Forerunner 970 - Recent Threads

Navigation inconsistencies between GCM and watch

PubBike — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:28:22 GMT

When I load a course onto the watch and then use it to navigate I get turn notifications on the bottom of the screen with the distance to the turn and audio alerts saying the same thing.

If I navigate to a saved location I get the street name and an arrow that takes up the whole screen.

I would like the street names when navigating a course but I am left wondering why is there is this inconsistencies between the device and GCM/CMW generated courses?

Anyone else seeing this?

Navigation notification of a turn far in the distance

PubBike — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:22:59 GMT

I have just been touring in the Alps and used the navigation most of the time. For large parts of my ride I would have a message on the bottom of the screen showing a turn in far in the distance as shown below

There were many turns indicated before the message on the bottom of the screen. Why is this

Ghost touches when scrolling through Menu

Tim — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 12:21:17 GMT

My new forerunner 970 has an issue where when I’m scrolling through the glances, it’ll sometimes act as if I clicked on a glance while I’m just scrolling. I notice there’s like a micro lag when this happens. Almost like it stops registering the scroll and registers a touch instead

had This issue on 3 Watches already.

RE: Ghost touches when scrolling through Menu

Tim — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:51:03 GMT

it’s more than 3 months since I started this thread and I just bought a new 970 to test if it has been fixed.
SN: 8N315 and it still has the issue. Since garmin doesn’t properly adress this issue I’m going to return this one aswell and will switch to Apple Watch again.

ClimbPro many issues

PubBike — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:10:46 GMT

I have just been touring in the Alps and tried to use ClimbPro. It doesn't seem to work properly.

In summary

- I can't get the ClimbPro screens to appear automatically

- It is cumbersome to manually show them

- Autoscroll doesn't work

- When I'm on the ClimbPro screens they disappear immediately before a climb

- the data on the current/next climb screen is unhelpful and the ETA estimate is very poor and inconsistent

I've explained the issues in more detail below. Is anyone else seeing these problems or is it just me?

the screens

The first problem I had was that although I had turned ClimbPro on in the app settings the climbing screens weren't showing up.

Then after searching on the web I realised I had to long press UP, make sure the current course is selected and then press START to see the screens.

I thought this was supposed to appear automatically on the climbs?

Then I found that as I was nearing a climb with the next climb screen showing up screen would disappear at the start of the climb and go back to the normal app screens.

So to get back to the climb screen I needed to press UP and START, and then DOWN, DOWN, DOWN to back to the climb screen.

I am trying to ride up a mountain so it is massive distraction to have to press so many buttons even with the watch strapped to my handlebars.

I also have Autoscroll enabled but it doesn't make any difference.

Setting it up

Having realised that this was not going to be easy then once I was in the ClimbPro screens on a climb I tried to adjust the settings from the current climb screen.

I found that when on a climb I pressed START->View Details->Navigation Settings-Alerts-ClimbPro that this setting was off and I could not set it to "When navigating" or anything else.

It refused to accept the change.

So the functionality to switch to the climbing screens when you reach a climb seems to be fully broken and does not work as advertised.

Using the screens...

Note that this was once of the rare occasions when the heading bug wasn't obscuring the elapsed time.

- Average gradient not helpful

On short climbs the screen is kind of okay.

On anything longer than a few km it is not useful.

Anyone who has ridden in the Alps will have seen the signs by the side of the road that say e.g. (translated) Gradient next km 8%.

ClimbPro doesn't show this. It only shows the average gradient for the remainder of the climb.

That is more or less useless because I can work that out for myself in my head from the distance remaining and the metres of climbing remaining.

I need to know the average gradient for the next km.

I found myself riding past signs saying "Average gradient next km 11%" and ClimbPro was blissfully in its ignorance proclaiming that the average gradient was 7%. This was not funny.

- ETA not helpful and confusing

Whilst the vertical speed is really useful the ETA derived from this seems completely wrong and excessively optimistic.

There are several problems with ETA. When not in a climb ETA shows an estimate of when you will reach the end of the course, but when on a climb it seems to show the estimated time of when you will reach the end of the current climb, but this is not pointed out anywhere on the screen so there is no obvious way of knowing what the the ETA is referring to if you are not in the ClimbPro screens and even then it is confusing.

