This product has been discontinued by the manufacturer. It's been replaced by the Garmin Forerunner 945, you may want to check out that review instead.
Last month just ahead of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, Garmin announced their latest triathlon watch – the FR920XT. At the time I wrote a relatively long first look at the watch, but now I’ve had a solid month under my belt using the final watch and firmware. In doing so I’ve been able to beat the crap out of it and see where it shines…and where it might need some more polish.
The FR920XT brings together in one unit a slew of new features found on many recent Garmin devices across the health and fitness landscape. For example, it adds in Live Tracking that started on the Edge series, more swim functionality found in the Garmin Swim and Fenix2, Running Dynamics that started in the FR620, and finally activity and sleep tracking from the Vivo lineup of activity monitors. But, these are really just small tidbits of what is without question the most full featured multisport watch on the market (if not most full featured watch of any type out there today).
To be clear, I’ve been using a FR920XT provided by Garmin to test with (final production unit). Like always, I’ll be shipping that back to them in Kansas in the next little bit and going out and getting my own via regular retail channels. That’s just the way I roll.
Lastly, at the end of the day keep in mind I’m just like any other regular athlete out there. I write these reviews because I’m inherently a curious person with a technology background, and thus I try and be as complete as I can. But, if I’ve missed something or if you spot something that doesn’t quite jive – just let me know and I’ll be happy to get it all sorted out. Also, because the technology world constantly changes, I try and go back and update these reviews as new features and functionality are added – or if bugs are fixed. So – with that intro, let’s get into things.
Unboxing:
The FR920XT comes in two box flavors and two unit colors. You can purchase the unit with the HRM-RUN heart rate strap, or without it. And then both of those are offered in either Blue/Black, and Red/White. I’ll discuss the HRM-RUN later on.
To start, here’s the box of the HRM-RUN bundle:
After cracking it open you’ve got these five basic piles: The USB charging clip, the watch itself, the HRM-RUN strap, some paper stuffs, and the HRM-RUN transmitter model that snaps into the strap:
And again, without the plastic bags:
Starting with the charging cable, it allows you to plug into any USB port on the planet to charge the FR920XT. The other end snaps into the FR920XT. It’s incredibly secure and requires pressing of a side button to remove. Thus, it’s somewhat ironic that given this high level of snap security that it doesn’t permit you to charge the device in the middle of an activity (such as an ultra run or super-long ride). When you add USB power to the FR920XT mid-activity, it’ll instantly end the activity and begin full charging. This is a bit of a disappointment.
Next is the HRM-RUN strap. This includes both the strap and the transmitter module. I’ve had good luck with the HRM-RUN strap and lack of drops/spikes. The strap is no different than the HRM-RUN straps found with the FR620 or the Fenix2. The presence of the little runner icon means it’s the HRM-RUN strap, versus just a regular strap. The regular straps are unable to transmit Vertical Oscillation or Ground Contact Time, as they don’t have the accelerometer inside that the HRM-RUN has.
Next is some paper quick start guides and manuals. You won’t really need them after reading this post:
And finally, we’ve got the watch itself. Again, but the end of this post you’ll be sick of photos of the FR920XT:
Let’s move onto how it compares in physical dimensions to other units.
Size & Weight Comparisons:
When it comes to size, the FR920XT is notably slimmer than past models. It’s roughly the same thickness as the Garmin FR620 running watch.
At the same time, the display colors are also increased over the FR620. While the FR620 included colors according to Garmin marketing, in reality it was pretty washed out. The FR920XT on the other hand is much crisper and brighter:
Speaking of wrists, here’s a look at how it compares on The Girl’s wrist, who is quite petite at 5’2″ tall:
Here’s a comparison to the FR910XT – the previous generation:
And finally, when looking at the Fenix2 (and Fenix2 Special Edition) – here’s how those compare:
Next, to compare it to other watches in the same markets (or just past Garmin watches), here’s a full lineup.
From left to right: FR920XT, FR910XT, Fenix2, Ambit3, Ambit2, Ambit2S, Polar V800, Polar M400, Polar RC3, Garmin FR620.
And here’s the thickness shown. In this case the roller was kept level, so the depth between the surface and the watches shows you height:
Zooming in on just the higher end multisport watches (Left to right: Garmin FR920XT, Garmin FR910XT, Garmin Fenix2, Suunto Ambit3, Polar V800):
Finally, looking at weight of the watch – it’s quite light. The FR920XT comes in at 61.6g, which is even lighter than the older running only FR610:
The Polar V800 comes in at 80.8g:
The Suunto Ambit3 at 86.0g:
And finally, the Fenix2 at 85.6g:
Now with everything all compared, let’s get onto using it.
Initial Setup & Configuration:
To start the software side, you’ll open up Garmin Express and get it added to your account:
From there you can choose to create a Garmin Connect account, or link it to an existing one. You’ll use this Garmin Connect account to upload workouts to the service, which can then be sent to other services including Strava, Training Peaks, and Sport Tracks – all automatically. But I’ll talk more about the Auto Sync piece later on in the Garmin Connect section.
Next, in the event you already have a Vivo product like the Vivosmart or Vivofit, you’ll need to choose which device to use for your daily steps.
Next, you’ll be asked to setup WiFi networks. You can attach to up to 7 WiFi networks, as long as they don’t have some sort of ‘I agree’ type page, like Starbucks or some airport WiFi hotspots. Home and office ones almost never do, so you’re setting up both easily there.
You can also specify a preferred network. Additionally, it’ll show you the MAC address in the event you do MAC filtering on your routers/WiFi hotspots.
Finally, you’ll want to ensure the software checks for updates and grabs them, this is especially true earlier on in the product cycle where things might iterate quickly with bug fixes.
You can see below there are two updates available, so I’ll just go ahead and click ‘Install All’ to get things underway.
Next, you’ll go ahead and unplug your device, which will allow the install to finish:
The whole process only takes a moment to complete. With everything set, it’s time to head on outside.
Running:
Now that we’ve got it all configured, we’ll start with running and go through the run-specific items. Note of course that there are many features that are applicable to all sports that I’ve covered elsewhere in the review. For this section I’m just focused on the run-specific items.
To begin, like all sports you’ll go ahead and power change from standby mode to sport mode. In doing so you’ll then choose the sport, in our case an Outdoor Run:
This will enable the GPS. The FR920XT uses satellite caching to speed up satellite acquisition time. In general, it’s going to take about 3-7 seconds for it to find satellites, often less. This satellite cache is valid for 7 days, and is refreshed each time you connect your FR920XT to your phone, computer, or WiFi.
With that ready, you can begin your run by pressing the start/enter button. This will begin the timer and start recording.
At this point the unit will start showing you pace and distance from GPS. To get a feel for how quickly the unit will respond to changes in pace, I’ve put together the following video that shows me running along at a steady pace, then stopping within the width of a crosswalk, and then resuming running again.
It’s pretty quick to respond. You’ll notice that the pace is rounded to the nearest :05 seconds, which is common on most of Garmin’s newer running watches. This is to make the pace a bit smoother. In reality, all GPS watches do smoothing, so while it may seem annoying to some – one way or another the pace is going to get smoothed. Either with or without you knowing about it. For me, I don’t find this too big an issue. When I’m doing intervals timed to sets that are less than 5-seconds in definition, such as 6:22/mile, I simply use the ‘Lap Pace’ option instead. Problem solved!
The FR920XT adds the Running Dynamics found on the FR620 & Fenix2 watches. Running Dynamics include three components: Vertical Oscillation, Ground Contact Time, and Cadence. In this case, the first two – VO & GCT – are only available using the HRM-RUN strap. Whereas while cadence can some from the HRM-RUN strap, it’ll also come from the watch itself.
These metrics are shown on a specific Running Dynamics page. After uploading a run, this data is available to plot on Garmin Connect (you can see a sample run here). You’ll notice the most definition when doing something like an interval run that has clear pace changes in it.
While this data is interesting, in using it over the past year, I haven’t actually found much training value out of it. I suspect that most users stop looking at the numbers after the first week or two.
In addition to Running Dynamics, you’ll get Running VO2Max. This is updated following the completion of each run:
It’ll take a number of runs for this number to even out, so don’t judge too harshly after just the first few runs. The VO2Max number is then used to calculate race predictions. These race predictions are simply done by looking up your VO2Max combined with gender and age, to known ‘best case’ results. This means this is somewhat of a best case scenario, and doesn’t mean you have actually done the training to complete – for example – a marathon at that pace/time.
Still, I find that once my VO2Max number stabilizes, the race predictor numbers are very close to my PR’s. It won’t be perfect for everyone, but it’s certainly interesting.
Next we have two recovery related metrics. The first metric will show up about 10 minutes into your run, and let you know how well recovered you are from your previous run. This will give you a ‘Good’, ‘Fair’, etc… type metric that you could use to potentially change your workout.
The second metric is the actual recovery time following completion of the workout. For this metric it’ll give you hours until your next hard workout. For triathletes of course, these numbers can be a bit tricky because you might do a hard run one day, and then a hard bike the next.
I tend to take these numbers with a solid boulder sized grain of salt. Also, note that while none of the recovery/VO2Max pieces require the HRM-RUN strap, they don’t work as well with optical HR straps from 3rd party vendors. See my section on that later on to get more clarity there.
When it comes to mid-run related functionality, there’s a ton of features found on the FR920XT. In general, everything you’ll have used in past Garmin watches is present here, for example:
Auto Pause: This will automatically pause the watch when you stop running. It’s ideal for city running, but I personally keep it off. If you do enable it, you may want to tweak the configuration a bit to get better results.
Auto Scroll: This will change your data pages automatically every few seconds. I prefer though to just control them myself.
Auto Lap: This will automatically create laps at a preset distance, such as 1-mile. I use this mostly on long runs where I don’t have any other structure in my run. But for shorter runs, I’ll turn this off so I can manually break up the structure of my run. You can always manually lap at any time by pressing the lap button.
Alerts: These can be used to notify you when you go above/below certain thresholds like distance, time, heart rate, cadence, etc…
Run/Walk Mode: This mode will allow you to create a Run/Walk routine that’s often used in beginner marathon attempts to have you run for a certain time/distance and then walk for a certain time/distance – repeating over and over until 26.2 miles of misery is complete.
All of these options are available in other sport modes, except Run/Walk.
For one last FR920XT specific new feature we have the Metronome. The Metronome enables you to have the unit automatically beep or buzz to a specific running cadence. Running at certain higher cadences has long been used as a way to increase turnover and generally improve efficiency. The fastest of elite/pro runners will have extremely high running turnover. A running cadence of 180rpm is generally considered a good baseline (90rpm per leg).
Within the FR920XT you can specify the exact running cadence (with both legs combined, as beats per minute which is equated to rpm) and then the unit can be configured to beep/buzz every other beat, or in increments up to every sixth beat. Note however that this will impact battery life a fair bit in my experience.
For me, I went with every fourth beat, which is basically one leg every two steps. I find it a nice balance.
Now, I also find that it’s a bit tough to hear the beeps in the city at rush hour, so the vibration makes it super easy to just match the buzz to the foot hitting the ground.
Finally, the FR920T gains the ability to show PR’s on the unit. PR’s are ‘Personal Records’ for a variety of items from longest run to fastest one-mile time. Upon the completion of each run it’ll let you know if you’ve triggered any PR’s during that run:
These PR’s will also show up on Garmin Connect as well, so you can validate them there too.
Cycling:
The FR920XT supports a cycling mode that allows you to track bike-specific metrics. In the cycling mode you’ll see speed instead of pace, thus it’ll show up at MPH or KPH. Further, you can access power meter metrics from ANT+ power meters, and speed/cadence/combo sensors from ANT+ devices there as well.
The FR920XT is able to clip into the standard Garmin Edge series quarter-turn bike mounts that are so popular these days. Both Garmin and many 3rd party companies make these mounts, and some bikes even have mounts built into them. However, that does require the FR920XT quick release kit. The quick release kit is a add-on that slides into the backplate of the FR920XT to allow it to mount directly to quarter turn mounts.
It also contains a separate plate that you then attach your watch straps to, so that you can quickly turn it from watch to bike computer. Below, are a slew of pictures of the kit.
The quick release kit
Quick release kit parts
Bands attached to plate, FR920XT separate
Within watch band
On wrist side
On road bike step with rubber band mount (seen above to left/right as well).
On the Barfly TT mount on bike
On wrist front
On wrist profile
Backplate attached to FR920XT
When it comes to power meter metrics the FR920XT has all the same metrics as the Edge 1000 does – so it includes advanced power sensor metrics around everything from left/right balance to pedal smoothness. It also has one metric the Edge 1000 doesn’t have – which is Cycling VO2Max.
For this metric it computes your VO2Max value using cycling specific algorithms, in conjunction with a power meter (which is required). These algorithms will update your cycling VO2Max after each ride:
I noticed it’s a bit low for me, but each time I ride it appears to increase slightly. I asked Garmin about that and they said it’ll take a number of rides to stabilize, as it ‘learns’ you. I’ve seen this on the running side as well, where it’s just now finally getting close to the VO2Max numbers that I get on my FR620 (as well as the ones that I’ve been tested against).
When it comes to sensors, the FR920XT supports two major cycling types of sensors. The first is power meters. Within this it supports ANT+ power meters, from any vendor including Garmin but also Quarq, PowerTap, SRM, Stages and so on. It does not support Bluetooth Smart power meters though.
Next, it also supports ANT+ Speed sensors, ANT+ Cadence sensors, and ANT+ Speed/Cadence combo sensors. Garmin themselves had units in each of those categories – but there are many other companies making ANT+ speed/cadence sensors, including some like Trek & Giant that insert directly into the bike frame itself.
Note that like power meters, the FR920XT does not support Bluetooth Smart speed/cadence sensors, only ANT+. Many of the speed/cadence sensors though coming onto the market are dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart, so it’ll support those just fine.
Beyond these bike-specific items noted in this section – the rest of the features I’ve covered in other sections. So routing for example is applicable whether in bike or run mode, just as Live Tracking or structured workouts are as well.
Swimming (Openwater):
The FR920XT contains two different swim-specific modes: Openwater and pool. For this first section, I’ll cover openwater. The next will be for pool swimming.
Openwater swimming is simply the swimming in any body of water that doesn’t have lane lines. Be it a river, ocean, lake, or pond (or, I suppose this crazy big pool in Chile). In these settings the watch uses a special openwater mode that allows it to determine your pace, distance and location.
It’s important to understand though that this is a tricky affair. Each time the watch goes underwater during your swim stroke it loses GPS signal. For the 1 second or so that it’s above the water it regains it, but usually with low accuracy. It might be off by 5 meters or 100 meters. This process repeats every stroke. The openwater swim mode software however takes all these potentially inaccurate data points and starts to create a picture of where you’re going. That picture tends to be a bit smoothed in order to normalize the craziness of GPS data captured during swimming.
As such, I find that for most openwater swim sessions, you won’t often have exact accuracy. Within 10% or so is the name of the game. If you want exact accuracy then the swim cap method is the way to go. But for most people putting it on the wrist is just fine. I’ve included my openwater swim GPS accuracy numbers in the GPS accuracy section a bit lower.
While in openwater swim mode the unit will show your distance in yards/meters and then miles/kilometers. It’ll also show you stroke information as well as pace.
Now, the FR920XT does actually allow you to complete Live Tracking in openwater swim mode. In my earlier testing there was a bug that produced incorrect data tracks (it looked like I was swimming drunk). My understanding from Garmin is that bug has been addressed in yesterday’s firmware update. Still, the concept is pretty cool. I just set my phone inside my swim buoy and then it’ll actually keep the connection alive and transmit my location via cellular services:
I won’t re-write my entire post on it, but you can read about it here. Alternatively, you can watch a video I put together on it below:
Overall, like past openwater swim devices the accuracy is generally acceptable for most purposes – albeit not perfect. For those looking for perfection the best bet is to sacrifice stroke information/metrics and place the unit in your swimcap.
One final note is that the pins on the FR920XT are greatly improved over previous watches. It uses a similar pin system to that of the Fenix2 and FR620/FR220, which uses dual sets of screws that tighten into each other on both band portions. This means that unlike some older multisport units, it’s highly unlikely the band pins will break on the unit. Note however that I haven’t yet had a chance to try out the quick release kit. That is still pending release from Garmin.
Swimming (Pool):
The next swimming related mode is for pools. It doesn’t matter if the pool is inside or outside, it’s the same mode. In the pool mode the unit doesn’t use GPS, but rather uses an internal accelerometer to detect each time you reach the end of the length of the pool. It uses the same accelerometers to detect strokes and stroke types.
To begin, you’ll select the ‘Pool Swim’ mode from the available activity profiles:
Because the unit simply tracks each time you complete a length, it needs to know how big your pool is. To set that you’ll press: Settings > Activity Settings > Pool Size, and then specify a pool size. You can choose from a number of common pool sizes, or just select your own.
By default it’ll save your last pool size, so it’s not something you need to change unless you go to a different sized pool.
At this point you can begin swimming after hitting start. It’ll automatically count your laps, lengths and pace for you.
The FR920XT also introduces a new swim rest timer as well. This allows you to better time intervals by showing you your resting time and interval time on one handy screen:
You’ll use the ‘Lap’ button to toggle between swimming and resting. You’d usually do this at the end of the lane.
While swimming it’s easiest to just twist your wrist slightly when you push off the wall to see your current pace. You can specify all the usual data fields such as pace, time and distance. You can also create alerts for set distances, such as 500y/500m, or time alerts.
Note that while there is a metronome mode for running, it’s not available in the swimming mode. I asked Garmin about it, and they said that in their testing it resulted in a poor user experience. Likely simply because of the downside of dealing with it being on your wrist versus some of the swim metronomes being in your swim cap.
As for the heart rate strap, it won’t transmit more than an inch or two underwater, so you won’t get heart rate while swimming. The FR920XT does not permit pairing to any HR strap within the pool mode. It does however permit connectivity to a heart rate strap in openwater swim mode. In this case, you’d have to use a HR device that’s within an inch or two of your wrist – such as the Mio Link. I tested this with mixed success, you can read more about that here.
The FR920XT contains the swim drill mode, which allows you to complete drills and then specify a total yardage/distance at the end of the drill section. This is useful when you do something like a kickboard drill, which wouldn’t accurately be captured by the watch due to lack of stroking.
All of this data is then available afterwards on Garmin Connect. It’ll show your sets as well as your individual swim lengths:
In the event you have miscounted lengths, Garmin Connect doesn’t offer a way to fix it. However, 3rd party sites like Sport Tracks do allow you to fix lengths on your swim. As does this site here, which will fix the file and then allow you to re-upload it to Garmin Connect.
In my experience I’ve found no issues with swimming accuracy and the FR920XT. Though, that’s also generally the case for almost every swimming watch I test. It was par for the course with other units I wore at the same time. This is likely because I understand fairly well how these devices work and know how to get the best results from them.
So if you haven’t swam with a watch that measures distance it might take a bit of tweaking to your normal routine to get accurate results. Here’s a few things to consider that should help you dramatically improve swim accuracy:
– The unit is measuring movement, and thus extra and unexpected movement will cause inaccurate results
– If you randomly stop in the middle of the lane, the unit will assume you’ve reached the wall and complete the length
– If you don’t pause the unit and run to the bathroom, the unit will likely assume you’re still swimming
– If you don’t pause the unit at the wall and then have an animated conversation with your lane mate, the unit will not understand the YMCA song movements and assume you’re doing something like swimming
– Swimming in crowded pools can be a challenge. But I assure you it’s not worse than mine, which I’ve counted up to 19 people in my lane at once. The key here is that if you accelerate to pass people, try and make it slightly smooth – versus outright stopping after a pass. Obviously, I recognize that initial acceleration to pass is required, but try and smooth the deceleration after the takeover.
– Stroke recognition can be tricky. I only swim freestyle, so I can’t really comment on other strokes.
– For the most accurate results, give a firm push off at the start of each length. It doesn’t matter whether you do a flip (tumble) turn, or an open (no flip) turn. Just do it with conviction.
All of this is likely common sense, and also completely expected by those using such devices for the past 3-4 years, but nonetheless I find it worth noting to those who might be new to swim watches. The most important thing to remember is that extra and unexpected motion is your enemy. The second most important thing is do push off the wall like you mean it. No wimpy pushes. Remember those two and you can usually get perfect results.
Indoor Training – Bike Trainers/Running Treadmills/Gyms:
The FR920XT allows you to track workouts indoors. By default it includes both an indoor cycling and indoor running mode. In the case of the indoor cycling it will allow you to track speed and distance on a trainer in conjunction with an ANT+ Speed or Speed/Cadence sensor (or a trainer that transmits those metrics).
But for those without electronic trainers, then you’ll just need the $35-$50 ANT+ sensors (see sensor section here).
For running indoors on a treadmill, the FR920XT will actually utilize wrist based detection (called WDR) to determine your pace and distance. This is calibrated automatically during your outdoor runs with GPS. Historically when I’ve tested the accuracy of this it varies wildly by device and sometimes just week to week in terms of recent runs and calibration efforts.
Take this run I did last night on a treadmill. In this case my workout was a 10 minute warm-up, then a 5 minute build in pace before 90 seconds of recovery and then starting a simple 4x800m interval set. The pace was set and controlled by the treadmill.
Now obviously I can’t say with 100% certainty that the treadmill was precisely accurate. But I can however state that the paces shown by the FR920XT were not accurate. I’ve run enough to know the difference between a 7:30/mile pace and a 6:00/mile pace. In my case, the FR920XT was showing my paces as significantly too slow. Though, the paces were quite smooth, whereas sometimes I see significant variations in these modes – so that’s a nice improvement.
You’ll also note that because it’s wrist based, that it’s fully impacted by non-running wrist movements. For example at the ~15 minute marker I used the same wrist/hand as my watch to change the treadmill pace. This resulted in that dropout you see. Whereas for the rest of the run I used my other hand.
Here’s a simple chart showing the paces for each section by what the treadmill reported, and what the Garmin reported:
Garmin FR920XT Treadmill Data
Description:
Time Slot:
Treadmill KPH:
Treadmill MPH
Treadmill Min/Mile:
Garmin Pace MPH
Starting treadmill
00:00 - 02:00
Variable
Variable
Variable
Variable
Warm-up
02:00 - 10:00
13 KPH
8.1 MPH
7:43/mile
8:29/mile
Build
10:00 - 15:00
14 KPH
8.7 MPH
7:11/mile
7:32/mile
Recovery
15:00 - 17:00
5 KPH
3.1 MPH
19:20/mile
17:12/mile
Interval #1 Work
~16:30 - ~19:40
15 KPH
9.3 MPH
6:27/mile
7:06/mile
Interval #1 Rest
~19:40 - ~21:20
5 KPH
3.1 MPH
19:20/mile
15:37/mile
Interval #2 Work
~21:20 - ~24:30
15 KPH
9.3 MPH
6:27/mile
7:08/mile
Interval #2 Rest
~24:30 - ~26:00
5 KPH
3.1 MPH
19:20/mile
16:00/mile
Interval #3 Work
~26:00 - ~29:10
15 KPH
9.3 MPH
6:27/mile
7:13/mile
Interval #3 Rest
~29:10 - ~30:40
5 KPH
3.1 MPH
19:20/mile
16:40/mile
Interval #4 Work
~30:40 - ~33:50
15 KPH
9.3 MPH
6:27/mile
7:04/mile
Interval #4 Rest
~33:50 - ~37:00
5 KPH to 0 KPH
3.1 MPH to 0 MPH
Variable
Variable
In some cases the pace was off significantly, and in others it was just off by less. I wouldn’t worry too much about the walking sections, since that’s more heavily impacted by how long the ramp is. I tried to ensure that the times for the work effort sections were only started once up to speed.
Now this level of accuracy shouldn’t really come as any surprise to most readers. It’s largely the same on many devices (Garmin or otherwise). Some devices are slightly more accurate, and some are slightly worse. For some people it works better, and others not so much.
You can improve the accuracy of pace indoors by picking up a footpod. Pairing to an ANT+ footpod traditionally produces near perfect results with Garmin devices in my experience – and is the best way to get accurate pace/distance data indoors recorded on your Garmin.
Finally, when it comes to regular gym cardio workouts (non-bike/run), the FR920XT can track the calories burned and heart rate metrics. The best way to do this is to simply create a new activity profile within the watch that uses the ‘Strength’ default activity profile.
This will then use heart rate to determine calorie burn. It won’t track specific movements like pull ups or weight lifting, but it will track the calorie burn during those activities.
Above you can see a core workout of sorts that I did using this profile. It’s nice as no distance is reported by the watch (at least, it wasn’t during this workout).
Multisport and Custom Modes:
Perhaps core to the FR920XT is the fact that it’s a multisport watch. Specifically this means that you can change sport types as part of a single cohesive activity. As a result if you’re doing a triathlon you can go from swim to bike to run, without having to end the activity and start a new one. This is different than a simple watch that can do both run and bike, but not as a single activity (for example, the Garmin FR620).
The FR920XT supports two ways of doing multisport events. The first is via fixed multisport modes where the order and sports involved are known ahead of time. For example, in a triathlon it’s swim-bike-run. Within that you can enable transition times as well (aka T1/T2).
The second method is a free-form multisport mode where you simply change from sport to sport on demand, using the mode button. This is best for training brick sessions where you may repeat sports numerous times, or in unpredictable order.
For most though, you’ll just use the generic triathlon mode:
In this mode it’ll iterate through Swim/T1/Bike/T2/Run, recording each segment as you go along. Afterwards, on Garmin Connect there is a new multisport view, which will show your entire activity, as well as the individual segments that make it up:
You can also create your own multisport mode with set sport profiles. Within this you can choose any other individual sport profiles on the watch (standard or custom) to string them together as a multisport profile. The most obvious example would be a Duathlon:
But, you could just as easily make up your own sports such as Windsurfing, Weight Room and Wallyball into a multisport profile of your own.
Live Tracking:
Garmin introduced the Live Tracking service nearly two years ago as part of the Edge 510 and Edge 810 units. This service was extended to the FR220 and FR620, as well as the Fenix2 watches. The platform enables you to connect to your cell phone and transmit your location to a website that allows friends and family to follow you. The primary reason to use this method over a generic phone app is that the GPS component is offloaded to the FR920XT, saving significant battery on your phone. The second reason to use it is that the vast majority of phone apps won’t transmit sensor data such as heart rate/cadence/power, whereas the Garmin Live Tracking service does. The service is free, so there’s no added cost.
Of course, you will need to bring your phone with you. So this typically isn’t an issue on the bike, but some folks don’t enjoy having a phone on the run. And, for those curious – it does actually work while swimming, provided your phone is above water.
To begin a Live Tracking session you’ll need to have first paired your phone to the FR920XT. Next, on the FR920XT you’ll go into the LiveTrack option on the app. From there you can give the activity a title, as well as select the recipients. You can choose to send out the link onto Twitter or Facebook (as well as via e-mail).
The ‘Extend Sharing’ option is rather useful, as it ensures the session stays visible for 24 hours after you’ve ended the activity. Otherwise the recipient may not know you’ve finished and instead just get some nebulous information that might imply you got hit by a car or something.
From a friend standpoint, here’s what they’ll see (on the desktop, there is also a mobile phone view). They’ll see your current position as a blue dot, and then when finished as a red ‘Stop’ icon. Along the bottom they’ll see your ANT+ metrics, as well as pace/speed and elevation. These metrics include heart rate, cadence (run/bike), and power meters (bike).
Up in the corner they can toggle between average pace and average speed, as well as showing time, distance and elevation gain.
Meanwhile, at the bottom they can change the map from Bing to Goggle (or Baidu), as well as the language and whether the distances and paces are shown in Statute/Statute UK, or Metric. Up top in the left side they can swap between map and satellite view.
Finally, they can click on a mile marker to look at splits. For running these are shown every 1MI (or 1KM if in metric mode), and for cycling these are shown every 5MI/5KM.
Note that these splits do NOT align to any button pressing you do. That doesn’t show up here. It’s just autolap for the online folks. Don’t worry though, it doesn’t impact the splits/laps/intervals you set on your watch for yourself.
Overall, I’m finding quite good success with the Live Tracking and have used it a number of times without any issues. You will note in the images that there is some slight GPS track smoothing that is applied that isn’t on the native files you’ll upload yourself after the activity. Don’t worry too much about that, it’s simply to minimize how much data is used on your data plan.
For those curious about swimming and Live Tracking with the FR920XT – I wrote an entire post about it here. Note that while I did see a bug with Live Tracking and swimming tracks, my understanding is that the bug has since been fixed in the 2.50 firmware update. I haven’t been able to retest that since the release was only yesterday.
Navigation and Routing:
The FR920XT includes some limited navigation and routing capabilities. These capabilities include the ability to follow a ‘Course’ that is effectively a breadcrumb style trail. This course does not include features like roads, lakes or rivers, but rather just a line to follow. In this case, a purple line.
In order to utilize this you’ll need to create the course ahead of time on Garmin Connect. It’s here you can simply press the mouse on various points in the map to create a course:
Once that’s done, you’ll send it over to the watch to execute. Upon pulling it up on the watch you’ll get the estimated time to completion, as well as distance to completion.
The unit will show you a map of your planned route, and as you run it will also show you where you are:
Unlike previous units, the map redraw is incredibly quick. Further, it’ll also display your on-unit saved waypoints on any and all routes you do. Saving these waypoints is quick and easy, and you can give them customized names:
(Post-Review Update: This next section regarding zooming has now been addressed via firmware update – the unit now has a zoom option.)
Now, this sounds great, but there’s a number of limitations. First is that you can’t change the zoom level. While running (at speed) the unit will automatically zoom in to .3-Mile zoom. Well, at least that’s the scale noted on the screen. In reality, it’s actually higher up than that. In any event, this isn’t quite zoomed in enough to figure out complex intersections or trails.
Second, making matters worse is that when you stop running it zooms out to show the entire route. Since there is no roads/rivers/etc on the map, this gives you even less context in the zoomed out view. In my opinion the behavior should be the opposite – zoom in when stopped – since you’re likely trying to figure out where to go.
Again, there is no method to manually zoom in (Update: There is now). It would seem to me this could easily be accomplished via a long-hold on the up/down buttons, just like the Fenix series supports long holds for various secondary functions. In fact, so does the FR920XT. When using the VIRB for example, you long-hold the mode button to access a special menu.
But the limitations don’t end there. For example, you can’t drop older .TCX or .GPX course files onto the FR920XT and have it automatically use them (such as those from RideWithGPS, or from older Garmin units). That’s because Garmin wasn’t able to include a parser for those on the unit itself. This means for those you’ll have to first convert them in Garmin Training Center and then send them to the FR920XT from that software. It’s not the end of the world, but it doesn’t make it convenient. Note however that the FR920XT does not support waypoints sent from software, only those created on the device itself.
Ultimately, the way it stands right now I wouldn’t recommend the FR920XT if you’re looking to use it for complex course following/routing, or if that’s going to be the primary purpose of the watch. For that there are much more suitable options on the market such as the Fenix2 or Ambit series watches. In discussing it a bit more with Garmin this morning, they do note that options are still on the table for how to improve the experience.
Workout Creation, Intervals, Training Calendar:
The FR920XT supports a number of ways that you can pre-create structured workouts, as well as create impromptu intervals. Finally, it supports the ability to assign specific workouts to certain days and have those available on the watch.
To begin, we’ll create a structured workout for an upcoming interval run. The easiest way to do that is on Garmin Connect, within the workout creator.
Once in that you’ll go ahead and drag and drop to create all your steps, such as the below workout:
With that set, you have two options. The first is to pull it from your phone (though that’s coming in an upcoming Garmin Connect Mobile app update), and the second is to push it via USB. To do that, select ‘Send to Device’ and then select your FR920XT:
It’ll take a second and then it’ll be all set.
Alternatively you can add it to your Training Calendar for a specific day. When you do this, it’ll then show up on the watch within the Training Calendar option. You’ll need to send a range of workouts to the device however, so don’t forget to do that.
Note that the training calendar can also be populated by a slew of training schedules that Garmin has put together for a ton of events:
With that all set, on the device itself you’ll go into Training and then into Workouts. Alternatively, if you use the Training Calendar you can just select the workout by choosing the appropriate day:
With the workout selected you can review the steps:
Once you’ve started the workout it’ll begin each step by giving you a full-screen description of the next step and the targets associated with it.
During the execution of each step it’ll show you a special screen that tells you the specific target as well a your pace/HR/cadence/etc against that target. This is a new data screen that shows up:
In the event you stray from the target goal (high or low), it’ll give you a notification as such on the screen as well as audio/visual alerts.
Structured workouts such as these are ideal when you have a complex workout that’s more than just a basic interval. However, it can be overkill for simply executing a basic repeating interval.
An interval workout within the confines of most devices is a workout that has four core components: A warm-up, a work effort, a recovery effort (and some number of repeats), and a cool-down. Those components then must have the ability to set a target (such as pace). The FR920XT allows you to create simple intervals that have all of those components along with targets for each segment, including durations.
You can create an interval workout in the same Training area:
Just like the structured workouts it’ll walk you through each step until completion.
Now, if both of these workouts sound complex, you can also simply define targets/alerts. These targets could be just a simple pace target or heart rate zone. If you stray from these it’ll alert you to get back on plan:
Lastly, there is Virtual Partner. This isn’t actually a training component per se, but rather just a screen you can enable on any run/ride. It allows you to specify a desired pace and it’ll show you how far ahead or behind you are of that desired pace.
This is best used in races where you are trying to pace very smoothly over the course of the run. If you slow down it’ll tell you how far (in distance, such as feet/miles), as well as how far behind in time.
Activity & Sleep Tracker Functionality:
In line with virtually all new watches and bands coming onto the market these days, the FR920XT carries with it activity tracker functionality. This means it’ll count your steps and sleep over the course of the day. This information is then periodically synchronized with your phone for upload to Garmin Connect as well as integration with some 3rd party apps, such as MyFitnessPal.
Steps are shown in a few places, the first is the main ‘home’ screen that is displayed on your watch 24×7 in standby mode. You’ll see the current steps in the lower left corner:
Next, if you press the down button once, you’ll get a activity monitoring specific screen that shows you total steps for the day, progress towards your goal steps, calories burned, and miles (or kilometers) walked:
By default the goal is dynamic, automatically shifting slowly to edge you on to walk a bit more. It’s designed so that a single ultra-high step day doesn’t dramatically sway the goal the next day. Alternatively, you can just set a specific step goal if you’d like.
Below that (and on the home screen) you’ll see your ‘Move Alert’, which is a red bar that lets you know when you need to move. The different chunks indicate how long you’ve been inactive. After approximately one hour it’ll give you a vibration/beep (if enabled) telling you that you’ve been lazy too long.
Next you’ve got the ability to track sleep with the FR920XT. Like other Garmin sleep tracking capable devices, it requires that you manually enable the sleep mode when you’re ready, as well as turn it off when you awake. You’ll do this by just pressing down once to the activity tracker page, and then pressing enter. Once within that mode, it’ll show you a little icon that lets you know you’re in sleep mode. Upon waking up you’ll want to remember to exit sleep mode by doing the same steps again. Note that you cannot pair a HR strap during sleep mode, only during workout activities. Similarly, you can’t pair a HR strap in regular step activity tracking mode (day watch mode).
All of this information (steps and sleep) is then fed up to Garmin Connect via your mobile app (or desktop upload). From both the mobile app as well as the desktop you can view both sleep and activity details. The main ‘Steps’ page shows you daily summaries of how active you were by the hour:
You’ll also get detailed information on total calories burned, steps, your current average daily steps, as well as your goal for that specific day.
You can select the ‘Breakdown’ tab to get a bit of a charted version of your activity that day:
If you tracked sleep, you’ll see that displayed on the sleep tab:
As you can see, it’s just a case of showing how active in movement you were, and doesn’t show anything like the type/phase of sleep. So in general, I don’t find this very valuable compared to some other devices like the Basis watches. Thus, I tend not to wear it sleeping (I also find it a bit bulky sleeping).
Both daily activity and sleep tracking produce longer term graphs as well, for example here’s my step activity over the past 30 days:
With the Garmin devices (like the Fitbit), you will need to choose a single ‘Activity Monitor’ device to use. Meaning that if you own both a FR920XT and a Vivofit/Vivosmart, only a single device can contribute step data at once. You can select that within Garmin Connect in your dashboard however.
Note that in the event you’re travelling and changing time zones, you’ll get a little icon displayed on the day in question, which indicates a time zone change occurred. Your steps will increase even across time zones (you won’t lose steps if going ‘back in time’), however the graph will overwrite any hours that were ‘re-done’. So if you flew back 5 hours in time zone shifts, and then you re-lived 1PM to 5PM, it’ll overwrite the graphical displays of those hours, but it won’t overwrite the total steps for the day.
Finally, Garmin has established a partnership with MyFitnessPal, which enables you to sync calories and step data between the services. This means you can track food within MyFitnessPal, and then it’ll show the total calories consumed within Garmin Connect. Inversely, on MyFitnessPal, it’ll show calories burned via Garmin devices, including the Garmin FR920XT. This can be setup from the same ‘Steps’ page by just clicking the ‘Calories In/Out’ tab seen in some of the screenshots above.
Smart Watch Functionality:
The FR920XT includes the ability to display smart watch notifications on your device from your mobile phone. At present that includes Android and iOS. You can find a full list of compatible phones here from Garmin’s site.
These alerts are configured on your mobile device ahead of time, and involve using the systems native notification center ties. For example, on iOS devices the notifications would be configured using the Notification Center component of your phone. This is where you can enable apps such as Twitter, E-Mail, and even Words with Friends to display notifications on your Garmin device.
Next, these notifications are displayed in real-time on your FR920XT – both in standby mode and in sport mode. Actually, often times I’ll surprisingly find the watch buzzes just ahead of the phone itself for incoming text messages. It’ll show you the application/function responsible for the notification as the top line, and then show you the first line of the notification.
However, you can then select the notification to get the full details displayed:
You cannot however respond to the notification, such as composing a text message reply or answering a call. Look at it as simply being read-only. You an also access the missed notifications menu while in standby by just pressing the down button twice:
Here you can dive into specific notifications just like above.
Note that you can select whether you want notifications displayed on your device in either workout mode, standby mode, or both:
You can also configure whether or not it beeps or vibrates (or both). I personally just set it to vibrate only.
Now when the notification piece works, it works quite well and is rather handy. But I’ve found that like the Vivosmart, that after a few days the watch and phone seem to forget about each other. This invariably requires me to either reboot the FR920XT, the Garmin Connect Mobile app, or flip the phone to airplane mode and back.
I don’t have a clear enough understanding of whether or not this is a Garmin issue (either their app or their device), or an Apple issue (hardware or software). Though, it seems to have occurred on both my iPhone 5s and iPhone 6. On the flip side, the random loss of Bluetooth Smart pairings is something I’ve seen with other activity trackers from other companies as well.
Use as a day watch:
When it comes to using the watch as a day to day timepiece, the FR920XT works fairly well. I’ve been wearing it daily for the past month – both in the office in my day job, as well as during workouts and airports alike. Now to begin there’s no getting around the size of the watch. Nor the colors Garmin has selected. It is what it is.
But, if you don’t mind wearing it around the clock then it works great as a watch – including all the smart watch and activity tracker functions noted in those sections. Beyond that it also has base time functions, functions which will expand as Connect IQ (next section) allows 3rd parties to build new watch faces.
In the meantime though, the watch will show you the time day of (using either 12/24h formats), the day of the week, and the date. Further it’ll show you connectivity to your phone via the Bluetooth icon, and battery status. Finally by default it’ll also show you many steps you’ve taken and the inactivity bar below all that.
You can set a single daily alarm. Unlike some watches, the alarm cannot be configured though for certain days of the week, nor is there multiple alarms.
The alarm will follow the same settings that you have configured for alerts, which means you can select either vibrate only or audible alerts + vibrate.
Garmin states that the watch should get about 30 days of battery life in this standby watch mode with notifications enabled. My experience says you’re going to get about 3-5 days at best in this mode. I don’t see myself as having a significant amount of Bluetooth notifications either. Perhaps once per hour on average it’ll buzz about something. Despite the battery life claims, it doesn’t bother me a huge amount – but it is something to be aware of.
Finally, note that the unit does have a bright and crisp backlight. This backlight can be set to automatically turn off after a few seconds of being left alone, or, can be set to “Stay on”.
In general, I set mine to stay on when doing activities at night.
Garmin Connect IQ (Apps):
Roughly a week prior to the Garmin FR920XT announcement, Garmin announced Connect IQ. This platforms allows 3rd party developers to develop apps for supported Garmin devices. The Garmin FR920XT will be the first device to take advantage of the platform however, upon launch early next year. While my other post describes in more detail the concept, the key item to know is that the unit will support all four modes of apps within Connect IQ. These modes are:
Apps: Full blown multi-level/interactive apps Custom Data Fields: The ability to create custom data fields that you can add to any data page Widgets: The ability to create basic screens that pull data from other sources Watch Faces: The ability to create customized watch faces, from a picture of your bike to something more data oriented.
