Instinct 2 Series - Recent Threads

Bug report: Instinct 2x solar (17.11) morning report.

6941540 — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 07:09:41 GMT

In morning report > HRV status > HRV last night, the graph only appears for a few days before not showing as having being recorded. Powering off and back on resets this and it works for a night or two before failing to show a record again.

Instinct 2: wrong reading of heart rate

5920190 — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:23:58 GMT

I possess an Instinct 2 since many years. It has happened a few times, that while walking on a treadmill (4,5 km/h, 8% incline), the measured heart rate jumps from ~ 110 bpm to 160 bpm, and this for several minutes! Today, it happened again, I removed the watch and refitted it, and it was then OK.

Has anybody got the same experience?

Battery drain after 17.11 firmware

Amadeus — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:25:52 GMT

After updating my Instinct 2 Solar to firmware 17.11, battery drain appears to be about 60% higher than before. I have not changed any settings, I use the same stock watch face, and I am not using GPS.

Previously, one charge lasted almost 40 days under similar use.

I am only reporting my normal non-GPS usage, but after owning the watch for almost a year and a half, it is frustrating that battery performance still seems to change significantly between firmware updates.

Backdated Instinct 2X to v16.11 – Real-world observations on GPS & Solar efficiency

4221828 — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 05:24:23 GMT

Hello everyone,

After dealing with battery drain issues on the 17.xx updates, I decided to roll back my Instinct 2X Tactical to v16.11 (along with GPS v13.02). Here are a few quick technical notes from my experience so far:

GPS Performance: Lock-on speed is noticeably faster. It gets a solid fix almost instantly, even under dense tree cover. The multi-band accuracy of GPS 13.02 combined with this core firmware feels extremely precise with minimal drift.

Solar & Power Management: This is where the real difference shows. Whatever was keeping the MCU active in the background on 17.xx seems to be completely gone here. The watch properly enters deep sleep, consuming around 0.05% - 0.08% battery per hour. The moment sunlight hits the solar lens, the charge controller responds immediately, and you can watch the battery life estimate recalculating on screen in real time. The full charge estimate is back to the expected 68+ days.

To be honest, a quick note to Garmin: The main reason most of us buy the Instinct is its reliability and "forget the charger" battery life. It's a bit frustrating that we have to manually downgrade just to get back to the rock-solid battery performance the watch had out of the box. I hope future updates prioritize power stability over adding extra features that drain the battery in the background...

Garmin Instinct Solar 2 - Wrong time after cable charging

EmorejNimrag — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:40:00 GMT

I don't use the Garmin phone app. I use a cable to charge and load maps / unload activities. Time is synced using GPS and doesn't drift.

I noticed an issue which seems to occur from times to times.

When I connect the cable, the screen displays the charging screen with the battery load.

After I disconnect, that screen sometimes keeps being displayed for quite a while, which is a bit of an annoyance but not that bad.

However, the time is sometimes wrong after that. The watch lags by a few minutes or tens of minutes, which could be the time period during which it was stuck.

Could there be a bug locking the watch for a while, preventing the time from being counted correctly?

I can GPS sync, assuming I'm outside, willing to wait a bit, and most importantly, assuming I even notice the wrong time.

Providing time is the most trivial feature one would expect from a watch... It would be lame to require a second time source to double-check after charging.

Could be related to this question, although I don't soft reset : forums.garmin.com/.../my-garmin-instinct-2s-solar-has-the-wrong-time-after-charging-and-soft-reset.

Revert Sensor Hub to 27.11 on APAC Instinct 2 - Tactical edition

5559652 — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 13:47:17 GMT

Is it possible to revert to an older version of the sensor hub firmware. My battery tanked after installing 27.60 so I'd like to revert and see if that fixes things. ***I have the APAC version***

Instinct 2X solar intensity daily average missing data

3725270 — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:02:54 GMT

Garmin instinct 2X is missing Wednesday solar intensity data on the daily average page on the watch, but data is available on the connect app.

