This product has been discontinued by the manufacturer. It's been replaced by the Garmin Forerunner 645/645 Music, you may want to check out that review instead.
The Garmin FR620 is Garmin’s newest and most advanced running GPS watch. The unit packs in everything from WiFi to ANT+ to Bluetooth Smart, and adds a slew of new metrics and functionality. But are these new metrics a fair trade for some of the older functionality that’s been removed?
And quite simply, is it worth the cash over the FR220 which costs roughly half as much? Especially once you consider needing the new FR620’s HRM-Run strap to take advantage of all the new features.
Because I want to be transparent about my reviews – Garmin provided both beta and final production FR620’s, with this review being written on the basis of the final production hardware + software (some photos were taken during the software beta period of course). As always, in the next little bit I’ll be sending them back to Garmin and then going out and getting my own (to be able to support y’all in the comments section down the road). Simple as that. Sorta like hiking in wilderness trails – leave only footprints. If you find my review useful, you can use any of the Amazon or Clever Training links from this page to help support future reviews.
Lastly, at the end of the day keep in mind I’m just like any other regular athlete out there. I write these reviews because I’m inherently a curious person with a technology background, and thus I try and be as complete as I can. But, if I’ve missed something or if you spot something that doesn’t quite jive – just let me know and I’ll be happy to get it all sorted out. Also, because the technology world constantly changes, I try and go back and update these reviews as new features and functionality are added – or if bugs are fixed.
So – with that intro, let’s get into things.
Unboxing:
Before we can use the thing, we’ve got to get it all unboxed.
There’s an outer shell which protects the inner stuff. Below the watch are all the accessories.
Here would be those accessories, or rather, the contents of the box. On the left we’ve got the power cable, in the middle we have the watch plus the HRM-Run pod, then the manual, and then finally the heart rate strap that connects to the HRM-Run transmitter pod.
With the plastic removed, you’ve got the below situation:
As you’ll see in later sections, the FR620 is much lighter than its predecessor – the FR610. It’s also just a touch bit slimmer than it as well, owing in part because the band goes completely flush with the unit when placed on a flat service – versus the FR610 having a portion of the GPS antenna in that area causing a bit more of a bump.
As you can see, the FR620’s charger is completely different than previous Garmin Forerunner chargers, and isn’t really compatible with any other devices in the lineup either. It’s a bit better than the FR610’s charger, but I find the FR220 charger much more secure in that it clips on and can be swung around without fear of the charger falling off.
Next we’ve got the new HRM-Run strap. This is perhaps one of the most important pieces to being able to take advantage of all the new FR620 functionality.
Inside the HRM-Run transmitter pod (which has the little running man icon) there’s an accelerometer which measures movement, enabling new Running Dynamics metrics which I cover in a later section. This is all in addition to traditional HR metrics such as beats per minute.
Also worth pointing out is that while the pod is new, Garmin has stated that they’ve continued to make minor tweaks to the strap itself – trying to further minimize HR spike/dropout issues. Additionally, more work has been done around that within the pod as well (above and beyond what the HRM3 offers).
Finally, the last item within the box is the Getting Started guide.
With that, let’s dive into some of the comparisons with other units on the market.
Size Comparisons & Weights:
Next up lets compare how the size of the Garmin FR620 is to that of other units in the same general price and functionality range.
First we’ve got the standard rolling pin side view. You’ll notice that for the most part the GPS units these days are all roughly in the same size arena. It’s only the ones to the far left that are a bit bigger – the Adidas Smart Run GPS and the Suunto Ambit 2s. And, at the far right side you’ve got the lightest and smallest of the bunch, the Magellan Echo. Except that doesn’t have GPS in it but rather depends on your phone’s GPS.
(From left to right: Adidas Smart Run GPS, Suunto Ambit 2s, Garmin FR610, Garmin FR620, Polar RC3, TomTom Runner/Multisport, Timex Run Trainer 2.0, Garmin FR220, Magellan Echo)
Next, we can turn them up a bit and see the height of each one. The pattern is pretty similar here. The TomTom is a bit of an optical illusion because while the height looks thin on the display side, the button wraps down around the front and pops up a bit. The thickest units overall are the Adidas, Suunto and then the Timex Run Trainer 2.0 (3rd from right).
If I look at the three other units the Garmin FR620 tends to be compared to the most, you can see this a bit more clearly.
The FR620 is of course the successor to the FR610. Below, we can see the two side by side. Display-size wise they’re virtually indistinguishable. The touch button placement has been swapped around a bit, and there’s now one additional button.
The most noticeable aspect (aside from weight) though is really thickness. In particular though towards the base of the unit. You can see how the first bit of the FR610 (silver) watch band as it leaves the display is still a portion of the unit and added bulk, whereas the FR620 doesn’t have any of that extra bulk.
Looking at wearing it, here’s what it looks like on my wrist, my wrist size is 17cm (or about 6.5 inches):
And, for all the smaller ladies in the house, here’s what it looks like on The Girl’s wrist, her wrist size is 14cm (or 5.5 inches) – and she’s tiny – 5’2” tall:
The Girl wishes to convey that she plans to steal my FR620 upon pressing publish on this review. Thus far, she’s been using it pretty much every time I’m not using it (she’s also been using the FR220 as well).
Last but not least, here’s the weight situation. The FR620 weighed in at 44g:
Whereas the older FR610 (metal backing) came in at 75g, and the updated plastic backing at 62g:
Running Functionality and Features:
After you’re ready to start running you’ll head outside and get GPS reception. Unlike past Garmin Fitness watches, the Garmin FR620 automatically caches the satellite locations for the next week, which means that it can find satellites much faster than before. This caching is updated via WiFi and Bluetooth Smart each time you connect the FR620.
To illustrate this in a short video, I’ve started with the FR620 turned off (entirely – which is sorta unusual) and then recorded the process to turn it on and until satellite reception. The red bar on the left side indicates the satellite reception, which turns green once nearing completion.
Typically the unit is already on, so it’s just a 2-second matter to switch into running mode and then enable GPS. So that first portion to turn on from being off took 18 seconds. Then, the satellite lock while sitting next to a tall stone wall/ground took 14 seconds. I’ve seen it even faster when not sitting next to a massive wall.
One pretty cool new feature on the FR620 (and the FR220) is the ability to change how long until the unit falls asleep. Previously it would fall asleep after 5 minutes if you weren’t actively recording an activity, or hadn’t touched the screen. This meant for folks waiting at the start line of a big race, the unit could fall asleep on you. Now though you can change to ‘Extended’ mode, which will in turn shut the unit off after 25 minutes.
So, with the unit on, we’re ready to start running. To do so you’ll press the upper right button, which starts the activity. You can press the same button again to resume it. The lower right button is the lap button. The upper left turns on the backlight. On the front bezel you’ll see a little ‘Back’ arrow and on the opposite side ‘Three lines’, which allow you to navigate through the menus.
Once we’ve started running the unit will display a multitude of metrics, based on what you’ve configured. By default this will be things like pace, distance, time and heart rate. Each page can have different metrics on them, and you can have different pages.
For example, below I’ve configured a four-metric lap page, which shows my current lap distance, lap time, lap pace, and heart rate.
In this case, below, I’ve setup a two-metric screen that just shows heart rate and the HR zone:
In total you can configure four data screens (+ a Virtual Partner and Running Dynamics screen). Each screen (page) can contain up to four pieces of data (or as little as one piece of data). You’ll change all of these within the Activity Settings area, and then Data Screens:
Here’s the full listing of data fields you can configure:
While running in order to change screens you simply tap the screen. The touchscreen can be navigated by swiping up and down, just like most phones. This is similar to the FR610 (but very different from the FR405/FR410 touch bezel). This touch screen has no problems with water droplets (rain), nor with gloves. For fun, here’s a quick little video I shot wandering through the menu with a few different gloves:
As you can see, even with the biggest mitten you can navigate it.
Many people ask about pace stability while using GPS. Below is a short video I took while running with the unit. I’m not wearing any footpod, this is pure GPS pace. I ran for a short distance and then abruptly stopped, so you could see the short delay until the unit shows zero (stopped). The pace number is shown in minutes/mile
The unit can be configured for both metric and statute displays (i.e. miles or kilometers), and in fact, there’s actually settings to change any of the different fields (such as elevation, pace, distance) individually and independently of each other. So you could have elevation in meters and distance in miles.