The real power for the FR920XT will be the ability to support sensor types that aren’t traditionally supported by Garmin. For example, I’d expect that someone like BSX to look at adding in support for their sensor via a simple app. The same could be true of anything from hydration sensors to aerohelmet position sensors. It might also be able to bridge the gap on features that didn’t make the cut for the FR920XT such as weight scale support and the fitness equipment (gym machines) profile.
I won’t re-hash all the Connect IQ functionality/components here, for that simply read my Connect IQ post for all the details. Note that the Connect IQ app store doesn’t launch until January, so you won’t see that functionality quite yet on the FR920XT. However, developers can already download the SDK and utilize the emulator to get started. Once it releases on the FR920XT I’ll come back and update this section with how it works and some examples of cool 3rd party apps.
Garmin Connect (online/web/mobile):
The FR920XT allows you to sync directly to your mobile phone using Bluetooth Smart. This allows you to upload workouts from wherever you are, without the need for a PC. That combined with Garmin’s Auto Sync options, means that your workout will automatically be uploaded to sites like Strava and Training Peaks mere seconds after you save the workout on the device.
This can be accomplished not only via Bluetooth Smart to your phone, but also via WiFi networks that are pre-saved onto the device. And of course, via USB to your computer.
In addition to uploading completed workouts, the device will use the phone to transfer step data (activity monitoring) and sleep data to Garmin Connect. Once on Garmin Connect, you can view the workout data. You can also view activity and sleep data, though I cover those within those sections.
The workout data can be sync’d as noted automatically to a variety of sites, including Training Peaks, Strava, Sport Tracks, MapMyFitness, and Endomondo (all via Auto Sync). But, for those sites that don’t support that yet, you can also just upload the native .FIT files that are sitting on the device itself. These are accessible by just plugging the device in via USB and opening up the ‘Activities’ folder. The FR920XT has ~10.3MB of free usable memory, which means that using the average 100KB an hour (at most), you can store about 103 hours of activity data.
Virtually every site on the planet that does sport data will support .FIT files. In the highly unlikely case it doesn’t support .FIT files, you can use one of the tools listed here to convert them.
Ultimately, Garmin Connect is a great site for those just getting in online training logs. In fact, it’s probably the best of the manufacturer provided sites out there. But no doubt more advanced athletes will use other, typically paid, options for their training logs.
Battery Life & UltraTrac:
The FR920XT extends the battery life over the FR910XT in two ways. First, is simply just straight up by having longer battery life in the same scenarios as the FR910XT. For this you get a slight increase to 24 hours (from 20 hours). But it also can dramatically extend the GPS battery life through a mode called ‘UltraTrac’, which gets some 40 hours of GPS-on battery life.
GPS-on at 1-second rate: 24 hours
GPS-on at variable UltraTrac rate: Up to 40 hours.
GLONASS enabled: About a 20% reduction in battery life
The 920XT UltraTrac mode is both similar and different to how it works on other Garmin devices. It’s similar in that it reduces the GPS polling interval. However it’s different in that unlike other devices it’s not a set one point per 60-seconds. Rather, it’s a slightly variable rate that effectively works out to be 15-20 seconds of GPS on time, and about 45 seconds of GPS off time.
This means that it wouldn’t be ideal for very fast moving sports where you are constantly changing directions. It’s much better for either slowly moving activities (like hiking), or activities where the route doesn’t shift much (such as cycling on really long/straight roads).
Ultimately, if you’re looking for the highest levels of GPS accuracy, UltraTrac isn’t it. But if you’re trying to eek out more than 24 hours of GPS-on performance, it’s your best bet.
Note that I prefer to use GLONASS to get what appears to be more accurate tracks. But it will take a hit of about 20% on GPS-on battery life. Personally, that’s fine since I’m not doing any activities anywhere near 24-40 hours.
Note that because of the fact that I’ve been using the device almost 24×7, I haven’t been able to do any pure GPS-on till it dies testing. That’ll come actually after I publish and then I’ll go back and add it in here. I had hoped to have an additional device to test that with by now – but that hasn’t happened.
Next, beyond GPS-on battery life you also have standby battery life. Officially these are spec’d as follows:
Watch-only mode with activity tracking & activity alerts enabled: 30 days
Watch-only mode with activity tracking enabled: 33 days
Watch-only mod with neither of the above enabled: 4 months
Now, in my experience – I don’t get anywhere near these numbers. In general, I’m seeing about 3-5 days of normal 24×7 activity tracking with it paired to my phone for Bluetooth Smart alerts (about 1 alert per hour). But, I just don’t see how I’d be able to get anywhere near 30 days when I can’t make it more than a few days. Perhaps others will have other experiences.
Satellite Accuracy:
The FR920XT contains new GLONASS satellite capabilities, which are typically used in conjunction with existing satellite systems to improve GPS reception. In my testing, the FR920XT consistently performs as the most accurate Garmin GPS device I’ve seen, and certainly on par and usually better than other brands with recent models.
Now, when it comes to GPS accuracy I tend to take a fairly practical viewpoint. I’m generally looking at how well a unit tracks compared to where I went, as well as the total distances seen between different units. Generally speaking I’m running/riding with 2-5 other GPS devices at the same time. I feel this is pretty important – comparing two different runs, even on the same route, will result in differences due to environmental factors and simple things like body placement. Which, is also important to consider. You can get different results between the left and right wrists, depending on how your body impacts GPS reception. In most cases, it’s negligible, but in edge cases it could be more overt.
When looking at GPS accuracy and tracks on a map – you must be sure to be in satellite mode and not map mode. Maps don’t always align with reality, while satellites are much closer. A map might have you running in the water whereas the satellite will show you on a river path.
Finally, do recognize the limitations of consumer grade GPS, which is generally specified as +/-3M. By default the FR920XT does NOT have GLONASS turned on, so you’ll want to enable that via: Settings button > Settings menu item > System > GLONASS = ON. Note it will have a slight impact on battery, but not significant.
All that said, I’ve seen consistently impressive results when it comes to GPS accuracy with GLONASS enabled. Here’s a data sheet of distances recorded by two or more devices. Obviously, with only two devices in some cases, it’s hard to know who was right – but as you can see, in almost all those cases the two devices were nearly identical. For cases where I had a third device, I included that.
Garmin FR920XT GPS Accuracy Data
Activity Name
FR920XT Distance (Mi)
Ambit3 Distance (Mi)
Other
River Run
7.43
7.44
-
Ferry Loop Bike Ride
26.10
26.15
26.04 (Edge 1000)
Rainforest Mountain Run
8.12
8.10
8.03 (Bia Watch)
Auckland Sunset Ride
13.56
13.58
13.55 (Edge 1000
Final Malta OW Swim
0.95
0.85
.91 (Swimcap)
Blue Lagoon OW Swim
0.54
0.51
.48 (Swimcap)
Partial Bay OW Swim
Froze
0.82
.83 (Swimcap)
Point to Point OW Swim
1.25
1.21
(Missed button)
Quick Lunch OW Swim
0.44
0.40
.39 (Swimcap)
Evening OW Swim
1.28
1.15
1.16 (Swimcap)
Evening Ride
20.39
20.42
-
Canal Run
6.53
6.54
-
Louvre Mile Repeats
7.73
7.74
-
Part Peripherique Run
9.54
9.64
-
Parisian Tri - Swim
0.51
0.51
-
Parisian Tri - Bike
8.29
8.29
-
Parisian Tri - Run
3.10
3.13
-
(Note: Indoor trainer sessions are not included, or cases where I only had a single device on me. The single swim where the device distance counting portion froze, Garmin believes they have that fixed in 2.50 firmware.)
For those that are curious, here’s a package of all my swim/bike/runs over the past few weeks (Note: Coming within the next 24 hours…). Most of secondary files from the Suunto Ambit3, Garmin Edge, or Bia Watch along with it to compare against.
Altimeter Accuracy (Elevation):
The FR920XT contains a barometric altimeter, which in theory means that it would be able to track your elevation gains and losses more accurately, as well as your exact elevation more accurately. This is different than many running watches that just use GPS based altimeters, which while having improved significantly in recent years – still aren’t quite as precise.
But Garmin has made some changes in how the latest multisport device establishes initial elevation. Previously, with every other Garmin sport/fitness device ever made the unit would get a reading of the elevation from GPS first, allowing it to establish the initial GPS elevation to a rough degree. From there, the barometric altimeter would kick in and more precisely hone in on the exact elevation.
Unfortunately, the first step is skipped in the case of the FR920XT. This means that it attempts to determine the elevation using only the barometric altimeter. The problem is this takes forever – and even when it does decide where you are, it’s inaccurate. In case you’re looking for a more clear definition of ‘forever’, it’s at least an hour after you’ve turned the device on and are ready to run/ride/etc…
For example, take a look at this pancake flat run I did. What you see is that the elevation slowly decreases, where the altimeter is attempting to adjust over the course of the hour run:
And, it still doesn’t get the elevation right either.
Next, this run I did from virtually sea level (perhaps at a starting elevation of 10-15ft), up a mountain and back down again. Note that despite starting and ending in the exact same place, it shows two different locations. Not only that, it shows me 17 meters below sea level:
If you compare to to the Suunto Ambit3 on the same route, the Ambit3 nailed the starting position straight up, and then only exhibited minimal drift that would be expected due to shifting weather, also ending in the same spot. Meanwhile, you can see the FR920XT started and ended in the wrong spots (data compared using this tool):
Now compounding this problem is that there isn’t actually any way to calibrate the altimeter or manually override it. I asked Garmin why they’re doing it this way versus the previous method, and they noted the following:
“How long it takes for the elevation in real-time to “correct” itself is mostly a function of how far off the initial elevation is, which is a function of the local barometric pressure. If the local pressure due to current weather conditions is far off from “base pressure” average, then the initial elevation estimate will be a ways off and it takes the watch a while to correct this error. We have been discussing ways to improve the initial elevation estimate based on the pressure and speed up the correction, but nothing is planned in the short term.”
Which, may be true. But at the same time from a user perspective the current method is the worst I’ve seen in a barometric altimeter device. So I’m not exactly sure the grass is greener on this side. I checked in again this morning, and they noted that “all options are still on the table” as far as changes they might make to how it works.
Now some folks have seemed to find a tricky little workout to setting the elevation, which is to go ahead and save a waypoint at the current location with the correct altitude. Obviously, that requires you know the correct attitude, which is no doubt potentially a big ask.
Sensors & Accessories:
The FR920XT is compatible with numerous sensors, both Garmin branded and 3rd party. For sensor connectivity, the FR920XT utilizes ANT+, which is a low power wireless protocol. It’s similar to Bluetooth Smart, though more widely used within the cycling community than Bluetooth Smart. Like previous Garmin products, the FR920XT supports ANT+ sensors only, be it from Garmin or 3rd parties.
It does not support Bluetooth Smart sensors (or Bluetooth Legacy), nor Polar W.I.N.D. sensors, analog sensors, or Nike sensors.
Below is a quick compatibility table of products and sensors that I’ve tested and/or have ANT+ certification for compatibility with the FR920XT:
It should be noted that the FR920XT also doesn’t support two sensor types previously supported on past Garmin multisport devices. That would be the weight scale as well as fitness equipment profile (gym equipment). The weight scale previously allowed you to connect to what was a handful of ANT+ wireless weight scales for uploading weight data. Meanwhile, the fitness equipment profile enabled some gym equipment like treadmills and spin bikes to transmit data directly to the watch.
Garmin has previously said that the number of users using these functions was just too small to justify future development. And, that’s probably very true. With WiFi being the primary and most relevant way to get weight scale data to the internet, it just makes more sense than routing it through your watch, then through your phone, just to get to the same place.
That said, while Garmin isn’t providing such connectivity, I suspect we’ll see it provided by 3rd parties using Garmin Connect IQ coming up early next year. That’s already true in the case of Moxy, a 3rd party sensor using the Muscle Oxygen sensor. Virtually all of the Connect IQ demo’s that Garmin has used utilize this protocol. This is an example of where Garmin isn’t natively supporting the Muscle Oxygen sensor type, but is allowing 3rd parties to do so.
Said differently: I suspect that if the software API’s allow for it, we’ll see a weight scale and fitness equipment app pretty quickly after Connect IQ release.
Heart Rate Straps & Optical HR Sensors:
I just wanted to very briefly touch on this but in its own section – since I see lots of questions about it. First, the FR920XT is compatible with optical HR sensors from companies like Scosche and Mio. It will pair to those sensors just fine.
However, there are some limitations there. First is that optical sensors on the market today largely ‘guesstimate’ heart rate variability (HRV/RR). Heart rate variability has nothing to do with your actual heart rate. Rather, it’s measuring a different metric. Sometimes that guess is spot-on, and sometimes it’s way off. It’s simply a limitation of the technology today. Will it improve down the road? Absolutely. But it’s not there today.
The result of that limitation on heart rate variability is that’s how advanced watches like the Garmin FR920XT, as well as Polar and Suunto determine recovery information. They utilize algorithms (in Garmin’s case, from a company called FirstBeat) to understand the variability information, and from that they can tell you if you’re recovered or not. For conventional chest straps, this is easy. But again, in optical, not so much.
As a result, if you use an optical HR sensor, here’s the impact of it on the FR920XT:
– Recovery Advisor: May have non-accurate values
– Recovery Time: May have non-accurate numbers
– VO2Max: May have non-accurate numbers
– Vertical Oscillation & Ground Contact Time: Not shown at all, requires HRM-RUN
– Calories: May be impacted, usually pretty accurate, but still can be impacted
There is no impact however on straight up heart rate recording (your beats per minute – i.e. 140bpm). The FR920XT simply displays and records the values from your heart rate sensor for those pieces.
Finally, what about not using the HRM-RUN strap and using another company’s strap – like the Wahoo TICKR or 4iiii’s Viiiiva (or even the older Garmin HR straps)? Well, in that case all ANT+ straps do transmit heart rate variability (HRV/RR), so instead you’re only looking at a few features that will be impacted. Here’s how those work out:
– Recovery Advisor: Works normally!
– Recovery Time: Works normally!
– VO2Max: Works normally!
– Vertical Oscillation & Ground Contact Time: Not shown, requires HRM-RUN
– Calories: Works normally!
As you can see, the only thing impacted here is VO & GCT. Note that you’ll still get running cadence, because the FR920XT can provide that from three places: The Wrist, the HRM-RUN, and a Footpod. As long as you have one of those three, you’re good. And since obviously you’ll still have the watch on your wrist while running you’ll still get cadence.
Further, note that some have asked about the Wahoo TICKR X & TICKR RUN. Neither of those straps transmit Running Dynamic metrics to the FR920XT – or any other watch. They only transmit similar running efficiency information to the Wahoo Fitness app. Additionally, that strap won’t work in terms of saving swims with the FR920XT either, unless you manually merge the data with 3rd party (non-Garmin) tools afterwards.
The Garmin FR920XT adds in VIRB action camera support. This means that the Garmin, via ANT+, can control the VIRB action camera. This control includes both taking a photo as well as video.
You’ll start by pairing your VIRB action camera through the sensors menu:
Once you’ve done so it’ll add a new VIRB-specific screen to your workout pages. This screen will show you the recording time of the VIRB, and whether or not it’s recording:
By default the unit will automatically start and stop recording based on when you start and stop your activity using the buttons on the watch. When you start the watch, it starts the recording. And the same for stopping.
However, you can also long-hold the lower left button down to manually control the VIRB – such as to take a photo.
The system works fairly similar to that of how the Fenix and other devices control the VIRB, so this isn’t new territory for Garmin.
Data Fields & Pages:
The FR920XT can be customized a number of ways with different data fields and screens. Each activity profile can have its own set of saved data pages (data screens), with each data page having up to four data fields (1, 2, 3, or 4 fields per page). The size of the fonts increase with less data fields, and decreases with more data fields per page.
The fields available are generally consistent across activity profiles, though some are obviously sport specific – such as power meters for bikes are only available in the cycling fields.
You can have four fully customized data pages/screens per activity profile. You can then additionally have the following data pages enabled or disabled: Clock, Map, Virtual Partner, Running Dynamics (Run Only), Drill Log (Pool Only). Additionally there are context-enabled pages for Courses (following) and Workouts (when in a structured workout, such as an interval workout). Finally, there’s the Metronome page and VIRB pages, available when those features are enabled.
Here are the data fields available to you:
Garmin FR920XT Data Fields - Part 1
Power Meter Fields (Bike Only)
Power Meter Fields (Bike Only)
Swimming Only
Swimming
Heart Rate Fields
Running Dynamics (Running Only)
Power
Balance
Average Stroke Rate
Last Length SWOLF
Heart Rate
Vertical Oscillation
Work
3s Avg. Balance
Interval Stroke Rate
Rest Timer
Average HR
Avg. Vertical Oscillation
Power to Weight
10s Avg. Balance
Last Length Stroke Rate
Repeat On
HR Zone
Lap Vertical Oscillation
3s Avg. Power
30s Avg. Balance
Interval Stroke Type
Average Pace
Training Effect
Ground Contact Time
10s Avg. Power
Average Balance
Last Length Stroke Type
Interval Pace
HR %Max.
Avg. Ground Contact Time
Average Power
Lap Balance
Last Length Strokes
Interval Distance
%HRR
Lap Ground Contact Time
Lap Power
Intesnsity Factor
Average Strokes/Length
Last Length Pace
Average HR %Max.
Cadence
Last Lap Power
Training Stress Score
Interval Strokes/Length
Average %HRR
Average Cadence
Max. Power
Normalized Power
Lengths
Lap HR
Lap Cadence
Max. Lap Power
Lap Normalized Power
Interval Lengths
Lap %HRR
Power Zone
Last Lap Normalized Power
Average SWOLF
Lap HR %Max
Time in Zone
%FTP
Interval SWOLF
Time in Zone
Pedal Smoothness
Torque Effectiveness
Garmin FR920XT Data Fields - Part 2
Timer Fields
Distance Fields
Pace Fields
Speed Fields
Cadence Fields
Elevation Fields
Other Fields
Courses
Timer
Distance
Pace
Speed
Cadence
Elevation
Calories
Distance Remaining
Lap Time
Lap Distance
Average Pace
Average Speed
Average Cadence
Total Ascent
Heading
Estimted Finish Time
Last Lap Time
Last Lap Distance
Lap Pace
Lap Speed
Lap Cadence
Total Descent
Laps
Time Ahead/Behind
Average Lap Time
Last Lap Pace
Last Lap Speed
Last Lap Cadence
Grade
Sunrise
Elapsed Time
Maximum Speed
Sunset
30s Avg Vertical Speed
Time of day
Vertical Speed
Finally, you can create numerous activity profiles, both as individual sports (for example, your own Wind Surfing profile), or tie them together to make multisport profiles. In total you can have up to 10 individual sport activity profiles, and up to 5 multisport activity profiles.
Comparison Charts:
Before we wrap things up I’ve put together the comparison charts of all the features of the FR920XT and FR910XT, compared to the Garmin Fenix2, with the Suunto Ambit 3 and Polar V800 (closest competitors). You can of course create your own comparison tables using this link with any of the products I’ve previously reviewed/looked at, such as adding in other watches:
The tables are updated dynamically and thus if/when things change that’s represented automatically in this section. And again, remember you can create your own charts easily here with any product you’d like.
Bugs and other imperfect notables:
As I’ve been doing on all reviews over the past year or two, I’ve been including a section on bugs and/or issues that I’ve seen within my timeframe using the unit. Do remember that a ‘bug’ is different than ‘by design’. For example, the lack of a feature is something I highlight within a given section is considered ‘by design’, whereas something not really working right is considered a bug. For example, not having weight scale support isn’t a bug. It’s a design decision Garmin has made. Whereas Bluetooth connectivity failing to work consistently is more of a bug.
Here’s what I’ve found as my main issues:
– Elevation Accuracy: As noted within the elevation section, the device is simply taking too long to acclimate to the baseline elevation. Response to elevation changes during an activity is immediate, but the calibration is what’s taking an unacceptable amount of time, thus skewing the elevation profiles. (Update: For me, I see this issue as now resolved through a firmware update earlier this year (2015))
– Loss of connectivity to phone: While this hardly seems specific to the FR920XT from my testing (seeing it both on Garmin and non-Garmin devices), it is nonetheless annoying. Not a showstopper, but just annoying that every few days I have to reset the connection to the phone.
– Courses: While not a specific bug per se, as is designed today, I don’t believe courses are usable for the majority of non-obvious road routes. In cases where there are clear intersections with minimal choices you can use it with success. However, in complex dense forest situations or even more complex urban situations – the lack of of zoom option makes it impossible to get the directions right. (Update: The ability to zoom was added in a firmware update, which now resolves this issue for me)
Now, for most triathletes these aren’t likely complete showstopper issues. The vast majority of users don’t actually use courses. And while having to reset the phone connection is annoying, I find that it’s kinda par for the course for many devices out there. Elevation accuracy is really the big ticket one though. No doubt most online apps re-write the elevation data anyway, but it’s still problematic that it just doesn’t give me accurate elevation data to begin each activity.
Obviously you’ll have to decide whether these bugs (or ‘by design’ in some cases) are an issue to you personally. Everyone is different. I do think there’s hope to fix both elevation and courses. The phone connectivity piece may be more challenging though as I suspect there’s some dependencies there on the phone OS platforms that make this less reliable than fitness device manufactures want.
Again, this doesn’t mean this is all the bugs out there. These are just the ones I saw during my use. As a single person I can’t possible test every possible feature in every possible combination to reproduce every possible scenario. Sure, I’d love to – but companies have entire teams of testers and they still miss things. So I do the best I can to note what I’ve seen above. If you have bugs, please post them to the Garmin Forums, or report them to Garmin. That’s the correct channel to get them fixed.
Summary:
Overall, the FR920XT is the best multisport watch in the market with the most features. It’s also the watch that has the most potential for really cool 3rd party apps with upcoming Connect IQ enablement. What’s core to understand is that by itself the FR920XT doesn’t contain any shockingly new major functionality. Rather, Garmin has just plucked out all of the new features from numerous devices since the FR910XT was released three years ago. They grabbed the Running Dynamics from the FR620 series, the additional pool options from the Garmin Swim, the Live Tracking from the Edge 510 & 810, and the activity tracking from the Vivo series. The FR920XT just unites everything under one device roof.
Well, almost everything. There are a few areas that are lacking in the FR920XT found in past Forerunner multisport devices, such as weight scale & fitness equipment support. Also missing from the Edge 510/810/1000 is Di2 support and Garmin Segments. As well as better elevation calibration options and better course support. Hopefully though future updates can address those.
While the FR920XT isn’t perfect, it is the most capable device out there for the multisport athlete. It may not however be the most capable device for the hiking or outdoors enthusiast. For that I’d look at other devices that have better support for courses, routing and altimeter data – such as the Garmin Fenix2 series or the Suunto Ambit 2/3 series.
As for whether it’ll stay on my wrist, that’ll depend. I tend to be more of a single-device person except for racing. I prefer smaller watches for running (like the FR620), as well as the Garmin Edge for cycling, and my favored little Garmin Swim for swimming. Which isn’t to take away from the FR920XT, as it has nothing to do with the device but just my personal preference is more sport specific. If I were to choose a single triathlon watch for a race (which I often do), there’s no doubt that it’d be the FR920XT at this point. Between the consolidation of new features from other devices, plus the minor adds of additional completely new features like the Metronome – it’s hard to beat.
With that, thanks for reading!
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As you’ve seen throughout the review there are numerous compatible accessories for the unit. I’ve consolidated them all into the below chart, with additional information (full posts) available on some of the accessories to the far right. Also, everything here is verified by me – so if it’s on the list, you’ll know it’ll work. And as you can see, I mix and match accessories based on compatibility – so if a compatible accessory is available at a lower price below, you can grab that instead.
Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible.
Ray, I just got the 920XT and there is something in the navigation part that seems to be missing compared with the 910XT. In particular, when you follow a route with the 910XT you can see the map, the compass indicating the direction you should follows, and the altitude profile around your location. In the 920XT, however, I can only see the map, but not the compass or the altitude profile!! Am I doing something wrong? Especially the compass was very useful, you just had to look at it to know which direction to follow in case of doubt… I hope I am missing something…
Arrgghhh… Cannot believe this… Come on Garmin! I hope they either fix it in a firmware update or some Connect IQ app that somebody will develop for a proper navigation. I run races on the hills and I really need this navigation part to be clear. The compass was a good thing. Really don’t understand why it isn’t there now…
If by compass you mean the large arrow screen then it works fine for meme.
I have map screen active on activity setting which just gives map but then if I go into navigation and select back to start or a way point i get both maps and compass view with distance to way point etc
Hi Stu, I did mean the big compass but when following a route, not when going to a location point or back to start. It was there in the 910XT but unfortunately they have not included that here. It is terrible. I just came back from a run on the hills following a route that was unknown to me… it was terrible, the zoom makes the map absolutely tiny and there is no compass to indicate whether I should turn right of left. I got lost several times… Cannot wait for a firmware update or for a 3rd party app for navigation.
Thanks for the in depth review. Although its not made clear here and also not on the Garmin website (in small print at the bottom) the “Android” app only works on around 10 android devices. I have a Blackberry Z10. Blackberries can use Android apps, the phone meets the specifications needed for the 920 (Bluetooth 4.0 and BLE), but it simply says my phone is not supported when I try to use the app.
I had quite a long email discussion with Garmin, the outcome of which is they have no plans to extend the current list of supported devices. So unless you have an iphone there is a high chance your phone wont work with it. I have never come across a phone specific Android application before.
It is also worth noting that around half the supported devices are tablets or none GSM connected devices (ipod). I would say the main reason for bluetooth connectivity is to a. upload workouts b. use the live tracking feature. An ipod wont be able to upload activities or transmit live data without WiFi and who is going to take their ipad/Galaxy note with them on their training/race?!
I’ve never had a problem with Garmin Android apps (the Connect or Fit apps), but I’ve also been using a Galaxy S5 and S4 the past two years. They both have had ANT+ support, at least since KitKat. Does the BlackBerry support ANT+?
Is the lack of compatibility with the phone and Garmin app, or rather the phone and Garmin device? From this list of supported phones, it sounds like there are incompatibilities between the phone and device:
I think it is phone and app – as far as I know the phone doesn’t have to support ANT+. Most Garmin devices use ANT+ but one of the main selling points of the 920xt is that it has Bluetooth. I would have thought this meant if your phone has Bluetooth 4.0 then it will work.
Your phone is one of only 7 android phones that is compatible. From using the app it seems like it won’t even attempt to connect to the watch – it seems to just check if the phone is one of the supported models and then says no if it is not. Its like specifying that people have a certain model of router for the WiFi to work.
My Android phone isn’t on that list either, and the app works with it. (It’s a Moto G). I think the problem is with the Android layer on the Blackberry; the app needs 4.3 minimum, and from what I can make out the layer is good up to 4.2.2 in the current version of Blackberry for the Z10. You should be good if it gets an update 10.3
Hi Dom, That is a good point – I am not running 10.3 (as it is not out for Z10 yet) but they say it will be released early next year – so fingers crossed.
I’ve not had the chance to try it with a 920, but it works fine with a 620 for both uploading/syncing and live tracking, and kinda works with a fenix (the BT support on the fenix isn’t great). I haven’t tried notifications on the fenix and the 620 doesn’t support them.
I have had my 920XT for a few weeks now, and I am very very satisfied with it.
So happy to have sold my Polar V800 on ebay, the 920XT is on another level…
Just one question though…..I have done a few treadmill runs now – I use the Garmin footpod and the the HRM-RUN, usually I get my running dynamics data and my pace/distance is EXACTLY matched to the Lifefitness treadmill in my gym.
However, three runs to date have not given me any cadence, ground contact time or vert. oscillation data – just all zeros! The speed/distance from the footpod worked fine.
Anyone else have this issue? Other than these three runs, the data has been just fine.
Should I do something differently, or is this a known issue?
Thanks!
Is that the last three runs or three runs in general? There have been some reports of this sort of thing – although more on the 620 for which there is currently a beta release out to try and resolve this. If you are getting no cadence but using a foot pod that does not make sense either. Can you post a GC link to one of these? You could try removing the pairing of the HRM-Run and repairing. I would also suggest powering off your 920 and on again.
it’s been 3 runs of I believe 5 runs in total where the HRM-RUN did not work i.e. it’s intermittent (those three runs were not the last three runs).
I assume that restarting the watch or even restarting the training session would resolve the issue, but I have only ever noticed the problem when I was well into my workout and and did not want to restart.
Truth be told, I don’t really care about the vert. oscillation or ground contact time, but cadence can be helpful.
Thank you for the great post. I just purchased the 920xt and am starting to get used to all of its features. There are two things I have not been able to figure out yet. The first is, if it is even possible, how to get my heart rate and pace to show on the same screen. I am not sure if this is even an option. The second is, again if it is even possible, how to get a run/walk alert on the Triathlon run portion. Do you have any recommendations for these features? Thanks!
On the first one you just need to customise the data fields showing on a page
Goto the data fields screen you want to use and press and hold in the lower left “Mode” button and use the Edit Data Fields option.
Not sure about the 2nd part. Have you tried turning on the Run/Walk feature? If so, leave it turned on and do a “test” triathlon activity to see if it works or not.
I have roughly 30 miles under my feet with my new 920 bundle. Love it. Wearing it daily, it’s a great companion. Yesterday I put on my new footpod, went to the track, and calibrated the footpod.
Results:
.25 mile test 1: watch showed .25 miles
.25 mile test 2: watch showed .25 miles
.25 mile test 3: watch showed .26 miles
1.00 mile test: watch showed .99 miles
This being the case I left the calibration factor in the factory setting. I’ve had a high quality treadmill now for 3 years and have always felt an 8:00 min mile on it was much more taxing than an outside 8:00 min mile. So, I paired the footpod and found that while the treadmill was set on 08:57/mi (1.0 degree incline) for a warmup, the watch was reading 08:10/mi. after a few mins of watching my watch, it fluctuated very little. I then stopped after 1.5 miles and removed the footpod, and the watch went crazy, going from 07:00/mi to 12:00/mi while the treadmill was set at 08:57/mi.
I put the footpod back on, and again it showed 08:05-08:10/mi. I then moved the treadmill to 08:34/mi and the watch read 07:50/mi. To me it felt more like an 07:50 outdoor mile than 08:34. So here are my questions:
Could the footpod be right? After all, I’ve always thought my treadmill runs were more taxing at displayed paces.
Could the treadmill be that wrong?
Is there a way to correct the treadmill?
Do newer treadmills display more true to pace?
Thanks any and all who are as knowledgeable as Ray for the replies.
1) Treadmills are routinely quite inaccurate in terms of speed. In general, however, they’re going much slower than they say they are.
2) It is quite common for one’s stride to vary slightly when on the treadmill as opposed to outdoor running. Thus a foot pod calibrated for outdoor use might not perfectly account for your indoor stride.
3) The flexible deck of the treadmill may also have an effect on the foot pod. Your ground contact time will be significantly longer on a typically bouncy treadmill deck as opposed to a hard track or road.
4) I tend not to trust most athletes’ perceived exertions on the treadmill. In my experience, most athletes below a highly competitive level find a treadmill to be psychologically much more difficult than running outside. A more reliable indicator of difficulty is your heart rate. With paces as far off as you’re reporting, you should be able to use heart rate to determine the ballpark real pace. (That is, at least during the first 20 minutes or so of a workout. After that time, treadmill runners tend to overheat, causing significant cardiac drift, unless they have a powerful fan on them.)
) I tend not to trust most athletes’ perceived exertions on the treadmill. In my experience, most athletes below a highly competitive level find a treadmill to be psychologically much more difficult than running outside. A more reliable indicator of difficulty is your heart rate. With paces as far off as you’re reporting, you should be able to use heart rate to determine the ballpark real pace. (That is, at least during the first 20 minutes or so of a workout. After that time, treadmill runners tend to overheat, causing significant cardiac drift, unless they have a powerful fan on them.)
I’m not an elite runner but usually in the top 10% for my age group during running races. I’m very comfortable using HR as a measure and train by it. I’m easily 30 seconds/mi slower on a treadmill compared to similar HR outdoors (with good fans). This matches my perceived effort as well. It used to bother me, not so much anymore.
For this reason, when I’m stuck on the treadmill, I avoid speed work and use HR and time as my guides.
Here’s an interesting post from Jack Daniels regarding treadmill running:
“I have done several studies (none published yet, but 2 have been presented). We typically found a higher VO2 overground compared with the same speed of running on the TM. (This may not show at very slow speeds, but it was a difinite find at 6:00 and 5:00 pace). The biggest study involved some good Athletics West runners who ran 6:00 and 5:00 paces on the treadmill and on a 1-mile flat stretch of asphalt parallel to a runway at the airport. In the overground runs they ran a straight mile at 6:00 pace in one direction and repeated it in the opposite direction, after a 5-minute break. Then they repeated the same mile at 5:00 pace in both direction. We recorded wind speed in every run and the subjects ran the same 4 runs on 3 different days, which gave us a variety of wind velocities. We were able to generate a regression equation relating head wind and tail wind with aerobic demand of running (we did get lactates and heart rates as well in all cases). A nice side finding was that VO2 at both 6:00 and 5:00 pace was equal to that on the treadmill when the tail wind was equal to the speed of running. In calm-air conditions, VO2 was about 7% greater overground compared to the TM (at both speeds). Other data (both at Sea Level and Altitude) resulted in the same findings, but not as great a difference between TM and OG at altitude, as might be expected because of the lower air resistance at altitude. VO2 overground is also less at altitude compared with SL, for the same reason. I have had to conclude that the only difference between the aerobic demand of overground and TM running is due to there being no air reistance on the TM. As for HR they were usually about equal under the two conditions, which was puzzling because VO2 is less on the TM, but not necessarily the HR, which we have attributed to lack of cooling on the TM (depends on how long you are on the TM running)”
Sort of. Because of the sensor pool concept it does appear to look for all the devices you have previously paired in the hope of finding some relevant ones. My power meter (a Rotor) is only “on” however when a force has been applied to the pedals so it should not connect even if I start my run next to my bike.
Thanks, I have an SRM 11s DA. Any chance of me changing this without having to turn it on and off on the watch itself? This was the only way to make it stop coming up on my display.. which is very annoying if I am around the house and it picks up my SRM in the garage.
Just a quick info about Training Indoors: as per manual, “the device includes indoor activity profiles for running, cycling, and swimming. When running with GPS turned off, speed and distance are calculated using the accelerometer in the device”. So, is the “accelerometer” present on device as in the forerunner 620?
Thanks a lot and compliments for your amazing reviews ! ! !
Hi Ray,
Very useful test report again. I’m also testing the 920XT to write a blog for a Dutch website. The one thing I’m searching is autolap by position. On a lot of Garmin stuff you have this possibility, which is very handy in for example a multi-loop race. Every time you pass the start again Garmin automatically laps your time so that you can afterwards compare your race lap by lap. Of course you can do this manual but most of the times I forget this while racing.
Have you talked about this with Garmin?
I just called Garmin to get clarification on if the footpod becomes the default speed source when paired or if you have to manually adjust it, they didn’t know and had to create a case. anyone? anyone? bueller?
At present, for outdoor runs with GPS on, current pace always comes from GPS and not a foot pod even if you have one paired. There is no option to manual select the speed source. Indoors, with GPS off, then the foot pod would be used and in precedence to the internal accelerometer.
Tim my follow up question would then be, is it the case that the foot pod speed being displayed on my 920 while on the treadmill was more accurate than what was being displayed on the treadmill screen? And is it simply the internal algorithm in the foot pod that allows it to calculate that speed and distance display?
I understand Garmin are considering the option to select the foot pod as a speed source. Use link to www8.garmin.com if you want to add your support to it. In general though not all features in older models will make it in later models and especially those that were not used by many people.
Difficult to say if a particular treadmill is accurate or not. If the calibration you set for the foot pod (either manually or via the auto detect method on the 920 by running outdoors with one) is fairly accurate for you and the treadmill is fairly accurate then the 920 (with a foot pod) should give you a similar pace and distance to the treadmill as long as your pace is fairly similar to that when the calibration factor was determined.
Tim, in my post above I detail my outdoor runs. because the results on the watch measured so closely with the track, i left the calibration at the factory setting. I guess my level of confusion is whether i really need to be doing anything other than strapping the footpod on when running on the treadmill and selecting indoor run.
Tim, can you confirm this is still true? When I got my fenix 2, I was looking forward to getting instant pace from the footpod and having distance estimated by GPS when exercising outdoors. That is the way my 405 worked. The fenix 2 either uses footpod for both or footpod for neither when you are running outside.
You seem to be something of a foot pod expert. As such, I am interested in your opinion about whether pod for pace and GPS for distance combo I am seeking is worth losing sleep over.
I was hoping it would reappear in the fenix 3 but, given that it apparently derives all of its sporting software from the 920, it probably won’t happen unless they put it back in the 920 as well.
I always thought that the footpod (linked with the 910 for example) gives a way more accurate current pace than GPS. as such I miss the footpod option in the 920. Would you agree?
Do you know if there is a way to customize what the alerts showm on the watch screen? In other words, for my run the distance alert shows the mile marker on the top lefthand corner in tiny font, the last lap pace in the middle of the screen in big font, and then the timer data in the top right corner of the screen in small font. I would prefer to have the mile marker big in the middle of the screen.
Congratulations for your posts and thanks in advance for your replay.
I just buy 920 xt and I am not happy on swim pool mode as I am not able to setup auto laps every 500m as on running for example. If I swim 3km for example it’s important to setup autolap every 500m in order to have split time information. I am able to do it manually pressing lap button, the same as rest button, but should be work aswell as autolap… What do u think?
Effectively you are getting an auto lap every length so once you have finished it would be fairly easy to work out what your 500m splits were. I am not much of a swimmer but have noticed that most people do sort of interval training when swimming so hence the manual lap facility and how the separate intervals are presented. A few times I have wanted to try and pace myself over say 1000m so I set a time alert to roughly bleep for the time I wanted to do for each 4 lengths (100m). If I heard the bleep before or after the wall, I knew roughly how was doing without having to worry about trying to read the screen as was going along.
Hi – great review – Thanks
Managing to pick one up in Australia – £100 cheaper than the UK and 3 months earlier than Amazon are promising.
I’ve used it on the bike – very pleased with the accuracy of the results from the GPS and GLONASS.
In the water it seems a long way off – my swim times are exceptional – averaging over 30kmh!!!
So the question is really about improving the accuracy of the measurement. I know that I can place it in my swim cap but is there a way to improve the accuracy and get within the magic 10%?
You also mention the smoothing software within the open water setting – is there a way to improve this – my traces are all over the place and don’t represent my swim – I could cope with ‘drunk’ but the traces seem drug-induced!!
Final question – how do I ensure ‘satellite’ rather than ‘map’ representation of the swim??
Some people have suggested trying an OWS with GLONASS off maybe better. Ray has suggested pressing start/stop out of the water both at start and end and a little bit before/after swimming to make sure your first and last GPS points are recorded properly. Other than that it is probably a technique thing. If you arm/wrist does not fully exit the water then little chance of it picking up a GPS point. I know it does not work at all well doing breast stroke for this reason.
Thanks Tim – will try with GLONASS off and starting and stopping out of the water – not sure I swim FC with a relatively high turnover – not sure I’ll sacrifice technique just to have extra time with my wrist in the air!!
I can confirm that swimming accuracy is improved when GLONASS is turned off.
I did a couple of experiments with the same swim – about 300m difference.
I then did a 1400m swim race – the watch picked up the exact same distance – started and stopped the watch out of the water – thanks for the tip
The FR920XT is $449US for the base model (+$50 more with the HR strap bundle). Clever Training currently has all models in stock today for shipping same day, and, if you use the DCR VIP Program you can save 10% (+ expedited free shipping). And it supports the site. Details here: link to dcrainmaker.com
I see that they kind of resolved the altimeter issue with the new beta firmware. Will you be writing an update on it in the review? So far you only mentioned that it worked spot on in one of your runs.
Because this is a big issue for me, I would like to hear more about it.
Just got my 920 last night. I have been using a vivofit since June. The 920 is set to sync via bluetooth or wifi (so far I am finding the wifi a bit wonky). I am still planning to use the vivofit to track activity and have it setup that way. A quick question you may know the answer to –
1) Now that I have the 920xt set up via Bluetooth, my phone does not seem to see to the vivofit. The 920 says that is connected but when I hit sync on the vivofit, it does not seem to sync. It will sync via ant+ but I kind of want to be able to sync via phone as well. Thoughts?
