*** Update: The next generation Forerunner 945 has since been released. For the latest information on this watch series click the link for the Forerunner 945 In-Depth Review***
Today Garmin announced their latest triathlon/multisport…and running-specific focused watch, the Forerunner 935. This watch follows almost a year after the FR735XT was announced last spring, and only 3 months after the Fenix 5 series was announced in January (which just started shipping last week).
So what’s the FR935 all about? Well in a nutshell it’s a cheaper version of the Fenix 5, with a plastic shell as opposed to metal. Basically – it could be named the Fenix 5P – for Plastic. It’s got a barometric altimeter (and WiFi!) that the FR735XT lacks, and also adds in things like the new Training Load/Recovery features found in the Fenix 5, as well as Bluetooth Smart sensor support. Not to mention support for the also just announced Running Dynamics Pod (RD Pod). Finally, it also adds in the just announced TrainingPeaks workout synchronization app, allowing you to sync workouts from TrainingPeaks to your watch (including other devices).
I’ve been using the FR935 for a fair while now, and thus have had the chance to use it across numerous sports and workouts. While the first few weeks were on beta software, the last few weeks have been on what is considered release candidate/final production firmware. As always, once done with this review, I’ll send the loaner/test unit back to Garmin and go out and get my own through normal retail channels.
With that – let’s dive into it!
What’s new:
As noted in the intro, in many ways the FR935 is basically a Fenix 5 in a different skin. It’s got a near-identical user interface, save a few minor tweaks the company is experimenting with to simplify the user experience (but more on that later). In terms of functionality though, it’s basically a Fenix 5. I’ve gone through the menus side by side (see video below), and everything is identical to a Fenix 5. Everything.
Still, there are some notable features that are new to today, which are also coming to the Fenix 5/Chronos series, these are:
Running Dynamics Pod: Sensor pod compatibility added (basically the Garmin Running Dynamics metrics, but in a small wearable pod, also to be compatible with FR735XT/Fenix 5/Chronos) TrainingPeaks pre-installed on the FR935, now available on numerous other devices via Connect IQ Training Status/Load/effect metrics: These are new, provided by FirstBeat, also seen on Fenix 5 series and includes split of aerobic and anaerobic training effect.
Still, what if you’ve been sleeping the last few months and skipped the whole Fenix 5 series? How would the new features look compared to the FR735XT of last year? Well, everything above, plus the below:
Barometric Altimeter: Added it, 735XT didn’t have it and only had GPS-based elevation WiFi: Added it to 935, 735XT didn’t have it, and only half of Fenix 5 series has it Display: Up to 240×240 pixels, same as the Fenix 5 Display: Went from 16 colors on the FR735XT to 64 colors on the FR935 Display: Now supports Emoji, right to left languages (Arabic and Hebrew) Charging Cable: Identical to Fenix 5 series, can charge mid-activity, but wrist blocks it a bit Connect IQ: Fully supports CIQ 2.2.3+, as well as a full 2MB for apps or 32 installed CIQ apps/items, whichever comes first. Battery: Increased battery life up to 24 hours in GPS at 1-second sampling Battery: Increased UltraTrac battery life to 50 hours Gyroscope: Added Gyroscope to all models, used to increase track points in UltraTrac mode User Interface: Slight tweaks to UI to match Fenix 5/Chronos series User Interface: Added new quick access controls menu, to access apps/widgets, to match Fenix 5 series. Strava: Added Strava Live Segment support for Bike & Run Sensors: Added support for Bluetooth Smart sensors (Cycling Power/Speed/Cadence, Running Footpod, Heart Rate) Sensors: Added Varia Vision Heads Up Display Support (all ANT+ remote displays technically) Sensors: Added Varia Bike Lights (all ANT+ lights technically) Sensors: Added Varia Bike Radar Sensors: Added Shimano Di2 Shifting, ANT+ Gear Shifting Support (SRAM RED eTAP & Campagnolo EPS) Sensors: Added ANT+ Muscle Oxygen Sensors (MOXY/BSX) Optical HR Sensor: Revamped tech, now records 24×7 data every 1-2 seconds Optical HR Sensor: Flattened out even more, virtually flush with back of unit Training Data: Added FTP Estimation for cycling Training Data: Now supports swimming PR’s (along with previously added Swim Structured Workout support), like the FR735XT/Fenix5, but unlike some older tri watches Live Group Tracking: Added like the Fenix 5 models, à la the Edge 820 group tracking Straps: Compatible with the QuickFit straps, specifically the Garmin Fenix 5 ones (not the 5S/5X), such as leather/metal/etc… Golf: Added TruSwing, Greenview, and Autoshot features Other Sports Added: Mountain Biking, Treadmill and Indoor Track separated, Ski and Snowboard separated, Navigate app, and Track Me app Navigation Functions: Full navigation identical to that of the Fenix 5 series. That includes things like proximity and navigation alerts (for distance to waypoint, and time/distance remaining to destination). Note, there are no maps like the Fenix 5X units.
Phew – got all that?
Good.
Still confused? Sorry, it happens to the best of us. The good news is I’ve got a video below explaining it all! Go forth and enjoy!
Oh – and you may be wondering why they dropped the ‘XT’ off the end of the official watch name (i.e. not the FR935XT). The reasoning is twofold. First they didn’t want to put off the running side of the house, thinking it wasn’t for them (since it’s basically what people wanted in a fabled FR635). They feel like it’s an equally good option for runners or triathletes. Second is that they figured most triathletes would know from the initial ‘9’ in the series (i.e. 910/920/935), that it was still a triathlon watch. And if you didn’t know about the ‘9’ part, you probably didn’t know about the XT part anyway. 😉
With that, let’s move onto some sizing!
Model and Size Comparisons:
Like the FR735XT, the FR935 comes in one size, but a few two-band variants. There’s the base unit, which is black with a barely visible silver trimming/button, and then there’s the bundle unit which is also black but with a neon yellow trim/button and a secondary yellow strap. Throughout the review you see the bundle variant, with the yellow strap since I was mostly too lazy to change it to the black strap. So, the two options are:
Base unit ($499USD): Black watch face with silver accent and black band, charging cable Bundled unit ($649 USD): Black watch face with yellow accent and black band, additional yellow band, charging cable, HRM-TRI HR strap, HRM-SWIM HR strap, quick release kit.
Note that I don’t have an unboxing to share at the moment, since the unit I was sent came in a simple plastic baggie with just the charging cable and an extra band. Plus the charging cable.
Once I get a proper box, I’ll add the unboxing back into this review. Given what Garmin included in the Fenix 5 boxes, don’t expect anything more than what you see above, plus a few pieces of legal paper telling you not to do anything stupid with it, as well as how to put the band on. Pretty standard stuff.
What is notable here is the band though. Within the box it doesn’t include Garmin’s new QuickFit bands seen on the Fenix5, but rather a standard screw-in band.
That’s a bit of a bummer, the good news is that the QuickFit bands are still compatible with the FR935. Specifically with leather, metal, and other silicone band colors. Basically, what we saw on the Fenix 5. Note, that I tried the Fenix 5 bands (the middle-sized ones) and they fit just fine. The 5X bands would be too big, and the 5S bands too small.
With that, let’s look at sizing between the FR735XT, the FR935, and the Fenix 5 series (plus a Fenix3 thrown in):
As you can see, sizing-wise the FR735XT and FR935 are pretty similar, however the FR935 is slightly larger – by a few millimeters in diameter, albeit identical in depth.
Finally, the FR935 comes in at 49g, whereas the Fenix 5 starts at 84g (depends on which bands you use). The Fenix 5S starts at 67g.
The Basics:
I’m going to mix things up a little bit in this review from past reviews. Partly because I get bored writing things in the same structure each time, and partly because I think at this point there’s some things that are considered ‘base’ knowledge. Meaning that I’ve often split up into separate sections swim/bike/run, with there being so much overlap between all three sections. For this I’m going to round-up the watch basics into this section, then sports into the next, and then talk about newish FR935 pieces like the new Training Status/Load/Recovery components, RD compatibility, and Training Peaks integration. Then I’ll separately dive into accuracy of GPS and optical HR sensor.
To start off with, you’ve got the watch face. This uses a bit more of a traditional plain Jane watch face with just the basic elements on it by default.
However, you can easily customize the data elements on it, as well as the style. And that’s before we even talk Connect IQ watch faces.
Like the Fenix 5, you’ll now have a quick controls option, which can be accessed by holding the upper left button down for a few seconds.
This allows you to quickly lock the screen, put it into do-not-disturb mode, as well as save your GPS location and sync data. You can lightly customize some of these options in the menu as well. You rotate through the options on the controls screen like a rotary telephone.
While the watch face can be customized with your daily activity tracking – such as steps or stairs climbed (it has a barometric altimeter to help track that), you can also iterate through the different widgets by pressing the up/down buttons. For example, here’s the daily activity tracking widget (followed by the detailed views within it):
Additionally, you’ve also got the ability to quickly glance at your last sport/workout stats, along with the calendar, notifications, weather, and other widgets. You can customize these from both Garmin options, as well as 3rd party options.
Within the pile of widgets is one for 24×7 heart rate. This will show your continuous heart rate data, as measured by the optical HR sensor on the back of the unit. Since this unit shares the exact same sensor as the Fenix 5, it now too measures at a rate of every 1-2 seconds.
That optical HR data can be seen at any time from the 24×7 widget, allowing you to glance back at not just the last 4 hours, but also your resting heart rate over the preceding 7 days. I’ve talked about this a fair bit in this post, but in a nutshell I find resting heart rate a great indicator of impending (or current) sickness or excessive fatigue. It’s easy for me to plot that and know that I may want to adjust my training or recovery accordingly.
This data is also then available on Garmin Connect, either your mobile app (iOS/Android/Windows Phone), or on the web using your old Netscape-equipped computer. Below is a screenshot from iOS.
As part of the daily activity tracking, it’ll also automatically recognize and track certain sports, for example walking, running, or cycling. You’ll see these shown as little grey bubbles on your daily heart rate graph, as well as within the list of activities each day.
When it recognizes a sport, it’s not enabling GPS or other sensors. Rather, it’s just leveraging the accelerometer. Thus, the data quality is pretty low. I’d *never* use it to track a run, but it’s useful for tracking quick errand trips on a bike around town that you probably wouldn’t otherwise bother to track. Or for that romantic evening walk on the beach. All important things to properly capture. The data shown is pretty minimal, as seen below. Just start time, type, and duration.
On the left is a simple bike-sharing bike ride home from a party, and on the right is a short walk around town.
Next, with all this fancy phone integration you’ve got the ability to of course sync workouts via Bluetooth Smart (or WiFi), as well as receive notifications from your phone. The FR935 supports standard notification centers on your phone, meaning that any app can take advantage of it. It’s not just texts or calendar notifications like some watches. Anything from your favorite sexting app to Instagram, or Ikea kitchen cabinet planner to GoPro’s action cam app. If it does notifications and normally alerts on your phone, it can alert on your watch.
You can open up alerts to get more detail. Or you can dismiss them, which will also clear them from the phone. For dismissed alerts, you can view them within the notification panel on both the watch, as well as your phone (for example, on iOS just swipe down from the top).
Note one handy little feature is that the FR935 and Fenix 5 series now support many emoji, so you can see those directly on the watch. This is helpful if certain individuals in your family (not pointing any fingers at the Newfoundland contingent or anything) use an astounding amount of emoji icons. Impressive really. I mean, just saying, in theory they do.
Finally – as hinted at above, the FR935 does have WiFi on all units, which means when you walk into your house after a workout is completed, it’ll quickly upload via WiFi. In most cases it’ll do so before you even get your shoes off. If you’re running barefoot then…umm…before you take your pants off? I don’t know. It’s quick.
You can configure numerous WiFi networks using the Garmin Express app:
The inclusion of WiFi in all FR935 units is interesting. Mostly because at $499 it’s less expensive than the base Fenix 5 units at $599, which don’t actually include WiFi (for reasons that make no sense). Only the Sapphire Fenix 5 units include WiFi. In any case, it’s really only used for syncing fitness data. It’s not like you’re going to browse the web with it. Also, it only works for networks that don’t have proxy/filters on them. So it won’t work at Starbucks for example.
What’s that? Something in the basics section not covered? Well, chances are that I’ll cover it throughout the rest of the review. But…if you’re the type of person that wants to press every button on the watch – then the below video is for you! It’s exactly that: I go through all the menus screen by screen!
With all the basics (and more) covered – let’s head onto using it for a workout.
Sport Usage:
Let’s talk about how it works in sport, or rather specifically workouts. When it comes to sport modes there are numerous to choose from here. They are:
Running: Run, Trail Run, Treadmill Run, Indoor Track Hiking: Hike, Climb, Walk, Navigate Cycling: Bike, Bike Indoor, Mountain bike Swimming: Openwater Swim, Pool Swim Triathlon: Triathlon Mode, Swimrun, +general multisport mode Skiing: Ski, Snowboard, XC Ski Other water: Stand Up Paddleboard, Row, Row Indoor Other: Golf, Golf TruSwing, Strength, Cardio, Jumpmaster, Tactical, Other (make your own up)
In order to keep things simple, I’m going to start with explaining the basics of sport mode using the running mode. But the key thing to understand is that by and large these sport modes share the same core functionality. Meaning that things like alerts, structured workouts, data field customization are the same across the board. Where you see differences is in nuances related to each sport, for example in cycling you can enable power meter metrics – but those aren’t seen in golf or swimming. Or in swimming you’d get stroke metrics that aren’t seen in running. But the way you interact with each mode is largely the same.
To begin a workout you’ll press the upper right button, which immediately goes into a newly designed sport menu. This single menu is the only tangible difference between the FR935 and the Fenix 5. In this menu the watch will actually immediately start acquiring GPS signal and your optical HR – even before you choose a sport. The logic here being to simply jumpstart that process while your brain decides what to do next.
You can scroll down in the list of sports to find any of the above mentioned sports, or, you can customize and add your own sports/names.
You’ll notice that as you’re pondering your sport name, the unit will finish up finding GPS and change the color of the outer ring from red to orange, and then to green. Green is good, everything else is bad. So definitely wait for green. Additionally, you’ll see the HR icon stop blinking and go solid, which means HR has been locked. Wait for that too. All of this usually only takes a couple seconds, so it’s pretty quick.
Once that’s done, you can hit the upper right button and you’ll see your data pages that you’ve configured. This hasn’t started recording yet, and you can still see satellite status around the edge of the watch.
Since we’re here, let’s talk data fields and data screens. This basically applies to all sports. Essentially, you can customize the living crap out of data fields and screens. No device on the market gives as much customization as this. You’ve got customizable data pages (screens), that can have up to 4 fields each. That can be one field, two fields, three fields, or four fields. And then within both three and four fields you can arrange them two different ways each (technically three ways for three fields – one without field titles). Here’s a gallery of how that looks:
You can create numerous custom data pages (each having customizable data fields), I haven’t reached the limit because you can create so many and I’m lazy. But you can also select from standard data pages that can be lightly customized as well. These include: Virtual Partner, Map, Compass, Elevation (Graph), Music Controls, Running Dynamics (x2 pages), plus a heart rate zone page. Lots of pages.
The only minor downside is you can’t customize/save these from your phone or Garmin Connect, but rather they must be done on the device. On the bright side, that means you can customize them on the fly during a workout or standing at the start line. Or…at Chipotle. Whatever floats your boat.
Once you’ve started your workout (by pressing the upper right button), the unit will start recording your data. This also includes displaying your data, such as distance and pace/speed. There’s literally gazillions of data fields, and they’re listed in the manual. I used to write them out, but it was silly because it’s so massive (and is always changing). Plus, you can use Garmin Connect IQ to download zillions more data fields.
I tend to keep mine somewhat basic. Essentially I’ve got a page focused on workout totals (i.e. total distance, total time, etc…), and then another focused on laps (i.e. lap distance, lap pace, lap time, heart rate). Btw, you can select either automatic laps based on a preset distance or manual laps based on pressing the button.
Note that you can also customize the lap banner, which allows you to specify which data fields are shown when you press the lap button, or when auto-lap is triggered.
This functionality is handy, though I’d give Suunto the nod for a better overall lap implementation with their lap summary page (a function that was ironically copied from Garmin’s Edge devices). That Suunto lap summary page allows you to quickly glance at all your last laps with various data like average pace or HR next to it. Maybe we’ll see something like it in Connect IQ or similar someday.
In any event – let’s run. While running you’ll get data on your data fields however you set them up. You can change data pages by simply pressing the up/down buttons. Alternatively, you can use auto-scroll to have it iterate through them (I personally never like that, since I want to know what I’m going to see when I glance down). But choice is good.
Note that the FR935 mirrors that on all Garmin running wearables over the last 2-3 years and will show your current/instant pace rounded to the nearest :05 seconds. For example 7:35/mile or 6:45/mile (not 6:46/mile). A few other companies have followed in these footsteps, as ultimately all GPS data is smoothed one way or another. Either it’s smoothed more behind the scenes to give you a false 6:57/mile number, or it’s smoothed more visibly into a bucketed 6:55/mile number. But fear not, lap average pace and average pace are exact number (i.e. 6:57/mile). So you can always use those for pacing.
Once done with the run you’ll get workout summary and PR (personal record) information – such as longest run, or fastest 5K run, etc… You’ll also get recovery time metrics (more on that in the next section), and workout benefit details.
At this point the watch will then sync that workout via Bluetooth Smart to your phone, or if you’re within range of the WiFi networks you setup – it’ll use that instead (it’s a bit quicker). And that’s again an important differentiator between the FR935 and the Fenix 5: All FR935 units have WiFi, whereas only some of the Fenix 5 models have WiFi.
Once it’s done syncing to Garmin Connect, you can go ahead and look at the data via the Garmin Connect Mobile app (iOS/Android/Windows), or just via web browser on Garmin Connect. Here’s one of my runs, utilizing the FR935 and the RD Pod (and the optical HR sensor):
Next, we’ll touch on cycling. As noted this is largely the same as running from a generality standpoint, but there are notables such as power meter support in cycling (both ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart power meters).
While riding you’ll display any data from sensors as well as GPS (i.e. speed and distance), and you can also utilize the unit on your wrist to re-broadcast your heart rate to secondary devices via ANT+. So if you’ve got an Edge device (or an app like TrainerRoad or Zwift) – then you can have those apps pair to your wrist heart rate and record them there too.
One other difference of note between the Fenix 5 and the FR935 is that the FR935 has a quick release kit available for it. This means that if you’re doing a triathlon and want to quickly remove the watch from your wrist to mount onto your bike, you can easily do so. This quick release kit is still a bit early in production, so there’s only renders (and some bad cell phone photos) available at present. It sounds like that’ll start shipping in late April. Still, that’s a definite bonus point for the FR935 over the Fenix 5.
Alternatively, for those doing just cycling you can certainly mount the FR935 onto one of the $11 watch mounting blocks to put on your handlebars. That works just fine (though, the optical HR sensor wouldn’t be usable then).
Once all is said and done your ride, you’ll get the ride data on Garmin Connect just like other sports. Also, this will happily transit over to Strava, TrainingPeaks, Xert, and many other apps automatically using Garmin’s Auto Sync system. That process usually takes forever…ya know…like 1-2 seconds in total.
Since we’re talking cycling, let’s talk triathlon mode. Triathlon mode enables you to quickly iterate from sport to sport with little more than a key press. This is useful for going from the swim segment of a race to the bike segment, and then onto the run. Further, it can capture transition times as well.
Within the triathlon mode you’ve got the aforementioned transition time option, but you can also use the little known option to automatically lock the buttons after you change sports each time. This helps to prevent accidental key presses – in particular pressing the ‘lap’ button, which would move you onto the next sport (a really bad thing if it happens at the wrong time).
In addition to triathlon mode you can make your own multisport mode options – such as combining stand-up paddle boarding with skiing. Or two or more other totally compatible sports. Further, you can do a bit of a free-style multisport mode by pressing the left-center button at any time to simply switch to another sport. This is helpful if you’re going to repeat something like bike/run over and over again until a predetermined time (common brick workout strategy).
Speaking of swimming, the unit supports both openwater and pool swimming modes. In pool swimming mode it’ll use the accelerometer on the watch itself to determine each time you hit the wall at the end of a length. It then uses the preset pool length that you specify in the watch to do simple math on your total distance (as well as pace).
You can use either flip turns or open (non-flip) turns, it doesn’t much matter. However, keep in mind that like all swim watches, it’s essentially looking at changes in direction and shifts in acceleration. So here’s a few tricks you can use as well to get better accuracy:
A) Obviously, ensure your pool length is right
B) The key to swimming watches is remembering it’s looking for a ‘cue’ as to when you’ve reached the end of the length. So, push off forcefully each time
C) It doesn’t matter if you do flip turns or open (non-flip) turns, I mix and match depending on the craziness at the end of my lane
D) Again, just push off sharply, no matter what you do
E) Avoid stopping/starting mid-lane, since it’ll confuse things
F) If you have to pass someone mid-lane, it’s best to ramp into that pass as evenly as possible. Versus just instantly sprinting mid-lane, since it may think you’ve just done a new length. I realize that’s easier said than done – but just giving some general advice
G) Don’t do the YMCA song at the end of the lane, even if at the YMCA. Also, if you go the bathroom, pause the watch.
