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Forerunner 955 - Bugs and issues

FlipStone
over 2 years ago

I thought it might be nice, or usefull, to have a single topic with confirmed bugs and issues with the forerunner 955 watches. Having the solar myself and noticing at least 2 serious bugs, this is good to know for users and Garmin themselves. Perhaps it can be stickied?

People can comment or mention bugs in the comments, or message me directly, and if confirmed by others (or me) I will update the main post. Preferably with as much info as possible.

BUGS

Maps and navigation

  • Navigate -> Use map: Impossible to select target location (FW 10.10)
    https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-955-series/296161/can-t-select-target-using-map-to-navigate

    Trying to use the map to navigate to a target point doesn't work. Most of the times the crossharis needed to select a location aren't visible and long-pressing start (usually needed to select the location) doesn't do anything. There are also no other ways to select a location on the map. Sometimes they DO appear and selecting the location is possible, however actually starting the navigation reboots the watch.

    *Edit*
    This seems to happen when the location you select results in multiple options (in my case for example ', , ') if I somehow am able to select a location with no alternative options it does not seem to crash. Crosshairs still appear only the first (few?) times after a reboot.

  • Starting a course directly from the "Navigation" app redirects you to the 'Navigation selection screen' (which  is then a bit hard to get out of)
    https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-955-series/298420/cant-start-a-course-on-my-fr-955/1443050#1443050

    When going to the Navigation activity and select a course to follow it seems to load the course but then redirects you to the same selection screen where you get the option to again select a course, point of interest, etc. Pressing back once stays in the navigation screen, you need to press back a few times quickly to exit. When then starting another activity the course selected above IS loaded. Other ways such as selecting a saved location DO work and selecting a course for navigation directly from another activity also works.

  • Some custom maps might crash watch?

    Hard to verify

  • Incorrect/garbled rendering of custom maps
    https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-955-series/301385/rendering-of-custom-maps-broken/

    3rd party OSM based maps seem to render incorrectly, while working on the fenix 7 and FR945 watches.

  • Autozoom - Map toggles between extremely zoomed out view and normal zoom level (when showing turns/changing view?) during navigation

    While using navigation and with map autozoom set to enabled, the map screen switches between a way zoomed out state making it impossible to see context regarding streets, etc and normal view when you switch screens or when an instruction is shown. Again switching screens toggles it back, this actually could be reproduced constently (both during cycling as walking activities). When autozoom is disabled and setting a specific zoom level manually this doesn't happen.

  • Map Zoom level reverts back to default (FW 10.10)

    When zooming in or out of the map the zoom level is not retained, it however reverts back to the default zoom level when going back to the map/different screen. Scrolling/pannign around IS saved/stored.

    Apparently this is by design, and can be fixed by turning of auto-zoom for maps:
    https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-955-series/296512/forerunner-955---bugs-and-issues/1433961#1433961

Touch:

  • Swipe from left to right on the map (in order to pan) triggers the menu to open

    When making the swip motion from left to right on the map to pan it will open the menu (and exiting can reset zoom on map if autozoom is set). A workaround is to either swipe slowly, or don't remove your finger from the screen right away but let it rest for just a bit longer before releasing the touch screen (might take some getting used to). Not limited to maps, also in other screens.

    Fixed in 11.12

  • Touch with a map screen in an activity only works when "General Touch" is enabled

    When touch is enabled for an activity but not for general use, touch can not be used on the map-datafield for that specific activity. The map touch funcitonality ONLY works when general touch use is enabled, no matter the specific activity settings

  • Widgets are not touch interactive

    Unlike with other touch devices, trying to use touch to scroll through graphs on widgets does not work.

System:

ConnectIQ:

Widgets:

Activities:

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Still in 10.10:
    Random crashes whenever you press ANY button. Problem then persists for several (up to 15) reboots before eventually hiding for a some time.
    While the problem persists, the watch is just useless as you cannot perform ANY input via button (touchscreen not tested as it is disabled most if the time).

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I really don't like that lists are not updated after changes. You dismiss a message, it stays in the overview counter. You edit a name of a stored GPS position, you still see the old name and so on...

    Warning - dont edit your favorit GPS positions (especially using the Garmin Connect app). Since I did so, the fit file seems to be corrupted. I have two positions stored now, as soon a 3rd is saved, the 2nd will be changed automatically (nil name, nil coordinates, -499m sea level)

    And - not a bug, but just awful - why editing the coordinates (or other numbers) does not show a keyboard 0...9 at the edge like for alphanumeric data?

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to MikeDozer

    Sounds bad but to be honest i don't dare to try and reproduce it because I don't want to reset my watch ...

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to PUFFOLINO

    Hadn't noticed this one yet but you're right, will update topic when behind computer

  • 0 over 2 years ago
    FlipStone said:
    Missing widgets (FW 10.10)
    https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-955-series/296458/health-stats-widget-missing

    Maybe not a bug, but still an issue or not following the manual. Health Stats widget is missing, as is Device Usage. Very useful widgets and would be a shame if not available.

    This is by design:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/vak0qj/my_day_widget_forerunner_955/ic2vx48/?context=3

    "Garmin changed how the Widgets work two years ago.
    The widgets you see now are mini versions of watch apps (the apps you can start via the start button) running in the background. That means higher reliability, higher security and easier programming esp for third party programmers, but also that widgets cannot get informations from other apps.
    The latter unfortunately was the end of such summary widgets like My Day."

