Instinct 3 - Recent Threads

When can we get a 3s solar ?

2607182 — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 08:56:41 GMT

When can we get a new 40mm watch from Garmin?

The 2s watches now have failing batteries and firmware issues.

50mm watces look great on a man mountain, but when can we get a new 40mm watch for women?

Instinct 3 - 45mm, Solar does not support skip last rest.

1832708 — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 21:58:42 GMT

Hello,

I would like to report a Garmin Connect workout-builder bug.

Device: Garmin Instinct 3 Solar, 45 mm
Watch software version: [enter version]
Phone: [enter phone model]
Android version: [enter version]
Garmin Connect version: [enter version]

Steps to reproduce:

Open Garmin Connect on Android.
Create a new Strength workout from scratch.
Select “Add Sets.”
Add an exercise followed by a timed rest.
Save the workout and select “Send to Device.”
Choose the Instinct 3 Solar.

Actual result:

Garmin Connect displays: “Instinct 3 - 45mm, Solar does not support skip last rest.”

However, I never selected “Skip Last Rest.” When I open the repeat/set settings, Garmin Connect displays only “Repeat Times.” There is no Skip Last Rest switch available to disable.

I reproduced the problem with a completely new workout created from scratch, without copying or duplicating an existing workout. Therefore, Garmin Connect appears to add the unsupported Skip Last Rest property automatically whenever “Add Sets” is used.

Expected result:

For devices that do not support Skip Last Rest, Garmin Connect should either omit that property automatically or provide a control to disable it. Strength workouts using repeated sets should then transfer normally.

Please log this as a software bug and escalate it to the Garmin Connect workout-development team. Please also provide me with the case/reference number.

I have attached screenshots showing the error and the missing setting.

Pulsating light during Walk activity before sunset instead of after sunset

Jacques — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 12:38:38 GMT

When a pulsing light is configured to be active during a walk with the setting 'After sunset', why then does it activate the light an hour BEFORE sunset?

According to the watch (Instinct 3 AMOLED), the sunset was expected at 21h10, but while doing a walk activity at 20h25, the pulsating light activated. Later, at around 21h00, the usual notification came to say that sunset is expected in 10 minutes' time.

Does anybody else have this problem too or what can this problem be? Is this a software bug?

Now, the light starts to pulsates around 50 minutes before sunset and only uses battery for no good reason siince it is still bright outside.

Instinct 3 solar 50mm - issue after upgrade to 14.17

icymetal — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:34:02 GMT

Following the update to 14/17, a problem was found.

After completing an activity and saving it, the buttons are not working (locked) or the watch looks like it freezes.

It happened in my last 2 activities. Note that the activities were saved and also synched to Strava.

Setting of key lock is off (tried also to unlock by keys, but they do not respond).

The only way I found to resolve it was by soft reset (restart) the watch by pressing and holding the light key for about 10 to 15 seconds (in both cases).

How can I resolve it?

I3Solar 50mm - Battery Percentage/Estimates Toggles do nothing

8579724 — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:36:24 GMT

Settings -> Power Manager -> Battery Percentage On/Off and Battery Percentage Estimates On/Off any combination does nothing on my watch. I can still see battery percentage and estimate everywhere I look. Except on battery level datafiled.... Are these legacy settings or I am not looking in the right place? Firmware 15.17

time zone and GPS spoofing

1396958 — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:35:33 GMT

Hi, I have issues with time in my watch.

Armed forces use GPS spoofing periodically to protect from air raids. So, auto time sync from GPS in the watch makes time completely incorrect. For example, today i woke up in Peru meanwhile I went to bed in Ukraine. When I set "sync with smartphone", time is synced but time zone is not. According to watch time, I'm still in Peru. The only option is to disable auto sync and set the time manually. If I set time manually, time sync with smartphone does not work at all, so watch time accuracy as on 1$ junk watch.
So, the question is: how to make sync time with smartphone only? My expectation is to see in the watch the same time as in smartphone: hours, minutes, seconds. Always the same time without surprises.

Regards,
Maksym

Auto-disable Battery Saver during sleep

JenVv — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 21:23:16 GMT

У меня есть предложение для моего окуляра Instinct 3 Solar (45 мм).

