You will find several other postings about this. The screen on my own Vivomove HR started to fade after about two and a half years and in few weeks went completely dark. I could still see it very faintly in complete darkness. All other functions of the watch continued to work perfectly. From my experience and that of others, this is something that cannot be fixed. It would seem that some of the OLED displays Garmin use on the Vivomove HR have limited life.
I was thinking to get a new model anyway toward the end of this year, so I decided to trade-in the old watch and got a new Vivomove Style this past August. The color display and the added functions and features (like connected GPS, Pulse OX, aluminum case, etc.) made it a worthwhile change for me.
Hello, Is the device frozen or is the screen black? If its frozen, can you plug the device into the computer and sync with Garmin Express and if its still frozen or black we will need to get this escalated.
It has worked out very well for me. This early August will be two years that I have it. I got the aluminum one with the moss green band.
I find the aluminum color and material finish to lend itself to both a "sporty" and "classic look". I got a few other bands of different color (navy blue, white and black) to alternate depending on the occasion or just to change every once in a while.
Some complain that the screen is hard to read in bright outdoor light, since the background is silver instead of black. Personally I do not find it a big issue, I just cup my fingers around the watch face if necessary, I do not consider it a deal-breaker. I can see how it can be very subjective, though.
Feature-wise, my preferred plus over the HR is Connected GPS. The dual color screen is also better looking and more functional, as the colors help to separate information and there is some flexibility in customizing the watch face.
The Style also has more metrics and activities. Garmin just released a new firmware update which added a few more activities, a new widget and an improved notification widget, among other things.
I really like hybrid watches, I hope Garmin will keep making them, I believe the Style is the best they have made so far.
Hi AmberD, I now have this issue after 3.5 years. I suppose I have been lucky compared to other customers. My screen has slowly faded over time, now it is almost impossible to see, I have to cup my hand over it or be in complete darkness, when I do, only 1/3 of the screen is visible, the remainder of the screen is now longer visible. I do not wish to purchase a new one, as it actually still works, and records all my data and it seems like such a waste to throw it out, when it seems that all I need is backlighting to be fixed.
The screen used in the Vivomove HR has no backlighting. It is an OLED screen (organic LED). Basically each tiny dot on the screen lits up on its own, unlike in a LCD screen (which has a backlight and were each dot acts like a shutter, letting light through or not).
The only remedy would probably be to replace the screen, which is most likely not even possible without destroying the watch to open it and/or it would be so expensive to do that it makes more sense to buy a new watch.
The screen on my Vivomove HR faded away after 2 and 1/2 year, so, yes, yours lasted much longer. I was planning to buy a newer watch anyway, as I wanted at least the connected GPS. I got a Vivomove Style Silver that also has a color screen (actually two, one at the bottom and one at the top of the watch face) and a lot of other features.
I have had it for almost 2 and a half year now with no issues, with the screen(s) or otherwise.
So, all of a sudden I have the same problem with the screen fading. Called Garmin "customer service" on July 25th and was basically told "too bad, so sad" we don't make this model anymore and you are SOL. Didn't offer a replacement or another version. Disgusted with the entire conversation.
As I mentioned in one of my previous posting, after my Vivomove HR display died I decided to buy a Vivomove Style. I was planning to upgrade anyway in the near future, as the Style has an aluminum case, Connected GPS, dual color display and more features in general. I have owned it for three years now and it has been trouble free, with the exception a a couple of glitches due to a FW update, which where either resolved by Garmin with a subsequent update or simply "cured" with a reset following the firmware update. In my case when I contacted Garmin Support (I live in the US and contacted them via chat on their website) I was offered to either buy another Vivomove HR at a reduced price (but I think it was a refurbished model, not new, I no longer recall exactly) or get a discount on the purchase of a new watch. So I chose the discount for the Vivomove Style Silver. I had to ship to Garmin the defective Vivomore HR to get it.
If you want a more rugged hybrid watch, there is also the Instinct Crossover. Definitely not the 'classic" look of the Vivomove series and the display is monochrome, though.
