UPDATE July 14, 2020 - I have been wearing this watch almost every day for almost 2 years and I like it very much. (I had forgotten that I hadn't liked this watch, so am updating this review. See my previous reviews below for what my problems were at the time.) In the end, I was able to convince Garmin Support to send me a new watch instead of a refurb. I think I had to pay for shipping or something. The new watch has not had any of the step tracking issues the prior watch had. Nor any of the synching issues. I think the O/S update did in fact solve the synching problems. (I'm an Android user, for reference.)
I use the Strava synch all the time and it works great. Every now and then there's a delay for the watch to synch its data to the Garmin app on the phone, but as soon as it's on the phone it posts to Strava. I primarily use this watch to track cycling activities, but have also used it for running, hiking, swimming, skiing stand-up paddle, and some others.
It's been quite durable as well. I did buy a tempered glass screen protector, which now has a chip in it, but the watch itself has taken something of a beating.
The waterproofing works as well. I basically never take it off. Always shower with it. Swim with it, etc.
Sleep tracking has been good.
HR has seemed accurate to me.
Battery life has been excellent. I go about a week between charges when I'm not using the activity tracking feature. This is great. I really don't worry about the battery. When I am going to go cycling, I charge it up fully and then I can get about 8-9 hours of tracking. If you want to use it mainly for tracking runs and you run for less than an hour every other day, you could probably charge it only once every five days. When I do charge it, it will go from 20% to full in about half an hour or forty-five minutes, so even when I wake up to go cycling and realize I forgot to charge it I can just do it then while I'm getting the gear ready.
Two years have passed since I bought it and I had expected that there'd be a better watch out now that was a Wear O/S watch with LTE capabilities (which is the only thing this watch lacks, IMO, b/c I"d love to be able to leave the phone at home), but there isn't. If this watch broke today, I'd just buy another one. For the current price, it's a steal.
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UPDATE Nov 15, 2018 - I can't recommend this watch. More and more problems are occurring. The first problem is that it stopped tracking any floors on the stair counter. This happened after I took a trip on an airplane and other posters had mentioned that maybe their altimeter (barometer) broke in conjunction with a plane trip. I called Garmin Support and they discussed this and they said that maybe and update to the O/S from 5.4 to 5.5 (which was due any day) would help, and/or they'd be happy to send me a new watch and if i wanted even faster they would send it immediately if I'd pay a deposit which they would refund when I got the new watch. I said, okay, well, I'll wait til 5.5 comes out and see and the maybe return it and they said that was all fine.
So, I waited, it didn't fix it, and I contacted them to do the exchange, and they sent me a form for payment and I see that the watch they intend to give me is refurbished. They did not specify this earlier. I'm annoyed b/c at the time I was still in my 30 day return window and could have just returned it and bought another new one.
Additionally, since that time, other problems have occurred:
--synching has become a real problem. The watch just sometimes will go days without synching to the phone app. Also, the app seems to be built in some stupid way where it needs Internet connectivity in order to sync the watch. So, forget synching if you're traveling to some country where you only receive 2g, or are otherwise in an are with poor signal.
--Relatedly, I discovered while in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest, is that even the GPX maps that I had loaded to the Garmin Connect app cannot be displayed without an Internet connection. Seriously, Garmin?!?!? You are making fitness devices for people to use out in the wild, and yet they can't even access their loaded routes in your app without an Internet connection?
--the heart rate monitor seems to have gotten much less reliable. Often it sits at 90 when I'm clearly in aerobic or anaerobic range (130+)
--I have noticed... why is there no Timer app on this watch? So simple. Why didn't they include it. Or an Alarm feature.
---my original review from Oct 2018-----
I have had this watch for a couple of weeks and have been very happy with it. I had tried the Amazfit Bip and Ticwatch E and both failed to accurately track my heart rate when going over about 130bpm. No watch is as good as a band yet for that, but those were so obviously wrong doing things like showing 80 when I was huffing and puffing. The Garmin Vivoactive 3 seems accurate enough for my purposes.
The battery life is acceptable/good. You can get multiple days unless you are tracking long activities. If you are running GPS and doing long cycling rides (4-8 hours) like I am, you will not get more than one ride per charge. I suppose this is asking a lot of the battery.
The problem I am having is that already the stair step counter has stopped working. It worked for awhile but now has just stopped. Not sure if that is a common problem. Have tried to contact the seller but there doesn't seem to be any way to do that here. May have to return it for a replacement if I don't hear something back from them based on this post.