Thanks for all your great work. Happy holidays and all the best for 2015.
if i missed this in your review or comments, my apologies. i would like to take the zeros out of the power meter analytics that are run, but can not seem to do this. any help would be appreciated.
the garmin edge products make this a ton easier—-that being said, i love the watch just this one little thing is hard to figure out!
Ray,
In one of your videos of the Garmin 920xt the menu bar on top of the screen pops down and reduces the screen area. When you push one of the buttons on the right side, the menu bar goes away, but comes back shortly afterwards. During a run, will the menu bar always be visible?
I absolutely love the reviews you do, man. You say they might just be too comprehensive, but I disagree; you can’t find things that go really in-depth answering questions anymore, so it’s pleasant that someone actually does.
Anyway, I wanted to ask you for advice. I’m a runner who came off of his third marathon, have a swimming background, and I decided I’m going to start training for an Iron Man. I’ll obviously be doing small triathlons for at least two years, I’d imagine, as I build up, but that’s the end goal. I am really into data and analysis; perfecting form and such, and I’ve decided to invest in a watch to accompany me through this training.
So, after looking at a wide variety of them, including Timex, Nike, and TomTom, I am leaning toward this one, the 920XT. You usually post mostly positive reviews on the watches I’ve read your reviews for, but I was wondering what watch (and site/interface for logging) you actually prefer or consider the best??
I love the full on reviews; they give us a chance to really see the product without actually SEEING the product, so we can make our own decisions, not just go into someone’s bias. However, I can’t actually experiment with all of them and see which one really works or feels the best. As I said, based on things, I lean toward this, but I’d sure be interested to know, of the training watches you have tested (assume geared toward triathlon training), which watch do you consider the best on the market?
I will obviously make my own decision, but based on the reviews, I consider your opinion to be valuable or carry weight, and I’d love to hear it. Thanks for all you’ve done!
I think it might be worth mentioning that it’s not possible to create a structured workout for swimming. You could use the “Other” profile, but there’s no way to put information like stroke/drill type in your intervals.
Also it’s possible to get the workouts / calendar etc from connect to your device by Wifi, so there’s no need to connect the USB cable.
Hi love your website and your reviews. I am on my second watch. I have been running for two years and going to start triathlons. I can get a 910 for $279. Cdn. Or $530 for the 920. Is the $250 worth it for the 920 as a beginners or go with the 910?
I think these choices are largely around budgets as the target market for a 910 and a 920 is the same. If you can afford it, I would personally go for a 920. It’s lighter and does a lot more especially around connectivity and the activity tracker.
2 part question: Say i have a 10 leg multisport race, with all different legs such as biking (road and mtb) paddling, running swimming etc. as of now multisport profiles can only have 5 total legs correct? will they expand this? the only way i can see around this is to change manually between legs (slow option, lose transition data, and frustrating in a race) or have two multisport profiles, 5 legs each, and end one then change to the other half way through the race… second question is with multiple power meters (road/Tri/Mtb) do i only need one bike profile that is paired to all power meters? (and the 920xt will know which one i’m using?) or a profile for each power meter (like on my 310xt)
Hi Ray,
I’m new to your site and incredibly impressed with your reviews!
I am starting a run / swim routine, but I’m an avid golfer. So, I’m having trouble choosing between the FR920XT (which is most likely an overkill given my current level) and the Approach S6. I am leaning towards the multisports watch, since there are many decent Golf GPS apps for android, but do you think that the Connect IQ developers will be able to design a golf software (similar to Garmin´s approach S6) for the FR920XT? Or maybe, even Garmin will consider selling the S6 software for the FR920XT? Is this even possible (programming wise)?
Thanks!
MOTOACTV is the only GPS device (except a phone) that have used for golf as well as running & cycling.Quite handy just to have it there for whatever you want to do but I have long since “retired” the MOTOACTV for fitness purposes. I think the Garmin hardware for the Approach watches and Forerunners is quite similar. Probably a marketing thing mainly. Also ultimately how many golfers and runners/triathletes are there…
Ah, ok. I can grab from the watch itself. I am used to training center where I can find on my computer vs garmin connect. But have made the change. Thank you.
I have noticed that the hour “number” of the clock changes color and I can’t find out why anywhere…not in an activity just in activity mode… Sometimes it’s green, sometimes it’s blue, and sometimes it’s red..
You think its telling you to move when it’s red and you are on the fence “slacker” when it’s blue and good to go when it is green?
@Vaughn Temple – the hour digits change because in your watch settings, there is an option for it to be the colour of your last activity. Mine is currently showing Red for Running. Sometimes, it is Green for Cycling…You may have also noticed that the battery indicator also follows the same settings.
Quick Question Regarding Bluetooth Pairing with Phone, (iPhone 5, Ios8 in this case) Can you have this phone connected and still use a Bluetooth Headset or earpiece? Or will I have to repair each device every time and they kick each other off? I know newer headsets can be connected dot two devices at once and accept calls from each.
Thanks for the excellent review. Bought my watch based in that.
Is there also a “other” training mode? During offseason there is also some skating or skiing but I can’t use the run or bike modes as they fuck up my stats (vo2 max and race predictions). After doing a 2h skiing in run mode the race predictor thought I should be able to run a 2:30 marathon.
Hi,
I have purchased the 920XT a week ago and yesterday was the first cycling I have done using it. While the cycling computer is great and paired with my Bontrager speed&cadence sensor, for some reason the Garmin gave an annoying alert of the speed I am at, every few seconds (seems like every change in speed got alerted). does anyone know how to stop it?
Great review men! Congratulations
I recently got my FR920xt, came from a Polar RC3 GPS. I’ve noticed that my calorie rate burned in a workout are way too different, like 50% less calorie burned on garmin than polar. Of course base on the same profile (height weight etc)
The algorithm takes a little while to learn you, See if it is closer to what you would expect after about 5-10 runs/cycles and it should get “better” after each one.
Do you have any data on how the bluetooth phone connectivity affects battery life? Obviously, if you are getting a ton of notifications, I could see that using battery, but I’m thinking more of the live tracking. If I turned of the notifications, but turned on live tracking on the phone, could I expect to get close to the 24 (normal) or 40 (ultratrac) hours of battery life with the live tracking. I can’t find any info from Garmin on the terms of the 24 or 40 hour specifications. Also, what about the battery affect of using the HR strap? I guess I’m wondering how they spec’d the 24 / 40 hour battery life — was that essentially ‘stripped down’ to the point of using the watch as a gps tracking device? I have a lot of ultra friends, but the ones that have the 920 are reluctant to test the capabilities during a race – they don’t want to risk running out of necessary running data for ‘nice-to-have’ features. Even if we just have Garmin’s estimates on how that would affect it, that might get more people to test it out.
I don’t have detail on battery life impact, but I also haven’t seen anyone note in other live tracking watches that it’s making much of a difference. For example, the FR620 with Live Tracking enabled.
Battery life is non-impacted by additional sensors (doesn’t matter to any tangible degree). Primary driver of battery life is backlight, GPS type (GLONASS enabled), and vibration alerts (less than others).
Which…I suppose does remind me to try out my battery-roof test again now that I’ve got a non-recalled unit this past week…
Thanks for those thoughts, I know you noted the GLONASS drain in the article, but if you detect anything else substantial, I would appreciate a post to that affect. For all the slow ultra runners out there maxing out the time limits.
GLONASS takes about 20% and interestingly every second recording over Smart was nearly as much if memory serves me correctly – from somebody who posted here who had experimented with it.
Anyway, in the normal course of things, my iPhone would give up much quicker than my 920 so you might want to do some tests of your own equipment in this respect.
Doeas this watch shows Power Time in Zone? I saw in manual you can see your time in each Heart Rate Zone, it would be awesome to see the same for power, can someone confirm it?
This my be specific to the way I run, but in using the 920 I noticed one design flaw. With the buttons located on the side of the device, with a downward angle (they are almost on the watch’s band), I tend to hit the start/stop or lap button when really running hard (ie., a race). I’ve lost data for two races using the device without knowing I even hit the button.
Not heard of anybody else doing that running but a few reports when swimming when in close proximity to other swimmers. Are you wearing the 920 on the outside of your wrist or the inside? Are you aware of your wrist hitting your body when running? Sounds painful! I understand Garmin are considering implementing a lock feature whilst the timer is running which may well help you.
It’s valid, I just used it last night. The final price adjustment will be shown on the final checkout screen only, not in your shopping cart.
Make sure to actually buy the VIP program first and you’ll get the coupon code to use emailed to you. Do *not* use the generic DCR10JKW code, you have to use the specific one you get from the VIP program.
Sorry, correct. The FR920XT is one of the 7 products that Garmin requires the DCR CT VIP program for. It only takes a second to sign-up here though: link to dcrainmaker.com
Once you sign-up you’ll receive a personal coupon code that is good for all future purchases to save 10% on any on-sale product (including the FR920XT).
Anyone have the issue where the watch continues to search for your speed and cadence sensor while in the “Run” activity profile?
I just installed the magnetless speed and cadence sensor (which works perfectly), but when I now go out for the run, the speed and cadence icons continue to blink…
I called Garmin support and said that it eventually times out, but I’ve found that, even an hour into my run, when I press the menu button to check the “home screen” (where the time is visible), I still see the speed and cadence sensor blinking. Can’t be good for batter life, can it?
Also, anyone have pics of the watch on the fabric strap?
It may not be the most elegant solution, but I just disable the speed and cadence sensor in the sensors menu when I’m running.
I don’t know the impact on battery life, but just prefer to not have it searching needlessly (and blinking to tell me about it).
Yes, you can disable them without un-pairing or deleting the sensor. Press Enter (start/pause) on the status screen for the sensor in question and select disable. Same steps to re-enable.
I’ve seen this as well and couldn’t care less. My 910 was always sniffing for ANT devices, it just didn’t have the menu to look at. I read either here or on the Garmin forums that the battery drain is negligible. My advice to Garmin would be to get rid of the blinking…problem solved lol!
Does anyone know if you add a garmin training plan to the calendar does the recovery advisor move some of the work outs to a later date. E.g I did a steady state run today with a recovery time of 3 days, I’m sure I had a run in the calendar in 2 days time that has now gone.
I agree with Tim that it is not that clever. However, when I used the calendar on my 910XT, I found that “today” was not always “today.” Specifically when I would workout in the evening, I generally had to look at yesterday’s calendar to find my workout. I live in GMT-8, so I suspect it was looking at the current date in Zulu time, and skipping a day ahead if I worked out after 4PM. So depending on your time zone, and time of day, you might want to check a day ahead or behind to see if your missing workout is there. (I have not tried the calendar function on the 920XT yet, so I don’t know if that bug still exists.)
Two quick questions, having just started using the 920:
1) Without a foodpod is there any way to calibrate the treadmill running? I am getting significant (ie up to 50%) differences in distance from the treadmill reading versus the accelerometer on the watch inside?
2) I have run outside a few times, and GPS is on and use HR, yet still do not get any VO2 max or Race Predictor readings, the other cadence/oscillation readings seem all fine. Is there any setting that has to be enabled for this?
1. Not really. It is auto calibrated from runs outside. Are your outdoors runs and treadmill ones at a similar pace with similar arm carriage?
2. Might explain why (1) not working well yet. Is your max HR set correct? Are you getting TE values of 5.0 – that can cause the algorithms to invalidate the runs for VO2 Max purposes due to not being realistic runs according to your settings.
So, about this altimeter… The way you describe it, it almost sounds like they put out a prototype that just doesnt function. How is it possible that a company with such a solid reputation would even think of doing this??
It’s working well for me now. Comparing the elevation on GC from a run with a 920 today (without elevation corrections) to the same run with a 620 (with the corrections) then the two profiles look pretty much the same.
1) Is the vo2max value calculated only when in running or in cycling-mode? If this is so, is it possible (or even probable) for any 3rd party developers to develop (through Garmin Connect IQ) algorithms which would calculate estimations of one’s vo2max in different sports (i.e. cross-country skiing)?
2) Does 920XT have different vo2max for indoor and outdoor cycling (I guess it doesn’t matter if it calculates vo2max using HRV and power without environmental factors)?
3) Is the Training Effect (TE) also sport-specific (i.e. running, cycling) or the same across different sports?
P.S. Thank You Ray for providing – yet again – an insightful and very useful review for us all.
1. Yes correct. Custom VO2 Max – possibly although I suspect it would probably be less sophisticated than the inbuilt ones as not sure you would get the same access to internal memory to store whatever is needed for the way the algorithms “learn” you (even if you had developed an algorithm)
2. Just one value for cycling. As you imply power should be environment independent.
3. .It’s the same scale but specific to you in that sport
You mention that the indoor running accuracy is not as good as a foot pod. I’m curious to know if your test was with just the watch or with the HRM. Seems like the HRM-run also has an accelerometer and I would expect fairly good accuracy w/o having to use a foot pod, maybe I’m missing something. Thanks in advance.
The HRM-RUN’s accelerometer is only used for cadence/vertical oscillation/ground contact time, and not for pace/distance.
I suspect down the road we’ll probably see Garmin leverage the HRM-RUN to improve that a bit and perhaps pull in pace (like the Wahoo TICKR RUN/X does), in conjunction with the wrist. But…not today.
As always, awesome reviews on the gadget. Greatly appreciate it.
A few quick inquiries, if you may shed some light:
1) Probably a little technical, but how does the HRM-RUN really monitor on the cadence and vertical oscillation and ground contact time of the runner?
2) I have a Garmin foot pod from 910XT previously; can the foot pod still be used with 920XT along with HRM-RUN concurrently to monitor on cadence? Or will it be smart enough to enable only one to track on cadence?
Because I’m thinking HRM-RUN may not be necessary if the food pod can still play its usual role, since strap around the chest isn’t really gonna be comfortable on the long run.
The precedence order for cadence is HRM-Run, foot pod, the watch itself.
Only the HRM-Run can measure VO & GCT.
So if you only want cadence you can leave off both the HRM-Run and the foot pod.
A question regarding live-tracking for the following situation: running a lap-based street ultra (like 24h), you are not allowed to keep any communication devices (like a mobile phone) with you, but you are in range of your mobile phone once every lap when passing your personal aid station.
So, how long (hopefully only seconds) does the 920XT need to establish connection to the mobile phone (Android based) and transfer data? Such a live-tracking would be interesting in case when there is no live-tracking provided by the race organizers themselves. Do you expect this to be technically feasible?
That should work as if the connection is broken I have seen it “store up” points for transmitting when it has found a connection. Easy to test with your phone – just find a loop somewhere where you can leave your phone and see what happens. However since you could also get Smart Notifications this way I would check the rules as if communication is not allowed then sounds like you would be breaking that rule.
I have not tested this specific situation. But when I run at the track, I leave my phone near the start finish line. It does not reconnect “mid interval”, but does if I am in or switch to recovery when I pass. So I would guess that you need to be running slower than 7:30/mile as you pass. But I don’t know exactly how slow. It will also be a function of how far your phone is away from your nominal running path.
I just completed my first pool swim with my shiny new 920xt and the data is pretty much useless. A quick 1400m swim (yes, I counted my lengths too) and the Garmin says I only did 925m! Thats a pretty big loss. I would lose the odd 25m on the 910, but this is 100x worse. I’ve sent the data to Garmin along with the set I did to see if they can shed any light on it.
That’s odd & disappointing as it seems to work well for nearly everybody. Can you share the GC link. Assume you did have the pool length set correctly?
Umm pretty awful I agree. I presume your correct time per 25m length is about 25-28 secs? if so at least the last set (7th) look right and the one before had most of them right. Any reason to think why it has missed lots of turns? Did you have to stop at the wall or did you generally get a good push off? Did you really try butterfly in the 2nd set?
average of 25-28s per length is about right, though some were faster (set was 400m slow, rest, 25 fast, 75 slow, rest, 50 fast, 50 slow, rest, 75 fast, 25 slow, rest, 300 fast, rest, 300 slow, rest, 100 cooldown)
it was all freestyle with tumble turns, good push offs so i’ve no idea why it wouldn’t have worked. my only thought is that I wear the watch on my right wrist… the 910 had an option to set which wrist you wear it on from memory, the 920 doesn’t seem to
Well, today’s swim has been and gone and it didn’t miss a beat (except where i switched it to drill mode by mistake for 1 interval)… the only difference is I wore it on my left wrist today!
Hi Dan G – a new firmware for the 920xt? I have 2.5.0 on my device (since it’s been shipped). Have you seen anything newer or have they announced a release date?
P.S.: I have the same issue with my 920. My workaround is to wear it on my dominant hand now and turn it “upside down”, that is the display is on the inner side of my arm. If I use it that way it works. Sounds weird, but works. Sounds weird and is not acceptable for such an expensive toy (this is the moment where I look back to my 910 that worked perfectly).
the display of my 310xt ist broken (but I can stille use it) and I’m not sure if I really should upgrade to the 920xt. My questions:
– I can’t zoom the navigation? Will this come with an new firmware?
– The gps-accuracy from the 310xt ist better?
– When I turn on the 310xt for an indoor-session without GPS, the time and date is not correct. What about the 920xt? Does it need GPS-connect for the correct time?
– I’m using the 310xt with the ant agent to import the tcx-files to sporttracks directly.Will this work as good with the 920xt without the ant agent?
Just got the 920 and love it. However I have an issue. I turned on the Activity Tracker. I’ve synced with My Fitness Pal and Training Peaks. I did a swim and a run today. Both synced properly. However Garmin Connect did a 924 Calorie Adjustment on My Fitness Pal, essentially doubling my entry. I didn’t do any other activities today other than the run and swim and it’s got me near 12,000 steps. It seems it’s counting the steps for the Run and well via the Activity Tracker. All I can do to correct it is I either have to turn off the Activity Tracking during workouts or just not use the activity tracker at all. Is there any settings to make it not count activities during a recorded workout ? Does this make sense?
ok, I understand, there is really no zoom in the navigation and rainmaker ist waiting for answers from garmin. But whatabout my other questions:
– The gps-accuracy (running or cycling) from the 310xt ist better?
– When I turn on the 310xt for an indoor-session without GPS, the time and date is not correct. What about the 920xt? Does it need GPS-connect for the correct time?
– I’m using the 310xt with the ant agent to import the tcx-files to sporttracks directly.Will this work as good with the 920xt without the ant agent?
Just got the 920 and love it. However I have an issue. I turned on the Activity Tracker. I’ve synced with My Fitness Pal and Training Peaks. I did a swim and a run today. Both synced properly. However Garmin Connect did a 924 Calorie Adjustment on My Fitness Pal, essentially doubling my entry. I didn’t do any other activities today other than the run and swim and it’s got me near 12,000 steps. It seems it’s counting the steps for the Run and well via the Activity Tracker. All I can do to correct it is I either have to turn off the Activity Tracking during workouts or just not use the activity tracker at all. Is there any settings to make it not count activities during a recorded workout ? Does this make sense?
I noticed that while reviewing the route associated with an activity, multiple zoom levels are available. Seems an easy tweak to make that available during an activity.
DC or anyone is there a way to stop the watch from locking? Pretty annoying to have to hit two buttons to get to a sport mode. I love it over the 910 minus this one issue. Also how quickly do you believe the 920 would find satellites in a race while moving I ask because in wetsuit races I usually do nothing for swim 500 for bike and 910 for run but do not wait to wait for satellites in t2. On a 210 it was over half a mile before picking it up. Thank you for awesome reviews.
Go into activity settings and change Power Save Timeout to “Extended”
Just curious, why do you need a 920xt if you don’t use it for the swim or the bike?
I’d consider at least wearing the watch (220 or 920) from the start of the race and then turning it on towards the end of the bike to acquire a good satellite lock. This would give you one less thing to worry about in T2 AND give you accurate data right off the bike (when your more likely to fry your legs from going out too fast)
Hi all,
I wrongly delete one of my activity from Garmin Connect Mobile. Actually the same activity is still visible and available on my Garmin 920xt. While syncronizing the data the activity is missing. How can I fix it? Many thanks in advance for your kind support.
Looking through this thread i get the feeling that it’s possible to connect my new Garmin Forerunner 920 XT to Training Center to download workouts that I’ve planned i Training Center. Is this correct? This is the main reason that I still stick to Garmin. I want to be able to decide the goal for each interval, like speed, heart rate… and also when the interval ends like time, distance, HR, pushing lap button… All this could be done in Training Center and this is what I need now aswell. Do I need to do some kinda workaround like skipping Express or whatever?
Yes you can still use Garmin Training Center. There are a few things like Notes in workout steps that are not currently supported in the 920 but most things should work.
I have really enjoyed my 920xt up until the new GPS update (V. 2.70). Prior to the update, my GPS accuracy seemed really good. While cycling the same routes after the update I am getting erratic tracks. It seems that I will randomly get a large “V” shaped path that goes in a straight line tangentially away from my actual path and then comes back (thus forming a V shape). I am using system update 2.5 and GPS version 2.70. I have glonass turned on and no obstructions that would cause this. This has happened during two rides since the update. After the first time it happened I did a hard reset and restored all of my setting hoping it would ameliorate the issue. After today’s ride I see it has occurred again. I have not seen others experiencing this problem. It was my understanding that the update should “improve” accuracy. I want my old level of accuracy back! Strange problem…
Most people on the Garmin forums are reporting improvements with 2,70 and I am seeing good results running so disappointing that you are having problems. Then again the nature of GPS means sometimes things will go awry for no apparent reason. Most of the time, problems are related to a poor GPS fix at the start. Is that the case with you? Also is the 920 on your wrist or the handlebars?
Thank you for your reply. Indeed, I feel very alone with this issue as I could only find positive comments about the improvement of accuracy associated with the update. I have had the watch mounted to a handlebar mount. It acquired a fix in the same amount of time that it ordinarily does. Because the ride is one of my common training loops, I was able to compare it with the tracks left by multiple devices. I currently own an edge 510 and have owned both a 1000 and a phenix in the past. I have tracked this course with all devices. What caused me to believe that the problem was associated with the GPS chipset update is the fact that version 2.6 tracked this route smoothly on this device. The only variable that changed was the update. I will continue to keep an eye on things. The course path looks good for the most part but will then have a straight line straying as much as 1/2 mile off course and then it returns back. This might happen once in an hour and a half ride. It almost feels like it could be some strange form of interference. I am always BT’d to my i-phone 6 plus but have never experienced this issue in the past. As I have stated, the only variable has been the update. Thanks for your reply…I will keep trying different things.
Have you had the problem since?
It look that I had this problem too since december 29th.
I was looking to find the release date of the 2.70 GPS chipset update when i flet on this thread. I don’t remember when I’ve done it.
But what it’s more werid, is that I’ve done that to my wife watch too and she never had the problem since the update.
But for me, since the update, every single activities, I got a weird fews gps spot who affect the patch. Glonass is OFF for me.
I used your advice for figuring out how to create run and bike workouts in Garmin Connect on the 920. What about creating swim workouts? Even using the “other” option in GC, there are no swim metrics (e.g. swim pace). If this functionality doesn’t exist, any word from Garmin if it might appear? I find it pretty easy to remember run and bike intervals, but some swim workouts can get a bit more complicated. Thanks!
I’m new to swimming with my 920xt and could really benefit from workouts for pool swimming sessions. What/where/how would you recommend I post suggestions to Garmin to attempt to influence them to add this seemingly obvious feature. I’ve looked in the 920, Fenix 3 (ordered one), swim and connect forums and they all seem to have some threads on this topic. Thanks!
Given it’s winter in Europe, I don’t know exactly when I’ll be able to get in another openwater swim – since it’ll depend on random work trips (and available time).
Great review thanks. As a health care professional I can’t wear something on my wrist at work. From an activity tracking (steps, etc) point of view does it work on an ankle/belt/pocket?
Generally it does work in the pocket. Though, the problem I found with that is that sometimes buttons get pressed like the light button – so ensure you don’t have the backlight set to ‘always on’.
Hi – I bought the 920XT ~3 weeks ago after reading this in-depth review which, as usual, appears to be very accurate based on my utilization of the watch to date. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it and don’t regret buying it but here are a few frustrations I have had and I’d be curious to know if these issues are common to the model or related to my unit only:
1. Elevation accuracy: As highlighted by Ray, this seems to be a model issue but it’s indeed frustrating. To give an example, doing the same loop 17 times over ~1h45 (yes it’s boring – Longchamps loop in Paris for those who know it) the elevation at the SAME point of the course as measured by the watch progressively reduced from 110ft to 88ft from my first to my last loops; which is actually quite substantial.
2. My unit keeps freezing each time I unplug it from the charging station (the screen keeps showing the % of charge and USB connection even if unplugged). Only way to unfreeze is to press all the buttons at the same time for ~15sec. Is that normal?
3. When I switch from my bike equipped with a SRM power meter to my bike with Garmin Vector pedals (or the other way round); I have to first manually remove the power meter in memory before it can connect with the other one.
4. The battery life is really disappointing (or maybe it’s just my unit?). I need to do more “testing” but as an example, I forgot to re-charge the battery before going on a 5h ride but still had 65% and thought it would be enough. Glonass, Wifi and Bluetooth were turned off but the battery still died within 5h. The battery seems to go down at a rate ~3-4x faster than my Garmin Edge 500
5. Wifi connection sucks. It takes a really long time to connect (in my apartment, on my own network) and sometimes just doesn’t connect at all.
6. I have a lot of zeros in my power meter recordings but this might be related to the power meter itself
7. Lots of drops in my HR recordings but might also be the HRM and not the watch
By way of background I’m focused on cycling but also run. I haven’t tried the watch swimming yet.
Is your unit one of the few thousand affected by the recall? There are issues with the water proofing and battery life. That would explain the battery life issue at a minimum.
I have the same issue with the watch freezing each time after unplugging it from the charging station. I have to reset the watch each time after that. Often, the first activity after the reset is a crap – it shows elevation ca. 200m below the see level, gps is off by hundreds of meters etc.
I’m a 310XT owner and looking to upgrade to something with swim functionality. Has anyone used a swim watch in a pool using a stationary tether belt such as stillswim.com device? I guess it won’t pickup the laps as I don’t turn and push off but I train in my own pool at home a fair amount and am hoping that the 920XT could work in some capacity for training.
Thanks for the review. My wife gave me (and I gave me) the 920XT for Christmas and it has been an amazing device and experience thus far(indoor swimming, biking, and running). I also enjoy to use it a day watch. I hope the navigation specs improve just a tad but I still think it’s the best watch out there. I bought it from Clever Training with the VIP status and got the big DC discount. Hollaaaa!
Several weeks ago I ordered the Garmin foot pod (for treadmill use with my 920), and found it to be very stable, and more accurate feeling in the data it was producing versus what my treadmill was displaying. I then of course, well, lost the foot pod within a week of having it, absolutely no clue where it is in my house. That gave me an opportunity to again try my 920 without foot pod on the treadmill and what I found was interesting:
The data was very close to what the foot pod was showing EXCEPT when I would do a fartlek within my run. It couldn’t seem to handle the sudden increase in speed.
The overall steady pace was similar to the foot pod but as soon as I moved my arm to look at the watch, the 920 recognized I was no longer swinging my arms and the pace started falling immediately.
Because of all this, The overall result was a distance of 12% different than what the treadmill showed.
So, do I buck up and shell out another $50 for a Replacement foot pod or just say the heck with it…
Foot pod is best in this situation even if it means having to buy another. Have you tried walking round the house trying to pair it? Sometimes my footpod will pair from seemingly quite a distance.
I have the following issue (confirmed by Garmin support) and a workaround (until I receive a replacement): my 920xt does not count laps correctly. Analysis shows that it (mostly) misses the last lap. The workaround is that I wear it on my dominant hand and “upside down”, that is the display on the inner side of my arm. That way it works 99% perfect.
The other issue is (no idea yet how to fix this) that the 920xt does not recognise a Bushido Smart (or at least I don’t know how to do it. Any help is appreciated.
Yes, counting laps in the pool. Other users have confirmed this behavior. I have contacted Garmin support and will receive a replacement (hoping that this works).
Regarding the 920xt recognizing a Tacx Bushido Smart I have received the following form Tacx Support: “Yes we send open ANT+, but because Garmin owns ANT+ the sometimes incrypt a code on their devices so this only communicates with Garmin products”.
Has anyone managed it to connect a Bushido Smart to a 920xt?
Just tried here and it wouldn’t connect 🙁 I have been using Training Peaks and the Tacx app to log sessions on the Bushido Smart so far so didn’t notice this.
However – it doesn’t seem correct that the 920xt would only connect with Garmin Power/Cadence devices and not third party ones. Seems more like Tacx are broadcasting a private ANT+ channel than the 920xt not accepting it?
I have received the info from Tacx support yesterday and I have asked them explicitly to confirm that they are sending open signals (which they confirmed).
In the Tacx forum a guy could read data (Speed/Cadence/Power ) from a Bushido Smart with a Garmin 800 GPS.
This is really confusing. And seems like today’s hardware is shipped like software these days (instable, missing/incomplete features).
Since not answered I would say if you like the look of the Fenix 3 then you need to wait 2-3 months for Ray’s review and of course for it actually to be out. Personally from what have seen I am happy with my 920 as it is significantly lighter than the Fenix 3 and of these new devices I tend to prefer the Epix anyway because it can do real maps.
Like Tim said, it’s far too soon to tell. But so far, so good.
A in-depth review would be targeted for about a month after I get a final production unit with final software. It sounds like that might happen sooner than later.
Hi, this watch will suit me perfectly all the training i do, just one question, i wabt to use the watch when i train and race motocorss, is there any particular mode you can put it in for this sport? not trackingjust hear rate monitoring?
I have a Garmin 920XT, great watch!!! I attempted to download one of the current available apps at IQ connect, and I get an error message that my watch is full. I have only 5 runs in it, I do however have a significant amount of information on my calendar, including work outs. Is it possible that the phone cannot handle the apps because of the information on my calendar and my workouts??? If that is true, then the IQ connect is going to be very limited for a lot of people, M2C.
Yes, IQ store is open here: link to apps.garmin.com , but you will need to update your watch to higher firmware to use it. There is no final release of that firmware, which supports ConnectIQ, if you are spunky, you can try the Beta from here: link to www8.garmin.com
ConnectIQ data-fields and watchfaces are available, Apps are yet to be released.
You do need to have the newest version of Garmin Express, and you need to install the latest BETA firmware on the 920xt. (did I mention the firmware is BETA test?)
I recently unboxed my new 920XT and am still learning how to use it, with the help of reading this review two times! ThanksDC! One problem I’m having is that it will not show distance (miles) for daily activity tracking. The steps continue to count up but the distance stays at zero, both on the 920 display as well as the Connect app. Did I miss a setting somewhere? Anyone else have this issue? I have it set for the default step distance.
I have an Power2max classic powermeter parried with o’synce navi2coach (works like a charm), I wanted to parried it with my new Garmin 920xt and it doesn’t find the device. Is this a known problem?
thank you for all the info! I finally managed to get it to parie 920 with the power2max (after like 10 retries). Now I have noticed another issue, but I don’t know if it is settings related or not.
I have done 3-4 rides on an indoor trainer with my 920xt and although I have it fixed on the handlebars it says ever 3-4 minutes that it has connected with Powermeter or speed/cadence meter. I also saw that the average power over 30s drops (in comparison to the o’synce which doesn’t loose the connection).
Anyone lucky with zooming in the map using the beta firmware 2.64?
In the firmware release notes is written, “◦Improvements to map drawing and zooming.”
Now I can zoom in the Activity History map, but cannot zoom in the map during workout.
Am I doing anything wrong?
Hi Ray – for no other reason other than aesthetic, do you know if a white(?) quick release kit is in the works that goes better (than the black that is already available in the market) with the white/red FR920XT unit?
So I have read conflicting reports about charging the device while in use. Ray said no in the original article but on the Garmin forum it looked like maybe you could if you used a portable power pack. Which one is right today?
He is right. I took my batterypack and started running. As soon as I connected the batterypack it to the watch, the watch stopped the aktivity and saved it (and immediatelly uploaded it to Garmin Connect). The watch screen changed to Charging screen, with no buttons reacting.
Ok thanks to you both 🙂 That means waiting for the Fenix 3. Its not that I go for more than 24 hours at a time, its that I forget to charge the darn thing sometimes!
Is it really a problem? How far do you typically run? Stick the thing on charge for say 15 mins and that gets about 10% which would be good for a couple of hours even if starting completely flat. Also, unlike say the 910, the 920 goes into low power mode within 5 mins if not using the timer and can last many days in this mode if not used.
I’m using the 920xt as an activity tracker (steps and sleep) as well as for my regular training.
When treadmill running the 920 counts steps as part of the activity and adds it to my daily count. Is this based on the watch its self or the foot pod?
I play volleyball and would like to keep track of the step count, but the 920 is a little to big to keep on my wrist. I am hoping that by using the footpod I can account for the steps and have my garmin sitting court side.
Can you add in steps manually to GC or additional sleep time to GC.
Great review, my 910 has a problem with drop out of signal from the stages crank on my tri bike, does the new 920 have improved communication between power meters etc?
On the 910 there was a way to setup multiple bikes but I don’t see the option on the 920. What is your workout around for multiple bikes with different size wheels/cranks?
Hy Ray.
I wonder if the glass on the 920 is like the ambit? or is it worse. What about plastic outer shell is it a problem on getting a lot of scratches? compared to ambit or fenix?
Thanks for the great review. I picked up the watch and I’m loving it so far.
Errata:”Whereas while cadence can SOME from the HRM-RUN strap, it’ll also come from the watch itself.”
Hi thank you for an awesome review. I’m sorry if this has already been asked, but when you are setting up intervals can you put in any distance or only increments of 0.5k ? We do intervals of 400 & 800 and I can’t see how I can set it up for these. Thank you kind regards Melissa
With the Intervals feature on the watch, seems like you can enter the interval distance in increments of 0.05. If say you normally run in miles but want metric for the track, you could switch units before the session (Settings, System, Units). Then you will be able to enter 0.4K or 0.8K etc etc for the interval distance.
If you want to mix up the distances, setup a workout on GC and download it to the 920.
FYI, if any of you are experiencing foot pod and/or HR sensor drop out on the 920XT, I just got off the phone with Garmin support and this is a known issue. The engineers are working on it and a new update is expected out soon. Its very frustrating because the footpod and HR keep dropping out every 5-10sec and reconnect which was annoying. Hopefully the fix comes soon.
Tony, thanks I will give that a try. Its pretty frustrating otherwise. Tried running without footpod and the watch is not accurate at all on distance and pace.
I know there are more than a few mentions of altimeter issues here on this page- I also have issues with mine. Doing indoor bike rides on one instance the altitude varied 40′ from start to finish over 1:15:00. I contacted Garmin… I am shocked at the response. Apparently I used the device incorrectly by strapping it onto my bike. :/
“Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I am happy to support this product.
The ForeRunner 920XT is not intended to record elevation data while stationary for an extended period or when used indoors. When attempting to use a device for an un-intended purpose, you can expect errors like the one you have reported.
I am sorry for the inconvenience this may cause.
Please feel free to contact us for further support if needed.
With Best Regards,
Curtis”
To be fair, this is the case on every device on the market from every company. The reason is that the altimeter is left on, and since it also can’t calibrate it – it just ‘floats’.
Well, I used the watch running for a few miles on a track. It dropped 97 feet from start to finish over a 40 minute workout! (This is a level track by the way.)
Got mine from CT a little over a month ago. Ran a marathon (PR’d, I must add), did a small triathlon, continued my training (have not missed recording of a single swimming lap to this date), shooting for some spring and fall races (what you normally would expect of someone who buys this type of watches)….
Now all I can say is that this watch is awesome and I use it as my everyday watch, finding that the first annoying alerts to MOVE are just what I needed to go and check the business around the office more often.
I read the above posts and relate to some of the issues reported, but I can’t say that I suffer from hardly any of them. The only issues that I have are: 1) intermittent disconnect/connect of HRM and footpod, which really is only annoying, and does not affect my training, and 2) variable reliability of the synchronization with Garmin Connect, which has improved with the latest releases.
Wrong Current pace issue solved? Can anyone confirm that the “current pace issue” from 910 is solved on 920? See more: link to dcrainmaker.com PS. Thanks Ray for a great review
Ok I’ve finally pulled the trigger, 920xt, scorche and quick release kit ordered for Clever Training (the least I can do to support this site). Thought long and hard on whether to go with the Fenix 3, but decided on this in the end. Thanks for the VIP option and the reviews, saved me some bucks and gave me the information to make my decision!
Will there be a review of the quick release kit, and whether or not it is more or less likely that your 920 ends up in the bottom of the lake? I was too terrified to get the quick release for my 910.
Probably not much more. It’s a bit too cold to swim with it in the rivers/lakes around me now, but I have been using it a lot on the quick release kit (cause I was too lazy to take it off after taking the photos in the review). It’s more or less the same in terms of design as the 910XT, just slightly different sizing. But screw-in pins, so your biggest risk is pre-mature rotation off the mount. No locking mechanism.
I recently swam 5700 yds with it in the pool (115 50’s on the minute). I’d gotten the day before in the mail. I really didn’t know how to use it so good test. Pleased that it captured 5650 yds.
I put the 920QR bracket on the it & then used it in the quick release band that I’d had from my 910xt. I figured if it fell out I’d be able to retrieve it & know then. Never a problem tight as ever. Still haven’t put the other band together yet.
Hi- I notice that the 920XT has a water proof rating of up to 50M. My question is this- I do a bit of scuba diving and would want to do a swim immediately afterwards so it would be convenient to have the watch on even during the dive (not a necessity but just convenient). The boat would take us out, we go under for the duration of the dive normally between 30 to 45 minutes, come back up and then I would go for a swim before returning to the boat to head back to shore. My dives typically are between 20M to 40M depth. Would the 920XT typically stand up within those dive depths.
Hi,
sorry to ask this again… I’d need to know if the wake up alarm can be set to vibrate only. I train very early in the morning and I’d need a watch that can wake me up, but not my wife. I have a FR620 and I couldn’t find a way to set it to vibrate only, so I’m considering an upgrade if this feature is available. Could someone with an FR920xt do a quick test for me?
Thanks!
SD
Sorry, I could not find a way to set the alarm to vibrate only either. I enabled the alarm and it made a surprisingly quiet chirping sound … in fact the vibrating was almost louder than the chirping. Then I tried disabling the Alert Tones, but that didn’t have any effect on the alarm. So it doesn’t look like there currently is a way to set it to vibrate only, but I do agree it would be useful (for instance I could see myself using a vibrate only alarm in meetings at work). Perhaps someone could create an app for this on Connect IQ…
Thanks for all your efforts to keep us informed. Clever Training customer for several devices based on your reviews.
I apologize for a question not directly related to the 920XT features. As I transition to a new device, I normally wear/carry both the old and new device and I recognize that you routinely carry more than a few. Is there a convenient method to search and delete duplicate activities in Garmin Connect?
Hi Ray,
Just got the fabric wrist band but without any instructions\manuals..
Do you have any idea where can i find them? Is it just straight forward removing the regular straps and put the naked hinges?
If you’ve done it yourself, can you please put some pics?
Thank you very much!
Alon
first I just want to say that I think you are doing a fantastic job. I haven’t seen any pages out there like yours.
I have a question that I actually believe I have read in one of your reviews, but I couldn’t find it again. I currently use a Polar RCX5, but am considering to convert to Garmin. Mainly because their bike computers seem far better than Polar’s (considering an Edge 1000). But for triathlon you will also need an ordinary watch for swimming and running (for instance the 920).
Is it a practical way to combine the use of a 920 and an Edge 1000 during the same activity? You start swimming with the 920, then switching to the bike with the edge already mounted, and finally going back to the 920 when running? Would this then be three different activities or could the sensor be sending to both units at the same time? Didn’t you have some comments on this issue in one of your reviews?
I do this sort of thing all the time (use 2 different devices for triathlon). I start the swim with the watch set for triathlon, hit the lap entering T1, hit the lap leaving T1 (switches watch to bike) and start the edge for the beginning of bike. I make sure edge is connected to sensors and GPS is locked prior to swim as well as set to NOT automatically shut off. I then hit the lap on the 920 when starting T2 (and stop the edge getting off bike) and then lap again when leaving T2 and starting run. There will be 2 files for bike, but it’s easy to delete in garmin connect (and Strava also).
Any guys out there rocking the red/white color scheme? Curious to know how it is holding up with respect to color fade or ability to clean up and whether it just looks way too female to be a guys watch.
Hey DC: Great review, as always. I love the 920 & getting more comfortable with it day by day. I use the Scosche armband heart monitor that you reviewed and LOVE IT compared to the Garmin straps. Two questions about the 920: after a workout, how do you quickly get back to the regular day time mode? Finally, I liked the old 910 for recording a strength training session by using the standard timer. Seems like the 920 just has the swim-bike-run-triathlon functions. How do you set up a fitness exercise recording function? Thanks very much for your time!
