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Quiet Varia alert with Edge 530

5987989
over 5 years ago

The only reason I bought the Garmin Edge 530 was to be able to use the Varia radar. I need the audio alert to warn me of cars coming from behind since everyone is on a cellphone now. BUT THE ALERT IS SO QUIET IT CANNOT BE HEARD! (Yes, I am swearing and yelling by using all caps) I know the device is capable of making louder sounds because I tested the “help needed” function and that alarm is very loud, yet there appears to be no way to increase the volume of the alert for a car coming at me from behind at 70 mph. There is also NO WAY OF SENDING THE ALARM TO MY CELL PHONE where I could adjust the volume EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A WAY TO SEND AN ALARM TO MY PHONE WHEN MY HEART RATE CHANGES. Likewise there is no way to send the alarm to my Apple Watch. THIS IS INEXCUSABLE! A decent programmer should be able to fix this in short order with a software update, but Garmin does not care enough about bikers to bother to fix this life threatening problem which they have know about for years. Will it take a lawsuit? Come on Garmin FIX THIS!

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    If Garmin can't or won't do it, then buy a Wahoo unit.
    I have the Edge 830 and I am also totally dissatisfied with the very quiet alarm sounds.
    Now I ordered a Varia Radar and hoped to get the alarm sounds on my cellphone and now I read here that it is not possible.
    I am about to buy a Wahoo Roam, I had the bolt before and the alarm sounds were loud enough.

    Come on Garmin make it possible to play radar sounds via the connect app.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    There are two sides to this issue. I can't hear the alert due to old age and poor hearing but there are others that complain the alert is too loud. Hopefully, Garmin will give us more options on future devices.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to cheracogoff

    To hear the alarm sounds of the edge 830 while riding a road bike, you need to have an ear like a cat.

    The sounds are so quiet that even a person with super ears cannot hear them.
    It has nothing to do with age.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to poyo

    You might want to review some of the comments concerning the volume of the Varia alert. I have had riders next to me that ask what is that annoying beep when I could not hear anything.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    +1 on the not being able to hear Varia alerts on a 530. What's the point of the $200 radar if you can't hear it?? I will be taking it back and just using my phone, on which I get sounds that I can adjust the volume of (from way too loud to silent) and I get the animation of cars on the side of the screen using RideWithGPS. I'm seeing similar complaints on all other models of Garmin cycling computers, even the high-dollar 1030. You've lost another sale on this one, Garmin, so you really might want to address this. Varia is brilliant. Inaudible alerts, not so much. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 7410065

    I can't hear the alert but I do like the Bike Radar Traffic Connect IQ app that runs on my 1030. It shows how fast the car is approaching and allows me to review how many cars passed me so I can determine if there's too much traffic on the route. This is not possible just using the phone.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 7410065

    +1 . I also can not hear beep sound on Edge 530, on Edge 130 was much better. Very bad product. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I don't hear the alarm from RTL515 on my 830 either. But I established the BT connection between 515 and my cell phone. And RideWithGPS app generates so loud alarm that I can hear it even from the bag. I recommend not to use nativ Garmin application for this purpose as it is not stable and have a poor sound.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to vmojzisek

    I am using Varia APP on mobile and this sound is loud and I can heat without problem.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to vmojzisek

    I think that problem with this beep sound is also in frequency.  I can't hear it at 1m, but my wife hear 10m away.