I have since power-cycled the watch, unpair and re-pair the watch, force syncing a bunch of times, the issue is still present.

Instinct 2S – Battery drain and sudden shutdowns on firmware 17.11 / Request for backdate file

Jack — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 08:47:08 GMT

Hello,

After updating my Garmin Instinct 2S to the latest 17.11 firmware, I started experiencing severe battery drain. The watch discharges extremely fast and often shuts down completely even when showing days of battery life left.

I noticed that if I turn off Bluetooth entirely, the watch stops shutting down, but then the time syncing gets completely broken and drifts away. The problem is definitely software-related (Bluetooth loop or power manager bug). Master reset did not help.

Could a Garmin moderator please provide me with a link to a stable older firmware (like 16.11) and the backdate/downgrade file so I can restore my watch to a working state?

Thank you in advance!

Wanted: Ambient Barometric Pressure on Watch Face

NoTrux — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 14:51:31 GMT

Is it possible for Garmin to allow ambient barometric pressure to be displayed on the watch face? At present, it's only a pressure at some plae nowhere near me and absolutely doesn't reflect what is going on where I live which is nowhere near the ocean or sea level. Right now, I have 1022 displayed on thee watch yhile the actual pressure is bellow 1000 and it makes me suspect the site used for the data is in the US.

Ambient is available during activities, but having the pressure from some place nowhere near me makes it useless.

Instinct 2 Solar steps count suddenly way too high

VRichardson — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 17:03:58 GMT

For the last year or so(since I got it), steps count has been really accurate. But, suddenly the last few days, when I've done no exercise, at all, and walked very little around my house (<1,500 steps), it's been showing 18,000+ step count and greater that 9 miles distance.

The only thing I can think that has changed, lately, is that I have recalibrated and saved Treadmill tracking distance. A few times, last week

software version: 17.11

This morning, I've taken probably 50 total steps, so far, and it shows

while I've been sitting in a chair typing this post, the steps count has gone up to 1,710. So, it is counting any arm movement as steps, now

My Instinct 2 will no longer charge by cable.

7461070 — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:51:29 GMT

It can only charge with solar power. I tried cleaning the port with isopropyl alcohol and did the hard reset several times. Also bought a new charging station and new cables but nothing works. It does get very hot while charging so it seems like there may be a short inside. How can I fix this?

Also in the app, I accidentally turned off auto-update and now I can't turn it back on.

Instinct 2/2s/2x and Crossover System Software 17.11

Garmin-Jimmy — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 18:04:40 GMT

Hello Instinct 2 users,

Today we are starting the rollout of Software Version 17.11, currently we are at 50% with this rollout and we will increase the % as time goes by.

Change Log

Fixed possible issue where solar charging could be disabled.

Solar charging graph not rendering in “Last 6 hours” view (Instinct 2X Solar, v17.08)

Tranzior — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:21:06 GMT

Device: Garmin Instinct 2X Solar
Software version: 17.08 (d3b282d)

Issue description:
Solar charging data is partially not rendered in the “Last 6 hours” graph view.

Steps to reproduce:

Ensure the watch is exposed to sunlight / active solar charging.
Open the watch face – solar activity indicator is visible.
Enter the solar widget / menu overview – preview correctly shows solar activity.
Open detailed view → “Last 6 hours”.

Actual result:

The “Last 6 hours” graph is not rendered (empty / missing chart).
However, the top section still shows accumulated solar input (lux / solar intensity values).

Expected result:

The “Last 6 hours” solar charging graph should be displayed correctly along with the summary values.

Additional observation:

The “Daily average” (next section) graph renders correctly without issues.
Issue seems consistent and reproducible.
Observed also on another device (Garmin Tactix Solar – exact model unknown), suggesting it may not be device-specific.