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Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Products are inspected, cleaned and (if applicable) repaired to excellent functional standards. Buying pre-owned instead of new can extend a product's life, reduce e-waste and raw material extraction.As certified by
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Pre-owned Certified products are inspected, cleaned and (if applicable) repaired to excellent functional standards. By purchasing pre-owned rather than new, customers can extend the life of the product, reduce electronic waste, and reduce the extraction of raw materials. These products are backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee. Pre-owned Certified is part of the Climate Pledge Friendly program that helps you discover and shop for more-sustainable products.Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Products are inspected, cleaned and (if applicable) repaired to excellent functional standards. Buying pre-owned instead of new can extend a product's life, reduce e-waste and raw material extraction.As certified byPre-owned Certified: Electronics
Pre-owned Certified products are inspected, cleaned and (if applicable) repaired to excellent functional standards. By purchasing pre-owned rather than new, customers can extend the life of the product, reduce electronic waste, and reduce the extraction of raw materials. These products are backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee. Pre-owned Certified is part of the Climate Pledge Friendly program that helps you discover and shop for more-sustainable products.Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Products are inspected, cleaned and (if applicable) repaired to excellent functional standards. Buying pre-owned instead of new can extend a product's life, reduce e-waste and raw material extraction.As certified byPre-owned Certified: Electronics
Pre-owned Certified products are inspected, cleaned and (if applicable) repaired to excellent functional standards. By purchasing pre-owned rather than new, customers can extend the life of the product, reduce electronic waste, and reduce the extraction of raw materials. These products are backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee. Pre-owned Certified is part of the Climate Pledge Friendly program that helps you discover and shop for more-sustainable products.Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Products are inspected, cleaned and (if applicable) repaired to excellent functional standards. Buying pre-owned instead of new can extend a product's life, reduce e-waste and raw material extraction.As certified byPre-owned Certified: Electronics
Pre-owned Certified products are inspected, cleaned and (if applicable) repaired to excellent functional standards. By purchasing pre-owned rather than new, customers can extend the life of the product, reduce electronic waste, and reduce the extraction of raw materials. These products are backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee. Pre-owned Certified is part of the Climate Pledge Friendly program that helps you discover and shop for more-sustainable products.
Training for a triathlon.... LOVE this watch! :-)
I spent a lot of time deciding between the Fitbit Ionic and this Vivoactive 3. I've had a vivofit 2 for just counting steps and sleep, and I had a forerunner I swapped out for runs. As I'm training for a triathlon now, I felt it time to upgrade to something that does it all. After comparing this watch vs the Ionic online, it seemed like most people agreed that Fitbits are for app lovers, and Garmin are better sport trackers.....so, my decision was made! && I LOVE THIS WATCH SOOOO MUCH! I had to get used to the larger watch face compared to the vivofit 2 I've worn for 3 years, but now that it has been a few months, I'm completely attached to it. Here are the sports I use it for with some pros/cons I have found to be true:Running: I LOVE THIS WATCH FOR RUNNING. It is seriously a step up from the forerunner. I can customize my activity screen to all my favorites with laps, heartrate, and target zones. I can sent alerts for distances, drinking water, and much more. The GPS is spot on. I love the break down of each mile with speed and elevation. My only con: When I run in the rain, the screens change on their own. After a 10K race last month in an absolute downpour, my screens and watchface had been completely changed. It took me a while to reset everything back to my preferences. My fix: if it's raining, I lock the screen after starting the activing.Biking: I already have a WAHOO Cadence reader attached to my biking shoe. The activity for biking on this watch also syncs to this 3rd party cadence tracker. Though, it is not the most relable. While riding indoors on a tripod, cadence tracks well however once outdoors and on a windy day, it looses connection for brief periods of time.... this may honestly be WAHOO's problem but I thought I'd mention it in case others have experienced the same. Still love the GPS plus heartrate while on long, tough workout bike rides! (See pic of cadence attached)Swimming: I'm not sure why other reviews say their watch does not track laps, because mine does beautifully! It tracks, times, and gives me a good reading/evaluation of how hard I pushed myself after 2500 meters in a 25m long pool. :-) my only complaint is that I DO wish heartrate was available in swim mode....Maybe in the future?? I also wish outdoor/open water swimming could be tracked via GPS....Maybe also in the future. :-) I still use it while swimming open water but don't