This discussion has been locked.

You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

is the garmin heart rate monitor any better on the forerunner 265 versus forerunner 945?

I currently own a F945. Fairly happy with it .. except for the wrist heart rate monitor. I find it somewhat inconsistent (can be way too high .. or too low for the activity at hand). I do own a chest strap but sometimes choose not to wear it during workout.

I'm considering upgrading to a F265 .. but would want to know if the HR technology/hardware is any better/different on the F265 vs F945.

Thank you.

Top Replies

All Replies

+1 pxl over 1 year ago

The wrist HR on the F265 is unusable at this point due to a software bug that pretty consistently exists across all new(er) releases:
Heart Rate Bug, Rapid rise - Forerunner 965 - Running/Multisport - Garmin Forums
High Heart Rate - Forerunner 955 Series - Running/Multisport - Garmin Forums
New Heartrate bug - HR spikes to 180 for no reason - Epix (Gen 2) Series - Wearables - Garmin Forums

Keep away from all new garmin watches if the wrist HR (and basically all the metrics the watch could provide) are important for you.

0 Bobgott over 1 year ago in reply to pxl

Well, this is depressing. My F945 is not better/worse than the F955 (hence I assume this holds for many others like your reply has shown)

0 pxl over 1 year ago in reply to Bobgott

not sure. my Fenix 6 never ever produced this issue - maybe it is way too old to get that branch with this "new and optimized" HR algorithm?

0 4809124 over 1 year ago in reply to pxl

Just bought the F265S last week and immediately noticed that the HR readings were really high - around 200-220 BPM for some of my runs. That never happened with the Venu 1, which I think gave me more accurate HR data. I'm guessing the watch is picking up my cadence or steps, but the software bug also makes sense. Also, Venu 1 gave me better sleep scores whereas 265S always gave me very poor scores. I hope Garmin fixes this asap.

0 Bobgott over 1 year ago in reply to 4809124

I first noticed this irregularity over a year ago. I can actually duplicate the problem just by swinging my arms .. doing basic weights, light cardio .. my HR will jump up by 30pts just by me swinging my arms.

I am NOT hopeful this will be fixed anytime soon.

0 thomas_nors over 1 year ago

I have just done a turbo workout this morning where the Garmin chest strap and my FR265 matched totally so I am not seeing this problem. but then I have only had the watch a week. make sure the watch is on quite tightly if you are doing running etc

0 Bobgott over 1 year ago in reply to thomas_nors

My chest strap works as well, this post is only in regards to the wrist heart rate monitor.

0 thomas_nors over 1 year ago in reply to Bobgott

my point was that it matched my watch perfectly so in my case there doesn't seem to be a problem - and that wrist size and fit of watch really can make a big difference - I have been wearing smart watches for many years and generally they match well

0 Bobgott over 1 year ago in reply to thomas_nors

Understood on your comparison. My watch is on tight .. and yet my HR is way too high for the exercises I am doing.

0 Djoul1450 over 1 year ago in reply to Bobgott

Same here, whitout fix i use my polar h9 and sometimes I still have bug at the start of my footing…