В настоящее время, когда я включаю режим энергосбережения, часы остаются включенными весь день и не выключаются автоматически на ночь. Это означает, что мои часы остаются в режиме энергосбережения во время сна, и я теряю возможность отслеживания сна, измерения уровня кислорода в крови (пульсоксиметрия), вариабельности сердечного ритма (ВСР) и функции интеллектуального будильника.

Моя просьба:

Добавьте простой переключатель или расписание, которое позволит использовать режим экономии заряда батареи в течение дня (в офисе/за рулем — мне просто нужны часы с максимальным временем автономной работы и солнечной зарядкой), но автоматически отключать его ночью, чтобы обеспечить полное отслеживание датчиков стадий сна, вариабельности сердечного ритма, утреннего отчета и функции «Умное пробуждение».

По сути, это зеркальное отображение функции — режим энергосбережения включается днем и выключается ночью.

Для офисных работников, таких как я, это стало бы настоящим прорывом.

I3 Solar 50mm - Barometric Trend Arrow

8579724 — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 15:15:43 GMT

Since I got this watch never seen the barometric trend arrow pointing any other direction than straight right, anyone else? I do set my baro plot to 24 hours if thats relevant. Anyone has any idea how this is supposed to work? What is the time window / pressure change take into consideration in order to establish a trend for the arrow? Thanks in advance.

Instinct 3 amoled 51mm

9836747 — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:20:55 GMT

a blue triangle appeared on the garmin watch when trying to update it, a hard reboot does not help, they also tried to delete the gpe.bit file, but it also did not help, what should I do?

Intensity minutes outside of recorded activity has changed in a recent update, and now massively undercounts

ollybadger — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 20:52:51 GMT

As per title.

In 14.14, intensity minutes while walking/jogging (not recording an activity) would accumulate accurately after 4 minutes of activity - i.e. it would jump from 0 to 4, then accurately add 1 minute continuously as long as HR was in the correct zone.

The algorithm has very obviously been changed in a recent update, and it no longer records intensity minutes properly. a 30 minute fast walk that never dropped below zone 2 only recorded 14 minutes. It also seems to jump up in very random nonsensical values that bear no resemblance to the intensity of the activity.

I am aware that it records more accurately during a recorded activity, but I do not use this and it worked fine before. Unfortunately this change has been made just outside my return window - it's one of the only features I actually used.

Please revert back to how it was when it actually worked. Thanks!

Stock Watch Face Sun Dial extreme lag even on 14.15

Albu040 — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:18:36 GMT

The Sundial on the stock watch face of my Instinct Solar 3 does not change regardless of how much sunlight it is exposed to when on Watch Mode.
It will only change if I scroll down to Glances then back to the watch face again.
When I am on Solar Intensity page the Sundial reacts instantly to the changes in sunlight.
During an Activity like Running and I go back to the watch face the Sundial changes instantly to the changes in sunlight.

My software is 14.15

Has anyone noticed this defect?

Thank you.

Instinct Solar 3 crashes randomly during activities

Raider78 — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 12:37:13 GMT

Hi,

since a few weeks my Instinct Solar 3 crashes sometimes during activities.

Last times it was while "biking" and yesterday while "walking" activity was used.

The err_log.bak showed me this:

