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Critical flaw: the aggressive auto dimming makes this watch unusable during and outside of activities as well

pxl
over 2 years ago

During activities -after a timeout period- the display will be so dim that it is almost impossible to read. In some activities (such indoor rowing), activating the display with a gesture is not an option, so checking HR is basically impossible.

It is also a problem outside activities, because it makes hard to read even the time with just a glance on a display - you'd need to activate it with a gesture, and this makes the AOD completely irrelevant.

That's it, it will go back to garmin, because this way it is unable to 

  • show my HR during activities
  • display the time in AOD

so it is completely useless as a sport watch and as a regular watch as well.

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  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to ep013
    ep013 said:
    a MIP display is going to look dated

    Yep, said this many times, but even 8-9 years ago (right around or before the first Apple Watch was released), I got a comment from a random person that my Garmin watch "doesn't look real". These forums are full of complaints for 10+ years about how Garmin screens are washed out / dull, and how the marketing pics lied to them.

    So now we (collectively) are getting what we asked for. Doesn't matter if the minority of people who prefer function over form are left behind. We can buy MIP Fenixes (for now), or hold on to our 255s/955s or older watches.

    I know plenty of fast runners who still rock a 235 (released 2015), ranging in age from 20s to 60s, so it's not so crazy to imagine wearing a 955 until the next display revolution in 2028-2033 (?). Assuming Garmin and the Connect platform are still around then. Yeah, I know that Garmins can be used without the Connect platform, but it's hard to imagine people manually syncing FIT files to Strava if Connect goes away.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Activeman
    I completely agree with everything that is said in previous comments.
    If we look at the devices, we have now, it's really strange to see how the world is losing just simple common sense WHY the devices exist. Not sure if it is because of users or manufacturers.
    Let's think about it. If the device has bugs then for sure it is the recklessness of the manufacturing process that needs to be fixed.
    BUT what I'm talking about here is simple elemental things, I just like TO SEE WHAT WATCH IS SHOWING. Why you would make a sports watch IF you can not see anything during sports it is meant for? There are all the profiles: rowing, MTB, cycling, motocross, etc., how you gesture with your hands during these sports to see something. Same time you say "Look how beautiful, always-on, and clear it is", BUT no one tells you that if you buy/use it for the purpose the watch was created(sports watch) then you can not see anything on this "clear always-on" display after 4-15 seconds. This is completely misleading, and it is shocking when you find out that it is even possible to make a watch like this, and how they can fool you with the "always-on clear display" you can not see in the real world. THIS IS NOT ALWAYS-ON DISPLAY. 
    Now to have a proper device I (people) can use, I (and many many others as you can see) must send the watches back and forth, and explain this here and on other forums "PLEASE can I have watch I can see" Like I/we have nothing else to do. I hope everyone understands how ridiculous this is.
    Where is the common sense here?
    Another feature against common sense that the watch has is the "weather feature".
    It says clearly weather in PHONE LOCATION, I repeat PHONE LOCATION. After days of testing, reading forums, and help files, trying to get it to show me phone location weather. You will be shocked that you are fooled again.
    It is a small print on the Garmin site, weather will be shown from the NEAREST WEATHER STATION location. It can be 100s kilometers away (in my case 80km away and in altitude), You can guess it is completely different where I live and train. Sometimes 10 degrees difference, no sense to talk if it rains or not. I have seen dozens of forums where people have the nearest weather station 200km away or 2km up in the mountains.
    It is completely misleading, the weather station IS NOT a PHONE LOCATION.
    Where is the common sense here?
    Why you should do a device/feature that shows you the weather 100km away and tells you that it is PHONE LOCATION?
    Just think about it, what a he'll I want to know what the weather is on some kind of a mountain or some remote place 10 or 100s kilometers away. What is the point of the feature? I still must look it up from my phone's AccuWeather app which is mostly accurate.
    These are just a few features to mention.
    So let's visualize the REAL WORLD, of using the watch, while cycling on races in different places in the world. 
    You go to the race place, looking at the weather from the morning report, you see the weather (in reality of the remote place of 100s of kilometers away), that shows a nice sunny day, then you go to your race start with poring rain, then you start your race and watch, (that is mounted on your handlebars). And after 15 seconds the watch screen will go dark, and you will not see anything that the watch shows, then you will entertain yourself with gestures and mess with your watch, by touching and pushing buttons during the entire race to see something (it is dangerous, especially on mountain biking, etc., why these profiles even exist in this watch if you can not use it for this sports). Instead, I could just enjoy the race and just SIMPLY look to watch, what my metrics are. Is it really too much to ask? 
    AND if you are still alive after the dangerous race and frustration, then you think, "How great that I have the newest Garmin 965 AMOLED ALWAYS-ON watch for 700 USD." 
    So where is common sense here, how did we even come to this that we need to talk about such obvious things like the need to see what watch shows during exercise, on your location? 
    Do manufacturers or users live in some kind of different reality?
    Here is definitely some thinking/discussion needed with people involved what are we doing here and where we are going so.
    I really hope I can finally talk with Garmin's Technical Team Lead (not usual customer service), a Team Lead who understands the seriousness of the problem and has the power to solve the issue finally for everyone.
    This is VERY important.
    I'll wait for a reply and help from Garmin.
  • +1 over 1 year ago in reply to Activeman