While running you can configure the unit to automatically create laps, called Auto Laps. These can be setup based on a preset time, such as 1 Mile. I tend to use this for longer runs, rather than shorter ones.
Additionally you can also configure Auto Pause, which will automatically pause the unit when you go slower than a certain threshold – such as stopping at a light for a crosswalk. You can customize the thresholds if they’re too high/low for you.
When it comes to alerting you’ve got a few options. You can create alerts on a number of metrics such as time, distance, calories, cadence, or pace. In the case of pace or cadence, these are typically defined as high/low alerts, where you set a high value and/or a low value (both or individual) and then the unit alerts based upon crossing that threshold:
You can also setup alerts such as the Run/Walk alert, which is common in a number of marathon training plans these days. In this case you setup a Run Time (i.e. 10 minutes), and then a walk time (i.e. 1 minute) and then the unit will simply repeat this duo forever until you tell it otherwise.
Lastly in alerting you have the Virtual Partner. Once enabled the Virtual Partner is set for a given pace (you can adjust it on the fly), such as 7:25/mile.
The unit will then tell you how far ahead or behind that virtual pacer you are, in both distance and time.
What’s unfortunate here is you can’t set a goal time for an event (i.e. 3:30 marathon), nor can you see the predicted finish time based on your current pace (for a given distance/event). I was really hoping to see this given some other units have implemented it lately (namely, the Magellan Switch/Switch Up).
Further, Garmin removed the ability to race against past results (at least temporarily), so you can’t race against yourself nor against any other runner.
Once your run is done you’ll go ahead and tap the pause button to pause it, which then brings you to this screen where you can save the run (or discard it I suppose):
After which it’ll list off any PR’s that you’ve hit for that run. PR’s (Personal Records) are listed for distances from 1KM upwards to Marathon, as well as for records such as longest run. Here’s a few of them:
The only problem is that while it’s supposed to pull your previous PR’s from Garmin Connect, it doesn’t appear to be doing so. So in reality my PR’s are kinda skewed.
All of this information then ends up in the history section if you’d like to review it later from the watch itself.
And of course it’ll get uploaded as I’ll cover in a bit.
Looking at GPS accuracy, I’ve seen good stuff with the FR620. It’s in line with a bunch of other GPS units I’ve paired it up against, always relatively close to each other. Given the accuracy of GPS technology in the consumer space, you’ll almost never get the same measurement from two units (even two like units), but in these cases you see very similar numbers across the board:
Sorry this last one’s a bit fuzzy, it was at night. 26.87km = 16.69 miles. So in this case we had a bit more variance (from 16.19mi to 16.69 miles with the Echo hanging out in the middle at 16.4 miles. Of course, it’s impossible to know which one is right.
I’ll likely be doing accuracy tests again with the large batch of new running watches on the block, since it now makes sense to do so.
New FR620 Running Dynamics Metrics:
The FR620 has introduced the ability to get new “Running Dynamics” metrics, which focus primarily on running efficiency areas. These metrics are only available if you have the (also new) HRM-Run heart rate strap. This is the strap that has the little runner symbol on the front of it, and contains an accelerometer in it (it otherwise looks like any previous Garmin HR strap).
There are two and a half new metrics that come from the HRM-Run. I say ‘and a half’, because one of them – cadence – was previously available via the footpod (and also available in the FR620 internally).
The other two metrics are Vertical Oscillation and Ground Contact Time. First let’s cover what these are:
Vertical Oscillation: This is simply how much you (specifically, your chest) goes up and down during each footstep. Basically defining how much vertical movement you generate, measured in centimeters. The less vertical oscillation the better, as it means you’re in theory spending less energy pushing your body up and down vertically (energy which could be used to move your body forward).
Ground Contact Time: This metric covers how long each footstep spends on the ground, measured in milliseconds. Remember that 1,000ms = 1 second. Typically speaking the less time you spend on the ground the faster your cadence. And most elite runners tend to have a fairly fast cadence. You’ll likely see this number fluctuate directly with that of cadence, which in many people’s situations tends to also correlate with speed.
Cadence: This is not a new metric. It’s just that Garmin has decided it was time to make you aware of it. This measures how many steps per minute you take, or, how many times per minute your feet touch the ground. Traditionally this has always been measured in Garmin products for just a single foot (i.e. 90SPM). However with the switch to the FR620 and FR220, all of these metrics across Garmin sites are now shown as both feet (i.e. 180SPM). You’ll note that any previous runs you did now show double what they did before (the change occurred last week updating all old runs).
As a side note, Garmin produced two YouTube videos which were actually surprisingly good. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever linked to a Garmin video in a review before – but this one on Running Dynamics explains it very well with cute graphics and animations.. And the same on VO2Max & Recovery Adviser (which I’ll cover in my next section).
Garmin includes this handy little chart in the manual to help you figure out whether or not your results are good. Of course, they don’t say good, rather, they just label them with non-descript colors so that everyone feels good about themselves.
So how is this information displayed for you? Well, let’s first start off with running. While running you can choose to enable a new display screen called, obviously, Running Dynamics. This screen looks like a small car dashboard:
The data is updated in real-time just like any other metric on your watch.
You can switch around any of these three metrics in the configuration of your data fields. Further, you can add these metrics to any of your other data pages/screens.
Next, post-run you’ll see a few new (and updated, in the case of cadence) display fields within Garmin Connect:
Looking more closely at the fields you can start to see clear trends between pace, cadence, vertical oscillation and ground contact time. Though, I think it’ll be some months until coaches and others can really start to make sense of what this data looks like en mass (sorta like left/right power data).
I say that because if you look at the charts above (from one run), and then compare it to the charts below (from a different run), you see different trends. For example, below you see an increase in vertical oscillation (more bounce) while there’s actually a decrease (faster) in ground contact time. Which is a bit of a strange correlation to have occur. Again, more over time here.
Here’s a close look at each of the graphs from a recent run.
Ground Contact Time:
Vertical Oscillation:
Cadence:
You’ll notice a few little blips here and there. For example that random spike about 80-90% of the way through my run is when a very old man partially fell off his bike a bit ahead of me. I stopped for a second to make sure he was OK, resulting in that short spike. Beyond that I’ve seen the data be incredibly clean while running on trails/routes uninterrupted. However, with city running and jumping on/off sidewalks and around people I see a fair bit more variance. So be sure you keep your running environment in context when looking at the data.
It should be noted that the HRM-Run continues to also grab standard heart rate data as well – so no changes there:
Note that only the Garmin FR620 today can take advantage of the new Running Dynamics metrics from the HRM-Run. The other units can still connect to the heart rate portion just fine, but not anything beyond that. Garmin does not have plans to add this to the now ‘older’ FR910XT, but I suspect you’ll see it in future higher-end fitness units from Garmin.
It’s probably worthwhile noting that the HRM-Run strap produces without question the ‘cleanest’ HR data I’ve seen to date on any strap, Garmin or otherwise. In fact, nearly all of my runs have been very good. This is notable especially because it’s the fall, which tends to be the worst time of year for HR spikes and dropouts due to the cool weather where people are still wearing t-shirts/shorts and thus you tend to produce less sweat than in either summer (hot), or winter (bundled up).
I’ve only seen a tiny bit of initial latency in the first 1-3 minutes, and only if the strap becomes more dry due to excessive waiting pre-run (you’re to wet the strap in three spots before running).
If you’re struggling with past HR straps, this may be the golden ticket from what I’ve seen. I’ve never seen any issues (spikes/dropouts/whatever) past the first couple of minutes with the HRM-Run and running with it the past 30-40 days.
Lastly, it should be noted that at this time Garmin has selected to make the transmission of the Running Dynamics data ‘private’, rather than open ANT+. This means that other companies can’t leverage this data real-time from the HRM-Run to the FR620. However, they can still read the data once the .FIT file is downloaded after the activity (that portion is open).
