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Does Garmin test software releases?

1059307

Hello,

I'm new to the garmin world with a edge 530.

This is a kind of provocative question, but I got to ask: does Garmin even bother to do some kind of test activities on software releases?

In 2019, a new 369.99€-worth dedicated cycling computer device that resets 3 times during what is meant to do (record an activity) is unacceptable.
Not to mention the livetrack thing... so far never got a continue one-colored track on the server.

And these are only the 2 of 3 things I expected from it. The third one was for the battery life, and at least that seems ok (for now).
I could go on with many other fancy features that have issues, but I don't really care about them.

Bye

  • 0

    Forgot to ask ... in the scenario where the device decides to reboot itself while recording an activity, I noticed that it does not resume the activity automatically, but it gets paused. Is that the expected behaviour?

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member in reply to 1059307

    Welcome to Garmin. Sent my 530 back. It sucked!  Numerous issues as forum supports. Read below. Had same issue along with freezing, Strava segments PITA, zooming out, wrong trail names, battery, gps distance way off, forksight didn’t work, etc  used 4 times back to Wahoo ELEMNT  

    twitter.com/.../1138072079209783297

  • 0

    Well, based on my own experience with various garmin devices, and by visiting the forum frequently, I have reasons to believe, that at least some features ARE NOT TESTED AT ALL before release. Either this, or garmin deliberately releases software with well known deficiencies.

    Also read this:

    https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/06/competitor-software-instability.html

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member

    Well, no matter how many testers you have, it won't compare to releasing an update to thousands of people. 

    My criticism would be that Garmin should become more focused. The 830 and 1030 could probably have been a single unit (let's call it 930). So they could have 930, 530, 130 and that's all the Edge computers they need. Wearables? Same deal. There's so many of them and they can't keep them updated properly and the mobile connectivity simply isn't amazing. 

    As for user experience, I've not had a single reset during a ride, but I'm disappointed with the unit's poor connectivity. 
    But  I guess the whole GPS cycling unit market is pretty immature. Even Wahoo has their issues - for example some people are still reporting problems with rides longer than 3 hours, even though it should have been fixed in an update several months back I believe. And there are some inconsistencies and issues with the altimeter, especially when you decide to take the unit off road. There is the occasional issue with the buttons peeling off and let's be honest, the price of the Bolt should have been considerably lower by now. 

    My point isn't that one brand is worse better, my point is that paying this much money for a bike computer gets you exactly this. There's nothing better right now, and unless there are some considerable policy changes, there probably won't be. 

  • +1

    Garmin also makes avionics for planes and I believe they have the biggest market share for avionics.  You can bet they test their avionics before they release them!  Okay, consumer products will never reach the reliability of avionics but the current quality gap is staggering.  I hope Garmin will make a concerted effort to improve its consumer products.

  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    You make the bolt sound massively inferior but my question to you is have you ever used one?

    For me it is much better than the 530 I just purchased. The Garmin is actually pretty poor in comparison to it, and loads more expensive.

    The only reason I got a 530 was for the external battery support (I am doing a 1200km ride next month) and because I managed to break a bolt. However, it got replaced for free under warranty.

    After my 1200km ride I am going to sell it because it’s nowhere near as good. Not even close.

  • 0

    For every Garmin that was released until now, firmware was stable after ~2 years , almost when it was replaced by another model 

  • 0 in reply to Gary+Bray

    The Bolt is inferior to the 530 feature-wise. I own one. Currently, the Wahoo app on my phone is broken since the update 3 weeks back. It keeps crashing any time I go to edit a setting. Given the phone-based setup, this means I can't edit any data pages until they fix their app. Wahoo also relies on 3rd parties for everything. Strava, RideWithGPS, TrainingPeaks, etc. Meanwhile, you can get all of that for free with Garmin Connect. Add in that maps are a lot harder to read. due to the B&W screen, it's not all what I thought it'd be. When the app was working, was it fine? Sure. But not something I'd consider extraordinary. 

    I just ordered an Edge 530 to replace it. 

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member in reply to Gary+Bray

    Well I would not say massively inferior but the fact is that it is inferior. Monochromatic screen, no on-device routing and lower battery life are probably the biggest differences. The Bolt is also strongly oriented towards road riders. 

    I don't know what the pricing is like in your area but where I live, the Bolt with a speed sensor would cost me as much as the 530 MTB bundle after selling the remote. Given how long it's been on the market, the price should have been lower by now, especially after the release of the Edge 530. 

    That said, I'm still not fully convinced I'm going to keep the 530, I'm not very happy with the mobile connectivity.