Secondly, ETA does not do a good job. If I have say 1000m of climbing remaining and my vertical speed is around 500m per hour I can estimate my ETA myself to be around 2 hours from the current time. There is usually a lot of time to do this simple mental arithmetic in my head on a long climb and before my watch did it I would do it myself using the road markings. But the ClimbPro ETA does not seem to do such simple arithmetic and seems to continuously underestimate the ETA

- Colours only not very helpful

On most climbs I very rarely saw green with climbs dominated by red and amber. I don't think the thresholds are helpful.

For example why is this one all amber/yellow?

I would prefer something like

Red: 9% and above

Amber: 5% and above

Green: Everything else

In practice green seems to only appear when the gradient is around 1%. I couldn't find any info online about these colours.

There's some older information here https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/blog/using-climbpro-to-improve-your-climbing/ but it doesn't give a breakdown.

Perhaps it should be called ClimbEnthusiast or something to reflect the current functionality.

RE: Ghost touches when scrolling through Menu

Andy.Little — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:51:38 GMT

I cannot replicate the issue from the video swiping through the bottom menu. But I have the issue scrolling the evening and morning reports.

RE: Ghost touches when scrolling through Menu

Akhmed — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:38:27 GMT

Today I checked two more watches from the 8N315 series. All of them had a sensor issue—more pronounced on some, less so on others. They came with firmware version 16.28 out of the box.

RE: 4 months later, the music screen still isn't working

7581323 — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:35:49 GMT

Still having the same problem after updating

4 months later, the music screen still isn't working

7581323 — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:43:25 GMT

[View:/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/1059/20260821_5F00_173104.mp4:320:240]

When I scroll through the screens during an activity, the music screen just doesn't show up

Screen 4: Training Data
Screen 5: Music
Screen 1: Running data

When I press one time the button at the bottom, I'm supposed to go to the music screen, but it stays on screen 4. If I press it again, I end up on screen 1—and vice versa. The music screen exists, but it doesn't display anything other than the current screen (4 or 1), and the same thing happens when I go to Settings.

RE: 4 months later, the music screen still isn't working

Garmin - DK — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 16:46:59 GMT

Thanks for the post 7581323 . We are currently rolling out a new software version for the Forerunner 970 (version 18.29). Please try updating and let us know if you continue to experience this same concern about the music screen not appearing.

RE: 4 months later, the music screen still isn't working

7581323 — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 16:28:42 GMT

Garmin-Kevin

Option to change data field color on watch faces (e.g., RUN)

Fabse — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:25:25 GMT

I would like an option to change the color of the data fields on different watch faces (e.g., RUN). Bright white is too harsh, especially when I use a more subtle clock hand color.

Version 18.29 - SkiErg to Strava fault - Cadence naming

hakanwidlund — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 11:11:24 GMT

The new activity for SkiErg in version 18.29 seems to work fine.

– However it does not come up in Strava. Importing FIT-file manually to Strava works but no laps nor power for example.
Maybe this is some Strava issue, I dont know.

– The cadence it called "Swim cadence" in the Connect mobile app and "Oars cadence" in Connect Web. At least in the Swedish versions.

My 970's screen is off and I cannot turn it back on.

Pz4pete — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:29:18 GMT

I have tried the 30 second reset. I have plugged it into garmin express but it says that it is locked and to enter the pass code which of course I cannot do without the screen. I have tried to blindly toggle the display through the control menu. I have even taken off all other controls (except for on/off which you cannot take off) I am at a loss. What do I don? This seemed to happen back in July to but then somehow went away.

Undo step for structured workouts + safer Back/Lap (Forerunner 970)

4096363 — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 20:14:18 GMT

During a structured workout, an accidental BACK/LAP press immediately advances to the next step. Unlike manual laps, Lap Undo isn’t available in workouts, so there’s no way to revert and resume the previous step. This often occurs when opening/closing Music controls; due to slight UI lag, the key press lands on the workout screen and unintentionally advances the step.

Steps to reproduce

Start a structured workout (warm-up → intervals → recoveries).
Open and use Music controls.
Return to the workout screen.
Press BACK/LAP by mistake → step advances; no undo available.

Expected behavior

Ability to Undo step and return exactly to the previous step (restore timer/targets/alerts).

Why it matters

Preserves data integrity (step duration, pace/HR averages, time in zones, Training Load/VO₂max estimates) and reduces user frustration (rain, sweat, gloves, quick interactions).

Proposed solutions (any/all)

Add Undo step for 5–10 s after a step advance in structured workouts.
Optional confirmation to advance step (double-press or long-press).
Option to disable/remap BACK/LAP during workouts or when the Music screen is active / right after exiting it (anti-ghost press window).

