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Forerunner 265S headphones connection constantly disconnecting

9943250
3 months ago

Hi,

I bought the Forerunner 265s Music mainly for the music part but I am baffled by how bad it is. My headphones disconnect after 5 seconds of using them so it's literally unusable and now I just take my phone with me during runs which kills the point of getting the 265s music. I looked up around and see some people struggling with this but I realize no one to the level I'm facing. 

Here's the headphones I tried with it:

- Aipods pro

- Sony wh-1000xm4

- Galaxy buds pro

- Shokz openrun pro (I bought these mainly to use them with 265s after reading that they work well with it but even these disconnect instantly)

I'm aware of this garmin support page for tips https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=FnVJLBvvw51RfH3OE2YUO6. I followed it all, my watch is up to date, wore it on a different wrist, disconnected my phone, ran indoor but to no avail, tried it sitting on my desk with the watch 10cm from the headphones, still unusable, like why would they advertise it like this???

I'm confused because I never had this issue with all the smartwatches I've had, anyone faced the same problem? is my watch faulty? or should I just give up on garmin watches for headphones connection? Disappointed

  • 0 3 months ago

    I have the exact same issue!  I've tried everything but no resolution.  Very frustrating and disappointing.

  • 0 1 month ago

    I am also having this issue and wasn't sure if it was my headphones that are the problem or the watch.  I just bought a FR 265S last week and have gone on two runs using bluetooth headphones.  The first one had only a handful of disconnections, but on yesterday's run it was constant, like every few seconds.  If I pause the music and then restart, it seems to stay connected for a minute or two, but then quickly back to nearly constant (and random) cut-outs.

    I bought the headphones on Amazon, and searched through all the reviews, and there are no mentions of any connection problems.  So I can assume the problem is not caused by the headphones themselves.

    Next I came to this forum and searched on "Forerunner dropping bluetooth connection" and discovered I am not alone!  There a LOT of posts about this same problem on the 255 forum page.  So it seems like it's a Garmin problem.  I am going to try the suggestions I've read on other posts:  Disabling the phone connection, resetting the headphones, wearing the watch on the other wrist (although that would be a major drag since I've only worn a watch on my left wrist for my entire life), etc.

    I really hope this is not one of those problems inherent to Garmin and that they never fix.  I JUST bought this watch and am liking it so far, except for this major flaw.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to lytleric

    Had the same issue.  Call Garmin support.  They replaced my new 265 and problem was resolved.

  • 0 1 month ago

    Had the same issue.  Call Garmin support.  They replaced my new 265 and problem was resolved.

  • 0 1 month ago

    I had the same issue. I contacted Garmin and they quickly swapped out the watch, even though it was out of warranty. Now music works perfectly! 

  • 0 11 days ago

    I have the same problem as everyone else.  

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to JonVV

    I did the same. Garmin Support had me update the firmware to the latest version, which I did but that didn't fix it.  So they sent me a replacement (recertified) watch.  I just got the replacement and it has the exact same issue -- frequent and random disconnections on my first run.  I am now wondering if the issue is the headphones themselves, but based on the number of people with the same problem, I doubt it. But still I might try a different set of headphones to see if that makes any difference.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to lytleric

    It sounds like you may have been sent a refurbished watch?  If the problem continues, try insisting on a new (unused) factory replacement.  The issue seems to lie in the early production of the 265 and many of these watches are being returned and possibly "recycled".

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to lytleric

    Our replacement worked with Powerbeats and shokz headphones. The original would not work.

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to 5975133

    True - it is a refurb. I went out on a run today and used my wife's Airpods as another test.  Over the 1-hour run, it cut out four times, but each only was only for one time.  With my other headphones, they would repeatedly cut out several times for each episode. So the Airpods overall were better, but still did not maintain 100% connection. So maybe my cheap Amazon bluetooth headphones are part of the problem (although it never happens when connected to my phone).  I'm going to try both sets a few more times, and if the problem persists, I'll try to get Garmin to give me a brand new (not refurbed) watch.