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A few questions about the Vivoactive 3 Music

Hello Everyone,

I am very close to pulling the trigger on purchasing a new Vivoactive 3 Music. I've been researching it since it came out and have been reading these forums regularly to see what issues I might experience. The Vivoactive 3 Music seems to have everything I want (fitness, heart rate, GPS, golf, music, and some smartwatch features) at a pretty good price. My questions are

1. is the version for the U.S.A version 010-01985-01?
2. Looks like the latest bluetooth update for APAC, version 3.30 is causing issues for some people. What is the bluetooth version for the U.S. version and is anyone experiencing the same issue on the U.S. version?
3. I am guessing that since Garmin is releasing the LTE version of the VA3M that we probably won't see a VA4M for a little while? In other words, would it be smart to wait for a newer version, assuming there would be a new version?

Thank you for your time!

0 godolphins over 6 years ago

1. Yes (at least that's what it says on box for my US model)
2. Don't know about apac, but US BT version is 3.30. Mine just got updated a few days ago. I'm not experiencing any problems connecting BUT have battery issues in the last few weeks (will drain excessively in short period time for no good reason).
3. I would NOT wait for next version. Getting a new model is recipe for disaster -- Garmin makes great products but seems to have a habit of releasing new models without getting out important kinks -- using the new owners as guinea pigs (beta testers)

Except for my latest battery problem, my VA3M suits me well -- I do many different sports and it records most or all. I did not buy for phone notifications/Garmin Pay but I've learned to like those features. The "music" feature is meh ... I still end up carrying my phone with me wherever I go.

0 Watson12 over 6 years ago

Thank you, godolphins! One more question: Do you use the watch for golfing? If so, do you find it to be accurate and easy to use?

0 godolphins over 6 years ago

Nope, sorry, I'm only in my 50's, not old enough to golf just yet! ;)
Maybe start a new thread here or search up "golf" in the vivoactive 3 forum -- should be same good info already software/accuracy/issues -- based on gps accuracy for walks/runs, I'd not be surprised if distance (to hole from tee) accuracy was pretty good

0 Watson12 over 6 years ago

Thanks again, godolphins! I just placed my order for my VA3M. I hope I do not run into the battery drain issues that seem to be plaguing you. I'll be sure to update with my initial impressions (as well as any questions I may have).

0 Hervandil over 6 years ago

Some devices aye experiencing some bluetooth issues.

0 Watson12 over 6 years ago

Some devices aye experiencing some bluetooth issues.

Hi Hervandil,

Thank you. I have been following the bluetooth connection issues since the version 3.30 update. I am hoping at least for me being in the U.S. that maybe I'll get lucky and I can avoid this unfortunate problem. Although I have a Blackberry KeyOne as my phone so I may have my own issues ;)

0 Watson12 over 6 years ago

My VA3M arrived Saturday evening. Did a full charge connected to my PC, and firmware updates (shows 3.7, not sure about the other sensors, and BT version). So far things seem to be OK, knock on wood. I am coming from an old fitbit one so everything on the VA3M is new to me. From a full charge at about 8:30 PM Saturday night to now (8:50 AM Monday morning), I still have 79% charge remaining. Now I have only used one activity so far with GPS for about 32 minutes. I have phone notifications on, back light at 20%, and gesture turned off. I also disabled the weather widget.

I have noticed that vibration seems to have stopped working since the firmware update. It was working out of the box, with v3.4, before updating to 3.7. Also it has not given any notifications to move every hour. Not sure how to set that up. Everything else seems to be OK. I do not seem to have any BT connection issues. I have not downloaded any additional watch faces, apps, or widgets yet, primarily because I wanted to get a baseline for battery life, but I have a couple that I plan to download once I get to the first recharge. Getting back into my workout routines after a brief hiatus from a shoulder injury so we'll see how it goes from there. So far I like the VA3M.

Cheers!

0 Watson12 over 6 years ago

Update to my last post: BT version appears to be 3.0 and has not updated to 3.30 yet. I am hoping it stays on 3.0 because it seems to be working fine. Vibration is working, silly me I must have switched it off when I set the vibration level. SW Version 3.70, GPS version 2.50, WiFi version 2.50, TSC Version 2.00, ANT/BLE/BT version 3.0, Sensor version 2.70, WHR Version 20.03.31. Everything still seems pretty good!