It should thus be pointed out that it’s a bit hypocritical for Garmin to keep this private-ANT rather than ANT+, especially since they own ANT+ (Dynastream technically), and the sheer success of ANT+ (and to a large extent, Garmin fitness devices – especially cycling) can be owed to the openness of ANT+ amongst member organizations and the willingness of those organizations to produce devices that are compliant with Garmin units (i.e. power meters).
Ironically, if Garmin were to open this up, it’d actually compliment other metrics that other companies are working on – potentially allowing for even greater metrics across the board. For example, the Scribe running kinematics pod I talked about last week.
The Garmin FR620 introduced four new features: VO2Max (to predict/determine your VO2Max), Recovery Check (to tell you the current state of recovery), and Race Predictor (to tell you how fast you can run your next race).
First we’ll start with VO2Max. Your VO2Max is a number that defines your body’s maximum ability to transport and utilize oxygen during exercise. Many consider it a way to identify elite athletes, though there’s certainly cases where elite marathoners may not have the highest VO2Max numbers and can still do well focusing on other areas (i.e. running efficiency).
Still, this number is nonetheless ‘interesting’. Though unfortunately, there’s very little you can do to change it beyond initial fitness. It’s more genetic than trained, and beyond a standard baseline level of fitness you won’t see dramatic (or even major) shifts in your individual VO2Max number. Most people get this number by performing a standard VO2Max test that lasts about 10-15 minutes on a treadmill. You can read about one of my past tests here.
The FR620 attempts to predict this number when using a heart rate strap by leveraging algorithms from FirstBeat Technologies. These algorithms can get you in the ballpark of your VO2Max, and do so in a way that’s much less painful than a VO2Max test (which hurts a lot).
After 10 minutes of running, the unit will calculate a VO2Max value, however, the entire run is considered for the final VO2Max number presented at the end of the run. Upon completion of the run the watch will display it to you:
You can go back and check your current value on the watch at any time from the menu:
This data is then tracked on a chart within Garmin Connect:
You’ll likely see slight variations in this day to day because of a lot of factors that the FR620 doesn’t know about (such as fatigue or sleep). Further, the type of workout you do may impact this number. For example, I have a rather difficult workout coming up on Tuesday and I’m interested to see if it shifts the number a bit (as my other recent workouts were more focused on length rather than aerobic pain).
In my case, the highest number the device has reported is 57, which is a bit below my actual measured VO2Max of 63.6 Though, that measurement was a few years ago – and things certainly may have changed.
So what good is the VO2Max data? Well, that data is directly turned around to give you predicted race times. These times are based on a simple lookup table against your VO2Max and age/gender. Meaning that it doesn’t take into account whether or not you’ve actually run 18-20mi before that 26.2 mile marathon – it just looks at your aerobic capacity. It also doesn’t take into account the realities of race day (i.e. hydration, nutrition, brain-farting, etc…).
Still, it’s somewhat interesting. In my case, it gives me the following estimations:
Which, is actually pretty much in-line for my current marathon PR at 2:54. And for that matter, the rest of my times are within 30s of my actual PR’s. However, that’s merely speaking to potential. In my case, I know I could have run faster that day (marathon). By the same token, I’m sure I was in better marathon shape that day than today.
Still, it gives you a ballpark, and in my case the greater ballpark is still somewhat accurate.
Next we look at two inter-related features: Recovery Check and Recovery Advisor.
Recovery Check is designed to assess your recovery level after the first 6 minutes of the run, and it’ll display a message to you shortly thereafter:
Whereas Recovery Advisor is a post-run message that tells you how long you should wait before attempting another hard run workout.
Further, the watch then counts this down and you can always access the current ‘clock’ to see where you stand:
The goal here with Recovery Advisor being to reduce injuries. Many runners (both new and not-so-new) tend to incorrectly schedule workouts to not give enough rest between hard running workouts. This in turn leads to injury – especially following long runs and the like.
Treadmill Running & Internal Accelerometer:
The Garmin FR620 includes an internal accelerometer (in the watch) which enables the unit to measure both pace and cadence without the need for an external footpod (as most watches previously required).
This internal accelerometer is automatically configured while running outdoors with the GPS enabled (there’s no additional manual configuration). My ability to test this particular feature has been somewhat limited, as only the final firmware enabled my unit the ability to record this data (as opposed to just viewing it). That said, one of the easiest ways to test this is by simply running it through a straight forward pyramid test on a treadmill after a run outdoors (to get the unit calibrated via GPS).
For this test I did a very straight forward treadmill test after completing a short warm-up. The recorded test includes the following:
1 Minute @ 12KPH (it took about 15-20s for the treadmill to get to full speed)
4 Minutes @ 13KPH (7:26/mi, 4:37/km)
1 Minute @ 14KPH (6:45/mi, 4:17/km)
1 Minute @ 15KPH (6:26/mi, 4:03/km)
1 Minute @ 16KPH (6:02/mi, 3:45/km)
1 Minute @ 17KPH (5:41/mi, 3:32/km)
1 Minute @ 18KPH (5:22/mi, 3:20/km)
1 Minute @ 15KPH (6:26/mi, 4:03/km)
2 Minutes @ 10KPH with letting treadmill stop last 10 seconds. (9:30/mi, 6:00/km)
After that first minute, the following 4-minutes at 13KPH provided a nice steady chunk of graph to look at. Further, that pace is just a nice average running speed for me – similar to a long-run pace. And, looking at the graph and paces in that section, it did exactly that. The paces there were within 3-5s/mile – perfectly suitable.
Then, I would increase the pace by 1KPH (metric treadmill) each minute. In theory this would provide a very clear step-ladder of sorts of paces. Here’s what it actually showed: Not much of anything.
In fact, it actually reported me going slower. Now, what’s really interesting here is that you can very clearly see my cadence increasing on the cadence graphs – incredibly clear step-ladder there:
As you see above, once I hit the 5-minute marker, and each minute thereafter my cadence naturally increases (this is common/normal as you speed up). But the pace accuracy drops outs. And, if you were to look at the final two minutes where I was at 10KPH (9:30/mile), the unit actually has me closer to 8:30/mile.
Now, what’s interesting here is that I saw this same sort of trend with the TomTom watch and its internal accelerometer. It was quite good at tracking paces right around my normal running range (i.e. 7:00-7:45/mile). However, as soon as I dropped below 7:00/mile it fell apart. It’ll be interesting to see data points from other users on this and see what patterns look like.
Now of course do keep in mind that calibration of treadmills across gyms and fitness centers is horribly bad (really, it’s rather ugly actually). So that could impact individual tests. However, in my case, we’re talking nearly 2:00 min/mile difference, and the fact that as I came closer to 5:00/mile in pace, it was actually reporting I was getting even slower than my baseline pace. I assure you, my little heart begs to differ.
I suspect what’s happening is some portion of my arm swing changes at these higher speeds and thus throws off the pace metrics. However interestingly, the cadence metrics (coming from the HRM-Run at this point) actually tracked quite well with a footpod I had streaming cadence to another device. Here’s the two right on top of each other:
You see a bit more noise in the footpod data, which is interesting in that it shows just how clean the HRM-Run data is for cadence.
If the accuracy of the internal accelerometer for pace though isn’t good enough for you, you can always pair any ANT+ enabled footpod to the unit. For example, one like the below:
You’ll dive into the sensor area and then pair the footpod:
Once that’s done you can go ahead and specify the calibration factor if you know it:
At that point you’re pretty much good to go. Likely when in indoors mode you’ll want to switch off GPS, which is again just a quick tap of the top GPS icon to set it to off. At this point it’ll provide pace, distance and cadence while indoors.
Workout Creation & Training Plans:
The FR620 supports the ability to create manual workouts that you’ll follow on your device and be prompted for each step of the workout. These workouts can have a variety of targets (such as pace, cadence, heart rate and speed), and can have preset durations such as time, distance or just simply pressing the lap button.
The workouts are created on Garmin Connect and then transferred to the device via Bluetooth or USB.
Below, you can see my creating one of my workouts. You can create a multiple of steps, and include embedded repeating steps (such as Work + Rest intervals). The Garmin Connect workout builder is pretty much the easiest and most complete interval builder out there. Incredibly simple to use.
Once you’re done with the workout, you’ll see all the steps listed.
