in 3 years and Garmin won't have done anything, it's been 15 months now lol.

Ongoing Software Issues – Considering Return

9764157 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:21:19 GMT

I’ve been following Garmin for years, but only recently decided to buy one. Unfortunately, I’ve had to return it multiple times. The hardware is not the issue—it’s largely as expected. The problem is the software, which has been extremely disappointing. I chose Garmin because I like the MIP color display and solar charging, and the Garmin Fenix 8( I bought tactix 8) series with its microphone, speaker, and inductive buttons really appealed to me. What I don’t understand is how a company of this size, now on its eighth-generation product, can still have software in this state.

Below, I will go through the issues I’ve encountered one by one. I can’t comment on the accuracy of activity tracking, but most of the problems I’ve faced are frustrating software bugs.

1. Garmin Connect app management can trigger a watch reboot
In the Garmin Connect app, users can manage which apps appear in the watch’s app list. If I attempt to enable all available apps, the watch consistently reboots when I tap the “+” icon on the last app.

I have already contacted customer support and provided video evidence. I was told someone would follow up, but I never received any response. This issue still persists on firmware version 21.39.

2. “Trolling Motor” app does not appear correctly
I do not actively use the trolling motor app, but I noticed inconsistent behavior. When entering edit mode in the app list, the “Trolling Motor” app appears. However, after confirming the changes, it does not show up in the actual app list.

I am unsure whether this is related to the issue described above.

3. Bluetooth calling and audio crackling
There are noticeable crackling and distortion sounds, especially right after a call connects. Occasionally, this also happens during calls.

Based on reports from other users, this issue may also affect music playback, particularly after firmware 21.39. In my case, I did not notice this issue on earlier firmware versions.

4. “Coming Up” app instability
The “Coming Up” app (a first-party Garmin app intended for basic task/to-do functionality) is highly unstable. After a few interactions (scrolling or tapping), the app freezes and causes the watch to reboot almost every time.

Upon reopening, a Garmin IQ error icon (exclamation mark) is displayed. This behavior appears to be consistent and reproducible.

5. Firmware update inconsistency (OTA vs actual version)
During initial setup, the watch shipped with firmware 15.32. When attempting to update via OTA, the device repeatedly indicated that it was already on the latest version, even though 21.39 was available.

Customer support was unable to resolve this. Eventually, after connecting the watch to a PC, the OTA update was somehow triggered (Garmin Express itself did not perform the update).

Additionally, the Garmin Connect website also incorrectly reported that the device was on the latest firmware.

6. Touchscreen unresponsiveness during calls
During phone calls, the touchscreen occasionally becomes unresponsive. The only workaround is to exit the call screen using physical buttons and then re-enter the call UI, after which touch functionality resumes.

7. Music transfer and format limitations
I encountered repeated errors when transferring music via Garmin Express. The transfer process stops after a few files and reports an error, requiring multiple retries to complete.

Additionally, the watch does not clearly specify supported audio formats. For example, 96 kHz audio files play at incorrect speeds. Neither Garmin Express nor official documentation provides clear guidance on format limitations.

RE: Fenix 8 Amoled 51mm disapeared power on animation

9706525 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 03:44:06 GMT

Dziwne ,mam ten zegarek i po aktualizacji pokazuje wszystko normalnie