I didn’t read all the comments so it’s possible this was already asked.
1. Is Garmin Express the new Garmin Ant Agent? Meaning I was following your guidance for Garmin Express and when I went to install it, it said I had to remove the Ant Agent first.
2.In the initial setup and configuration at the end you state to unhook the watch from the docking station but I didn’t see where you said to hook it to it.
Otherwise it would appear you spent a good deal of time working on this. Excellent as always.
With version 2.50, it works with either button (or at least brings up the menu, I didn’t actually try and go to sleep). But strangely the animation is different between them.
Mode brings the menu up from the bottom.
Enter brings the menu in from the right.
Back closes the menu by shifting it right in either case.
With the Edge 810 and Forerunner 910, one could set up different bike configurations (wheel diameter, etc., including a “name” for the bike). I cannot find where this would be done with the 920XT. So how does it know the wheel size, crank length, etc? How does it know which bike I’ll be riding if I have more than one bike?
The 920xt and Edge 1000 use the sensor pool concept. The settings reside within each sensor. So if you are using the same sensor for multiple bikes then you would have to change the tire diameter, or let it auto calibrate. If you have different sensors on each bike then the Garmin will pickup the active sensors.
Just reading about the live tracking piece and was thinking…
Wouldn’t it be great if Garmin made a GSM/3G/4G dongle/pod that could connect to their devices via the Bluetooth connection and transmit the live tracking data? Would get around the no phones in races rule and if waterproof and worn under a swim cap and then transferred later to a wrist strap could track a full triathlon.
Toiling through hills on my long bike ride yesterday I came up with the same idea! I have a Galaxy S5 and it’s pretty huge to be lugging around during the run and impossible for a swim without a floatie. We just need a cellular transmitter with Bluetooth & Garmin Connect emulator for the watch connection.
I wonder if the Forerunner “930xt” will have a cellular transmitter embedded just like the Timex One GPS+. There will surely be a lot of development in smart watches the next two years and cellular watches may be mainstream by the time the 920xt is replaced.
I want getting 920xt recording HRV (R-R) data, so I am able to get this Data to Firstbeat or Sporttrack without going via Internet.
So I downloaded program from there: FAQ | ATHLETE Support | Support | Firstbeat entzipped it and got
“enable_hrv_setting_file.fit” . I got 920xt connected via USB an copied that 1KB “enable….” into GARMIN/NEWFILE.as I do if I copie data to another device.And it seemed to work, but after disconnecting and connecting again , that file was not seen any longer.
My question is how can I transport this file.fit into watch?
Or how do you manage recording R-R so to see on PC later?
Thanks a lot for your answer.
Herzlichst Naomi
nach dem heutigen Lauf:
rund, rund geborgen
Kopf gesenkt und Augen zu
rund,rund geborgen
mit angewinkelten Beinen
die Arme um die Knie geschlungen
den Kopf in die Armbeuge geschmiegt
hat soviel
Wärme.
The file gets “consumed” and so correctly disappears. It is basically is a just a way to change a setting. Are you getting the HRV data now in your activities?
Hi Tim thanks for your answer.
I see. Well firtbeat gets Data from Gramin/ACTIVITY without showing R-R data directly. That´s pity! Because I want to see HR and HRV at the same picture graph.
Spottrack also takes ACTIVTIY from Garmin, but i haven´t no idea jet whre to find R-R data and showing it same time in a picture graph.
Does anyone know if “Kubios HRV” can read R-R Data out of Garmin FR920xt , when firstbeat “enable_hrv_setting_file.fit” file´s sent bevor into the watch?
Thanks you!
Herzlichst Naomi
Thank you very much also to my teachers :Denny Dreyer, Wim Luijpers,Benita Cantinie,Christian Larsen,Moshe Feldenkrais und ganz ganz ganz besonders dir, Jack Heggie und dir, Terry Laughlin! Was wäre ich ohne euch!!!? :-))
Is there a way it can be programmed to read or record in Nautical and not statute miles I use the 910XT currently and looking at this new watch with interest. I use for Performance Sea Kayaking also finding that mapping coverage on garmin Connect does not extend very far from Land perhaps Garmin have not considered the needs of serious open water swimmers and Sea Kayakers / Surf Ski users.
Help i got a TW version and i’m stuck with firmware 2.0. It wont allow me to use connectIQ. I tried updating to 2.6 by copying the file in folder but it wont work. Any idea for workaround
Smart notifications…do you have to leave the Garmin Connect App running in the background for them to work? 95% of the time when I close the app (on my iPhone 6, iOS 8) by double clicking the home button and swiping up on the app (so I’m not just minimizing the app, but actually closing it) I loose the bluetooth connection between my iPhone and 920XT and thus my smart notifications. Very rarely, it stays connected to my iPhone and I still get smart notifications (until I open the Garmin Connect App later on and then close it again, loosing the Bluetooth connection). Is that the way it’s designed to work, or should the smart notifications work even when the Garmin Connect app isn’t open? Thanks!
Hi Ray, in the comparison table if Garmin site, I can see swimming workout in Epix, but no in 920xt… Is it a mistake? Is there an update coming to add this function also in the 920?
Hi Ray, quick question for the 920xt users, what happens if you turn on the watch indoors and the unit doesn’t find a signal? do you get a screen pop up to say ‘are you indoors’? Reason i ask is on the 910xt you do, and selecting yes shuts off the gps, so even if you do go out (i.e. brick session on turbo to quick run round the block), you don’t get pace info for the run portion.
Assuming you are talking about running then if there is no GPS fix, pace/distance will come from the internal accelerometer or a foot pod if you are using one. As such you don’t get those “are you indoors” messages on this device (same as a 620 as well). However before starting a run you can see whether you get “GPS is Ready” (see one of the pics further up). If you are on a treadmill or a turbo you would select the Run Indoor or Bike Indoor activity profile which already has GPS set off as default.
Sorry if it’s been asked, but if I wear the HRM during the day and while sleeping will it record HR data with steps/sleep data or do I need to have an activity going to record and see the data?
Thanks for any info. I love the site and used this review to convince my wife I needed the upgrade from my Nike Sportwatch.
Jonathan: As far as I know, the running dynamics is proprietary of Garmin, and can only be obtained with the Garmin heart monitor. Ray has comment on this issue numerous time before if I recall correctly.
Correct. There have been pushes to open it up to an ANT+ spec, but Garmin continues to push back there.
At the end of the day, it’s OK I guess. They’re just killing their own baby there. Their insistence on keeping it private runs counter to the entire point of ANT+ (which they own). So companies are just going to Bluetooth Smart for those metrics instead (and close to half a dozen have done exactly that, with many of them originally starting on ANT+ but giving up since they couldn’t get a spec formalized). Shrug.
Ray, I’ve been using the new 920XT for three weeks and enjoying it. I woke up this morning and it was frozen at 58% charged and the time I took it off the charger. Have you heard of any issues with the device not working so early in ownership? Thanks.
Yes, I have had the watch freeze on me a few times. It was always after getting a notification displayed on the watch. Each time I had to connect it to the charger to get it going again. For sure a bug. Hate to have this happen during a race. Garmin go fix this!
If you’re running the beta version of the software (or heck, even if not), then it’s worthwhile e-mailing the beta bug e-mail address that’s listed in the readme file.
I’ve had the notification freeze at the top a couple times when using 2.50 firmware. It usually seemed to happen when I had a couple text messages come in close together.( ie. the first notification hadn’t cleared before the next message came in).
I wasn’t near my charger at the time and just waiting for a few minutes cleared the notification and everything seemed normal.
I’ve updated to the beta now and will monitor it to see if it continues to happen.
@Hans I had a similar freeze described by Robin in FW 2.5. I just waited and it cleared. That being said, are you really going to have notifications on during a race?
Does the heartrate monitor work with the Runmeter app?
I listen to music while running, if I use the Garmin app, will it tell me thru my earphones when I’m out of my heart rate zone?
No, it doesn’t pass through. You’d need either a Bluetooth Smart strap, or I believe Runmeter will support the ANT+ straps if you have an adapter for it (one of the Wahoo Fitness adapters).
I had such high hopes for this watch. I understand there may be integration issues with MY Fitness Pal, but I don’t understand the issues with the constant connecting, dropping, and reconnecting of the HRM and my inability to connect a foot pod. Garmin keeps saying they will get a software update, but I see these issue have persisted since 2013.
Odd, that’s a new one. I’d ring up Garmin support and have the unit swapped out. Definitely not normal and also definitely not a software/update issue. Sounds like a faulty antenna.
(Also note: They can’t have persisted since 2013, since it just came out 3 months ago)
@Bob, MFP is syncing fine with me. If there were a problem, this would be a Garmin Connect problem, not one with the watch.
As for the foot pod, there’s a thread over in the Garmin forums about it. There are a few people who have had issues with dropping sensors. Several have had success with turning bluetooth off. If the symptoms persist, I’d contact Garmin and get it replaced.
FYI: If you have the HRM-Run, the footpod is serves no purpose for outdoor runs.
I was wondering. When runing I use 4 fields of visualization, but the 920XT always put the label with GPS strenth on the top of display hidding the top fields names. Is there any way to hide it from the display?
Yes, I’ve compared it previously within the FR620 review. For cadence, it’s identical using the HRM-RUN. When using the wrist detection, it’s also identical – except for thew few moments when you might grab a drink from a waterbottle or such.
I found the step count to be very inaccurate due to the simple fact that when you start any activity such as cycling the watch continues to count steps by the watch movement. I can wake up and go straight to my bike, after 15km ride I have walked about 3000 steps + the bike ride. Even driving a car increases the step count a lot. This affects the whole activity measurement. Is Garmin aware of that? My wife’s Basis 1 can automatically recognize walk, biking, run and even sleep time just by the movement characteristics. On the 920XT switching the sleep mode on and off is a pain. This must be easy to correct with a firmware update.
I was really surprised to read on this website: link to fellrnr.com, that with the GLONASS the accuracy was actually worse. The gentleman seems quite solid in his knowledge. I was curious about your opinion on this.
He only tests on a single short segment over and over again. For some, GLONASS improves accuracy, whereas for others it doesn’t. It just depends on conditions. For me, and for many – it improves it. For some conditions, it won’t.
Thank you, I can understand how it doesn’t help, just strange that it would actually make things worse, but then it depends how it combines the data in the software I guess. There is fair amount of “filtering” of error data both in GPS as well as in HRMs, so the best algorithm wins, I suppose. Of course the tests need to be valid as well. Your insights are very useful and helpful, thank you.
The issue here is external validity.
Any test that is done (with an appropriate protocol) is probably “correct” for the conditions tested, but the big question is how well do the test results apply to your life.
If you’re planning to run a road race on a specific road on a specific course that you can train on as much as you like the best test is to run that course a billion times with a bunch of watches in a bunch of different configurations (GLONASS +/-, for example) and see which results are best (see: Precision & Accuracy).
If you’re looking for a general description of how a bunch of different watches handle a range of city and country conditions the best thing to do is run with a bunch of different watches in different locations in different configurations (GLONASS +/-, for example) and see what the results are (see: Precision & Accuracy).
Personally, I will say that my 620 gave me much better GPS capture speed (faster) and accuracy than my 610 did, and my 920 blows by (now sold) 620 out of the water. And I have GLONASS enabled.
No disrespect, but: “If you’re looking for a general description of how a bunch of different watches handle a range of city and country conditions the best thing to do is run with a bunch of different watches in different locations in different configurations (GLONASS +/-, for example) and see what the results are (see: Precision & Accuracy).”, than the whole purpose of these web pages is useless. I am trying to avoid Start>buy>try>return>goto_Start loops. Specially with multiple devices. Furthermore, if I were to use them in a known situation, I don’t need them. If I know the path fairly precisely, I can just use pedometer and stop watch, and get all the data I need. The rest is just entertainment. The GPS is useful in places I am not that well familiar with.
The manufacturers will always tell me good things about their products, but I am looking to these sites for impartial inputs. I really do appreciate these inputs, but I was trying to prevent trial and error.
Garmin now claims that the main advantage (besides cosmetics) of the Fenix 3 is
better navigation. Now what do I do, wait for it to try it, or by it and exchange it. Again, please understand, no disrespect, but this really turns this into a social club.
I do include in my tests detail of how it compares against watches and measuring of distance. The detail of replicating the exact same (down to the meter) running or cycling route that’s been properly measured with a tape-like device for anything more than a mile is incredibly difficult to do (both practically and repeatably). Hence why I look at multiple watches at once and talk to how and where they differ, and post those results accordingly.
Two philosophies on testing exist:
1) Test X watches a million times over a single course with a “known” distance and see how they change vs the “known” gold standard.
2) Test X watches a million times over a bunch of different courses with “known” distances and see how they all compare to each other and the “known” gold standard.
As you say, if you’re going to use them in a known situation you don’t need them. Therefore, one might surmise you’re interested in buying the single watch that on a given day with a given set of environmental factors (snow, clouds, sun, buildings, trees) has the highest chance of not giving you a super weird recording.
No disrespect, but you missed the point of my first post. Ray takes a bunch of watches on all his outings of different courses etc and reports the results back. Fellrnr takes a bunch of watches on a bunch of outings over a single course and reports the results back. The onus remains with “us” to figure out which type of test we prefer.
You are absolutely correct. I should be more careful reading your articles which are definitely helpful. I apologize if I was too brash. I do appreciate your site very much.
I’ve found that the 920xt to display the best GPS tracks I ever seen after the 2.7 firmware update. It almost always gets me within 1-2 meters, but is usually accurate enough that it gets me through crosswalks. Before, that update it was on par with the 910xt, but worse then the Ambit2S.
I also ran for a couple of weeks (before the update) with 2 different 920xt watches at the same time enabling GLONASS on only one of them. In my area I didn’t seem any significant difference (Easter Massachusetts, US). I turned on GLONASS for my last 2 runs and GPS tracks look a little cleaner, especially around curves.
Is 2.7 the current Beta? I’ve been resisting the Beta since I have several outstanding issues with Garmin support, and I don’t want them to say “we don’t officially support the Beta”.
There are 2 numbers for Firmware on the 920xt. For the watch, 2.5 is the current stable release and 2.64 is the beta. For GPS, the most recent firmware update is 2.7. You can update the GPS firmware without using the beta watch firmware.
Ah, ok. I am at GPS version 2.7. (I was thinking the last update actually brought it up to 2.5. Guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention.) I haven’t noticed any particular difference in the GPS performance before/after that update. But it is supposed to fix open water swimming, which I really want to test out. I just haven’t had time to make it to the beach.
Thanks for all your hard work reviewing Ray, much appreciated.
I got sick of my Fenix 2 crashing, so I’ve ordered the 920xt for my wife and I’m getting my trusty old 910xt back off her for now.
I’ll be ordering a Fenix 3 as well as I need the navigation but not until you’ve done your proper review as I always like to hear what you have to say about a new GPS watch before I get it.
I’m fed up of my Fenix 2 just randomly re-starting and losing data. Going to see if I can return it as it’s clearly got problems and not getting fixed!
So far the activity tracking features are kind of useless for me for two main reasons: 1- The step count keeps active during any non-step related activity or even increasing a lot when I am just driving. I wake up go straight to my bike and ride 15 Km and the watch shows I have walked 2500 steps ??? my wife’s Basis B1 can automatically know the difference from walking to jogging to riding so it does not seem to be that difficult to correct this. As cycling is my main activity I ended up having 14.0000 steps on days I have probably walked 4000 if much. 2- You have to press the buttons 3 times to switch the sleep mode on and 3 more to switch it off, seriously? Polar V800 and also the Basis B1 can just determine the sleep mode by the watch movement or no-movement. Is Garmin aware of these issues or I am the only one complaining?
After few running, nordic skiing and swimming activities and every day use I just want to write that I like the 920XT overall performance. Previously I had FR620, but garmin was so kind and allowed me to swap this never reliably working device for a new 920XT. It is a big step forward from 620 to 920! And many thanks to rainmaker for his great review!
Interested in the 920XT -HRM Run bundle through clever training. Previous posts here suggest they had it at one time(as recently as mid Dec) I don’t see it on Website and when I called was told didn’t know if they would carry it. ( I called before I checked these posts)
I am having a hard time keeping my 920 and my Stages Power meter paired – even if I attach my watch to my bars vs keeping it on my wrist. Do you know if this is a Garmin or Stages issue and if there is any way to fix it? Aside from purchasing a separate head unit…
do you know if is posible to track by 920 the speed and cadence on Real Muin Turbo trainer from Elite?
I have no idea how to connect them – the watch cannot find any new sensors just apart the wrist when I use indoor cycling mode:(
Is it possible to connect the Garmin 920XT to Garmin Training Center as i have al my data also there over dthe years and not only on Garmin Connect online.
Hi, Ray, and ty for yet another great review!
I have been using Garmin FR210 for a couple of years (picked them up thanks to your review) and I really liked the features, form-factor and design. I used them as an everyday watch as well. The only problem that I had with them was not being able to combine time and pulse on one screen. I trained with HRM so I needed constantly switch between HeartRate and Time pages. Not a big deal but still. Otherwise – great watch.
Unfortunately about 5 months ago holder for watch strap broke but Garmin was kind enough to provide a new one free of charge. Now, after over 3 years of usage watch strap broke. Even in several places. So I guess it’s just plastic that reached it’s age. Due to design (a one solid body) it is impossible to replace a watch strap. Garmin can replace it but it will cost almost as much as brand new FR210.
So I need to find a new GPS watch that I can use for mostly running but also for occasional bike and swimming sessions. So is FR 920 XT worth getting or is there other watch model that you would recommend?
I’d definitely go with the FR920XT. Though, if you’re only occasionally doing cycling or swimming you might want to wait another month or two for the Vivoactive – half the price (check out my posts on it). Otherwise, no problems with the 920XT.
Thank your for the idea. I’m not sure if Vivoactive design is attractive for me nor if it will survive if I will accidentally hit something with it. I have seen that Garmin also has Fenix 3 coming and there will be Sapphire variant. So If I will stick with Garmin then I guess I will go with FR920XT or Fenix3. On the cheaper side there are FR220 and FR620. I like buttons and I hate touch =)
How do you find 920XT as daily watch? Do you “feel” it sitting there? Does it scare people around you a lot? =)
Yes, I plan a review of the F3 once I have a final production unit.
As for the FR920XT, for me it’s a touch big visually as a day to day watch (though it works just fine and I don’t really notice). But to each their own.
I will be waiting for your F3 review and thank you for all your replies.
I used to have Casio G-Shock before I moved to Nike+ and then Garmin GPS watches so I guess FR920XT won’t be THAT huge comparing to G-Shock. At least on your hand or female hand it looks pretty nice and “normal”. The only “issue” is the color scheme. I’m not sure how I will look like in a suite and with that watch on my wrist. At the same time people are aware what those things are so one can find understanding.
HRM-Run – is it something worth getting? I have elastic HRM that came with FR210 and a part from one occasion (I had 220 pulse according to it while I was just standing and checking my completely normal pulse with my hand) it works really well. I guess may be battery that need replacement soon. I’m not sure if I will benefit from it in any way. Sure it’s cool stats but I’m not a pro athlete so I don’t now if I need it.
I planned to get footpod this spring (for cadence) but now as my watch need replacement and if I understand correct 920XT can do all this itself – I’m not sure if I need it anymore.
In general I don’t find the HRM-RUN stats all that useful. It’s fun “neato!” type data the first few weeks, but then you sorta gloss over it. Just my two cents…
I have been in contact with Garmin Support and they said that one must have new HRM-RUN in order to get VO2, cadence, ground contact and vertical oscillation. In your review you mentioned that for VO2 and cadence it’s not required. It’s cheaper to get a HRM bundle (watch+strap) than a new footpod so I guess I will go for it. So far I think cadence will be the only useful stat for me. But as you say – it’s neat to have extra statistics =)
Garmin support also confirmed that watch should make it to 50m under water and that information provided in documentation (5ATM) is not correct. As one might now at 50m it’s 6ATM preasure, not 5ATM.
Still waiting for Fenix 3 release (somewhere around March) and your review to make a decision which one to pick. If my watch strap will break (any day now) I guess I will have to pocket it or just hold it in the hand while running. I can deal with it for a while. I’m not running atm so March is about right month when I go out and start running.
“I have been in contact with Garmin Support and they said that one must have new HRM-RUN in order to get VO2, cadence, ground contact and vertical oscillation. In your review you mentioned that for VO2 and cadence it’s not required.”
They’re wrong. Simple as that. It happens more often than you think. 😉 The unit itself provides cadence by default, no strap needed at all. VO2 is provided by any ANT+ strap, as it leverages HRV/RR, which is required by the ANT+ specification for all ANT+ heart rate straps. Thus by default as long as you have an ANT+ HR strap, you’re good to go. And since all Garmin straps are ANT+…donezo.
“As one might now at 50m it’s 6ATM preasure, not 5ATM.”
There’s actually a considerable amount of debate on that topic. I’ve asked far and wide, and the general consensus within the industry is 5ATM = 50m. I’ve heard the reasoning on the +10m thing by adding the baseline atmosphere, but honestly I’m just not sure I buy it. Given that the entire interwebs seem to agree that 50m = 5ATM, I’m kinda sticking with it.
Sad to hear that Garming support can be incorrect. Or maybe it’s just sale-persons who are handling the support so they might not have exact product knowledge or use products themselves. It’s good to have you, who use them often and know what works and what doesn’t. It’s nice to get tips about what features are important and how a product compares to other products. Good to know that watch can provide cadence without any extra sensors or footpods. This will save me a couple of $$. I wish there was possible to buy just the new sensor that I could place on my already existing HRM band. But I guess it’s the sensor itself that costs most. On the other hand it might be nice to have an extra HRM (home/work).
At 50m it’s 6ATM. At least what is being taught by diving organisations like PADI or similar. They sure have a scientific proof for that. I guess for the industry it’s easier to write 5=50 (both fives) than explaining for those who didn’t take a diving certificate why there is 6ATM pressure at 50m. Hardly anyone will go that deep with GPS watch (too bad there is no underwater GPS-like solution) so it’s rather “can I swim with them or just wash hand”.
6 ATM is correct in terms of total pressure. But really for practical purposes its more important to have the pressure be relative to the pressure at the surface, not a vacuum so 5 is the better value.
I don’t know what you mean by “better value”. I think it should be “correct” value =) But for the most people that difference is probably not important.
Regarding ATMs and depths, here is my pinch of salt. Being a divemaster I quite pay attention to the pressure 😉 Will simplify it a bit (I do not involve differet water salinity, changes in the pressure due to atmospheric changes, etc).
The pressure of 1 atm is reached at the sea level on the surface. When you dive, every 10 meters of depth give you extra 1 ATM. So at 10m depth the pressure is 2ATM and vice versa:
I just wanted to give everyone a tip on the footpod issue I was having. I changed the battery and found it would not work. I found a Garmin Tech who had a neat trick that worked great!
1) Insert the battery upside down into the battery cover and hold it in the cover for greater than 1 minute.
2) Flip the battery over and insert the correct way.
3)Search for the footpad on your 920XT, while tapping the footpad on a pad of paper.
4) Footpod will be found, and you can connect.
Flipping the battery must discharge the footpad somehow, but I will remember this tip when changing the battery.
Definitely a favorite! Lost the short cut though of just pressing Enter a couple of times to put into sleep mode (but seems to be across all connect IQ watch faces)
I received the 920XT for Christmas and absolutely love it. I’m really excited by all of the new features it offers and am enjoying all of the training potential that it offers. The one thing missing that I assumed would be included in its features is the “auto lap by position” I do some mountain bike racing in the winter and the races are on a short course for a 40 minute period so lap times are important. My 310XT had that available as many other Garmin products do. Does anyone else miss this feature?
I DC-Rainmaker. I find your posts always very useful. I am an amateur triathlete, but when it comes to training gadgets, I consider my self with a great deal of experience. I trained almost two years consistently with the 910xt, almost every day, twice each day, and apart from changing my HR-Band, I have never had any issue at all.
I actually loved the 910xt. It was extremely functional, and if you knew how to use it correctly, you could not just train smart, but train very intelligently! I always programmed my run and bike workouts for the entire period (3+1 weeks) and downloaded them to the device. I used it in lots of competitions, by just using the data fields, you could gain a powerful insight on your performance.
I bought this week the 920xt, and I am very disappointed. Honestly, today it doesn’t offer you ANYTHING different from the 910xt. Even more! It offers you LESS than the 910xt.
I use different heart-rate zones for running and riding. The 920xt can’t tell the difference, so it shows you while running either the default hr zones or the bike hr zones. There is not a HR Graph available!! For me that is the single most important data field regarding heart rate! It showed the time behavior of the HR and it was plotted using hr zones in the 910xt. I still downloaded the HR Graph from Garmin IQ and is completely useless. You don’t see any axis, even you don’t see any numbers!!
While swimming, I could use two data fields (lap pace & lap distance) on the 910xt and watch them dynamically on the water. That is how I managed to pace myself on the swimming pool. On the 920xt the font of the numbers displayed is so small, that you can not read anything!!
The only thing that gives me hopes on not losing my money while buying the 920xt is the Connect IQ. They have such a great potential to offer new data fields!:
– Velocity zones
– Time in velocity zone
– A (useful and decent) HR Graph
– Power from speed. Allowing the user to configure it according to it’s own trainer power curve
– Cardiac/Speed drift (%)
– ST. Deviation of velocity/HR
– Stride length
I will try to program my own data fields to try to justify buying the 920xt. It is also a shame that on the 910xt the pedaling smoothness and torque efficiency are not displayed. So as you see, Garmin is pushing you to invest 200 USD more on a device which today, offers you LESS than the Garmin 910xt. Yes, the VO2 estimation is a very fancy feature, but the calculation is not very different from any approximation available on the internet. Yes, the Wi-Fi automatic uploading is also an advantage, but it does not always work.
Sadly, it is likely that they will continue developig the 920xt and not the 910xt. So it will become useless at some point to buy the 910xt given the updates.
However, if you are looking for functionality, I will definitely recommend you to buy the 910xt and save 200 USD.
1. HR zones exist on the 920xt and are fully customizable on the watch or Garmin Connect. There are 3 customizable activities Run, Bike, and Default.
2. HR Graph is missing, but you can get that now at Connect IQ if you so desire.
3. Swimming can be set up to have 2 fields and it’s MUCH easier to see then on the 910xt. Also once you learn how to use the rest lap screen, you’ll never want to use the 910 for swimming.
4. I find pacing for long swims much easier to do with an alert instead of looking at the watch. When I want to keep a pace (i.e 1:22 min/100 yards), I set the watch to buzz every 41 seconds.
I loved my 910xt and it got me through racing and training 2 Ironmans and a number of other races. The 920xt to date is better in every aspect (except vibration strength) then the 910xt and does a whole lot more then the 910xt.
Have you heard any rumblings of a time frame for latest firmware update? I got a “no idea, I have same issue too” response from Garmin. Frustrating that I have to use my old 220 when I run on treadmill because of the footpod/heart rate sensor continuous dropout with the 920. Thanks!
My 920t seems to have developed a bug. Whenever I pause an activity (both running or cycling) because I’m at lights, or need to sort something out on the bike, when I resume the activity there is a spike on the GPS map adding approx. 0.5 miles to my distance making that split very quick. Any thoughts?
I got the 920xt for Christmas and have been using since, it’s great.
I just purchased the speed/cadence sensor (from Clever training).
I can pair the watch with the sensors and it shows that they are paired.
However, I can not get the actual cadence to show up on the watch.
How do I view the cadence while spinning on my indoor trainer?
Thank You!!!!!
Hi,
ive had my 920 for over two months now and it has worked flawlessly when swimming. However, I have just changed from a 25m pool to a 20m pool and the watch is now dropping an enormous amount of laps. I am still pushing off the walls the exact same way (settings are correctly on 20m pool length,watch on the same wrist). could the accelerometer be adjusting to the new length or could it be something else?
I have been using Nike+ GBP Watch for the last 2.5 years and have about 450 run on them. I have now bought the 920xt and wanted to know if I can transfer all this Nke+ data onto Garmin software ? If so do let me know.
Hey, just bought a 920XT last week and i’m so happy. Sold my old 910XT and let’s be happy, yet… But i have a question: How can i check battery status? My last session i got for the first time the low battery alarm. When i got home connected the charger and found it has about 10% yet. Is there any place i can find the battery status other then the little symbol on top that its not so precise????
Im from Hongkong and just bought 920XT from US for 2 days, GPS version 2.7, software version 2.64. I switched GLONASS on., and waited until full GPS Signal,
.
My 920XT the GPS line is not following the straight road, notice that the GPS is also cutting the corner at the top (i didn’t run through the building).
.
If i return this watch, do you think another watch will improve the situation? Or every other 920xt GPS accuracy will be the same?
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Do you suggest any other watches that will have better GPS Tracking ?
, link to connect.garmin.com
It depends. If you’re running in Honk Kong proper with the large buildings that are there, then honestly it probably won’t differ from company to company to be honest. Looking at that area, it does look like quite a few buildings.
If you’re out in lesser-building locales and it’s still sketchy, I’d try doing a reset if you haven’t yet.
In general, I find that from a basic swim recognition standpoint the two watches are somewhat similar. Meaning that if you can’t get the TomTom to recognize your swim style – I’d be skeptical that the Garmin will.
I have two questions. First, if you do a “free-form multisport” where you change sports during a workout (as in doing a brick) will it record each one as a separate activity? With the 910 if I do a bike-run-bike-run workout, changing the sports each time will create 4 separate workouts, with a separate distance for each, rather than one activity with a total distance.
Second, can the 920 use multiple ANT accessories at the same time? For example, could I use the HR monitor and a cadence sensor on my bike at the same time? Or the HR monitor and footpod on an indoor track together?
Dear All,
Have you experience the 920xt freeze upon connecting to computer?
My unit froze yesterday after 10km run. I could only see the “Garmin” logo – nothing else, so restarted the watch with 15sec-long power button push. No data loss.
I went through all the posts and found some experiencing the freeze at the main screen = not my case.
Can it be related to the data transfer over the wifi? I guess not…
I haven’t seen any freezes myself. I’d keep an eye on it, but also keep a mental note of which USB port you’re plugging into to see if any patterns emerge.
It seems like your 10% discount code (DCR10JKW) doesn’t work anymore 🙁 can u tell me if there is only something wrong or if it is not valid anymore?
thx Martin
Hi Martin, the 10% code can’t be used on this, you have to sign up for the DC vip membership for $5 and then you can get the discount, but you also get quicker shipping+ other benefits, and you save way more than the cost of the VIP membership.
You will have to buy the membership first so you get your personal discount code and then you place your order and put the code in once you get it, it comes on an email in about 5 min. That’s how I ordered mine and it worked fine.
Thx @Grant didn’t notice this when i tried it in Dezember. But then i was still in Europe. Now I am finally in the States. Still a great deal! Thx @dcrainmaker
I have a frustrating problem with uploading of Skiing activities (cross-country). I have not managed to upload any Skiing activities via Garmin Express (Mac) – “Unfortunately, it was not possible to synchronize all files from this unit with Garmin Express” or via the Garmin Connect (iPhone) – “Synchronization failed serverfault”. I have read on forums that others have the same problem. No problem with Running activities. I have the firmware 2.50. Anyone have a solution or know if Garmin has a solution in the pipeline?
Hi
I mostly run and mountain bike. Then 70% of the time I do run on treadmill and the rest outside. I am undecided between the Fenix3 and the 920XT. My understanding is that they’re both good for running and cycling and they can both measure indoor runnings (although I’ll definitely get a footpod to get more accurate results). Is it correct?
At this point I believe is just a decision based on which one I do like more. I honestly prefer rounded watches and also I believe that Fenix3 looks nicer considering you need to use it every day and looks better when you dress something like a suit.
So I am planning to buy the watch, footpod and bike mount. I have just a doubt. I do have the wahoo tickr run. Reading the review I understood I can use it with both Fenix3 and 920XT to get HR details, right? Should I go and buy also the Garmin hrm-run? Does it worth it? Buying along with the watch is only 50$ more. Buying after is 99$.
Correct on getting the footpod. But generally suck indoors without it.
And yup, also correct that with the TICKR and either the FR920XT or Fenix3, you’ll get HR details. I personally wouldn’t get the HRM-RUN unless you really want Vertical Oscillation and Ground Contact Time. For me, I find that information got old after just a short time with the unit. It’s not really actionable, and I’ve yet to hear anyone give training or racing guidance utilizing it.
Thanks to take time to respond. Really appreciated! I love your reviews and I am actually taking the garmin based on your comments. 🙂
I don’t really care about VO and GCT so I’ll follow your suggestion. There are also many other HR straps that I can get later if I get my wahoo broken.
Going to US on Feb 28th and remain there for the entire week. It seems Fenix3 will be on Amazon by March 1st. Hope it will be released at that date. I do prefer Fenix3 than 920xt as it looks nicer and less plastic.
The quick release kit is what you’re looking for. Each FR version has a unique quick release kit. I’ve included photos of it up within the cycling section.
Ray,
Do you have any idea when they update the manual for something like this? Sounds like some of these features might be a bit on the hidden side. I just checked the website, and the manual hasn’t been updated since September.
They often times do it about quarterly or so after the feature updates go out. There really hasn’t been any changes since September feature-wise (aside from those in beta, that just released now).
– Lock buttons: How would you go about utilising this in a tri race, I mean you press start on the tri to start your swim leg, and then have to hold “…” then scroll down to ‘lock device’ and press enter. Meanwhile everyone is swimming off. I would of thought you might be able to set it to auto lock once an activity started and then hold “…” to unlock quickly when out of the swim leg. I would lock for OWS when there is a high chance of the lap button being hit, then unlock out of the water, leaving unlocked for bike and run if I wanted other data pages during run.
How are you guys going to use this feature or are you not going to bother using it in races, I have not completed a tri with 920 yet so unsure how easy it is for the lap button to be pressed. Done a few OWS races and didn’t get pumped there yet but they are less crowded than the start of a tri as easier to spread out from beach and get out front away from swinging arms and kicking feet.
– Lock buttons: How would you go about utilising this in a tri race, I mean you press start on the tri to start your swim leg, and then have to hold “…” then scroll down to ‘lock device’ and press enter. Meanwhile everyone is swimming off. I would of thought you might be able to set it to auto lock once an activity started and then hold “…” to unlock quickly when out of the swim leg. I would lock for OWS when there is a high chance of the lap button being hit, then unlock out of the water, leaving unlocked for bike and run if I wanted other data pages during run.
How are you guys going to use this feature or are you not going to bother using it in races, I have not completed a tri with 920 yet so unsure how easy it is for the lap button to be pressed. Done a few OWS races and didn’t get bumped there yet but they are less crowded than the start of a tri as easier to spread out from beach and get out front away from swinging arms and kicking feet.
Ray/Olu,
I tried using the zoom today, and found it not intuitive. Maybe you have some pointers?
1. I selected a course that I was going to run. Looked at the zoomed out (default) map and my little marker (current position) is not in the center (no big deal). The center of the total course was in the center of the screen. Tried to zoom in to see where I was relative to the start, and the map zoomed to the center, not to my location. Is there a “pan” option? This is probably only a feature prior to starting an activity.
2. After using the “…” and selecting zoom, how do you get out of zoom mode? I ended up pressing “…” 3 times to get back to the map without zoom controls. Then I could change screens. I had assumed that I would be able to press and hold “…” again to “unzoom”, but that didn’t work.
3. I didn’t find that zooming out worked at all while following a course. The down button did zoom in (down is +? but that’s a different story). But the up button didn’t do anything.
I will admit I didn’t really play around to try and figure this out during my run. So it’s entirely possible that I just missed something. But I figured I would ask the experts, before digging in and trying to figure it out on my own.
1 – Once you’ve started the course (and I think started the activity) the map will center on your current location. There’s no pan function, hopefully that may be added in the future.
2 – Use the Back button. When in Zoom mode it’s not Lap, but acts as Back to exit Zoom.
3 – Works fine for me once I go into Zoom mode; down is + and up is -.
Hi David. I haven’t been able to play with the navigation functions since I’ve been stuck on the treadmill due to all the snow we have.
-You can hit the back button to get out of zoom mode, the map turns back into one of your data fields and you can scroll through the other fields again with the arrows
-When actually navigating a course the arrow for your current position should stay in the center of the screen.
-To zoom while in the midst of the activity, you have to be on the map screen, then you should be able to hit and hold “…” to be given the option to change the zoom level.
Thank Olu/Lew,
I’ll keep that in mind for my next navigation experience. Back not lap while in zoom mode. Got it.
But it does seem to be a glaring error to not be able to zoom centered on yourself prior to starting an activity. I’ll push that to Garmin on the suggestion section of their website.
Have really noticed the difference between tracked distance and actual distance while running inside on a treadmill. I want to get the HRM-Run, but worry that a chest mounted meter will not give reliable distance tracking, leading to distance gaps between actual and perceived distance.
1) Does the HRM-Run track distance as well as the foot pod (I know you said it is much better than the watch, which is definitely off for me)?
2) Can I use the foot pod and HRM-Run at the same time?
Thanks!!! Love the reviews. Even my non-techie wife can get into your write-ups.
Great review, i’m in the market to purchase my first tri watch and i think i’ve made my choice upon reading your review. Question Do you think Garmin will be coming out with a HRM that would monitor heart rate while swinning any time soon? that would be a great feature to have…
Ray in your review you mentioned the ability to track sleep
“Next you’ve got the ability to track sleep with the FR920XT. Like other Garmin sleep tracking capable devices, it requires that you manually enable the sleep mode when you’re ready, as well as turn it off when you awake. You’ll do this by just pressing down once to the activity tracker page, and then pressing enter. Once within that mode, it’ll show you a little icon that lets you know you’re in sleep mode. Upon waking up you’ll want to remember to exit sleep mode by doing the same steps again.”
This worked until the latest update and now following those steps does not work. Has this changed or is there a glitch now?
1) Cannot get Max HR to show in a field. 2) Similarly won;t show max pace. 3) Garmin has created extra work in the middle of a (run) training session. In older models you could stop the watch after a repeat/set and it would automatically be saved to the watch. Then all you had to do was hit reset and you were ready for the next repeat/set. And the unit would continue to display HR so you could track your recovery…
now if you hit stop (“Enter”) you are sent to a new screen that offers “Resume”. “Save” or “Discard”. To keep that run you have to choose “Save”.
You’re then given a summary and have to scroll down and choose “Done” to return to “Run” screen.
Meanwhile…your GPS and HR have been disconnected.
You have to again hit “Enter”, wait for these to come back online and THEN hit “Enter” to start. What a performance!
And very easy to forget a step when you are tired and lose the data.
In case anyone is wondering, the reason to stop and start rather than just take splits is that I like to quickly review the numbers. Garmin have set this watch up so that the “easiest” way to do this requires a laptop/smartphone trackside – preferably with an observer to read it out to you 🙂
Why on earth doesn’t the 920XT auto-save the workouts like my vintage forerunner 301 does?
One other irritating thing is the lack of internal consistency: on some screens the highlighted choice is in white; on others you have to get it into “red”.
So far I’m putting up with all this just ti get the running dynamics data. But it does make you wonder why Garrmin make unnecessary changes that actually make a unit less functional/easy to use than a unit that is 10 + years old. Don’t they give these units to real runners to beta-test?
@Simon. Before posting a rant did you RTFM? Did you try and press any other buttons? Did you try pressing the “…” button? Hit that a few times…oh what’s that? The data fields that you’re looking for correct? You can even use the arrows to scroll up and down your other data fields. Wow, even GPS and the HRM are still connected!
Highlights are the color of your current activity or previous activity.
Autosave? Again read the manual
A bit of advice. Every time I run into a problem, I assume that it’s MY error. After proper investigation if I’m SURE it’s not my issue, I will go to a forum and ask a question. It prevents me from looking like an idiot.
Thanks Olu, maybe before YOU write RTFM, you should RTFC, where C = comment and maybe, just maybe, not assume that commenter is an idiot that you need to patronise.
So read the comment, look at your watch and try to follow along, OK? Max HR is NOT available on a data screen. What you CAN get – and yes, unbelievable I know, but I did work out what the “…” button does – are the following: (see if you can press enough buttons to get to the menu headed Heart Rate Fields – maybe that’s beyond you)…OK? So here’s what’s available: heart rate, Average HR, HR Zone, Training Effect, HR %Max, %HRR, Average HR %Max, Average %HR, Lap HR, Lap %HR, Lap HR %Max, Time in Zone.
Can you see Max HR in there anywhere? So exactly how helpful are you?
I’m not going through everything I wrote, but auto save also is NOT available and not in the manual… but do yes please direct me to Auto Pause, Auto Scroll, Auto Lap, Auto Goal, Auto Upload, Auto Distance…need I go on? If you can find auto save in the manual please do let me know – I can’t see it for whatever reason.