Upon completion you can go ahead and send it to your device via USB or Bluetooth Smart (by pulling it from the Garmin Connect Mobile app):
Additionally, you can also add it to your Training Calendar. The Training Calendar on the device will then automatically show you your scheduled workouts on the day it’s scheduled.
On the unit these workouts will show up after tapping the little Trophy in the middle of the screen and going into the workouts area:
You can preview the steps for each workout as well there:
Garmin Connect also includes training plans for a variety of different goals (5K to Marathon) and sports (Bike/Run/Tri), as well as levels.
Each Training Plan has specific workouts in them which are automatically added to your calendar after you’ve clicked the ‘Schedule’ button. You can easily remove all workouts as well and change plans. The scheduler will allow you to specify either a start or finish date (i.e. race day) and all of the workouts then align to that date.
Here you can see the calendar view:
Finally, on your unit these will show up in your Training Calendar view right next to workouts, after tapping the little trophy:
Structured workouts like those included in the training plans (and via the workout builder) will walk you through each step of the workout, automatically counting down the time allocated for each step and letting you know what the goal is for each step:
If you exceed a threshold, it’ll alert you immediately, like the below. Though strangely, it doesn’t actually tell you whether you were high or low – just simply that you were out of bounds for that portion of the workout. (To clarify: It always shows you the view above, but when the pop-up alert happens as seen below, it doesn’t say “High/Low” there).
Lastly, you can cancel a workout at any time by just simply tapping the three lines on the right side and hitting cancel.
Cycling Functionality:
The Garmin FR620 does not contain a cycling function/mode, nor any way to connect to speed/cadence sensors while cycling. Which differs from the FR610 that both had a cycling mode as well as had the ability to connect to ANT+ speed/cadence sensors.
It does however contain the ability to switch the display metric from pace (usually displayed as minutes/mile or minutes/kilometer) to speed (i.e. MPH/KPH). You can do this via the the Settings > Activity Settings > Data Screens menu, and then within one of your data pages you can select the data field you want to change and change it to Speed.
At this point the unit will display speed (MPH or KPH depending on your preferences) as one of the data fields.
You can also just swap things over to show speed across the board:
The only challenge with this particular workaround though is that by default the workout will still be uploaded to Garmin Connect as a ‘Run’, rather than a ‘Bike’ workout, which means that it’ll incorrectly trigger both PR’s on the unit (i.e. fastest 5KM) as well as incorrectly triggering those on Garmin Connect. You can clear these on the unit itself by going into the PR section and manually removing them.
And on the Garmin Connect side you can go ahead and modify the workout type to be ‘Cycling’ which will then address the issue there.
(Update: Garmin has confirmed that in ‘Spring 2014’, the unit will receive a firmware update that enables a cycling mode with support for the ANT+ Speed/Cadence sensor. Remember that ‘spring’ does technically go well into June.)
Navigation Functionality:
Like the FR610, the FR620 does not contain any form of navigational/course routing. However, unlike the FR610, it doesn’t contain any ‘back to start’ type functionality that the FR610 had around getting back to the start of you run by providing basic compass style directional navigation. The FR610 also provided current GPS coordinates, which the FR620 doesn’t provide. Finally, it provided saved locations. Which also isn’t available on the FR620.
Garmin has stated that they may look to add back some of these features in a future software update, but that they aren’t going to be available for launch.
For users that need these functions, the better choice would be the Fenix/Tactix watch form-factor lineup, rather than the running-specific watches. The Fenix watches focus on navigation, running, and exceedingly long battery life (upwards of 55 hours). They do lack however areas such as training plans, interval, and workout functions. Though, they do contain a cycling mode with full support for ANT+ speed/cadence sensors. Alternatively, the Suunto Ambit 2/2s are good choices in the navigation department, though lack the same training plans and workout functions (and kinda-sorta-barely has an interval function). But, the Ambit 2/2s do make for much better triathlon watches than the FR220/FR620.
Use as a day to day watch, backlight:
(The FR220 at left, the FR620 at right)
The FR620 can hang out in non-GPS mode for 6 weeks, acting as a standard day to day watch. In this mode the screen is automatically locked, and unlike the FR610 simply having your shirt brush the touch screen won’t switch it back into GPS mode.
Instead, you’ll need to tap one of buttons and then you’ll have to touch the touchscreen center unlock button:
From an alarms standpoint you can create a single daily alarm. You are not able to configure it for specific days of the week and/or additional alarms:
In time mode, you can actually configure the background to be black (with white text), or white (with black text). The time will be automatically pulled from GPS, unless you use the manual mode to set it manually.
Finally, the unit has backlight which can be configured to turn on for a specified time, or configured to stay on at all times. For me running in the dark I just turn it on at the start of the run and utilize the ‘Stays On’ option so it’s always there for quick and easy glancing:
Additionally, you can also set the unit to automatically illuminate if/when you either press a button or if any alerts appear (i.e. lap notifications, pacing alerts, workout alerts, etc…)
ANT+ Weight Scale Connectivity:
While the majority of Garmin fitness devices used to support connecting to a small number of ANT+ enabled weight and body fat scales, the FR620 no longer continues that tradition. Based on my discussions with the product team, there are no current plans to enable that functionality on the FR620 (or, the FR220). That said, they noted they will continue to listen to consumer feedback on the issue.
I suspect the primary reason for this is simply the number of users using those weight scales today (unfortunately barely a rounding error on a tenth of a percent at best). Added to that the fact that most of the WiFi scales today far exceed the functionality provided by the ANT+ scales.
Of course, that doesn’t help users of past Garmin devices that have purchased those ANT+ scales solely for the purpose of connecting them to Garmin devices (the only company that truly ever lit up that scenario via ANT+ ). Given it would be Garmin’s goal to convert those users into FR620/FR220 users, I would think that it might benefit them to as a gesture of goodwill to look at an update down the road to connect to the scale (it’s just a firmware change).
As a side effect, this pretty much kills any ANT+ scales going forward. Which, shouldn’t really be a major surprise. Even Bluetooth scales aren’t really a great solution. Neither protocol really fits the bill for scales compared to WiFi, especially since virtually nobody would travel with their scale – meaning that it’s always going to be hanging out in a single place with easy WiFi access.
Waterproofing:
The Garmin FR620 is fully waterproofed to 50 meters (150ft). And, unlike most past Garmin running specific watches (usually minimal IPX7 waterproofing), the FR620 is more than fine on your wrist while swimming (though it won’t capture any metrics).
In my testing with the unit in various water-filled situations such as brief swimming bouts, running long runs in the rain, and showers, I’ve seen no issues. With the similar body designed FR220 I’ve spent even more time in the water, doing openwater swims in salt water as well (for up to two hours in the water), without any issues.
Going forward into December I’ll be bringing both the FR220 and the FR620 down to 33m (~100ft deep) in an indoor facility designed for exactly this sort of thing, to test out the waterproofing myself. Should be fun!
Live Tracking & Mobile Phone Upload Functionality:
The Garmin FR620 includes the ability to connect via Bluetooth Smart to your mobile phone to upload workouts immediately upon completion, as well as to provide streaming live tracking of your run to family and friends. You can share out the link automatically via e-mail or social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. This of course does require your phone be present with you the entire run for live tracking during the run.
We first saw this technology in the Garmin Edge 510 and Edge 810 last January. In that case however, the units used older Bluetooth chips which meant compatibility with older phones. With Bluetooth Smart being used here in the FR620, you’ll need an iPhone 4s or newer in order to take advantage of the uploads and connectivity. At this time, Android is not supported. Again, Android is not supported today. This is largely because the Android Bluetooth Smart story/support has been a complete cluster until recently (notably, Android OS version 4.3). Thus, it’s really only been the last couple of months that we’ve see that hit handsets, and even now for example, Samsung users in the US on AT&T only got it last week. Remember that Bluetooth Smart is a subset of Bluetooth 4.0. So it’s not only a case of ensuring your phone physically contains a Bluetooth 4.0 chipset, but also that the handset is running Android 4.3. And of course, beyond that, getting the app to support it (which, it doesn’t today).
At any rate, Android aside, here’s how it works on the iPhone.
