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First impressions

Got it! My Index BPM arrived today, straight from Garmin. I was pleasantly surprised that it shipped ahead of Garmin's estimated schedule. I'm amazed that I'm the first to post here about actually having it, and that I haven't seen any reviews anywhere yet! I seem to be the first!

First impressions:

Normal Garmin gray box
Made in China, like the Index S2 smart scale, but unlike most of Garmin's products which are made in Taiwan
Included Duracell batteries are also made in China
Cuff is somewhat heavy and feels sturdy and durable
I'm a thin guy but not tiny. I was toward the smaller side of using the cuff, with a lot of fabric left over. You'd have to have huge biceps/triceps for the cuff to be too small.
Pairing with Garmin Connect via Bluetooth was quick and easy, as was setting up Wifi.
It was easy to take a measurement, but my very first measurement did not sync with GCM and is missing. The second measurement, a few minutes later, synced to GCM.
Like the Index S2, it syncs via Wifi. Unlike the Index S2, you can also reconnect to Bluetooth to sync and to change settings. (On the Index S2, after initial setup, sync is exclusively via Wifi.)
Settings in GCM include Appearance (just your name or initials), User settings (Gender, weight, height, birthdate), General (just Wifi), and Manage Users.
There's nothing on the device or in GCM about firmware version or firmware updates, and I wasn't prompted to do an update. GC Web says software version is 1.05.
In GCM, the blood pressure card showed in my My Day after the second, successfully synced measurement, at the bottom of the list. You can then rearrange the cards as usual.
Blood pressure is also available in the Health section of GCM, and in the Daily Summary of Garmin Connect Web.
I'm not using multiple users so I can't comment on that.

Honestly, I wasn't in the market for a blood pressure monitor - I got this because I always like putting more health data in Garmin Connect!

I'll add more later if I have more to add. Add your own thoughts or questions!

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0 7715788 over 1 year ago

After comparing readings at both physician's office and cardiologist office. I am returning mine. Readings are consistently much higher on Garmin. Cardiologist said I should not trust it.

Interesting side note. I previously wrote an Amazon review where I gave it 3 or 4 stars. I noted mine was reading high while acknowleding that others report high accuracy, so perhaps i got a defect. My review was removed and I am apparently blocked from reviewing this item on Amazon. I can only assume that either Garmin or the seller complained about any less than 5 star ratings. Had they not pulled that stunt, I would have requested an exchange and given them another shot.

0 10110011 over 1 year ago in reply to 7715788

7715788 said:
I can only assume that either Garmin or the seller complained about any less than 5 star ratings

Only 5 reviews on amazon, not all good. Not sure where you got yours, but this is from the official Garmin Amazon store. Says "Sold by:Amazon.com Services LLC."

0 7715788 over 1 year ago in reply to Frbky

No, it's the actual numbers coming in at 10-20 higher. Without looking, cardiologist was getting 127/x, Garmin was closer to 150/x

0 7715788 over 1 year ago in reply to 10110011

Bought mine, 3rd party before Amazon had them direct. Probably the seller complained.

0 3017608 over 1 year ago in reply to 7715788

I found mine is sensitive to how it's worn. If you place it on too loose before you start it, it reads high. The problem appears to be the strap design, if your in between sizes it caused it to be a PITA to get right. So you need to wear it so that it's on the smaller size if you're between sizes.

0 3665916 over 1 year ago

I refuse to buy one that mimic's the S2 lack of updates

0 1344774 over 1 year ago in reply to wgourley05

I am getting 20-25 points higher on the systolic and 12-15 points higher on the diastolic, consistently. Compared with two OMRON devices: One upper arm cuff and one wrist cuff, and manual reading. Customer service was no help, and their product complaint department would rather lose you as a loyal customer than fix the issue. I filed an official FDA medical device complaint instead of going through the less-than-satisfactory standard operating procedure of Garmin. I requested a full refund from Garmin and will be making sure no one else makes the same mistake I made. Amazon is not allowing for product reviews unless you are a verified purchase. This means that Amazon has been flooded with complaints.

0 Josh over 1 year ago in reply to 7715788

After reading this (and following this thread for some time since it came out) I returned mine too.

0 seilogramp over 1 year ago in reply to seilogramp

Returning to this thread to report that I continue to get consistently accurate BP readings from the Garmin Index BPM. Occasionally, if my BP seems unusually high or low, I'll get a "second opinion" from my Omron. Always very close to the same reading.

My only complaint is that the cuff is not as easy to put on as the Omron. It fits fine on my wife's arm. For me, since I have more of a bicep, the fit is a little cumbersome.

0 desautda over 1 year ago

Hi Folks, Couple quick notes. My readings are in syn with my doctor's and my wife's manual readings. I'm on the low side consistently. I've noticed something in common with another automatic blood pressure cuff from another manufacturer - that is that if my heart rate is less than 40 BPM I get what seems to be an error message. I routinely get a white X instead of the green check mark at the end of a 3X reading and my heart rate shows as "40". I'll immediately check that number either by using a pulse/ox monitor or a manual reading and my heart rate will show in the 33-39 range consistently. This is the third blood pressure monitor that I've tried and all of them don't seem to be able to record a heart rate lower than 40.