Speaking of pausing, note that the FR935 does include an inverted display color when you pause it – so you can know whether your mid-set or not. Also, you can use drill mode for things that don’t involve your wrists (i.e. kickboard drills). That allows you to simply enter in the total distance for that drill set at the end of the set.
Next, let’s talk openwater swim. Within openwater swim mode it’s going to leverage the GPS within the device to determine distance.
The challenge here though is that every time the watch goes below the surface of the water (basically, every other second), it loses that signal. So the goal with openwater swim mode is to try and string together these generally poorly conceived points into a rational swim track. Meaning, it’s rarely perfect – I usually aim for accuracy +/- 10% as a rough yardstick of success. Sometimes you’ll get better (like spot-on better), and sometimes it’ll be crap.
There are things you can do to improve your success rate though:
A) Always get signal above water before starting
B) Always press the start button above water, and then wait for 2-5 seconds before your first strokes
C) If making a sharp turn somewhere (such as a buoy), I find it helpful if you slightly slow down your stroke rate at the turn buoy – giving the unit just an extra split second of your wrist above water to try and find GPS
D) Always wait until out of the water to stop the GPS track, ideally waiting 5-8 seconds for it to ensure it has a clean lock on GPS
If you do those four things, I find substantial improvements in GPS tracking during swims (across all device vendors). None really impact your workout.
Note that in neither openwater swim mode or pool swim mode does the FR935 capture heart rate via the optical HR sensor. For both you’ll need either the HRM-TRI or HRM-SWIM. This is due to the challenges associated with optical HR sensors in the water.
With all that background, I put together this openwater swim video with the FR935 – showing you how it works from start to finish.
As shown in the video – once done you’ll get a GPS track showing your particular route. In this case, the GPS track was pretty good actually.
Last but not least, let’s talk structured workouts and intervals. These come in two varieties. First are structured workouts that you can download from Garmin Connect. These can be ones that you’ve created, or that you’ve downloaded from their free training plans. Doesn’t much matter, they show up in the device in pretty much the same way, under Training > Workouts:
It’s here that you can then view the steps (i.e. targets) of the workout, as well as start the workout.
Once started, the workout function will warn you of upcoming segments, as well as display to you the specific target for each segment. It’ll also count-down the time left in each piece. For example, it’ll show you that you’ve got 93 seconds left and that your target HR zone is 165-172bpm. It’ll even show a nifty little target HR indicator.
Now to demonstrate this, I used the new TrainingPeaks app (you’ll see a separate post shortly on that). That app essentially transfers the structured workout from TrainingPeaks and then lets the native workout functionality on the FR935 take care of processing.
Just to be clear though, you don’t need TrainingPeaks for anything of this. The above simply shows how it works if you did use TrainingPeaks to download the workout, but the downloading can also be done natively purely using Garmin Connect Mobile (or your desktop computer).
Next, if you want a more simplistic experience you can use instead the native interval workout function on the watch itself. This function allows you to configure a warm-up, a work portion (plus repeat count), a rest portion, and then a cool-down.
For example you can specify a work portion of 1 mile, with a rest of 90 seconds, and then do 5 repeats. You can customize any given portion of that.
Once started, it’ll run you through the workout in more or less the same manner as a full downloaded structured workout. The only difference though is that you’re not going to get a specific target (i.e. pace, heart rate, etc…). Note that these functions work the same regardless of which sport you’re in (running/cycling, or also swimming for structured workouts).
Finally, we’ll wrap up with a brief talk through of navigation and courses. I dive into this a bit more in my Fenix 5 In-Depth Review a mere 6 days ago, and that watch functions identically to this in that respect.
In any event, the FR935 includes the ability to navigate on both downloaded courses, as well as past activities. This can be used either for simple directional assistance – or to even race against courses/activities that are configured with specific timing. Further, you can also just use the FR935 for basic navigation back to a saved point, or to backtrack your way to wherever you started from.
You can launch navigation from within any given sport (i.e. hiking), or you can launch it on its own. The net result is basically the same, except that you’ll get data fields customized for that sport if you launch it within that sport. Plus, you’ll get a few extra data pages from the navigation side of the house.
To begin, you’ll select a course. For example, here are ones I’ve downloaded from Garmin Connect to my watch via Garmin Connect Mobile.
Once selected you can then view a breadcrumb trail map, or the elevation plots of it:
From there you can start navigation, which allows you to follow that breadcrumb style navigation based on the route of the course. The watch will also show your times against any pacing within the course/activity file (such as racing against a past activity). You’ll see the direction of travel using the internal compass, which is displayed as a small red arrow on the edge near the bezel.
Note that unlike the Fenix 5X, the FR935 doesn’t contain any actual map like you’d find on a car/phone GPS. Meaning, you won’t see streets, lakes, or rivers or anything else. You’ll simply see where you’re going and where you’ve been (identical to the Fenix 5/5S).
The core difference here in this realm between something like the FR935 and the slightly older FR735XT is that the FR935/Fenix5 contain barometric altimeters, which are lacking in the FR735XT. That’s a big deal for folks hiking (or doing anything) in the mountains. As I showed in my FR735XT review last year, the altitude readings left much to be desired, whereas with the FR935/Fenix5, it’s far better. You can see that in the GPS accuracy section in particular (below), on the March 9th mountainous ride.
Finally, note that in order to create courses that at this time you need to use a desktop web browser of some sort, as the Garmin Connect Mobile app doesn’t allow creation there. You can however sync/specify saved routes from Garmin Connect using the mobile app, and send them to your watch wirelessly.
Training Load & Stress:
When Garmin introduced the Fenix 5, that introduced new training status and load features that have now carried into the FR935. These metrics are built by FirstBeat and licensed by Garmin. That’s the same company that has powered much of the training and recovery features on past Garmin watches, as well as other companies in the wearables industry. These specific new features were previously offered in FirstBeat’s pro athlete training suite, and have now been squeezed into the FR935.
One really important thing to point out is that these metrics take time to adapt to you. Realistically FirstBeat says it takes about two weeks in total to get to the point of having truly valid data. That also assumes that you’re able to get two workouts that trigger a VO2Max estimate (either running or cycling, but two of the same sport type). It’s those two key items that allow it to really hone in. It’ll reach its ‘full potential’ once it has about a month’s worth of data on you.
To start, when you finish a workout you’ll be given a split of anaerobic an aerobic training effect, in terms of a number between 0.0 and 5.0. While Training Effect used to be a single number, now it’s split:
This data is presented for any workout where a heart rate sensor of some sort was used (be it optical or HR strap). This training effect number is also saved to Garmin Connect, where it can be viewed at the bottom of any workout:
The exact number corresponds to a much longer explanation of what those data points mean, which can be found in these two sheets that FirstBeat has sent over.
Next, after some activities (if a change has occurred), you’ll receive a VO2Max estimate. In the case of cycling this requires a power meter. The VO2Max estimate won’t necessarily show on every workout, and may take a few weeks as well to really fine tune itself (in particular it’s best to have a hard workout).
Moving right along, the unit will give you recovery hours – similar to before on a number of Garmin devices. These recovery hours can be checked at any time, and will slowly count down to zero hours as time passes. If you do another workout, it’ll increase correspondingly.
Then we’ve got training load. This numerical number is specific/unique to you, and is based on trending over time. This is where that multitude of weeks of training data comes in play, as it allows FirstBeat to figure out what’s ‘normal’ for you. They noted that they reach their full analytic potential after a month of data.
Keeping it in the green means your load is appropriate for your capabilities. Whereas overtraining puts you into the red, and undertraining the blue.
Finally, we’ve got the general training status page (accessible anytime as a widget by just pressing the down button a few times). This is a way to look at the specific load you’re applying, and whether the load is contributing to fitness.
In general, I’ve found this particular page has been pretty accurate when it comes to judging what my training load/etc is in relation to what I’m actually feeling. As long-time readers know, I tend to be pretty critical of these sorts of technologies, but this one does seem to be getting it right the vast majority of the time.
The FirstBeat folks initially shared with me a massively long presentation and supporting documents that outlined how this tech works. They were able to pull together a bit more finessed/polished version of that over the weekend, which they said I could share/post here. You can find the full PDF here, and I’ve put all the slides into a single gallery for quick clickage below. Note that this applies to the FR935, Fenix 5, and Fenix Chronos units.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like the older FR735XT or Fenix 3 variants will be getting this update.
Heart Rate Sensor Accuracy:
The FR935 includes Garmin’s Elevate optical HR sensor built into the bottom of it, which is used both in workouts as well as in 24×7 continual HR monitoring mode. Just like the Fenix 5, the FR935’s optical sensor got a slight overhaul/upgrade, most notably when in 24×7 mode. Previous to this, Garmin’s Elevate sensor would sample rather infrequently (outside of workouts), at rates from every few seconds to every few hours. It was all over the map.
But with the new lower-power FR935/Fenix 5 optical sensor, it now samples every 1-2 seconds. Basically, it’s always on. In addition to the change in sampling frequency, they’ve also reduced the sensor bump. Of course – my goal is to find out if there were any undesired repercussions from this, specifically in sport mode. When it came to 24×7 mode, the new data looks much better, and the accuracy seems spot on for casual activities like watching TV, walking, or just living life.
Thus with each subsequent new unit released I re-visit sensor accuracy. While it’s the same physical hardware, one can see the impact that firmware updates make. Additionally, each watch has a slightly different form factor (exterior design), which can impact accuracy in terms of external light getting into the sensor area (which degrades accuracy of optical HR sensors).
Before we move on to the test results, note that optical HR sensor accuracy is rather varied from individual to individual. Aspects such as skin color, hair density, and position can impact accuracy. Position and how the band is worn are *the most important* pieces. A unit with an optical HR sensor should be snug. It doesn’t need to leave marks, but you shouldn’t be able to slide a finger under the band (at least during workouts). You can wear it a tiny bit looser the rest of the day.
Ok, so in my testing I simply use the watch throughout my normal workouts. Those workouts include a wide variety of intensities and conditions, making them great for accuracy testing. I’ve got long/steady runs, hard interval workouts on both bike and running, as well as tempo runs and rides. Not to mention skiing and hiking. Night and day, sun and snow. I’ve got it all!
For each test I’m wearing additional devices, usually 3-4, which capture data from other sensors. Typically I’d wear a chest strap (usually the HRM-TRI), as well as another optical HR sensor made by Scosche and in some cases also a Suunto Spartan Wrist HR that I’m also testing. I generally consider the Scosche sensors to be the most accurate optical HR sensors for fitness/workouts today. Note that the numbers you see in the upper right corner are *not* the averages, but rather just the exact point my mouse is sitting over.
Let’s dive into the first data set. Note all this data is analyzed using the DCR Analyzer, details here.
First up is some intervals from this Saturday. You can see that I’ve got a pretty even warm-up phase, building intensity. Then I go into 3xintervals, followed by four much shorter sprints.
As we start off there’s a bit of disagreement between the optical side of the house (all three sensors), and the chest strap. It’s hard to say who is correct, though I’d likely place it on the optical side of the house this time (FR935/Scosche). The Suunto unit is a bit off there, bouncing around. But at the 5 minute marker they all merge.
At they largely stay pretty darn close together for the three interval sets. You see a little bit of lag on the 2nd interval from the FR935 in the first 30 seconds or so, but it’s not horrible.
As we transition to the four short sprints at the end, things actually match really well. Except the last one. What’s going on there? In that one I was filming the TrainingPeaks video showing the sprint – and it definitely seemed to impact things. That’s logical – given that I’d have been trying to hold my wrist up for the camera, and thus dorking with the cadence readings.
So overall, pretty good there. And I know why certain ones were offset compared to others – which is important.
Here’s another interval workout with the 935, and then a Fenix5 paired to an HRM-RUN HR strap. Also, the Suunto Wrist HR. In this you can see that outside of the first few minutes (again), the FR935 and HR strap track quite closely.
Which is again, the experience I saw over and over again (and also shown in the data). When it came to running – there wasn’t much of an issue here, outside of occasional warm-up type oddities in the first few minutes. Which of course is also common in HR straps.
Next, let’s look at some cycling. I’ve got some indoor trainer rides, but those are all honestly kinda boring as the sensor works just fine and dandy there. Just like the Fenix 5 – indoor trainer rides no problem.
Instead, let’s look at this outdoor ride from Sunday as one example of HR data. This ride actually turned out quite good for HR data from all three units, at least for the first portion of the ride. The different sensors by and large agreed quite nicely, minus some minor quirks. I removed the Suunto Spartan Wrist HR data from this plot, because it was too distracting. You can find that down below in the table if you want.
We do however see around the 2hr marker that things go sideways a little bit. This seemed to be a lower intensities, mostly when I was coasting downhill along some occasionally rougher terrain through a park of sorts.
We this same decoupling towards the end of the ride as well – also at lower intensities.
Thus the pattern seems to be a bit where as long as I was riding along with some effort, it was doing pretty well. But if I got into rougher roads with less intensity – then it fell apart a bit.
Which, is all roughly in line with what I saw for the Fenix5 as well. It works well enough for me during running – even through intervals. However, cycling is a mixed bag. Indoors it’s fine, and outdoors as long as there is some evenness within intensity (or roads), then it works out pretty well. But if I drop intensity and then combine that with rougher roads – it tends to struggle.
Lastly, here’s a table of all my activities on final or near-final software from the last 3-4 weeks:
(Note: All of the charts in these accuracy sections were created using the DCR Analyzer tool. It allows you to compare power meters/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed/pace, GPS tracks and plenty more. You can use it as well, more details here.)
GPS Accuracy:
There’s likely no topic that stirs as much discussion and passion as GPS accuracy. A watch could fall apart and give you dire electrical shocks while doing so, but if it shows you on the wrong side of the road? Oh hell no, bring on the fury of the internet!
GPS accuracy can be looked at in a number of different ways, but I prefer to look at it using a number of devices in real-world scenarios across a vast number of activities. I use 2-6 other devices at once, trying to get a clear picture of how a given set of devices handles conditions on a certain day. Conditions include everything from tree/building cover to weather.
Over the years I’ve continued to tweak my GPS testing methodology. For example, I try to not place two units next to each other on my wrists, as that can impact signal. If I do so, I’ll put a thin fabric spacer of about 1”/3cm between them. But often I’ll simply carry other units by the straps, or attach them to my shoulder straps of a CamelBak. Plus, wearing multiple watches on the same wrist is well known to impact optical HR accuracy too.
Next, as noted I use just my daily training routes. Using a single route over and over again isn’t really indicative of real-world conditions, it’s just indicative of one trail.
When it comes to the data I’m focusing on for accuracy details in this review, I’m going to mostly limit it to the last few weeks, since earlier data was beta data. Though in those earlier beta builds, I had no issues with GPS accuracy.
First, let’s just start off with a run in/around the city. Note as with the optical HR data, all this data is analyzed using the DCR Analyzer.
This run passes under tunnels, over bridges, and right alongside 6-10 story buildings. Here’s the high level overview.
But let’s dig into some challenging sections – such as turning onto the bridge – did it handle that correctly?
It seems to – all units nicely cross the bridge without ending up in the water. They also correctly navigate exactly where I was on the path. Next, looking at the turnaround near Bastille, three of the four units correctly plot that turn, including the FR935.
However, as we get back down the other end of the canal, some units do go for a brush with the buildings. I ran right alongside the building and the Fenix 5 and FR735XT end up in the building slightly, whereas the FR935 doesn’t and correctly tracks.
It also correctly tracks through the tunnel that’s seen in the lower left of this image.
In short, on this run there’s no issues with GPS accuracy of the FR935. And that’s indicative of what I saw on other running activities as well.
So what about something trickier – like an openwater swim? Well, here ya go:
As you can see, all three units tracked actually quite closely. There’s maybe a brief moment of track oddity around the mid-point, which is roughly when I stopped to take some photos/video, which might explain that. Also towards the end the FR935 adds a little bit of distance as well:
Now, when it comes to cycling I largely see good results. There’s honestly not a lot to analyze. You can dig through the results below – but things are pretty darn clean, which is usually the case for most GPS units. The higher speed means that there’s less room for GPS to ‘wander’.
Lastly, here’s a table of all my activities on final or near-final software from the last 3-4 weeks. Note that in general I’m excluding activities where I didn’t have multiple devices, or excluding activities where GPS isn’t involved (i.e. indoor treadmill runs or similar).
All of the above link to the DCR Analyzer data, which you can then dig into the individual activities in more detail if you’d like. Further, you can download the original data at the bottom of each page.
Connect IQ & 3rd Parties:
Like almost every wearable Garmin has made in the last few years, the Forerunner 935 includes support for Garmin Connect IQ, which is Garmin’s app platform that 3rd party apps can take advantage of. Said platform has thousands of apps covering all sorts of things from Uber to watch faces to specialized apps for very specific race scenarios. Basically, it allows companies or hobbyists to not only integrate with 3rd party services, but also to bridge the gap where the base device may be missing a feature.
The FR935 includes the same support for Connect IQ version 2.2.3+, which is the latest version of Connect IQ. That will enable it to support newer apps over the next while. This includes 2MB for apps, or up to 32 individual apps – whatever you reach first. Additionally, it also has 64 color support, also the same as the Fenix 5 and Chronos series.
In the case of 3rd party support, you’ll see both apps that can be downloaded – as well as some that are actually pre-installed. For example, TrainingPeaks is now preinstalled as an app – which offers the ability for you to iterate through structured workouts directly from their platform.
In addition, you’ll see other pre-loaded apps like Strava Segments, which allows you to race Strava Segments in real-time. That works identically to how the FR735XT works, which I covered in this video.
Those Strava Segments are downloaded automatically to your FR935 based on Garmin’s connection to Strava behind the scenes. The watch will then give you updates for how you’re competing against the leaderboard in real-time as you race the segment (running or cycling):
Afterwards, it’ll update accordingly on the Strava site (once you upload your activity upon ending it). Again, nothing super new here when it comes to these features.
In many ways, what’s most notable is beneath the covers and came in the form of updates last fall during the ANT+ Symposium. These updates have given app developers far more connectivity to the watch. For example, the Training Peaks integration isn’t some sort of special secret back door between the two companies. Rather, it’s just TrainingPeaks leveraging the new capability to hand-off files (workouts) to the watch via your smartphone connection. It’s the exact same functionality that Xert uses on the Garmin Edge lineup. The only difference? Garmin simply placed the TrainingPeaks app on your FR935 by default. Just one file placed there, that’s it. For everyone else – you can simply go to the Garmin Connect IQ app store and download it for free.
Still – all of these apps are cool. Be it ones that Garmin is highlighting as part of partnerships, or smaller apps from hobbyist developers that you’ve never heard of. In fact, sometimes the smaller ones are the coolest ones.
Sensor Support (ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart):
The Fenix 5 series was the first Garmin unit to not only support a slew of ANT+ sensors, but also now supports Bluetooth Smart sensors. The Garmin FR935 then followed along in those same footsteps. Previously Garmin would only utilize the Bluetooth side of the house for connecting to your phone via Bluetooth Smart. Now however, you can connect to both ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart sensors, assuming both follow published standards.
At present, the FR935 supports the following sensor types:
ANT+ External Heart Rate Sensor
ANT+ Cycling Power Meter
ANT+ Cycling Speed-only, Cadence-only, and Speed/Cadence Combo Sensors
ANT+ Running Footpod
ANT+ Gear Shifting Profile (SRAM RED eTAP/Campagnolo EPS)
ANT+ External Temperature Sensors (Tempe)
ANT+ Lighting Systems (Garmin Varia/Bontrager lights)
ANT+ Radar Systems (Garmin Varia Radar)
ANT+ Remote Display (Varia Vision heads up display)
ANT+ Muscle Oxygenation Sensor (i.e. Moxy/BSX)
ANT Shimano Di2 Gear Shifting Profile
ANT Garmin VIRB Action Camera Control
ANT Garmin RD (Running Dynamics) pod
Bluetooth Smart External Heart Rate Sensor
Bluetooth Smart Cycling Speed-only, Cadence-only, and Speed/Cadence Combo Sensors
Bluetooth Smart Cycling Power Meters
Bluetooth Smart Running Footpods
Phew! Lots of sensor types!
Now, the most important wording I noted above was ‘follow published standards’. On the ANT+ side, this means either following specific adopted ANT+ profiles (i.e. the heart rate sensor or gear shifting profile), or in a few limited cases, following company-specific standards. For example, Shimano Di2 doesn’t technically follow the ANT+ gear shifting standard, rather, they’ve done their own thing. But they were the first to do that thing, so everyone supports it anyway.
Where things get messy is private/extended variants of standards, especially on the Bluetooth Smart side. For example – running dynamics. There is no standard on either ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart for running dynamics type data (i.e. vertical oscillation, ground contact time, etc…). Instead, Garmin uses private-ANT (just like Shimano does for Di2). And other companies like Wahoo with the TICKR series use private methods over Bluetooth Smart. Though, these aren’t compatible. Meaning that you’ll get base heart rate data – but you won’t get any running dynamics stuff when using a non-Garmin strap. Maybe some day, but today is not that day.
The same is true of offline data, meaning the ability for a heart rate strap to cache/save data when not connected to a watch. Garmin uses this with the HRM-TRI/HRM-SWIM heart rate straps to save data while you swim, because it can’t send that data to the watch through the water. When connected again, Garmin uses the standard ANT+ ANTfs offloading capability to allow a watch to download that data. This is a published standard (and has been for more than half a decade).