Thanks for considering—this would meaningfully improve workout reliability and UX.

RE: Undo step for structured workouts + safer Back/Lap (Forerunner 970)

2988393 — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:47:54 GMT

it is absolutely mind boggling how poorly implemented this is

RE: Undo step for structured workouts + safer Back/Lap (Forerunner 970)

JasonTurk — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:46:06 GMT

I ran into this problem today. I accidentally hit the lap button and ruined the structured workout. Very poor design.

RE: Current pace shows ZERO

Garmin - KS — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 20:24:33 GMT

4639054 I noticed your Forerunner 970 is currently running software version 17.39. We've begun rolling out software version 18.29, which includes a fix for pace/speed dropouts, particularly during interval training. The update is currently available to 20% of users, but you can manually check for it by going to Menu > Watch Settings > System > Software Update > Check For Updates.

If you're still experiencing this issue after updating to 18.29, please create a new forum thread and include your current software version along with any additional details about when the behavior occurs. This will help us review your report and gather the appropriate information if further investigation is needed.

Thank you!

Current pace shows ZERO

4639054 — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 23:32:41 GMT

Hi everyone / Garmin Support Team,

I am experiencing an issue where the pace chart drops to 0 (flatlines at the top/maximum value on Garmin Connect) right after pressing the manual lap button during a run.

Issue Summary:

Device: Garmin Forerunner 970

Activity Type: Running

Description of the Problem:

The recorded pace suddenly drops to 0 (or flatlines completely) during the middle of the run.

This occurs right after I manually trigger a lap (press the LAP button).

Other metrics like Heart Rate and Elevation continue to record properly, but the Pace data is lost/flatlined until a later point or the end of the activity.

The overall average pace and distance seem to be affected/distorted due to this drop.

This bug starts from the latest software update which happens almost a week ago.

RE: 17.33 audio volume bug

Garmin - KS — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:58:46 GMT

We believe the audio volume concerns discussed in this thread have been resolved. If you're experiencing this behavior, please ensure that you have the latest software version installed (currently v18.29) and then test again.

If you continue to experience audio volume concerns after updating, please create a new forum thread with details about your setup, including the software version currently installed, the type of audio prompts affected, and any troubleshooting you've already completed. This will help us review each report individually and gather the appropriate information for further investigation.

Thank you!

17.33 audio volume bug

Germano — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:55:37 GMT

After this update, every time I go to the audio volume when streaming music or podcasts, the audio level decreases automatically without me touching any button. I also think the new layout is ugly, but that's not a bug, it's a matter of taste.

Forerunner 970 - Software Version 18.29 - 50% Rollout

Garmin-Dan — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:42:18 GMT

Software version 18.29 is now available at 50% rollout for Forerunner 970.

You may manually download this software update once available by following the path below:

Menu > Watch Settings > System > Software Update > Check For Updates

Change Log: • Enables the voice command feature with the "OK Garmin" wake word.
• Adds a suggested quick workout for running.
• Adds the XC Ski Indoor activity.
• Adds context to volume control.
• Improves the flashlight shortcut to cycle through the on, off, and strobe modes during an activity.
• Reduces false unlocks when using the touch lock feature.
• Fixes an issue that could result in pace/speed dropouts, especially during interval training.
• Fixes an issue that could cause the device to reset during a strength activity free workout.
• Fixes the onscreen lap shortcut no longer showing in HIIT workouts.
• Fixes an issue with not being able to start a suggested multisport workout.
• Fixes an issue with selecting rest days for daily suggested or Garmin Coach plan workouts.
• Fixes an issue where the training days shown on the watch might not match the days shown in the Garmin Coach plan .
• Fixes volume level not returning to correct setting after water ejection.
• Fixes an issue that could cause music volume to increase after an alarm sounds.
• Fixes an issue that could cause the device to reset when installing audio prompt software and host software simultaneously.
• Fixes other minor issues.
• Updates translations.

Does DEM work on your watch?

smbkrun+3 — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:22:56 GMT

I always get "Calibration Failed" works fine in my 965

RE: Does DEM work on your watch?

smbkrun+3 — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 23:02:01 GMT

I did a factory reset on my watch and still can't get DEM to work, not a big deal but kinda weird my 965 DEM works

RE: Current pace shows ZERO

4639054 — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 22:51:43 GMT

Still experiencing the same issue…