Garmin Vivofit / Vivoactive / Fenix Reliability and Warranty - What Is Like?

Lpeter_mcc on 28/11/2016 - 15:15

Has anyone had a problem with a Garmin Vivofit / Vivoactive / Fenix unit? I'm wondering how reliable they are and, if there is a problem, what Garmin are like to deal with.

We bought Fitbit's for the family last Christmas and while the warranty has been excellent, the reliability hasn't. Fitbit have replaced 3 Charge HR's for one son, 2 for another, my wife's Charge and I'm about to start a warranty claim on my Charge HR.

I thought we might sell the Fitbits (we haven't opened some of the warranty replacements) and change to Garmin - at least they are waterproof (the cause of at least one death).

Electrical & Electronics Activity Tracker Garmin Smartwatch

Comments

  • cypher67 on 28/11/2016 - 15:47

    I have a Fenix 3 HR, haven't had any issues but I can highly recommend it. Prior to purchasing I read on a bunch of forums that they will do a straight swap if there is issues during warranty period, but I dont know anyone thats had a problem and we are all on their ecosystem.

  • Steve K on 28/11/2016 - 23:22

    For me, garmin has been more reliable than fitbit, and warranty has been painless through harvey norman. I used fitbits from their second version, through to about 2 years ago. Every single one, died within 7 months from some form of moisture damage. I was so paranoid, I would take them off to wash dishes or shower. Then two years ago (ish) I switched to garmin on a whim (harvey norman had a sale, and let me have full purchase price of my last fitbit towards the garmin)I had three vivosmart bands get dead displays, but none ever had any moisture problems, charging problems, or anything else go wrong, they all still were working and syncing, but with dead displays. Harvey Norman again.gave me full refund towards a vivosmart about 14 months ago, and I have had zero problems, great battery life (about 10 days with full connectivity, but I charge each sunday so I don't forget) Expect regular firmware updates from Garmin, monthly for new release products for about the first 6 months, with new features sometimes. Many fixes issued for minor bugs that I had never noticed (I just read the changelogs out of curiosity)wife is waiting for her old Garmin FR220 to die before upgrading, but looks like she'll have a long wait, as ut still performs like new. One thing I reply like about the vivoactive, is that the time is always visible, and I don't have to "discreetly" raise my hand up to my face to wake up the screen when keeping track of time in a meeting.

    • peter_mcc on 29/11/2016 - 14:14

      Thanks - your FitBit experience is similar to ours. Buying them locally seems like a good idea - I'm having trouble getting a receipt for an eBay FitBit I bought.

      • Steve K on 29/11/2016 - 15:54

        No worries, I should add, that while the sweat from my wrist was enough to damage the charging contacts or actually ingress the fitbits, I only take off the garmin for the weekly charge. I do alot of lap swimming and ocean snorkelling while wearing it, and not even the slightest sign of corrosion on the charging contacts.

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