Is everyone experiencing bad buttons?

From all we know, the buttons are pretty crap, and it's a bit of lottery. The first Forerunner 255 I ordered had a down button that was driving me crazy. It gave a very audible metallic "clang" sound when pressed and when released, it kinda stuck in a "middle position" before going back fully. It's hard to describe but I felt it was really unpleasant. As the down button is probably the most used one on the watch it wasn't acceptable to me. I returned the watch and got another FR 255 later, and now I'm mostly satisfied with the buttons.

Keep in mind that the buttons on the right apparently are supposed to be two-stage buttons, so they feel different from the buttons on the left. 

The best rule seems to be not to agonize over the buttons too much because you will get used to it and they will rarely actually fail. However, if you feel very strongly about one or more buttons on your watch (as I did), it's probably best to exchange the watch. Just don't expect a perfect feel on the replacement, it will propbably also have some issues.

Thank you for all answers. How did you exchange the watch? I've already contacted Garmin (in Europe) about a very bad button but they say it's working as intended. I'm very frustrated. It sticks most of the time so I have to wiggle it loose. I bought my watch straight from Garmins website. Maybe a mistake?

I'm also in Europe and I returned the watch within the normal 14 days return window (I bough from a third party webshop).

If you are out of the return window, you could try to return the watch as defective. What do you mean the buttons "stick", can you explain?

I have no source for that, another user claimed it in a different "button thread" here on the forum. Apparently, according to him, the two-step functionality is not used but could be if Garmin wanted to in the future. It kind of makes sense though. As I wrote, I tried two different FR 255 watches and on both, the buttons on the right side definitely have the 2-step-feel to them wheres the buttons on the left have not. It doesn't seem like an accident or a mistake.

Just to say tha I’ve had my 255M since the week after it was released and my buttons all work ok, no discernible difference between left and right sides. 

Interesting. It is hard to compare because the subjectivity of what constitutes normal buttons, I guess we will never really know. One thing is for sure - the buttons on this watch are definitely subpar for such an expensive watch, but in most cases, it's possible to get used to it. 

By the way I just grabbed my old Forerunner 245 and I think I was less sensitive to button issues back then. All buttons are super mushy and have almost no travel, to the point where I don't really feel whether they are pressed in at all. They still work though without any problems. So the button problem is not new for Garmin.

The buttons on the left side stick as in they do not come out after being pressed. If I press the other buttons, it sounds and feels as if a spring pushes them out once they have been released. But the left side buttons stick. Then I have to wiggle them so they come out again. They do work the whole time, but they are "harder" to push.

Ok, I see what you mean. If they really stick, as in they don't come back at least a bit if you release them, I would try to battle it out with Garmin. Even the super mushy/sticky buttons on my old FR 245 have visible backward travel when releasing them.

However, if they do come back and just feel more sticky, I would say this is normal. The buttons on the left side of my FR 255 also feel more  more sticky, I don't feel the spring as I do on the right side, and they have a lot less travel. Especially the "light" and the "up" buttons don't travel much when I push and release them and the "click" feeling is very weak compared to the right side or to the down button. 

Right, the buttons when they get stuck do not have any visible "travel". So, when I wiggle them out, I can see the travel again, until they stick again.