First up is the pairing. Unlike other Bluetooth devices, you won’t be doing this from the Bluetooth Control panel (beyond ensuring Bluetooth is simply enabled on your phone). Instead, you’ll do it from the Garmin Connect Mobile app (download it first, it’s free). Then, once you’ve got that installed and signed into your Garmin Connect app, you’ll start the wizard:
Meanwhile, on the phone you’ll go into the Bluetooth settings to get that all enabled and paired:
Once you’ve got those two pieces completed, you’ve got a few options. The primary use here is really on the Live Tracking side, which the FR620 does as long as your phone is within Bluetooth range of your FR620. In this mode you’ll create a Live Tracking session for your run. This can be named anything you’d like, or, if you leave it as the default it’ll just autogenerate a name based on the date.
Next, you’ll setup who you want to invite. In my case, I’ve configured it to always send a notification to my Coach, my wife, and myself (just for the heck of it). This is sent via e-mail and gives a link that they can click on (more on that in a second). Additionally, you can configure notifications to Facebook and Twitter. You’ll see an option to extend sharing. I always set this. This means that upon completion of the activity your friends/family will still be able to see that you’ve finished for up to 24 hours. Otherwise, it’ll kill the session as soon you press Stop/Save.
Once that’s all ready to go, you’ll go ahead and start the live tracking session. Note that you need not start it at the same time as pressing the watch start button. This allows you to start it on your phone, and then stash your phone away (armband, CamelBak, Spibelt, etc…). Think of this like starting your car. It doesn’t actually go and drive anywhere until you put it in ‘drive’ (in this case, pressing start on the FR620 for your activity).
Once you’ve started, you’ll see two little icons at the top indicating that Bluetooth is connected.
Meanwhile, your friends and family will receive an e-mail with tracking information:
When they click on said link, they’ll be brought to a simple tracking page:
This page also works just as well from a mobile device as well (screenshot courtesy my coach):
The page can be switched between MPH/KPH and Pace, as well as through the different formats such as kilometers or statute.
The live tracking updates every 30 or 60 seconds (I’ve seen both), and will graph your ANT+ data as well, including heart rate, cadence, and if you have the HRM-Run, that information too (vertical oscillation for example, added in the last few days). If you hover over any of the sections on the graphs you’ll get stats about that particular data point.
Additionally, you can swap between standard maps and satellite maps.
Along the way it’ll plot markers every mile. It doesn’t show any lap information you’ve set however, it just beats to its own drum:
Overall, the tracking seems to be working quite well. I’ve been tracking my wife’s runs, and my coach has been tracking all my runs the last 7-10 days or so without issue.
Upon completion of the activity a banner will display that the user has completed the run:
And, upon completion the activity will be uploaded to Garmin Connect via the Bluetooth Connection on the phone. This is accomplished when the ‘Auto Upload’ option is enabled. Note that it first uploads from the device to the phone, and then from the phone to Garmin Connect. Below, you see it uploading first from the FR620 to the phone. Then, once that’s complete (takes about 30 seconds), you’ll see a little ‘Up’ arrow icon, which then indicates it’ll move over to Garmin Connect online.
Now, I have noticed a few oddities/bugs with the app in my testing.
– I can’t get it to Tweet out my run for Live Tracking, no matter how hard I try. It says it’s going to, but it never does. In poking around Twitter, it appears other peoples are working fine, so perhaps it’s just me. I’ve tried deleting the app, deleting my Twitter account of the phone, and everything in between. Multiple times over. No love.Update: I got this fixed. It turned out I had to revoke the App from the Twitter.com Settings page (not my phone), and then re-set everything. Good to go there!
– I’m getting intermittent failures on the run actually uploading to Garmin Connect (post-run, live tracking is fine/separate). I’m reasonably sure this was working just fine the first few days, but now it seems to be failing to upload the workouts. Update: Now, this seems to be working just fine for me again as of Nov 19th, 2013.
– Added: Calibration of footpod: In my testing, I had calibration values shown when I used the footpod. However, in recent builds, it doesn’t seem to be updating the calibration value from outdoor GPS runs. Thus you have to manually calibrate (a pain, involves math, kinda stupid). If you use the footpod in the current firmware with GPS, you’ll get inaccurate data because the footpod will be set for 1000 (likely incorrect for you), and will override GPS.
Note: For Android support, according to this post from Garmin’s product support team, they are targeting “Q1 2014” (i.e. Jan-March 2014). As expected, it’ll require a Bluetooth 4.0 capable handset, along with Android Jelly Bean 4.3 OS installed on it.
WiFi Connectivity Functionality:
The FR620 is the first Garmin Fitness unit to include the ability to transmit data via standard WiFi connections. This allows you to upload completed activities, firmware updates, as well as download training plans and custom workouts.
In order to get everything cooking you’ll need to download the Garmin Express Fit app, which is how you configure your WiFi networks.
Once that’s completed and you’ve got your FR620 connected via USB, you can open the application to get started:
It’ll then have you sign-in to Garmin Connect to connect the watch to your account. Once that’s complete it’ll bring you here, ready to set things up, clicking ‘Yes’ would be the proper answer for a successful journey:
Next, you’ll be able to start adding WiFi networks:
You can see them listed out, or you can manually type one in:
Here’s what it looks like once you’ve added a few in:
After clicking OK, a few seconds later the unit will get the settings transmitted to it via USB.
It should be noted that you can also click the little dropdown box to access a setting to automatically clear transferred workouts from the device. I personally don’t do this. The device has approx 4MB of memory (aka 4,000KB). Each 1hr of workout is approximately 100KB, thus, you have 40 hours of workout time on the device. I like to grab those raw FIT files before they disappear. So I’d rather just clean them out manually later.
Next, go out and do a workout. When you return and finish the workout you’ll notice two little icons at the top of the screen:
These icons indicate the unit is uploading wirelessly. Note that WiFi isn’t enabled 24×7, only shortly after the workload completes. This is to prevent battery drain.
If you miss that ‘window’, you can simply tap the connect button on the unit itself (it’s the lower right button), which will then trigger connecting to WiFi to upload workouts and transfer data:
I found that the upload process doesn’t seem quite as fast as I would have expected – about a minute. But that’s fine. If you just do it when you first walk in the door it’s more than completed by time you get to your computer.
Computer (USB) Upload Functionality:
In addition to WiFi and Bluetooth Smart uploads (as discussed in previous sections), you can also just simply plug in the Garmin FR620 and upload the data manually (or, send the data to 3rd party sites).
The unit enumerates as a standard USB mass storage device – just like a USB thumb drive. This is ideal as it requires no special drivers, and works on practically any device in the world. The workouts all hang out in the ‘Activity’ folder.
Once you’ve got it plugged in you’ll go ahead and crack open Garmin Connect and then click on the ‘Upload’ button, which brings you to the below page. From there just click to ‘Upload all new activities’.
The upload process only takes a few seconds and then shows you which runs you’ve uploaded to click on.
At which point, your activities are online and ready to analyze. Simple tap the ‘View details’ link, which will conveniently move you into the next section.
Garmin Connect Online:
After you’ve completed uploading the data to Garmin Connect, you’ll be able to pull up the activity and drill into details. This includes maps, charts, and summary information.
By default you’ll start off at this page, within the ‘Details’ tab of the activity analysis section. Here you’ll see a full overview of your activity with maps that can be customized to use Bing, Google, and OpenStreetMap as providers, and then the satellite or standard map views depending on the locale and provider:
As you work your way down the page you’ll see the summary metrics along the left side. While on the right side you’ll get pods for each of the different metrics the FR620 recorded during the run. These metrics will vary slightly based on what ANT+ accessories you may have paired (such as the HRM-Run ANT+ strap, a regular ANT+ HR strap, or an ANT+ footpod).
You’ll see above that I have laps created every mile. This was because I had Auto Lap on, which I typically enable for long runs. For interval runs I generally control that manually and press lap as I iterate through each of my workout sections. In either scenario though, the laps show up here.
As I dive further down I get to the FR620 HRM-Run specific features, such as Vertical Oscillation and Ground Contact Time. On the left side you’ll see weather which is pulled from a local weather station after the fact via a data provider (it’s not from the unit itself). Also, you’ll notice that elevation correction is automatically enabled since the FR620 doesn’t include a barometric altimeter.