have the benefit of distance.Also, as for sleep, it seems to be a lot more accurate than the vivofit 2....probably because of the heartrate. My only complainthere is the back light that turns on whenever I move in my sleep. I want to still see what time it is when needed, so I change the lighting to 10%, however sometimes when I move the watch seems to light up the room. I'm just about used to it now, but still a bit of a bother. This is even while I've set it to DND or do not disturb mode.Overall, if you want a watch that does it all, choose the Vivoactive 3! I have had this watch for 2 months now and am still VERY happy I chose it! :-)***************3 YEAR UPDATE*********************************My vivoactive 3 is still one of the best purchases I've ever made. When I wrote the review above, I had yet to complete a triathlon. Since this review, I've completed 15 Olympic triathlons and 3 half Ironmans; qualifying for both National Championships in the Olympic and for Worlds in the half Iron. I attribute some of this success to having such a great watch to track my progress. This watch with the Garmin Connect app has really helped me sculpt my training plans and continuously seek improvement.I have even more workarounds for my complaints above:Open water swimming: Yes this app has a 3rd party OWS download possible through Garmin IQ, however it's still pretty terrible for accurate tracking. I found in a forum to set the watch activity to ROW and then place the watch under my swim cap. BOOM! Almost perfectly it tracked my route through the lake. I *only* do this during workouts and NOT during a race. During a race, the route is already an exact distance so I normally will just set the generic stop watch timer then lock the screen after starting. This way I have an understanding at what my swim time was while I'm running to the first transition.Bike cadence tracker: My issue above was DEFINITELY with WAHOO. After a few months I bought the Garmin pair of cadence/speed sensors for my bike. The Vivoactive 3 catches the stats perfectly. It never drops, not even outdoors, and gives me more accurate readings than WAHOO ever did.Running: There are still SO many ways to customize your run. It's not all about pace anymore when you're working on your form. ;) This watch has allowed me to reach strengths I didn't know I had.Battery life: My watch is over 3 years old now (older than my cell phone...). The battery life has gone down slightly from when I first purchased it. At the beginning I could get 2-3 days of life while using GPS/activities daily. Now that's about every other day. If I don't use activities, it can go 3-4 days before the battery life gets low.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2018
Pattern Name: WatchStyle: StandardColor: Black with SlateVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2021
Pattern Name: WatchStyle: CasualColor: Black, SilverVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
Great watch
Reviewed in Canada on February 26, 2022Pattern Name: WatchStyle: CasualColor: Black, SilverVerified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Reviewed in Canada on February 26, 2022
I wanted independent GPS so I don't have to carry my phone with me on a walk. I also wanted something that looked more like a watch and less like a fitness gadget. The watch also has Garmin-pay which fully eliminates the need for my phone.
Set up was dead easy and took a few minutes. I charged it while in the shower, and it didn't take it off to charge again until it hit 30% a week later. I was able to control which notifications I wanted to see, and even with the screen dimmed, the face is easy to make out.I use the app to check trends and use the workouts (good selection of activities and each exercise is demonstrated) but haven't joined the community as I'm not a big runner or a gym goer.
I did change out the band because I have small wrists and didn't want to cut the band.
I'm very happy with my purchase and believe the money well spent.
**Excuse the bit of shadow in the right of the watch face; I didn't apply my protector correctly.
Images in this review
Bill Harris
As described. Very Happy
Reviewed in Canada on February 25, 2022Pattern Name: WatchStyle: StandardColor: Black with SlateVerified Purchase
J
Excellent value...hope it lasts a long time !😍
Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2021Pattern Name: WatchStyle: StandardColor: White with StainlessVerified Purchase
J
Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2021
Only function that doesn't work I'd Garmin Pay as it's not avaialbe in Canada yet. Also not as many face watch selections as I thought. However it has a cool watch face feature where you can upload a background photo for you watch face (from your camera)! So cool.
It has 30 programmable text back responses when your phone isn't accessible. There's many settings to play with on watch itself including brightness which was one review I read. It goes brighter than you need but sucks battery more.
Battery needs changing every few days I find but charges extremely fast. Within 30-60 mins.
Heart rate seems to be super accurate as is GPS!
Can't wait to swim with this on the summer! Love it! Five Star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Images in this review
Amazon Customer
Great watch, good battery life
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2021Pattern Name: WatchStyle: CasualColor: Black, SilverVerified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Nice watch.
Reviewed in India on June 14, 2021Pattern Name: WatchStyle: StandardColor: Black with SlateVerified Purchase
