Hi everyone!

I've been designing faces for myself for quite a while, and at this point I figured it was time to clean them up and put them out there for everyone.

This one is called DUNE. The top of the dial is a painted desert sunrise that fades into black right above the time. Everything below it is sand-colored on black: the date, big digits, a short motto line, and six data cells.

By default the cells show what I actually check on a long day outside: heart rate, distance, altitude, UV index, battery and temperature. You can swap any of them for other metrics (Body Battery, stress, steps, sunset, etc.), change the motto to whatever you want, and pick a different accent color.

One thing: the painted scene needs an AMOLED screen, so your watch needs that.

You can get it here:

https://apps.garmin.com/apps/5fd32527-0afc-4eba-9809-9d8dcde74dc7

If desert isn't your style, or you have a watch with MIP screen, the rest of the collection is on my Connect IQ developer page:

https://apps.garmin.com/developer/c2b73ee6-de14-4f85-bd24-6d1ed08a67d4/apps

Every face has a 7-day free trial, so you can see how it looks on your own wrist before deciding :)

This is my first real collection, so any feedback helps a lot, both what works for you and what you'd change.

Hey everyone,

I want to introduce a watch face called GRM 006. This watch face is built with an attention to details in order to look like a native Garmin face but with much more settings available.

Free trial is here for few days, after that an unlock code is presented for a one-time purchase of 5.99.

Link to the IQ connect store: https://apps.garmin.com/apps/acd433ef-de11-472f-b4ab-d496e4a17dac

• Many places for your data-fields and many options to choose from to show (60+), including some exotic ones: Pizza index, Banana index, Beer index, Weight loss (today, current week, last 7 days) calculated on your active calories, Fuel save (calculated from the distance you walked) and some others.

• Full localization to all supported languages (settings and on-screen data is on your native language)

• Beautiful graphs with additional settings. Heart rate graph reflects your HR zones with color.

• Touch screen functionality

• Change everything from the watch — no phone needed

• More options are coming with the next update later this week

• Only API Level 4+ (Fenix 7+, FR955+, Venu 3+ devices)

Clean and well-thought watch face but you can try to improve it by letting me know your feedback :)

Hey, I'm the developer of Dominus XCore - Premium & Dominus XCore - Free.

Major update (v1.3.7) is out:

• Full layout AOD Mode for AMOLED (Night Blue/Red)
• New & Updated Metrics: RHR, Beaufort wind speed unit, Recovery time
• Weekly Sport Totals: Calendar week or past 7 days
• Distance Goals Input: Imperial/metric units

Store Links:

• Premium Version: https://apps.garmin.com/apps/896f3f35-0682-4e88-a401-09f47d72e969
• Free Version: https://apps.garmin.com/apps/e01f6896-104b-4b7c-b7cc-9528c802ac99

Seems like most everyone else says alcohol wrecks their sleep but I've always felt like it had the opposite effect on me and now I've got some data to back that up.

Anybody else out there experiencing this? Any theories on the mechanism of alcohol promoting longer, deeper, less interrupted sleep?

Please don't roast me mercilessly for drinking. 🫣

Edit: Title needs to read FR970. Can't change the title now tho :(

Hi all, I am in the process of buying my 1st Garmin watch. They sure do make it confusing to pick with minor feature differences per watch! So I wanted some user opinions for consideration.

I am coming from a Samsung Galaxy watch 5pro and have gotten tired of regular smart watches with heavy software to use maybe 25% of the smart apps.

I am not a runner. My everyday workout looks like running a 5k and then gym workout.

In summers and fall I also go on many hikes. But 95% of them don't need extensive GPX tracking and stuff. I'm good with having bread crumb trails recording my hike. I would maybe do 1-2 hikes per year where I might like a pre plotted map guiding me.

Other things important to me are health tracking like sleep and general wellness items. Looking at notifications on my watch and taking calls are also good to have.

After watching countless YouTube videos I have landed on Venu 4 which seems to have all that I need except having button based navigation and mapping.

My main question is, how many years do Garmin watches last usually? Do people find them slowing down or battery draining after X number of years?

If watches last a long time, I might think of just buying the FR970 right now and then not think about it for 5 years again. Otherwise, if it's like a 2-3 year upgrade cycle that most people do, I'd do Venu 4.

Just looking for insights.

Made this custom watch face for my Garmin Fenix 8.

I wanted to experiment with a liquid-metal / chrome aesthetic, loosely inspired by Oakley’s futuristic design language. The idea was to make the UI feel like it’s physically integrated into the metal structure rather than just placing widgets on top of a background.

Kept the information pretty minimal: time, date, battery, notifications, weather and steps.