Beyond the detail page seen above, there’s also a laps page, which you can dive into more detail about each of the various laps that you’ve triggered:
And the last section being the ‘Player’ view, which allows you to replay back your run and see performance metrics such as pace and cadence at any point along the route.
If you’d like to poke around at one of my recent FR620 runs, you can use this Garmin Connect link here to do so.
3rd Party Site Compatibility:
The Garmin FR620 outputs files in the standard .FIT file format. This means that it’s fully compatible with just about any 3rd party site you’d want to use. Said differently, if your 3rd party site doesn’t accept .FIT files, it’s probably not worth using.
The better/more interesting news here is that the additional Running Dynamics data that’s added to the .FIT file doesn’t ‘break’ any 3rd party sites I tried. Those 3rd party sites haven’t yet been updated to read that data, but they don’t choke on it either. I’ve successfully uploaded to: Training Peaks, Strava, and Sport Tracks.
One item I will point out that’s fairly annoying is that Garmin has decided to produce the .FIT files with a completely useless name. Previously they had the date and timestamp on the name of each file, making it easy to figure out what was what.
Now, it’s just garbage. This is the same as the FR220, annoyingly.
Firmware Updating:
Like most units, the FR620 supports updates to the firmware over time as Garmin releases new bug fixes or additions to functionality.
The FR620 is however the first Garmin unit to be able to handle these updates over WiFi, as well as traditional USB. Further, it along with the FR220 also can receive the updates via Bluetooth Smart from your phone. During a discussion I had with them a month ago, Garmin noted that they really wanted to move towards a platform like the phone where updates are more visible, rather than the existing Garmin Connect system where you really have to know an update is available and go out of your way to apply it.
As you can see above, once an update is available it’ll show up on your unit when you switch into run mode. At which point you’ll have three options.
First, you can simply install it right then and there. Takes only a couple minutes and all your settings are saved.
The second option (seen below), is to defer the update until you’re ready. You might want to do this if you’re just about to head out on a run (Tip of the day: Never update anything – watch, nutrition clothes, etc… – the day before race). The unit will re-prompt you the next time you switch into run mode.
The third option is to simply dismiss the update, which tells it to not bother you again.
Once you’re in a good position to update, just press ‘Install Now’ and the update progress bar will show you how much of the installation has been completed.
Looking at historical firmware updates for Garmin devices, you tend to see more updates just after release, than a year or two down the road. Further, you don’t tend to see massive new feature sets (like an iPhone), but rather, smaller adds.
In the case of the FR620, they’ve previously talked about the potential to bring back things like the FR610 cycling mode – so I suspect we may see that as a good example of a firmware update. Also, you tend to see more functionality adds in the higher end products such as the FR620, than you do in the lower-end products like the FR220.
Bugs and Miscellaneous:
In recent reviews I’ve been adding a bugs section to cover things that I stumbled upon. Because I’ve had the watch for a bit now, I’m really only focusing on bugs that I’ve seen on the final firmware. Remember a ‘bug’ is different than ‘by design’. For example, the lack of a feature is something I highlight within a given section is considered ‘by design’, whereas something not really working right is listed below.
– The internal accelerometer pace data while on a treadmill seems suspect at faster than your norm paces, and slower than your norm paces.
– I’m having some issues with the Garmin Connect mobile app. It’s unclear how many of these are specific to me, or widespread.
– The pace alerts (high/low alerts) seem overly sensitive to trigger, though I need to re-validate this after the Saturday firmware update (no release notes) – [Update: Nov 6th – This appears to be fixed for me in the 2.30 FW release.]
– The PR’s don’t appear to take into account existing Garmin Connect PR’s, rather, are only device specific.
Now, this doesn’t mean this is all the bugs out there. This is just the ones I saw during my running and/or use. As a single person I can’t possible test every possible feature in every possible combination to reproduce every possible scenario. Sure, I’d love to – but companies have entire teams of testers and they still miss things. So I do the best I can to note what I’ve seen above.
Pros and Cons:
While there’s a lot of text here that covers a lot of fairly important details, here’s the super-duper slimmed down version of that:
Pros:
– GPS accuracy seems to be quite good, unit finds satellites very quickly with pre-caching
– Incredibly lightweight for a GPS watch (or any unit)
– Waterproof to 50m (finally!)
– WiFi uploads are awesome, with Bluetooth a good substitute when required
Cons:
– Not convinced the treadmill (internal accelerometer) paces are accurate at all pace ranges
– No cycling, navigation, weight scale functionality
– Some people dislike the color choices offered
Comparison Tables:
Before we wrap things up I’ve put together the comparison charts of all the features of the FR620, compared to the older FR210 and FR610 – as well as the new FR220. You can of course create your own comparison tables using this link with any of the products I’ve previously reviewed.
The tables are updated dynamically and thus if/when things change that’s represented automatically in this section.
Final Thoughts:
Overall I’m quite happy with the FR620, and it’ll quickly become my go-to GPS running watch (I’ve previously always used my FR610 as my GPS running watch). And, The Girl has also laid claim to a unit for her as well (she’s been using it as well). Though, she wants a purple one, just like the purple FR220. I love the WiFi upload functionality, and am looking forward to the integrated live tracking once the app is updated/released. The only challenge with the WiFi upload functionality is that I still need to plug in the FR620 to get the raw .FIT file up to TrainingPeaks (3rd party site).
The Running Dynamics pieces with the HRM-Run are ‘interesting’ right now to look at. I’m not sure what training decisions can be made based on them, but in the meantime it’s fascinating to start making correlations. More importantly however is that Garmin has finally made a heart rate strap that actually works without spikes or dropouts. Heck, that in and of itself is worthwhile.
There are some downsides though – the lack of cycling mode will be a problem for some (admittedly, not me). And the loss of the ANT+ weight scale support is also a Debbie Downer for many ANT+ scale owners. Further, lack of any navigational support (such as ‘Back to start’) is sorta odd for a GPS watch. Though again, I suspect use of these features is just very low overall.
For me though, it’s pretty much exactly what I want in a GPS running watch. A well waterproofed unit that just simply works, day in and day out – with little maintenance overhead and full integration with 3rd parties.
Found this review useful? Or just want to save a bundle? Here’s how!
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.
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Additionally, you can also use Amazon to purchase the unit (all colors shown after clicking through to the left) or accessories (though, no discount). Or, anything else you pickup on Amazon helps support the site as well (socks, laundry detergent, cowbells). If you’re outside the US, I’ve got links to all of the major individual country Amazon stores on the sidebar towards the top.
As you’ve seen throughout the review there are numerous compatible accessories for the unit. I’ve consolidated them all into the below chart, with additional information (full posts) available on some of the accessories to the far right. Also, everything here is verified by me – so if it’s on the list, you’ll know it’ll work. And as you can see, I mix and match accessories based on compatibility – so if a compatible accessory is available at a lower price below, you can grab that instead.
Product
Street Price
Amazon
2013 Recommendations: Running GPS Watches
2014 Summer Recommendations: Running Watches
2014 Winter Recommendations: Running Watches
Garmin 220 Replacement Band (Purple/White, Black/Red) - Compatible with FR220/FR620 $25
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!
Finally, I’ve written up a ton of helpful guides around using most of the major fitness devices, which you may find useful in getting started with the devices. These guides are all listed on this page here.
Has anyone heard any updates on the possibility of adding a bike mode? I know they are focused on other things (mostly bugs?) at the moment, but it would be nice to have an idea on if that is going to happen anytime remotely soon (next few months maybe?)
I know the VO2 max has been discussed before, but I don’t have a question about the accuracy of the projected race times, but a question about how the score compares to the score in Daniel’s running formula.
I got a new VO2 max today and the times are roughly what I think I can do, but when I looked up my score in Daniels the race times he gives are much more aggressive there is no way I could get near his times. The marathon time is 8 minutes faster than the Garmin time and the HM time is over 3.5 minutes faster.
Any idea why the race times could be so far out? Is it that the Garmin VO2 score is an approximate score whereas Daniels scores have been done under laboratory conditions?