However, others don’t follow this standard, and there is no equivalent published standard for offloading fitness data on Bluetooth Smart. Thus other companies do it differently. For example, both Polar’s new H10 and Wahoo’s TICKR-X can save data offline, as can Stryd, Suunto and 4iiii heart rate straps. But none do so the same way on Bluetooth Smart, let alone utilize the ANT+ ANTfs standard for offloading.
Said more simply: You’ll need a Garmin HRM-TRI/HRM-SWIM strap to download data. And you’ll need either a Garmin HRM-TRI/HRM-RUN/RD Pod to get running dynamics.
Of course, folks could pressure both sides of the equation to support other standards. For example, folks could pressure Garmin to open up Running Dynamics to be an ANT+ standard for a variety of efficiency metrics (nobody has tried harder to pressure them to do so than I). And inversely, folks could pressure companies like Wahoo and 4iiii to support ANTfs offloading of data from the strap for offline access.
Finally – some might wonder if you can use Polar’s H7/H10 and other like straps that transmit heart rate signals underwater live, to do so to the FR935 (underwater). The answer is no. That’s because while underwater the Polar device doesn’t use Bluetooth Smart to connect to these straps, but rather an analog frequency (the same one used for gym treadmills and such), which Garmin doesn’t support.
Here’s a simplified FAQ section, since I’ve seen about 1,291 questions about this:
Will the FR935 support running dynamics from my Wahoo TICKR strap?
No, see above for details. It will read the heart rate data just fine.
Will the Garmin FR935 connect to my PowerTap P1 pedals via Bluetooth Smart?
Yes, they can. You’ll connect both sides (Left/Right) and the Garmin will properly track left/right balance. However, because there is no standard for Torque Efficiency and Pedal Smoothness on Bluetooth Smart, you won’t get those unless you connect via ANT+. The general guidance of *every* power meter company I talk to in the industry is given the option to connect your power meter over ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart, always choose ANT+.
Will my power meter work flawlessly over Bluetooth Smart?
I’m just gonna be straight about this now: This will continue to be a mess. Garmin has done a pretty good job in getting compatibility working for the dozen+ ways that power meter companies have adopted the Bluetooth Smart standards in power meters. In the few BLE power meters I’ve tested, they’ve worked. But I haven’t tested every firmware version of every unit out there – and I can guarantee some don’t work. It sucks. A lot. Garmin isn’t the only one shaking their head. Everyone is. Different companies handle it differently. Suunto has tried as well to just ‘make it work’ as quickly as possible, while Polar seems to drag its heels on making things work. Everyone I talk to in the industry here about this topic truly sighs and puts their head in their hands in frustration.
Who to blame is a mixed bag, but either way, the consumer is left holding said bag. The good news is that every power meter out there except the Polar power meters support dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart, so just use ANT+ and don’t worry about it.
Will the FR935 connect to my Polar strap underwater?
No, said Polar strap uses analog signals to broadcast underwater. Garmin doesn’t have that hardware in the Forerunner series to connect to that.
Does this mean the end of ANT+?
Not likely. I do think it applies pressure to ANT+ though to maintain relevance, but I think they can do that through things like standardizing running metrics and stuff – thus encouraging companies to utilize the platform. But until the day comes where I can look back on the preceding 6-12 months and say that every Bluetooth Smart power meter (or cycling sensor) has worked flawlessly with every head unit (from a connection standpoint), then ANT+ will likely continue to do quite well.
Can I connect multiple Bluetooth Smart sensors?
Yes and no. You can connect multiple sensors to an FR935 – no issues there. However, you cannot connect multiple devices to a single Bluetooth Smart sensor. So if you’re connected to your Bluetooth Smart heart rate strap with the Zwift app (on your phone), then the FR935 will be unable to connect to it as well. That’s because Bluetooth Smart at this time cannot accept multiple master device connections.
Bluetooth 5.0 does resolve this (upcoming), but so did Bluetooth 4.1 – and nobody has adopted either from a sensor standpoint in the sports industry yet. ANT+ does not have these limitations, a key reason it’s used in gym/coaching scenarios today.
Bugs & Quirks:
I often include a section in my review about specific bugs and quirks seen in the product. From a software development standpoint, there’s often a fine line between a bug that needs fixing – and what the software industry calls ‘by design’. Meaning it’s not technically a bug, but rather something that’s designed that way (however sucky that might be). In my case, I’m going to call those ‘quirks’.
In general, I’m drawing the line that I’m only going to cover bugs seen in the final production version of things. After all – that’s somewhat the point of beta – to rid itself of bugs. I have however been tracking bugs I saw during beta, and specifically validating those have been fixed in the production version.
Also, note that I’m specifically looking at issues *I’ve encountered* during swim/bike/run/ski/hike/daily use/etc… This isn’t designed to be the end-all-be-all of bugs that may exist in the product.
What’s interesting here though is that with the mostly shared code based on the Fenix side, bugs I’ve been finding have been taken care of there first. Plus any bugs I’ve found on the FR935 they’ve resolved within a few days. So my ‘bug list’ if you will is incredibly small, nitpicking items at best. For example one of the last sport type widgets doesn’t quite seem to be pulling the correct workout type by default (but can easily be changed), but even that’s only something I happened to notice because I was taking a bunch of photos for this review this weekend.
If there’s anything that falls into this category, it’d be that optical HR sensor accuracy while cycling certainly leaves something to be desired. A complaint I echoed in my Fenix 5 in-depth review.
As with all companies, it’s not so much having bugs in a product that’s concerning (as every company/product has bugs) – but rather, it’s how quickly a company responds to unexpected bugs. Both in terms of initial triage via support channels, as well as then, of course, issuing a fix in short shorter via updated firmware. Generally speaking Garmin is pretty good about earlier issues in new products, usually fixing most oddities pretty quickly in the first few weeks/months. Given that the codebase is shared with the Fenix 5 series, that helps in having a broader number of people and getting updates out quicker.
Product Comparison Tool:
I’ve added the Garmin FR935 into the product comparison tool, allowing you to compare it against numerous other products I’ve reviewed and/or hands-on time with. For the purposes of the below chart, I’ve placed it against the Fenix 5 and Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR. But you can easily mix and match to compare it against any products in the database, here at the product comparison tool.
Again – remember you can make your own comparisons using the comparison tool here.
Summary:
The FR935 is a very solid and capable product – and one that builds nicely on last year’s FR735XT, while offering a slightly lower priced option compared to the more fashion-focused Fenix 5 series. The tech and features inside it work just as well as the Fenix 5. And while the benefits are minimal over recent products, they are more substantial when comparing it against older watches like the FR920 or much older FR910XT, 310XT, and so on.
But I suspect there will (probably rightly), be some disappointed people with one area: The size/form factor. Specifically that for triathletes, many have actually enjoyed the larger/rectangular display seen on the FR920XT and the umpteen generations before it. On the flip-side, runners will likely be happy since they’ve now got an upgrade option for those that want all the fancy features in a slimmer running focused unit.
The benefit though to Garmin’s consolidation on watch formats (i.e making it round) is that they’re also consolidating on code bases. That has a very real-world impact to stability of the product. The fact that this product will be available immediately, and likely with few visible bugs is a testament to the software being the Fenix 5 codebase that’s been used for many months by hundreds of testers. It also means that going forward, it won’t end up an orphaned product since it’s tied like a conjoined twin to the hip of the juggernaut in Garmin that is the Fenix product lineup. Sometimes there’s safety in numbers.
If you’re looking for a great little triathlon watch that has all the features of the Fenix 5 without the price tag of it – then the FR935 is a very solid option. Especially since it ships starting…today. Just in time for the season.
Found This Post Useful? Support The Site!
Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.
If you're shopping for the Garmin Forerunner 935 or any other accessory items, please consider using the affiliate links below! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot. Even more, if you shop with TPC (The Pro's Closet), you'll save $40 on purchases over $200 with coupon code DCRAIN40! The Pro's Closet has been a long-time partner of the site here - including sponsoring videos like my cargo bike race, as well as just being an awesome Colorado-based company full of good humans. Check them out with the links below and the DCRAIN40 coupon!
And finally, here’s a handy list of accessories that work well with this unit (and some that I showed in the review). Given the unit pairs with ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart sensors, you can use just about anything though.
This is a dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart cycling cadence sensor that you strap to your crank arm, but also does dual Bluetooth Smart, so you can pair it both to Zwift and another Bluetooth Smart app at once if you want.
This is one of the top straps I use daily for accuracy comparisons (the others being the Polar H9/H10). It's dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart, and in fact dual-Bluetooth Smart too, in case you need multiple connectons.
Seriously, this will change your life. $9 for a two-pack of these puck Garmin chargers that stay put and stay connected. One for the office, one for your bedside, another for your bag, and one for your dog's house. Just in case.
This speed sensor is unique in that it can record offline (sans-watch), making it perfect for a commuter bike quietly recording your rides. But it's also a standard ANT+/BLE sensor that pairs to your device. It's become my go-to speed sensor.
This wifi-connected scale will track your weight and related metrics both on the scale display and in Garmin Connect (plus 3rd party apps like TrainingPeaks). It'll also then sync your weight to your watch/bike computer, to ensure accurate calorie data.
The HRM-PRO Plus is Garmin's top-end chest strap. It transmits dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart, but also transmits Running Dynamics & Running Pace/Distance metrics, stores HR data during a swim, and can be used without a watch for other sports. Also, it can transmit XC Skiing Dynamics as well.
And of course – you can always sign-up to be a DCR Supporter! That gets you an ad-free DCR, access to the DCR Quarantine Corner video series packed with behind the scenes tidbits...and it also makes you awesome. And being awesome is what it’s all about!
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. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful – I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!
I’m getting this watch for triathlon training, but still plan to use my Edge 520 for on the bike training. Will the FR 935 be able to sync with my bike workouts (via my phone) so that data like workload and training effectiveness can be shown on the FR935 and include my bike workouts?
Or, would the only way to do this be to record the bike workouts on the FR 935 as well?
Thanks
Will
Hi. I am new to this fitness gadgets stuff so I was hoping you could help me chose a fitness watch with chest strap. I am female ans disabled and have been bed ridden for quite a while but intend to try* to get fit. I need something which measures heart rate during my rehabilitation exercises. One day I hope to walk/run and cycle but for moment I hope to aim to do floor exercises and hopefully swimming (rehabilitation). I am interested in getting Garmin 935 (or Fenix 5s or 735?). I am not sure which chest strap to get. Triathlon one vs separate running and swimming ones? I physically can’t run or cycle or swim atm but may be in future (huge maybe, I may just end up in a wheelchair due to limited mobility). My cardiologist recommend I get fitness watch and chest strap but I don’t know which. I need a chest strap which will be able to tell me my heart rate while I exercise mostly pilates and floor exercises atm with possible swimming pool exercises too. If all goes well I may one day do more but I don’t know. That’s why I don’t know which chest straps to get: triathlon vs running and swimming.
I am also confused with, if I get eg Garmin 935 with swimming or triathlon chest strap, will I be able to see what my heart rate is real time on my watch? In water and outside!? I have elevated heart rate so I’m basically interested in monitoring how high my heartrate goes during my rehab exercises. I’ve never owned a heart rate watch or strap so I don’t really know what to expect.
Would be grateful for reply to tell me which chest straps would be good for a beginner who may one day do more than basic exercises. Thanks.
Hello Friend.
At first I thought that you do not really need a watch. Since you will not be seriously engaged and would like to recommend that you take Garmin Vivoactive HR. He will close all your needs if you add a breast strap to him, but … I see that you want to practice in the pool, then you will get any watch from 700 to Phoenix 5 with a belt of TRI. This strap can also be used on the pool and on land. Do not overpay.
However … you can make it even easier and cheaper and for you it will be enough. Will buy a Polar A370 +H7. It will work in the water in real time and on land. This is a simple and cheap solution. You can analyze your data with the help of PolarFlow and connect the strap to your smartphone and work with it without a bracelet.
Dear friend. I wish you to restore your health. Good luck to you.
You won’t see realtime heartrates in the pool with the tri- or swimming HRM-bands. They just store the heartrate, so that it can be transferred after the swimming session.
There are only hacks for realtime heartrate during swim-sessions, as far as I know (f.e. with the Scosche Rhythm plus)
Yes, of course it is, but the question was in general about measuring the heart rate in water.
If you put the question of heart rate rhythm online, then it’s like I think only Polar at a reasonable price. V800 or RCX5 (!) You can take a very cheap.
You can try using the 430super laser sensor! Aha-ha-ha. 🙂
And suddenly it will work as stated? Soon I will test this ….
For swimming, I use one of my old Polar heart rate monitors that give accurate, real-time heart rate measurement. It’s funny how the advancement of newer monitors with newer technology have taken a step back in this regard!
Therefore, I with great, great regret postponed the purchase of the top Garmin. I need to measure the pulse in real time in the water when diving, swimming in the pool and open water. I’m not young anymore and I need to watch my heart. I like the Garmin in terms of design and functions, but unfortunately they lose a lot by measuring the heart rhythm of Polar. So I’m waiting for the top Polar, and I was ready to change from Garmin, but …
It seems that even the 430 with its 6th laser sensor will make Fenix.
Well, just don’t configure any WiFi network and it won’t sync via WiFi.
You need to add a WiFi in Garmin Express in order to be able to use WiFi. So if you never do that, you will always sync via Bluetooth.
Is there a way to configure WiFi by Connect App?
I don’t have Windows (Express) anymore but loved the way syncing my data per WiFi (FR 620, 630). It’s faster in the cloud than me in my room when finished.
WOW only 1149 comments on this thread!!!
I hope you can give me some insight on this as i think i have found a FLAW in some of the Garmin watches. The issue is that at some point, the watches i have had change the temperature to remain at 298 degrees C, this also shorts out the VO2 predictor and also the training status functions, amongst other smaller issues (barometer, altimeter, some navigational functions).
I previously had the Fenix 2 and this issue occurred 5 times. Garmin were great at replacing the unit within 5 days, but still, for this to happen 5 times Garmin didn’t offer any advice or seem to investigate. I now have the 935 which I love and yet again the exact same issue has occurred.
The FLAW, I believe, is when I go in the sauna after swim sessions (3/5 times a week). So as a plea to other users, has this happened to anyone before? do you use the sauna regularly? if so, please try to avoid it.
Im off on a training camp this week and so don’t want to send the watch back to Garmin just yet as i want to track my training. Thankfully, although training status is inoperable ( even on GC) using training peaks works a treat 🙂
Hi Juro.
I didn’t realise the manual said that.
Nevertheless, why does the gauge say 289 degrees C. This may suggest it can read higher than 50. Seems like something may have been overlooked in the software or something. It’s a bit like designing a great car, putting an F1 engine in it so it can go 289 mph, but then stating in the manual that if you go over 50 mph it’s possible that the wheels will fall off.
I will get garmin to replace and refrain from using it in the sauna. And I may start reading the manuals of things too. Thanks Juro
i have been using the tomtom multisport cardio for quite a few years now (pretty much since it came out)
I am thinking maybe its time to upgrade to a more sophisticated watch. I could see myself wearing the 935 as an every day watch. I only wear the tomtom for running.
I have been very happy with the TomTom OHR performance for steady state running and even interval training when running
Is there any reason why the OHR on the 935 will not perform as well as the Tomtom?
This is my only concern really as I like to vary my running intensities (steady sped/intervals//hills etc.) and dont want to upgrade if its an inferior OHR on the Garmin
You are the review king. I actually busted out and bought my 935 practically as it arrived in Miami. I was upgrading from a 910 so I’m super happy with a lot of the features. I find that if I skip a model I’m less unhappy with paying for the upgrade. I’m probably cheap. I do find the wrist-based heart rate to be very unreliable. I am thinking of it more like a suggestion… this might be my heart rate. In the middle of a threshold workout on the indoor bike trainer it told me my heart rate was 81. It was nowhere near 81. Lol.
I learned many things today reading your review like the Health Stats on Garmin Connect. You are always a wealth of information.
I wonder what percentage of the capabilities do you think most Garmin wearers actually use. I suspect I only use 10-20% of what it does and I’m not sure if I’m unusual or normal in that way.
Hello, I have been having issues syncing my 935 with the Garmin Connect Mobile App for a few weeks now. The sync process would simply fail halfway through 2 out of 3 times. After trying a few times, it would sync normally. I’m running the latest firmware (4.10) and also the latest version of the GCMA (3.20). I have an iPhone 6s (10.3.3).
Before you suggest me to read the FAQ and other links about how to pair & sync your watch, I’ve read/done all of them. I’d say I’m a fairly advanced user and I’m pretty confident I know what I’m doing.
This morning, after so many failed attempts to sync my watch, I decided to unpair the watch from the GCMA and to pair it again. It didn’t work. I tried various times. I also went to the iOS Bluetooth settings on my phone and “forgot this device”, relaunched the GCMA to initiate the pairing process.. my watch would give me the pairing code, I would enter the code on the GCMA but then it would failed. Every single time.
I deleted the app from my phone, reinstalled it. Disable the Phone connection from the watch, tried again and again and again. It simply does not pair with my phone anymore. When I get the “Pairing Failed” screen, I can see my watch displaying “Updating” and that’s it.
But I think I have an idea why I’m having problems pairing my watch again: it’s because last week I enabled the LiveTrack on the GCMA.
Why do I think this is related to my issue? Because after failing to pair my watch with the GCMA, if I initiate the Sync from the watch (hold light button, choose Sync), I get this message: “This will end the current LiveTrack session. Down to Continue..” If tap the down button, after a few seconds (10 maybe?!) fails the end the LiveTrack… because I’m not currently in an activity, therefore, there’s no LiveTracking going on at the moment. Since this is probably a GCMA + watch dependent feature, and the watch is not “connected” to that specific app anymore (because I unpaired, uninstalled and reinstalled the app), it fails to create a new connection with the CGMA. I can’t think of anything else.
I’m pretty sure that if I restore my watch to the factory setting I will probably be able to pair my watch again. The problem is: I would lose all my Training Status (since it doesn’t seem to sync it to the Garmin Connect’s website) and other information. This is kind of disappointing.
Another weird thing: even though the paring failed, I’m getting all my phone notifications on my watch. I can also control my music using the watch. So I’m pretty sure this is not a bluetooth issue. But I can’t open the weather app on my watch for example.. it says I need to pair with the GCMA. It kind of makes sense, since notifications + musics, are only dependent on bluetooth connectivity, while the weather app, needs to communicate with the GCMA.. and this is not working.
What should I do? This is probably a bug that affects 0.0001% of Garmin’s customer but if it’s a bug, it would be great to get fixed. I’m more than happy to talk to someone if necessary and provide more info.
To add more context, I uplad screenshots of the pairing process between the watch and the app: link to imgur.com
In the Fenix 5 beta firmware notes, this has been recently fixed:
“Fixed an issue where the device was unable to sync if a LiveTrack session was currently active.”
Looks like your issue. Given 935XT and Fenix are largely the same watch, there is a likelihood this will be addressed.
What helped me when I had similar GCMA sync issues was to reboot the phone and then also the watch. It did help even when all the steps you outline didn’t.
Yes, the 935 has an internal temp. sensor. Unfortunately, like other wrist based device temp. sensors, they’re influenced by body heat, so it’s best to use a Tempe sensor if you want accurate temp. stats. Swimming, though, negates the body heat issue and does give accurate water temp. results for what it’s worth.
I’ve had the FR935 for a couple months now. I do a mixed bag of workouts from running and hiking to lots of crossfit wods and grunt garden work like shoveling, hoeing and mixing massive amounts of compost and soil for our ever expanding perennial gardens. I have found the wrist heart rate to be surprisingly accurate for basically anything where you are primarily using your legs (running, hiking, walking, etc). As soon as the workout entails using your arms, like lifting weights, shovelling dirt, etc, etc, the wrist based heart rate is useless. It WAY under reports my heartrate. It’ll appear that i’m doing basically nothing more than sitting in a chair when I’m completely drenched with sweat and exhausted. I’ve fiddled with the position and how tight the band is, but to no avail.
I bought it hoping to be able to easily track just about anything without a chest strap, but it just doesn’t perform well enough to do that.
Need some product details relative to the Tri bundle.
I got the 920xt Tri bundle which came with the HR Swim strap including one (1) extender. If you buy the Swim HR strap separately product details indicates 3 extenders, small, medium, large. So, I am assuming the Tri bundle comes with the medium extender; but, product details don’t mention the extender.
My problem is that I am 5′ 8″, 160 lbs, perfectly average build; but, I can’t get the HR Swim strap from the Tri bundle to synch tight enough and with one too many turns and push offs in the pool, it drops to my lower ribs, becoming a belly monitor. I’ve stopped wearing it.
Got the 935 w/o Tri bundle. Can you or anyone provide the inbox details for both Tri bundle and the stand alone Swim heartrate strap?
I am currently training triathlon for the full IM distance.
I am using the FR735XT and the 820 Edge currently in connection with a 2 gen. stages dura ace power meter.
Like a lot others, i have signal issues with this setup about my power.
I got a new 820, that “only” looses the power signal 2-5 times pr. hour now when positioned optimally (on top of water bottle between aerobars).
I have heard that the Bluetooth signal would be better for connecting this, is this true? If yes how do you connect the 935 via bluetotth and not ANT+ – as it only searches for sensors and not if it is ant+ or bluetooth?
Hope that you can help me as i am trying to optimize before my IM the 20th og august. And i want to be sure i have a stable signal so that i can ride the bike properly.
Somehow my FR935’s battery life does not look convincing. My battery life would only last for about 3-4 sessions of 2-3 hours workout before i need to recharge. Any idea why?
Thank you for the datasets, it is really useful to be able to access FIT activity files from a device that I don’t actually own yet. Would you mind sharing some activity-tracking data files (monitor files) from the FR935 or Fenix 5 as well? It would be very helpful for this DIY programmer!
I took the gamble that the monitor file format would not be radically different. As expected the format still conforms to the FIT monitor file standard. There are now also not only ‘monitoring’ and ‘event’ messages of but also ‘unknown’ messages in the files. These ‘unknowns’ cannot be accessed with the FIT SDK. I can still work with the files, but it is a pity that some of the logged information is not accessible.
I have been using the 935 for 2 months and I really enjoy it. I use it mainly for running, I have put on about 500 miles in that time period mostly training runs but also 2 50km races and a 40 mile race. I have one question about the pace option, I was pacing a friend during a 100 mile race and I did the last 37.5 miles with him and he was struggling so we walked a lot..close to all 37.5 mile was walking.
I notice that pace when walking jumping all over the place. 15:30 min mile to 16:20 to 18:20 with in seconds. I did a little research and I found out that walking pace will have issues due to GPS…is this true?
I want to run a 100 mile race and there will be walking involved and was wondering what I could use to correct the jumpy pace. Would the Garmin Footpod help? Other options?
I use a calibrated Garmin footpod with my 935 (FW4.10). Today I was tail-walking at a parkrun event, with walking being the operative word, and the pace reading (set for kms) was reasonably stable despite the slow speed.
I can’t say I’ve noticed the same, but if you’re worried then I’d reach for a tool I’d be using anyway in your shoes – lap pace. Over longer runs on varied gradients I find lap pace more useful than instant or average pace, and you can set autolap to shorter distances than the standard 1km if your pace is likely to vary frequently.
Does anyone know if the Fitness metric on the Training Status screen on a 935 only works with running or should it calculate from any heart rate activity?
I had assumed the latter but haven’t run recently and it now says I have to “run outdoors with heart rate twice to see your status”
I contacted Garmin and they suggested a complete reset of the watch without actually answering the question of how they calculate whether Fitness is increasing or not.
Question: How does the Fr935 work for hiking ? How does the GPS and Barometer, altimeter work in hills or mountains?
Also, how does the watch fit on a women’s fairly small wrist?
I’m in two minds about this. I use an ipod shuffle, mainly with podcasts and audio books. That works great, and the battery is awesome. Music on the wrist would be great, but not sure how much battery I’d get from Bluetooth headphones for long runs/ultras – and I’m sure I’d always forget to charge them!
Devices like mighty look great, but I need it to support Google play music and to double its battery life! It supports 3.5mm jack, so no problem charging headphones!
Integrate mighty functions into the fenix and is be tempted, but for just offline music, you can’t beat the iPod.
Hi Ray –
Thanks so much for your review – so helpful as I just got the 935. I googled a few times but don’t see the 935 listed as a “TrueUp” compatible device. Your post on TrueUp also doesn’t mention it but I think it was published before the 935 came out. Does the 935 work with TrueUp if I have a vivomove?
I restarted my watch after the update so I doubt that fill fix anything. I haven’t done a factory reset but I strongly suspect that won’t help either.
Sigh. The 935’s firmware was so solid from the start that I grew overconfident and I thought Garmin had changed so I updated as soon as 5.30 was available. Well, lesson learned.
to add “mystery” this morning had a structured training planned with 2 km WU and then few intervals.
I was wearing the HRM strap.
After the 2 km w-up i realized i did not used the planned tanning so i ended the activity and started a new one with the planned training.
Now looking at the data with my surprise i note that the WU was recorded by the OHR tough I was wearing the strap! these is still clearly the mistake: the auxiliary heart rate that i installed and planned to use tomorrow for test picked up the strap heart rate and the mistake is clear!
Is there a way to:
1) Turn off OHR completely so that it is never on?
2) Prevent the device from upgrading to 5.30 when opening the unit out of the box and starting it up for the first time?
Hello Ray (thanks for splendid review as usual!) and All,
I’ve been through all the pages of comments (it took few days… but very interesting, thank you all) and I’m also adding my very recent experience with the FR 935.
I’m coming from the FR 630 and I’ve been using the FR 935 since 3 weeks: so far used the OHR just 3 times and all the other runs were done with the HRM-Tri.
The first OHR runs was just testing the 935 the day I bought it and it seemed ok; than again I tried it last Saturday for a long run and today for a super recovery jog with some speed in the end (i.e. I did not “dare” testing it in intervals so far…)
I did this last two runs also using the RD-Pod.
Sincerely I’m a bit concerned that my device might be defective (hopefully not), in particular after today experience (see the link on GC below)
Indeed basically today the OHR stayed flat at 138 bpm for long time, though I was actually accelerating the pace and, at any event, getting more tired. This in particular since I did some strides (with no OHR responses) when I realised it was somehow stuck. I tried even to stop and dry a bit the sweat on the sensor (see km 7.8) but nothing: I did the last 2 km flat out, it picked up a bit but still was basically keeping on being lock flat (like a “dead ECG).
Saturday, instead, it was the opposite and it got locked at I higher rate
in this case it might be that it picked up the cadence? Shouldn’t this being prevented by the fact I was using the RD–Pod?
I’m above all concerned by today “flat ECG”: is there any possible reason of this kind of reading? I had secured the watch very tight to the wrist but I assume this should not be an the caouse.
Hi Ray, excellent review as usual. Before I bought the 935, I had the Fenix 3 HR. I never had any problems syncing the F3HR with the Garmin Connect App (iPhone 6s). Now that I’m using the 935, I have syncing issues ALL THE TIME. Actually, it’s really rare for it to sync with my phone after a workout without problems. 99% of the time the sync fails.. and after a few attempts it works. I already tried everything: unpaired, paired again, reinstalled the GCA, etc, etc, etc. No luck! This is supper annoying. Also, throughout the day I get many notifications on my watching saying it disconnected from my iPhone. This happens 4/5 times a day.. even if my phone is right next to my watch. I’m starting to wonder if my 935 has a bluetooth issue.
I’m running the latest firmware (5.30) but this has been a problem with previous firmwares as well.
Have you or anyone experienced this connectivity issues?
My 2nd of 3 935s had this exact BLE connection issue with my Android phone. Continually disconnecting and reconnecting even when only a couple of feet from my phone. Garmin support was great and ended up sending me a new 935. I’ve had no BLE connection issues since.
I can’t get my data from my (1st and only) IronMan… I did IronMan Mont Tremblant and none of the data is transferring from my 935 to my Garmin connect on my phone.
The day before I did a mini practice tri and that data transferred and all of my other data has transferred in the past except the last time I went to Mont Tremblant to train for 10 hours… maybe it has to do with the fact that these were very long days but I really need the information.
FYI, my garmin 810 did transfer from the same day?…
Have you tried just connecting to a computer and seeing if the .fit file exists? Should be under \garmin\activities with a file date/time from your race. And if you run Garmin Express on your computer, it should upload more quickly that way. Might be running into issues with the size of the file.
I gave it a try and at least I now how the files on my desktop but unfortunately I received the following…
78K65457.FIT 1.6 MB One of your files was not accepted by the system. Please contact Support for assistance.
77M85513.FIT 1.5 MB One of your files was not accepted by the system. Please contact Support for assistance.
I’m so disheartened about losing these files. They are my only data from Mont Tremblant and would be SO SO helpful to have … I downloaded them to my desktop and tried the fit File repair to no avail..
I eventually got someone at Garmin support to try and they we’re unsuccessful. The advise they gave me was to try myself or try to find someone on a forum that might be willing to try… SO if anyone would be kind enough to try and fix the files please let me know and I will attach them again or email them to you…
I’m not too experienced with repairing files but am more than willing to try to help out. I know how annoyed I would be to not have a file from a big race.
Can e-mail me at mullins r at gmail (No spaces, and missing the .com obviously)
I haven’t received it. You might need to put the .fit files in a .zip file (ie compressed folder). email is as shown above, no spaces, at=@, dot=. in case it wasn’t obvious.
Hi Tom,
It might be resolved since August, sorry for a late response…
The symptoms you are describing happen when the memory is full and you get a warning message about deleting/overwriting old activities, but you ignore it. Or it might happen, when the battery runs out and the device shuts down. In that case the end part of the file is missing…
The location of the fit file is under User\AppData\Roaming… see attached screen.
However, it’s title is much longer then just 77M85513.FIT…
So my question is, what happens, when you manually import the proper fit file?
Thanks again, Ray, for an incredible review. I bought mine through the VIP Clever Training program so appreciate that too!
In the GPS Accuracy section, you have a picture of the GPS+GLONASS setting but didn’t note in the text if that is the recommended setting? I assume so but wanted to make sure.
I decided to change my Ambit 3 for a FR935 mainly for comfort reasons.
To try the advanced cardio features I unsuccessfully tried to connect the FR935 to the following HR belts I already own :
– Suunto from the Ambit 3 (bluetooth smart, working perfectly with my Ambit and my Strave iPhone app)
– a pretty old Garmin ANT+ (with a new battery !)
The FR935 wasn’t able to detect any of them. Did I miss something ? Or is there a compatibility issue somewhere ?
Hervé
Except this watch GPS does not work in New York City since it can take 10 to 40 minutes to finally connect. The watch looks nice but does not get a gps signal. Very frustrating when you want to get out and run. Then when it does finally connect it show you have gone too far and too fast. Still have to use phone to track runs….
GPS is notoriously poor in NYC because of urban canyoning issues…it’s not just this device. Many (if not all) GPS devices are affected to some extent because of the tall buildings.
If your watch is taking 10-40 minutes to connect, something is wrong with it.
I ran in NYC just last week, and with the FR935 in fact. Walking outside in the center of Manhattan (1717 Broadway), I had satellite connectivity within 2 (short) blocks of walking. Obviously, it helps if you stand still.
Certainly, NYC is tough for GPS devices, but not that tough.
Is there a way to turn wrist heart rate off by default for cycling, but on by default for running? Or do I need to manually turn it on and off? I keep forgetting to turn it off after runs and the OHR keeps picking up some ghost heart rate on my road bike mount that’s nowhere near my wrist.
Thanks for all of the excellent info. I’m hoping you (or your readers) can help me out with a swimming-related 935 issue, because garmin’s “support” is not very helpful.
On the 920, swim distance stayed in yards (or meters) the whole time, whether you were in pool or OWS mode. Annoying on long OWS, but hey, I can do math. On the 935, the distance switches from yards to miles at *exactly* the 3 mile mark. (That was a very well timed watch glance, that’s all I can say.) That’s great! Super helpful! Thanks Garmin!
Unfortunately, it does the exact same thing in the pool, which is complete and total crap. I use the total distance field to help my tired brain figure out where the hell I am in longer workouts (I actually moved it to the rest screen so I can see it between intervals). I am 100% sure I’m not going to be converting 4.3 miles back to yards fast enough to figure out how far through a complicated set I’ve gotten.
Does anyone know a way to force pool swimming to stay in yards (or meters)? I looked around but can’t seem to find anything, even a ConnectIQ data field.
As a follow up, I finally managed to get a helpful person at Garmin support, who said they have opened a case and hopefully will have this fixed in the next update.
We have taken a look at this and determined that everything is working correctly.
When this device was designed it was determined to switch the distance to Miles/Kilometers after x amount of yards/meters.
If you want to see the distance in yards I would recommend using the interval data field to see the distance in yards for each interval (but then you would need to track the total intervals)
Another lovely example of Garmin deciding to “improve” things that didn’t need improving. Anyone want to buy a slightly used 935?
FW 5.40 is out and rolled to 20% users for testing… not yet available for me and i’m not sure is bad considering how it went with 5.30 (though admittedly they solved it with 5.33 beta I’ve on..)
Hi, do you need the run pod or run heart rate strap to get the stride length graphs in garmin connect. I really want to work on this, but not sure if I need to buy just the 935 or 935 with rpod or get the tri bundle. Don’t really need the mount as I use a garmin 810 on the bike. Been putting off buying the unit for a fee weeks now as I can’t make up my mind. Please help. Ta
Hi all, I just bought 935 and as a Garmin newbie must say it’s a pretty nice gadget. 🙂 Now I noticed that when I input my HR zones via watch I can input BPM’s but Garmin Connect does not give that option i.e. I can choose %HR max etc but not BPM. When I try to use exact BPM’s (via GC) they will be converted as percentages and after sync they actually differ a bit in the watch.
Am I right to say it is not possible to use the Garmin FR935 to broadcast HR onto Trainerroad installed on an iPad? Is this because the Garmin FR935 can only broadcast via ANT+?
I used to have a Bluetooth HRM (which when connected via Bluetooth to my iPad) could broadcast or display my HR instantaneously on Trainerroad.
Grateful if anyone can help shed some light on this!
Yes, that seems to be the case. I think Ray answered this earlier in thread above. Only seems to broadcast via ANT+, but that seems odd since it does broadcast back to my iPhone (without an ANT+ dongle) to see “live” HR in “My Day” screen within GarminConnect App. So odd to me it can’t broadcast over bluetooth to the TrainerRoad app. And kind of annoying too.
after I’ve installed the 5.40 FW release since a while and I’ve noted that, now rather consistently, most of the runs uploaded on GC do not show anymore the average pace and actually the track of the gps speed is somehow smoothed (below a couple of examples).
please consider that this does not happen for all the run but just for the majority of them. In addition, oddly enough, the GPS track on the app as well on strava it is displayed correctly (with the usual up and down) tough also on the app there is no indication of the average speed.
this happen both in runs where i used the HRM-tri and the RD pod.
Anybody else with the same issue or that can give me any advice? i’m reluctant to do a master reset considering that to me it looks more like a FW issue
this is a tri-watch not yet another running watch. (yea, i know, most of garmin users use their watches to track their running session, tracking swimming is just out of the scope, or simply a feature most don’t use)
if you want a watch to track your swimming (both open water or pool) simply don’t buy this unit. it fails for a couple of reasons
1. the unit can’t record HR in water but garmin disabled it saying it’s inaccurate. it’s another way of forcing you to buy a chest strap which sucks for various reasons (see below)
2. open water swimming? for this you need consistent GPS data which you get in about 5% of outdoor swims. most of the time you’ll get it wrong, and if your watch hand stays long enough in the water all the metrics go haywire. unless you have a HR chest strap you will not get a decent relevant metric with this watch.
3. lap swimming. sure, if you don’t count the warm-up and cool down in your session you might get decent results. if you do, it will track an olympic 50m lap in less than 10 seconds (who the hell is m. phleps anyways, or cesar cielo for that matter) more often than not. if you do 25m intervals on a 50 m pool, it will miserably fail.
only thing that works decent is swimming at a constant pace – which most of swimmers out there will find quite boring, while most coaches will find quite stupid, to say the least
4.at least we get nice results as the device detects if you swim breastroke or front crawl. this is true if you don’t switch the stroke during a lap (why would someone do that anyway? well, me!), most of the time the 935 will get the style right, and it will show freestyle in 99% of the time (most of us swim only front crawl so that will do), but sometimes the watch get confused and it swaps front crawl with backstroke, and the breast strok with the fly. and vice versa. especially if you don’t swim at a constant speed. want to do a lap with a board, using alternating the fly and crawl kick? go ahead, and good luck with the tracking. but who cares anyway if the style is correct or not, it’s like moveIQ anyways, no one pays attention to it
5. okay, the watch can’t provide a decent metric by itself, open water or not. can it actually track something? heart rate sounds nice. so let’s buy the hrm-swim and give it a chance.
if you do this please, be aware that you can only swim front crawl or backstroke, as the strap will miserably slide down if you try the fly or breast. the wall push at the end of the first lap will get the strap at your feet (literally) if the stroke itself won’t do. and you don’t need to be phelps for that. sure, you can wear the S size if you have a 120 cm broad toso to be sure that the strap won’t fall, you won’t be able to breath anyways but who cares, you’ll get the HR data correctly
so, with the breast and fly out of the question (99% of thetriathletes out there will spit at me, who the heck trains anything else execpt front crawl at a steady pace?), we can still get the HR during back and front crawl. NEAT! except that the strap will stay in its place roughly for 500m, than it will slowly start to slide down up to the belly button during a wall push. and then you have to stick out of the water and readjust it, and so on. so every training session will be an interval session. which is quite cool, actually
but if you get the strap to stick to its place you’ll get the nice data, which is cool
and you can go open water and you don’t need to worry about the wall push that will take the strap out of it’s place. and if you’re lucky you can track more that 500m of freestyle without the need to readjust the strap.
and the cool thing about the HRM swim is that is is wider than the hrm-tri. which is cool, because you know that the friction forces that hold the strap attached to your skin do NOT depend on the surface, but only on the material from which the band is manufactured. but the guys at garmin have no respect for 1st grade physics and they’ve put more material into the strap just because they can. way to go garmin, well done!
I would say that my 935 watch is serving me well during all my activities (including pool and open water swimming) for quite a few months now. I am not using HR as a swim metric anyway but other than that all my swimming activities (both in training sessions as well as in races, from sprint triathlons to IM) are getting registered without any issues. No issues on pool laps (except the rare cases where I do sudden moves during a lap) and no issues on open water swimming . Maybe for those that are interested in HR metrics during the swim the situation is not ideal,but 935 is for sure a great tri-watch and it tracks swimming (both open water and pool laps) without real issues.
Just my 2 cents.
I’ve been fairly satisfied with the watch for lap and open water swimming, but it is definitely not perfect.
1) HR: I do not track HR in the pool. Maybe one day if optical evolves (or another method comes along), but I’ve given up on chest straps altogether (for any activity). For now HR while swimming is just not worth the trouble. Also, I’d be surprised if any experienced swim coach out there was legitimately using HR as a metric for swim workouts.
2) GPS and open water: when starting the swim with the watch above the water after getting a green GPS signal, I’ve been satisfied with the results, but you have to lower your expectations for GPS when the device is underwater half the time. If I start with the watch underwater, no bueno.
3 & 4) The watch is counting strokes and turns, and the timing the intervals between them. I’ve found it reliable at those functions. I have gotten poor results when doing only single lap intervals (25y intervals in a 25y pool). I’ve also gotten poor results when switching strokes mid-lap, or even mid-interval. I have not had issues with warmups and cooldowns. I have not used the drill mode much, so I cannot comment on it.
5) See #1.
All that said, I’m a triathlete who swims front crawl almost exclusively, and no longer a competitive swimmer. I do however swim a wide variety speeds, not just long slow distance, and the watch handles that fine.
My conclusion is that it’s a great swimming watch for the triathlete, but probably not for the competitive swimmer. I don’t think there is a watch out there well suited for competitive swimming.
without a strap the HR metric if way off when in water, moveIQ detects the swim session. suunto has optical hr for swimming but i’ve never test it. for me the hr metric is the only reliable metric that reflects the intensity of a swim session, becuse the watch is quite innacurate when it comes to the real pace (stroke count does not really help much)
i always start the gps outside the water, and i don’t dive in until it is marked green. but even though the gps track is always zig-zag. sure, i don’t swim a straight line but the gps path seems more like a lack of data points rather than the actual route. i’m quite curious to see the map of an open water swimming activity for the sake of comparison (maybe it’s my unit that’s faulty)
sure, the watch counts the strokes and turns, but it does that in an unconsistent manner, typically counting an extra turn when it’s not the case, or failing to see a turn when it is. i did a simple test – started a lap swimm, pressed the started just before pushing the wall and after i turned i checked the time reading displayed by the watch. it was showing 40 seconds. after the session i compared the lap entries reported by the watch. the first lap was timed at 45 seconds. another simple test – i always swim an even number of laps. roughly, 50% of swimming sessions record an odd number of laps. if i manually count the number of laps only 25% of the times i get the same number as the watch. if i disard the cooldown and warm up laps then the percentage is higher – close to 80% roughly.
i’ve never used the drill mode. i typically record everything in the same session – warm up, the actual training and cooldown combined – yes, i’m lazy, and that’s the point of the watch, to count what i don’t want to 😀
Yikes. I just jumped on a deal for this watch and was excited based on reviews I read here. Came back to check on more recent reviews and read the issues with heart rate. I had been debating this or the new Suunto trainer.I jumped on the 935 for $350 figuring it would be worth the extra $100 over the trainer.But the most important things for me are the HR and GPS. Hope I didn’t outsmart myself.
Have they completely resolved the HR issue with the latest firmware?
The HR bug that popped up mid-August was fixed about 10 days later. The firmware notes said it was something weird where if you had Connect IQ apps installed it broke it. Firmware here: link to www8.garmin.com
You are one of the lucky people Ray or perhaps I am just one of the unlucky people.
I started a Walk Activity today and watched the OHR reading climb to 132 while I stopped to take a photo. It is so damn frustrating. Version 5.40.
For other activities (excluding swimming) you wont really know how bad the OHR data is until you get a Tri strap.
Using a strap allows you to compare the results before and after selecting the Download Heart Rate option.
The readings during sleep seem credible.
Hi Ray,
I guess my post was a reaction to the implication that everything is ok with version 5.40.
My watch is not loose, but I am left handed and wear the watch on my right hand.
The settings have been updated to reflect this.
I have had my watch since May 2017 and now use the Tri and Swim straps for running and Open Water swimming. However since getting the watch Walk Activities have been inaccurate; versions 4.10, 5.30, 5.33 and 5.40. These activities I expect to be easy for Garmin to get right but my watch records unrealistically high surges in HR (using optical sensor).
See this link (similar experience): link to dr3do.wordpress.com
One leisurely walk I undertook resulted in Aerobic and Anaerobic TE readings both 5.0.
This wrecks my Training Intensity minutes reading for the week.
I am not the only one out there that has experienced this type of irregularity.
I have a case open with Garmin to hopefully rectify this.
Nick
Does anyone know where the data of the default weather widget is coming from (which service, site, etc.?).
Is there a way to configure the location (fixing it for example on hometown), or is it always taken from the detected gps position (of watch and/or phone?) ?
It is hard to trust weather data on the watch if you do not know which service is used or which location it is configured for (US-focused services usually do a bad job in Belgium apart from the big cities).
Here in Belgium, buienradar.nl tends to have the most accurate data.
Any speculation on whether the 935 will get support for Strength Training workouts like the Vivoactive 3 will have? I see that I can now create these types of workouts on Garmin Connect, and it sure would be nice to send these to my 935 and follow them in the gym…
Luckily no need to really speculate. I know Ray confirmed it in another post (Might be in the Vivoactive 3 announcement), but its been confirmed to be in testing, so should be out in the near future
I am in the market for a new GPS watch mainly for running. I have used the 310xt for the last 6 years and have no real complaints except it lacks bluetooth and it could be lighter. That said, would you get the 935 or settle with a previous/cheaper Garmin like the 630, 235 or 920xt? I do like the square face of the 310xt but I am sure I could get used to a round face. I also play golf so the 935 would be helpful for that as well. Thanks
Do you use anything to track golf now, or is that something new you want to do? The 935 as a running-only watch is overkill, I’d go for something simpler like the 235. Or if you want a cheaper watch that gives you a lot of metrics and includes Golf, then the Vivoactive (original, or the new 3). I’m a multi-sporter and used the 920xt for events, but used the Vivoactive for day-to-day usage, simple run training, and golfing, as the 920 was too bulky for my liking as a day-to-day watch. With the HR strap (or now, new run pod) you still get the Running Dynamics with the Vivoactive.
Thanks for the advice. I don’t use anything for golf now and I suspect I could find a phone app that would work just as well. It seems like the 235 would work for what I need. The Vivoactive HR looks interesting but I don’t think I would like the touchscreen. How have you liked it?
I had the original Vivoactive, not the HR, but I liked it. It was the best watch around at the time that did everything I wanted, and wasn’t too bulky. I like the new round v3 now over the original though, just looks much nicer.
After having bluetooth connectivity issues with my 935, Garmin will send me a new unit. Before I send my defective watch back to them, is it possible to backup my Records (PR’s) and Training Load (FirstBeat data) and move it to the new unit?? I don’t want to loose all that data. I don’t care about the activities because I already uploaded them to Garmin Connect.
In theory you can actually move those settings.fit files over, (I’d just copy the entire structure to your computer). But in practice things don’t always work.
Still, I’d copy the whole substructure and give it a whirl. Report back if it works out!
FirstBeat analytics can’t be copied and neither can any activity tracking data (e.g. steps). Several settings can’t be preserved either. (There’s some data which is not even accessible via the file system exposed by USB.)
Based on this Garmin support article and my own experience (reset to factory several times), this is what you can recover/copy, and how. You can back everything up by copying the whole folder structure, but you can’t just copy it back onto your new watch.
Some things can be recovered by copying the files to the NEWFILES/ folder, others by copying the files to their original locations. link to support.garmin.com
Copy to NEWFILES/
– Locations: copy contents of LOCATIONS/ to NEWFILES
– Despite what the page says, totals apparently can’t be restored
– Custom activities/activity settings: copy contents of SPORTS/ to NEWFILES)
(This can result in your activity list looking a little funny if you had any custom activities – might have to reorder activities until the list looks right again.)
– Records: copy contents of RECORDS/ to NEWFILES)
– Some settings: copy contents of SETTINGS/ to NEWFILES)
(Most settings, like wifi networks, and bluetooth pairings, will not be preserved.)
Copy to original location:
– Activity history (copy ACTIVITY/)
– Connect IQ Apps and app settings (copy APPS/)
– Courses (copy COURSES/)
– Segments (copy SEGMENTS and SEG_LIST)
Wow! This is amazing. Thank you so much. It’s kind of disappointing that in 2017 we can’t transfer our data to a new device or simply save the devices settings automatically. This is specially a problem for people like me that buy a new watch every other year. 🙁 Oh well, I will try to do that once I get my new 935. Thanks Will!!
I’ve had my 935 a while now and love it. I’ve started using it for rides outdoors instead of my edge, but the other day I was using the navigate course feature for the first time on the 935 but then didnt get any power data in GC after I uploaded my ride. Is this normal, or did I do something wrong. I know my power meter was working.
Ray, I just got a 935 and I find that although OHR in activity mode works great, OHR in 24/7 mode doesn’t work at all when I move around, let’s say just walking.
Do you find the 24/7 OHR mode accurate for you when you walk around?
So I just got a 935 and really like it….my question or issue is related to pairing multiple devices to my P1 pedals. In addition to my 935 I have an edge 820 which has worked flawlessly with my P1 pedals. That said, when I try and pair both it is not working. When I pair the 820 first to the pedals the connection is solid but the watch kept dropping the connection to the pedals. When I connected the watch first the connection was stable but the 820 would not connect to the pedals–actually would not find the pedals at all. My understanding is that you can pair multiple devices to an ANT+ signal—my heart rate strap connects flawlessly to my head unit and my watch…go figure.
the watch and the 820 have been updated and are running the most current firmware which i am diligent about updating. the batteries in the pedals have less than 500 miles on them —they are only a few months old…
I’ve been running with my new FR935 since May and really like it. Recently I purchased a HRM-Tri bundle with HRM-TRI and HRM-SWIM. When I use the HRM-TRI on runs, I only get Cadence and Stride length, which I don’t need a chest strap for. I am not seeing GCT, ground contact time balance, vertical oscillation and vertical ratio. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. I’ve made sure to run with it “right-side up.” It has firmware v4.3 on the sensor. Do I need to enable something on the watch? I think I’ve added the Data Field for the latter running dynamics to the Run settings but perhaps I’ve done that incorrectly. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for the awesome information on the site!
Hello, I just took the leap and got the 935. I have liked it so far but I am still getting accustomed to the functions and buttons as I have been using the 310xt for the last 6 years.
A few things I can’t figure out,
1. While running I occasionally get an alert indicating that Performance is Fair or Poor. Is this referring to the GPS connectivity and if so, how do I turn it off?
2. The HR sensor appears to be working well except today while running a 5K my first mile showed up at 105 bpms then the last two looked more accurate at around 170. Is this just a random occurrence or have others experienced something similar while doing a workout?
3. Lastly, the watch band is about 1 inch too long for me. Has anyone cut the band or do they make a shorter one?
And just one true complaint. The thing I miss the most from the 310xt is the simple way to turn off, on and dim the backlight. It just took the touch of a button then the dim control would pop up whereas with the 935 you have to go through multiple buttons to change it.
Nit picky questions I know 🙂 Overall it has been great.
1. No, this is your “performance condition”. It’s a measure of how good you’re feeling at the moment, performance-wise, relative to your own fitness — i.e. Should I try to crush that PB in this race or kill this workout, or should I hold back?
You can turn off these alerts if they annoy you:
Settings > Physiological Metrics > Performance Notifications > Perf. Condition
Backlight:
With the latest firmware, you can add the Backlight entry to the Controls menu (hold down Light), which lets you change the brightness fairly easily.
Settings > System > Controls Menu
You can also assign Backlight options to a “Hot Key”, such as Hold Back or Hold Start. This is a little different than the controls menu, as it gives you access to the full backlight settings, not just the brightness.
Thank you for another very informative review.
One question: Can it record power-pedals (Powertap P1) mounted on an indoor spinning bike?
In other words receive power readings, without any speed or GPS signal.
Thanks
Henrik
I would appreciate if you could retest the OHR accuracy.
The thing is, that Garmin rolled out a firmware update that made OHR unusable.
With the latest update (v 6.0) OHR works again but I have the impression that accuracy got really really really worse. That’s why I decided to go back and to use HR-breast-strap again.
I use the FR935 as my primary watch. After they fixed the issue introduced in 5.30, within 5.40 – I haven’t seen any issues in optical HR accuracy since.
hi.. how would you say about “training status” and “training load” features? are they representative/accurate enough? am not (yet) a tri-athlete.. yet interested in those features.. as sometimes i think i’ve been overeaching to the state of over fatigue.. and sometimes i went unproductive to justify my resting time ^^ and thinking that if this watch could really analyze the training load and status.. i could manage to being “productive” at most of the time.. ^^
am currently using vivoactive HR for running and cycling and really happy with it.. just thinkin whether those features worth upgrade for (if they really works..) ^^
On software side, should be pointed out that Garmin have a bad practice on their handling of localize firmware. It’s good for different localize language / map support, however the way Garmin handle this should be highlight for all consumer considering their product.
There’s basically at least 2 set of software, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest Of the World (ROW) and the differences between the 2 listed below:
1. There’s no indication when you purchase, what kind of software you be getting (Unless you a long time Garmin user that know their shit well). Take Forerunner 935 as example, both is label as “Forerunner 935” on any localize website. A Google search will only return the software version / update based on ROW software. However software for APAC is label differently as “Forerunner 935 APAC”
2. There’s no official mean provided to change the software set (To get desire language support OR others benefit below)
3. Different software release schedule. APAC software usually lag behind ROW for weeks, and may even skip update affecting available feature.
4. Garmin official forum only list and discuss on ROW software. There’s no forum for APAC software.
5. Connect IQ app is limited for APAC software
Is anyone else’s watch restarting after saving an activity? Ever since it updated to the 6.0 firmware, it seems to freeze for a little bit then restart after saving. Didn’t have this issue before the update. Didn’t see anything on the garmin forums.
I have a weird problem: my 935 regularly changes the language from German to English… and I have no clue why. Additionally, the “move alert” gets switched on again and again as well… no matter how often I switch it off…
Any clues as to why that happens and how I can stop it?
I think you may see various Black Friday deals where a retailer allows something like 10% or 20% off all items (which Garmin is almost always excluded from), but the retailer doesn’t code it properly and people get a deal for a few hours.
I always thought that with the fr935 the fr6xx series would not die.
The price jump from the fr235 to the fr935 is too high, and it’s obvious that Garmin wants something in the middle, even if the fr935 is a great watch for runners.
Probably Garmin offers the new watch just to fill a price gap, and not to offer new funcionality (apart of music, maybe this will be the great novelty for Garmin?)
By the way, I like the new look very much.
Great post and ears up!!
Thanks Jan Aniolek
I have a question reguarding the cell phone Bluetooth range… I previously had a 920xt and id get my phone notifications anywhere in the house. I hate having my phone on me at home and it allowed me to see if an incoming call or text was important enough to go get my phone. I just picked up a fenix 5 and I love the watch other than the fact that the Bluetooth range to my phone flat out sucks. I have to be in the same room as my phone otherwise it disconnects. It even disconnects 15 feet away if there is even one wall separating the watch and the phone. My question is… does the 935 have a better smart phone connection range than the fenix 5? Is the range anywhere as good as the 920xt? Thanks in advance for your input.
Great (And detailed) post as always. Quick question…when do you expect Garmin to release the successor to the 935. I am thinking of buying it, but dont want to if the market consensus is there’ll be a new one out for xmas 2017!
I realise it might be an educated guess, but when do they typically release their tri watches?
The 920XT was released in October 2014, so this was a 2.5 year model update (March 2017). I wouldn’t expect a new model update for another 2 years from now.
Tweeted, but will ask here too in case anyone else know.
Is the 935 hardware capable of NFC? I dont know what the internals are, and cant find a teardown. I’d love to see garmin release Garmin Pay support via a firmware update for those long runs that include a chocolate milk emergency.
take the smallest screw driver, unfolder paper clip, pin, etc and stick it in where the small screw was and if it can go in the hole it can push the other side out
looking for some advice here. I own a Fenix 3 (no-HR) that these days i use mostly for running paired with a scosche rhythm+. This combination works for me.
I am playing around with the idea of getting a 935, but i wonder if there is any tangible advantage over the combination that i currently use?
Some of you might have gone through the same dilemma, and might have pulled the trigger, so any perspective is much appreciated!
I’ve come to the 935 from the same combination, and have not regretted it for a second. The inbuilt hr is fine for steady runs, and even tempi runs, but I go back to the scosche for intervals. I find that just as good as the strap.
The 935 is so much lighter than the fenix and as others have said, it works so much better as an everyday watch. The menus are so much snappier and you obviously have the benefits of the updated connect iq.
I’m very very happy that I made the switch.
My answer to your question is that the 935 seems designed to want to be your everyday all day watch. The 24×7 HR monitoring is a big advantage for that. I had a 910xt since 2011 and used it with a Scosche+ but with my new 935, I’m compelled to wear it all day/night.
thanks a lot for your answer. So you say that the main advantage of the 935 over the 3+rhythm+ has mainly to do with the “fitness tracking” features.
I use a normal wrist watch and the Fenix only when running (or skiing, swimming etc).
So I could probably save a few hundred hard earned bucks!
Since I had a lowly 910, rather than a Fenix 3, I can’t really comment on that. For me the jump in all the features from GPS being found quickly, to 24×7 monitoring, to phone notifications, etc -all of that was new for me. The Fenix 3 is newer than the 910 for sure…so I guess just personal preference. My Board of Directors (my wife) made me wait until that 910 crapped out – and fiscally, it was a smart move.
For workouts, you are most likely going to get better HR results with the Scosche whether paired to the F3 or the 935. I’ve just disabled the HR on my 935 because it is so prone to error for me, and just use my scosche or chest strap. But it works great for many people. Moving to the 935 isn’t likely to make you a better runner. I do love having my 935 as my every day watch, though, so I never have to worry about not having it for my workouts. If a new gadget could help motivate you to get out the door, there’d be value right there.
Fun tidbit*: The vast majority of “cafe’s” in Paris these days serve re-heated foods. Most don’t have legit chefs in the kitchen, but rather people that can reheat items in a microwave. A recent article I saw was something like 80-90%, which I’d say is probably low. Given we go to restaurant supply stores, we’re super familiar with the products you can purchase there. For fun, take a stroll past the garbage bins of any cafe after 1AM, when they put the trash out. Almost everything is frozen food.
Which, to be clear, is very different than the growing ‘trendy restaurant’ culture, as well as of course the higher end Starred restaurants. Fantastic meals there.
Regrettably, you wouldn’t be caught dead in even a regular cafe in running clothes in Paris. Heck, you’re not even supposed to walk from the gym to home in that around here… Kidding, not kidding. 😉
I recently completed a 50km trail ultra-marathon, but the 935 only measured 45km. I’ve been told that this is probably due to the course utilising a lot of mountain bike tracks which had a lot of switch backs, so the GPS may not have picked up the full distance, if it wasn’t set to ‘ping’ often enough.
I had it set to “Trail run” mode rather than normal “Run” mode. The GPS mode is set to “Normal (GPS Only)”. Would it have been better to have it set to GPS + GLONASS, or UltraTrac mode? Do either of those ‘ping’ more often” How often does the “Normal” mode ‘ping’?
Hi, I have he 935 for 3 month now and I like it. The only problem is the heartrate monitor when I’m on the bike.
The back of my hand pushes slightly against the side of the watch resulting in false readings. It generalty stays the same at around 80 bpm. When i straighten my wrist it sometimes picks it back up but sometimes I have to swap wrists a few times.
Is anyone else experiencing this problem and is there a way to fix it?
Sorry if that seems glib but wrist based optical HR and the bike are a notoriously bad combo. It’s not just the 935, I’ve had the same issue with other OHR watches too.
If you’re really desperate to avoid a chest strap you could try moving the strap much further up your arm to somewhere fleshier, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on it working well.
I tried moving the watch up my wrist a bit during a bike ride. This helped a lot! The slightest bit of pressure of the back of your hand on the 935 results in faulty readings. I will connect the chest strap and compare readings on my next ride on Zwift to see how they compare since is was under the impression the wrist readings were a bit low.
I’ve never used an Optical HRM. Do they work if the watch is worn on the underside of the wrist? It seems to come up a little in regards to people who have issues with hair or tattoos, but for me it’s just a comfort thing. Is the watch equally reliable on the underside, or is there going to be a significant drop off in readings.
I have my FR935 switching off from time to time, often at night, but also during the daytime, in fact any time… almost never during an activity, but still it’s quiet bad!!
And when it switches off it the clock seems to stop has its not uptodate anymore (need to sync by phone)…
I called Garmin Support this morning, just told me to do a hard reset…. but did not work!!!
If the unit is turning off randomly, and you’ve tried a hard reset, you have a defective device. Contact Garmin again. At this point they should replace it, which at least here in the US, they are really good about. Alternatively, if you got it a shop with good customer service, they may swap it out for you. Many shops around here would happily do that if you’d gotten it fairly recently.
Agree with Ekutter. If the hard reset doesn’t work, then there’s something physically wrong with the unit. He nails all the options for replacement, all of them will likely be quick and painless.
So; I purchased the Tomtom multisport cardio three years ago based on the review.
The nav button is now not working (I was always a bit concerned that this button looked a bit flimsy); tomtom support have told me that I’d be better off buying a new watch rather than getting my existing on repaired. So I’m now back on the market for a new watch.
I went for a run today with my edge 500 strapped to a quick release watch strap and it reminded me of how much I now HATE running with a HR strap. The 935 looks to be exactly what I’m after.
One question though; I noted that wrist HR still gets disabled when swimming; if I set the watch to triathlon mode will it still disable the wrist HR?
Will it disable it for the swim leg only or for the entire duration?
I figure I can work around this by just setting it to some other activity mode. I’ve been converted to wrist based heart rate for running now and I can’t go back.
I might need to get a replacement on my 935. The alt and temp sensors seems to be malfunctioning (they only work during a wo).
I was told elsewhere to try a factory reset. I would do it, but i dont want to reset the current fitness stats. Do you know if the stats re-sync if i actually reset or if i get a new unit?
Is there not a way to leave smart notifications on but have it neither vibrate or make a sound? Might seem strange but the vibration can get annoying it texting back and forth with someone, same goes for the tone.
I tried turning all tones off and setting it to tone only, but that doesnt work. I don’t want to turn ALL vibrations off (such as auto lap, training, etc).
I should add that the notifications do flash up on the screen but the screen does not light up. You can also still see them on the watch. I have one of the data fields on my watch face set to show the number of notifications I have.
Do Not Disturb should be easily accessible by holding the light button to access the Controls Menu. If it’s not, you can add it. You can also set it up as a shortcut to switch it on and off quickly.
Thanks. Seems a bit silly there is not an option to just select nothing where they make you choose vibrate, tone or vibrate + tone.
Is there a way to have do not disturb on and not display the icon on the watch face? It seems I either have the do not disturb icon, battery indication, phone connection indicator, or none of them if I try to customize the watchface. I cant pick multiple things to display at the top of the watchface
I use the standard digital watch face and have it set up to show the day and date at the top, the number of notifications and battery percentage at the bottom. When I toggle Do Not Disturb on and off, it doesn’t show on the watch face.
The customisations settings are under Watch Face>Customise>Data. There are numerous customisation options available. More than I had on my 230.
I have a question to any knowledgeable users (DCR?!) on display for kayaking/surfski: I want to use a watch that shows current speed and average speed clearly while I’m paddling (on top of other functions for run/bike etc), i normally attach a watch to the footstrap of a surfski. How does this compare in terms of display size and clarity with the 920xt? Thanks!
I have the 935 and am looking for a bike computer that simply displays the data from the watch/sensors I have. I don’t really want to mess with the quick release kit and moving the watch. Is there a bike computer that does this? The watch and sensors already give me all the information I need, I just need the display permanently mounted to the bike. I can’t seem to find a bike computer that does this.
I’d go with either the Wahoo Fitness ones, since they’re dual ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart. That gives you flexibility in whatever apps/devices you want down the road. link to amzn.to
Personally I like how the garmin cadence mounts better than the wahoo, but if your looking for ant+/BT then the powertap speed/cadence mounts the same as the garmin but I have not used it.
Any update when the new version will available. Will Garmin try to take advantage of the Holidays or wait for next year? What are your prediction of the added functionality we can expect? Thanks
I’ve noticed in the last 10 days (I think since I updated the firmware recently to v6 or 6.1) that my heart rate is being recorded when the watch isn’t being worn. While sitting in a jacket pocket, sensor facing out the way with the straps folded over the sensor I’ve recorded a heart rate as high as 140. While being at rest. And not wearing the jacket
In theory it’s using the accelerometer to double-check against movement. Any chance that jacket is on a chair and your sitting on the chair? Or is it in a closet? Or that light is reflecting into it?
Usually on the back of a chair as I work in healthcare, however spend as much time at my desk now as out and about. For an experiment I tried it in my trouser pocket. Heart rate all over the place, as low as 40 (I wish) and as high as 150 in typical work conditions. Light def not getting through; maybe the accelerometer?
Ive sent the data file on to Garmin, will feedback on their interpretation.
Im never going to get 100% accuracy with the intermittent wear that I have to do, but would rather missing gaps as before than the alarming/ridiculous highs/lows that are being recorded.
Other than this new development its performed admirably and (certainly cosmetically) a great upgrade from the 920 (and the 220 before it), all purchased from your excellent reviews
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I’m getting this watch for triathlon training, but still plan to use my Edge 520 for on the bike training. Will the FR 935 be able to sync with my bike workouts (via my phone) so that data like workload and training effectiveness can be shown on the FR935 and include my bike workouts?
Or, would the only way to do this be to record the bike workouts on the FR 935 as well?
Thanks
Will
They should be displayed on the 935 after synchronization with Garmin Connect.
Hi. I am new to this fitness gadgets stuff so I was hoping you could help me chose a fitness watch with chest strap. I am female ans disabled and have been bed ridden for quite a while but intend to try* to get fit. I need something which measures heart rate during my rehabilitation exercises. One day I hope to walk/run and cycle but for moment I hope to aim to do floor exercises and hopefully swimming (rehabilitation). I am interested in getting Garmin 935 (or Fenix 5s or 735?). I am not sure which chest strap to get. Triathlon one vs separate running and swimming ones? I physically can’t run or cycle or swim atm but may be in future (huge maybe, I may just end up in a wheelchair due to limited mobility). My cardiologist recommend I get fitness watch and chest strap but I don’t know which. I need a chest strap which will be able to tell me my heart rate while I exercise mostly pilates and floor exercises atm with possible swimming pool exercises too. If all goes well I may one day do more but I don’t know. That’s why I don’t know which chest straps to get: triathlon vs running and swimming.
I am also confused with, if I get eg Garmin 935 with swimming or triathlon chest strap, will I be able to see what my heart rate is real time on my watch? In water and outside!? I have elevated heart rate so I’m basically interested in monitoring how high my heartrate goes during my rehab exercises. I’ve never owned a heart rate watch or strap so I don’t really know what to expect.
Would be grateful for reply to tell me which chest straps would be good for a beginner who may one day do more than basic exercises. Thanks.
Hello Friend.
At first I thought that you do not really need a watch. Since you will not be seriously engaged and would like to recommend that you take Garmin Vivoactive HR. He will close all your needs if you add a breast strap to him, but … I see that you want to practice in the pool, then you will get any watch from 700 to Phoenix 5 with a belt of TRI. This strap can also be used on the pool and on land. Do not overpay.
However … you can make it even easier and cheaper and for you it will be enough. Will buy a Polar A370 +H7. It will work in the water in real time and on land. This is a simple and cheap solution. You can analyze your data with the help of PolarFlow and connect the strap to your smartphone and work with it without a bracelet.
Dear friend. I wish you to restore your health. Good luck to you.
PS Sorry for my English. He is not native to me.
Oh, I’m sorry. H7 does not work in the pool for the A370 …
You won’t see realtime heartrates in the pool with the tri- or swimming HRM-bands. They just store the heartrate, so that it can be transferred after the swimming session.
There are only hacks for realtime heartrate during swim-sessions, as far as I know (f.e. with the Scosche Rhythm plus)
Yes, of course it is, but the question was in general about measuring the heart rate in water.
If you put the question of heart rate rhythm online, then it’s like I think only Polar at a reasonable price. V800 or RCX5 (!) You can take a very cheap.
You can try using the 430super laser sensor! Aha-ha-ha. 🙂
And suddenly it will work as stated? Soon I will test this ….
For swimming, I use one of my old Polar heart rate monitors that give accurate, real-time heart rate measurement. It’s funny how the advancement of newer monitors with newer technology have taken a step back in this regard!
Therefore, I with great, great regret postponed the purchase of the top Garmin. I need to measure the pulse in real time in the water when diving, swimming in the pool and open water. I’m not young anymore and I need to watch my heart. I like the Garmin in terms of design and functions, but unfortunately they lose a lot by measuring the heart rhythm of Polar. So I’m waiting for the top Polar, and I was ready to change from Garmin, but …
It seems that even the 430 with its 6th laser sensor will make Fenix.
Hello,
Is there any way to turn off the Wifi radio on the 935? I would rather disable Wifi and just use Bluetooth to sync with my phone.
Thank you,
Chuck
Well, just don’t configure any WiFi network and it won’t sync via WiFi.
You need to add a WiFi in Garmin Express in order to be able to use WiFi. So if you never do that, you will always sync via Bluetooth.
I tried to setup wifi network through garmin express. But it always failed everytime I tried to choose network name. Anyone has experienced the same?
Is there a way to configure WiFi by Connect App?
I don’t have Windows (Express) anymore but loved the way syncing my data per WiFi (FR 620, 630). It’s faster in the cloud than me in my room when finished.
WOW only 1149 comments on this thread!!!
I hope you can give me some insight on this as i think i have found a FLAW in some of the Garmin watches. The issue is that at some point, the watches i have had change the temperature to remain at 298 degrees C, this also shorts out the VO2 predictor and also the training status functions, amongst other smaller issues (barometer, altimeter, some navigational functions).
I previously had the Fenix 2 and this issue occurred 5 times. Garmin were great at replacing the unit within 5 days, but still, for this to happen 5 times Garmin didn’t offer any advice or seem to investigate. I now have the 935 which I love and yet again the exact same issue has occurred.
The FLAW, I believe, is when I go in the sauna after swim sessions (3/5 times a week). So as a plea to other users, has this happened to anyone before? do you use the sauna regularly? if so, please try to avoid it.
Im off on a training camp this week and so don’t want to send the watch back to Garmin just yet as i want to track my training. Thankfully, although training status is inoperable ( even on GC) using training peaks works a treat 🙂
The manual says:
Operating temperature range
From -20º to 50ºC (from -4º to 122ºF)
So I am not quite sure popping up after a session in sauna really count as FLAWs.
Hi Juro.
I didn’t realise the manual said that.
Nevertheless, why does the gauge say 289 degrees C. This may suggest it can read higher than 50. Seems like something may have been overlooked in the software or something. It’s a bit like designing a great car, putting an F1 engine in it so it can go 289 mph, but then stating in the manual that if you go over 50 mph it’s possible that the wheels will fall off.
I will get garmin to replace and refrain from using it in the sauna. And I may start reading the manuals of things too. Thanks Juro
i have been using the tomtom multisport cardio for quite a few years now (pretty much since it came out)
I am thinking maybe its time to upgrade to a more sophisticated watch. I could see myself wearing the 935 as an every day watch. I only wear the tomtom for running.
I have been very happy with the TomTom OHR performance for steady state running and even interval training when running
Is there any reason why the OHR on the 935 will not perform as well as the Tomtom?
This is my only concern really as I like to vary my running intensities (steady sped/intervals//hills etc.) and dont want to upgrade if its an inferior OHR on the Garmin
You are the review king. I actually busted out and bought my 935 practically as it arrived in Miami. I was upgrading from a 910 so I’m super happy with a lot of the features. I find that if I skip a model I’m less unhappy with paying for the upgrade. I’m probably cheap. I do find the wrist-based heart rate to be very unreliable. I am thinking of it more like a suggestion… this might be my heart rate. In the middle of a threshold workout on the indoor bike trainer it told me my heart rate was 81. It was nowhere near 81. Lol.
I learned many things today reading your review like the Health Stats on Garmin Connect. You are always a wealth of information.
I wonder what percentage of the capabilities do you think most Garmin wearers actually use. I suspect I only use 10-20% of what it does and I’m not sure if I’m unusual or normal in that way.
Hello, I have been having issues syncing my 935 with the Garmin Connect Mobile App for a few weeks now. The sync process would simply fail halfway through 2 out of 3 times. After trying a few times, it would sync normally. I’m running the latest firmware (4.10) and also the latest version of the GCMA (3.20). I have an iPhone 6s (10.3.3).
Before you suggest me to read the FAQ and other links about how to pair & sync your watch, I’ve read/done all of them. I’d say I’m a fairly advanced user and I’m pretty confident I know what I’m doing.
This morning, after so many failed attempts to sync my watch, I decided to unpair the watch from the GCMA and to pair it again. It didn’t work. I tried various times. I also went to the iOS Bluetooth settings on my phone and “forgot this device”, relaunched the GCMA to initiate the pairing process.. my watch would give me the pairing code, I would enter the code on the GCMA but then it would failed. Every single time.
I deleted the app from my phone, reinstalled it. Disable the Phone connection from the watch, tried again and again and again. It simply does not pair with my phone anymore. When I get the “Pairing Failed” screen, I can see my watch displaying “Updating” and that’s it.
But I think I have an idea why I’m having problems pairing my watch again: it’s because last week I enabled the LiveTrack on the GCMA.
Why do I think this is related to my issue? Because after failing to pair my watch with the GCMA, if I initiate the Sync from the watch (hold light button, choose Sync), I get this message: “This will end the current LiveTrack session. Down to Continue..” If tap the down button, after a few seconds (10 maybe?!) fails the end the LiveTrack… because I’m not currently in an activity, therefore, there’s no LiveTracking going on at the moment. Since this is probably a GCMA + watch dependent feature, and the watch is not “connected” to that specific app anymore (because I unpaired, uninstalled and reinstalled the app), it fails to create a new connection with the CGMA. I can’t think of anything else.
I’m pretty sure that if I restore my watch to the factory setting I will probably be able to pair my watch again. The problem is: I would lose all my Training Status (since it doesn’t seem to sync it to the Garmin Connect’s website) and other information. This is kind of disappointing.
Another weird thing: even though the paring failed, I’m getting all my phone notifications on my watch. I can also control my music using the watch. So I’m pretty sure this is not a bluetooth issue. But I can’t open the weather app on my watch for example.. it says I need to pair with the GCMA. It kind of makes sense, since notifications + musics, are only dependent on bluetooth connectivity, while the weather app, needs to communicate with the GCMA.. and this is not working.
What should I do? This is probably a bug that affects 0.0001% of Garmin’s customer but if it’s a bug, it would be great to get fixed. I’m more than happy to talk to someone if necessary and provide more info.
To add more context, I uplad screenshots of the pairing process between the watch and the app: link to imgur.com
Is it just me?? 🙁
In the Fenix 5 beta firmware notes, this has been recently fixed:
“Fixed an issue where the device was unable to sync if a LiveTrack session was currently active.”
Looks like your issue. Given 935XT and Fenix are largely the same watch, there is a likelihood this will be addressed.
What helped me when I had similar GCMA sync issues was to reboot the phone and then also the watch. It did help even when all the steps you outline didn’t.
Does the 935 have an internal temperature sensor?
Is the there a comparison which 920xt?
Yes, the 935 has an internal temp. sensor. Unfortunately, like other wrist based device temp. sensors, they’re influenced by body heat, so it’s best to use a Tempe sensor if you want accurate temp. stats. Swimming, though, negates the body heat issue and does give accurate water temp. results for what it’s worth.
Does the 935 include the temperature in a fit file for swimming? Haven’t seen swims on Strava including temperature (might be Strava not showing it).
Hello.
Are there any Garmin watches that will pair with this power meter on a new Stages spin bike?
I’d love to have the bike metrics save to my watch, and in-turn, the Garmin Connect app to help me keep track of my spin workouts
I can’t find any answers anywhere, lol.
Thanks in advance.
Ray has done some testing with ANT+ spin bikes in general: link to dcrainmaker.com
I’ve had the FR935 for a couple months now. I do a mixed bag of workouts from running and hiking to lots of crossfit wods and grunt garden work like shoveling, hoeing and mixing massive amounts of compost and soil for our ever expanding perennial gardens. I have found the wrist heart rate to be surprisingly accurate for basically anything where you are primarily using your legs (running, hiking, walking, etc). As soon as the workout entails using your arms, like lifting weights, shovelling dirt, etc, etc, the wrist based heart rate is useless. It WAY under reports my heartrate. It’ll appear that i’m doing basically nothing more than sitting in a chair when I’m completely drenched with sweat and exhausted. I’ve fiddled with the position and how tight the band is, but to no avail.
I bought it hoping to be able to easily track just about anything without a chest strap, but it just doesn’t perform well enough to do that.
Yea, all wrist heart monitors seem to be that way. They all suggest getting a heart rate cheat strap for those arm activities.
Try wearing the watch on the underside of your wrist one time as a test.
Need some product details relative to the Tri bundle.
I got the 920xt Tri bundle which came with the HR Swim strap including one (1) extender. If you buy the Swim HR strap separately product details indicates 3 extenders, small, medium, large. So, I am assuming the Tri bundle comes with the medium extender; but, product details don’t mention the extender.
My problem is that I am 5′ 8″, 160 lbs, perfectly average build; but, I can’t get the HR Swim strap from the Tri bundle to synch tight enough and with one too many turns and push offs in the pool, it drops to my lower ribs, becoming a belly monitor. I’ve stopped wearing it.
Got the 935 w/o Tri bundle. Can you or anyone provide the inbox details for both Tri bundle and the stand alone Swim heartrate strap?
Hi,
I am currently training triathlon for the full IM distance.
I am using the FR735XT and the 820 Edge currently in connection with a 2 gen. stages dura ace power meter.
Like a lot others, i have signal issues with this setup about my power.
I got a new 820, that “only” looses the power signal 2-5 times pr. hour now when positioned optimally (on top of water bottle between aerobars).
I have heard that the Bluetooth signal would be better for connecting this, is this true? If yes how do you connect the 935 via bluetotth and not ANT+ – as it only searches for sensors and not if it is ant+ or bluetooth?
Hope that you can help me as i am trying to optimize before my IM the 20th og august. And i want to be sure i have a stable signal so that i can ride the bike properly.
I hope it made sense :).
Br, Mathias
Somehow my FR935’s battery life does not look convincing. My battery life would only last for about 3-4 sessions of 2-3 hours workout before i need to recharge. Any idea why?
Sounds like you are using about 10-12 hours on GPS which is 50% the rest of battery goes to daily use? How many da
Hi Ray,
Thank you for the datasets, it is really useful to be able to access FIT activity files from a device that I don’t actually own yet. Would you mind sharing some activity-tracking data files (monitor files) from the FR935 or Fenix 5 as well? It would be very helpful for this DIY programmer!
I took the gamble that the monitor file format would not be radically different. As expected the format still conforms to the FIT monitor file standard. There are now also not only ‘monitoring’ and ‘event’ messages of but also ‘unknown’ messages in the files. These ‘unknowns’ cannot be accessed with the FIT SDK. I can still work with the files, but it is a pity that some of the logged information is not accessible.
I have been using the 935 for 2 months and I really enjoy it. I use it mainly for running, I have put on about 500 miles in that time period mostly training runs but also 2 50km races and a 40 mile race. I have one question about the pace option, I was pacing a friend during a 100 mile race and I did the last 37.5 miles with him and he was struggling so we walked a lot..close to all 37.5 mile was walking.
I notice that pace when walking jumping all over the place. 15:30 min mile to 16:20 to 18:20 with in seconds. I did a little research and I found out that walking pace will have issues due to GPS…is this true?
I want to run a 100 mile race and there will be walking involved and was wondering what I could use to correct the jumpy pace. Would the Garmin Footpod help? Other options?
thanks
I use a calibrated Garmin footpod with my 935 (FW4.10). Today I was tail-walking at a parkrun event, with walking being the operative word, and the pace reading (set for kms) was reasonably stable despite the slow speed.
I can’t say I’ve noticed the same, but if you’re worried then I’d reach for a tool I’d be using anyway in your shoes – lap pace. Over longer runs on varied gradients I find lap pace more useful than instant or average pace, and you can set autolap to shorter distances than the standard 1km if your pace is likely to vary frequently.
Does anyone know if the Fitness metric on the Training Status screen on a 935 only works with running or should it calculate from any heart rate activity?
I had assumed the latter but haven’t run recently and it now says I have to “run outdoors with heart rate twice to see your status”
I contacted Garmin and they suggested a complete reset of the watch without actually answering the question of how they calculate whether Fitness is increasing or not.
Question: How does the Fr935 work for hiking ? How does the GPS and Barometer, altimeter work in hills or mountains?
Also, how does the watch fit on a women’s fairly small wrist?
Thank you
When is Garmin going to put music into a watch so I can stop lugging around my phone on runs?
A 7th gen iPod nano is your friend here, pair it to some bluetooth headphones and you’re away.
I’m in two minds about this. I use an ipod shuffle, mainly with podcasts and audio books. That works great, and the battery is awesome. Music on the wrist would be great, but not sure how much battery I’d get from Bluetooth headphones for long runs/ultras – and I’m sure I’d always forget to charge them!
Devices like mighty look great, but I need it to support Google play music and to double its battery life! It supports 3.5mm jack, so no problem charging headphones!
Integrate mighty functions into the fenix and is be tempted, but for just offline music, you can’t beat the iPod.
hijo somy Sony mp3 earpho e they are great you can even swim with them
Hi Ray –
Thanks so much for your review – so helpful as I just got the 935. I googled a few times but don’t see the 935 listed as a “TrueUp” compatible device. Your post on TrueUp also doesn’t mention it but I think it was published before the 935 came out. Does the 935 work with TrueUp if I have a vivomove?
Yup, it’s compatible. As you guessed, it came afterwards.
Anyone reading this, don’t update your firmware to 5.30: it seems to be breaking heart rate functionality:
link to forums.garmin.com
Does Garmin even test this before sending them out? It’s not like this is an obscure niche feature.
@adrina: thanks! very timely indeed, it is exactly my problem (see the post below i was drafting when you posted this..)
Yup, my unit is doing the same as well after the update (yesteray’s run looks horrible). I’ve just restarted it and will see if that resolves it.
Thanks Ray, sorry to say but if it affected you, the almighty, I feel a bit relived ???
PS, as restart you mentioned simply switching it off and then or a kind of reset? ThX!
I restarted my watch after the update so I doubt that fill fix anything. I haven’t done a factory reset but I strongly suspect that won’t help either.
Sigh. The 935’s firmware was so solid from the start that I grew overconfident and I thought Garmin had changed so I updated as soon as 5.30 was available. Well, lesson learned.
to add “mystery” this morning had a structured training planned with 2 km WU and then few intervals.
I was wearing the HRM strap.
After the 2 km w-up i realized i did not used the planned tanning so i ended the activity and started a new one with the planned training.
Now looking at the data with my surprise i note that the WU was recorded by the OHR tough I was wearing the strap! these is still clearly the mistake: the auxiliary heart rate that i installed and planned to use tomorrow for test picked up the strap heart rate and the mistake is clear!
link to connect.garmin.com
however, shouldn’t the HRM strap take always priority?
Is there a way to:
1) Turn off OHR completely so that it is never on?
2) Prevent the device from upgrading to 5.30 when opening the unit out of the box and starting it up for the first time?
1. Yes. When on the HR menu page hold the up button. Turn off hr
2. When you power it on you can turn off auto update in the system menu page.
Excellent, thank you.
Fwiw – my restarting the unit didn’t do jack, still crap.
I’ll roll back my firmware update tomorrow. This site here has them all listed: link to gawisp.com
Simply drop the .GCD file into the Garmin folder on your device, do rename the file though to to gupdate.gcd and then unplug. It should install.
thanks Ray! i’m not sure I’m able to do this (IT skills are not by best) but perhaps I will try!
I didn’t think this worked going down from Production Firmware to older Production. Thought it had to be beta to production.
I’m on 3.40 and staying here until a fix is done on 5.30 unless there is a way to jump to 4.10 without going all the way to 5.30?
Hello Ray (thanks for splendid review as usual!) and All,
I’ve been through all the pages of comments (it took few days… but very interesting, thank you all) and I’m also adding my very recent experience with the FR 935.
I’m coming from the FR 630 and I’ve been using the FR 935 since 3 weeks: so far used the OHR just 3 times and all the other runs were done with the HRM-Tri.
The first OHR runs was just testing the 935 the day I bought it and it seemed ok; than again I tried it last Saturday for a long run and today for a super recovery jog with some speed in the end (i.e. I did not “dare” testing it in intervals so far…)
I did this last two runs also using the RD-Pod.
Sincerely I’m a bit concerned that my device might be defective (hopefully not), in particular after today experience (see the link on GC below)
link to connect.garmin.com
Indeed basically today the OHR stayed flat at 138 bpm for long time, though I was actually accelerating the pace and, at any event, getting more tired. This in particular since I did some strides (with no OHR responses) when I realised it was somehow stuck. I tried even to stop and dry a bit the sweat on the sensor (see km 7.8) but nothing: I did the last 2 km flat out, it picked up a bit but still was basically keeping on being lock flat (like a “dead ECG).
Saturday, instead, it was the opposite and it got locked at I higher rate
link to connect.garmin.com
in this case it might be that it picked up the cadence? Shouldn’t this being prevented by the fact I was using the RD–Pod?
I’m above all concerned by today “flat ECG”: is there any possible reason of this kind of reading? I had secured the watch very tight to the wrist but I assume this should not be an the caouse.
Looking forward for you views!
Thanks
Amilcare
Did you get the 5.3 update?
This update includes an OHR issue for many users (not for all, it still works for me) which has already been acknowledged by Garmin.
See also:
link to forums.garmin.com
Thanks, yes, I’m on 5.3 and also writing in Garmin forum.. -) rather strange that affects most but not all users…
Wow, thanks for this great review! Superb 😉
Hi Ray, excellent review as usual. Before I bought the 935, I had the Fenix 3 HR. I never had any problems syncing the F3HR with the Garmin Connect App (iPhone 6s). Now that I’m using the 935, I have syncing issues ALL THE TIME. Actually, it’s really rare for it to sync with my phone after a workout without problems. 99% of the time the sync fails.. and after a few attempts it works. I already tried everything: unpaired, paired again, reinstalled the GCA, etc, etc, etc. No luck! This is supper annoying. Also, throughout the day I get many notifications on my watching saying it disconnected from my iPhone. This happens 4/5 times a day.. even if my phone is right next to my watch. I’m starting to wonder if my 935 has a bluetooth issue.
I’m running the latest firmware (5.30) but this has been a problem with previous firmwares as well.
Have you or anyone experienced this connectivity issues?
My 2nd of 3 935s had this exact BLE connection issue with my Android phone. Continually disconnecting and reconnecting even when only a couple of feet from my phone. Garmin support was great and ended up sending me a new 935. I’ve had no BLE connection issues since.
Good to know. I’ll contact Garmin.Thanks .
I can’t get my data from my (1st and only) IronMan… I did IronMan Mont Tremblant and none of the data is transferring from my 935 to my Garmin connect on my phone.
The day before I did a mini practice tri and that data transferred and all of my other data has transferred in the past except the last time I went to Mont Tremblant to train for 10 hours… maybe it has to do with the fact that these were very long days but I really need the information.
FYI, my garmin 810 did transfer from the same day?…
Have you tried just connecting to a computer and seeing if the .fit file exists? Should be under \garmin\activities with a file date/time from your race. And if you run Garmin Express on your computer, it should upload more quickly that way. Might be running into issues with the size of the file.
I gave it a try and at least I now how the files on my desktop but unfortunately I received the following…
78K65457.FIT 1.6 MB One of your files was not accepted by the system. Please contact Support for assistance.
77M85513.FIT 1.5 MB One of your files was not accepted by the system. Please contact Support for assistance.
Tom,
Try using the FIT file repair tool that Ray has a link for link to garmin.kiesewetter.nl and upload it manually from there.
Thanks Ryan,
I just tried but still won’t work…
Hi All
I’m so disheartened about losing these files. They are my only data from Mont Tremblant and would be SO SO helpful to have … I downloaded them to my desktop and tried the fit File repair to no avail..
I eventually got someone at Garmin support to try and they we’re unsuccessful. The advise they gave me was to try myself or try to find someone on a forum that might be willing to try… SO if anyone would be kind enough to try and fix the files please let me know and I will attach them again or email them to you…
Tom,
I’m not too experienced with repairing files but am more than willing to try to help out. I know how annoyed I would be to not have a file from a big race.
Can e-mail me at mullins r at gmail (No spaces, and missing the .com obviously)
I’m happy to try as well with my own fit parser. shop at mtyquinn dot com
Thank you so much Ryan!
If it’s not to much trouble can you let me know if the email and attachments reached you…
Thank you!!
If it’s not to much trouble can you let me know if the email and attachments reached you as well
I haven’t received it. You might need to put the .fit files in a .zip file (ie compressed folder). email is as shown above, no spaces, at=@, dot=. in case it wasn’t obvious.
Hi Tom,
It might be resolved since August, sorry for a late response…
The symptoms you are describing happen when the memory is full and you get a warning message about deleting/overwriting old activities, but you ignore it. Or it might happen, when the battery runs out and the device shuts down. In that case the end part of the file is missing…
The location of the fit file is under User\AppData\Roaming… see attached screen.
However, it’s title is much longer then just 77M85513.FIT…
So my question is, what happens, when you manually import the proper fit file?
Thanks again, Ray, for an incredible review. I bought mine through the VIP Clever Training program so appreciate that too!
In the GPS Accuracy section, you have a picture of the GPS+GLONASS setting but didn’t note in the text if that is the recommended setting? I assume so but wanted to make sure.
Thanks!
GG
Hi Ray,
I decided to change my Ambit 3 for a FR935 mainly for comfort reasons.
To try the advanced cardio features I unsuccessfully tried to connect the FR935 to the following HR belts I already own :
– Suunto from the Ambit 3 (bluetooth smart, working perfectly with my Ambit and my Strave iPhone app)
– a pretty old Garmin ANT+ (with a new battery !)
The FR935 wasn’t able to detect any of them. Did I miss something ? Or is there a compatibility issue somewhere ?
Hervé
Beta 5.33 is out to deal with the HR issue introduced in 5.30. Good luck everyone…
Except this watch GPS does not work in New York City since it can take 10 to 40 minutes to finally connect. The watch looks nice but does not get a gps signal. Very frustrating when you want to get out and run. Then when it does finally connect it show you have gone too far and too fast. Still have to use phone to track runs….
GPS is notoriously poor in NYC because of urban canyoning issues…it’s not just this device. Many (if not all) GPS devices are affected to some extent because of the tall buildings.
If your watch is taking 10-40 minutes to connect, something is wrong with it.
I ran in NYC just last week, and with the FR935 in fact. Walking outside in the center of Manhattan (1717 Broadway), I had satellite connectivity within 2 (short) blocks of walking. Obviously, it helps if you stand still.
Certainly, NYC is tough for GPS devices, but not that tough.
Is there a way to turn wrist heart rate off by default for cycling, but on by default for running? Or do I need to manually turn it on and off? I keep forgetting to turn it off after runs and the OHR keeps picking up some ghost heart rate on my road bike mount that’s nowhere near my wrist.
I have the exact same problem, but no, I don’t think you can.
I contacted Garmin support…maybe if we make enough noise they’ll fix it (not holding my breath, but we can try).
From Garmin on this ghost HR issue while on bike mount: “We are working on an update and hope to have it released soon.”
Hi Ray –
Thanks for all of the excellent info. I’m hoping you (or your readers) can help me out with a swimming-related 935 issue, because garmin’s “support” is not very helpful.
On the 920, swim distance stayed in yards (or meters) the whole time, whether you were in pool or OWS mode. Annoying on long OWS, but hey, I can do math. On the 935, the distance switches from yards to miles at *exactly* the 3 mile mark. (That was a very well timed watch glance, that’s all I can say.) That’s great! Super helpful! Thanks Garmin!
Unfortunately, it does the exact same thing in the pool, which is complete and total crap. I use the total distance field to help my tired brain figure out where the hell I am in longer workouts (I actually moved it to the rest screen so I can see it between intervals). I am 100% sure I’m not going to be converting 4.3 miles back to yards fast enough to figure out how far through a complicated set I’ve gotten.
Does anyone know a way to force pool swimming to stay in yards (or meters)? I looked around but can’t seem to find anything, even a ConnectIQ data field.
Thanks!!
As a follow up, I finally managed to get a helpful person at Garmin support, who said they have opened a case and hopefully will have this fixed in the next update.
Just got this from Garmin “support”:
I wanted to provide a update on Case # 1378335
We have taken a look at this and determined that everything is working correctly.
When this device was designed it was determined to switch the distance to Miles/Kilometers after x amount of yards/meters.
If you want to see the distance in yards I would recommend using the interval data field to see the distance in yards for each interval (but then you would need to track the total intervals)
Another lovely example of Garmin deciding to “improve” things that didn’t need improving. Anyone want to buy a slightly used 935?
Not sure how serious you are, but I might be interested. (Contact info at my URL.) You might have good success on ebay, though, too!
Hello which is best optical pulse sensor and GPS sensor between suunto spartan trainer and garmin 935?
FW 5.40 is out and rolled to 20% users for testing… not yet available for me and i’m not sure is bad considering how it went with 5.30 (though admittedly they solved it with 5.33 beta I’ve on..)
For stand-up paddling, which is more recommended, the Fenix 5x or the Forerunner 935?
Hi, do you need the run pod or run heart rate strap to get the stride length graphs in garmin connect. I really want to work on this, but not sure if I need to buy just the 935 or 935 with rpod or get the tri bundle. Don’t really need the mount as I use a garmin 810 on the bike. Been putting off buying the unit for a fee weeks now as I can’t make up my mind. Please help. Ta
Hi all, I just bought 935 and as a Garmin newbie must say it’s a pretty nice gadget. 🙂 Now I noticed that when I input my HR zones via watch I can input BPM’s but Garmin Connect does not give that option i.e. I can choose %HR max etc but not BPM. When I try to use exact BPM’s (via GC) they will be converted as percentages and after sync they actually differ a bit in the watch.
Has someone an idea what’s the logic behind this?
Am I right to say it is not possible to use the Garmin FR935 to broadcast HR onto Trainerroad installed on an iPad? Is this because the Garmin FR935 can only broadcast via ANT+?
I used to have a Bluetooth HRM (which when connected via Bluetooth to my iPad) could broadcast or display my HR instantaneously on Trainerroad.
Grateful if anyone can help shed some light on this!
Yes, that seems to be the case. I think Ray answered this earlier in thread above. Only seems to broadcast via ANT+, but that seems odd since it does broadcast back to my iPhone (without an ANT+ dongle) to see “live” HR in “My Day” screen within GarminConnect App. So odd to me it can’t broadcast over bluetooth to the TrainerRoad app. And kind of annoying too.
Hello Everybody,
after I’ve installed the 5.40 FW release since a while and I’ve noted that, now rather consistently, most of the runs uploaded on GC do not show anymore the average pace and actually the track of the gps speed is somehow smoothed (below a couple of examples).
link to connect.garmin.com
link to connect.garmin.com
please consider that this does not happen for all the run but just for the majority of them. In addition, oddly enough, the GPS track on the app as well on strava it is displayed correctly (with the usual up and down) tough also on the app there is no indication of the average speed.
this happen both in runs where i used the HRM-tri and the RD pod.
Anybody else with the same issue or that can give me any advice? i’m reluctant to do a master reset considering that to me it looks more like a FW issue
this is a tri-watch not yet another running watch. (yea, i know, most of garmin users use their watches to track their running session, tracking swimming is just out of the scope, or simply a feature most don’t use)
if you want a watch to track your swimming (both open water or pool) simply don’t buy this unit. it fails for a couple of reasons
1. the unit can’t record HR in water but garmin disabled it saying it’s inaccurate. it’s another way of forcing you to buy a chest strap which sucks for various reasons (see below)
2. open water swimming? for this you need consistent GPS data which you get in about 5% of outdoor swims. most of the time you’ll get it wrong, and if your watch hand stays long enough in the water all the metrics go haywire. unless you have a HR chest strap you will not get a decent relevant metric with this watch.
3. lap swimming. sure, if you don’t count the warm-up and cool down in your session you might get decent results. if you do, it will track an olympic 50m lap in less than 10 seconds (who the hell is m. phleps anyways, or cesar cielo for that matter) more often than not. if you do 25m intervals on a 50 m pool, it will miserably fail.
only thing that works decent is swimming at a constant pace – which most of swimmers out there will find quite boring, while most coaches will find quite stupid, to say the least
4.at least we get nice results as the device detects if you swim breastroke or front crawl. this is true if you don’t switch the stroke during a lap (why would someone do that anyway? well, me!), most of the time the 935 will get the style right, and it will show freestyle in 99% of the time (most of us swim only front crawl so that will do), but sometimes the watch get confused and it swaps front crawl with backstroke, and the breast strok with the fly. and vice versa. especially if you don’t swim at a constant speed. want to do a lap with a board, using alternating the fly and crawl kick? go ahead, and good luck with the tracking. but who cares anyway if the style is correct or not, it’s like moveIQ anyways, no one pays attention to it
5. okay, the watch can’t provide a decent metric by itself, open water or not. can it actually track something? heart rate sounds nice. so let’s buy the hrm-swim and give it a chance.
if you do this please, be aware that you can only swim front crawl or backstroke, as the strap will miserably slide down if you try the fly or breast. the wall push at the end of the first lap will get the strap at your feet (literally) if the stroke itself won’t do. and you don’t need to be phelps for that. sure, you can wear the S size if you have a 120 cm broad toso to be sure that the strap won’t fall, you won’t be able to breath anyways but who cares, you’ll get the HR data correctly
so, with the breast and fly out of the question (99% of thetriathletes out there will spit at me, who the heck trains anything else execpt front crawl at a steady pace?), we can still get the HR during back and front crawl. NEAT! except that the strap will stay in its place roughly for 500m, than it will slowly start to slide down up to the belly button during a wall push. and then you have to stick out of the water and readjust it, and so on. so every training session will be an interval session. which is quite cool, actually
but if you get the strap to stick to its place you’ll get the nice data, which is cool
and you can go open water and you don’t need to worry about the wall push that will take the strap out of it’s place. and if you’re lucky you can track more that 500m of freestyle without the need to readjust the strap.
and the cool thing about the HRM swim is that is is wider than the hrm-tri. which is cool, because you know that the friction forces that hold the strap attached to your skin do NOT depend on the surface, but only on the material from which the band is manufactured. but the guys at garmin have no respect for 1st grade physics and they’ve put more material into the strap just because they can. way to go garmin, well done!
I would say that my 935 watch is serving me well during all my activities (including pool and open water swimming) for quite a few months now. I am not using HR as a swim metric anyway but other than that all my swimming activities (both in training sessions as well as in races, from sprint triathlons to IM) are getting registered without any issues. No issues on pool laps (except the rare cases where I do sudden moves during a lap) and no issues on open water swimming . Maybe for those that are interested in HR metrics during the swim the situation is not ideal,but 935 is for sure a great tri-watch and it tracks swimming (both open water and pool laps) without real issues.
Just my 2 cents.
I’ve been fairly satisfied with the watch for lap and open water swimming, but it is definitely not perfect.
1) HR: I do not track HR in the pool. Maybe one day if optical evolves (or another method comes along), but I’ve given up on chest straps altogether (for any activity). For now HR while swimming is just not worth the trouble. Also, I’d be surprised if any experienced swim coach out there was legitimately using HR as a metric for swim workouts.
2) GPS and open water: when starting the swim with the watch above the water after getting a green GPS signal, I’ve been satisfied with the results, but you have to lower your expectations for GPS when the device is underwater half the time. If I start with the watch underwater, no bueno.
3 & 4) The watch is counting strokes and turns, and the timing the intervals between them. I’ve found it reliable at those functions. I have gotten poor results when doing only single lap intervals (25y intervals in a 25y pool). I’ve also gotten poor results when switching strokes mid-lap, or even mid-interval. I have not had issues with warmups and cooldowns. I have not used the drill mode much, so I cannot comment on it.
5) See #1.
All that said, I’m a triathlete who swims front crawl almost exclusively, and no longer a competitive swimmer. I do however swim a wide variety speeds, not just long slow distance, and the watch handles that fine.
My conclusion is that it’s a great swimming watch for the triathlete, but probably not for the competitive swimmer. I don’t think there is a watch out there well suited for competitive swimming.
without a strap the HR metric if way off when in water, moveIQ detects the swim session. suunto has optical hr for swimming but i’ve never test it. for me the hr metric is the only reliable metric that reflects the intensity of a swim session, becuse the watch is quite innacurate when it comes to the real pace (stroke count does not really help much)
i always start the gps outside the water, and i don’t dive in until it is marked green. but even though the gps track is always zig-zag. sure, i don’t swim a straight line but the gps path seems more like a lack of data points rather than the actual route. i’m quite curious to see the map of an open water swimming activity for the sake of comparison (maybe it’s my unit that’s faulty)
sure, the watch counts the strokes and turns, but it does that in an unconsistent manner, typically counting an extra turn when it’s not the case, or failing to see a turn when it is. i did a simple test – started a lap swimm, pressed the started just before pushing the wall and after i turned i checked the time reading displayed by the watch. it was showing 40 seconds. after the session i compared the lap entries reported by the watch. the first lap was timed at 45 seconds. another simple test – i always swim an even number of laps. roughly, 50% of swimming sessions record an odd number of laps. if i manually count the number of laps only 25% of the times i get the same number as the watch. if i disard the cooldown and warm up laps then the percentage is higher – close to 80% roughly.
i’ve never used the drill mode. i typically record everything in the same session – warm up, the actual training and cooldown combined – yes, i’m lazy, and that’s the point of the watch, to count what i don’t want to 😀
Yikes. I just jumped on a deal for this watch and was excited based on reviews I read here. Came back to check on more recent reviews and read the issues with heart rate. I had been debating this or the new Suunto trainer.I jumped on the 935 for $350 figuring it would be worth the extra $100 over the trainer.But the most important things for me are the HR and GPS. Hope I didn’t outsmart myself.
Have they completely resolved the HR issue with the latest firmware?
Wow Bob! Where did you find it for so cheap?!
The HR bug that popped up mid-August was fixed about 10 days later. The firmware notes said it was something weird where if you had Connect IQ apps installed it broke it. Firmware here: link to www8.garmin.com
It’s working fine for me again.
You are one of the lucky people Ray or perhaps I am just one of the unlucky people.
I started a Walk Activity today and watched the OHR reading climb to 132 while I stopped to take a photo. It is so damn frustrating. Version 5.40.
For other activities (excluding swimming) you wont really know how bad the OHR data is until you get a Tri strap.
Using a strap allows you to compare the results before and after selecting the Download Heart Rate option.
The readings during sleep seem credible.
That’s pretty different than the issue I and others saw, which was more of a ‘stuck’ HR issue (that’s since been fixed).
Yours just sounds…well…broke. Typically you don’t get HR spikes while walking – so that’s odd. I assume the watch isn’t super or lose anything, right?
Hi Ray,
I guess my post was a reaction to the implication that everything is ok with version 5.40.
My watch is not loose, but I am left handed and wear the watch on my right hand.
The settings have been updated to reflect this.
I have had my watch since May 2017 and now use the Tri and Swim straps for running and Open Water swimming. However since getting the watch Walk Activities have been inaccurate; versions 4.10, 5.30, 5.33 and 5.40. These activities I expect to be easy for Garmin to get right but my watch records unrealistically high surges in HR (using optical sensor).
See this link (similar experience):
link to dr3do.wordpress.com
One leisurely walk I undertook resulted in Aerobic and Anaerobic TE readings both 5.0.
This wrecks my Training Intensity minutes reading for the week.
I am not the only one out there that has experienced this type of irregularity.
I have a case open with Garmin to hopefully rectify this.
Nick
Does anyone know where the data of the default weather widget is coming from (which service, site, etc.?).
Is there a way to configure the location (fixing it for example on hometown), or is it always taken from the detected gps position (of watch and/or phone?) ?
It is hard to trust weather data on the watch if you do not know which service is used or which location it is configured for (US-focused services usually do a bad job in Belgium apart from the big cities).
Here in Belgium, buienradar.nl tends to have the most accurate data.
Any speculation on whether the 935 will get support for Strength Training workouts like the Vivoactive 3 will have? I see that I can now create these types of workouts on Garmin Connect, and it sure would be nice to send these to my 935 and follow them in the gym…
Luckily no need to really speculate. I know Ray confirmed it in another post (Might be in the Vivoactive 3 announcement), but its been confirmed to be in testing, so should be out in the near future
link to wareable.com
Does anyone know how many laps I can take during activity?
Thank you
I am in the market for a new GPS watch mainly for running. I have used the 310xt for the last 6 years and have no real complaints except it lacks bluetooth and it could be lighter. That said, would you get the 935 or settle with a previous/cheaper Garmin like the 630, 235 or 920xt? I do like the square face of the 310xt but I am sure I could get used to a round face. I also play golf so the 935 would be helpful for that as well. Thanks
Do you use anything to track golf now, or is that something new you want to do? The 935 as a running-only watch is overkill, I’d go for something simpler like the 235. Or if you want a cheaper watch that gives you a lot of metrics and includes Golf, then the Vivoactive (original, or the new 3). I’m a multi-sporter and used the 920xt for events, but used the Vivoactive for day-to-day usage, simple run training, and golfing, as the 920 was too bulky for my liking as a day-to-day watch. With the HR strap (or now, new run pod) you still get the Running Dynamics with the Vivoactive.
I don’t believe the RD pod or hrm run with running dynamics are compatible with the vivoactive series.
Thanks for the advice. I don’t use anything for golf now and I suspect I could find a phone app that would work just as well. It seems like the 235 would work for what I need. The Vivoactive HR looks interesting but I don’t think I would like the touchscreen. How have you liked it?
I had the original Vivoactive, not the HR, but I liked it. It was the best watch around at the time that did everything I wanted, and wasn’t too bulky. I like the new round v3 now over the original though, just looks much nicer.
Hey Ray,
After having bluetooth connectivity issues with my 935, Garmin will send me a new unit. Before I send my defective watch back to them, is it possible to backup my Records (PR’s) and Training Load (FirstBeat data) and move it to the new unit?? I don’t want to loose all that data. I don’t care about the activities because I already uploaded them to Garmin Connect.
Thank you!
G
In theory you can actually move those settings.fit files over, (I’d just copy the entire structure to your computer). But in practice things don’t always work.
