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Critical Issues with Forerunner 165 after latest update: Sensor failure, GPS instability, and frequent reboots

sacarminati

Hello everyone,

I am writing to report several critical issues I've been experiencing with my Forerunner 165 immediately following the latest software update. The device has become nearly unusable, and I would like to know if this is a widespread issue or if there is a specific fix available.

Symptoms:

  • System Performance: The user interface is extremely sluggish and laggy.

  • Sensor Failure: The Heart Rate (HR) sensor and Pulse Oximeter have stopped functioning correctly (no readings or inconsistent data).

  • GPS Instability: The GPS signal is highly unstable and takes a long time to lock, or it loses connection during activities.

  • Sleep Tracking: The device is no longer recording any sleep data.

  • Spontaneous Reboots: The watch restarts automatically multiple times throughout the day without any user intervention.

Troubleshooting steps already taken:

  1. Full Backup & Factory Reset: I performed a backup and restored the device to factory settings. After restoring the backup, the issues persisted.

  2. Clean Factory Reset: I formatted the device again, this time without restoring any backup, to ensure no corrupted files were being re-imported.

  3. Software Check: I waited for the device to sync and ensure all components were up to date, but the lag and sensor failures remain unchanged.

Given that these issues started exactly after the firmware update, it appears to be a software-related bug affecting the hardware communication.

Has anyone else encountered this? Is there a way to roll back the firmware or a beta patch that addresses these specific sensor and stability issues?

Thank you in advance for your help.

  • 0

    There's a whole thread full of people having similar issues. Garmin broke things properly with this update, at least for some people. My 165M seems mostly fine, although it feels more laggy than before. And I found a bug with the enabling of touch not working in some cases.

    If you go to the system menu on the watch, then to about, what versions are you seeing for the various components?

  • 0 in reply to Jacquers

    Thank you for your reply. It seems I am indeed part of that group of affected users.

    Upon checking the System > About menu as you suggested, these are the versions currently running on my device:

    • Host: 27.09

    • GPS: 13.00

    • CIQ: 5.2.0

    • BMX: 21.1.0

    • WHR: 21.01.00

    • ANT/BLE: 0.06 (This seems suspiciously low or corrupted)

    • TSC: 0.09

    • Sensor Hub: 35.10

    • NFC: 3.5.8

    • WLT: 3.2.14

    As you can see, the ANT/BLE version is showing as 0.06, which I suspect is the root cause of the sensor failures and the overall system instability. It appears the firmware update failed to correctly flash the radio/sensor drivers.

    Since I have already attempted two factory resets (one without restoring a backup) and the issue persists, does anyone know if there is a way to manually re-force the installation of the sensor hub or ANT/BLE drivers?

    Any further guidance would be greatly appreciated.

  • 0 in reply to sacarminati

    Additional info:

    I have just tried to manually force a driver refresh by connecting the watch to my computer. I checked the Garmin/RemoteSW folder, but it is completely empty, which suggests the device isn't even holding the update files for the sensors.

    I also performed a Soft Reset (holding the Light button for 30 seconds) after clearing any potential temporary files, but the ANT/BLE version remains stuck at 0.06.

    At this point, the device is severely degraded: no heart rate, no sleep tracking, and constant lag. Since multiple factory resets and manual folder checks have failed, I suspect the firmware update has corrupted the communication with the sensor hub at a system level.

    Is there any official way to manually side-load the missing ANT/BLE drivers, or is this considered a hardware failure that requires an RMA?

  • 0 in reply to sacarminati

    This is what I have, so yes, something looks wrong on yours.

    Software Version
    27.09 [DFU-b5ed951


    GPS: 13.00
    Wi-Fi: 28.27
    CIQ: 5.2.0
    BMX: 21.1.0
    WHR: 21.01.00
    ANT/BLE/BT: 28.27
    TSC: 0.09 (this seems unusually low)
    Sensor Hub: 35.10
    NFC: 3.5.8
    WLT: 3.2.14


    If you go to the system menu on the watch, then about and push the light button 8 times there might be a developer menu and option to reinstall software. I think it's worth a try.

    The update file gets deleted from the watch once it's applied. It might still be on your computer, if you did it via Garmin Express. Search for GUPDATE.GCD - It's actually a zip file, so you can open it and check inside the package or manifest file to see what version it is. Copying it to the watch remoteSW folder will trigger the installation prompt once you disconnect the watch from the computer.

  • 0 in reply to Jacquers

    I tried the reinstall software option on the watch. Sadly it didn't update TSC which it think should be on 7.21 based off other posts I saw. Might try again with the update file I saved when the watch received it. 

    TSC = Touch screen software, which might explain the issue I'm having.