After producing a VO2Max value, it then compares that against a lookup table. In the case of the FR620, it’s using data from the Cooper Institute (link to cooperinstitute.org) to determine the correlation between VO2Max + Age + Gender and a potential max race time. It’s a straight lookup with those three items to determine absolute fastest potential time. It does not take into account any of your recent runs.
Ultimately, as to why Daniel’s is different than Cooper, it’s just using different assumptions. There are many other methods out there as well on different sites. No single method is perfect.
Great review for a great watch. Reading over some of the comments here I feel very fortunate. Received mine on 2 Jan and it worked perfect right out of the box. I jokingly told a friend “it’s like it was designed by Apple”. Ray thanks for you hard work and diligence to detail in these reviews.
Is there a way to check the accuracy of the GPS info on the 620? My Forerunner 305 shows my distances shorter (3.17miles vs 3.25 miles or so on a fairly standard run I do) and speed slower than I am getting by using the 620. The 620 shows me going farther and faster than the 305 but I wonder if this is really accurate. If it is inaccurate, how can I adjust the 620?
I have a problem with my FR620, not sure whether you can help. The watch cannot get the GPS signal once I start it, the signal bar display only 2-3 bars and it never go to the running mode. However, it looks ok when I start running and display both pace and distance. the problem is, after the run I upload the run into Garmin connect and Strava, both of them doesn’t show the map. And the programs think that I was running on the treadmill. I try to restore the factory default and it doesn’t work. The watch didn’t even change the time automatically as before. Do you know how to fix this please? Thank you very much for you reply.
The 620 does not provide interval alerts at 1second. The lowest interval alert is 5 seconds. Which for any athlete training on an athletics track and wanting to know splits at a predetermined point (say every 100 metres), or wanting to know 1k splits in a 5-10k race, makes this watch totally useless. I spoke with Garmin. They weren’t aware of this basic fact, but have no immediate plans to rectify it. And they confirmed that their software people are techies, they never use the watches themselves as athletes. So, a £300 sports watch cannot do what a £25 kids watch can do. Unbelievable. All the gear, no idea. I have now reverted to my £50 Timex. I doubt I will look at a Garmin product ever again.
UK Ebayers, keep your eyes peeled for my 620. No reasonable offer refused.
I find it difficult to believe that Garmin makes these watches for techies only. If that would be the case, all the watches would have notifications and other things that would make it a proper tech watch.
I’m not sure I understand. The unit provides splits at any distance (such as the 1K you mention). And you can make a split at any value – such as 6:17.
Are you asking to do an interval alert every 3:17 seconds?
As for a track, honestly, no GPS watch is really good for track work if you’re looking at sub-5 second accuracy. On a track, you should be using the actual track length distance based on the lane you’re running in. For me, when I’m on a track, I go by the track length (assuming inside lane), and simply use the watch to record whatever distance it will, and focus on the times it’s going for.
If outside doing intervals, then I’m doing the same using distance and time. For example, I’ve lately been doing 800’s at 2:56 a shot. So I’ve setup my lap pace to pace me to 5:54/mile. That works well, no 5-second round numbers required in any of that.
I did ask about this as well. As GPS is no good on the track what I have done in the past is set time alerts to bleep so I can check an audible check point. Say I wanted to do 78s in a 5000 could either alarm every 39 or 78 secs and I can get a check if am up or down bit like they do in track cycle pursuit races. Of course now I need to make that 75 or 80s per lap – huge tempo difference.. Not the end of the world as in a track race they shout out splits anyway and of course can just look at the timer if not.
As for Garmin staff and not being runners – I don’t buy that. They may not be elites but then who is. Take a look at Ray’s article when he went to Garmin HQ and he talks about going for a run with them! In any case these watches are designed to be used by a huge variety of runners – from beginners on jog/walk programs to Olympians and everything in the middle.
Jason, I don’t feel trolled, not THAT bad, in fact not all all, all four responses (other than Rainmakers helpful comments) were from you. I ignored them. The whole world loves a smart arse. But you must have money to burn if you think it’s ok to have more than one (expensive) sports watch for the same event, ie running. I bought a watch that happens to have GPS. Of course I don’t want GPS for the track. I’m just equally amused that anyone wouldn’t want a very expensive watch to be able to bleep/vibrate at a pre-set interval by the second, as my cheap Times does. And as my 15 year old Polar does. I own a sports car. I don’t need to drive it at 170mph, it just happens to have that capability. But I would be a bit irritated if it didn’t have a radio because the petrol heads told me I didn’t need it.
If I want to run 1k’s on the track in 3 mns I want to do it efficiently. That means I would like the watch to bleep at 100 metre intervals of 18 seconds. Not 15 seconds, and not 20 seconds. I know when I’ve hit the 100 metre marks, there’s one on each corner, athletics tracks have for many years shown clear distance marks. So no, I don’t need GPS for the track, but thanks for pointing it out, otherwise I might not have known.
While doing say 5k on the track at 4:50 pace, I set my timer alert (on my FR610!) to beep every 58secs (time for 200m) so that I can pace myself correctly. How else can I know how fast/slow I am unless I am an ace at math and manage to add up the cumulative time per 200m? At the same time the 610 is of course taking a record of my heart rate.
The GPS does not come into track training. As you say, the 610 just happens to have one (which is used for totally different scenarios). Garmin must surely remember how they managed to do this!
I really cannot imagine why some posters are trying to rubbish our request of having the timer on the 620 (a more recent watch) work the same as a 610? Don’t really know, but it should be possible to incorporate this in a future firmware update.
This feature is a deal-breaker for me, and I will never buy a 620 unless I can set the timer alert to the second rather than 5 seconds. Only solution is to get another 610 while they still make them for when the present one croaks. A cheap Casio on the other wrist just does not cut it.
I am looking to purchase a Garmin for my marathon training and am looking at the 220 and 620. Could you please tell if the touchscreen on the 620 is an issue with sensitivity? People in my group who have had touchscreen tend to lose their screen just by accidentally touching with a jacket, etc. Any comments?
In most cases I don’t hear issues with touch-screen folks, but rather with touch bezel folks (FR405/FR410), which is (in my opinion) a pain in the butt and does as you describe. I haven’t had any issues with running with mine with jackets/etc here in the winter (including my run yesterday posted on the home page).
Has anyone notice a difference between the 620 and 220 screens in terms of contrast and sharpness? When I put them side by side, the 220 blacks are a lot darker and easier to read. Perhaps the difference is caused by the touchscreen?
I’ve had my 620 for a couple of months now and really love it! The only two issues I’m facing is the footpod overriding the GPS (which I can see from above is a known issue and due to be fixed in the next firmware release). The other issue I have is that I often see that the map has me way off where I actually ran (e.g. in the water instead of on a bridge). This has also happened to me in different countries. Is this a known issue? Is it related to the previous one I mentioned?
Thanks for your amazing website, and the time you put into all our questions!
On the walking on water, you’ll definitely want to first validate changing to satellite view instead is map view – as many times the map is wrong near rivers/streams/lakes/oceans.
If however you’re still in the drink, then you may be having similar issues to some on satellite issues. For that, one can try a hard reset, otherwise, it’ll be waiting for a new firmware update.
Android OS 4.3 was just released in Norway an finally my HTC One was able to detect my New Garmin Forerunner 620, but still it has trouble paring With it. When trying, the phone remarks that “this unit demand a Bluetooth low energy-progam to function normally” I’m a bit puzzled…Without paring Garmin Connect App can’t detect it either and the Live track function is still not available. Any remarks to how to solve this?
The Garmin Connect mobile app doesn’t support Android for Bluetooth Smart devices (FR220/FR620) yet. The target is Q1, so sometime between now and March.
The review for the 620 is fantastic! And I really admire the time and effort you put in to writing this stuff. it really s very helpful indeed! I just had a few questions…first an introduction…
I’m an unfit overweight guy who lives in a place (not as encouraging as where you stay), and it really takes me a lot of willpower to get out for a workout. My runs/walks don’t really last too long since I’m a stone cold beginner. However, I am constantly looking for inspiration to get up and go out and run – get fit and lose some weight, and I know shelling out 400$ isn’t really a good call. (I could always go for the less inexpensive models, but the problem is that I love the 620 – or atleast the way you’ve put it). That said, I do feel that owning a fitness watch would motivate me as I see numbers and graphs on my screen, and I’ll want to continuously improve them, hence, I’ve sort of made up my mind to go for a GPS tracking watch.