You haven’t understood what I wrote about HR and GPS getting connected – it’s nothing to do with scrolling through fields.
So..er..overall…really not helpful. Have you used the watch for (running) track workouts?
Yes I’ve done plenty of track workouts.
1.During track workouts I’m concerned about time to finish an interval. I couldn’t care less about my max pace as long as I’m making the interval time.
2. Not sure why Max HR is important to view right after an interval (if you’d enlighten me). I do use HR DURING an the interval to see if I’m sandbagging and will almost always see the max value during the interval
3. There are a number of ways to see your stats for the last lap if you opt to hit the Lap button.
If all else fails, Connect IQ may be the way to get your Max HR. There’s currently a field created for the lowest HR, so I’m sure you could ask the developer if he could make one to show the opposite.
I’ll admit I misread the auto-save. No there’s no auto-save but auto-upload, my mistake. Personally I want my workouts saved when I want them saved. I’ve never used a 301, I started using Garmins with the 405. When functionality changed…I adapted.
The latest upgrade 2.7 of the 920xt does not allow the Sleep mode to start by pressing the down triangle and then enter any more! Now you have to do as stated in the manual. Press the down triangle and then press and hold the 3dot button and then select start sleep mode.
I had a Timex Global Traîner before(I just got the 920xt yesterday), and there something I really liked, was setting
my screens, displays, and everything, from the computer with Device Agent software(instead of doing it on the small screen of the watch)
Do you know any way I could do the same thing on the garmin 920xt?
Hope it’s all clear, because I’m a french speaker :o)
Hi guys,
I’ve just updated my 920xt to the last 2.70 firmware. Through Garmin Express, I’ve added some apps to the device but I’m not able to find these apps on the watch… has someone tried the same?
Presume you mean Data Fields? If so, goto Activity Settings, Data Screens, select the screen and then field you want to use, press Enter and should appear under Connect IQ (as opposed to Timer Fields, Distance Fields, etc etc)
Hello,
Has anyone noticed whether Garmin has enabled the ANT+ HRM sensor in pool swim mode with 2.7?
It was previously allowed in outdoor swim mode, but not in pool swim mode.
Thanks!
Hi, I love your reviews thanks Ray and I love my 920xt but need some help.
I’m finding current pace while running very inaccurate compared to my old trusty 305. It’s usually when running in tree lined streets etc.
I did a 20 km trail run last weekend on a wide road width track with no over head trees and it was dreadful. My mate running next to me with my old watch was reading 4.45km/h and the 920 fluctuating up and down around 630km/h.
Also the altitude on cycling is way out. eg. We did a ride that has 1500m elevation and the 920 reads 1000m.
I have tried glonass on and off and the same with Per second timing with no luck. Have also performed a factory reset.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Keep up the great work!
Hi Ray,
Is possible to turn off ANT+ Speed and Cadence function in same profiles (like swim, run, etc..)?
these sensors are not required in these profiles, and their constant search must drain enough battery. How have the option to turn off the GPS in some profiles, should also be the option to turn off these sensors ….
Like HRM in swim…
Is possible?
Ray, I am helpless. I was forced to reset my 920xt after being unresponsive to my mac. All good now apart from the fact that all my historical data has been wiped as well. Naturally it still exists in my Garmin profile but I was wondering if you knew the trick how to load it back to the 920xt? I guess it is similar on most advanced Garmin watches.
You can download the .FIT files from Garmin Connect one-by-one and place them in the Activities folder. I’m not sure if that will then show up in History on the device, but they would at least would be there for racing against.
Looks like you can’t restore VO2 max or Watch Totals after a reset. You can (as Ray said) place activities back on the watch, but it won’t calculate totals.
It is amazing to me how poor the user experience on those devices are. For $500 and in this day and age you would think you would be able to restore all the watch settings from the cloud. But no you can’t. Imagine if every time you updated or reset your iPhone you had to go through the Garmin “process”; right!
Unfortunately, among the blind (Polar, Suunto), the Garmin cyclops rules. Apple is not going to solve this for us with the Watch but boy how much I wish there was an Apple-like company in the sports watch arena. But there isn’t one.
Sorry if this has been answered somewhere above, but I was all set to order the Fenix 3 when just today a friend said I should really think about the 920xt model. I am more of a triathlete than a climber (I live in North Dakota!) but I understood (I thought) that the Fenix 3 did mostly what the 920 does. Also, that Fenix 3 is more of a daily watch I could just wear, too. Is there a convincing reason to go 920 over the new Fenix 3? I realize this may not be a simple question, but if the Fenix 3 is pretty good at triathlon, then I think that is going to be the one for me. thanks for any help! I will read more of the above as well.
I’d say the only reasons for the 920xt over Fenix 3
1) it’s lighter
2) you can get a quick release kit for it
3) cheaper
And the fenix 3 over 920xt:
1) much better looking as an everyday watch
2) some improved navigation features (though nothing like map support)
3) does everything the 920 can but seems to have a few smaller features such as sun/moon phases for example that have come over from the previous Fenix range
Having said that I am returning my 920 for a Fenix 3 – mostly for point 1 since I wear it 24×7
If you are not sure, I would wait for Ray’s Fenix 3 review which can’t be long now – he had a run with one on his Strava the other day. Very hard for anybody to say something is “better” for you until you have actually read some first hand user reports. If you are more of a triathlete then the 920 could well be the one for you.
Look wise is a matter of taste… I found the Fenix 3 not so good looking after all (it’s too big for my 6.2″ wrist). I wanted to go for it (look isn’t that important to me) because I managed to find a Fenix 3 for lower price than the 920xt but I’ll go second hand for the 920xt).
For me the only reason one could choose the Fenix 3 over a 920xt (without subjective “look”) is the ability of the Fenix 3 to charge while being in use for an activity which isn’t an issue for me as the battery life of the 920xt is more than enough for me).
> It doesn’t matter whether you do a flip (tumble) turn, or an open (no flip) turn. Just do it with conviction.
Given I’m from another culture/country I want to make sure I understand the above line.
You mean the watch will track my pool laps even if I just reach the end, turn my body around and then push the wall. (Which is what I do, haven’t mastered the flip turn in 14 years of swimming)
I used my 920xt for the first time in an indoor swim this week and it counted the laps perfectly just kicking of the edge at each end. So you should be fine. If it seems it isn’t counting try pushing off a little harder.
The other thing I would recommend, is make sure you glide “for a bit” before you start stroking again. That has done wonders for my lap recognition (when I had a 910, I haven’t missed a lap yet with the 920). I haven’t mastered flip turns yet either.
I am new to the forerunner, I have used the edge 500 and 510 on my bike for quite awhile and am really happy with it for cycling.The pool swimming function on the 920 is really crap if you are a swimmer. All you need is a easily readable pace clock to run your workouts whether it is a sweep second clock or digital. I was hoping that the 920 would have an autopause just like the edge. When you are not moving the clock stops and records that as an interval. I wanted to use this in the pool just to log my swim workouts. It doesn’t. You have to deal with pressing buttons overtime you start and stop just like all the people do that do not know how to use a pace clock. When you are swimming fast the button pushing takes time. doing high lactate swims were time is important to quantify the workout I bet you lose 3 seconds an interval playing with the buttons and forget it if you have paddles on. They need to get an autopause to automatically know that that interval is over. There is no other reason to stop during a swim workout. If you are just swimming continuously then the watch world fine. I even found that dolphin kicking off the wall 3-4 times negates that lap all together. Am I doing something wrong? can you get this to autopause in swim mode?
@Bill. Speak for yourself. Like anything else, there’s a learning curve. I’d say it took me 2-3 masters practices when I got the 910 to get used to pressing the lap button which is very conveniently located on the 910 and 920.
Since updating to 2.7 my 920xt Activity Tracker counts about 1500 steps. Yes I´ve switched to sleep mod!
While sitting at school or Cafe, it counts 3000 steps….
Never done this before…!
Hi, I received my 920 last week and it updated to the 2.7version when I set it all up. I haven’t seen anything like you have mentioned, and have been using the Sleep and Activity tracking. I have been also checking the steps independently via the S Health App on my Samsung S5 and they seem to be in line. Sorry not a lot of help I am afraid.
The only minor issue I did have was the the Activity tracker on the Garmin Connect App on the phone seemed to be recording steps against the wrong time, (ie 5 hours out of sync) but I changed the watch to 24hr clock via the app today and this seems to have corrected it.
Hi DC,
great review, I bought the 920xt a few weeks ago and have been using is a lot.
I have a question maybe you could answer, I’ve been unable to find an answer or solution on Garmin website.
If I use the running profile or another profile I have created that doesn’t use/need the bike sensors, how do I get those profiles to stop looking for the sensors? (the bike sensors are the garmin ANT+ Speed/Cadence combo sensors)
I do a lot of turbo sessions (on my regular bike) and then strength & conditioning (core work) in the same room/space. When I switch to the profile I have created to track my core work the bike sensors are constantly being found by the watch. Its annoying and I’d like it if the watch didn’t search for them while in that profile.
Well 2.7 didn’t fix connectivity issues with heart rate sensor or foot pod. Still random connect/disconnect issues during run on treadmill today. I am going to try and remove and readd them back to 920. But I fear that’s not going to fix the issue. Sad part is they work fine on my $199 220. So for indoor runs I will have to strap on the ole 220. Even the bluetooth phone notifications are hit or miss. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. Also can’t seem to get it connected to Wahoo Kickr power meter or cadence/rpm. Doesn’t show up when I search for it. This watch has been a major let down especially for the $400 price tag…
@Jeff. Sounds like you have a bum unit. Rumor has it there was a batch of units that have ANT+ issues. There’s no need to live with this. I would contact Garmin and ask for a new replacement.
@Olu, Thanks. I was able to convince Garmin this time that this watch is truly defunct. Replacement coming. Hopefully that resolves my issues. They did confirm there were a bad batch of watches out there. Thanks.
@Jeff, did Garmin indicate what serial numbers are affected by this issue?
I have had connectivity issues with the heart monitor (once) and the Bluetooth (several times), so it hasn’t happened a lot yet. Might just be one of those things that happen with electronics.
If I knew my watch was effected I’d returning it rather than waiting any longer.
They did not. They were quick to get me a replacement. 2 days. Had to give them my credit card so they could take a deposit that they will refund once the broken watch has been returned. I haven’t been able to test this new unit yet so I am not sure if its solved my problems. I did try to sync the watch today via Wifi in my house and as usual it searches for wifi network only to respond by saying network error. It seems hit or miss. Works sometimes.
1.sleepmod stops automatically at night and shows 1800 steps in the morning
2.running with footpod in the woods, it shows about 50% more distance and speed as my 620 shows, i was wearing at the same time.
620 is right because it´s my usual running path.
With V.2.69 beta both watched showed the same distance and speed.
Is there anybody with the same issues?
How to solve the problem?
Herzlichst! Naomi
In mir wohnen zwei Wölfe. Ein guter Wolf und ein böser Wolf. Welcher wird gewinnen?
Den, welchen Garmin füttert und das ist momentan der böse Wolf!
1. Set your footpod’s scale factor (on the watch) to 1.00 (don’t let it automatically change)
2. If your footpod gives you paces of near 1 minute 50 sec per km, then you should contact Garmin Customer service….
Do you know if this device tracks calories burned from fat? I have the 910XT and have searched on line for the New Leaf testing centers but they appear to either not be in business or no longer performing this service
I have seen mixed sreports on line as to whether this device has the capability (notwithstanding the need for a 3rd party to test the individual)
Correct, the company went under, and then was (assets) subsequently purchased about 1-2 years ago by Lifetime fitness. They haven’t done anything with it (and, Garmin stopped adding support into new devices when the company went under).
Got the watch in late November and love it! Would not give it away anymore :-).
Nevertheless I do have two questions:
1. Can I only update the software via Garmin Express or also via the iphone app? I do see on the app, that there are updates available but so far I didn’t manage to update via the app.
2. I usually run with auto pause on. Nevertheless if I use a custom workout (e.g. 15min warm up, 15min faster, 15min cool down) the countdown of the 15min does not stop if I have to do so. The countdown continues and I do have to stop it manually. Can I somehow change this?
1. I did my update from WiFi sync. In https://connect.garmin.com n the left I saw a message that update to firmware 2.70 is available. I hit the Send (or so) button and then I synced the watch over WiFi. And the update was executed
i’m having problems with Bluetooth auto sync through my HTC ONE M8 which uses Android. The first few weeks with the watch were fine and now it drops the Bluetooth and I struggle to get it to connect again, auto upload through wifi is fine.
Hi Sam
Have you recently updated to the new android version, Lolipop? There seem to be a large number of bugs being reported in the new version. I only received my 920 last week and initially the BT synch was fine, now its a bit temperamental since I did the update to lolipop so I am thinking that the two things could be linked
Yes my phone updated about a week ago actually so that would tie in with the more recent issues I have been experiencing. guess there isn’t much we can do until Garmin have a look? i’ll send them a message as well. It attempts to sync but after around 2 seconds it will say failed.
It may be more to do with Android, Reading various forums they will be sending updates to fix the issues. I have also done a system clear cache this morning to see if that helps I’ll let you know how I get on.
using my forerunner 920t in pool I set the distance alert but the vibration is very low and I can’t hear the tone.
I had a 910xt which was excellent: I set the alert only with vibration and in the pool I heard the sound of the vibration, really.
Is it a problem of my device?
I am doing my due diligence to decide whether to upgrade from the 910XT, so of course I started here. From the comparison pictures, it appears that the 920XT screen is smaller than the 910XT, with corresponding smaller fonts. True?
Can anyone recommend the best/easiest way to test if the barometric altimeter has been fixed in firmware v2.7? Just go for a run around a hilly loop with good elevation and make sure that the elevation at the end is the same (or close) to the reading at the start? Or compare to the same run with a log from my old 910xt? Any other suggestion?
Thanks Olu, I’m referring to the calibration of the starting elevation as Ray mentioned above in the “Bugs” section. Since your activity did not start and finish at the same place, I don’t think it shows if the calibration has been fixed.
Elevation Accuracy: As noted within the elevation section, the device is simply taking too long to acclimate to the baseline elevation. Response to elevation changes during an activity is immediate, but the calibration is what’s taking an unacceptable amount of time, thus skewing the elevation profiles.
@Patrick. The activity I linked to starts and finishes about 5-10 feet from each other. Also the elevation was 167ft according to the watch. Garmin elevation correction says 166ft with and Training peaks says173ft. Also elevation gain and loss net 0 feet so I’d say that it’s seems pretty accurate.
Apologies Olu, my mistake, I was looking for a loop, but you retraced your steps – oops. Anyway it looks spot on, although it was only over a modest total ascent of 170 feet. I’ll do a test myself at some point. Looks like it was a tough run given your description.
@Patrick: Yes at 27ft/mi of climbing it’s one of the less hillier runs (which is what I look for for mile repeats) You are correct though, it was a tough one given the temperature, I’ll never try that again!
One more minor annoyance of a change from the 910XT. With the 910XT, I could review the history while in an activity. This seems to no longer be possible in the 920XT. I have used this feature on multiple occasions to verify how many intervals I had run when doing a non programmed workout. (I’m not very good at counting.)
Stepan – what question? It seems David just made a comment regarding an annoying feature removal.
One (incomplete) workaround is to use the Laps field somewhere which you can access during an activity and will tell you the count of how many times you hit the lap button.
@Naomi. I’m using it. The watch face additions are cool, but what I like the best is that with iOS8 I no longer have to have Garmin connect mobile running to get notifications.
I got the 920XT a few weeks ago, it’s a great watch and I use it daily. I do a lot of trail running and new trail exploring. Has anyone figured out an easy way to export/import strava routes into Garmin 920XT as a course. What steps do you use (fpgx or tcx export etc)? I know it’s a bit off topic here but I was hoping to find some good input. I use strava routes over Garmin course builder, because the strava global heatmap proves me more detail.
Would love to know if this is possible but unfortunately I don’t think it is. I end up putting two browser windows next to each other and copying the Strava (or RideWithGPS) one manually bit by bit into GC when I need it 🙁
Having said that, there may be some way of copying a file into the activities folder on the 920xt then using the “run an activity from history” but I have never tried that…
Yes its possible, but not that easy.
1. Go to your route on Strava
2. Select “Export” and choose .gpx or .tcx (both work)
3. Save the file to your PC
4. Go to Garmin Connect (GC) web page
5. Go to “Activities”
6. Select “Import” and select the file you saved on your PC
7. View the newly imported activity
8. Select the “Gear” icon (top right hand side)
9. Select “Save as Course”
10. Select “Send to Device” and select your 920XT
I gave this a go but I got “undefined” errors when importing to GC. I suspect this is because I was importing a pure route created in Strava or RideWithGPS rather than an actual activity. If I chose an activity it was fine, but of course that means you have to run/ride the route first and record it in Strava.
@Ian, sorry but I should have tested it first. I just tried it and got the same problem. I wonder if this is a temporary Garmin bug, or whether its your suggestion of incorrect route format from Strava? Sorry I don’t know.
If you know how, perhaps you could open the Strava route .GPX file in a text editor and see if there are any clues in the format of the file…you could also export a route from GC and do the same thing, compare the formats.
I think the “route GPX” files lack the details that the “activity gpx” files do – and GC can’t process them on import. I suspect it’s not a big deal for them to sort that out, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting 🙂
Thank you for your review, I base all of my training tech purchases based on your reviews as I find them invaluable!
I am wondering if you could assist me with a feature on the 920xt?
I have the speed and cadence sensor linked to the watch. I can tell that the speed works just fine. How do I see my cadence while using the bike outdoor / indoor feature on the watch?
Apologies if I am being thick, but I am finding this a little challenging.
Thanks again for all the reviews and keep up the great work.
Within the FR920XT you’ll need to edit the ‘Data Screens’ under cycling and simply add the ‘Cadence’ option. You’ll need to add that for both Bike and Indoor Bike.
1) Press Menu
2) Select the activity type (Bike/Indoor Bike)
3) Select Activity Settings
4) Select Data Screens
5) Screen # (choose which one)
6) Select the Field to change (1/2/3/etc…)
7) Select Cadence category
8) Select Cadence again
9) Click OK, then back a bunch of times to get back
The App “Graphical Heart Rate” on my FR 920xt (Version 3.03 beta) sometimes I can get it started and sometimes not.
If I managed it started it runs pefectly.
Quick Connect Difficult When Racing: Mounting it in Tri Mode is a real pain… there is nearly nowhere to grab the watch without pushing buttons… very annoying as it destroys race results. I will keep practicing clicking it in and out, but with high heart rate on race day, dexterity will likely make my race data collection a failure as I will likely hit lap, or stop button. Any comments or suggestions?
Thanks — but if I lock it, then I can’t click to go onto the next part of my multi sport event… so then I have to lock when I get out of the pool so that when I put it on the bike it doesn’t accidentally get pushed and then I have to use the coordination to again unlock. Still difficult. It seems like it needs a reduced sensitivity option — any other suggestions?
Garmin F920XT with iPhone 5S using Garmin Connect anD MyFitnessPal. On the Calories screen, Consumed always show 0 (zero). Calories burned from FR920XT transfer to MFP, but calories consumed don’t get back to GC.
Am I doing something wrong, or is this a known issue that isn’t being fixed for months?
Once again, cracking review! Happily using the 920; fan tastic bit of kit.
My main aim is to see if what I am doing is producing a benefit… One of the things I want to use is the runningV02 max…
First run I went out (5k) it gave me a V02 max calculation but since this first outing, after every run it doesn’t seem to be recalculating it, as the number hasn’t changed nor am I getting a post run V02 Max status update.
I’m always using the HRM and various other outputs are being received e.g. Recovery time and any PBs but not the V02 max?
Have I turned something off inadvertently? I can’t seem Tom indicate an option that switches off V02 Max calculations?
While the unit is working well now i really had no idea going in how much of a beta tester i was going to be as my Polar RCX5 lacked a few things but did not need a crash log and just worked 🙂
Things like the 2.70 update killing the watch are not acceptable
At lest 3.03 beta is stable and there improving the altimeter function
There something I really don’t understand : at start (maybe 6 minutes after the start) I got what I think is “recovery check 60:00” (I think I got the recovery check almost right but the “number” I am less certain).
Any idea what’s the mean ?
Hi. I am starting triathlons but also do 8 – 10 hr ultra trail running. Will this watch do in your opinion? Looking for GPS watch that will not die on me .. Have had Forerunner 15 then Forerunner 70.. HELP Please 🙂
Hi, the 920 will easily last that long or even double that however I find that it’s not very accurate (current speed is all over the shop) running trails. Any running with trees around around and it just can’t get a decent signal. My old 305 is far more accurate so this has been a disappointment for me. I did my first long course tri a couple of weeks back and it is brilliant for that sort of use, it’s just when you go off the beaten track that it struggles. Maybe someone can recommend a watch for your style of use.
PS. I have tried changing the settings to get a more accurate reading including-per second timing and glonass on and off with no difference.
Hi! I wore my 902xt in a half marathon yesterday for the first time. It is very cold here, so I had my heartrate monitor on under 2 layers of clothing plus a light-weight jacket. At the end of the race I realized that my garmin did not track my heartrate. Is there a limit to what the what the watch can communicate with in terms of clothing? I have worn my old Garmin 210 with HRM in the winter before with no issues.
Thanks, Allana
I had lots of issues with HRM disconnections and very slow HR updates and wrong values. At the end I realized that I need to wear the strap shifted to left so the sensor is not centered but directly over my heart. I also use electrogel, but just wetting the contacts should be enough.
I also did a half marathon on Sunday in very cold conditions, 25 F. I had 2 shirts on and a light jacket and the HR monitor worked fine. About 15 minutes before the race I entered run mode to connect the HR monitor and lock in on the GPS coordinates. The HR monitor was working fine during my warm up with the 2 layers and jacket on. I did take the jacket off right before the race start as I felt too warm. When the race started I pressed enter to start recording the run. The watch and HR monitor worked great during the race.
My goal was to meet a certain time and I was using the lap pace, avg pace and time ahead indicators to keep me on track. This was in addition to keeping an eye on my heart rate. The watch worked perfectly to help me reach my goal.
Mitch, my previous Garmins could be set to show my average pace per mile. With the Garmin 920XT, do I choose lap pace for that? I had average pace chosen, but it seemed to me that it was average for the entire run, and not per mile. And from my understanding, just “pace” is live pace, so going up or down a hill it would change significantly.
Is this right?
At this point with the 3.03 software the watch is very stable and now meets my expectations
The watch shipped with two different straps the older style with a lot of exposed silver caused me problems BUT Garmin shipped me the new style which does not have ANY silver fabric touching your body and it seems great so far
I am currently using a Suunto Ambit 2 with a custom app for speed windsurfing. I think I may move to this watch and program an app for speed surfing specifically. However, it is not clear to me how much data points it can store into one consecutive track. One spec lists 10,000 points which would not even cover 3 hours @ 1Hz.
I currently own a Polar RS800CX, and i like this function where you get the average heart rate of the previous lap when you start a new one. Do you get this on the 920xt?
Here you can find well-motivating watch face on Garmin Connect – ActiFace link to apps.garmin.com
It makes watch look interresting. Now everybody asks me what does the graph mean 🙂
Does any of these new models 920xt or fenix 3 take laptime by position? While im riding i dont have time to push laptime button when i pass same position at track. Im using that feature a lot with my Garmin 610 but even 620 dont have it anymore. Thanks!
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Ray, I just got the 920XT and there is something in the navigation part that seems to be missing compared with the 910XT. In particular, when you follow a route with the 910XT you can see the map, the compass indicating the direction you should follows, and the altitude profile around your location. In the 920XT, however, I can only see the map, but not the compass or the altitude profile!! Am I doing something wrong? Especially the compass was very useful, you just had to look at it to know which direction to follow in case of doubt… I hope I am missing something…
Thanks!
Unfortunately indeed, as I talked a bit about there are differences and area that’s removed from the 910XT – those are some of them. 🙁
Arrgghhh… Cannot believe this… Come on Garmin! I hope they either fix it in a firmware update or some Connect IQ app that somebody will develop for a proper navigation. I run races on the hills and I really need this navigation part to be clear. The compass was a good thing. Really don’t understand why it isn’t there now…
Thanks anyway Ray.
If by compass you mean the large arrow screen then it works fine for meme.
I have map screen active on activity setting which just gives map but then if I go into navigation and select back to start or a way point i get both maps and compass view with distance to way point etc
Hi Stu, I did mean the big compass but when following a route, not when going to a location point or back to start. It was there in the 910XT but unfortunately they have not included that here. It is terrible. I just came back from a run on the hills following a route that was unknown to me… it was terrible, the zoom makes the map absolutely tiny and there is no compass to indicate whether I should turn right of left. I got lost several times… Cannot wait for a firmware update or for a 3rd party app for navigation.
Best,
Daniel
Thanks for the in depth review. Although its not made clear here and also not on the Garmin website (in small print at the bottom) the “Android” app only works on around 10 android devices. I have a Blackberry Z10. Blackberries can use Android apps, the phone meets the specifications needed for the 920 (Bluetooth 4.0 and BLE), but it simply says my phone is not supported when I try to use the app.
I had quite a long email discussion with Garmin, the outcome of which is they have no plans to extend the current list of supported devices. So unless you have an iphone there is a high chance your phone wont work with it. I have never come across a phone specific Android application before.
It is also worth noting that around half the supported devices are tablets or none GSM connected devices (ipod). I would say the main reason for bluetooth connectivity is to a. upload workouts b. use the live tracking feature. An ipod wont be able to upload activities or transmit live data without WiFi and who is going to take their ipad/Galaxy note with them on their training/race?!
I’ve never had a problem with Garmin Android apps (the Connect or Fit apps), but I’ve also been using a Galaxy S5 and S4 the past two years. They both have had ANT+ support, at least since KitKat. Does the BlackBerry support ANT+?
Is the lack of compatibility with the phone and Garmin app, or rather the phone and Garmin device? From this list of supported phones, it sounds like there are incompatibilities between the phone and device:
link to support.garmin.com
I think it is phone and app – as far as I know the phone doesn’t have to support ANT+. Most Garmin devices use ANT+ but one of the main selling points of the 920xt is that it has Bluetooth. I would have thought this meant if your phone has Bluetooth 4.0 then it will work.
Your phone is one of only 7 android phones that is compatible. From using the app it seems like it won’t even attempt to connect to the watch – it seems to just check if the phone is one of the supported models and then says no if it is not. Its like specifying that people have a certain model of router for the WiFi to work.
My Android phone isn’t on that list either, and the app works with it. (It’s a Moto G). I think the problem is with the Android layer on the Blackberry; the app needs 4.3 minimum, and from what I can make out the layer is good up to 4.2.2 in the current version of Blackberry for the Z10. You should be good if it gets an update 10.3
Hi Dom, That is a good point – I am not running 10.3 (as it is not out for Z10 yet) but they say it will be released early next year – so fingers crossed.
Does the Moto G connect to the phone as well?
I’ve not had the chance to try it with a 920, but it works fine with a 620 for both uploading/syncing and live tracking, and kinda works with a fenix (the BT support on the fenix isn’t great). I haven’t tried notifications on the fenix and the 620 doesn’t support them.
I have had my 920XT for a few weeks now, and I am very very satisfied with it.
So happy to have sold my Polar V800 on ebay, the 920XT is on another level…
Just one question though…..I have done a few treadmill runs now – I use the Garmin footpod and the the HRM-RUN, usually I get my running dynamics data and my pace/distance is EXACTLY matched to the Lifefitness treadmill in my gym.
However, three runs to date have not given me any cadence, ground contact time or vert. oscillation data – just all zeros! The speed/distance from the footpod worked fine.
Anyone else have this issue? Other than these three runs, the data has been just fine.
Should I do something differently, or is this a known issue?
Thanks!
Is that the last three runs or three runs in general? There have been some reports of this sort of thing – although more on the 620 for which there is currently a beta release out to try and resolve this. If you are getting no cadence but using a foot pod that does not make sense either. Can you post a GC link to one of these? You could try removing the pairing of the HRM-Run and repairing. I would also suggest powering off your 920 and on again.
it’s been 3 runs of I believe 5 runs in total where the HRM-RUN did not work i.e. it’s intermittent (those three runs were not the last three runs).
I assume that restarting the watch or even restarting the training session would resolve the issue, but I have only ever noticed the problem when I was well into my workout and and did not want to restart.
Truth be told, I don’t really care about the vert. oscillation or ground contact time, but cadence can be helpful.
Sounds like probably just a bad strap. Have you rung up Garmin and asked them to swap out?
Not yet, but that sounds like a good plan. Thanks.
Thank you for the great post. I just purchased the 920xt and am starting to get used to all of its features. There are two things I have not been able to figure out yet. The first is, if it is even possible, how to get my heart rate and pace to show on the same screen. I am not sure if this is even an option. The second is, again if it is even possible, how to get a run/walk alert on the Triathlon run portion. Do you have any recommendations for these features? Thanks!
On the first one you just need to customise the data fields showing on a page
Goto the data fields screen you want to use and press and hold in the lower left “Mode” button and use the Edit Data Fields option.
Not sure about the 2nd part. Have you tried turning on the Run/Walk feature? If so, leave it turned on and do a “test” triathlon activity to see if it works or not.
I have roughly 30 miles under my feet with my new 920 bundle. Love it. Wearing it daily, it’s a great companion. Yesterday I put on my new footpod, went to the track, and calibrated the footpod.
Results:
.25 mile test 1: watch showed .25 miles
.25 mile test 2: watch showed .25 miles
.25 mile test 3: watch showed .26 miles
1.00 mile test: watch showed .99 miles
This being the case I left the calibration factor in the factory setting. I’ve had a high quality treadmill now for 3 years and have always felt an 8:00 min mile on it was much more taxing than an outside 8:00 min mile. So, I paired the footpod and found that while the treadmill was set on 08:57/mi (1.0 degree incline) for a warmup, the watch was reading 08:10/mi. after a few mins of watching my watch, it fluctuated very little. I then stopped after 1.5 miles and removed the footpod, and the watch went crazy, going from 07:00/mi to 12:00/mi while the treadmill was set at 08:57/mi.
I put the footpod back on, and again it showed 08:05-08:10/mi. I then moved the treadmill to 08:34/mi and the watch read 07:50/mi. To me it felt more like an 07:50 outdoor mile than 08:34. So here are my questions:
Could the footpod be right? After all, I’ve always thought my treadmill runs were more taxing at displayed paces.
Could the treadmill be that wrong?
Is there a way to correct the treadmill?
Do newer treadmills display more true to pace?
Thanks any and all who are as knowledgeable as Ray for the replies.
1) Treadmills are routinely quite inaccurate in terms of speed. In general, however, they’re going much slower than they say they are.
2) It is quite common for one’s stride to vary slightly when on the treadmill as opposed to outdoor running. Thus a foot pod calibrated for outdoor use might not perfectly account for your indoor stride.
3) The flexible deck of the treadmill may also have an effect on the foot pod. Your ground contact time will be significantly longer on a typically bouncy treadmill deck as opposed to a hard track or road.
4) I tend not to trust most athletes’ perceived exertions on the treadmill. In my experience, most athletes below a highly competitive level find a treadmill to be psychologically much more difficult than running outside. A more reliable indicator of difficulty is your heart rate. With paces as far off as you’re reporting, you should be able to use heart rate to determine the ballpark real pace. (That is, at least during the first 20 minutes or so of a workout. After that time, treadmill runners tend to overheat, causing significant cardiac drift, unless they have a powerful fan on them.)
I’m not an elite runner but usually in the top 10% for my age group during running races. I’m very comfortable using HR as a measure and train by it. I’m easily 30 seconds/mi slower on a treadmill compared to similar HR outdoors (with good fans). This matches my perceived effort as well. It used to bother me, not so much anymore.
For this reason, when I’m stuck on the treadmill, I avoid speed work and use HR and time as my guides.
Here’s an interesting post from Jack Daniels regarding treadmill running:
“I have done several studies (none published yet, but 2 have been presented). We typically found a higher VO2 overground compared with the same speed of running on the TM. (This may not show at very slow speeds, but it was a difinite find at 6:00 and 5:00 pace). The biggest study involved some good Athletics West runners who ran 6:00 and 5:00 paces on the treadmill and on a 1-mile flat stretch of asphalt parallel to a runway at the airport. In the overground runs they ran a straight mile at 6:00 pace in one direction and repeated it in the opposite direction, after a 5-minute break. Then they repeated the same mile at 5:00 pace in both direction. We recorded wind speed in every run and the subjects ran the same 4 runs on 3 different days, which gave us a variety of wind velocities. We were able to generate a regression equation relating head wind and tail wind with aerobic demand of running (we did get lactates and heart rates as well in all cases). A nice side finding was that VO2 at both 6:00 and 5:00 pace was equal to that on the treadmill when the tail wind was equal to the speed of running. In calm-air conditions, VO2 was about 7% greater overground compared to the TM (at both speeds). Other data (both at Sea Level and Altitude) resulted in the same findings, but not as great a difference between TM and OG at altitude, as might be expected because of the lower air resistance at altitude. VO2 overground is also less at altitude compared with SL, for the same reason. I have had to conclude that the only difference between the aerobic demand of overground and TM running is due to there being no air reistance on the TM. As for HR they were usually about equal under the two conditions, which was puzzling because VO2 is less on the TM, but not necessarily the HR, which we have attributed to lack of cooling on the TM (depends on how long you are on the TM running)”
Hi Ray,
My 920xt seems to still connect to my power meter when in running mode. Is this supposed to happen?
Sort of. Because of the sensor pool concept it does appear to look for all the devices you have previously paired in the hope of finding some relevant ones. My power meter (a Rotor) is only “on” however when a force has been applied to the pedals so it should not connect even if I start my run next to my bike.
Thanks, I have an SRM 11s DA. Any chance of me changing this without having to turn it on and off on the watch itself? This was the only way to make it stop coming up on my display.. which is very annoying if I am around the house and it picks up my SRM in the garage.
Just a quick info about Training Indoors: as per manual, “the device includes indoor activity profiles for running, cycling, and swimming. When running with GPS turned off, speed and distance are calculated using the accelerometer in the device”. So, is the “accelerometer” present on device as in the forerunner 620?
Thanks a lot and compliments for your amazing reviews ! ! !
I wish you a Merry Christmas from MILAN (ITALY)
Yes it is.
Hi Ray,
Very useful test report again. I’m also testing the 920XT to write a blog for a Dutch website. The one thing I’m searching is autolap by position. On a lot of Garmin stuff you have this possibility, which is very handy in for example a multi-loop race. Every time you pass the start again Garmin automatically laps your time so that you can afterwards compare your race lap by lap. Of course you can do this manual but most of the times I forget this while racing.
Have you talked about this with Garmin?
Martin Breedijk
It’s not on the unit today. they noted that for autolap by position it’s something they’re watching consumer feedback on, for possible future updates.
Then, let’s all contact Garmin, because I really miss it and I think a lof of others as well.
I just called Garmin to get clarification on if the footpod becomes the default speed source when paired or if you have to manually adjust it, they didn’t know and had to create a case. anyone? anyone? bueller?
At present, for outdoor runs with GPS on, current pace always comes from GPS and not a foot pod even if you have one paired. There is no option to manual select the speed source. Indoors, with GPS off, then the foot pod would be used and in precedence to the internal accelerometer.
Tim – any idea on when Garmin plans to provide the option for pace from footpod with everything else from GPS as was on the 610 and 910xt?
Tim my follow up question would then be, is it the case that the foot pod speed being displayed on my 920 while on the treadmill was more accurate than what was being displayed on the treadmill screen? And is it simply the internal algorithm in the foot pod that allows it to calculate that speed and distance display?
I understand Garmin are considering the option to select the foot pod as a speed source. Use link to www8.garmin.com if you want to add your support to it. In general though not all features in older models will make it in later models and especially those that were not used by many people.
Difficult to say if a particular treadmill is accurate or not. If the calibration you set for the foot pod (either manually or via the auto detect method on the 920 by running outdoors with one) is fairly accurate for you and the treadmill is fairly accurate then the 920 (with a foot pod) should give you a similar pace and distance to the treadmill as long as your pace is fairly similar to that when the calibration factor was determined.
Tim, in my post above I detail my outdoor runs. because the results on the watch measured so closely with the track, i left the calibration at the factory setting. I guess my level of confusion is whether i really need to be doing anything other than strapping the footpod on when running on the treadmill and selecting indoor run.
Supported 🙂
Tim, can you confirm this is still true? When I got my fenix 2, I was looking forward to getting instant pace from the footpod and having distance estimated by GPS when exercising outdoors. That is the way my 405 worked. The fenix 2 either uses footpod for both or footpod for neither when you are running outside.
You seem to be something of a foot pod expert. As such, I am interested in your opinion about whether pod for pace and GPS for distance combo I am seeking is worth losing sleep over.
I was hoping it would reappear in the fenix 3 but, given that it apparently derives all of its sporting software from the 920, it probably won’t happen unless they put it back in the 920 as well.
I always thought that the footpod (linked with the 910 for example) gives a way more accurate current pace than GPS. as such I miss the footpod option in the 920. Would you agree?
Do you know if there is a way to customize what the alerts showm on the watch screen? In other words, for my run the distance alert shows the mile marker on the top lefthand corner in tiny font, the last lap pace in the middle of the screen in big font, and then the timer data in the top right corner of the screen in small font. I would prefer to have the mile marker big in the middle of the screen.
Thanks again…enjoy reading all these posts.
You can customize lap banners, which enables you to tweak some of that data.
Hi Ray,
Congratulations for your posts and thanks in advance for your replay.
I just buy 920 xt and I am not happy on swim pool mode as I am not able to setup auto laps every 500m as on running for example. If I swim 3km for example it’s important to setup autolap every 500m in order to have split time information. I am able to do it manually pressing lap button, the same as rest button, but should be work aswell as autolap… What do u think?
Alex
Effectively you are getting an auto lap every length so once you have finished it would be fairly easy to work out what your 500m splits were. I am not much of a swimmer but have noticed that most people do sort of interval training when swimming so hence the manual lap facility and how the separate intervals are presented. A few times I have wanted to try and pace myself over say 1000m so I set a time alert to roughly bleep for the time I wanted to do for each 4 lengths (100m). If I heard the bleep before or after the wall, I knew roughly how was doing without having to worry about trying to read the screen as was going along.
Any idea if Garmin will release new colorways?
I’m thinking grey/black basic (finding the colorways garish at present).
No telling until/unless Garmin says something, but note that the 620 has seen no additional color choices in well over a year on the market.
I’d agree. I wouldn’t expect any new FR920XT colors anytime soon.
Too bad since these colorful watches aren’t so good for daily wear:(
Hi – great review – Thanks
Managing to pick one up in Australia – £100 cheaper than the UK and 3 months earlier than Amazon are promising.
I’ve used it on the bike – very pleased with the accuracy of the results from the GPS and GLONASS.
In the water it seems a long way off – my swim times are exceptional – averaging over 30kmh!!!
So the question is really about improving the accuracy of the measurement. I know that I can place it in my swim cap but is there a way to improve the accuracy and get within the magic 10%?
You also mention the smoothing software within the open water setting – is there a way to improve this – my traces are all over the place and don’t represent my swim – I could cope with ‘drunk’ but the traces seem drug-induced!!
Final question – how do I ensure ‘satellite’ rather than ‘map’ representation of the swim??
Thanks again
Some people have suggested trying an OWS with GLONASS off maybe better. Ray has suggested pressing start/stop out of the water both at start and end and a little bit before/after swimming to make sure your first and last GPS points are recorded properly. Other than that it is probably a technique thing. If you arm/wrist does not fully exit the water then little chance of it picking up a GPS point. I know it does not work at all well doing breast stroke for this reason.
Thanks Tim – will try with GLONASS off and starting and stopping out of the water – not sure I swim FC with a relatively high turnover – not sure I’ll sacrifice technique just to have extra time with my wrist in the air!!
Hi Tim
I can confirm that swimming accuracy is improved when GLONASS is turned off.
I did a couple of experiments with the same swim – about 300m difference.
I then did a 1400m swim race – the watch picked up the exact same distance – started and stopped the watch out of the water – thanks for the tip
Where i can get 920, and how much cost?
Nelos-
The FR920XT is $449US for the base model (+$50 more with the HR strap bundle). Clever Training currently has all models in stock today for shipping same day, and, if you use the DCR VIP Program you can save 10% (+ expedited free shipping). And it supports the site. Details here: link to dcrainmaker.com
Hey Ray,
I see that they kind of resolved the altimeter issue with the new beta firmware. Will you be writing an update on it in the review? So far you only mentioned that it worked spot on in one of your runs.
Because this is a big issue for me, I would like to hear more about it.
Thanks
It’s something I’ll be looking at over the next few runs. My current locale as a bit more terrain, so it’s easier to spot if the fixes have helped.
On the flipside, I want to wait till I get home where Paris if flat and it’s easy to validate the drift aspect.
Still, so far so good.
Hi Ray,
please one short answer:
which does create VO2Max : device or HRM ?
May thants for you answer.
Schöne Weihnachten!
Naomi
The device establishes that. Any HR strap would work.
Thanks Ray!
Herzlichst! Naomi
Will the 920xt track a circuit session or Tabata?
Hi Ray –
Just got my 920 last night. I have been using a vivofit since June. The 920 is set to sync via bluetooth or wifi (so far I am finding the wifi a bit wonky). I am still planning to use the vivofit to track activity and have it setup that way. A quick question you may know the answer to –
1) Now that I have the 920xt set up via Bluetooth, my phone does not seem to see to the vivofit. The 920 says that is connected but when I hit sync on the vivofit, it does not seem to sync. It will sync via ant+ but I kind of want to be able to sync via phone as well. Thoughts?
Thanks for all your great work. Happy holidays and all the best for 2015.
Stuart
Some useful tips in this thread on the Garmin forums
link to forums.garmin.com
great review as always—-
if i missed this in your review or comments, my apologies. i would like to take the zeros out of the power meter analytics that are run, but can not seem to do this. any help would be appreciated.
the garmin edge products make this a ton easier—-that being said, i love the watch just this one little thing is hard to figure out!
thanks,
tw
There was a discussion on this on the Garmin forums recently.
See link to forums.garmin.com
Ray,
In one of your videos of the Garmin 920xt the menu bar on top of the screen pops down and reduces the screen area. When you push one of the buttons on the right side, the menu bar goes away, but comes back shortly afterwards. During a run, will the menu bar always be visible?
@ James – it disappears.
Enjoy.
I absolutely love the reviews you do, man. You say they might just be too comprehensive, but I disagree; you can’t find things that go really in-depth answering questions anymore, so it’s pleasant that someone actually does.
Anyway, I wanted to ask you for advice. I’m a runner who came off of his third marathon, have a swimming background, and I decided I’m going to start training for an Iron Man. I’ll obviously be doing small triathlons for at least two years, I’d imagine, as I build up, but that’s the end goal. I am really into data and analysis; perfecting form and such, and I’ve decided to invest in a watch to accompany me through this training.
So, after looking at a wide variety of them, including Timex, Nike, and TomTom, I am leaning toward this one, the 920XT. You usually post mostly positive reviews on the watches I’ve read your reviews for, but I was wondering what watch (and site/interface for logging) you actually prefer or consider the best??
I love the full on reviews; they give us a chance to really see the product without actually SEEING the product, so we can make our own decisions, not just go into someone’s bias. However, I can’t actually experiment with all of them and see which one really works or feels the best. As I said, based on things, I lean toward this, but I’d sure be interested to know, of the training watches you have tested (assume geared toward triathlon training), which watch do you consider the best on the market?
I will obviously make my own decision, but based on the reviews, I consider your opinion to be valuable or carry weight, and I’d love to hear it. Thanks for all you’ve done!
See link to dcrainmaker.com
Not surprisingly Ray’s triathlon watch “prize” goes to the 920.
I think it might be worth mentioning that it’s not possible to create a structured workout for swimming. You could use the “Other” profile, but there’s no way to put information like stroke/drill type in your intervals.
Also it’s possible to get the workouts / calendar etc from connect to your device by Wifi, so there’s no need to connect the USB cable.
Great review, great watch 🙂
Hi love your website and your reviews. I am on my second watch. I have been running for two years and going to start triathlons. I can get a 910 for $279. Cdn. Or $530 for the 920. Is the $250 worth it for the 920 as a beginners or go with the 910?
I think these choices are largely around budgets as the target market for a 910 and a 920 is the same. If you can afford it, I would personally go for a 920. It’s lighter and does a lot more especially around connectivity and the activity tracker.
2 part question: Say i have a 10 leg multisport race, with all different legs such as biking (road and mtb) paddling, running swimming etc. as of now multisport profiles can only have 5 total legs correct? will they expand this? the only way i can see around this is to change manually between legs (slow option, lose transition data, and frustrating in a race) or have two multisport profiles, 5 legs each, and end one then change to the other half way through the race… second question is with multiple power meters (road/Tri/Mtb) do i only need one bike profile that is paired to all power meters? (and the 920xt will know which one i’m using?) or a profile for each power meter (like on my 310xt)
thanks!
Hi Ray,
I’m new to your site and incredibly impressed with your reviews!
I am starting a run / swim routine, but I’m an avid golfer. So, I’m having trouble choosing between the FR920XT (which is most likely an overkill given my current level) and the Approach S6. I am leaning towards the multisports watch, since there are many decent Golf GPS apps for android, but do you think that the Connect IQ developers will be able to design a golf software (similar to Garmin´s approach S6) for the FR920XT? Or maybe, even Garmin will consider selling the S6 software for the FR920XT? Is this even possible (programming wise)?
Thanks!
I do suspect we’ll see crossover from Connect IQ to other devices (as Garmin has said), so in turn I suspect we’ll see golf apps down the road.
MOTOACTV is the only GPS device (except a phone) that have used for golf as well as running & cycling.Quite handy just to have it there for whatever you want to do but I have long since “retired” the MOTOACTV for fitness purposes. I think the Garmin hardware for the Approach watches and Forerunners is quite similar. Probably a marketing thing mainly. Also ultimately how many golfers and runners/triathletes are there…
What is the file path for the activities on the 920? I can see my old 310 and 405 files, but not the 920 .tcx or .fit files. Tx!
E:\GARMIN\ACTIVITY
(Where E:\ is whatever drive letter your computer assigns to the Garmin)
Ah, ok. I can grab from the watch itself. I am used to training center where I can find on my computer vs garmin connect. But have made the change. Thank you.
I have noticed that the hour “number” of the clock changes color and I can’t find out why anywhere…not in an activity just in activity mode… Sometimes it’s green, sometimes it’s blue, and sometimes it’s red..
You think its telling you to move when it’s red and you are on the fence “slacker” when it’s blue and good to go when it is green?
@Vaughn Temple – the hour digits change because in your watch settings, there is an option for it to be the colour of your last activity. Mine is currently showing Red for Running. Sometimes, it is Green for Cycling…You may have also noticed that the battery indicator also follows the same settings.
Enjoy.
@Vaughn Temple – Specifically the option is ‘Use Profile Colour’. In my case it is set to ‘Yes’
Awesome!! Thanks!! That’s def the ticket.
Awesome Thanks. That’s def the ticket
Quick Question Regarding Bluetooth Pairing with Phone, (iPhone 5, Ios8 in this case) Can you have this phone connected and still use a Bluetooth Headset or earpiece? Or will I have to repair each device every time and they kick each other off? I know newer headsets can be connected dot two devices at once and accept calls from each.
So can it talk to both? Or One than the other?
Yes, no problems there.
Hi,
Thanks for the excellent review. Bought my watch based in that.
Is there also a “other” training mode? During offseason there is also some skating or skiing but I can’t use the run or bike modes as they fuck up my stats (vo2 max and race predictions). After doing a 2h skiing in run mode the race predictor thought I should be able to run a 2:30 marathon.
Thanks
Not really sure the language was required there.
But yes, as per the review you can create other training modes.
Sry about the language.
Thank you, found the place to add custom training modes. Much easier like this.
Hi,
I have purchased the 920XT a week ago and yesterday was the first cycling I have done using it. While the cycling computer is great and paired with my Bontrager speed&cadence sensor, for some reason the Garmin gave an annoying alert of the speed I am at, every few seconds (seems like every change in speed got alerted). does anyone know how to stop it?
Aaron
In the Bike profile, check under Activity Settings, Alerts
Great review men! Congratulations
I recently got my FR920xt, came from a Polar RC3 GPS. I’ve noticed that my calorie rate burned in a workout are way too different, like 50% less calorie burned on garmin than polar. Of course base on the same profile (height weight etc)
Do you have any info about this?
The algorithm takes a little while to learn you, See if it is closer to what you would expect after about 5-10 runs/cycles and it should get “better” after each one.
Ray，
Does the watch continue recharge & without sacrifice issue solved for latest firmware ? is this limitation for this unit ?
There’s no change at this time in that behavior, it still ends the activity upon attempting to charge.
Ray,
Do you have any data on how the bluetooth phone connectivity affects battery life? Obviously, if you are getting a ton of notifications, I could see that using battery, but I’m thinking more of the live tracking. If I turned of the notifications, but turned on live tracking on the phone, could I expect to get close to the 24 (normal) or 40 (ultratrac) hours of battery life with the live tracking. I can’t find any info from Garmin on the terms of the 24 or 40 hour specifications. Also, what about the battery affect of using the HR strap? I guess I’m wondering how they spec’d the 24 / 40 hour battery life — was that essentially ‘stripped down’ to the point of using the watch as a gps tracking device? I have a lot of ultra friends, but the ones that have the 920 are reluctant to test the capabilities during a race – they don’t want to risk running out of necessary running data for ‘nice-to-have’ features. Even if we just have Garmin’s estimates on how that would affect it, that might get more people to test it out.
Thanks for these great reviews!
I don’t have detail on battery life impact, but I also haven’t seen anyone note in other live tracking watches that it’s making much of a difference. For example, the FR620 with Live Tracking enabled.
Battery life is non-impacted by additional sensors (doesn’t matter to any tangible degree). Primary driver of battery life is backlight, GPS type (GLONASS enabled), and vibration alerts (less than others).
Which…I suppose does remind me to try out my battery-roof test again now that I’ve got a non-recalled unit this past week…
Thanks for those thoughts, I know you noted the GLONASS drain in the article, but if you detect anything else substantial, I would appreciate a post to that affect. For all the slow ultra runners out there maxing out the time limits.
GLONASS takes about 20% and interestingly every second recording over Smart was nearly as much if memory serves me correctly – from somebody who posted here who had experimented with it.
Anyway, in the normal course of things, my iPhone would give up much quicker than my 920 so you might want to do some tests of your own equipment in this respect.
I had my fully charged 920XT die about 7.5 hours into a bike ride today, while using Live Tracking, and Navigation. (GLONASS on)
Doeas this watch shows Power Time in Zone? I saw in manual you can see your time in each Heart Rate Zone, it would be awesome to see the same for power, can someone confirm it?
Yes, it does.
This my be specific to the way I run, but in using the 920 I noticed one design flaw. With the buttons located on the side of the device, with a downward angle (they are almost on the watch’s band), I tend to hit the start/stop or lap button when really running hard (ie., a race). I’ve lost data for two races using the device without knowing I even hit the button.
Not heard of anybody else doing that running but a few reports when swimming when in close proximity to other swimmers. Are you wearing the 920 on the outside of your wrist or the inside? Are you aware of your wrist hitting your body when running? Sounds painful! I understand Garmin are considering implementing a lock feature whilst the timer is running which may well help you.
Hello. It seems than The Clever Training VIP program coupon code is not valid. Is it?
It’s valid, I just used it last night. The final price adjustment will be shown on the final checkout screen only, not in your shopping cart.
Make sure to actually buy the VIP program first and you’ll get the coupon code to use emailed to you. Do *not* use the generic DCR10JKW code, you have to use the specific one you get from the VIP program.
Sorry, correct. The FR920XT is one of the 7 products that Garmin requires the DCR CT VIP program for. It only takes a second to sign-up here though: link to dcrainmaker.com
Once you sign-up you’ll receive a personal coupon code that is good for all future purchases to save 10% on any on-sale product (including the FR920XT).
Any chance garmin with have a black version.
These colorful watches aren’t so good for daily wear:(
Any chance garmin will have a black version.
These colorful watches aren’t so good for daily wear:(
Any chance garmin will have a black version?
These colorful watches aren’t so good for daily wear:(
There’s always *a* chance… but I wouldn’t hold your breath or put off a purchase though.
The 620 hasn’t seen a non-colorful version after well over a year on the market.
Anyone have the issue where the watch continues to search for your speed and cadence sensor while in the “Run” activity profile?
I just installed the magnetless speed and cadence sensor (which works perfectly), but when I now go out for the run, the speed and cadence icons continue to blink…
I called Garmin support and said that it eventually times out, but I’ve found that, even an hour into my run, when I press the menu button to check the “home screen” (where the time is visible), I still see the speed and cadence sensor blinking. Can’t be good for batter life, can it?
Also, anyone have pics of the watch on the fabric strap?
It may not be the most elegant solution, but I just disable the speed and cadence sensor in the sensors menu when I’m running.
I don’t know the impact on battery life, but just prefer to not have it searching needlessly (and blinking to tell me about it).
Hi Chris,
Can you just “disable” the sensors without having to delete the sensor. Seems a pain to have to re-pair before each bike ride.
I’m not a fan of the endless searching either. You would think they would have an option in the activity profiles to choose what sensors are utilized.
Yes, you can disable them without un-pairing or deleting the sensor. Press Enter (start/pause) on the status screen for the sensor in question and select disable. Same steps to re-enable.
I’ve seen this as well and couldn’t care less. My 910 was always sniffing for ANT devices, it just didn’t have the menu to look at. I read either here or on the Garmin forums that the battery drain is negligible. My advice to Garmin would be to get rid of the blinking…problem solved lol!
@ Chris – thanks!
@ Olu – agreed!
Does anyone know if you add a garmin training plan to the calendar does the recovery advisor move some of the work outs to a later date. E.g I did a steady state run today with a recovery time of 3 days, I’m sure I had a run in the calendar in 2 days time that has now gone.
No – not that clever!
I agree with Tim that it is not that clever. However, when I used the calendar on my 910XT, I found that “today” was not always “today.” Specifically when I would workout in the evening, I generally had to look at yesterday’s calendar to find my workout. I live in GMT-8, so I suspect it was looking at the current date in Zulu time, and skipping a day ahead if I worked out after 4PM. So depending on your time zone, and time of day, you might want to check a day ahead or behind to see if your missing workout is there. (I have not tried the calendar function on the 920XT yet, so I don’t know if that bug still exists.)
Two quick questions, having just started using the 920:
1) Without a foodpod is there any way to calibrate the treadmill running? I am getting significant (ie up to 50%) differences in distance from the treadmill reading versus the accelerometer on the watch inside?
2) I have run outside a few times, and GPS is on and use HR, yet still do not get any VO2 max or Race Predictor readings, the other cadence/oscillation readings seem all fine. Is there any setting that has to be enabled for this?
Thanks
1) not sure
2) what does it say in ‘my stats’ after pressing the three dot button
1. Not really. It is auto calibrated from runs outside. Are your outdoors runs and treadmill ones at a similar pace with similar arm carriage?
2. Might explain why (1) not working well yet. Is your max HR set correct? Are you getting TE values of 5.0 – that can cause the algorithms to invalidate the runs for VO2 Max purposes due to not being realistic runs according to your settings.
So, about this altimeter… The way you describe it, it almost sounds like they put out a prototype that just doesnt function. How is it possible that a company with such a solid reputation would even think of doing this??
It’s working well for me now. Comparing the elevation on GC from a run with a 920 today (without elevation corrections) to the same run with a 620 (with the corrections) then the two profiles look pretty much the same.
Couple of questions:
1) Is the vo2max value calculated only when in running or in cycling-mode? If this is so, is it possible (or even probable) for any 3rd party developers to develop (through Garmin Connect IQ) algorithms which would calculate estimations of one’s vo2max in different sports (i.e. cross-country skiing)?
2) Does 920XT have different vo2max for indoor and outdoor cycling (I guess it doesn’t matter if it calculates vo2max using HRV and power without environmental factors)?
3) Is the Training Effect (TE) also sport-specific (i.e. running, cycling) or the same across different sports?
P.S. Thank You Ray for providing – yet again – an insightful and very useful review for us all.
1. Yes correct. Custom VO2 Max – possibly although I suspect it would probably be less sophisticated than the inbuilt ones as not sure you would get the same access to internal memory to store whatever is needed for the way the algorithms “learn” you (even if you had developed an algorithm)
2. Just one value for cycling. As you imply power should be environment independent.
3. .It’s the same scale but specific to you in that sport
You mention that the indoor running accuracy is not as good as a foot pod. I’m curious to know if your test was with just the watch or with the HRM. Seems like the HRM-run also has an accelerometer and I would expect fairly good accuracy w/o having to use a foot pod, maybe I’m missing something. Thanks in advance.
The HRM-RUN’s accelerometer is only used for cadence/vertical oscillation/ground contact time, and not for pace/distance.
I suspect down the road we’ll probably see Garmin leverage the HRM-RUN to improve that a bit and perhaps pull in pace (like the Wahoo TICKR RUN/X does), in conjunction with the wrist. But…not today.
Cheers.
Don’t worry, found the answer in a previous comment.
As always, awesome reviews on the gadget. Greatly appreciate it.
A few quick inquiries, if you may shed some light:
1) Probably a little technical, but how does the HRM-RUN really monitor on the cadence and vertical oscillation and ground contact time of the runner?
2) I have a Garmin foot pod from 910XT previously; can the foot pod still be used with 920XT along with HRM-RUN concurrently to monitor on cadence? Or will it be smart enough to enable only one to track on cadence?
Because I’m thinking HRM-RUN may not be necessary if the food pod can still play its usual role, since strap around the chest isn’t really gonna be comfortable on the long run.
Thank you, thank you!
The precedence order for cadence is HRM-Run, foot pod, the watch itself.
Only the HRM-Run can measure VO & GCT.
So if you only want cadence you can leave off both the HRM-Run and the foot pod.
A question regarding live-tracking for the following situation: running a lap-based street ultra (like 24h), you are not allowed to keep any communication devices (like a mobile phone) with you, but you are in range of your mobile phone once every lap when passing your personal aid station.
So, how long (hopefully only seconds) does the 920XT need to establish connection to the mobile phone (Android based) and transfer data? Such a live-tracking would be interesting in case when there is no live-tracking provided by the race organizers themselves. Do you expect this to be technically feasible?
That should work as if the connection is broken I have seen it “store up” points for transmitting when it has found a connection. Easy to test with your phone – just find a loop somewhere where you can leave your phone and see what happens. However since you could also get Smart Notifications this way I would check the rules as if communication is not allowed then sounds like you would be breaking that rule.
I have not tested this specific situation. But when I run at the track, I leave my phone near the start finish line. It does not reconnect “mid interval”, but does if I am in or switch to recovery when I pass. So I would guess that you need to be running slower than 7:30/mile as you pass. But I don’t know exactly how slow. It will also be a function of how far your phone is away from your nominal running path.
I just completed my first pool swim with my shiny new 920xt and the data is pretty much useless. A quick 1400m swim (yes, I counted my lengths too) and the Garmin says I only did 925m! Thats a pretty big loss. I would lose the odd 25m on the 910, but this is 100x worse. I’ve sent the data to Garmin along with the set I did to see if they can shed any light on it.
That’s odd & disappointing as it seems to work well for nearly everybody. Can you share the GC link. Assume you did have the pool length set correctly?
Sure
link to connect.garmin.com
Umm pretty awful I agree. I presume your correct time per 25m length is about 25-28 secs? if so at least the last set (7th) look right and the one before had most of them right. Any reason to think why it has missed lots of turns? Did you have to stop at the wall or did you generally get a good push off? Did you really try butterfly in the 2nd set?
average of 25-28s per length is about right, though some were faster (set was 400m slow, rest, 25 fast, 75 slow, rest, 50 fast, 50 slow, rest, 75 fast, 25 slow, rest, 300 fast, rest, 300 slow, rest, 100 cooldown)
it was all freestyle with tumble turns, good push offs so i’ve no idea why it wouldn’t have worked. my only thought is that I wear the watch on my right wrist… the 910 had an option to set which wrist you wear it on from memory, the 920 doesn’t seem to
Well, today’s swim has been and gone and it didn’t miss a beat (except where i switched it to drill mode by mistake for 1 interval)… the only difference is I wore it on my left wrist today!
link to connect.garmin.com
Garmin just replied to my case saying they’ve released new firmware to deal with the issue so I will upgrade and see how it goes!
Hi Dan G – a new firmware for the 920xt? I have 2.5.0 on my device (since it’s been shipped). Have you seen anything newer or have they announced a release date?
P.S.: I have the same issue with my 920. My workaround is to wear it on my dominant hand now and turn it “upside down”, that is the display is on the inner side of my arm. If I use it that way it works. Sounds weird, but works. Sounds weird and is not acceptable for such an expensive toy (this is the moment where I look back to my 910 that worked perfectly).
Hi,
the display of my 310xt ist broken (but I can stille use it) and I’m not sure if I really should upgrade to the 920xt. My questions:
– I can’t zoom the navigation? Will this come with an new firmware?
– The gps-accuracy from the 310xt ist better?
– When I turn on the 310xt for an indoor-session without GPS, the time and date is not correct. What about the 920xt? Does it need GPS-connect for the correct time?
– I’m using the 310xt with the ant agent to import the tcx-files to sporttracks directly.Will this work as good with the 920xt without the ant agent?
Cheers
Linne
Just got the 920 and love it. However I have an issue. I turned on the Activity Tracker. I’ve synced with My Fitness Pal and Training Peaks. I did a swim and a run today. Both synced properly. However Garmin Connect did a 924 Calorie Adjustment on My Fitness Pal, essentially doubling my entry. I didn’t do any other activities today other than the run and swim and it’s got me near 12,000 steps. It seems it’s counting the steps for the Run and well via the Activity Tracker. All I can do to correct it is I either have to turn off the Activity Tracking during workouts or just not use the activity tracker at all. Is there any settings to make it not count activities during a recorded workout ? Does this make sense?
ok, I understand, there is really no zoom in the navigation and rainmaker ist waiting for answers from garmin. But whatabout my other questions:
– The gps-accuracy (running or cycling) from the 310xt ist better?
– When I turn on the 310xt for an indoor-session without GPS, the time and date is not correct. What about the 920xt? Does it need GPS-connect for the correct time?
– I’m using the 310xt with the ant agent to import the tcx-files to sporttracks directly.Will this work as good with the 920xt without the ant agent?
ok, maybe I will get answers for my questions, I have another…
What apps I can use for smart notifications? gmail, whatsapp and threema would be interesting for me.
Just got the 920 and love it. However I have an issue. I turned on the Activity Tracker. I’ve synced with My Fitness Pal and Training Peaks. I did a swim and a run today. Both synced properly. However Garmin Connect did a 924 Calorie Adjustment on My Fitness Pal, essentially doubling my entry. I didn’t do any other activities today other than the run and swim and it’s got me near 12,000 steps. It seems it’s counting the steps for the Run and well via the Activity Tracker. All I can do to correct it is I either have to turn off the Activity Tracking during workouts or just not use the activity tracker at all. Is there any settings to make it not count activities during a recorded workout ? Does this make sense?
Have you gotten any word from Garmin about them fixing/adding options to the zoom level issue in navigation?
Nothing new there unfortunately. I’d really keep sending in comments to Garmin on that one, they do appear to be listening on other 920XT items.
I noticed that while reviewing the route associated with an activity, multiple zoom levels are available. Seems an easy tweak to make that available during an activity.
DC or anyone is there a way to stop the watch from locking? Pretty annoying to have to hit two buttons to get to a sport mode. I love it over the 910 minus this one issue. Also how quickly do you believe the 920 would find satellites in a race while moving I ask because in wetsuit races I usually do nothing for swim 500 for bike and 910 for run but do not wait to wait for satellites in t2. On a 210 it was over half a mile before picking it up. Thank you for awesome reviews.
Go into activity settings and change Power Save Timeout to “Extended”
Just curious, why do you need a 920xt if you don’t use it for the swim or the bike?
I’d consider at least wearing the watch (220 or 920) from the start of the race and then turning it on towards the end of the bike to acquire a good satellite lock. This would give you one less thing to worry about in T2 AND give you accurate data right off the bike (when your more likely to fry your legs from going out too fast)
Hi all,
I wrongly delete one of my activity from Garmin Connect Mobile. Actually the same activity is still visible and available on my Garmin 920xt. While syncronizing the data the activity is missing. How can I fix it? Many thanks in advance for your kind support.
Looking through this thread i get the feeling that it’s possible to connect my new Garmin Forerunner 920 XT to Training Center to download workouts that I’ve planned i Training Center. Is this correct? This is the main reason that I still stick to Garmin. I want to be able to decide the goal for each interval, like speed, heart rate… and also when the interval ends like time, distance, HR, pushing lap button… All this could be done in Training Center and this is what I need now aswell. Do I need to do some kinda workaround like skipping Express or whatever?
Yes you can still use Garmin Training Center. There are a few things like Notes in workout steps that are not currently supported in the 920 but most things should work.
I have really enjoyed my 920xt up until the new GPS update (V. 2.70). Prior to the update, my GPS accuracy seemed really good. While cycling the same routes after the update I am getting erratic tracks. It seems that I will randomly get a large “V” shaped path that goes in a straight line tangentially away from my actual path and then comes back (thus forming a V shape). I am using system update 2.5 and GPS version 2.70. I have glonass turned on and no obstructions that would cause this. This has happened during two rides since the update. After the first time it happened I did a hard reset and restored all of my setting hoping it would ameliorate the issue. After today’s ride I see it has occurred again. I have not seen others experiencing this problem. It was my understanding that the update should “improve” accuracy. I want my old level of accuracy back! Strange problem…
Most people on the Garmin forums are reporting improvements with 2,70 and I am seeing good results running so disappointing that you are having problems. Then again the nature of GPS means sometimes things will go awry for no apparent reason. Most of the time, problems are related to a poor GPS fix at the start. Is that the case with you? Also is the 920 on your wrist or the handlebars?
Thank you for your reply. Indeed, I feel very alone with this issue as I could only find positive comments about the improvement of accuracy associated with the update. I have had the watch mounted to a handlebar mount. It acquired a fix in the same amount of time that it ordinarily does. Because the ride is one of my common training loops, I was able to compare it with the tracks left by multiple devices. I currently own an edge 510 and have owned both a 1000 and a phenix in the past. I have tracked this course with all devices. What caused me to believe that the problem was associated with the GPS chipset update is the fact that version 2.6 tracked this route smoothly on this device. The only variable that changed was the update. I will continue to keep an eye on things. The course path looks good for the most part but will then have a straight line straying as much as 1/2 mile off course and then it returns back. This might happen once in an hour and a half ride. It almost feels like it could be some strange form of interference. I am always BT’d to my i-phone 6 plus but have never experienced this issue in the past. As I have stated, the only variable has been the update. Thanks for your reply…I will keep trying different things.
Hi Gary,
Have you had the problem since?
It look that I had this problem too since december 29th.
I was looking to find the release date of the 2.70 GPS chipset update when i flet on this thread. I don’t remember when I’ve done it.
But what it’s more werid, is that I’ve done that to my wife watch too and she never had the problem since the update.
But for me, since the update, every single activities, I got a weird fews gps spot who affect the patch. Glonass is OFF for me.
Thx,
Stephane
I used your advice for figuring out how to create run and bike workouts in Garmin Connect on the 920. What about creating swim workouts? Even using the “other” option in GC, there are no swim metrics (e.g. swim pace). If this functionality doesn’t exist, any word from Garmin if it might appear? I find it pretty easy to remember run and bike intervals, but some swim workouts can get a bit more complicated. Thanks!
There’s unfortunately no option to create swim workouts (never has been). It’s unknown if Garmin will ever add it.
Ray,
I’m new to swimming with my 920xt and could really benefit from workouts for pool swimming sessions. What/where/how would you recommend I post suggestions to Garmin to attempt to influence them to add this seemingly obvious feature. I’ve looked in the 920, Fenix 3 (ordered one), swim and connect forums and they all seem to have some threads on this topic. Thanks!
Pete
Hi Ray,
How is your 920XT unit handling the v2.7 software update to the GPS chipset?
Can you evaluate how it impacts run/bike and OW swim accuracy?
People in the Garmin forums are reporting much improved accuracy and more data points in OW swim with v2.7 and GLONASS turned on.
Thanks
Given it’s winter in Europe, I don’t know exactly when I’ll be able to get in another openwater swim – since it’ll depend on random work trips (and available time).
Great review thanks. As a health care professional I can’t wear something on my wrist at work. From an activity tracking (steps, etc) point of view does it work on an ankle/belt/pocket?
Generally it does work in the pocket. Though, the problem I found with that is that sometimes buttons get pressed like the light button – so ensure you don’t have the backlight set to ‘always on’.
Hi – I bought the 920XT ~3 weeks ago after reading this in-depth review which, as usual, appears to be very accurate based on my utilization of the watch to date. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it and don’t regret buying it but here are a few frustrations I have had and I’d be curious to know if these issues are common to the model or related to my unit only:
1. Elevation accuracy: As highlighted by Ray, this seems to be a model issue but it’s indeed frustrating. To give an example, doing the same loop 17 times over ~1h45 (yes it’s boring – Longchamps loop in Paris for those who know it) the elevation at the SAME point of the course as measured by the watch progressively reduced from 110ft to 88ft from my first to my last loops; which is actually quite substantial.
2. My unit keeps freezing each time I unplug it from the charging station (the screen keeps showing the % of charge and USB connection even if unplugged). Only way to unfreeze is to press all the buttons at the same time for ~15sec. Is that normal?
3. When I switch from my bike equipped with a SRM power meter to my bike with Garmin Vector pedals (or the other way round); I have to first manually remove the power meter in memory before it can connect with the other one.
4. The battery life is really disappointing (or maybe it’s just my unit?). I need to do more “testing” but as an example, I forgot to re-charge the battery before going on a 5h ride but still had 65% and thought it would be enough. Glonass, Wifi and Bluetooth were turned off but the battery still died within 5h. The battery seems to go down at a rate ~3-4x faster than my Garmin Edge 500
5. Wifi connection sucks. It takes a really long time to connect (in my apartment, on my own network) and sometimes just doesn’t connect at all.
6. I have a lot of zeros in my power meter recordings but this might be related to the power meter itself
7. Lots of drops in my HR recordings but might also be the HRM and not the watch
By way of background I’m focused on cycling but also run. I haven’t tried the watch swimming yet.
Is your unit one of the few thousand affected by the recall? There are issues with the water proofing and battery life. That would explain the battery life issue at a minimum.
I have the same issue with the watch freezing each time after unplugging it from the charging station. I have to reset the watch each time after that. Often, the first activity after the reset is a crap – it shows elevation ca. 200m below the see level, gps is off by hundreds of meters etc.
I bought one!:) You’re doing a great job!
Great review and Happy New Year DC Rainmaker
I’m a 310XT owner and looking to upgrade to something with swim functionality. Has anyone used a swim watch in a pool using a stationary tether belt such as stillswim.com device? I guess it won’t pickup the laps as I don’t turn and push off but I train in my own pool at home a fair amount and am hoping that the 920XT could work in some capacity for training.
Cheers!
Unfortunately it won’t capture anything in that situation. :-/
Thanks for the reply.
Looks like I need to head to the lap pool. Unfortunately my pool is only 13m 🙁
DC,
Thanks for the review. My wife gave me (and I gave me) the 920XT for Christmas and it has been an amazing device and experience thus far(indoor swimming, biking, and running). I also enjoy to use it a day watch. I hope the navigation specs improve just a tad but I still think it’s the best watch out there. I bought it from Clever Training with the VIP status and got the big DC discount. Hollaaaa!
Awesome – thanks for the support via Clever Training!
Several weeks ago I ordered the Garmin foot pod (for treadmill use with my 920), and found it to be very stable, and more accurate feeling in the data it was producing versus what my treadmill was displaying. I then of course, well, lost the foot pod within a week of having it, absolutely no clue where it is in my house. That gave me an opportunity to again try my 920 without foot pod on the treadmill and what I found was interesting:
The data was very close to what the foot pod was showing EXCEPT when I would do a fartlek within my run. It couldn’t seem to handle the sudden increase in speed.
The overall steady pace was similar to the foot pod but as soon as I moved my arm to look at the watch, the 920 recognized I was no longer swinging my arms and the pace started falling immediately.
Because of all this, The overall result was a distance of 12% different than what the treadmill showed.
So, do I buck up and shell out another $50 for a Replacement foot pod or just say the heck with it…
Foot pod is best in this situation even if it means having to buy another. Have you tried walking round the house trying to pair it? Sometimes my footpod will pair from seemingly quite a distance.
Tim, as silly as that sounds that is freakin genius and I had not thought of that. Going to give that a try now :).
Tried and didn’t work but thank you again for the suggestion.
Hi folks,
I have the following issue (confirmed by Garmin support) and a workaround (until I receive a replacement): my 920xt does not count laps correctly. Analysis shows that it (mostly) misses the last lap. The workaround is that I wear it on my dominant hand and “upside down”, that is the display on the inner side of my arm. That way it works 99% perfect.
The other issue is (no idea yet how to fix this) that the 920xt does not recognise a Bushido Smart (or at least I don’t know how to do it. Any help is appreciated.
Best, Markus
Counting laps doing what? Swimming?
Yes, counting laps in the pool. Other users have confirmed this behavior. I have contacted Garmin support and will receive a replacement (hoping that this works).
Regarding the 920xt recognizing a Tacx Bushido Smart I have received the following form Tacx Support: “Yes we send open ANT+, but because Garmin owns ANT+ the sometimes incrypt a code on their devices so this only communicates with Garmin products”.
Has anyone managed it to connect a Bushido Smart to a 920xt?
Just tried here and it wouldn’t connect 🙁 I have been using Training Peaks and the Tacx app to log sessions on the Bushido Smart so far so didn’t notice this.
However – it doesn’t seem correct that the 920xt would only connect with Garmin Power/Cadence devices and not third party ones. Seems more like Tacx are broadcasting a private ANT+ channel than the 920xt not accepting it?
Perhaps Ray can shed some light?
Hi Ian,
thanks for the quick response.
I have received the info from Tacx support yesterday and I have asked them explicitly to confirm that they are sending open signals (which they confirmed).
In the Tacx forum a guy could read data (Speed/Cadence/Power ) from a Bushido Smart with a Garmin 800 GPS.
This is really confusing. And seems like today’s hardware is shipped like software these days (instable, missing/incomplete features).
Sigh!
Just tried it with my Edge 1000 and no Ant+ was detected from the Bushido Smart at all.
Bluetooth on the other hand worked fine on iPhone and iPad, and Ant+ worked on iPad with the Wahoo Adapter.
I know what you mean – it’s frustrating how this stuff never seems to just work!
Ray – I know you said you were currently testing the Tacx Smart trainers – would be good to get you angle on it when you can.
Amazing review..
For a triathlon watch, would you go for the FR920XT or the Fenix 3?
Since not answered I would say if you like the look of the Fenix 3 then you need to wait 2-3 months for Ray’s review and of course for it actually to be out. Personally from what have seen I am happy with my 920 as it is significantly lighter than the Fenix 3 and of these new devices I tend to prefer the Epix anyway because it can do real maps.
Like Tim said, it’s far too soon to tell. But so far, so good.
A in-depth review would be targeted for about a month after I get a final production unit with final software. It sounds like that might happen sooner than later.
Hi, this watch will suit me perfectly all the training i do, just one question, i wabt to use the watch when i train and race motocorss, is there any particular mode you can put it in for this sport? not trackingjust hear rate monitoring?
Thanks, PS great review!
I think you could easily create a custom activity for that with the GPS disabled 🙂
Here is Polish versionof my depth review of this watch, hope it will help
link to goultra.pl
JT
For the life of me I can’t get 4 data fields…..I can only get 3 to show up. What simple thing am I missing?
goto Activity Settings, Data Screens and then select the change you want to change
Then select Layout and use the down arrow to go from 3 fields to 4
I have a Garmin 920XT, great watch!!! I attempted to download one of the current available apps at IQ connect, and I get an error message that my watch is full. I have only 5 runs in it, I do however have a significant amount of information on my calendar, including work outs. Is it possible that the phone cannot handle the apps because of the information on my calendar and my workouts??? If that is true, then the IQ connect is going to be very limited for a lot of people, M2C.
Edgar
Is IQ Connect store open? What is the adress?
Yes, IQ store is open here: link to apps.garmin.com , but you will need to update your watch to higher firmware to use it. There is no final release of that firmware, which supports ConnectIQ, if you are spunky, you can try the Beta from here: link to www8.garmin.com
Address is link to apps.garmin.com
ConnectIQ data-fields and watchfaces are available, Apps are yet to be released.
You do need to have the newest version of Garmin Express, and you need to install the latest BETA firmware on the 920xt. (did I mention the firmware is BETA test?)
See the Garmin forums for more info: link to forums.garmin.com
Thank you, now it makes sense!
Thanx!
I recently unboxed my new 920XT and am still learning how to use it, with the help of reading this review two times! ThanksDC! One problem I’m having is that it will not show distance (miles) for daily activity tracking. The steps continue to count up but the distance stays at zero, both on the 920 display as well as the Connect app. Did I miss a setting somewhere? Anyone else have this issue? I have it set for the default step distance.
Thanks in advance!
Dear DCrainmaker,
I have an Power2max classic powermeter parried with o’synce navi2coach (works like a charm), I wanted to parried it with my new Garmin 920xt and it doesn’t find the device. Is this a known problem?
Thx for your help
It works just fine on my Power2Max. I’d try resetting your FR920XT, or manually pairing the ANT+ ID and see if that sticks.
Hi Ray,
thank you for all the info! I finally managed to get it to parie 920 with the power2max (after like 10 retries). Now I have noticed another issue, but I don’t know if it is settings related or not.
I have done 3-4 rides on an indoor trainer with my 920xt and although I have it fixed on the handlebars it says ever 3-4 minutes that it has connected with Powermeter or speed/cadence meter. I also saw that the average power over 30s drops (in comparison to the o’synce which doesn’t loose the connection).
Thank you!
Do you what the solution is?
Anyone lucky with zooming in the map using the beta firmware 2.64?
In the firmware release notes is written, “◦Improvements to map drawing and zooming.”
Now I can zoom in the Activity History map, but cannot zoom in the map during workout.
Am I doing anything wrong?
No! As a “quick win” they just changed the default zoom from 0.3M to 0.2M which does seem to make spotting when to turn just a bit easier.
Hi Ray – for no other reason other than aesthetic, do you know if a white(?) quick release kit is in the works that goes better (than the black that is already available in the market) with the white/red FR920XT unit?
Thanks!
I haven’t heard of any plans there.
So I have read conflicting reports about charging the device while in use. Ray said no in the original article but on the Garmin forum it looked like maybe you could if you used a portable power pack. Which one is right today?
I’m right. 🙂
He is right. I took my batterypack and started running. As soon as I connected the batterypack it to the watch, the watch stopped the aktivity and saved it (and immediatelly uploaded it to Garmin Connect). The watch screen changed to Charging screen, with no buttons reacting.
Ok thanks to you both 🙂 That means waiting for the Fenix 3. Its not that I go for more than 24 hours at a time, its that I forget to charge the darn thing sometimes!
Is it really a problem? How far do you typically run? Stick the thing on charge for say 15 mins and that gets about 10% which would be good for a couple of hours even if starting completely flat. Also, unlike say the 910, the 920 goes into low power mode within 5 mins if not using the timer and can last many days in this mode if not used.
Hi Rat
I’m using the 920xt as an activity tracker (steps and sleep) as well as for my regular training.
When treadmill running the 920 counts steps as part of the activity and adds it to my daily count. Is this based on the watch its self or the foot pod?
I play volleyball and would like to keep track of the step count, but the 920 is a little to big to keep on my wrist. I am hoping that by using the footpod I can account for the steps and have my garmin sitting court side.
Can you add in steps manually to GC or additional sleep time to GC.
You reviews are the best out there.
Thanks
Great review, my 910 has a problem with drop out of signal from the stages crank on my tri bike, does the new 920 have improved communication between power meters etc?
Mine is better in this regard, yes. I’ve got a Rotor.
If you see this I’d expect it to be better: link to support.stagescycling.com
On the 910 there was a way to setup multiple bikes but I don’t see the option on the 920. What is your workout around for multiple bikes with different size wheels/cranks?
Hy Ray.
I wonder if the glass on the 920 is like the ambit? or is it worse. What about plastic outer shell is it a problem on getting a lot of scratches? compared to ambit or fenix?
Any chance to add more than 11 profiles?
Any chance to add more than 11 profiles? Maybe in a firmware update?
Thanks for the great review. I picked up the watch and I’m loving it so far.
Errata:”Whereas while cadence can SOME from the HRM-RUN strap, it’ll also come from the watch itself.”
Hi thank you for an awesome review. I’m sorry if this has already been asked, but when you are setting up intervals can you put in any distance or only increments of 0.5k ? We do intervals of 400 & 800 and I can’t see how I can set it up for these. Thank you kind regards Melissa
With the Intervals feature on the watch, seems like you can enter the interval distance in increments of 0.05. If say you normally run in miles but want metric for the track, you could switch units before the session (Settings, System, Units). Then you will be able to enter 0.4K or 0.8K etc etc for the interval distance.
If you want to mix up the distances, setup a workout on GC and download it to the 920.
FYI, if any of you are experiencing foot pod and/or HR sensor drop out on the 920XT, I just got off the phone with Garmin support and this is a known issue. The engineers are working on it and a new update is expected out soon. Its very frustrating because the footpod and HR keep dropping out every 5-10sec and reconnect which was annoying. Hopefully the fix comes soon.
Hi,
I read somewhere on the Garmin 920 XT forum that turning Bluetooth off would resolve the issue of the disconnecting HRM and footpod.
Tony, thanks I will give that a try. Its pretty frustrating otherwise. Tried running without footpod and the watch is not accurate at all on distance and pace.
I know there are more than a few mentions of altimeter issues here on this page- I also have issues with mine. Doing indoor bike rides on one instance the altitude varied 40′ from start to finish over 1:15:00. I contacted Garmin… I am shocked at the response. Apparently I used the device incorrectly by strapping it onto my bike. :/
“Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I am happy to support this product.
The ForeRunner 920XT is not intended to record elevation data while stationary for an extended period or when used indoors. When attempting to use a device for an un-intended purpose, you can expect errors like the one you have reported.
I am sorry for the inconvenience this may cause.
Please feel free to contact us for further support if needed.
With Best Regards,
Curtis”
To be fair, this is the case on every device on the market from every company. The reason is that the altimeter is left on, and since it also can’t calibrate it – it just ‘floats’.
Hi,
I read somewhere on the Garmin 920 XT forum that turning Bluetooth off would resolve the issue of the disconnecting HRM and footpod.
Oops, answered to the wrong item. Sorry.
Well, I used the watch running for a few miles on a track. It dropped 97 feet from start to finish over a 40 minute workout! (This is a level track by the way.)
What a horrible sensor!
Got mine from CT a little over a month ago. Ran a marathon (PR’d, I must add), did a small triathlon, continued my training (have not missed recording of a single swimming lap to this date), shooting for some spring and fall races (what you normally would expect of someone who buys this type of watches)….
Now all I can say is that this watch is awesome and I use it as my everyday watch, finding that the first annoying alerts to MOVE are just what I needed to go and check the business around the office more often.
I read the above posts and relate to some of the issues reported, but I can’t say that I suffer from hardly any of them. The only issues that I have are: 1) intermittent disconnect/connect of HRM and footpod, which really is only annoying, and does not affect my training, and 2) variable reliability of the synchronization with Garmin Connect, which has improved with the latest releases.
Cheers
Hi,
I read somewhere on the Garmin 920 XT forum that turning Bluetooth off would resolve the issue of the disconnecting HRM and footpod.
Hi everyone!!
Ray, any update with the possibility to have an EU retailer with discounts?
Someone knows an EU shop to buy a 920XT with a good discount?
Thanks to all.
Wrong Current pace issue solved? Can anyone confirm that the “current pace issue” from 910 is solved on 920? See more: link to dcrainmaker.com PS. Thanks Ray for a great review
Ok I’ve finally pulled the trigger, 920xt, scorche and quick release kit ordered for Clever Training (the least I can do to support this site). Thought long and hard on whether to go with the Fenix 3, but decided on this in the end. Thanks for the VIP option and the reviews, saved me some bucks and gave me the information to make my decision!
Thanks for the support Grant via Clever Training, I appreciate it! Enjoy!
Will there be a review of the quick release kit, and whether or not it is more or less likely that your 920 ends up in the bottom of the lake? I was too terrified to get the quick release for my 910.
Probably not much more. It’s a bit too cold to swim with it in the rivers/lakes around me now, but I have been using it a lot on the quick release kit (cause I was too lazy to take it off after taking the photos in the review). It’s more or less the same in terms of design as the 910XT, just slightly different sizing. But screw-in pins, so your biggest risk is pre-mature rotation off the mount. No locking mechanism.
I recently swam 5700 yds with it in the pool (115 50’s on the minute). I’d gotten the day before in the mail. I really didn’t know how to use it so good test. Pleased that it captured 5650 yds.
I put the 920QR bracket on the it & then used it in the quick release band that I’d had from my 910xt. I figured if it fell out I’d be able to retrieve it & know then. Never a problem tight as ever. Still haven’t put the other band together yet.
Hi- I notice that the 920XT has a water proof rating of up to 50M. My question is this- I do a bit of scuba diving and would want to do a swim immediately afterwards so it would be convenient to have the watch on even during the dive (not a necessity but just convenient). The boat would take us out, we go under for the duration of the dive normally between 30 to 45 minutes, come back up and then I would go for a swim before returning to the boat to head back to shore. My dives typically are between 20M to 40M depth. Would the 920XT typically stand up within those dive depths.
Thanks in advance.
You could do it, and it would be fine from a spec standpoint. But, I’m not sure that I’d do it every day.
Thanks for the response.
Hi,
sorry to ask this again… I’d need to know if the wake up alarm can be set to vibrate only. I train very early in the morning and I’d need a watch that can wake me up, but not my wife. I have a FR620 and I couldn’t find a way to set it to vibrate only, so I’m considering an upgrade if this feature is available. Could someone with an FR920xt do a quick test for me?
Thanks!
SD
Sorry, I could not find a way to set the alarm to vibrate only either. I enabled the alarm and it made a surprisingly quiet chirping sound … in fact the vibrating was almost louder than the chirping. Then I tried disabling the Alert Tones, but that didn’t have any effect on the alarm. So it doesn’t look like there currently is a way to set it to vibrate only, but I do agree it would be useful (for instance I could see myself using a vibrate only alarm in meetings at work). Perhaps someone could create an app for this on Connect IQ…
This is a very interesting idea, thanks!
I’ve downloaded the SDK, let’s see if this is doable…
Thanks for all your efforts to keep us informed. Clever Training customer for several devices based on your reviews.
I apologize for a question not directly related to the 920XT features. As I transition to a new device, I normally wear/carry both the old and new device and I recognize that you routinely carry more than a few. Is there a convenient method to search and delete duplicate activities in Garmin Connect?
have a great day!
Ted D
Hi Ray,
Just got the fabric wrist band but without any instructions\manuals..
Do you have any idea where can i find them? Is it just straight forward removing the regular straps and put the naked hinges?
If you’ve done it yourself, can you please put some pics?
Thank you very much!
Alon
Hi Ray,
first I just want to say that I think you are doing a fantastic job. I haven’t seen any pages out there like yours.
I have a question that I actually believe I have read in one of your reviews, but I couldn’t find it again. I currently use a Polar RCX5, but am considering to convert to Garmin. Mainly because their bike computers seem far better than Polar’s (considering an Edge 1000). But for triathlon you will also need an ordinary watch for swimming and running (for instance the 920).
Is it a practical way to combine the use of a 920 and an Edge 1000 during the same activity? You start swimming with the 920, then switching to the bike with the edge already mounted, and finally going back to the 920 when running? Would this then be three different activities or could the sensor be sending to both units at the same time? Didn’t you have some comments on this issue in one of your reviews?
Best regards
Erlend (from Norway)
I do this sort of thing all the time (use 2 different devices for triathlon). I start the swim with the watch set for triathlon, hit the lap entering T1, hit the lap leaving T1 (switches watch to bike) and start the edge for the beginning of bike. I make sure edge is connected to sensors and GPS is locked prior to swim as well as set to NOT automatically shut off. I then hit the lap on the 920 when starting T2 (and stop the edge getting off bike) and then lap again when leaving T2 and starting run. There will be 2 files for bike, but it’s easy to delete in garmin connect (and Strava also).
Any guys out there rocking the red/white color scheme? Curious to know how it is holding up with respect to color fade or ability to clean up and whether it just looks way too female to be a guys watch.
Hey DC: Great review, as always. I love the 920 & getting more comfortable with it day by day. I use the Scosche armband heart monitor that you reviewed and LOVE IT compared to the Garmin straps. Two questions about the 920: after a workout, how do you quickly get back to the regular day time mode? Finally, I liked the old 910 for recording a strength training session by using the standard timer. Seems like the 920 just has the swim-bike-run-triathlon functions. How do you set up a fitness exercise recording function? Thanks very much for your time!
I didn’t read all the comments so it’s possible this was already asked.
1. Is Garmin Express the new Garmin Ant Agent? Meaning I was following your guidance for Garmin Express and when I went to install it, it said I had to remove the Ant Agent first.
2.In the initial setup and configuration at the end you state to unhook the watch from the docking station but I didn’t see where you said to hook it to it.
Otherwise it would appear you spent a good deal of time working on this. Excellent as always.
Yes Garmin ANT Agent has been replaced by Garmin Express.
Great review DC
Just one slight detail incorrect, to activate the sleep tracker you press down on the clock screen then the mode button not the enter key.
Yes – that is a recent change.
With version 2.50, it works with either button (or at least brings up the menu, I didn’t actually try and go to sleep). But strangely the animation is different between them.
Mode brings the menu up from the bottom.
Enter brings the menu in from the right.
Back closes the menu by shifting it right in either case.
With the Edge 810 and Forerunner 910, one could set up different bike configurations (wheel diameter, etc., including a “name” for the bike). I cannot find where this would be done with the 920XT. So how does it know the wheel size, crank length, etc? How does it know which bike I’ll be riding if I have more than one bike?
The 920xt and Edge 1000 use the sensor pool concept. The settings reside within each sensor. So if you are using the same sensor for multiple bikes then you would have to change the tire diameter, or let it auto calibrate. If you have different sensors on each bike then the Garmin will pickup the active sensors.
Just reading about the live tracking piece and was thinking…
Wouldn’t it be great if Garmin made a GSM/3G/4G dongle/pod that could connect to their devices via the Bluetooth connection and transmit the live tracking data? Would get around the no phones in races rule and if waterproof and worn under a swim cap and then transferred later to a wrist strap could track a full triathlon.
Toiling through hills on my long bike ride yesterday I came up with the same idea! I have a Galaxy S5 and it’s pretty huge to be lugging around during the run and impossible for a swim without a floatie. We just need a cellular transmitter with Bluetooth & Garmin Connect emulator for the watch connection.
I wonder if the Forerunner “930xt” will have a cellular transmitter embedded just like the Timex One GPS+. There will surely be a lot of development in smart watches the next two years and cellular watches may be mainstream by the time the 920xt is replaced.
Hi folks,
I ask for help please:
I want getting 920xt recording HRV (R-R) data, so I am able to get this Data to Firstbeat or Sporttrack without going via Internet.
So I downloaded program from there: FAQ | ATHLETE Support | Support | Firstbeat entzipped it and got
“enable_hrv_setting_file.fit” . I got 920xt connected via USB an copied that 1KB “enable….” into GARMIN/NEWFILE.as I do if I copie data to another device.And it seemed to work, but after disconnecting and connecting again , that file was not seen any longer.
My question is how can I transport this file.fit into watch?
Or how do you manage recording R-R so to see on PC later?
Thanks a lot for your answer.
Herzlichst Naomi
nach dem heutigen Lauf:
rund, rund geborgen
Kopf gesenkt und Augen zu
rund,rund geborgen
mit angewinkelten Beinen
die Arme um die Knie geschlungen
den Kopf in die Armbeuge geschmiegt
hat soviel
Wärme.
The file gets “consumed” and so correctly disappears. It is basically is a just a way to change a setting. Are you getting the HRV data now in your activities?
Hi Tim thanks for your answer.
I see. Well firtbeat gets Data from Gramin/ACTIVITY without showing R-R data directly. That´s pity! Because I want to see HR and HRV at the same picture graph.
Spottrack also takes ACTIVTIY from Garmin, but i haven´t no idea jet whre to find R-R data and showing it same time in a picture graph.
Herzliche Grüße!
Naomi
ps. :
Does anyone know if “Kubios HRV” can read R-R Data out of Garmin FR920xt , when firstbeat “enable_hrv_setting_file.fit” file´s sent bevor into the watch?
Thanks you!
Herzlichst Naomi
Thank you very much also to my teachers :Denny Dreyer, Wim Luijpers,Benita Cantinie,Christian Larsen,Moshe Feldenkrais und ganz ganz ganz besonders dir, Jack Heggie und dir, Terry Laughlin! Was wäre ich ohne euch!!!? :-))
Is there a way it can be programmed to read or record in Nautical and not statute miles I use the 910XT currently and looking at this new watch with interest. I use for Performance Sea Kayaking also finding that mapping coverage on garmin Connect does not extend very far from Land perhaps Garmin have not considered the needs of serious open water swimmers and Sea Kayakers / Surf Ski users.
Somebody has implemented a data field to show speed in knots link to apps.garmin.com so sounds like these sort of things will be possible.
Help i got a TW version and i’m stuck with firmware 2.0. It wont allow me to use connectIQ. I tried updating to 2.6 by copying the file in folder but it wont work. Any idea for workaround
Smart notifications…do you have to leave the Garmin Connect App running in the background for them to work? 95% of the time when I close the app (on my iPhone 6, iOS 8) by double clicking the home button and swiping up on the app (so I’m not just minimizing the app, but actually closing it) I loose the bluetooth connection between my iPhone and 920XT and thus my smart notifications. Very rarely, it stays connected to my iPhone and I still get smart notifications (until I open the Garmin Connect App later on and then close it again, loosing the Bluetooth connection). Is that the way it’s designed to work, or should the smart notifications work even when the Garmin Connect app isn’t open? Thanks!
Yes, the app needs to be running in the background.
What is the range of Bluetooth for smart notifications?
Hi Ray, in the comparison table if Garmin site, I can see swimming workout in Epix, but no in 920xt… Is it a mistake? Is there an update coming to add this function also in the 920?
Hi, is there a way control the backlight on/off manually during an activity and auto on on key press or event with timeout otherwise?
Hi, Thank you for your best review. Before I buy this I would like to know that the GPS chip is the same one as Fenix 3 or not.
Hi Ray, quick question for the 920xt users, what happens if you turn on the watch indoors and the unit doesn’t find a signal? do you get a screen pop up to say ‘are you indoors’? Reason i ask is on the 910xt you do, and selecting yes shuts off the gps, so even if you do go out (i.e. brick session on turbo to quick run round the block), you don’t get pace info for the run portion.
Assuming you are talking about running then if there is no GPS fix, pace/distance will come from the internal accelerometer or a foot pod if you are using one. As such you don’t get those “are you indoors” messages on this device (same as a 620 as well). However before starting a run you can see whether you get “GPS is Ready” (see one of the pics further up). If you are on a treadmill or a turbo you would select the Run Indoor or Bike Indoor activity profile which already has GPS set off as default.
Sorry if it’s been asked, but if I wear the HRM during the day and while sleeping will it record HR data with steps/sleep data or do I need to have an activity going to record and see the data?
Thanks for any info. I love the site and used this review to convince my wife I needed the upgrade from my Nike Sportwatch.
You would need to be doing an activity to record HR.
Thanks Tim. I figured it would be that way.
Do I need to have the HRM-run for the running dynamics or can I use the wahoo tickr run? Thanks
Jonathan: As far as I know, the running dynamics is proprietary of Garmin, and can only be obtained with the Garmin heart monitor. Ray has comment on this issue numerous time before if I recall correctly.
Edgar
Thanks Edgar, I was trying to find Ray’s comments on this but was failing at my search efforts.
Correct. There have been pushes to open it up to an ANT+ spec, but Garmin continues to push back there.
At the end of the day, it’s OK I guess. They’re just killing their own baby there. Their insistence on keeping it private runs counter to the entire point of ANT+ (which they own). So companies are just going to Bluetooth Smart for those metrics instead (and close to half a dozen have done exactly that, with many of them originally starting on ANT+ but giving up since they couldn’t get a spec formalized). Shrug.
Ray, I’ve been using the new 920XT for three weeks and enjoying it. I woke up this morning and it was frozen at 58% charged and the time I took it off the charger. Have you heard of any issues with the device not working so early in ownership? Thanks.
Yes, I have had the watch freeze on me a few times. It was always after getting a notification displayed on the watch. Each time I had to connect it to the charger to get it going again. For sure a bug. Hate to have this happen during a race. Garmin go fix this!
If you’re running the beta version of the software (or heck, even if not), then it’s worthwhile e-mailing the beta bug e-mail address that’s listed in the readme file.
I’ve had the notification freeze at the top a couple times when using 2.50 firmware. It usually seemed to happen when I had a couple text messages come in close together.( ie. the first notification hadn’t cleared before the next message came in).
I wasn’t near my charger at the time and just waiting for a few minutes cleared the notification and everything seemed normal.
I’ve updated to the beta now and will monitor it to see if it continues to happen.
@Hans I had a similar freeze described by Robin in FW 2.5. I just waited and it cleared. That being said, are you really going to have notifications on during a race?
Does the heartrate monitor work with the Runmeter app?
I listen to music while running, if I use the Garmin app, will it tell me thru my earphones when I’m out of my heart rate zone?
No, it doesn’t pass through. You’d need either a Bluetooth Smart strap, or I believe Runmeter will support the ANT+ straps if you have an adapter for it (one of the Wahoo Fitness adapters).
I had such high hopes for this watch. I understand there may be integration issues with MY Fitness Pal, but I don’t understand the issues with the constant connecting, dropping, and reconnecting of the HRM and my inability to connect a foot pod. Garmin keeps saying they will get a software update, but I see these issue have persisted since 2013.
Odd, that’s a new one. I’d ring up Garmin support and have the unit swapped out. Definitely not normal and also definitely not a software/update issue. Sounds like a faulty antenna.
(Also note: They can’t have persisted since 2013, since it just came out 3 months ago)
@Bob, MFP is syncing fine with me. If there were a problem, this would be a Garmin Connect problem, not one with the watch.
As for the foot pod, there’s a thread over in the Garmin forums about it. There are a few people who have had issues with dropping sensors. Several have had success with turning bluetooth off. If the symptoms persist, I’d contact Garmin and get it replaced.
FYI: If you have the HRM-Run, the footpod is serves no purpose for outdoor runs.
Hi Ray, great review “as usual”.
I was wondering. When runing I use 4 fields of visualization, but the 920XT always put the label with GPS strenth on the top of display hidding the top fields names. Is there any way to hide it from the display?
Thanks
Hi, thx for this review, it’s amazing.
Did you compare cadence from band against a foot pod? I wonder if the sensor is as effective.
Thx!
Elvis
Yes, I’ve compared it previously within the FR620 review. For cadence, it’s identical using the HRM-RUN. When using the wrist detection, it’s also identical – except for thew few moments when you might grab a drink from a waterbottle or such.
I found the step count to be very inaccurate due to the simple fact that when you start any activity such as cycling the watch continues to count steps by the watch movement. I can wake up and go straight to my bike, after 15km ride I have walked about 3000 steps + the bike ride. Even driving a car increases the step count a lot. This affects the whole activity measurement. Is Garmin aware of that? My wife’s Basis 1 can automatically recognize walk, biking, run and even sleep time just by the movement characteristics. On the 920XT switching the sleep mode on and off is a pain. This must be easy to correct with a firmware update.
I have found the same to be true of the step count – when driving it counts steps and Iwish there was just a way to turn it off.
I was really surprised to read on this website: link to fellrnr.com, that with the GLONASS the accuracy was actually worse. The gentleman seems quite solid in his knowledge. I was curious about your opinion on this.
He only tests on a single short segment over and over again. For some, GLONASS improves accuracy, whereas for others it doesn’t. It just depends on conditions. For me, and for many – it improves it. For some conditions, it won’t.
Thank you, I can understand how it doesn’t help, just strange that it would actually make things worse, but then it depends how it combines the data in the software I guess. There is fair amount of “filtering” of error data both in GPS as well as in HRMs, so the best algorithm wins, I suppose. Of course the tests need to be valid as well. Your insights are very useful and helpful, thank you.
The issue here is external validity.
Any test that is done (with an appropriate protocol) is probably “correct” for the conditions tested, but the big question is how well do the test results apply to your life.
If you’re planning to run a road race on a specific road on a specific course that you can train on as much as you like the best test is to run that course a billion times with a bunch of watches in a bunch of different configurations (GLONASS +/-, for example) and see which results are best (see: Precision & Accuracy).
If you’re looking for a general description of how a bunch of different watches handle a range of city and country conditions the best thing to do is run with a bunch of different watches in different locations in different configurations (GLONASS +/-, for example) and see what the results are (see: Precision & Accuracy).
Personally, I will say that my 620 gave me much better GPS capture speed (faster) and accuracy than my 610 did, and my 920 blows by (now sold) 620 out of the water. And I have GLONASS enabled.
No disrespect, but: “If you’re looking for a general description of how a bunch of different watches handle a range of city and country conditions the best thing to do is run with a bunch of different watches in different locations in different configurations (GLONASS +/-, for example) and see what the results are (see: Precision & Accuracy).”, than the whole purpose of these web pages is useless. I am trying to avoid Start>buy>try>return>goto_Start loops. Specially with multiple devices. Furthermore, if I were to use them in a known situation, I don’t need them. If I know the path fairly precisely, I can just use pedometer and stop watch, and get all the data I need. The rest is just entertainment. The GPS is useful in places I am not that well familiar with.
The manufacturers will always tell me good things about their products, but I am looking to these sites for impartial inputs. I really do appreciate these inputs, but I was trying to prevent trial and error.
Garmin now claims that the main advantage (besides cosmetics) of the Fenix 3 is
better navigation. Now what do I do, wait for it to try it, or by it and exchange it. Again, please understand, no disrespect, but this really turns this into a social club.
I do include in my tests detail of how it compares against watches and measuring of distance. The detail of replicating the exact same (down to the meter) running or cycling route that’s been properly measured with a tape-like device for anything more than a mile is incredibly difficult to do (both practically and repeatably). Hence why I look at multiple watches at once and talk to how and where they differ, and post those results accordingly.
Two philosophies on testing exist:
1) Test X watches a million times over a single course with a “known” distance and see how they change vs the “known” gold standard.
2) Test X watches a million times over a bunch of different courses with “known” distances and see how they all compare to each other and the “known” gold standard.
As you say, if you’re going to use them in a known situation you don’t need them. Therefore, one might surmise you’re interested in buying the single watch that on a given day with a given set of environmental factors (snow, clouds, sun, buildings, trees) has the highest chance of not giving you a super weird recording.
No disrespect, but you missed the point of my first post. Ray takes a bunch of watches on all his outings of different courses etc and reports the results back. Fellrnr takes a bunch of watches on a bunch of outings over a single course and reports the results back. The onus remains with “us” to figure out which type of test we prefer.
You are absolutely correct. I should be more careful reading your articles which are definitely helpful. I apologize if I was too brash. I do appreciate your site very much.
I’ve found that the 920xt to display the best GPS tracks I ever seen after the 2.7 firmware update. It almost always gets me within 1-2 meters, but is usually accurate enough that it gets me through crosswalks. Before, that update it was on par with the 910xt, but worse then the Ambit2S.
I also ran for a couple of weeks (before the update) with 2 different 920xt watches at the same time enabling GLONASS on only one of them. In my area I didn’t seem any significant difference (Easter Massachusetts, US). I turned on GLONASS for my last 2 runs and GPS tracks look a little cleaner, especially around curves.
There’s a thread with examples at the Garmin Forums: link to forums.garmin.com
Is 2.7 the current Beta? I’ve been resisting the Beta since I have several outstanding issues with Garmin support, and I don’t want them to say “we don’t officially support the Beta”.
There are 2 numbers for Firmware on the 920xt. For the watch, 2.5 is the current stable release and 2.64 is the beta. For GPS, the most recent firmware update is 2.7. You can update the GPS firmware without using the beta watch firmware.
Ah, ok. I am at GPS version 2.7. (I was thinking the last update actually brought it up to 2.5. Guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention.) I haven’t noticed any particular difference in the GPS performance before/after that update. But it is supposed to fix open water swimming, which I really want to test out. I just haven’t had time to make it to the beach.
How do you know what version of GPS firmware is installed?
Settings->System->About
Thanks for all your hard work reviewing Ray, much appreciated.
I got sick of my Fenix 2 crashing, so I’ve ordered the 920xt for my wife and I’m getting my trusty old 910xt back off her for now.
I’ll be ordering a Fenix 3 as well as I need the navigation but not until you’ve done your proper review as I always like to hear what you have to say about a new GPS watch before I get it.
I’m fed up of my Fenix 2 just randomly re-starting and losing data. Going to see if I can return it as it’s clearly got problems and not getting fixed!
So far the activity tracking features are kind of useless for me for two main reasons: 1- The step count keeps active during any non-step related activity or even increasing a lot when I am just driving. I wake up go straight to my bike and ride 15 Km and the watch shows I have walked 2500 steps ??? my wife’s Basis B1 can automatically know the difference from walking to jogging to riding so it does not seem to be that difficult to correct this. As cycling is my main activity I ended up having 14.0000 steps on days I have probably walked 4000 if much. 2- You have to press the buttons 3 times to switch the sleep mode on and 3 more to switch it off, seriously? Polar V800 and also the Basis B1 can just determine the sleep mode by the watch movement or no-movement. Is Garmin aware of these issues or I am the only one complaining?
After few running, nordic skiing and swimming activities and every day use I just want to write that I like the 920XT overall performance. Previously I had FR620, but garmin was so kind and allowed me to swap this never reliably working device for a new 920XT. It is a big step forward from 620 to 920! And many thanks to rainmaker for his great review!
Interested in the 920XT -HRM Run bundle through clever training. Previous posts here suggest they had it at one time(as recently as mid Dec) I don’t see it on Website and when I called was told didn’t know if they would carry it. ( I called before I checked these posts)
Thx for any info!
Hi Steve-
It’s still there, just select the drop-down option from the link, which says “With HRM-RUN”. Enjoy!
I see – thx and now I see above where it mentions the drop-down option- duh-
Thx for all the reviews!
Hi DC
Does the 920 count calories while in Drill mode?
I am having a hard time keeping my 920 and my Stages Power meter paired – even if I attach my watch to my bars vs keeping it on my wrist. Do you know if this is a Garmin or Stages issue and if there is any way to fix it? Aside from purchasing a separate head unit…
I haven’t heard of any FR920XT/Stages issues. FR910XT sure, but not the 920XT. I’d definitely reach out to Stages.
Thank you for the review
Can you tell me if the giant ridesense cadence and speed sensor would work with this?
thanks again
Hi Ray thanks 4 the review
do you know if is posible to track by 920 the speed and cadence on Real Muin Turbo trainer from Elite?
I have no idea how to connect them – the watch cannot find any new sensors just apart the wrist when I use indoor cycling mode:(
Cheers
Is it possible to connect the Garmin 920XT to Garmin Training Center as i have al my data also there over dthe years and not only on Garmin Connect online.
Yes you can.
Hi, Ray, and ty for yet another great review!
I have been using Garmin FR210 for a couple of years (picked them up thanks to your review) and I really liked the features, form-factor and design. I used them as an everyday watch as well. The only problem that I had with them was not being able to combine time and pulse on one screen. I trained with HRM so I needed constantly switch between HeartRate and Time pages. Not a big deal but still. Otherwise – great watch.
Unfortunately about 5 months ago holder for watch strap broke but Garmin was kind enough to provide a new one free of charge. Now, after over 3 years of usage watch strap broke. Even in several places. So I guess it’s just plastic that reached it’s age. Due to design (a one solid body) it is impossible to replace a watch strap. Garmin can replace it but it will cost almost as much as brand new FR210.
So I need to find a new GPS watch that I can use for mostly running but also for occasional bike and swimming sessions. So is FR 920 XT worth getting or is there other watch model that you would recommend?
I’d definitely go with the FR920XT. Though, if you’re only occasionally doing cycling or swimming you might want to wait another month or two for the Vivoactive – half the price (check out my posts on it). Otherwise, no problems with the 920XT.
Thank your for the idea. I’m not sure if Vivoactive design is attractive for me nor if it will survive if I will accidentally hit something with it. I have seen that Garmin also has Fenix 3 coming and there will be Sapphire variant. So If I will stick with Garmin then I guess I will go with FR920XT or Fenix3. On the cheaper side there are FR220 and FR620. I like buttons and I hate touch =)
How do you find 920XT as daily watch? Do you “feel” it sitting there? Does it scare people around you a lot? =)
Are you planing to review Fenix3?
Yes, I plan a review of the F3 once I have a final production unit.
As for the FR920XT, for me it’s a touch big visually as a day to day watch (though it works just fine and I don’t really notice). But to each their own.
I will be waiting for your F3 review and thank you for all your replies.
I used to have Casio G-Shock before I moved to Nike+ and then Garmin GPS watches so I guess FR920XT won’t be THAT huge comparing to G-Shock. At least on your hand or female hand it looks pretty nice and “normal”. The only “issue” is the color scheme. I’m not sure how I will look like in a suite and with that watch on my wrist. At the same time people are aware what those things are so one can find understanding.
HRM-Run – is it something worth getting? I have elastic HRM that came with FR210 and a part from one occasion (I had 220 pulse according to it while I was just standing and checking my completely normal pulse with my hand) it works really well. I guess may be battery that need replacement soon. I’m not sure if I will benefit from it in any way. Sure it’s cool stats but I’m not a pro athlete so I don’t now if I need it.
I planned to get footpod this spring (for cadence) but now as my watch need replacement and if I understand correct 920XT can do all this itself – I’m not sure if I need it anymore.
In general I don’t find the HRM-RUN stats all that useful. It’s fun “neato!” type data the first few weeks, but then you sorta gloss over it. Just my two cents…
I have been in contact with Garmin Support and they said that one must have new HRM-RUN in order to get VO2, cadence, ground contact and vertical oscillation. In your review you mentioned that for VO2 and cadence it’s not required. It’s cheaper to get a HRM bundle (watch+strap) than a new footpod so I guess I will go for it. So far I think cadence will be the only useful stat for me. But as you say – it’s neat to have extra statistics =)
Garmin support also confirmed that watch should make it to 50m under water and that information provided in documentation (5ATM) is not correct. As one might now at 50m it’s 6ATM preasure, not 5ATM.
Still waiting for Fenix 3 release (somewhere around March) and your review to make a decision which one to pick. If my watch strap will break (any day now) I guess I will have to pocket it or just hold it in the hand while running. I can deal with it for a while. I’m not running atm so March is about right month when I go out and start running.
“I have been in contact with Garmin Support and they said that one must have new HRM-RUN in order to get VO2, cadence, ground contact and vertical oscillation. In your review you mentioned that for VO2 and cadence it’s not required.”
They’re wrong. Simple as that. It happens more often than you think. 😉 The unit itself provides cadence by default, no strap needed at all. VO2 is provided by any ANT+ strap, as it leverages HRV/RR, which is required by the ANT+ specification for all ANT+ heart rate straps. Thus by default as long as you have an ANT+ HR strap, you’re good to go. And since all Garmin straps are ANT+…donezo.
“As one might now at 50m it’s 6ATM preasure, not 5ATM.”
There’s actually a considerable amount of debate on that topic. I’ve asked far and wide, and the general consensus within the industry is 5ATM = 50m. I’ve heard the reasoning on the +10m thing by adding the baseline atmosphere, but honestly I’m just not sure I buy it. Given that the entire interwebs seem to agree that 50m = 5ATM, I’m kinda sticking with it.
Cheers!
Sad to hear that Garming support can be incorrect. Or maybe it’s just sale-persons who are handling the support so they might not have exact product knowledge or use products themselves. It’s good to have you, who use them often and know what works and what doesn’t. It’s nice to get tips about what features are important and how a product compares to other products. Good to know that watch can provide cadence without any extra sensors or footpods. This will save me a couple of $$. I wish there was possible to buy just the new sensor that I could place on my already existing HRM band. But I guess it’s the sensor itself that costs most. On the other hand it might be nice to have an extra HRM (home/work).
At 50m it’s 6ATM. At least what is being taught by diving organisations like PADI or similar. They sure have a scientific proof for that. I guess for the industry it’s easier to write 5=50 (both fives) than explaining for those who didn’t take a diving certificate why there is 6ATM pressure at 50m. Hardly anyone will go that deep with GPS watch (too bad there is no underwater GPS-like solution) so it’s rather “can I swim with them or just wash hand”.
6 ATM is correct in terms of total pressure. But really for practical purposes its more important to have the pressure be relative to the pressure at the surface, not a vacuum so 5 is the better value.
I don’t know what you mean by “better value”. I think it should be “correct” value =) But for the most people that difference is probably not important.
Regarding ATMs and depths, here is my pinch of salt. Being a divemaster I quite pay attention to the pressure 😉 Will simplify it a bit (I do not involve differet water salinity, changes in the pressure due to atmospheric changes, etc).
The pressure of 1 atm is reached at the sea level on the surface. When you dive, every 10 meters of depth give you extra 1 ATM. So at 10m depth the pressure is 2ATM and vice versa:
Surface: 1ATM
10m depth 2ATM
20m depth 3ATM
30m depth 4ATM
40m depth 5ATM
50m depth 6ATM
and vice versa.
So when the watch is tested for 5ATM, it should withstand dive to 40 meters. Which is by the way limit for most recreational divers.
PS: At depths around 50 meters things start to get funny 🙂
I just wanted to give everyone a tip on the footpod issue I was having. I changed the battery and found it would not work. I found a Garmin Tech who had a neat trick that worked great!
1) Insert the battery upside down into the battery cover and hold it in the cover for greater than 1 minute.
2) Flip the battery over and insert the correct way.
3)Search for the footpad on your 920XT, while tapping the footpad on a pad of paper.
4) Footpod will be found, and you can connect.
Flipping the battery must discharge the footpad somehow, but I will remember this tip when changing the battery.
Hi folks,
Analog + Digitial + ExtrasVersion 1.1 App
Definitely a favorite! Lost the short cut though of just pressing Enter a couple of times to put into sleep mode (but seems to be across all connect IQ watch faces)
Herzlichst!
Naomi
I received the 920XT for Christmas and absolutely love it. I’m really excited by all of the new features it offers and am enjoying all of the training potential that it offers. The one thing missing that I assumed would be included in its features is the “auto lap by position” I do some mountain bike racing in the winter and the races are on a short course for a 40 minute period so lap times are important. My 310XT had that available as many other Garmin products do. Does anyone else miss this feature?
Hi. Great review. thx
Do you know if I can connect my new 920 with Tanita weight scale 1000?
best k
No it does not. There is hope with Connect IQ though, once the ‘apps’ portion is released here soon.
I DC-Rainmaker. I find your posts always very useful. I am an amateur triathlete, but when it comes to training gadgets, I consider my self with a great deal of experience. I trained almost two years consistently with the 910xt, almost every day, twice each day, and apart from changing my HR-Band, I have never had any issue at all.
I actually loved the 910xt. It was extremely functional, and if you knew how to use it correctly, you could not just train smart, but train very intelligently! I always programmed my run and bike workouts for the entire period (3+1 weeks) and downloaded them to the device. I used it in lots of competitions, by just using the data fields, you could gain a powerful insight on your performance.
I bought this week the 920xt, and I am very disappointed. Honestly, today it doesn’t offer you ANYTHING different from the 910xt. Even more! It offers you LESS than the 910xt.
I use different heart-rate zones for running and riding. The 920xt can’t tell the difference, so it shows you while running either the default hr zones or the bike hr zones. There is not a HR Graph available!! For me that is the single most important data field regarding heart rate! It showed the time behavior of the HR and it was plotted using hr zones in the 910xt. I still downloaded the HR Graph from Garmin IQ and is completely useless. You don’t see any axis, even you don’t see any numbers!!
While swimming, I could use two data fields (lap pace & lap distance) on the 910xt and watch them dynamically on the water. That is how I managed to pace myself on the swimming pool. On the 920xt the font of the numbers displayed is so small, that you can not read anything!!
The only thing that gives me hopes on not losing my money while buying the 920xt is the Connect IQ. They have such a great potential to offer new data fields!:
– Velocity zones
– Time in velocity zone
– A (useful and decent) HR Graph
– Power from speed. Allowing the user to configure it according to it’s own trainer power curve
– Cardiac/Speed drift (%)
– ST. Deviation of velocity/HR
– Stride length
I will try to program my own data fields to try to justify buying the 920xt. It is also a shame that on the 910xt the pedaling smoothness and torque efficiency are not displayed. So as you see, Garmin is pushing you to invest 200 USD more on a device which today, offers you LESS than the Garmin 910xt. Yes, the VO2 estimation is a very fancy feature, but the calculation is not very different from any approximation available on the internet. Yes, the Wi-Fi automatic uploading is also an advantage, but it does not always work.
Sadly, it is likely that they will continue developig the 920xt and not the 910xt. So it will become useless at some point to buy the 910xt given the updates.
However, if you are looking for functionality, I will definitely recommend you to buy the 910xt and save 200 USD.
Greetings!
Jose
@Jose: You need to read the manual.
1. HR zones exist on the 920xt and are fully customizable on the watch or Garmin Connect. There are 3 customizable activities Run, Bike, and Default.
2. HR Graph is missing, but you can get that now at Connect IQ if you so desire.
3. Swimming can be set up to have 2 fields and it’s MUCH easier to see then on the 910xt. Also once you learn how to use the rest lap screen, you’ll never want to use the 910 for swimming.
4. I find pacing for long swims much easier to do with an alert instead of looking at the watch. When I want to keep a pace (i.e 1:22 min/100 yards), I set the watch to buzz every 41 seconds.
I loved my 910xt and it got me through racing and training 2 Ironmans and a number of other races. The 920xt to date is better in every aspect (except vibration strength) then the 910xt and does a whole lot more then the 910xt.
Does the device capture heart rate data when used as an activity tracker like the vivosmart? Or is the heart rate monitor only used when running etc?
Neither the Vivosmart or the FR920XT captures HR 24×7 – only when in an activity (and only with a HR strap).
Thanks for the clarification. I did not know that.
Ray,
Have you heard any rumblings of a time frame for latest firmware update? I got a “no idea, I have same issue too” response from Garmin. Frustrating that I have to use my old 220 when I run on treadmill because of the footpod/heart rate sensor continuous dropout with the 920. Thanks!
No, I haven’t heard of any timeframes. Sorry!
My 920t seems to have developed a bug. Whenever I pause an activity (both running or cycling) because I’m at lights, or need to sort something out on the bike, when I resume the activity there is a spike on the GPS map adding approx. 0.5 miles to my distance making that split very quick. Any thoughts?
Definitely sounds odd. I’d do a hard reset of the unit and see if that fixes it.
I got the 920xt for Christmas and have been using since, it’s great.
I just purchased the speed/cadence sensor (from Clever training).
I can pair the watch with the sensors and it shows that they are paired.
However, I can not get the actual cadence to show up on the watch.
How do I view the cadence while spinning on my indoor trainer?
Thank You!!!!!
Hi,
ive had my 920 for over two months now and it has worked flawlessly when swimming. However, I have just changed from a 25m pool to a 20m pool and the watch is now dropping an enormous amount of laps. I am still pushing off the walls the exact same way (settings are correctly on 20m pool length,watch on the same wrist). could the accelerometer be adjusting to the new length or could it be something else?
thanks in advance,
Adam
Hi,
I have been using Nike+ GBP Watch for the last 2.5 years and have about 450 run on them. I have now bought the 920xt and wanted to know if I can transfer all this Nke+ data onto Garmin software ? If so do let me know.
Thanks,
Samvit.
Hey, just bought a 920XT last week and i’m so happy. Sold my old 910XT and let’s be happy, yet… But i have a question: How can i check battery status? My last session i got for the first time the low battery alarm. When i got home connected the charger and found it has about 10% yet. Is there any place i can find the battery status other then the little symbol on top that its not so precise????
Tis again for your attention , as usual.
Im from Hongkong and just bought 920XT from US for 2 days, GPS version 2.7, software version 2.64. I switched GLONASS on., and waited until full GPS Signal,
.
My 920XT the GPS line is not following the straight road, notice that the GPS is also cutting the corner at the top (i didn’t run through the building).
.
If i return this watch, do you think another watch will improve the situation? Or every other 920xt GPS accuracy will be the same?
.
Do you suggest any other watches that will have better GPS Tracking ?
,
link to connect.garmin.com
It depends. If you’re running in Honk Kong proper with the large buildings that are there, then honestly it probably won’t differ from company to company to be honest. Looking at that area, it does look like quite a few buildings.
If you’re out in lesser-building locales and it’s still sketchy, I’d try doing a reset if you haven’t yet.
Hello Ray, this is the best multi sport watch in swimming mode? my tomtom is a disaster. I’m thinking to trade for this one
In general, I find that from a basic swim recognition standpoint the two watches are somewhat similar. Meaning that if you can’t get the TomTom to recognize your swim style – I’d be skeptical that the Garmin will.