Still, I’d copy the whole substructure and give it a whirl. Report back if it works out!
FirstBeat analytics can’t be copied and neither can any activity tracking data (e.g. steps). Several settings can’t be preserved either. (There’s some data which is not even accessible via the file system exposed by USB.)
Based on this Garmin support article and my own experience (reset to factory several times), this is what you can recover/copy, and how. You can back everything up by copying the whole folder structure, but you can’t just copy it back onto your new watch.
Some things can be recovered by copying the files to the NEWFILES/ folder, others by copying the files to their original locations.
link to support.garmin.com
Copy to NEWFILES/
– Locations: copy contents of LOCATIONS/ to NEWFILES
– Despite what the page says, totals apparently can’t be restored
– Custom activities/activity settings: copy contents of SPORTS/ to NEWFILES)
(This can result in your activity list looking a little funny if you had any custom activities – might have to reorder activities until the list looks right again.)
– Records: copy contents of RECORDS/ to NEWFILES)
– Some settings: copy contents of SETTINGS/ to NEWFILES)
(Most settings, like wifi networks, and bluetooth pairings, will not be preserved.)
Copy to original location:
– Activity history (copy ACTIVITY/)
– Connect IQ Apps and app settings (copy APPS/)
– Courses (copy COURSES/)
– Segments (copy SEGMENTS and SEG_LIST)
Wow! This is amazing. Thank you so much. It’s kind of disappointing that in 2017 we can’t transfer our data to a new device or simply save the devices settings automatically. This is specially a problem for people like me that buy a new watch every other year. 🙁 Oh well, I will try to do that once I get my new 935. Thanks Will!!
Agree with all the files you mentioned except for the records. Those can be sent to your device from Garmin Connect. Look under trophies.
Wow – that is one mind-blowing, in-depth & comprehensive review. Fantastic!
I’ve had my 935 a while now and love it. I’ve started using it for rides outdoors instead of my edge, but the other day I was using the navigate course feature for the first time on the 935 but then didnt get any power data in GC after I uploaded my ride. Is this normal, or did I do something wrong. I know my power meter was working.
Thanks
Ray, I just got a 935 and I find that although OHR in activity mode works great, OHR in 24/7 mode doesn’t work at all when I move around, let’s say just walking.
Do you find the 24/7 OHR mode accurate for you when you walk around?
I wrote a post about this on the Garmin Forums:
link to forums.garmin.com
So I just got a 935 and really like it….my question or issue is related to pairing multiple devices to my P1 pedals. In addition to my 935 I have an edge 820 which has worked flawlessly with my P1 pedals. That said, when I try and pair both it is not working. When I pair the 820 first to the pedals the connection is solid but the watch kept dropping the connection to the pedals. When I connected the watch first the connection was stable but the 820 would not connect to the pedals–actually would not find the pedals at all. My understanding is that you can pair multiple devices to an ANT+ signal—my heart rate strap connects flawlessly to my head unit and my watch…go figure.
the watch and the 820 have been updated and are running the most current firmware which i am diligent about updating. the batteries in the pedals have less than 500 miles on them —they are only a few months old…
any insight or thoughts would be appreciated….
Hello Ray and all.
I’ve been running with my new FR935 since May and really like it. Recently I purchased a HRM-Tri bundle with HRM-TRI and HRM-SWIM. When I use the HRM-TRI on runs, I only get Cadence and Stride length, which I don’t need a chest strap for. I am not seeing GCT, ground contact time balance, vertical oscillation and vertical ratio. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. I’ve made sure to run with it “right-side up.” It has firmware v4.3 on the sensor. Do I need to enable something on the watch? I think I’ve added the Data Field for the latter running dynamics to the Run settings but perhaps I’ve done that incorrectly. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for the awesome information on the site!
Hello, I just took the leap and got the 935. I have liked it so far but I am still getting accustomed to the functions and buttons as I have been using the 310xt for the last 6 years.
A few things I can’t figure out,
1. While running I occasionally get an alert indicating that Performance is Fair or Poor. Is this referring to the GPS connectivity and if so, how do I turn it off?
2. The HR sensor appears to be working well except today while running a 5K my first mile showed up at 105 bpms then the last two looked more accurate at around 170. Is this just a random occurrence or have others experienced something similar while doing a workout?
3. Lastly, the watch band is about 1 inch too long for me. Has anyone cut the band or do they make a shorter one?
And just one true complaint. The thing I miss the most from the 310xt is the simple way to turn off, on and dim the backlight. It just took the touch of a button then the dim control would pop up whereas with the 935 you have to go through multiple buttons to change it.
Nit picky questions I know 🙂 Overall it has been great.
Thanks
1. No, this is your “performance condition”. It’s a measure of how good you’re feeling at the moment, performance-wise, relative to your own fitness — i.e. Should I try to crush that PB in this race or kill this workout, or should I hold back?
link to www8.garmin.com
You can turn off these alerts if they annoy you:
Settings > Physiological Metrics > Performance Notifications > Perf. Condition
Backlight:
With the latest firmware, you can add the Backlight entry to the Controls menu (hold down Light), which lets you change the brightness fairly easily.
Settings > System > Controls Menu
You can also assign Backlight options to a “Hot Key”, such as Hold Back or Hold Start. This is a little different than the controls menu, as it gives you access to the full backlight settings, not just the brightness.
The hot key settings are at:
Settings > System > Hot Keys
Thank you for another very informative review.
One question: Can it record power-pedals (Powertap P1) mounted on an indoor spinning bike?
In other words receive power readings, without any speed or GPS signal.
Thanks
Henrik
Yes, no issues.
I would appreciate if you could retest the OHR accuracy.
The thing is, that Garmin rolled out a firmware update that made OHR unusable.
With the latest update (v 6.0) OHR works again but I have the impression that accuracy got really really really worse. That’s why I decided to go back and to use HR-breast-strap again.
I use the FR935 as my primary watch. After they fixed the issue introduced in 5.30, within 5.40 – I haven’t seen any issues in optical HR accuracy since.
hi.. how would you say about “training status” and “training load” features? are they representative/accurate enough? am not (yet) a tri-athlete.. yet interested in those features.. as sometimes i think i’ve been overeaching to the state of over fatigue.. and sometimes i went unproductive to justify my resting time ^^ and thinking that if this watch could really analyze the training load and status.. i could manage to being “productive” at most of the time.. ^^
am currently using vivoactive HR for running and cycling and really happy with it.. just thinkin whether those features worth upgrade for (if they really works..) ^^
On software side, should be pointed out that Garmin have a bad practice on their handling of localize firmware. It’s good for different localize language / map support, however the way Garmin handle this should be highlight for all consumer considering their product.
There’s basically at least 2 set of software, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest Of the World (ROW) and the differences between the 2 listed below:
1. There’s no indication when you purchase, what kind of software you be getting (Unless you a long time Garmin user that know their shit well). Take Forerunner 935 as example, both is label as “Forerunner 935” on any localize website. A Google search will only return the software version / update based on ROW software. However software for APAC is label differently as “Forerunner 935 APAC”
2. There’s no official mean provided to change the software set (To get desire language support OR others benefit below)
3. Different software release schedule. APAC software usually lag behind ROW for weeks, and may even skip update affecting available feature.
4. Garmin official forum only list and discuss on ROW software. There’s no forum for APAC software.
5. Connect IQ app is limited for APAC software
anyone has comment for this?i’m on APAC firmware 5.50
Is anyone else’s watch restarting after saving an activity? Ever since it updated to the 6.0 firmware, it seems to freeze for a little bit then restart after saving. Didn’t have this issue before the update. Didn’t see anything on the garmin forums.
I have a weird problem: my 935 regularly changes the language from German to English… and I have no clue why. Additionally, the “move alert” gets switched on again and again as well… no matter how often I switch it off…
Any clues as to why that happens and how I can stop it?
Ray,
I’m looking to get this as a holiday present for my wife, any idea if / when this will go on sale between now and the end of the year?
I highly doubt you’ll see it on sale this year.
I think you may see various Black Friday deals where a retailer allows something like 10% or 20% off all items (which Garmin is almost always excluded from), but the retailer doesn’t code it properly and people get a deal for a few hours.
Just my guess.
Ray,
Oh well, one could hope.
Thanks
If you’re an REI member you can get 5 – 10% dividend back on purchase.
Yup, 10% back with DCR/Clever Training VIP program. And unlike REI, you don’t have to wait till the end of the year to get it: link to dcrainmaker.com
Enjoy!
Is this the new 645?
link to jfsports.com.ve
I always thought that with the fr935 the fr6xx series would not die.
The price jump from the fr235 to the fr935 is too high, and it’s obvious that Garmin wants something in the middle, even if the fr935 is a great watch for runners.
Probably Garmin offers the new watch just to fill a price gap, and not to offer new funcionality (apart of music, maybe this will be the great novelty for Garmin?)
By the way, I like the new look very much.
Great post and ears up!!
Thanks Jan Aniolek
I have a question reguarding the cell phone Bluetooth range… I previously had a 920xt and id get my phone notifications anywhere in the house. I hate having my phone on me at home and it allowed me to see if an incoming call or text was important enough to go get my phone. I just picked up a fenix 5 and I love the watch other than the fact that the Bluetooth range to my phone flat out sucks. I have to be in the same room as my phone otherwise it disconnects. It even disconnects 15 feet away if there is even one wall separating the watch and the phone. My question is… does the 935 have a better smart phone connection range than the fenix 5? Is the range anywhere as good as the 920xt? Thanks in advance for your input.
Ray,
Great (And detailed) post as always. Quick question…when do you expect Garmin to release the successor to the 935. I am thinking of buying it, but dont want to if the market consensus is there’ll be a new one out for xmas 2017!
I realise it might be an educated guess, but when do they typically release their tri watches?
Many thanks
Ben
Garmin releases updates on a 2 year cycle, typically.
The 920XT was released in October 2014, so this was a 2.5 year model update (March 2017). I wouldn’t expect a new model update for another 2 years from now.
Tweeted, but will ask here too in case anyone else know.
Is the 935 hardware capable of NFC? I dont know what the internals are, and cant find a teardown. I’d love to see garmin release Garmin Pay support via a firmware update for those long runs that include a chocolate milk emergency.
The Fenix 5 and 935 can’t do NFC. There are rumors a new F5 gets released with NFC
Yeah it requires a hardware chip, not just a firmware update
Fantastic review as always DC. Thanks
I’m having a really hard time removing the band per this link to www8.garmin.com
I was able to remove the “small screw” side, but not the long pin. Any ideas?
Thanks,
take the smallest screw driver, unfolder paper clip, pin, etc and stick it in where the small screw was and if it can go in the hole it can push the other side out
Thanks. That worked. Quick release bands added, wife is happy, DCRainmaker is probably happy (935 + quick release bands bought through affiliate link)
Thanks for the support Matthew, I appreciate it!
Hi all
looking for some advice here. I own a Fenix 3 (no-HR) that these days i use mostly for running paired with a scosche rhythm+. This combination works for me.
I am playing around with the idea of getting a 935, but i wonder if there is any tangible advantage over the combination that i currently use?
Some of you might have gone through the same dilemma, and might have pulled the trigger, so any perspective is much appreciated!
I’ve come to the 935 from the same combination, and have not regretted it for a second. The inbuilt hr is fine for steady runs, and even tempi runs, but I go back to the scosche for intervals. I find that just as good as the strap.
The 935 is so much lighter than the fenix and as others have said, it works so much better as an everyday watch. The menus are so much snappier and you obviously have the benefits of the updated connect iq.
I’m very very happy that I made the switch.
My answer to your question is that the 935 seems designed to want to be your everyday all day watch. The 24×7 HR monitoring is a big advantage for that. I had a 910xt since 2011 and used it with a Scosche+ but with my new 935, I’m compelled to wear it all day/night.
Hey Ron,
thanks a lot for your answer. So you say that the main advantage of the 935 over the 3+rhythm+ has mainly to do with the “fitness tracking” features.
I use a normal wrist watch and the Fenix only when running (or skiing, swimming etc).
So I could probably save a few hundred hard earned bucks!
Since I had a lowly 910, rather than a Fenix 3, I can’t really comment on that. For me the jump in all the features from GPS being found quickly, to 24×7 monitoring, to phone notifications, etc -all of that was new for me. The Fenix 3 is newer than the 910 for sure…so I guess just personal preference. My Board of Directors (my wife) made me wait until that 910 crapped out – and fiscally, it was a smart move.
For workouts, you are most likely going to get better HR results with the Scosche whether paired to the F3 or the 935. I’ve just disabled the HR on my 935 because it is so prone to error for me, and just use my scosche or chest strap. But it works great for many people. Moving to the 935 isn’t likely to make you a better runner. I do love having my 935 as my every day watch, though, so I never have to worry about not having it for my workouts. If a new gadget could help motivate you to get out the door, there’d be value right there.
Ray, Run to Chipotle??!!! Come on you gotta be kidding! You live in the world’s centre of cafe culture…..nice review though.
Fun tidbit*: The vast majority of “cafe’s” in Paris these days serve re-heated foods. Most don’t have legit chefs in the kitchen, but rather people that can reheat items in a microwave. A recent article I saw was something like 80-90%, which I’d say is probably low. Given we go to restaurant supply stores, we’re super familiar with the products you can purchase there. For fun, take a stroll past the garbage bins of any cafe after 1AM, when they put the trash out. Almost everything is frozen food.
Which, to be clear, is very different than the growing ‘trendy restaurant’ culture, as well as of course the higher end Starred restaurants. Fantastic meals there.
Regrettably, you wouldn’t be caught dead in even a regular cafe in running clothes in Paris. Heck, you’re not even supposed to walk from the gym to home in that around here… Kidding, not kidding. 😉
*We work in the food service biz here in Paris.
I recently completed a 50km trail ultra-marathon, but the 935 only measured 45km. I’ve been told that this is probably due to the course utilising a lot of mountain bike tracks which had a lot of switch backs, so the GPS may not have picked up the full distance, if it wasn’t set to ‘ping’ often enough.
I had it set to “Trail run” mode rather than normal “Run” mode. The GPS mode is set to “Normal (GPS Only)”. Would it have been better to have it set to GPS + GLONASS, or UltraTrac mode? Do either of those ‘ping’ more often” How often does the “Normal” mode ‘ping’?
Hi, I have he 935 for 3 month now and I like it. The only problem is the heartrate monitor when I’m on the bike.
The back of my hand pushes slightly against the side of the watch resulting in false readings. It generalty stays the same at around 80 bpm. When i straighten my wrist it sometimes picks it back up but sometimes I have to swap wrists a few times.
Is anyone else experiencing this problem and is there a way to fix it?
The fix? Get a chest strap.
Sorry if that seems glib but wrist based optical HR and the bike are a notoriously bad combo. It’s not just the 935, I’ve had the same issue with other OHR watches too.
If you’re really desperate to avoid a chest strap you could try moving the strap much further up your arm to somewhere fleshier, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on it working well.
Cadence
In my last runs I stopped getting cadence info.
Anyone with a similar problem? Would it be a hardware or software problem?
Thanks! I’ll return to the cheststrap for bikerides…
I tried moving the watch up my wrist a bit during a bike ride. This helped a lot! The slightest bit of pressure of the back of your hand on the 935 results in faulty readings. I will connect the chest strap and compare readings on my next ride on Zwift to see how they compare since is was under the impression the wrist readings were a bit low.
I’ve never used an Optical HRM. Do they work if the watch is worn on the underside of the wrist? It seems to come up a little in regards to people who have issues with hair or tattoos, but for me it’s just a comfort thing. Is the watch equally reliable on the underside, or is there going to be a significant drop off in readings.
Yup, in fact, for many people it’ll work better on the inside of your wrist.
Has anyone the same issue??
I have my FR935 switching off from time to time, often at night, but also during the daytime, in fact any time… almost never during an activity, but still it’s quiet bad!!
And when it switches off it the clock seems to stop has its not uptodate anymore (need to sync by phone)…
I called Garmin Support this morning, just told me to do a hard reset…. but did not work!!!
I’m a bit angry…
If the unit is turning off randomly, and you’ve tried a hard reset, you have a defective device. Contact Garmin again. At this point they should replace it, which at least here in the US, they are really good about. Alternatively, if you got it a shop with good customer service, they may swap it out for you. Many shops around here would happily do that if you’d gotten it fairly recently.
Agree with Ekutter. If the hard reset doesn’t work, then there’s something physically wrong with the unit. He nails all the options for replacement, all of them will likely be quick and painless.
So; I purchased the Tomtom multisport cardio three years ago based on the review.
The nav button is now not working (I was always a bit concerned that this button looked a bit flimsy); tomtom support have told me that I’d be better off buying a new watch rather than getting my existing on repaired. So I’m now back on the market for a new watch.
I went for a run today with my edge 500 strapped to a quick release watch strap and it reminded me of how much I now HATE running with a HR strap. The 935 looks to be exactly what I’m after.
One question though; I noted that wrist HR still gets disabled when swimming; if I set the watch to triathlon mode will it still disable the wrist HR?
Yes, still will be disabled.
Will it disable it for the swim leg only or for the entire duration?
I figure I can work around this by just setting it to some other activity mode. I’ve been converted to wrist based heart rate for running now and I can’t go back.
I might need to get a replacement on my 935. The alt and temp sensors seems to be malfunctioning (they only work during a wo).
I was told elsewhere to try a factory reset. I would do it, but i dont want to reset the current fitness stats. Do you know if the stats re-sync if i actually reset or if i get a new unit?
Thanks!
Is there not a way to leave smart notifications on but have it neither vibrate or make a sound? Might seem strange but the vibration can get annoying it texting back and forth with someone, same goes for the tone.
I tried turning all tones off and setting it to tone only, but that doesnt work. I don’t want to turn ALL vibrations off (such as auto lap, training, etc).
Yes, it’s called Do Not Disturb Mode. Notifications still go through to the watch, but the watch doesn’t beep or vibrate.
I should add that the notifications do flash up on the screen but the screen does not light up. You can also still see them on the watch. I have one of the data fields on my watch face set to show the number of notifications I have.
Do Not Disturb should be easily accessible by holding the light button to access the Controls Menu. If it’s not, you can add it. You can also set it up as a shortcut to switch it on and off quickly.
Thanks. Seems a bit silly there is not an option to just select nothing where they make you choose vibrate, tone or vibrate + tone.
Is there a way to have do not disturb on and not display the icon on the watch face? It seems I either have the do not disturb icon, battery indication, phone connection indicator, or none of them if I try to customize the watchface. I cant pick multiple things to display at the top of the watchface
There is an app called Face-It.. that may help you in customising your watch face
I use the standard digital watch face and have it set up to show the day and date at the top, the number of notifications and battery percentage at the bottom. When I toggle Do Not Disturb on and off, it doesn’t show on the watch face.
The customisations settings are under Watch Face>Customise>Data. There are numerous customisation options available. More than I had on my 230.
Great reviews, very in depth which is awesome!
Is the 935 likely to receive a hardware refresh early next year?
I have a question to any knowledgeable users (DCR?!) on display for kayaking/surfski: I want to use a watch that shows current speed and average speed clearly while I’m paddling (on top of other functions for run/bike etc), i normally attach a watch to the footstrap of a surfski. How does this compare in terms of display size and clarity with the 920xt? Thanks!
DC,
I have the 935 and am looking for a bike computer that simply displays the data from the watch/sensors I have. I don’t really want to mess with the quick release kit and moving the watch. Is there a bike computer that does this? The watch and sensors already give me all the information I need, I just need the display permanently mounted to the bike. I can’t seem to find a bike computer that does this.
Thanks!
Hi Ray,
Can you recommend a cycling speed / cadence sensor to pair with the 935?
I’d go with either the Wahoo Fitness ones, since they’re dual ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart. That gives you flexibility in whatever apps/devices you want down the road. link to amzn.to
Personally I like how the garmin cadence mounts better than the wahoo, but if your looking for ant+/BT then the powertap speed/cadence mounts the same as the garmin but I have not used it.
Any update when the new version will available. Will Garmin try to take advantage of the Holidays or wait for next year? What are your prediction of the added functionality we can expect? Thanks
Given it just came out about 6 months or so ago, I wouldn’t expect a new version for another 16-20 months.
I’ve noticed in the last 10 days (I think since I updated the firmware recently to v6 or 6.1) that my heart rate is being recorded when the watch isn’t being worn. While sitting in a jacket pocket, sensor facing out the way with the straps folded over the sensor I’ve recorded a heart rate as high as 140. While being at rest. And not wearing the jacket
Anyone else noticed this extra functionality?
In theory it’s using the accelerometer to double-check against movement. Any chance that jacket is on a chair and your sitting on the chair? Or is it in a closet? Or that light is reflecting into it?
Usually on the back of a chair as I work in healthcare, however spend as much time at my desk now as out and about. For an experiment I tried it in my trouser pocket. Heart rate all over the place, as low as 40 (I wish) and as high as 150 in typical work conditions. Light def not getting through; maybe the accelerometer?
Ive sent the data file on to Garmin, will feedback on their interpretation.
Im never going to get 100% accuracy with the intermittent wear that I have to do, but would rather missing gaps as before than the alarming/ridiculous highs/lows that are being recorded.
Other than this new development its performed admirably and (certainly cosmetically) a great upgrade from the 920 (and the 220 before it), all purchased from your excellent reviews