new firmware for 945lte

Does anyone have any idea when a firmware update will come to the 945LTE. I feel like it will come when Garmin releases the Fenix 7 or other Forerunners which will have new features that they are holing out releasing on the 945LTE.

I feel like the 945LTE was released too soon and not inline with other watches so it is not getting the updates necessary to make it the watch it can and should be.

  • Agree. The bugs I've encountered and seen on here are very specific to a user's usage. For instance, my only issue right now is specifically with my Jaybird earbuds and some weirdness around the music functionality. Everything related to the main usage (i.e. - running) has worked great. 

  • I was able to reproduce 90% of bugs reported in https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-945-lte/271922/forerunner-945-lte---v3-07---bug-mega-thread 

    And I am not even Garmin developer. So I'm "pretty" sure that the quality of software in this particular watch sucks. Hard.

  • Disagree.  I've been a long time Garmin user (about 10 years) and have had several different watches.  Though bugs exist, I have found the vast majority of "bugs"  mentioned are actually from user settings, IQ apps, a misunderstanding of how a feature works, or unreasonable expectations and not bugs at all.

    I'm kind of torn here.

    Positive:

    • I think my personal use of the 945LTE for basic Running/Cycling/Swimming would agree that major functional issues don't exist in these areas.

    Negatives:

    • The battery life as a smartwatch is probably 1/2 of what Garmin claims and is less than my 935 provided.
    • OWS (for me at least) seems to drain the battery at a very high rate (like 2-3x expectation with estimated full charge life of 3.5 hours), I suspect some strange behavior with swimming and LTE and believe it would seriously hurt chances of it making it to an average Full IM distance.
    • Other users have noted widget or features advertised by Garmin in the manual (perhaps the SUP or rowing stroke rate issues?) that are just missing.  I may enjoy using some of the missing advertised widgets, but I can't say they are game changers for me.

    Why am I torn?  The general behaviors seem to work, but... I just expect these to work.  Them doing so (working as expected) doesn't particularly satisfy the frustration when it seems that there are other lingering issues with advertised features or performance that appear ignored to this point.

    For my use can I live with the watch as-is?  Probably, but the feeling of being mislead on specifications and then ignored (not that either is necessarily decidedly true) leaves me with a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

    Will the experience steer me from Garmin?  Not yet, but the more the feeling ferments the more likely I am to consider it.  I'm a little "trapped" in the ecosystem though.  To this point no one has met my "needs" better.

    Like you, I've been a dedicated Garmin user / "fan" for over 13 years with numerous devices in the Run/Tri/Outdoor/Cycling space and (ironically?) this watch really is one of the more stable and bug-free experiences for me.

  • I just found out, that ski power (HRM Pro) doesn't work with the Forerunner 945 LTE. Support told me that this is a bug. One of many. In this nice conversation this support employee said, that the Forerunner 945 LTE is still Garmin's "worried child" (I don't know if this is the right translation for "Sorgenkind" in German). To me the firmware seems to be a like a early development build. I mean, when I turn the background of the data screens to black, some data fields are invisible (they are still rendered but with black color instead of white). Or the wrong font sizes of some data fields. How could this ever pass QA? These are not super weird and hard to reproduce bugs... They screwed this firmware completely up. But it's software, it can be fixed. The device itself is great.

  • i'm with . i've had this watch now for three months now. on first glance, it is doing essentially what i need it to do: track my running, cycling, hiking, and hopefully, swimming. (i haven't been in the pool since the purchase but hope to in the coming months)

    my day-to-day needs aren't as great as many of the other people who purchase this watch, so that's why i've been able to live with it and am hoping cautiously that Garmin will tackle some of the issues i have with it:

    - battery life: in smartwatch mode, it's definitely using significantly more power than my 935 (about 50% more). rather than giving me 16 days of life like my 935 (which was 4 years old when i sold it), i am getting about 11 days. it's liveable because it's not too hard to charge it a little sooner than before, but annoying.

    - not being able to use widgets during an activity without stopping GPS logging. this is a big one for me that is very frustrating. i'm hoping they will figure this out but the lackluster response from Garmin supportd doesn't leave me very hopeful.

    -interface bugs: double presses to read a notification, small type for HR on three field screen using HR gage, missing default widgets -- i am assuming these will be fixed in time but i have lived with them for 3 months.

    but i probably don't push this watch as hard as others do. my uses are pretty simple and its handled these simple tasks well enough. it's still an upgrade over my 935 with the slightly smaller diameter, maps, and new metrics (for me, the body battery and sleep score are actually pretty indicative of how i'm functioning). most of these could have been achieved by buying a 945 instead (which presumably wouldn't have the battery life issue nor the widget/GPS loggin issue), but i am hoping the extra $40 i spent (20% discount code) bought me a newer architecture (HR sensor and more responsive interface) will end up being a reasonable cost even if i'm currently on the bleeding edge with Garmin software/firmware. (i still recall some similar annoyances with the 935 when it came out)

  • Im lucky then, i use it h24 on heart rate and ox pulse at night. 3 runs by week and some bike too, mapping with trail running. The only thing its the livetrack via LTE, im not sure how to use it or its a bug from the watch.

  • This may be a crazy thought but I was thinking there are 3 FCC applications with short term confidentiality either 9/29 or 10/13. Maybe the bugs and issues will be resolved when it has the new firmware it was meant to get  


    https://fccid.io/IPH-04157
    Short term confidentiality 9/29
    BT & Wi-Fi
    Is this a 255 Music

    https://fccid.io/IPH-04158
    Short term confidentiality 9/29
    BT & Wi-Fi
    Could this be a 755, though it has no NFC I can see which is on the 745 for Garmin Pay

    https://fccid.io/IPH-04159
    Short term confidentiality 10/13
    BT only
    Is this a 255 base no music

    I was further thinking would Garmin update the name of the 945LTE to the 955.

    The line up would be 255, 255 Music, 755 no LTE and 955 which would have LTE (945LTE rebranded). This would make sense as the 745 and 945LTE are both Multi Sport watches except for the LTE and mapping.

    I think any new features on the x55 series could easily then be rolled out to the legacy 945LTE as it has the new chipset and elevate sensor.

  • what kind of battery life are you seeing with this type of usage?

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 2 years ago

    It’s genuinely weird that there’s no BETA firmware for this watch. Kinda unlike Garmin.