Frequency: 100% reproducible (based on multiple observations)

My watch is recording my sleep details but they aren’t loading on the web or in the connect app

9106706 — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 02:54:28 GMT

I never had problems before, but a couple months back my garmin stopped recording my sleep details in the app (or on the web) despite details being available on my watch. How can I get these details to start recording in the app again? My app is up to date…

Solar instinct 2 solar charging issue

Mr Misfit — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:41:46 GMT

Seems that solar charging issue that was discussed years ago, still exists. After charging with USB cable, solar charging is disabled until the device is restarted. After restarting solar charging works.

Why is this issue still not fixed? When it will be fixed?

I have the latest software installed.

Performance Condition Not Working

TheB0b — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 10:15:35 GMT

Hi all

ive noticed the Performance Condition feature of my Instinct 2S is no longer working. I’m on firmware version 17.08 using an HRM 200 on firmware 5.4. I’ve connected the two via Bluetooth. Reset both units but it seems to be a software problem. Anyone else having the same issue?

Timer and sport session

Smirnoff103 — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:56:54 GMT

Hello,

I had a Google Wear OS watch and upgrade to a Garmin Instinct 2.

While doing my fitness sessions I used to record my session with Strava (and used a timer, so last part of my post).

Now with the Garmin Instinct there isn't a simple "workout" sport activity you can use, I picked the "strength" but it's too detailed to be honest. You (can /) have to record every set, even give the weight etc. It's a bit too much for me, if you want to record all these details it's great, but I don't need it in my case. A simple "workout" activity that tracks the total duration and my heartbeat is good enough for me (like the Strava app did with the "weight training" type of exercise).

Beside this, I also used a timer together with the Strava app on the watch. When this duration is over I get a tactile, visual and auditory signal. Something I couldn't find (yet?) on my Garmin watch. I have a tracking for my session with the time, but sometimes you can't look the complete exercise to your watch (for instance during a "side plank hip lift" or "hollow body hold") and now I have to count in my head. So for example if I start at 35:23, and want to hold 30 sec, I know I can stop at 35:53 (see how good I am in mathematics).
Is there a better solution ?

Instinct 2 cannot get correct tides data in New Zealand

1445009 — Fri, 29 May 2026 08:57:29 GMT

Hi Garmin Team,

I have noticed an issue with the Tide feature on my Garmin Instinct 2 Surf and would like to check whether this is expected behaviour or a bug.

When I manually enter the coordinates for Piha Beach, New Zealand, the device does not show Piha as the selected location. Instead, it displays Auckland as the location and provides tide information for Auckland.

The coordinates being entered are correct and correspond to Piha on Auckland's west coast. However, after the location lookup completes:

- The displayed location is Auckland rather than Piha.
- The tide data shown matches Auckland tide forecasts.
- Repeating the process with the same coordinates consistently produces the same result.

To rule out coordinate entry issues, I also tried using Garmin Explore. I selected Piha directly on the map in Garmin Explore and synced the location to my watch. After synchronization, the Tide feature still displayed Auckland and returned Auckland tide data instead of Piha.

From a user perspective, it appears that the coordinates and location are being accepted successfully, but the resulting location name and tide information do not correspond to the selected location.

I would like to understand:

1. Is it expected that Piha coordinates resolve to Auckland?
2. Does the Tide feature intentionally return tide data for a nearby reference location rather than the exact selected location?
3. How can users verify which location the displayed tide data actually represents?
4. Is there a recommended way to obtain tide information specifically for Piha?

I can provide the exact coordinates, device model, firmware version, and screenshots if needed.

Thank you.

My Instinct 2 tactical looses connection with App daily

camchris1 — Wed, 27 May 2026 12:16:49 GMT

In the last few weeks my watch shows the exclimation point in notifications daily and I have to manually sync it in the connect app to fix. Every morning it does this too. Watch and phone are three feet apart at night.
iphone Xr on current OS. Not sure what OS version is on my watch but I update any time I get notification. I have restarted both several times but no fix.

Instinct 2X Tactical Solar Software Update

8951149 — Fri, 22 May 2026 00:56:43 GMT

Hello - are the plans for updating the Instinct 2X Tactical Solar beyond 17.08?