"unit_id": "3616857708",
"product_name": "Instinct 3 - 45mm",
"software_part_number": "006-B4585-01",
"ms_since_epoch": "1784406345000",
"system_version": "14.14",
"build_type": "Production",
"backtrace": "0x100006c5\n\t0x10002bd1\n\t0x18613d23\n\t0x1014c901\n\t0x18613d23\n\t0x10002f27\n\t0x1014ca33\n\t0x1014c769\n\t0x18613d23\n\t0x18613ce9\n\t0x1014c9a5\n\t0x1014c9c9\n\t0x18613ce9\n\t0x18be2821\n\t0x18be28b7\n\t0x1014ca33\n\t0x1014c769\n\t0x18be27e5\n\t0x1014cbb9\n\t0x18be27e5\n\t0x18be28b7\n\t0x1014ccd5\n\t0x18613ce9\n\t0x18be2a79\n\t0x1014cce9\n\t0x1014c769\n\t0x1014cbb9\n\t0x18be2a79\n\t0x1014ccd5\n\t0x18613ce9\n\t0x18be2c59\n\t0x1014cce9\n\t",
"error_cause": "RTL Trap",
"proprietary_info": {
"Commit ID": "bf3664decc996be750e36ce7bf27fa199eb7835c",
"Time": "2026-7-18 20:25:45",
"uptime": "958265637",
"RTL Error Number": "0x00f",
"rtl_reg": "r[0]: 0x3024d5f0\n\tr[1]: 0x18613d23\n\tr[2]: 0x00001f00\n\tr[3]: 0x00000802\n\tr[4]: 0x0005dda8\n\tr[5]: 0x000000a7\n\tr[6]: 0x0004c030\n\t",
"programCounter": "0x100019df",
"stackPointer": "0x3024d220"

Can someone tell me what is wrong and how to fix this?

I have no courses on my watch, enough free memory (over 40mb) and no apps or watchfaces from the IQ store

Thanks a lot!

Martin

My alarm is not working

3548136 — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 12:15:55 GMT

I have set 4 alarms there enabled with vibrate only , they are at 6am 7am 8am and 9am , The wierd thing is that 6am sometimes work , and it skips the 7am and the 8am one will only work with 2 alarms , I made sure everything is enabled and on repeat for weekdays , Is frustrating when waking up doesn't vibrate 😞

reboot when deleting an activity profile

Luke I3-50-A — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:57:20 GMT

Hello, I'm running 14.15 and I have created a copy of road cycling activity profile in activites menu with specific settings just for one race. After the race I wanted to delete this profile from the watch. Pressed GPS, found the activity, and when I press delete (or remove?) the watch rebooted and the activity profile was not deleted. I've tried it multiple times.

Instinct 3 System Software 14.17

Garmin-Jimmy — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 21:24:39 GMT

Hello Instinct 3 users:

Today we started the rollout of System Software 14.17, currently we are at 50% with this rollout and we will increase the % as time goes by.

14.17 Change Log (since 14.15, current Public release):

Fixes an issue with treadmill calibration failing to result in more accurate treadmill

Instinct 3 Solar 50mm — Connect IQ watch faces fail to activate (IQ! error)

Samsunger — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 05:14:23 GMT

Device: Instinct 3 Solar, 50mm
Software: latest version

Most Connect IQ watch faces I install (including free ones) fail to activate — they show as "IQ!" in the watch face list and crash immediately when selected. Tried:

Uninstalling and reinstalling (both from watch and Garmin Express)
Full watch reboot after each install
Only 3 CIQ apps installed total, so not a storage/count limit

Only 1 in ~10 faces I try actually works. Anyone else seeing this on current firmware? Is this a known bug?

BUG REPORT: HR double what it's supposed to be when using indoor cycling activity.

9934469 — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 17:38:16 GMT

HR double what it's supposed to be when using indoor cycling activity.

I double checked my wrist placement, shaved, even tried wearing it on the underside of my wrist.

I use an under desk cycling machine and used the indoor cycling activity to log it. The watch heart rate measurement is bang on exactly double what I measure manually (carotid).

As a result the calorie estimates are way off.

Since I am at my desk I am not moving my wrist at all, so no cadence matching going on here.

I also have a wahoo cadence sensor connected but doubt that's doing anything.

I reset the indoor cycling activity settings to be sure. No help. I also set my resting heart rate and max heart rate in my user profile. Nothing. I am on the latest firmware. New watch.

I switched to using the general "cardio" activity to log it and so far the heart rate is exactly what it should be. I am sure this is a firmware quirk.

Bug Report: Incorrect Day of the Week display (Hebrew localization)

Tal Sitton — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 19:07:37 GMT

I would like to report a display bug regarding the Hebrew language settings on my Garmin Instinct 3 50mm Tactical AMOLED.

When the watch language is set to Hebrew, the days of the week are displayed correctly in Hebrew, except for Wednesday. Instead of the expected Hebrew letter (ד), the watch displays the letter "W".

