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Upgrade

7157910
over 3 years ago

My 935 has some issue. It is out of warranty so Garmin support offered me two choices: Exchange with refurbished 945 for $60 or 745 for $30. 

Which option should I take or should I ask for another refurbished 935? 

I read some reviews that when 945 was released, there were some GPS accuracy issues. Are they fixed in the latest firmware?

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I think the general perception is that the Sony GPS chipset in the 945 and 745 can be slightly less accurate in challenging GPS conditions (eg. around tall building, tree canopy) than the Mediatek chipset that powered the 935. But it also consumes significantly less power, and nearly all producers of comparable watches have moved to the Sony chipset in recent years as well as Garmin. The 745 and 945 offer more advanced training metrics, play music and support more sophisticated Connect IQ features.

    The 745 is slightly smaller and lighter than the 935 and 945, but the 945 has mapping and an awesome battery life. If I were in your shoes and someone offered me a 945 at $60, I'd jump at the chance.

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Thanks, mcalista. 945 is better in oHR based on my reading of reviews.

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Would go for the 945 for sure, switched from the 935 to 945 myself and must say I don't see or have any GPS issues...

    OHR doesn't seem to work well for me but all in all the watch is great.

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I upgraded my 945 to the 745. It's nicer having a smaller yet still chunky watch especially wearing all day and sleeping. Also the 745 watch face with training load is so good. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I went for the upgrade and received FR 945 yesterday. Today I took it for a 95 min run on my usual route. Here are my findings,

    1) The display is better than 935, good contrast and clear, maybe due to the new glass or display tech, though the resolution is the same as 935.

    2) The response is super fast compared to 935, thanks to new CPU and bigger memory.

    3) The new oHR v3 is more elevated and hence leaves a mark on my skin after running. Overall HR reading is similar to 935.

    4) By spec, it is 1g heavier than 935 but somehow I feel lighter, maybe due to the band?

    5) GPS lock is noticeably slower than 935 but better than my old vivosport (I still use it as activity tracker). By default 945 has GPS+GLONASS enabled while 935 GPS only. In their default settings, the distance seems no major difference (0.02 mile off for 10 miles).

    6) Elevation is the same as 935, with 2 feet off for 1280 feet

    7) In idle state, it uses 1% (83% to 82%) battery in about 10 hr (I turn off activity tracking as I use 935/945 for running only. However, I do not shut them off everyday as devices last longer without constant on/off). For the 95 min run, it uses 11% (82% to 71%) battery. I feel I used more battery than usual as I constantly switch between heart rate and map pages hence turning on backlight often (I changed backlight timeout from default 8 to 15 sec). I think 945 should be able to last 16 hours for running in GPS+GLONASS mode.

    8) The map is great. I got lost twice by using 935 breadcrumb navigation, which could be avoided if I had 945 map.

    9) I do not listen music during run for safety reason so cannot take advantage 945's music feature.

    10) Overall, it is a worthwhile upgrade for $60. My only complain is GPS locking.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to 7157910

    GPS locking is somewhat it depends. Sometimes it's really fast couple of seconds and sometimes minute or two. And no, this is not due to CPE being expired. No idea due to what.