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Just got a pair of fresh 945s - couple questions

Hi all,

After much debate, my wife and I updated our watches to this model, and I have a few questions/observations.

1. I don't have access to the boxes anymore, but from reading a different thread, our watches have a musical note on the "Back" button instead of chevrons. Does that mean they're a newer revision? All our buttons are nice and clicky; a far cry from my Fenix, but, much better than the 935 she had. I posted this concern in another thread where I wasn't sure about doing this upgrade primarily because of that reason, but for now it doesn't seem like it will be a cause for concern down the road. The "Start" activity button in particular is almost as stiff and clicky as my Fenix, which is really nice.

2. The North American topo map download is enormous. Do I actually need this, or does the full map exist already on the watch? I don't care much about staying current, the trails we hike/run on are older than the trail dirt itself.

3. I had the iOS 13 bug pop up this AM where it wasn't syncing to my phone at all, so I restarted the watch, and it took a LONG time to shut down. Like five full minutes. Every Garmin I've ever had, it's been an almost instant shutdown. Is this normal?

4. The body battery and PulseOx are just cool. A little gimmicky, but the PulseOx in particular could be nice down the road. I'm sure body battery will tell me I should be getting some more sleep, LOL.

5. Beyond annoyed they didn't include a QuickFit band on a $600 retail watch. Seriously, Garmin?

6. REALLY like the additional info on the widgets. The fact it tells me my estimated 5k time every time I go by the VO2Max widget is a little intimidating.

7. The new screen is MONEY. Love how clear and bright it is compared to older Garmins. In fact, I had to turn the brightness down on the screen, it's straight up blinding in the dark.

8. I've now done two GPS activities, and wow. This thing is dead nuts accurate compared to my older Garmins. Really, really pleased with this. Can't wait to hit the trails tomorrow and see what it does!

9. Six data fields. YES. Finally, I don't have to scroll up every time I want to check the time.

Overall, well worth the upgrade so far!

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0 Levon over 5 years ago

Re #5 Yeah, I was surprised by that too, my friend's 245M has those quick release bands ..

0 KubrickFr over 5 years ago

AFAIK & IMHO:

Musical note on the down button? I've had rev C&D both have a note on the down button and a lap icon on the back button.
If you don't need the US topo map and prefer to have space for something else, feel free to deletete the huge map file, but Garmin Express will probably insist on re-writing it.
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Unfortunately, many people (acectodal evidence from the forum I must confess) find sleep tracking on the 945 very poor compared to previous versions
I have bough a few quickfit bands (Garmin branded and others) and none of them is as comfortable as the "normal" one, but maybe it's just because I have small wrists...
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yep, pretty cool power use vs clarity ratio :)
Interesting, I have so far heard that the new GPS chip (by Sony) is way better at power saving but not as accurate. Personally, I run with a friend who has Forerunner 735XT and the "old" garmin GPS unit, and I can't say I see accuracy difference between the two, so I'm happy with the power saving :D
Yep!

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

rtperna

may I wish you both many enjoyable sporting hours with your new number cruncher

happy & safe sporting

0 5334765 over 5 years ago

1. Rev D is the latest, and has the best chance of good buttons. That info is on the box though.

2. Maps are on the watch. The update is a full file, it is a replacement of the file on the watch, not added content.

3. There have been ios issues after ios 13. Go to garmin support, follow the banner to make sure settings are correct. Hold light key for 15 seconds and it'll kill the watch immediately.

4. Pulseox is a cool idea, but not sure the usefulness. Turn it completely off if you actually want good battery life.

5. Annoying. Aftermarket ones are pretty cheap and decent quality. The stock is pretty good. Those are the only reasons I'm not more annoyed.

0 rtperna over 5 years ago

Thanks all - glad to see I'm not the only one shocked by the lack of a QuickFit band! And yep - we upgraded our watches partially to motivate us next year. We both have some pretty ambitious race goals, and looking forward to seeing what these watches can do for us! I forgot to add that I do like the weight as well vs. my Fenix. When I'm cranking along, I definitely notice the weight, where the 945 just kind of disappears.

Kubrick - yes, there is a musical note engraved on the button marked "Down" on the watch face. And, yeah, I'll go aftermarket for the QuickFit. If I'd been thinking I would have swapped bands with the Fenix before I sold it!

0 hpaixao over 5 years ago

As a new user of a 945 ( i come from a 235), allow me a question:

1) On 235 the HR sensor light turn off a few minutes without any activite... in the 945 the HR senson continues blinking?! Is this normal? Shouldn't he turn off a few minutes too?! (I have the PulseOX turned off)

0 Levon over 5 years ago in reply to hpaixao

I'm pretty sure min turns off after a while .. but I haven't timed it.

0 hpaixao over 5 years ago in reply to Levon

Are you sure about that?!?! I have been watching along time... And he continues to blinking. Like I said I don't have the pulse ox on, neither the paycard on.

Strange...

0 Levon over 5 years ago in reply to hpaixao

Yup, I just tried it after your most recent message, took only about 10 seconds or less for it to shut down the two green blinking LEDs (I also have pulse ox turned off)

(just timed it, about 5 seconds)

Maybe others can chime in about their experience - more data points.

0 hpaixao over 5 years ago in reply to Levon

Ok, let's see what other say about this.