Anyone else regret going with the 645?

Yes I regret it as well. it feels like the product is already end of life after the launch of 245 (cheap & lower model number but with more premium features) and the 945. The watch is crashing continiously. Garmin fails to provide any updates on 1) the buggy software, 2) future updates and product features vs the 245 (if any).

I tried to tempt myself with the 945 or a Fenix 6 specs, but the 645M does everything I need except open water swimming. Otherwise the new watches don't add anything that seems useful/valuable/enticing to me except maybe more battery (but mine never runs down anyway).

A friend gave me a Fenix 2 for OWS, but I don't use it as much as I expected and I understand why OWS is a technically difficult thing to track, so having read DC Rainmaker's moan about Garmin software and OWS not really working anyway I went off trying to solve that problem.

I'm generally dissatisfied with the sleep tracking and analysis algorithms, which is annoying as it was in fact the main reason I started on the path to upgrading my cheap fitness tracker and moved to Garmin.

Other than these issues, I am 100% satisfied with my FR645M and have no desire to buy anything else even though I could.  I don't find it to be buggy at all any more.  Live pace in particular seems reasonably accurate as I'm running but can only glance at it and doesn't vary unexpectedly - and certainly not to the range you're describing.  Yes the altimeter claims I have changed elevation despite running in a loop, but I run in the morning so I am certain the air temperature and barometric pressure are changing over that time.  My watch does not freeze after saving a run, and I can't remember the last time it crashed though there were a few issues when I first got it over two years ago now.  I researched and knew before buying that the OHR would not work reliably for workouts, so I bought a Scosche armband at the same time.  I did buy the watch directly from Garmin in the US, and I do wonder from all the complaints whether there is a problem with counterfeits on the market.

This is my first Garmin watch and it has literally changed my life.  I used to 'aim to' do indoor rowing a few times a week, now I do Monday Wednesday Friday cardio and running, 20k/week.  So no, I don't regret it at all.

My experience is quite different. 645M is my second Garmin watch as well (came from a Vivoactive HR) and I have had it for 18 months. I run 5-10km 6-7 days a week plus also do elliptical and other gym work outs. I also listen to music and/or audio alerts while running. Overall the 645M has been stable and worked well for me. The current pace stated during runs is overall correct and the gps tracking of the route is pretty ok. I would agree altimeter is not as good as I would hope but I run the same few routes each day.

I just switched to the new Fenix 6 pro and found the experience poor (screen defect, OHR firmware bug, very poor GPS tracking) so I am returning it and reverting back to my Forerunner 645M for now. Personally for me the 645M has been great and I highly recommend it.

regards

TheSalamander

Totally agree on how the 245 and 945 seem to be what Garmin want people to go to now totally forgetting the 645 is hardly end of life yet. 

I’m no expert but I would imagine it’s quite difficult to get a counterfeit, the technology would surely still be quite prohibitive to do on the cheap and the constant talking back and fourth with Connect, getting updates etc would mean any fakes could easily be killed off by Garmin remotely? 

Glad yours is doing what it should though and like you my original plan was to mostly row indoors now I rarely go on the rower and having a watch really took my interest in running up a level with the whole idea of pacing and HR coming into effect. 

I’ve just had a quick look at the Fenix 6 forums to see what thoughts were and it is one I’d avoid for now at least! Of course most people come here to discuss issues I would imagine and not just say how good they think their watch is which is partly why I made a post to get a more rounded view. 

I think that the root cause is that Garmin lowered on software quality control. The watch worked better when I bought them in the start of year than it works now. It should be the opposite.

Maybe the amount of new models forced them to refactor a lot of code, which affected 645M too. And it was not better tested.

I still hope that Garmin will work hard to polish, test and, perhaps, improve the SW for this watch. There is a lot of companies trying hard to get some portion of this juicy market and it would be pitty for Garmin to loose customers.

I have owned a 645M for the last year after previously owning a 935 but wanted built in music, Garmin Pay and a generally smaller watch. I have had to put up with erratic lap pace and an unreliable barometric altimeter that requires constant calibration. I have also sent back my first 645 due to the buttons going soft / spongy after a few months. The same thing has happened to the 2nd unit. So that has gone back to the retailer too and I am now using a Fenix 6S Pro which has so far addressed all of the 645's shortcomings and it feels like it is built to last longer than a year. I am very happy with the purchase even though it was a lot more money. But at least my runs won't be starting underwater from now on.

Love mine. Went from the original VA to a 230, then a VA3, and now 645M. Solid for me, love it. No complaints at all.

I'll add some additional thoughts having just sent back my Fenix 6 titanium sapphire ($999) due to a screen defect. However, through the experience I have come to realize that for me these fitness watches are 'disposable assets', similar to my iphone, and that I will upgrade/replace them on a regular basis. For my iPhone it is every year, for my Garmin watch it will likely be every 2 years as that seems to be the approximate refresh cycle we see from Garmin.

When I bought my 645M on launch day (March 2018) it met my needs and had advanced features such as audio/music, training status, vo2 max etc. Now 18 months later Garmin has pushed those features to be much more common across their range of devices. They have also launched new features such as Body Battery, Pace Pro etc. That is progress....

Now I wish they would implement Body Battery and Pace Pro as a software update to the 645 since I don't believe there are any hardware limitations.

The reality is I will likely go for the 655 when it is released next year, but there is a chance I will go for a cheaper variant of the Fenix 6 Pro depending on what the cost difference is, but once again with an aim of getting 2 years of use before upgrading so I can get whatever new features Garmin has launched.

If I was buying a new 645M now, then I think that would be quite different, and Garmin needs to do some more software updates to make it more feature competitive against other more recent and forthcoming Garmin watches.

I get through a pair of $100 running shoes every 3-4 months, so spending $400-$500 on a running watch that I use every day with a life span of 2 years is fine for me personally. I then either sell or give away the watch. One of my brothers on the other hand still has his 4.5 year old Fenix 3 and seems more than happy to keep with that. I am however much more focused on leveraging the data I get from the newer devices to improve my running.

Most of my brothers/sisters/in laws are in the Garmin eco-system so I don't see myself leaving it as we compete virtually against each other. My wife has an Apple Watch and I tried it for a day and realized it wasn't for me. 

One thing I have realized with Garmin, is the amount of inconsistency that we see even within a single model. Whether it is a 645 or a Fenix 6 - some people have no issues, other people have a lot of issues even for something as basic as the OHR sensor working.

TheSalamander