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How can you sell this device and sleep at night?

Do not buy this device EVER, the idea is perfect, but Garmins execution of this device is so poor, that it will screw up Your training leaving you sad, angry and ~450$ poorer.

This device crashes, and you loose your valuable data. After every crash, statistics such as "training effect" resets. So if You run 30k, and it crashes at 28, the Watch will assume you ran 2k.
Garmin, do you have any idea how valuable this data is for us serious Runners? Of course You do, since You invented it. Do You know how negatively Your Garmin brand is affected when You make customers pay ~450 $ for a device that messes up their valuable data. How dare You release a device that does not work.
Furthermore the GPS works worse than on my 620 Garmin, which I had prior to this. When i run in the Woods I had no problems with the 620, with the 645M I get the weirdest slowest times ever. Even if I activate both GPS and GLONASS.
Today I ran my longest race for this year, a 30k trailrun called "Lidingoloppet" in Sweden, it cost 96$ to participate, I trained for 6 months for this. And Your stupid device crashed twice. How do You think those crashes affected my joy of competing after training. It was a terrible downer Garmin! Twice! Thank You so very much! what am I to do now?
I am gonna sell Your stupid Garmin device, and go to one of Your competitors, that is what I am going to do.
Your Garmin company does not deserve Money and success, when You steal 450$ from Your loyal costumers with a device that does not work!
And if You browse the net, and even this forum, You will see this it not my solitary rant, there are a bunch us of that has gotten fooled, and it is a lot of Money!

How dare You, shame on You Garmin!

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

This was a fear I suspected when Garmin went away from a "pure" sports/activity device and started adding music and NFC payments. The more you add, the more chance you'll have something go wrong. I also suspect corners are cut with hardware to keep manufacturing cost down. That being said, Garmin is just providing what the masses requested. If music isn't a concern of yours, for about $50 more you can get a 935 which has proven to be a great watch and what many have said is Garmin's best to date.

0 talsela over 6 years ago

RoadRunner760 I share your experience completely. I gave up my (dying) FR630 for the FR645, and I find my new device completely incompetent, especially since I run all of my runs under medium tree cover (and beyond). I feel the exact same way - my 630 did an amazing job on these routes, was always consistent in distance and laps, always showed me plausible lap paces, and the 645 is just all over. One km can show me from 3:10 to 5:20 over the course of the km when I'm in fact running steady at 4:15.

I'm also outraged that this is the way a premium Garmin device works about 9 months after being brought to market - it is definitely the worse from the Garmin watches I have owned (405CX, 610, 620, 630) and the first time since 2009 that I have had thoughts to ditch Garmin and try Polar again.

I've created a thread with extensive details of how inaccurate this watch is and even contacted Garmin-Joey privately exactly one month ago, who promised my complaints will be looked at. I'm still waiting for an update about this.

If music isn't a concern of yours, for about $50 more you can get a 935 which has proven to be a great watch and what many have said is Garmin's best to date.

The only reason this is not an option for me, is that I don't want to buy a device that's almost 2 years old now. My FR630 died after 2.5 years from date of purchase (GPS reception just disappeared one day)

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

The only reason this is not an option for me, is that I don't want to buy a device that's almost 2 years old now. My FR630 died after 2.5 years from date of purchase

I understand how this could be a concern, but I don't think this is the norm. My 235 I bought at release is still running strong. Yes, April 2019, will be the 2 year anniversary of the 935, but you're not purchasing used. The 935 is a huge seller. Because of demand and that there hasn't been a replacement for it, they're still in production. It isn't as if they were all created April 2017 and that's what you'd receive. You'd get a device with April 2017 "technology" plus the recent feature upgrades, but a device with a later release date in no way means a better product. My comment about the 935 being the best Garmin device released isn't just mine. A simple Google search for reviews on the 935 or best "triathlon watch" from independent reviewers will show this is the consensus.

0 RoadRunner760 over 6 years ago

If music isn't a concern of yours,

For me that is sadly the concern. For me, when running, music is a great motivator, I take joy in making playlists that boost me when I run. Which, of course, is what GARMIN had noticed as important on the market so they made the 645 M.

I want to be as light and simply equipped as possible when I run. I was tired of having a second device with me for Music (mp3 player), and a third device for heartbeat monitoring (strap). Furthermore headphone technology progressed since the release of the 620, so now cordless headphones are an option. Garmin claimed they could solve all of these parameters with one device, which just made my day, I was so happy! I just had to consider the cost, since 450$ for the Watch and new Bluetooth headphones would make a shortterm impact on my economy. I did the investment. But came out with nothing, feeling tricked and "robbed", and like a looser that fell for a cheap TV Commercial... "Here have a GINSU knife"... Here have a Garmin 645 it can play Music!... take Your hearbeat from Your wrist!, has GPS+GLONASS!....Wait! there is much much more…

Yeah I noticed, IT DOES NOT WORK!.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Though music is no concern for me, I get how it's important to others. Garmin are novices with music capabilities, but do the sports/fitness aspects fairly well. Other companies (Apple) seem to be the opposite. Time will only tell if a manufacturer will be able to capitalize on both. Unfortunately, for what you require, I'm not sure if anyone is at that level yet. Until then, you're kind of stuck with picking the lesser of two evils; which you're experiencing, can be a real pain in the ass.

0 RoadRunner760 over 6 years ago

Though music is no concern for me, I get how it's important to others. Garmin are novices with music capabilities, but do the sports/fitness aspects fairly well. Other companies (Apple) seem to be the opposite. Time will only tell if a manufacturer will be able to capitalize on both. Unfortunately, for what you require, I'm not sure if anyone is at that level yet. Until then, you're kind of stuck with picking the lesser of two evils; which you're experiencing, can be a real pain in the ass.

Good post, this is exactly why I bother to spend my time airing my concern, instead of just saying nothing, Selling and moving on to a competitor and an other sollution. I care about GARMIN, It has always worked like a charm! I could rely on it, like a premium product, GARMIN made me happy for years. Ive been proud to wear their products. Thats exactly why I am so furious, this is not like GARMIN. I am concerned, they need to address this, Wake up, fire the person that let the 645M out on the marke! and appologize to the customers!. What is going on? And of course fix the bugs, for a potentially great device!
If however GARMIN do not possess the tech team to create a device that can play music and have accurate GPS, it is fine by me, but then dont say you can... omg.... like some street scammer… what have You become.
If I did that at my work, with my companys costumers, Id be out of a job very quickly and rightly so.
Market shares are not a game...

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Agreed. I hope you find a happy medium, whomever that may be with.

0 scotthunter2 over 6 years ago

You could always use the newest iPod Shuffle and a 935. The Shuffles are hard to get hold of now, but the battery lasts forever and it weighs almost nothing. Use them with the Apple EarPods and the sound is very good and you can use the remote control on the wire, which frees up your watch for looking at running data.

0 larsjensenkbh over 6 years ago

I wonder how this can go so wrong. I have been a happy owner of F645M from the day it was released.
Never had any of the issues mentioned. Works flawless all the time. I am very happy and feel very lucky with my watch.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Same, have been running 120km a week with the 645 Music and haven't had a single issue (besides from the wrong EPO file, that was loaded onto the watch for a few days by Garmin Connect) for 4 months