    Not sure if I understand/agree with the reasoning here.

    The reddit comment seems to imply that the implementation of glances and "super apps" (combined device apps / widgets) in 955 means that widgets can do less than before?

    I don't think that's the case:

    1) Glances only affect the top-level view of a widget, not what data it can access

    2) "Super apps" only affect how a CIQ app / widget is packaged/distributed, not what it can do, afaik. IOW there's one download total for the "device app" and the widget, as opposed to 1 download each. I doubt there's any impact on native widgets here.

    3) CIQ widgets have never been able to get "information from other apps" so to speak -- they can only access whatever information is available via the CIQ api. Afaik the CIQ API didn't remove a whole bunch of functions/data for widgets that use glances.

    4) Native widgets likely have access to information that CIQ widgets don't, either way

    5) I have a 945 LTE, which has widget glances but not super apps, and also lacks My Day. The Connect IQ app My Day Advanced is available for 945 LTE, which displays the same info as My Day, Steps, Floors, Intensity Minutes and Calories Burned. Although 945 LTE does lack the My Day widget (for whatever reason), the existence of a CIQ app that does the same thing sort of contradicts the reddit comment, unless there really is something about super apps which prevents a widget from displaying a count of steps, floors, intensity minutes and calories burned

    It seems more likely that Garmin thought a summary widget like My Day which displays 4 metrics in a full screen view doesn't make any sense anymore, now that glances have been introduced and the user can see 3 separate widget glances (such as Steps, Floors and Calories) at the same time.

    Nonetheless, My Day Advanced still has a glance view (although it's far less useful than the full screen view.) There's not enough room to show all the numbers, so it just shows a small pie chart for each metric.

    TL;DR I think the reddit comment is pure speculation based on the shift to glances (and to a lesser extent, super apps) - the assumption was made that widgets can do less now. I think the reality is that they're supposed to do less (as their default view takes up 1/3 of the screen instead of the full screen), but their capabilities haven't changed.

    IOW, Garmin likely doesn't think a 4-in-1 widget makes any sense when you can already see 3 widget glances at the same time.

    But just because Garmin apparently decided My Day doesn't make sense, that doesn't mean the a widget like My Day can no longer exist (as evidenced by My Day Advanced.) I'm fairly sure My Day Advanced could be ported to 955 or any of the newer watches. It's already out for Fenix 7*.

    All that is to say: those widgets may be missing by design, but not out of any new technical limitation (my educated guess.)

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to FlowState

    I did notice that when I create a widget, without glance implemented, they don't appear in the widget list... Also, the custom widgets I make appear in the common apps list (so with the rest of the activities) which seems to indicate they are indeed apps but with a summary being displayed as a widget glance...

    However, it still is by design that the widget is missing so calling it a bug isn't exactly true. An issue, maybe (surely for part of the users) but yeah, bit of in the zone in between I'd say

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to FlipStone
    FlipStone said:
    I did notice that when I create a widget, without glance implemented, they don't appear in the widget list... Also, the custom widgets I make appear in the common apps list (so with the rest of the activities) which seems to indicate they are indeed apps but with a summary being displayed as a widget glance...

    Yeah, that's part of the "super app" thing, but it doesn't mean that widgets can no longer access the same information as before, as the reddit comment implies.

    945 LTE also lacks My Day, and it doesn't have super apps (but it does have glances), so it seems the switch to super apps (in and itself) has nothing to do with that decision.

    As I commented above, I believe the reason widgets like My Day were removed is simply that they display too much information (requiring a full screen), which doesn't make sense with glances.

    Also as commented above, CIQ My Day Advanced exists for 945 LTE (which lacks My Day), so that also contradicts the idea that the switch to glances (in and of itself) *prevents* Garmin or a CIQ developer from implementing My Day.

    I can't know for sure, but I just think Garmin doesn't think My Day makes sense unless the top-level view for a widget is the full page. As a matter of fact, the glance for My Day Advanced is just 4 pie charts, which is arguably less useful than seeing all 4 numbers. With glances, you could just install all 4 widgets and 3 out 4 numbers at the same time. (I still use My Day Advanced tho, as I don't mind clicking through the widget to the get to the full screen.)

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to FlowState

    Anyway, I know that the actual issue is about Device Usage and Health Status, but since the reddit comment refers to My Day, at least we know that My Day Advanced exists, and that it can likely be ported to all the new devices (it's already on Fenix 7).

    Anyway, TL;DR I agree that Garmin may have removed some widgets by design, but not because it's impossible to implement them now, as the reddit comment implies, but probably because they don't make sense in the new glance paradigm where each glance takes up 1/3 of the screen instead of the full screen. (At least in the case of My Day -- TBH I don't know what Device Usage and Health Status are lol.)

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Cn we add the lack of Weather to the bug list?  Seems as though a few of us are affected.  Open Weather seems fine, it's Garmin's weather app that shows no data. Using' Garmin's troubleshooting steps (checking location sharing permissions, running GC app, turning off/on) hasn't resolved the problem.

    This may only affect iOS16 Beta 1.  I've had no confirmation that anyone else affected is using any other phone OS.

    Thread - forums.garmin.com/.../not-seeing-weather-on-955

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Spiderpig

    I had the issue with my iOS16 Device and I just unpaired and paired to an older iOS 15.5 device and the weather is updating in the widget.