It appears to be a localization issue where the system defaults to the English initial for Wednesday instead of the Hebrew translation.

Device Information:

Model: Garmin Instinct 3 50mm Tactical AMOLED

Software Version: 14.15

Thank you,

GPX/Course track offset by ~400 m in mainland China on FR265 and Instinct 3, started about two weeks ago

3509760 — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 10:09:39 GMT

Hi everyone,

I am trying to diagnose a GPX/course offset issue that recently started happening on two Garmin watches in mainland China.

Until about two weeks ago, the same workflow worked normally. I could import a GPX track, sync it to my watch, and follow the track using the watch GPS position. Recently, newly imported GPX/course tracks are offset by several hundred meters from my actual GPS position.

Details:

Location: mainland China, around Qingdao / Laoshan area
Offset size: approximately 400 m
Devices affected:
- Forerunner 265
- Instinct 3 50mm AMOLED
Garmin Connect app version: [5.26.0.9]
Phone OS: [iOS 26.5.1]
GPX source: exported/shared from 2bulu [9.1.5]
Garmin services tested:
- Garmin Connect international server
- Garmin Connect mainland China server
Result: the offset happens with both the international server and the mainland China server.
The issue still happens even when no map is enabled on the watch. I am only comparing the imported GPX/course track against the live GPS position on the watch, so this does not appear to be only a map layer display issue.

I checked the GPX file outside Garmin. The original GPX coordinates appear to be correct WGS84 coordinates. When plotted on an OSM/WGS84 map, the original GPX track aligns correctly. If I apply a WGS84/GCJ-02 style conversion, the resulting shift is about 414 m, which is very close to the offset I see on the watches.

This makes me suspect that somewhere in the Garmin Connect / course sync / watch navigation pipeline, the GPX/course may now be interpreted or converted using the wrong China coordinate handling.

What makes this confusing is that this workflow worked correctly until about two weeks ago. I do not know whether the change came from Garmin Connect Mobile, Garmin Connect backend/course processing, watch firmware, or some region-specific China coordinate handling.

Questions:

Has anyone recently seen imported GPX or course tracks in mainland China become offset by several hundred meters after syncing to a Garmin watch?
Does Garmin Connect or the watch apply any GCJ-02 / China coordinate correction to imported GPX courses?
Is there any setting that controls whether imported GPX/course coordinates are treated as WGS84 or GCJ-02?
Is there a known recent firmware or Garmin Connect app change related to course navigation or location offset in China?
Is there a recommended way to determine whether the offset is introduced by Garmin Connect, Garmin Connect Mobile, or the watch firmware?

I would appreciate any confirmation from other users in China, especially users of Forerunner 265 or Instinct 3, or advice from Garmin support on how to diagnose this.

Thanks.

Bug: Strength Activity not switching background color in between sets when rep count is disabled.

7750624 — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:05:50 GMT

When a strength activity is enabled and rep count is ENABLED then the background color changes during a rest set automatically.

When a strength activity is enabled and rep count is DISABLED then the background color only changes when a user toggles between activity data pages.

software: 14.15

Instinct 3 Solar UAH currency sign support

2836315 — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 10:49:04 GMT

Ukrainian is well supported on Instinct 3 Solar, covering all native letters. It would be really nice to also support UAH currency sign (₴, Unicode "U+20B4") as some banking apps use it in their notifications and we see question mark symbol there instead.

Instinct 3 Feedback & Bug Report: Power Manager Issues and Bluetooth Crash

Wang — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 22:50:05 GMT

Hi Garmin Team,

I recently purchased the Instinct 3. While I appreciate the hardware, I have encountered a few frustrating issues regarding the Power Manager (Power Modes) behavior and a specific bug that crashes the Bluetooth connection.

Here are the details and my suggestions for improvement:

1. Unclear Power Manager Interface

The current user interface for Power Manager is very confusing. It is difficult to identify at a glance which power mode is currently active. I would highly suggest improving the UI/UX so that the active power mode is clearly highlighted or indicated on the main Power Manager screen.