I have two questions. First, if you do a “free-form multisport” where you change sports during a workout (as in doing a brick) will it record each one as a separate activity? With the 910 if I do a bike-run-bike-run workout, changing the sports each time will create 4 separate workouts, with a separate distance for each, rather than one activity with a total distance.
Second, can the 920 use multiple ANT accessories at the same time? For example, could I use the HR monitor and a cadence sensor on my bike at the same time? Or the HR monitor and footpod on an indoor track together?
Dear All,
Have you experience the 920xt freeze upon connecting to computer?
My unit froze yesterday after 10km run. I could only see the “Garmin” logo – nothing else, so restarted the watch with 15sec-long power button push. No data loss.
I went through all the posts and found some experiencing the freeze at the main screen = not my case.
Can it be related to the data transfer over the wifi? I guess not…
I haven’t seen any freezes myself. I’d keep an eye on it, but also keep a mental note of which USB port you’re plugging into to see if any patterns emerge.
Mine does the same! Garmin logo freeze after every upload!
Same here. Often a freeze with the Garmin-logo and the only solution is de 15s power-button.
It seems like your 10% discount code (DCR10JKW) doesn’t work anymore 🙁 can u tell me if there is only something wrong or if it is not valid anymore?
thx Martin
Hi Martin, the 10% code can’t be used on this, you have to sign up for the DC vip membership for $5 and then you can get the discount, but you also get quicker shipping+ other benefits, and you save way more than the cost of the VIP membership.
You will have to buy the membership first so you get your personal discount code and then you place your order and put the code in once you get it, it comes on an email in about 5 min. That’s how I ordered mine and it worked fine.
Thx @Grant didn’t notice this when i tried it in Dezember. But then i was still in Europe. Now I am finally in the States. Still a great deal! Thx @dcrainmaker
Thanks Grant for answering, and thanks Martin for the support!
Glad to help, mine 920xt is arriving this Wednesday, #soooexcited!
Will a 310xt quick release kit fit on the 920xt?
No, not compatible unfortunately.
I have a frustrating problem with uploading of Skiing activities (cross-country). I have not managed to upload any Skiing activities via Garmin Express (Mac) – “Unfortunately, it was not possible to synchronize all files from this unit with Garmin Express” or via the Garmin Connect (iPhone) – “Synchronization failed serverfault”. I have read on forums that others have the same problem. No problem with Running activities. I have the firmware 2.50. Anyone have a solution or know if Garmin has a solution in the pipeline?
Hi
I mostly run and mountain bike. Then 70% of the time I do run on treadmill and the rest outside. I am undecided between the Fenix3 and the 920XT. My understanding is that they’re both good for running and cycling and they can both measure indoor runnings (although I’ll definitely get a footpod to get more accurate results). Is it correct?
At this point I believe is just a decision based on which one I do like more. I honestly prefer rounded watches and also I believe that Fenix3 looks nicer considering you need to use it every day and looks better when you dress something like a suit.
So I am planning to buy the watch, footpod and bike mount. I have just a doubt. I do have the wahoo tickr run. Reading the review I understood I can use it with both Fenix3 and 920XT to get HR details, right? Should I go and buy also the Garmin hrm-run? Does it worth it? Buying along with the watch is only 50$ more. Buying after is 99$.
Correct on getting the footpod. But generally suck indoors without it.
And yup, also correct that with the TICKR and either the FR920XT or Fenix3, you’ll get HR details. I personally wouldn’t get the HRM-RUN unless you really want Vertical Oscillation and Ground Contact Time. For me, I find that information got old after just a short time with the unit. It’s not really actionable, and I’ve yet to hear anyone give training or racing guidance utilizing it.
Thanks to take time to respond. Really appreciated! I love your reviews and I am actually taking the garmin based on your comments. 🙂
I don’t really care about VO and GCT so I’ll follow your suggestion. There are also many other HR straps that I can get later if I get my wahoo broken.
Going to US on Feb 28th and remain there for the entire week. It seems Fenix3 will be on Amazon by March 1st. Hope it will be released at that date. I do prefer Fenix3 than 920xt as it looks nicer and less plastic.
Sorry, just another question. You put this into the accessory table above:
GARMIN OUT-FRONT BIKE MOUNT (FOR ALL EDGE UNITS, 310XT/910XT/920XT WITH QUICK RELEASE)
How can I use with the 920xt? Is there a specific way to attach it to the mount? Does it support the Fenix3 as well?
The quick release kit is what you’re looking for. Each FR version has a unique quick release kit. I’ve included photos of it up within the cycling section.
The Fenix3 does not have one at this time.
Ray，
Any new regarding watch able to continue workouts in with plug the adapter during charging without sacrifice activity ?
thank
No change there at this point.
New SW version 2.70
link to forums.garmin.com!
Ray,
Do you have any idea when they update the manual for something like this? Sounds like some of these features might be a bit on the hidden side. I just checked the website, and the manual hasn’t been updated since September.
They often times do it about quarterly or so after the feature updates go out. There really hasn’t been any changes since September feature-wise (aside from those in beta, that just released now).
I’ll poke and ask.
2.7 added these features over 2.64
-Mute smart notifications: Hold “…” and scroll down one
-Manual Map Zoom: When viewing the map, Hold “…”, select “Zoom” and use the arrows to zoom in or out
-Lock buttons: While in an activity Hold “…”, scroll down 2 to “Lock Device”. Hold “…” to unlock
– Lock buttons: How would you go about utilising this in a tri race, I mean you press start on the tri to start your swim leg, and then have to hold “…” then scroll down to ‘lock device’ and press enter. Meanwhile everyone is swimming off. I would of thought you might be able to set it to auto lock once an activity started and then hold “…” to unlock quickly when out of the swim leg. I would lock for OWS when there is a high chance of the lap button being hit, then unlock out of the water, leaving unlocked for bike and run if I wanted other data pages during run.
How are you guys going to use this feature or are you not going to bother using it in races, I have not completed a tri with 920 yet so unsure how easy it is for the lap button to be pressed. Done a few OWS races and didn’t get pumped there yet but they are less crowded than the start of a tri as easier to spread out from beach and get out front away from swinging arms and kicking feet.
– Lock buttons: How would you go about utilising this in a tri race, I mean you press start on the tri to start your swim leg, and then have to hold “…” then scroll down to ‘lock device’ and press enter. Meanwhile everyone is swimming off. I would of thought you might be able to set it to auto lock once an activity started and then hold “…” to unlock quickly when out of the swim leg. I would lock for OWS when there is a high chance of the lap button being hit, then unlock out of the water, leaving unlocked for bike and run if I wanted other data pages during run.
How are you guys going to use this feature or are you not going to bother using it in races, I have not completed a tri with 920 yet so unsure how easy it is for the lap button to be pressed. Done a few OWS races and didn’t get bumped there yet but they are less crowded than the start of a tri as easier to spread out from beach and get out front away from swinging arms and kicking feet.
Ray/Olu,
I tried using the zoom today, and found it not intuitive. Maybe you have some pointers?
1. I selected a course that I was going to run. Looked at the zoomed out (default) map and my little marker (current position) is not in the center (no big deal). The center of the total course was in the center of the screen. Tried to zoom in to see where I was relative to the start, and the map zoomed to the center, not to my location. Is there a “pan” option? This is probably only a feature prior to starting an activity.
2. After using the “…” and selecting zoom, how do you get out of zoom mode? I ended up pressing “…” 3 times to get back to the map without zoom controls. Then I could change screens. I had assumed that I would be able to press and hold “…” again to “unzoom”, but that didn’t work.
3. I didn’t find that zooming out worked at all while following a course. The down button did zoom in (down is +? but that’s a different story). But the up button didn’t do anything.
I will admit I didn’t really play around to try and figure this out during my run. So it’s entirely possible that I just missed something. But I figured I would ask the experts, before digging in and trying to figure it out on my own.
1 – Once you’ve started the course (and I think started the activity) the map will center on your current location. There’s no pan function, hopefully that may be added in the future.
2 – Use the Back button. When in Zoom mode it’s not Lap, but acts as Back to exit Zoom.
3 – Works fine for me once I go into Zoom mode; down is + and up is -.
Hi David. I haven’t been able to play with the navigation functions since I’ve been stuck on the treadmill due to all the snow we have.
-You can hit the back button to get out of zoom mode, the map turns back into one of your data fields and you can scroll through the other fields again with the arrows
-When actually navigating a course the arrow for your current position should stay in the center of the screen.
-To zoom while in the midst of the activity, you have to be on the map screen, then you should be able to hit and hold “…” to be given the option to change the zoom level.
Hope that helps
Thank Olu/Lew,
I’ll keep that in mind for my next navigation experience. Back not lap while in zoom mode. Got it.
But it does seem to be a glaring error to not be able to zoom centered on yourself prior to starting an activity. I’ll push that to Garmin on the suggestion section of their website.
Hi,
how customize data field when there is an ongoing pre-create structured workouts?
Thanks
You can do that through custom data pages, simply add new pages and customize them. Then press up/down while in an activity.
Have really noticed the difference between tracked distance and actual distance while running inside on a treadmill. I want to get the HRM-Run, but worry that a chest mounted meter will not give reliable distance tracking, leading to distance gaps between actual and perceived distance.
1) Does the HRM-Run track distance as well as the foot pod (I know you said it is much better than the watch, which is definitely off for me)?
2) Can I use the foot pod and HRM-Run at the same time?
Thanks!!! Love the reviews. Even my non-techie wife can get into your write-ups.
Hi Broward-
1) No, it does not track distance/pace, it only provides Cadence/Ground Contact Time/Vertical Oscillation
2) Yes, no issues there
And yup, definitely recommend the footpod for accuracy on a treadmill. It’s what I use on the treadmill with my FR920XT.
Cheers!
Great review, i’m in the market to purchase my first tri watch and i think i’ve made my choice upon reading your review. Question Do you think Garmin will be coming out with a HRM that would monitor heart rate while swinning any time soon? that would be a great feature to have…
Ray in your review you mentioned the ability to track sleep
“Next you’ve got the ability to track sleep with the FR920XT. Like other Garmin sleep tracking capable devices, it requires that you manually enable the sleep mode when you’re ready, as well as turn it off when you awake. You’ll do this by just pressing down once to the activity tracker page, and then pressing enter. Once within that mode, it’ll show you a little icon that lets you know you’re in sleep mode. Upon waking up you’ll want to remember to exit sleep mode by doing the same steps again.”
This worked until the latest update and now following those steps does not work. Has this changed or is there a glitch now?
Yes it changed, instead of pressing enter on the activity tracker page, you hold the “three dots” button, then select “Enter Sleep Mode”.
Thanks it works.
Packed with features, but some irritating tweaks.
1) Cannot get Max HR to show in a field. 2) Similarly won;t show max pace. 3) Garmin has created extra work in the middle of a (run) training session. In older models you could stop the watch after a repeat/set and it would automatically be saved to the watch. Then all you had to do was hit reset and you were ready for the next repeat/set. And the unit would continue to display HR so you could track your recovery…
now if you hit stop (“Enter”) you are sent to a new screen that offers “Resume”. “Save” or “Discard”. To keep that run you have to choose “Save”.
You’re then given a summary and have to scroll down and choose “Done” to return to “Run” screen.
Meanwhile…your GPS and HR have been disconnected.
You have to again hit “Enter”, wait for these to come back online and THEN hit “Enter” to start. What a performance!
And very easy to forget a step when you are tired and lose the data.
In case anyone is wondering, the reason to stop and start rather than just take splits is that I like to quickly review the numbers. Garmin have set this watch up so that the “easiest” way to do this requires a laptop/smartphone trackside – preferably with an observer to read it out to you 🙂
Why on earth doesn’t the 920XT auto-save the workouts like my vintage forerunner 301 does?
One other irritating thing is the lack of internal consistency: on some screens the highlighted choice is in white; on others you have to get it into “red”.
So far I’m putting up with all this just ti get the running dynamics data. But it does make you wonder why Garrmin make unnecessary changes that actually make a unit less functional/easy to use than a unit that is 10 + years old. Don’t they give these units to real runners to beta-test?
@Simon. Before posting a rant did you RTFM? Did you try and press any other buttons? Did you try pressing the “…” button? Hit that a few times…oh what’s that? The data fields that you’re looking for correct? You can even use the arrows to scroll up and down your other data fields. Wow, even GPS and the HRM are still connected!
Highlights are the color of your current activity or previous activity.
Autosave? Again read the manual
A bit of advice. Every time I run into a problem, I assume that it’s MY error. After proper investigation if I’m SURE it’s not my issue, I will go to a forum and ask a question. It prevents me from looking like an idiot.
Good advice – every time I run into a problem from now on I am going to assume it’s Olu’s error too 😉
(Just a joke of course)
Cheers
Ian
@Ian: Nice! Sure everyone can blame me for their Garmin woes as long as Garmin makes me a beta tester lol!
Thanks Olu, maybe before YOU write RTFM, you should RTFC, where C = comment and maybe, just maybe, not assume that commenter is an idiot that you need to patronise.
So read the comment, look at your watch and try to follow along, OK? Max HR is NOT available on a data screen. What you CAN get – and yes, unbelievable I know, but I did work out what the “…” button does – are the following: (see if you can press enough buttons to get to the menu headed Heart Rate Fields – maybe that’s beyond you)…OK? So here’s what’s available: heart rate, Average HR, HR Zone, Training Effect, HR %Max, %HRR, Average HR %Max, Average %HR, Lap HR, Lap %HR, Lap HR %Max, Time in Zone.
Can you see Max HR in there anywhere? So exactly how helpful are you?
I’m not going through everything I wrote, but auto save also is NOT available and not in the manual… but do yes please direct me to Auto Pause, Auto Scroll, Auto Lap, Auto Goal, Auto Upload, Auto Distance…need I go on? If you can find auto save in the manual please do let me know – I can’t see it for whatever reason.
You haven’t understood what I wrote about HR and GPS getting connected – it’s nothing to do with scrolling through fields.
So..er..overall…really not helpful. Have you used the watch for (running) track workouts?
Yes I’ve done plenty of track workouts.
1.During track workouts I’m concerned about time to finish an interval. I couldn’t care less about my max pace as long as I’m making the interval time.
2. Not sure why Max HR is important to view right after an interval (if you’d enlighten me). I do use HR DURING an the interval to see if I’m sandbagging and will almost always see the max value during the interval
3. There are a number of ways to see your stats for the last lap if you opt to hit the Lap button.
If all else fails, Connect IQ may be the way to get your Max HR. There’s currently a field created for the lowest HR, so I’m sure you could ask the developer if he could make one to show the opposite.
I’ll admit I misread the auto-save. No there’s no auto-save but auto-upload, my mistake. Personally I want my workouts saved when I want them saved. I’ve never used a 301, I started using Garmins with the 405. When functionality changed…I adapted.
Best of luck.
The latest upgrade 2.7 of the 920xt does not allow the Sleep mode to start by pressing the down triangle and then enter any more! Now you have to do as stated in the manual. Press the down triangle and then press and hold the 3dot button and then select start sleep mode.
Hi Ray,
Great reviews, great website. Great Job!
I had a Timex Global Traîner before(I just got the 920xt yesterday), and there something I really liked, was setting
my screens, displays, and everything, from the computer with Device Agent software(instead of doing it on the small screen of the watch)
Do you know any way I could do the same thing on the garmin 920xt?
Hope it’s all clear, because I’m a french speaker :o)
Thanks
Tony
No, unfortunately not. I keep hoping they’ll enable something similar though!
Hi guys,
I’ve just updated my 920xt to the last 2.70 firmware. Through Garmin Express, I’ve added some apps to the device but I’m not able to find these apps on the watch… has someone tried the same?
Thanks in advance for the feedback.
f
Presume you mean Data Fields? If so, goto Activity Settings, Data Screens, select the screen and then field you want to use, press Enter and should appear under Connect IQ (as opposed to Timer Fields, Distance Fields, etc etc)
Great!!!
Many thanks!!!
f
Hello,
Has anyone noticed whether Garmin has enabled the ANT+ HRM sensor in pool swim mode with 2.7?
It was previously allowed in outdoor swim mode, but not in pool swim mode.
Thanks!
Afraid they have not.
Thanks Tim….pity. I wonder why they didn’t.
I was hoping to invest in an infrared HRM device for swimming. Ah well.
Hi, I love your reviews thanks Ray and I love my 920xt but need some help.
I’m finding current pace while running very inaccurate compared to my old trusty 305. It’s usually when running in tree lined streets etc.
I did a 20 km trail run last weekend on a wide road width track with no over head trees and it was dreadful. My mate running next to me with my old watch was reading 4.45km/h and the 920 fluctuating up and down around 630km/h.
Also the altitude on cycling is way out. eg. We did a ride that has 1500m elevation and the 920 reads 1000m.
I have tried glonass on and off and the same with Per second timing with no luck. Have also performed a factory reset.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Keep up the great work!
Hi Ray,
Is possible to turn off ANT+ Speed and Cadence function in same profiles (like swim, run, etc..)?
these sensors are not required in these profiles, and their constant search must drain enough battery. How have the option to turn off the GPS in some profiles, should also be the option to turn off these sensors ….
Like HRM in swim…
Is possible?
@ Carlos
link to dcrainmaker.com
Ray, I am helpless. I was forced to reset my 920xt after being unresponsive to my mac. All good now apart from the fact that all my historical data has been wiped as well. Naturally it still exists in my Garmin profile but I was wondering if you knew the trick how to load it back to the 920xt? I guess it is similar on most advanced Garmin watches.
You can download the .FIT files from Garmin Connect one-by-one and place them in the Activities folder. I’m not sure if that will then show up in History on the device, but they would at least would be there for racing against.
There’s a good thread about this in the Garmin Forums
link to forums.garmin.com
Looks like you can’t restore VO2 max or Watch Totals after a reset. You can (as Ray said) place activities back on the watch, but it won’t calculate totals.
It is amazing to me how poor the user experience on those devices are. For $500 and in this day and age you would think you would be able to restore all the watch settings from the cloud. But no you can’t. Imagine if every time you updated or reset your iPhone you had to go through the Garmin “process”; right!
Unfortunately, among the blind (Polar, Suunto), the Garmin cyclops rules. Apple is not going to solve this for us with the Watch but boy how much I wish there was an Apple-like company in the sports watch arena. But there isn’t one.
Many thanks Ray. Will give it a go…so much data. probably won’t do them all just the important ones to race against.
Sorry if this has been answered somewhere above, but I was all set to order the Fenix 3 when just today a friend said I should really think about the 920xt model. I am more of a triathlete than a climber (I live in North Dakota!) but I understood (I thought) that the Fenix 3 did mostly what the 920 does. Also, that Fenix 3 is more of a daily watch I could just wear, too. Is there a convincing reason to go 920 over the new Fenix 3? I realize this may not be a simple question, but if the Fenix 3 is pretty good at triathlon, then I think that is going to be the one for me. thanks for any help! I will read more of the above as well.
I’d say the only reasons for the 920xt over Fenix 3
1) it’s lighter
2) you can get a quick release kit for it
3) cheaper
And the fenix 3 over 920xt:
1) much better looking as an everyday watch
2) some improved navigation features (though nothing like map support)
3) does everything the 920 can but seems to have a few smaller features such as sun/moon phases for example that have come over from the previous Fenix range
Having said that I am returning my 920 for a Fenix 3 – mostly for point 1 since I wear it 24×7
Ian
If you are not sure, I would wait for Ray’s Fenix 3 review which can’t be long now – he had a run with one on his Strava the other day. Very hard for anybody to say something is “better” for you until you have actually read some first hand user reports. If you are more of a triathlete then the 920 could well be the one for you.
Look wise is a matter of taste… I found the Fenix 3 not so good looking after all (it’s too big for my 6.2″ wrist). I wanted to go for it (look isn’t that important to me) because I managed to find a Fenix 3 for lower price than the 920xt but I’ll go second hand for the 920xt).
For me the only reason one could choose the Fenix 3 over a 920xt (without subjective “look”) is the ability of the Fenix 3 to charge while being in use for an activity which isn’t an issue for me as the battery life of the 920xt is more than enough for me).
> It doesn’t matter whether you do a flip (tumble) turn, or an open (no flip) turn. Just do it with conviction.
Given I’m from another culture/country I want to make sure I understand the above line.
You mean the watch will track my pool laps even if I just reach the end, turn my body around and then push the wall. (Which is what I do, haven’t mastered the flip turn in 14 years of swimming)
I used my 920xt for the first time in an indoor swim this week and it counted the laps perfectly just kicking of the edge at each end. So you should be fine. If it seems it isn’t counting try pushing off a little harder.
The other thing I would recommend, is make sure you glide “for a bit” before you start stroking again. That has done wonders for my lap recognition (when I had a 910, I haven’t missed a lap yet with the 920). I haven’t mastered flip turns yet either.
Using my 920 for few months and so happy with it. Anybody can recommend WATT meter to be used indoor and outdoor on bike? Thanks Jan
I’ve got a bunch of recommendations here: link to dcrainmaker.com
Hi,
In the future, is planned to add Swim workouts to 920XT?
I am new to the forerunner, I have used the edge 500 and 510 on my bike for quite awhile and am really happy with it for cycling.The pool swimming function on the 920 is really crap if you are a swimmer. All you need is a easily readable pace clock to run your workouts whether it is a sweep second clock or digital. I was hoping that the 920 would have an autopause just like the edge. When you are not moving the clock stops and records that as an interval. I wanted to use this in the pool just to log my swim workouts. It doesn’t. You have to deal with pressing buttons overtime you start and stop just like all the people do that do not know how to use a pace clock. When you are swimming fast the button pushing takes time. doing high lactate swims were time is important to quantify the workout I bet you lose 3 seconds an interval playing with the buttons and forget it if you have paddles on. They need to get an autopause to automatically know that that interval is over. There is no other reason to stop during a swim workout. If you are just swimming continuously then the watch world fine. I even found that dolphin kicking off the wall 3-4 times negates that lap all together. Am I doing something wrong? can you get this to autopause in swim mode?
@Bill. Speak for yourself. Like anything else, there’s a learning curve. I’d say it took me 2-3 masters practices when I got the 910 to get used to pressing the lap button which is very conveniently located on the 910 and 920.
Pull with paddles:
link to connect.garmin.com
link to connect.garmin.com
link to connect.garmin.com
I’m not doing threshold swims yet but a faster set:
link to connect.garmin.com
100x 100 on the 910xt (same concept)
link to connect.garmin.com
Autopause if even possible would still add 1-2 seconds to your intervals (because it’d take the watch that long to know that you’ve stopped)
Since updating to 2.7 my 920xt shows a constant elevation of around 22,000 feet during my runs. Anyone know why?
Hi folks :-),
Since updating to 2.7 my 920xt Activity Tracker counts about 1500 steps. Yes I´ve switched to sleep mod!
While sitting at school or Cafe, it counts 3000 steps….
Never done this before…!
Has anbody the same problem?
Herzlichst! Naomi
Hi, I received my 920 last week and it updated to the 2.7version when I set it all up. I haven’t seen anything like you have mentioned, and have been using the Sleep and Activity tracking. I have been also checking the steps independently via the S Health App on my Samsung S5 and they seem to be in line. Sorry not a lot of help I am afraid.
The only minor issue I did have was the the Activity tracker on the Garmin Connect App on the phone seemed to be recording steps against the wrong time, (ie 5 hours out of sync) but I changed the watch to 24hr clock via the app today and this seems to have corrected it.
Hi DC,
great review, I bought the 920xt a few weeks ago and have been using is a lot.
I have a question maybe you could answer, I’ve been unable to find an answer or solution on Garmin website.
If I use the running profile or another profile I have created that doesn’t use/need the bike sensors, how do I get those profiles to stop looking for the sensors? (the bike sensors are the garmin ANT+ Speed/Cadence combo sensors)
I do a lot of turbo sessions (on my regular bike) and then strength & conditioning (core work) in the same room/space. When I switch to the profile I have created to track my core work the bike sensors are constantly being found by the watch. Its annoying and I’d like it if the watch didn’t search for them while in that profile.
Thanks
David
No method to turn off the searching.
I get the same thing, as it finds the Wahoo KICKR power meter when I’m on the treadmill in the same room.
Well 2.7 didn’t fix connectivity issues with heart rate sensor or foot pod. Still random connect/disconnect issues during run on treadmill today. I am going to try and remove and readd them back to 920. But I fear that’s not going to fix the issue. Sad part is they work fine on my $199 220. So for indoor runs I will have to strap on the ole 220. Even the bluetooth phone notifications are hit or miss. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. Also can’t seem to get it connected to Wahoo Kickr power meter or cadence/rpm. Doesn’t show up when I search for it. This watch has been a major let down especially for the $400 price tag…
@Jeff. Sounds like you have a bum unit. Rumor has it there was a batch of units that have ANT+ issues. There’s no need to live with this. I would contact Garmin and ask for a new replacement.
@Olu, Thanks. I was able to convince Garmin this time that this watch is truly defunct. Replacement coming. Hopefully that resolves my issues. They did confirm there were a bad batch of watches out there. Thanks.
@Jeff, did Garmin indicate what serial numbers are affected by this issue?
I have had connectivity issues with the heart monitor (once) and the Bluetooth (several times), so it hasn’t happened a lot yet. Might just be one of those things that happen with electronics.
If I knew my watch was effected I’d returning it rather than waiting any longer.
They did not. They were quick to get me a replacement. 2 days. Had to give them my credit card so they could take a deposit that they will refund once the broken watch has been returned. I haven’t been able to test this new unit yet so I am not sure if its solved my problems. I did try to sync the watch today via Wifi in my house and as usual it searches for wifi network only to respond by saying network error. It seems hit or miss. Works sometimes.
Is your wifi router/access point running the latest firmware?
Hi folks,
after updating to 2.70
1.sleepmod stops automatically at night and shows 1800 steps in the morning
2.running with footpod in the woods, it shows about 50% more distance and speed as my 620 shows, i was wearing at the same time.
620 is right because it´s my usual running path.
With V.2.69 beta both watched showed the same distance and speed.
Is there anybody with the same issues?
How to solve the problem?
Herzlichst! Naomi
In mir wohnen zwei Wölfe. Ein guter Wolf und ein böser Wolf. Welcher wird gewinnen?
Den, welchen Garmin füttert und das ist momentan der böse Wolf!
1. Set your footpod’s scale factor (on the watch) to 1.00 (don’t let it automatically change)
2. If your footpod gives you paces of near 1 minute 50 sec per km, then you should contact Garmin Customer service….
Do you know if this device tracks calories burned from fat? I have the 910XT and have searched on line for the New Leaf testing centers but they appear to either not be in business or no longer performing this service
I have seen mixed sreports on line as to whether this device has the capability (notwithstanding the need for a 3rd party to test the individual)
Eric, I believe that eNewLeaf is no longer operational and I don’t know of anything else that accomplishes the same goal.
Correct, the company went under, and then was (assets) subsequently purchased about 1-2 years ago by Lifetime fitness. They haven’t done anything with it (and, Garmin stopped adding support into new devices when the company went under).
Hi all
Got the watch in late November and love it! Would not give it away anymore :-).
Nevertheless I do have two questions:
1. Can I only update the software via Garmin Express or also via the iphone app? I do see on the app, that there are updates available but so far I didn’t manage to update via the app.
2. I usually run with auto pause on. Nevertheless if I use a custom workout (e.g. 15min warm up, 15min faster, 15min cool down) the countdown of the 15min does not stop if I have to do so. The countdown continues and I do have to stop it manually. Can I somehow change this?
Thanks a lot!
Sibylle
Hi Sibylle,
1. I did my update from WiFi sync. In https://connect.garmin.com n the left I saw a message that update to firmware 2.70 is available. I hit the Send (or so) button and then I synced the watch over WiFi. And the update was executed
2. No idea, I do not use Auto Pause
Good Morning
i’m having problems with Bluetooth auto sync through my HTC ONE M8 which uses Android. The first few weeks with the watch were fine and now it drops the Bluetooth and I struggle to get it to connect again, auto upload through wifi is fine.
Thanks
Hi Sam
Have you recently updated to the new android version, Lolipop? There seem to be a large number of bugs being reported in the new version. I only received my 920 last week and initially the BT synch was fine, now its a bit temperamental since I did the update to lolipop so I am thinking that the two things could be linked
Hi Grant
Yes my phone updated about a week ago actually so that would tie in with the more recent issues I have been experiencing. guess there isn’t much we can do until Garmin have a look? i’ll send them a message as well. It attempts to sync but after around 2 seconds it will say failed.
Thanks
It may be more to do with Android, Reading various forums they will be sending updates to fix the issues. I have also done a system clear cache this morning to see if that helps I’ll let you know how I get on.
cool sounds good
Hi
Garmin came back with a couple of things to try out and one being that the Garmin Connect app on my phone might not be running correctly.
I deleted and reinstalled through the play store, re paired the phone and it is now up loading workouts via Bluetooth seamlessly !
So give that a go Grant just in case it works for you
Thanks
Hi Ray,
using my forerunner 920t in pool I set the distance alert but the vibration is very low and I can’t hear the tone.
I had a 910xt which was excellent: I set the alert only with vibration and in the pool I heard the sound of the vibration, really.
Is it a problem of my device?
Thanks.
You are not alone, my vibration and loudnes is also much weaker, compared to my 910xt
great reviews, for this and everything else. I have a question. does the watch have a timer function?
I am doing my due diligence to decide whether to upgrade from the 910XT, so of course I started here. From the comparison pictures, it appears that the 920XT screen is smaller than the 910XT, with corresponding smaller fonts. True?
@Happy Runner. The screen is marginally smaller. The clarity from the increased pixel density, MORE then makes up for the size difference.
Can anyone recommend the best/easiest way to test if the barometric altimeter has been fixed in firmware v2.7? Just go for a run around a hilly loop with good elevation and make sure that the elevation at the end is the same (or close) to the reading at the start? Or compare to the same run with a log from my old 910xt? Any other suggestion?
@Patrick. It was never broken for me, but looks good as of yesterday.
link to connect.garmin.com
Thanks Olu, I’m referring to the calibration of the starting elevation as Ray mentioned above in the “Bugs” section. Since your activity did not start and finish at the same place, I don’t think it shows if the calibration has been fixed.
@Patrick. The activity I linked to starts and finishes about 5-10 feet from each other. Also the elevation was 167ft according to the watch. Garmin elevation correction says 166ft with and Training peaks says173ft. Also elevation gain and loss net 0 feet so I’d say that it’s seems pretty accurate.
Apologies Olu, my mistake, I was looking for a loop, but you retraced your steps – oops. Anyway it looks spot on, although it was only over a modest total ascent of 170 feet. I’ll do a test myself at some point. Looks like it was a tough run given your description.
@Patrick: Yes at 27ft/mi of climbing it’s one of the less hillier runs (which is what I look for for mile repeats) You are correct though, it was a tough one given the temperature, I’ll never try that again!
One more minor annoyance of a change from the 910XT. With the 910XT, I could review the history while in an activity. This seems to no longer be possible in the 920XT. I have used this feature on multiple occasions to verify how many intervals I had run when doing a non programmed workout. (I’m not very good at counting.)
+1 for this question
Stepan – what question? It seems David just made a comment regarding an annoying feature removal.
One (incomplete) workaround is to use the Laps field somewhere which you can access during an activity and will tell you the count of how many times you hit the lap button.
Hi Folks,
Version 3.03 beta available. Did anyone tested?
Carpe Diem!
Naomi
ps: I did Info about from German Forum.
link to forum.runnersworld.de
But cannot find link to download or get Info what is new with V.3.03.
Does anybody know, if V 3.03 beta exist anyhow?
Herzlichst!
Naomi
Here we go:
link to www8.garmin.com
Herzlichst! Naomi
@Naomi. I’m using it. The watch face additions are cool, but what I like the best is that with iOS8 I no longer have to have Garmin connect mobile running to get notifications.
I got the 920XT a few weeks ago, it’s a great watch and I use it daily. I do a lot of trail running and new trail exploring. Has anyone figured out an easy way to export/import strava routes into Garmin 920XT as a course. What steps do you use (fpgx or tcx export etc)? I know it’s a bit off topic here but I was hoping to find some good input. I use strava routes over Garmin course builder, because the strava global heatmap proves me more detail.
Would love to know if this is possible but unfortunately I don’t think it is. I end up putting two browser windows next to each other and copying the Strava (or RideWithGPS) one manually bit by bit into GC when I need it 🙁
Having said that, there may be some way of copying a file into the activities folder on the 920xt then using the “run an activity from history” but I have never tried that…
Yes its possible, but not that easy.
1. Go to your route on Strava
2. Select “Export” and choose .gpx or .tcx (both work)
3. Save the file to your PC
4. Go to Garmin Connect (GC) web page
5. Go to “Activities”
6. Select “Import” and select the file you saved on your PC
7. View the newly imported activity
8. Select the “Gear” icon (top right hand side)
9. Select “Save as Course”
10. Select “Send to Device” and select your 920XT
Hope that helps!
Thanks Patrick
I gave this a go but I got “undefined” errors when importing to GC. I suspect this is because I was importing a pure route created in Strava or RideWithGPS rather than an actual activity. If I chose an activity it was fine, but of course that means you have to run/ride the route first and record it in Strava.
Unless I have missed something?
@Ian, sorry but I should have tested it first. I just tried it and got the same problem. I wonder if this is a temporary Garmin bug, or whether its your suggestion of incorrect route format from Strava? Sorry I don’t know.
If you know how, perhaps you could open the Strava route .GPX file in a text editor and see if there are any clues in the format of the file…you could also export a route from GC and do the same thing, compare the formats.
No problem Patrick – thanks for taking a look.
I think the “route GPX” files lack the details that the “activity gpx” files do – and GC can’t process them on import. I suspect it’s not a big deal for them to sort that out, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting 🙂
Hi Ray,
Thank you for your review, I base all of my training tech purchases based on your reviews as I find them invaluable!
I am wondering if you could assist me with a feature on the 920xt?
I have the speed and cadence sensor linked to the watch. I can tell that the speed works just fine. How do I see my cadence while using the bike outdoor / indoor feature on the watch?
Apologies if I am being thick, but I am finding this a little challenging.
Thanks again for all the reviews and keep up the great work.
Hi Tania-
Within the FR920XT you’ll need to edit the ‘Data Screens’ under cycling and simply add the ‘Cadence’ option. You’ll need to add that for both Bike and Indoor Bike.
1) Press Menu
2) Select the activity type (Bike/Indoor Bike)
3) Select Activity Settings
4) Select Data Screens
5) Screen # (choose which one)
6) Select the Field to change (1/2/3/etc…)
7) Select Cadence category
8) Select Cadence again
9) Click OK, then back a bunch of times to get back
Cheers.
Thanks Ray – You are a star…..!
Hi Folks,
The App “Graphical Heart Rate” on my FR 920xt (Version 3.03 beta) sometimes I can get it started and sometimes not.
If I managed it started it runs pefectly.
Any Idea to make it runn every time ??
Herzlichst Naomi und danke schön!
Hi, could you confirm that this garmin 920xt is compatible with power meter ibike?
Ray,
where is the strength profile or did you create that yourself? thanks
Yes, if you go into creating a new sport profile, it’ll show Strength as one of the ones under Other.
Quick Connect Difficult When Racing: Mounting it in Tri Mode is a real pain… there is nearly nowhere to grab the watch without pushing buttons… very annoying as it destroys race results. I will keep practicing clicking it in and out, but with high heart rate on race day, dexterity will likely make my race data collection a failure as I will likely hit lap, or stop button. Any comments or suggestions?
With latest software, you can lock it.
Thanks — but if I lock it, then I can’t click to go onto the next part of my multi sport event… so then I have to lock when I get out of the pool so that when I put it on the bike it doesn’t accidentally get pushed and then I have to use the coordination to again unlock. Still difficult. It seems like it needs a reduced sensitivity option — any other suggestions?
Garmin F920XT with iPhone 5S using Garmin Connect anD MyFitnessPal. On the Calories screen, Consumed always show 0 (zero). Calories burned from FR920XT transfer to MFP, but calories consumed don’t get back to GC.
Am I doing something wrong, or is this a known issue that isn’t being fixed for months?
Hi!
Once again, cracking review! Happily using the 920; fan tastic bit of kit.
My main aim is to see if what I am doing is producing a benefit… One of the things I want to use is the runningV02 max…
First run I went out (5k) it gave me a V02 max calculation but since this first outing, after every run it doesn’t seem to be recalculating it, as the number hasn’t changed nor am I getting a post run V02 Max status update.
I’m always using the HRM and various other outputs are being received e.g. Recovery time and any PBs but not the V02 max?
Have I turned something off inadvertently? I can’t seem Tom indicate an option that switches off V02 Max calculations?
Appreciate someone’s help?
While the unit is working well now i really had no idea going in how much of a beta tester i was going to be as my Polar RCX5 lacked a few things but did not need a crash log and just worked 🙂
Things like the 2.70 update killing the watch are not acceptable
At lest 3.03 beta is stable and there improving the altimeter function
Hello,
I really enjoy this watch 🙂
There something I really don’t understand : at start (maybe 6 minutes after the start) I got what I think is “recovery check 60:00” (I think I got the recovery check almost right but the “number” I am less certain).
Any idea what’s the mean ?
Thank you very much !!!
Oops I figured it this morning : not 60:00 but GOOD… which I don’t really now what that mean but it’s not alarming.
Hi. I am starting triathlons but also do 8 – 10 hr ultra trail running. Will this watch do in your opinion? Looking for GPS watch that will not die on me .. Have had Forerunner 15 then Forerunner 70.. HELP Please 🙂
Hi, the 920 will easily last that long or even double that however I find that it’s not very accurate (current speed is all over the shop) running trails. Any running with trees around around and it just can’t get a decent signal. My old 305 is far more accurate so this has been a disappointment for me. I did my first long course tri a couple of weeks back and it is brilliant for that sort of use, it’s just when you go off the beaten track that it struggles. Maybe someone can recommend a watch for your style of use.
PS. I have tried changing the settings to get a more accurate reading including-per second timing and glonass on and off with no difference.
Hi! I wore my 902xt in a half marathon yesterday for the first time. It is very cold here, so I had my heartrate monitor on under 2 layers of clothing plus a light-weight jacket. At the end of the race I realized that my garmin did not track my heartrate. Is there a limit to what the what the watch can communicate with in terms of clothing? I have worn my old Garmin 210 with HRM in the winter before with no issues.
Thanks, Allana
I had lots of issues with HRM disconnections and very slow HR updates and wrong values. At the end I realized that I need to wear the strap shifted to left so the sensor is not centered but directly over my heart. I also use electrogel, but just wetting the contacts should be enough.
Allana,
I also did a half marathon on Sunday in very cold conditions, 25 F. I had 2 shirts on and a light jacket and the HR monitor worked fine. About 15 minutes before the race I entered run mode to connect the HR monitor and lock in on the GPS coordinates. The HR monitor was working fine during my warm up with the 2 layers and jacket on. I did take the jacket off right before the race start as I felt too warm. When the race started I pressed enter to start recording the run. The watch and HR monitor worked great during the race.
My goal was to meet a certain time and I was using the lap pace, avg pace and time ahead indicators to keep me on track. This was in addition to keeping an eye on my heart rate. The watch worked perfectly to help me reach my goal.
Mitch
Mitch, my previous Garmins could be set to show my average pace per mile. With the Garmin 920XT, do I choose lap pace for that? I had average pace chosen, but it seemed to me that it was average for the entire run, and not per mile. And from my understanding, just “pace” is live pace, so going up or down a hill it would change significantly.
Is this right?
At this point with the 3.03 software the watch is very stable and now meets my expectations
The watch shipped with two different straps the older style with a lot of exposed silver caused me problems BUT Garmin shipped me the new style which does not have ANY silver fabric touching your body and it seems great so far
link to i565.photobucket.com
I have no issues using it in 3 degrees F with dense evergreen tree cover and a snowstorm 🙂
I am currently using a Suunto Ambit 2 with a custom app for speed windsurfing. I think I may move to this watch and program an app for speed surfing specifically. However, it is not clear to me how much data points it can store into one consecutive track. One spec lists 10,000 points which would not even cover 3 hours @ 1Hz.
I only know it has no problem doing 9 hours at 1 second
I currently own a Polar RS800CX, and i like this function where you get the average heart rate of the previous lap when you start a new one. Do you get this on the 920xt?
Here you can find well-motivating watch face on Garmin Connect – ActiFace
link to apps.garmin.com
It makes watch look interresting. Now everybody asks me what does the graph mean 🙂
Does any of these new models 920xt or fenix 3 take laptime by position? While im riding i dont have time to push laptime button when i pass same position at track. Im using that feature a lot with my Garmin 610 but even 620 dont have it anymore. Thanks!
No, none do.