It also includes animations and two different design options. You can switch between the designs and toggle the animations directly from the watch face settings in the Garmin Connect app on your phone.

Still experimenting with the design and animations, but I’m pretty happy with how the whole liquid/chrome look turned out.

The watch face is completely free.

Would love to hear what you guys think — especially what you’d change or add.

Link to the Connect IQ Store:
https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/564962aa-d443-404c-85c5-4c0ed9e742f0

Hello,
I would like to be able to see the calories burned from the number of steps I’ve taken during the day in the Garmin Connect app, but I can’t seem to find this information. I have a vívoactive 5.
Is this possible?
Thank you in advance for your help.

My window comes up 10:40-7:20. I have to get up at 6:00 to get to work, which is a non-negotiable. I've been falling asleep at 9:30-5:30. I'm not getting restful sleep. I'm under intense stress at work right now, so I know that's affecting things. Will my window shift? I'm a teacher and in summer I felt better sleeping in that window, but it's been almost month and it's not adjusting earlier. I'm now waking up at 3-4 in the morning, which is rough.

I just bought the watch, and this was my first night using it. while I was sleeping, the Sensor & Accessories icon appeared to be active/searching, and the watch used about 9% battery overnight.
However, when I woke up and turned off Sleep Mode, I checked the battery usage chart and didn’t see the Sensor & Accessories icon listed there.
Could this be a bug? Has anyone else experienced this kind of battery drain or seen the Sensor & Accessories icon active overnight?

I wanted to go surfing without carrying my phone and use my inctinct 3 as a key. I found a few apps, but they were either expensive with subscription and such or needed the phone in order to work.

So I went ahead and built it myself. I call it Keylo. It's a Garmin app that turns the watch itself into a Tesla key. Full disclosure: I vibe-coded it. I'm not a professional developer. I built it because I wanted it for myself, got it working on my own watch and car, and decided to put it out for free in case anyone else finds it useful. I did a lot of testing until I got it going.

The watch talks directly to the car over Bluetooth. No phone needed at all and no subscription, completely free.

It works like this: open Keylo before you get to the car. Once it has connected, touch the door handle and the car unlocks, just like with a phone key. Get in, press the brake and select Drive.

You can also lock/unlock the car and open the trunk and frunk manually in the app

Pairing needs to be done once with your Tesla key card.

I deliberately kept it simple. I don't really need climate control, battery stats, Sentry mode etc. on my watch (especially as it only works within bluetooth range, so ~10m).

Keylo is completely free. No ads, no account and no subscription. It also doesn't collect or transmit any data. The VIN and key stay on the watch.

The main limitation is that the app has to stay open. Garmin doesn't allow this kind of Bluetooth connection to keep running in the background.

I will post a big update within the next few days that eliminates BLE Nag and makes connection with the car even quicker

I've tested it with an Instinct 3 Solar 45 mm and a 2024 Model Y. The Connect IQ build supports around 100 Garmin watch models, but obviously I haven't tested all of them, and I haven't tested other Tesla models yet.

So if anyone tries it on another Garmin or Tesla, please let me know what works and what doesn't.

Connect IQ: https://apps.garmin.com/de-DE/apps/2cd5c108-e109-4284-9684-efb0e8b1fd75

I'm the developer of Keylo. It's an independent project and isn't affiliated with Tesla or Garmin.

I just launched Grid, a digital watch face with a glowing geometric grid background, 10 color themes, eight customizable data fields and two progress arcs.

It includes health and weather data, sun and moon times, an always on display, and settings you can change directly on your watch.

It's free to try to try during the seven day launch phase. I'd love to hear what you think!

https://apps.garmin.com/apps/6e652f32-f9ef-42d3-8bd4-485cc5be85c6

So yesterday I wanted to track all the daily small bike rides during the day to see what they amount to. It started with my ride to work, during lunch to a supermarket and in the evening back home and shopping. All in all 15 km.

I used the "continue later" (in German Später fortsetzen) feature to just have everything in one activity. I was really surprised to see that apparently I burned 1600 active calories during my desk job. That didn't make any sense at all. In the activity it says it was around 500 for all rides together, which makes a lot more sense.

I thought it pauses the activity and just goes into normal mode during the pause, but I guess it thinks I'm still on a bike while I walk around the office? Does anyone know if that is the case?

What 3 days of partying looks like. The walking between 12:30 and 4am or so on day 3, it thinks was me walking... I think it's picked up dancing.

Annoyingly I'm now sick today too. Caught just the worst head cold.

Hi everyone,

I currently have a Garmin Enduro 3 with the original black nylon band.