2. Power Mode Resets to Default After Powering Off

I have a habit of turning off my watch when not in use. However, I noticed that every time I turn the watch back on, it fails to remember my previously selected Power Mode. It automatically resets, forcing me to manually go deep into the settings to re-select my preferred mode every single time. The watch should retain the user's last selected power mode across power cycles.

3. Software Bug: Deleting Custom Power Mode via Phone Crashes Bluetooth

I attempted to create a custom Power Mode via the Garmin Connect mobile app. After experiencing the issues mentioned above, I decided to delete this custom mode using my phone.

Immediately upon deletion, the watch disconnected from my phone and was completely unable to reconnect. The only way to restore the Bluetooth connection was to force-restart the watch. This is a reproducible bug that severely affects connectivity.

I hope the development team can look into these Power Manager behaviors and the Bluetooth crash bug in the upcoming firmware updates.

Thank you for your attention to these issues.

Best regards,

Wang

Garmin Instinct: The “Sent from my Garmin device” signature must be OFF by default and customizable

1462549 — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 08:20:54 GMT

I am posting this as a formal complaint and feature request regarding Garmin Instinct watches and the branded signature added to quick message replies.

When I reply to a message from my Garmin Instinct watch, Garmin adds the text:

“Sent from my Garmin device”

I consider this to be unsolicited brand promotion inserted into my private communication. I purchased the watch; I did not agree that messages sent in my name should be used as advertising space for Garmin.

A private message is sent by me to another person. I should therefore have full control over its content, including any text automatically appended to it.

I am aware that the signature can be disabled. Please do not respond merely with instructions explaining how to turn it off. I already know how to do that.

The underlying problem is Garmin’s product decision:

the Garmin-branded signature may be enabled without the user explicitly choosing it;
the text cannot be edited;
it cannot be replaced with a neutral message;
users cannot enter their own signature;
customers may discover the feature only after a branded message has already been sent in their name.

The branded signature must unquestionably be OFF by default.

If Garmin wishes to offer the “Sent from my Garmin device” signature, it should be an optional feature that users deliberately enable themselves. Brand promotion in a customer’s private messages should never be the default behaviour.

Garmin should implement the following changes:

Set the branded “Sent from my Garmin device” signature to OFF by default on all Garmin Instinct watches.
Require an explicit opt-in before enabling any Garmin-branded signature.
Allow users to enter their own custom signature.
Provide an optional neutral signature without the Garmin brand name.
Clearly disclose the feature during setup before any branded message can be sent.
Forward this request to the product and UX teams responsible for Garmin Instinct watches, Garmin Connect, smart notifications, and quick replies.

This is not merely a request for technical support. It is a complaint about an unnecessarily restrictive and user-unfriendly product decision.

Customers who purchase a Garmin device should not be expected to advertise Garmin in their private conversations. The user—not the manufacturer—must have final control over every word sent in the user’s name.

If you agree, please reply to this thread or upvote it. It would also be helpful to include your exact Garmin model, software version, phone type, and whether the branded signature was enabled without you deliberately choosing it. This will help demonstrate that the concern is not limited to a single customer.

Garmin, please confirm whether this request has been passed to the responsible product team and whether making the signature customizable and disabled by default is being considered.

Ambient pressure - whyyy?

8861199 — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 07:17:17 GMT

I'm really disappointed about this, I didn’t expect that such an option might not exist. I think I’ll return the watch — ambient pressure is very important for me because it makes my work much easier. I had it on Huawei and Casio. Garmin is still behind the others in this area. Is the implementation of this feature planned in the development roadmap

UI drops FPS when scrolling through marquee titles

6300501 — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 14:39:12 GMT

Description:

Scrolling through instinct 3 menu lags a bit if the there is a visible title with marquee animation.

Steps to repro:

Have a watch with menu that has at least 2 items with long titles. Long titles are played with marquee animation (The title goes from left to right and back to left).
Turn on device (shows a clock)
Scroll through menu with up/down buttons

Expected bahavior:

Animation is snappy while scrolling through all elements

Actual behavior:

Animation is snappy until you scroll into an element with a big title. Title starts to move left to right. Scrolling while this animation is active makes UI laggy

I could attach video to this. I can't see an option to do that here.