    , I apologize that I missed your comment when you first replied.

    I am very sorry that your new watch is also unviewable while outdoors. While our AMOLED displays automatically dim even when Always On is enabled, the screen should still be readable. This increases the screen's longevity, but I definitely understand the desire for a 'No Timeout' setting. The display should only turn completely off (showing a blank screen) when Always On is disabled. 

    We are aware that some devices are dimming too aggressively, even when 'Always On' is enabled. These reports are still escalated and still being actively investigated by our engineers. Since your new device is experiencing the same dramatically dim or blank screen, you will need to reach out to your support center in Ireland. They would also be your contact if you wish to escalate any concerns to a supervisor. HERE is their direct link, and I suggest that you call in to speak with an agent over the phone (0808 238 0000). I will send you a DM in case you have any follow up questions or concerns.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

    Hi Garmin-Sierra,

    Thank you so much for your quick reply. It means a lot and gives us hope that we'll have a perfect sports watch for our activities.

    I'll follow your instructions, and hopefully, we'll find proper solutions ASAP to the mentioned very important problems.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra
    Garmin-Sierra said:
    We are aware that some devices are dimming too aggressively

    Hello, did you understand, that we are talking about ALL devices with AMOLED display? And how will it help to talk to an agent over the phone as you already have all information here in this thread?

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Anthony

    Yes, our report includes the FR 265 as well. Not all X65's are experiencing this, however. I suggested reaching out to Garmin Support in their specific region because they needed further escalated support, most likely with a supervisor. This must be handled in their region.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

    Hello again, but i dont get it: All information Gamin needs is here. Why not use this information, improve the product and everybody is happy?

    Talking to somebody in a callcenter is absolutely wasted time. So who is responsible to fix this issue?

    PS: I own a Forerunner 965 where each and every watch sold by Garmin dimms the screen after a few seconds. Always. By design. The information, that it does not affect all watches is simply not true. 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Anthony

    There are several, very strong reasons for that, so I'd be very surprised if this will be fixed, at all.

    1) less dimming - less battery time. basically, garmin will lose the very main reason people chose it over the apple watch

    2) they fear of facing with a lot of warranty issues with screen burn-in

    3) if you have an almost great watch (with one serious issue) then you are hurry to buy the new version, especially, when no influencers mention this issue in the new edition

    The support do have strict policies how to act, they must keep saying, that it is a unique problem, even when everybody knows that it is by design and won't change ever.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Anthony

    The screen dimming is by design. However, we have been tracking and investigating reports regarding the auto-dimming feature dimming the screen too greatly when outside. Devices that are suffering this disruption have a display that appears nearly completely black outside

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

    The “solution” is to run when the sun is down.

    Since a couple of weeks, during my training at my athletics club, I noticed the screen is always on after sun set. When you gesture you see the watch change from bright enough go to even brighter. But the bright enough is already readable. 

    If it is possible during workouts after sun set, then why isn’t is possible to have real always on during workouts during the day?

    The gesture to wake up the screen really isn’t good enough. It isn’t always recognized and the screen is slow to react. Specially during fast intervals on a track. It’s a sportwatch, not a lifestyle watch. Please make sure it works during sport.