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Garmin FR235... rant, questions and warning

Former Member over 9 years ago

Bit of a rant... but also a couple of questions... and a warning to anyone thinking of buying an FR235

So since the wonderful update to 4.4 which was installed on 27th February my "wonderful" new FR235 (bought at the start of February) has actually spent more time broken than it has on my wrist. Its now going back to Garmin for a replacement- after having already spending time at the local authorised dealer for repair.

It has now reached the wonderful stage of not even booting up... power on shows the Garmin logo and then it switches off. Master reset doesn't work, PC doesn't recognise the device... so its about as much worth as a fairly useless bracelet.

First question... has anyone had a similar thing happen and could they fix it themselves?
Second question... what the *** has happened to Garmin? Once they produced decent products and then now there is the FR235... seriously disappointed.
Third question... is there any point to Garmin support?
Fourth... if you are thinking of buying an FR235... well don't. I implore you stay away from this product, unless you like being frustrated, disappointed and wasting your money!!!

0 timgrose over 9 years ago

Sorry to hear of your problems.

Sadly these things happen now and again, it clearly cannot happen to everybody as most of us don't have dead watches.

Did you mean 4.10 not 4.40?

As Garmin Support, am unclear if you contacted them to arrange your replacement?

Hope the next one works better for you.

0 ASmugDill over 9 years ago

No, it hasn't happened to me, and I'm quite happy with my FR235

First question... has anyone had a similar thing happen and could they fix it themselves?

“Anyone” is kinda broad, don't you think? The way you phrased the question is not going to give you a picture of just how prevalent the issue is. Even if you get five other forum members reporting the same issue you observed, for all we know it could be just five defective devices out of ten thousand or more. Reading other negative anecdotes won't make you feel any better, but has the potential to exaggerate the prevalence of the problem and mislead other readers of this thread; and still it won't give you any leverage. In any case, it's not as if Garmin is refusing to replace your watch under warranty.

Anyway, the issue hasn't happened to me.

Second question... what the hell has happened to Garmin? Once they produced decent products and then now there is the FR235... seriously disappointed.

This is my first Garmin product, and I'm actually quite happy with mine, having bought, used and then returned a TomTom Spark Cardio+Music (i.e. flagship product from a competitor at a similar price point aimed at a similar consumer segment).