Related

Some recurring Focus Mode > Voice Alerts no longer working after update to 12.70

5271441

After updating to the latest firmware (12.70), my activity voice alerts set up through the Activity profile in the Focus Modes stopped working. They were working on the previous version of the firmware. These are the alerts set up through the following path: Watch Settings > Focus Modes > Activity > Voice Alerts > Pace/Speed Alerts or Heart Rate Alert. I have these set up to 1 minute and 2 minute recurring intervals respectively.

Things I've tried without success to solve this:

  • Turning the entire Focus Mode off and back on
  • Turning the individual recurring alerts off and back on
  • Turning Timer Events, Workout Alerts, Activity Alerts, off and back on
  • Turning the watch itself off and back on
  • Changing the Audio Output setting between Watch or Connected Devices
  • Resetting the entire Focus Mode to "Defaults" and setting up again
  • Setting up alternative activity type Focus Modes that are triggered specifically by the activities I'm doing (Run or Walk)
  • Changing the Alert Tones setting off and back on
  • Last ditch effort of restarting my phone

I should note that it seems there are some other alerts that are in fact working that are triggered by the Lap Alerts. It seems what's not working is triggered by the recurring timed alerts I have set up. Here's some screen shots of my current settings.

I'm not sure what else to try. But this seems like a new bug introduced in the latest firmware since it was working before and suddenly stopped after the update.

I depend on these alerts to aid in my running efficiency. So I need to get them working again.

  • 0 in reply to pattyduffy

    Log on Garmin Connect on your Mac/pc

    click top right on the screen on your photo

    select account parameters

    last option at the left of the sccreen = beta program

    after launch Garmin Express on your pc, Connect your watch with the cable. Click on your watch on the screen, select tools… click on your waitlist/view details and you’ll see in the list « Forerunner 970 software bundle » v15.12

    good luck, I haven’t tried yet

  • 0 in reply to pattyduffy

    You can join the beta program by going to the web version of Garmin Connect and clicking on the watch icon in the upper right hand corner. Then select your watch (Forerunner 970) and it will then have an option to join the beta program. After a minute or two you can then go to your watch and check for an update.

  • 0 in reply to Vivimos

    Can you confirm that the fix in the latest beta release is stable and works as expected for outdoor/indoor workouts (e.g. weights/running/trail running/MTB)??

  • 0 in reply to V4N3X

    It works well for outdoor race. I didn’t test for other workouts.

    Reagarding stability, no crash in 24 hours Wink

  • 0 in reply to Garmin-Hannah

    It's been several months with no update of a production release fix. I just recently purchased my FR970 to replace FR955.  Should I take my watch back to the retailer?

  • 0 in reply to bryanpate

    Trust me man,  I feel your pain.   I spent a ton of time complaining on this forum about my Enduro 3 and my wife's Vivoactive 6 not getting 1 min timed heart rate alerts.  I know how frustrating that can be for those of us who love using that feature. 

    I will warn you though,  there are people on this forum that want to tell you that you don't need that feature and you should be able to tell when you're heart rate is too fast,  ETC,  PLEASE ignore them because as a MTB competitor,  I actually use the 1 min alerts in the form of voice so that I never have to look at my bike computer or watch. 

    This feature has become invaluable to me personally so that I know when to slip in what I like to call my "goldie locks" gear on my MTB bike so I can recover slightly...    Sure, I can tell my when my breathing is labored, but I've grown accustomed to hearing the voice alert, and it helps me in a major wayto  juggle my effort.

    My advice to you is to check into the beta program for your watch because the latest beta for my Enduro 3 has finally fixed the focus mode heart rate alerts.   The only solution right now is to possibly join Beta and see if the latest update fixes it for you like it did me.

  • 0 in reply to johneric8

    For the 970, beta firmware 15.12 also brought back voice alerts from the focus mode settings. However, I don't think the alert occurs at every set interval (1, 2, etc.). I'm checking.

  • 0 in reply to Igor Petrov

    After testing beta version 15.12 over three runs in three days, the pace and heart rate alerts work very well through the EarPods, calibrated every minute.

    No abnormal behavior of my 970 observed over the past three days.

    One impact of the beta noted by Garmin: the ECG function is not available — not important to me.

  • 0 in reply to 5884750

    Looks like it's now gone into production.  Updated to 15.16 (non beta) this morning and alerts worked again on morning run.  The update is not appearing at the top of this forum yet, but you can get it by going to the watch system updates menu and checking for update. It failed on WiFi for me, but worked on update via Bluetooth 

  • 0 in reply to FunkyL

    Yes! It worked on mine as well after updating. I was able to do it via Wi-Fi. When I tried to do it via the Garmin Connect app, it didn't say an update was available. However, going through the watch itself, I was able to download and update. Thanks for letting us know as I wouldn't have known otherwise.

Copyright © 1996-2025 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries