Garmin

🧟 The Monthly Zombie Crawl - Spread the Infection

2026-06-03T17:00:40+00:00

Welcome to the monthly r/Garmin Zombie Crawl!

The goal is simple: Help fellow Garmin users earn the rare Zombie Badge while meeting other members of the community and having some fun along the way.

What is the Zombie Badge?

The Zombie Badge is one of Garmin Connect's most unique and sought-after badges.

Unlike most badges, it spreads from user to user. To earn it, you must complete a user-created Garmin Connect challenge with someone who already has the Zombie Badge. Once completed, you'll earn the badge and be able to spread the infection to others.

How Do I Participate?

There are two easy ways to get involved:

Option 1: Join the Official r/Garmin Garmin Connect Group

r/Gamin Buddies!

Many members use the group to find others interested in challenges, discuss goals, and coordinate Zombie Badge events.

Option 2: Connect Directly with Other Members

You do not need to join the group to participate.

Simply comment below with:

Your Garmin Connect username
Whether you currently have the Zombie Badge
The type of challenge you'd like to do (walking, running, cycling, steps, etc.)

Other members can then reach out and coordinate challenges directly.

Friendly or Competitive - Your Choice

The Zombie Crawl is intentionally flexible.

Some members enjoy friendly challenges and simply want to help others earn the badge.

Others prefer competitive challenges and like to see who can come out on top.

Both approaches are welcome.

Whether you're chasing a personal best, walking the dog, training for a marathon, or just collecting badges, everyone is encouraged to participate.

Community Rules

Free Participation Only

Participation in the Zombie Crawl must always be free.

No member may:

Charge money
Request donations
Sell access to challenges
Promote paid services
Require purchases of any kind

This event exists solely to help Garmin users connect, have fun, and spread the Zombie Badge throughout the community.

Be Respectful

Remember that Garmin users come from all fitness levels and backgrounds.

A 5,000-step walking challenge can be just as meaningful as a marathon training block.

Encourage others, have fun, and help keep the infection spreading.

Helpful Resources

Garmin's official blog has a great overview of Garmin Connect badges, including the Zombie Badge:

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/fitness/the-25-garmin-connect-badges-you-never-knew-you-needed/

Already Infected? 🧟

If you already have the Zombie Badge, consider helping newer members earn theirs.

The more infected users we have, the easier it becomes for future members to join the fun.

Now get out there and spread the infection.

🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️

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May 2026 - Quality of Life community update

2026-05-18T00:56:18+00:00

Firstly, thank you to all who had a chance to weigh in on our recent poll. Your voices matter. The feedback received directly contributed to updates we are making to the community. We encourage feedback and strive to make this community enjoyable for all.

Today, we are rolling out several quality of life updates that we believe will make r/Garmin a better community for everyone.

The Sunday Score

The Sunday Score is officially here.

To address the influx of posts that are often nothing more than a screenshot of a wellness metric or score with little to no added context, we are introducing the Sunday Score.

We understand there are many reasons to share your metrics, scores, and achievements. Whether that is celebrating an increase in VO2 Max, finally hitting that mythical 100 Sleep Score, showing off a perfect Body Battery, or trying to understand why your Garmin thinks you are apparently recovering from climbing Everest, we get it.

The problem is that many of these posts provide little information beyond the screenshot itself. Without context, meaningful discussion becomes difficult, and the community is left trying to guess what led to the result being shared.

The Sunday Score allows users to share photos and screenshots of Garmin scores on Sundays using the Sunday Scoreflair.

Examples include:

• VO2 Max
• Sleep Score
• Body Battery Score
• Stress Score
• Training Readiness
• Recovery Score
• Fitness Age

Score screenshots are restricted to Sundays. Text-only discussions about these metrics remain welcome throughout the week.

By pairing these posts with additional context, we believe they can become valuable discussions rather than simple screenshots. This provides insight that may help both the original poster and others in the community who may be experiencing similar situations.

While Sundays may get a little rowdy, we believe consolidating these posts into a dedicated day will significantly reduce feed clutter while still giving everyone an opportunity to share their accomplishments, questions, and experiences.

Wellness Metrics and Graphs

One important clarification:

Graphs and trend data are still welcome throughout the week.

Posts containing HRV graphs, sleep graphs, stress graphs, heart rate trends, Body Battery trends, recovery data, and similar Garmin metrics are still permitted.

The difference is that these posts now need context.

A screenshot by itself rarely provides enough information for the community to offer useful feedback. We encourage users to include details such as:

• Garmin device model
• Recent activity or training load
• Sleep quality
• Illness or recovery status
• Recent training changes
• Any other information that may help explain what is being shown

Posts that provide context tend to generate some of the most informative discussions in the community, and we want to encourage more of that.

If you believe your device is experiencing a technical issue, image posts may still be shared throughout the week using the Possible Technical Issue flair and sufficient details regarding the problem.

Users are also free to create text-based discussions about any Garmin metric, score, badge, wellness measurement, or training data at any time.

These changes are focused specifically on low-context image posts.

Badges, Challenges, and Activity Milestones

Users may continue sharing badges and challenges using the appropriate flair.

Likewise, notable activities and accomplishments are always welcome.

Examples include:

• Completing your first marathon
• Reaching a major training goal
• Finishing an ultra event
• Completing a major hike
• Summiting a mountain
• Achieving a personal milestone

Posts that celebrate meaningful accomplishments while providing context behind the achievement are exactly the kind of content we want to encourage.

AutoMod Overhaul

AutoMod has received a significant overhaul.

The goal of these updates is to improve post quality, reduce spam, and create a better overall experience for both new and existing members.

Some of the enhancements include:

• Spam reduction
• Community rule enforcement improvements
• Better detection accuracy
• AI-built tool and product promotion filtering
• Better handling of repetitive low-value content

Most users will never directly interact with these systems, and that is by design. The goal is simply to help keep the community focused on genuine discussion rather than spam, self-promotion, and low-effort content.

New Minimum Context Requirement

One of the biggest changes users may notice is a new minimum context requirement.

All submissions must now include at least 150 characters of body text.

This applies to both text posts and image posts.

The goal is simple: provide enough information so the community can actually help, discuss, troubleshoot, or celebrate alongside you.

A few extra sentences of context often make the difference between a great discussion and a post that leaves everyone guessing.

Watch Fit Posts

Oh... and there is just one more thing.

We have finally introduced a system to help reduce the endless stream of:

"Does this watch look too big?"

"Is this watch too small for my wrist?"

"Did I buy the right size?"

These posts will now be redirected to Garmin's watch sizing resources, which can provide more objective guidance while helping keep the feed focused on discussion, troubleshooting, activities, training, and the Garmin ecosystem as a whole.

Developer Support

We have streamlined how developers showcase their work to the community. All developer posts must use the Developer - New App / Watch Face flair to ensure clarity. We have also introduced standardized title formatting to make product discovery easier. To protect our users, all digital products (apps/watch faces) must offer a "try before you buy" model. In exchange for the opportunity to promote your work to our community, developers must provide a 7-day trial or a 30-day limited-time free period.

Keep Using the Report Button

As always, these filters and improvements are not perfect.

Automation can help, but it cannot replace the community.

If you see something that violates the rules, please continue using the report button. Community reports remain one of the most effective tools available for keeping r/Garmin running smoothly.

Additional Note

Because this inevitably comes up anytime changes are made, these updates are not about censoring discussion or limiting conversation.

Users are still absolutely free to discuss Garmin products, share experiences, ask questions, troubleshoot issues, compare devices, discuss training, and engage with the community.

The goal of these updates is simply to reduce feed clutter and improve overall post quality so that meaningful discussions, questions, and helpful content are easier for everyone to find and engage with.

Thanks again for making this community what it is.

Exceptional.

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Garmin's VO2 max accuracy compared to Apple, Polar, Fitbit, Samsung, Whoop, Oura, Coros and Suunto (Research based)

2026-06-09T20:28:37+00:00

I've become more and more interested in learning about VO2 max lately so I pulled validation studies on how accurate some of the major wearable brands are at estimating it and any claims the brands make on their accuracy into a comparison chart. Garmin is really well validated compared to the others so wanted to share incase you find this interesting as well.

It's broken down into how each device measures VO2 max, what the company claims, and what independent studies actually found. Sources linked as well for each row if you want to check these out further.

I also looked at what factors influence VO2 max by category (exercise, nutrition, lifestyle, etc.) which is far too lengthy to stack ontop of this post but hopefully will do a fully up on it as that topic is lengthy.

VO2 max accuracy by brand

Device	how it estimates	company accuracy claim	independent validation	Source
Garmin	Exercise via heart rate vs pace on a run	95% accuracy and errors under 3.5 ml/kg/min	Best validated of any wearable. MAPE 7% (fenix 6) and 6.7% (Forerunner 245) but underestimate highly trained runners by 4-5 ml/kg/min	Carrier et al. 2025 & Engel et al. 2025
Apple watch	Exercise via outdoor walk/run/hike	None published	Two studies, both show it underestimates MAPE 13.3% and 15.8%	Lambe et al. 2025 & Caserman et al. 2024
Polar	Via resting Fitness Test (HR + H R V) or a run test	Marketed as a validated non exercise estimate	Resting test overestimates (+2.2 ml/kg/min) and a CPET study found MAPE 13.7%	Neudorfer et al. 2025 & Molina-García et al. 2022
Fitbit / Google	via resting HR & profile refined by GPS runs	None public	Consistent as a score but overestimates the absolute number (52.5 vs 49.9 in lab)	Freeberg et al. 2019
Samsung Galaxy Watch	Exercise via outdoor run	82% correlation vs clinical equipment (company funded, Univ. of Michigan)	A study only validated its heart rate during a max test not VO2 max	Inoue et al. 2026 (HR only)
Whoop	(Proprietary) passive & GPS run model	Internal MAE 3.7 ml/kg/min, MAPE 8.0%, r 0.90 vs a metabolic cart (n=248)	None independent	Whoop
Oura Ring	Initial reading via profile data more accurate via guided inapp 6 minute walk test	No accuracy figure published (vendor states it is less accurate than a lab test)	None independent	Oura
Coros	Exercise via heart rate vs pace (unpublished method)	No figure published (vendor claims "very close to lab")	None independent	Coros
Suunto	Exercise same Firstbeat engine Garmin uses	Inherits Firstbeat (95%)	No Suunto specific study but rides on the same validation as Garmin	via Firstbeat

Additional notes

Garmin is the only one with solid independent accuracy and a near correct vendor claim
Resting based estimates (Polar Fitness Test, Fitbit without a run) tend to overestimate
Every device underestimates VO2 max in highly trained people and overestimates in sedentary ones so the error depends on who you are
Validation studies typically lags hardware so that's why some models are older
A chest strap improves any exercise based estimate as wrist optical heart rate drifts during hard efforts.
Only a lab CPET gives a true VO2 max
Devices that estimate VO2 max from an actual workout were near spoton on average (bias -0.09 ml/kg/min vs lab)
Devices that estimate it at rest overestimated by +2.17 ml/kg/min. Both still have wide error for any single person Molina-García et al. 2022
I shared this two days ago in GarminWatches and had about 5 people who got lab tests say it was pretty much spot on and 2-3 people said when switching Apple to Garmin their VO2 showed higher with Garmin (if that was you thank you again for sharing!)

If you got a lab/CPET done would be cool to hear how it compared if you don't mind sharing?

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That feeling when you increase your VO2 max by 30% and you're still "Poor" and in the bottom 35%... Just gotta keep working at it I guess.

2026-06-09T20:29:09+00:00

I've been training pretty hard and dieting since Late January. Basically gone all in with cycling. My weight has decreased from 206lbs to 176lbs as well as my cardiovascular output increasing, but still hurts to see my VO2 max so low in comparison to others my age. For reference I am a 28yo male with a background in weightlifting but never much into cardio.

Gotta keep working at it I guess!

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I did a lab VO₂ max test and the results were very close to Garmin's estimates

2026-06-09T21:31:51+00:00

I've always used Heart Rate as the setting for my Daily Suggested Workouts, but today I decided to switch it to Pace and got a pretty interesting result.

In the DSW, my threshold runs are usually suggested around 5:15 min/km and my base runs around 6:30 min/km. I recently did a cardiopulmonary exercise test, and the results matched these values really closely: my lactate threshold from the test came out right around 5:13 min/km, and my aerobic threshold was around 6:19 min/km.

My VO₂ max was measured at 48, while Garmin estimates mine at 46.5 (it would be closer if I ran more consistently and spent more time at faster paces).

Overall, it was really interesting to see how closely the algorithm aligns with actual lab-tested data that I paid for. It definitely makes me more confident in using DSW now.

PS: Heart rate data is also relatively close. The upper limit for Base runs in my DSW is 162 bpm, which exactly matches my aerobic threshold from the test. For Threshold runs, the DSW cap is 181 bpm, while my lactate threshold from the lab test came out at 176 bpm.

submitted by /u/Remote-Ad5990
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Finally made it out of Poor

2026-06-09T14:40:12+00:00

While I’m no where near elite athlete status it has taken a long time to claw my way out of poor. I know there are many of these posts but I understand it now!

Just mainly been following DSW and in the past 2 weeks Garmins run coach for an upcoming half marathon towards the end of the year.

