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Forerunner 45 is buggy as ***?

Former Member over 5 years ago

After a few years of great duty I replaced my trusted Forerunner 235 with a 45. What at difference, and not a good one! The forerunner 45 is buggy as ***. Let's list what kind of issue I've run into:

It just refuses to calibrate thread-mill mode in proper KM's. Tried resetting the setting, changing from freedom units to km multiple times, but nothing.
Even with GPS "detected" aka green circle, it just casually registers a 13 KM run as a 6 km run.
Frequently, it just refuses to start the thread-mill activity. It just say no.
50% of the time it just refuses to sync with my iphone. something cycling bluetooth connections and force closing the garmin connect app solves it, but sometimes nothing works, and need to restart both watch and iphone.

Mind you, this all still happens with latest firmware and multiple full resets.

Probably will try to get a replacement, hoping it's an hardware issue. But as there are so many with similar problems here in the forum, I wonder if quality took a dive here.

0 Gregor K. over 5 years ago

Hey. Same with my forerunner 45s. Bluetooth connection with Samsung always disconnecting.

0 Thanasis over 5 years ago

Mine is alright after few weeks of usage but I'm running only outside with GPS on and I can say it's pretty accurate.

The phone sync is also very good with my android phone, try to check your phone settings and allow Garmin connect app without any restrictions, and also lock the app to always run in the background.

0 4221014 over 5 years ago

Yeah, like Thanasis suggested, if your phone is running out of RAM memory, Garmin Connect process will be killed, which means your watch won't sync. Still, this is a terrible design. It's simply stupid having to depend on the app to upload activities. Why doesn't it just send the information directly to Garmin server?

Can you make a video of the treadmill activity refusing to start?

Finally, if you have a detailed step by step of your issues, send an email to [email protected]

0 Thanasis over 5 years ago in reply to 4221014

When the watch is synced with the phone it will automatically upload any activity on the server, you don't even need to open the app.

0 4221014 over 5 years ago in reply to Thanasis

@Thanasis, only if the app is running in the background. I tried once to disable the app (Android only) and the watch lost connection. I also tried to remove the app, and the same thing happened. So, yes, we need the app running even if it's in the background. This is a terrible design, but maybe it's a Bluetooth limitation...

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

I have the same problems it’s so annoying

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

Same problem here 45S loses Connection all the time to my iPhone - need to reset once every Week - and often that result in the watch Goes completely black/dead. Sorry but it is really a crappy watch.

0 Thanasis over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

As I said before, check your app settings to always run in the background. I never lose connection with my android phone. Before you tag the watch as crappy make sure you did all the recommended settings on your phone.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

my 45 is starting to have all the same issues that eventually killed my 35. which is to say it drops sync all the time- BT on the iphone shows it connected, but it won't update after a run. it also won't charge every time- plug it in, the battery thing cycles, take it off an hour later and nothing has changed. been through all the tech support tips and tricks (reboots, alchohol swabs on the terminals, keeping software current). the 35 eventually just stopped taking a charge and died. 45 is beginning to get worse in the exact same ways, coincidentally enough just outside the warranty period. i run 5 days a week, am way on top of the functions and features of both the watch and connect, and treat the watch well. i'd bought the 35 as a "toe-in-the-water" before spending big bucks on a nicer watch. after it died i decided to go on the chance it was an outlier and buy the 45 with the same thinking. after this i doubt i'll buy another garmin. two watches, treated properly, both going belly up just outside of a year. i have zero confidence that spending twice the money (or more) will yield any better results at this point.

0 Former Member over 4 years ago

I had mine replaced because gps would not sync. My new watch stops mid-run and you can't restart and today it wouldn't save the run. Definitely am not happy