Persistent GPS instability even after rollback to 16.11 — possible firmware-related GPS corruption

A.Aslani — Tue, 19 May 2026 11:07:04 GMT

I want to provide another important update regarding this issue.

I rolled back my Instinct 2 from firmware 17.08 to 16.11 using the official backdate package, but unfortunately the GPS problem is STILL NOT resolved.

The behavior is extremely inconsistent:

* Some days GPS locks relatively quickly
* Other times it takes 20–30 minutes or struggles badly
* Battery behavior is also noticeably worse than before

What makes this especially frustrating is that BEFORE updating to the 17.xx firmware branch, my watch worked reliably for a long time without these problems.

Garmin should be able to verify this directly from my Garmin Connect activity history.

Most of my activities are repeated routes between my home and workplace, under very similar real-world conditions, which makes them directly comparable.

If you compare:

* activities recorded before the 17.08 updates
vs
* activities recorded after the 17.08 updates

the degradation in GPS performance should be very obvious.

Before 17.08:

* GPS acquisition was fast and reliable
* The watch consistently worked correctly on the same routes

After 17.08:

* GPS performance became unstable and unpredictable
* Battery drain increased
* GPS sometimes takes an extremely long time to lock
* The watch no longer behaves reliably even in locations where it previously worked perfectly

At this point I need to ask a serious question:

Is it possible that the 17.08 firmware updates corrupted or negatively affected the GPS subsystem/configuration in some persistent way?

Because this no longer feels like a normal temporary issue.

I have now spent many days:

* testing
* syncing
* resetting
* reinstalling
* rolling back firmware
* comparing GPS modes
* and troubleshooting extensively

Honestly, this has become extremely frustrating.

The primary reason I purchased this watch was for reliable GPS tracking, and currently that core functionality is severely compromised.

I would really appreciate an official response or guidance from Garmin regarding what is happening here.

Beta version 17.11

2607182 — Tue, 19 May 2026 07:39:00 GMT

I noticed that Beta Version 17.11 just showed up on the firmwares page.

Hasn't this been out for some time, I'm sure I saw my old watch update to this, before the battery died.

Does this new firmware fix the problems of 17.08?

Workouts are no longer syncing to instinct 2

1097676 — Tue, 12 May 2026 18:02:44 GMT

Tried creating a copy of the workout with a different name, restarted the watch, multiple attempts. Nothing worked.

Instinct 2 GPS functionality severely degraded after firmware 17.08 (slow GPS lock + battery drain)

A.Aslani — Tue, 12 May 2026 17:51:45 GMT

Following up on my previous post regarding the GPS issue on my Instinct 2 running firmware 17.08, I would like to report that I have now noticed significant battery drain as well.

At this point, the situation is becoming very frustrating:

GPS acquisition consistently takes several minutes every single time
Battery consumption has noticeably increased after the update
My phone GPS locks almost instantly in the same location and conditions
The watch struggles to acquire GPS even under open sky

I have already tried:

Multiple Garmin Connect syncs
Garmin Express sync and reinstall attempts
Soft resets and long LIGHT-button reboot
GPS mode changes
Open-sky testing

Unfortunately, none of these steps resolved the issue.

Right now, the core functionality of the watch — reliable GPS performance — is severely affected. The device is essentially behaving like a regular non-GPS watch, which is very disappointing considering GPS is one of the primary reasons for owning this product.

I would respectfully ask Garmin support and the firmware team to provide:

A clear and official explanation of this issue
Confirmation whether firmware 17.08 is affected
A reliable and permanent solution
Or an official stable rollback/reinstall procedure

At this point, I am not looking for temporary workarounds or beta-program-only solutions. I simply want a stable and definitive fix for the problem.

Thank you.

Connection Faults - Brand NEW

7493922 — Sun, 10 May 2026 04:44:52 GMT

Instinct 2S. Brand New. tried everything. resets, re-installing latest App on a newer Iphone. - watch keeps going into installing update and restarts randomly. I really like this watch but getting frustrated now.... any tips? hard reset done. even restored settings eventually. if no luck will have to take back.