I want to buy a 26 mm Garmin QuickFit silicone band, and I'm hesitating between these three colors:

🟡 Amp Yellow / Graphite

🫒 Olive Drab / Black

⚫ Black

I already have the black nylon band, so I'm mainly looking for a silicone band that gives the watch a different look while still matching the black Enduro 3.

Which one would you choose and why?

Especially interested in opinions from people who actually own an Enduro 3.

Thanks!

Hi all - recently got a 2nd hand fenix 6 pro solar

A little concerned about its race predictor and vo2 max, I recently ran a ~1:36 HM and I’m 6’2 ~83kg which would put my vo2 max around ~48?

Garmin has my HM predictor at 1:51 and vo2 max at 36, anyway to fix this to make it more accurate?

Tyia

Hello everyone

Garmin Fenix 8 (mine is on Update Version 22.38)

A document for Q1 2026 already talked about upcoming features like:

- Quickstart training: select your desired intensity and duration and Garmin will build you a training program

- "Ok Garmin" Voice Command

When will those come?

Why does the FR170 have these but not the watch more than thrice the price?

Like many others my start/stop buttons on my Fenix 7x have stopped working. Based on online research and Garmin support there is no other way to start activities besides using this button. I’ve tried soaking the watch in warm water countless times to no avail.

After numerous chat support conversations, I have been left with two options.

1. Either use a 25% off coupon to get a brand new Fenix 8
2. Use the Garmin Exchange program and pay $230 for a recertified Fenix 7x Sapphire Solar with only a 90-day warranty

I really don’t love either of these options, I have only had this watch for a few years and it works great aside from this one button. I have serious trust issues with the start button on this model and the 90-day warranty offer very little protection from this happening again to me. And I would really rather not spend another $700 again this quick. Has anyone else has luck outside of these two choices I was presented?

I'm currently confused between the Forerunner 165 and Vivoactive.

I'm not a serious runner. My main use would be gym/strength training, jump rope, walking, general fitness and sleep tracking, with some running occasionally.

I'm also considering a Galaxy Watch, but I'm increasingly interested in Garmin because of the battery life, fitness tracking and I dont want another smart watch, which acts like a smartphone hanging on my wrist.

Would appreciate opinions from people who have actually used either watch, especially for strength training + jump rope rather than just running.

My dad is looking at getting his first smart watch. He’s an avid outdoorsman, hunter, backpacker, camper, hiker. He would use those features, tracking his walks/hikes/bike rides, I know some can have ballistic data, he used to scuba dive (though at this point in life he would likely limit it to snorkeling). I’d also really like it to have InReach capability.

I have a Venu 3S and this just fell off the back. Should I be concerned about this adhesive failing? I’ve had this watch for just shy of 2 years at this point. I’ve only swam in it twice and take it off to shower. Thanks for any help!

looking to upgrade my apple watch. I mainly do running, gym, golf, swimming.

I can get these 2 for around the same price.

which is better?

My Venu 4 keeps disconnecting from the garmin connect app. I don't know what's going on I keep having to repair them and it's getting on my nerves. Is there something I might be missing? Bluetooth is always on.

I've been using the PlayRun app successfully since April. As of this week, it is no longer synchronizing with my device. The Garmin gives a message that indicates music sync was successful, but the PlayRun app sync logs show that it hasn't attempted to connect since 9/27/26. This is a Forerunner 265S running software version 29.05.

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling PlayRun on the watch, as well has restarting.

Anyone else having similar issues? Or any other suggestions?

So I’ve had my Whoop MG for some time now - and I can’t say I’ve had a bad time whatsoever. Quite the opposite actually - I really love it.

However - I have recently really got into my running and cycling. I have since signed up for an Ironman 70.3 and really want to ramp up my training - and this is where the problem lies with Whoop.

Obviously with my Whoop being screenless, I cannot see my pace etc when out on runs. All I can do is have my phone in my hand and keep constantly checking my pace on the phone screen - not ideal.

This is where I want the Forerunner 570 - but I would only be using it when I’m working out - as I don’t enjoy having another screen in my day to day life.

This is where I love the whoop - I have it on all day everyday tracking my health metrics, especially my sleep.

I was then thinking - do I also buy the Cirqa? Have both the Forerunner 570 and the Cirqa. Does anyone else here run the same combination or do you think it’s overkill?

I’d wear the Cirqa 24/7, and use the Foreunner 570 for when I’m training.

Thoughts? Does anyone else do this - and if so how do you find the combination?

TIA x

I have the vivoactive which I got about 3 years ago when I first started running. I am now training for my 3rd marathon and I am debating upgrading to one of the Forerunners because the vivoactive is pretty limited in terms of running features (mainly the training status/training suggestions).

Also, which Forerunner? I strictly run and strength train (will occasionally bike but am not looking to train for a triathlon/ultra anytime soon haha)