Roll on that mythical 100 sleep score.

submitted by /u/Euphoric-Pangolin932
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Fun Garmin watch face！

2026-06-10T01:29:00+00:00

I like this Garmin watch-face slot machine simulator. It motivates me to walk a little more every day, and if I sit for too long, it even deducts my steps. It’s really fun.

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Seeking advice

2026-06-09T21:51:26+00:00

Hello, I ride a fire truck for work. I am left handed and wear my forerunner 965 on the right wrist. I get false steps/stIr climbs from the bounce of the truck as we ride down the road. I have tried different positions to hold my arm but it’s not really working. I don’t want to remove the watch if possible. Does anyone have any recommendations? It’s not a huge deal but I thought I’d get on here and ask if anyone has dealt with this.

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I got my first ever 100 sleep score!!

2026-06-10T04:24:47+00:00

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Food Poisoning

2026-06-09T13:07:58+00:00

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Type 1 Diabetic - G7 to Garmin watch issues. HELP NEEDED PLEASE

2026-06-09T21:20:39+00:00

Hi there, I am a type 1 diabetic with a G7 sensor. I have a Garmin Instinct 2 (solar). I’ve tried to install a data field on my bike mode screen but the data is not pulling through. I have shared my G7 (via the app) with my wife, so the data sharing aspect of that app is working. Anyone managed to do this successfully? Help would be greatly appreciated. It currently says no request yet with a timer countdown.

submitted by /u/Outrageous_Exam3933
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Strength integration

2026-06-09T20:31:26+00:00

What app or workout are we using to track strength workouts?

I use Hevy but no Garmin integration is a bit clunky. I always start a workout on my watch to get the data in the connect app, but would love a better option!

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Please help me with a question about unproductive status

2026-06-10T01:06:30+00:00

I understand that one of the factors used to calculate Training Status is VO2 max. However, when doing indoor cycling without a power meter, Garmin can’t accurately estimate my cycling VO2 max.

Because of that, after completing indoor cycling workouts, my VO2 max doesn’t seem to improve or change, and my Training Status often shows as “Unproductive.”

My question is: am I understanding this correctly, or am I missing something? Is the training actually considered unproductive by Garmin because it can’t measure VO2 max properly, or is there another factor involved?

For context, I’m currently following a Garmin Cycling Coach plan and doing my workouts on an indoor stationary bike without a power meter.

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Feature request - Active calories per hour, or 10 min, etc

2026-06-10T02:44:00+00:00

So I do a lot of varying types of workouts. Some are intense, and some are just a walk, or some easy exercises.

What I usually track to compare workout intensity is ACTIVE CALORIES. I could go for a lazy walk for 2 hours, and burn like 200 calories basically walking 1 mph, but if my resting metabolic rate is 90 cal per hour, then all i really gained from that workout is 20 calories over what I would have burned if i were asleep.

PACE or SPEED is useful during a run, but what I think would be useful is seeing like Cal per hour, or active cal per hour or per 10 min or something, for non gps activities.

what do you think, good idea? Useful?

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Help! FR 265 won’t connect.

2026-06-09T20:42:25+00:00

My 265 was paired to my connect app and working fine until this morning. I heard a text come on my phone and noticed it didn’t come to my watch. So I disconnected from my iPhone blue tooth and from the Connect app. Now my device can’t be found. And the Bluetooth toggle is missing for the app in my iPhone. Which seems to be the problem. I turned on/off both devices. Removed app from iPhone and reinstalled. I tried everything Garmin online support suggested.

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Fenix 8 Customized “Black Case Carbon Gray DLC Titanium Bezel” vs Original Stock Carbon Gray DLC Titanium

2026-06-10T02:37:08+00:00

Besides obviously the watch strap, is there any actual difference in the watch if I were to customize the “Black case with Carbon Grey DLC Titanium Bezel” compared to the Original Non-customized stock Carbon grey DLC Titanium Bezel Fenix 8? Pictures shown above.

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Garmin Connect + Strong App + Apple Health

2026-06-10T01:33:46+00:00

Was Apple Ultra Watch switched to Tactix 8

Strong app for strength training is superior. So I want to use that as my data source. But it only connects to Apple Health from what I’ve seen.

Garmin Connect app for Heart Rate, Sleep Tracking, Body Battery, everything else, besides step counting (I have a desk treadmill), so use my iPhone as Apple Health data source. Everything else connected to Apple Health.

Apple Health is final dashboard.

Problem:
I think the Garmin reports are nice, but they are missing my strength training activity from Strong App so Body Battery, Training Readiness, Intensity Minutes, all inaccurate.

After strength training session, Strong app writes to Apple Health, but idk if Garmin Watch will detect activity there when I’m working out. So kind of double activity tracking

submitted by /u/Lanky-Ad4698
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Activity not registering in my challenge

2026-06-10T00:49:01+00:00

Hello! I’ve just finished my workout, I did weight training for about 40 minutes. The activity registered on my garmin connect, but it has not been logged in my june badge challenge (register 20 20 minutes activities). Is this frequent? I haven’t had my garmin for long, so I’m wondering if it’s because of resting between sets. Does it have to be fully active minutes? Thanks to anyone who answers me

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Garmin UI

2026-06-10T00:24:42+00:00

Have had a Garmin for 2 years now, initially bought to train and complete a full marathon which has served perfectly. However, after being with Garmin for this time just seems like missing out with the poor UI. Hard to understand why Garmin is so far behind in regards to this. Have purchased the new Aura ring to use while training for my next full and the UI is heads and shoulders above

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How does garmin count "Active calories"?

2026-06-09T19:58:42+00:00

I'm a 90kg male i have a job where i'm very active, i do 1.5-2hours strength training i try to maintain 15k steps average with some days hiking some days jogging to lose weight.. but with almost 16k steps and strength training, my app still says i only burned about 200 active calories doesnt seem quite right to me :s

(Please delete if this is supposed to be posted on sundays first time poster.)

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Miserable GPS accuracy on Quatix7

2026-06-09T12:20:54+00:00

Hi all,

this is the most recent watch in the series of my Garmin watches, so I keep expectations reasonable. I owned F3, F5, Tactix 7, Descent mk1 and mk2.

Context: the GPS is completely out of whack, it doesn't lock on even when the watch is static for longer periods of time. Current location is driftinf around constantly at this translates to real-world error of ± tens/hundreds of meters. Unfortunately for my use case this renders the watch totally unuseable.

I tried running "All systems" as well as "GPS only" latest FW. It was like this from the first day, but I realised later as I didn't test this function when I made the purchase (a physical shop)

Question: Did anybody experience similar issues? Does it look like a physical defect?

I got the watch new in Indonesia and the sales rep mentioned that the warranty (2years) is only applicable within Indonesia, so that complicates things (I am not in Indonesia). It looks like it will be my first time dealing with Garmin support regarding the warranty.

I am attaching a sample video when I compare my Quatix to my Descent.

submitted by /u/MufaM1
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Need advice/help

2026-06-09T22:54:42+00:00

I am a fairly new runner, just 2 months in and i bought the garmin forerunner 165. I got excited and on the first day i used the garmin run coach training feature. It made me do 2 benchmark runs but what happensed after is what's bugging me. It would say run tomorrow and then rest the day after but after i do the run, it will change everything and will make me run again the upcoming day. So now i've done 5 days of running, it's not hard and just 20 mins but i'm concerned if this is okay? My best 5k time is 36 minutes but i want to get to sub 30 so that's my garmin run coach plan.

Also idk if this a necessary information but i work at night so i am asleep on day and i do my runs in the morning before i sleep. (Literally after i run it will change the schedule and will put a run again the upcoming day) Idk if i phrased my problem properly so i'm sorry!

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Understanding Data

2026-06-09T19:05:38+00:00

Curious if anyone knows why the same "Stressful Period" is reported repeatedly with slightly different time frames? Was I docked five points once or numerous times? Just trying to figure out if this is a glitch or how it actually works. Vivoactive 5 watch if that makes any difference.

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Is this a problem?

2026-06-09T20:57:31+00:00

I don’t know if there is a problem with the HR sensor on my watch, my HR randomly spikes while running. My pace is the same and I don’t feel a difference between before and after the spike. This has happened on all my runs even when I have tighten my strap.

I’m a 16 year old male, and former competitive swimming so it’s not that I’m in a bad shape.

If you have any advice or suggestions on how to fix it feel free to write, or ask if you further questions.

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Addition to my Garmin Fenix 8: Whoop 5.0 or Oura Ring 5?

2026-06-09T14:08:33+00:00

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for something to use alongside my Garmin Fenix 8. For sports and training, the Fenix is great and I plan to keep using it as my main training device.

Where I’m less convinced is Garmin’s overnight tracking and morning readiness-style metrics. Sometimes the values feel overly optimistic and don’t really line up with my own impression of the night.

Because of that, I’m currently considering either the Whoop 5.0 or the Oura Ring 5 as a second device.

The main idea would be to get a better overall picture in the morning, while keeping all workouts and training analysis on Garmin.

Does anyone here use either Whoop or Oura together with a Garmin watch? Which one would you recommend as a companion device?

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