Secondly, I want a watch that would perhaps work with Running, Cycling (I’d like to know that the option exists as the 610 offers), and is waterproof to some substantial depth.
Could you recommended any product for me, whichever you may suggest from your experience and my requirements or … situation! Hehe
I sent you a message a couple days ago regarding rusted spots on y 610. As you said, Garmin is willing to send a new unit in exchange, however the option does not work for me because I´m in Mexico and it will involve a long wait and taxes to be paid.
Any way, to make the story short, there is a guy who would swap my 610 for a 620 (I´ll have to pay a difference), but my concern is that I do mostly cycling and basically I never run. Do you think the 620 with the VO2 and recovery features will be a good match if I use it along with an Edge800?
Not sure that a 620 is for you then as it is a watch for runners although some sort of cycling mode is promised for the spring. However, as it currently, stands V02 & recovery won’t work from cycle rides and I can’t see VO2 ever could for cycling as the variables (.e.g road surface, wind, weather, drafting) are too much for meaningful analysis.
purchased a 620 a couple of weeks ago and I am very disappointed with the accuracy of the unit. I am not using a footpod, but I have been running on the same routes that I usually run with my 910xt. With the 910xt, the trajectories are very clean, while with the 620, the trajectories on the map are all over the place. I understand that GPS are not 100% accurate, but the 620 seems much more inaccurate than my 910xt and seems like a step backward. For info I am using both units on 1s recording; also my firmware for the 620 is updated (3.2). I am thinking of returning the unit because the accuracy does not seem up to par with my previous watch. Very disappointed.
If you’re seeing issues with GPS accuracy, I’d highly encourage you to open up a support case. Garmin is actively looking for examples were GPS ‘wanders’ out of the middle of nowhere.
Thanks rainmaker. I have sent a similar email to Garmin and waiting for their response. It’s too bad I can post the map pictures here because they are really telling of the track differences between the 910xt and the 620. On a 4mile run (5 loops of 0.8M), the 620 track is completely erratic on several areas, while the 910xt track is almost perfectly aligned. Also the 620 tends to systematically “cut the corner” in 90° turns, while the 910 doesn’t – which explains the shorter distance shown by the 620.
Apparently I am not the only user complaining as this has been mentioned on the Garmin forum.
There is a sticky thread at the top of the forum saying that a software update is in the works that should fix these accuracy issues. However I am not sure I want to wait for this and really thinking about returning my watch – I won’t run again with it anyway and will definitely go back to my 910xt.
Is there a way to turn off the save feature the appears on the face of the unit every time the timer is stopped? I turn the timer off when I tie my shoe or something and I asks me if I want to save the run. i have bumped that sreen too many tomes and would like to turn it off, possible?
thanks
Dan
Had my 620 for around a month now and I love it. Haven`t had any problems and happy with the GPS performance.
One thing that I amazed at is the difference with calorie figures when running with the 620 with HR strap and the my old 305 without the strap.
I burn about 55-58 calories per km, but with the 305 without the HR strap it was 74-79 cal per km. Pace, route and weight (around 74 kg/163lb) haven’t changed.
Without the HR strap is calorie calculation really so inaccurate? As it’s quite difference, especially if your looking to become leaner in order to get closer to your ideal racing weight.
Calorie count: According to my Timex Ironman Digital Heart Rate Monitor watch my calorie consumption per kilometre is around 70. This is consistent with my Pacemaster Treadmill and various calorie calculators on the web. So far my FR620 is showing my calorie consumption rate at approximately 50 calories per kilometre. I noticed in the photo above that your calorie use rate at 1948 for 18.55 miles is also quite low. Any thoughts?
Vo2 Max: Also my Vo2 Max is higher than it should be showing 43 to 45 when it should be around 37 to 39.
LB: the Garmin unit uses Firstbeat’s proprietary technology for estimating calories; they claim it is superior to other methods using the formula developed by Keytel et al. (DOI: 10.1080/02640410470001730089; see Firstbeat.com for their white paper on their method). It’s used by other Garmin products like the Edge 800. I have noticed that my calorie estimates are much lower on my Garmin devices than on other heart rate monitors, but that the Garmin numbers are a lot closer to what Bikecalculator.com and Strava estimate for my cycling performance. In my case, at least, I think the lower Garmin numbers are more accurate. Supposedly, the devices “learn” your performance and adjust accordingly, as with VO2max.
I dont like to be notified every lap i do (km). So i turned autolap off. But then it wont track them and will show my run as one big lap. Is there a way for it to track laps but dont notify me about them while running?
I’m very disappointed with the 620. I’ve had GPS inaccuracy issues and Support pushed out a chip set update that didn’t help. I feel like I spent $400 to be a beta tester for Garmin. With wearables exploding, Garmin will face some tough competition in the future. They are out front in the endurance community but with such poor support and lack of response, I can’t say that I will stay in the Garmin camp. I’ve owned the 405, 610 and now the 620. I like the light weight and other features but would rather have the reliability of the 610 any day. Could Garmin be the next Blackberry?
Just to be clear, the chipset push a week or so ago wasn’t expected to fix 100% of the issues (or even 50%).
That said, have you opened a support case so Garmin can get your data? I can’t stress enough that Garmin really is looking for example data of the issue, if you have it, get it to them.
Scott-
Are you saying you’d pick the 610 over the 620? I’m trying to decide between the 610 and 220 but some of the negative reviews on the 610 have me wondering. On the other hand it looks like there are quite a few bugs to work out on the new 220’s (and 620) internal ACCELEROMETER. Are all the bugs work out on the 610 since it’s older! And is having the newer
Technology of the 220 & 620 worth the hassle of like you said being a tester? I’m interested in your opinion since you have owned both the 610 and 620. Also, is Virtual Partner something you use a lot? And do you prefer the touchscreen of the 610 over the new 620?
Thank a for your help!
My device has been back at Garmin for 10 business days now and I haven’t been able to track it by the RMA number. The 620 has been a real disapointment for me and after wearing a Garmin device since 2008, this is my last.
Scott, if you are trying to track your device using the RMA number as a tracking number, this may not work. I believe that when I sent my 620 in, I received a separate tracking number for shipping. I may be misinterpreting what you’re saying though. All I can say with things like this, is that nothing is perfect. There are so many great things about the 620, but everyone loves to focus only on the few shortcomings. This is a new device only about 3 months out. With anything like this, there will most likely be a few small things to work out. I did have issues with my 620 a few months back giving me distance that were a full 1/8 of a mile long every mile. But after reading a few forums, I discovered that this was just a compatibility problem with the Garmin foot pod I was using. Removing it solve the problem immediately. Runners (including myself), can be very demanding, no excuses, types of personalities. I’ve had to learn to step back and pause many times when it concerns running and technology. I had a 610 that lasted me just under 2 years before completely dying beyond repair. Initially I was furious. But for using it 7 days a week, 365 days a year, through all sorts of weather (rain, cold, heat and humidity, soaking sweat, etc.), I realize that with that abuse, that’s not all that bad of a run. Nothing lasts forever, especially technology, but you have to focus o the good.
Treadmill distances very inaccurate: I’ve now completed two runs on my treadmill with the 620, wearing the HR chest strap and with GPS turned off. The results were very disappointing. My average running speed was around 12.2 kph with 400 metre peak bursts of 14.1 kph. The autolap one k distances were way off from the start. An 8 k run measured 7.21 k on the watch and yesterday’s 10 k run measured 8.73 k. Naturally all other parameters were way off too. My treadmill speed and distance are quite accurate. I was expecting some inaccuracies given DCR’s report but these results are disappointing.
I’m going in an 8K race this weekend using the watch. I’m still undecided as to whether I’ll keep the watch or not. There are lots of things I like about it but the GPS inaccuracy issues and my treadmill experience have me doubting.
I am looking to purchase either the 610 or 220. In you opinion which is better? My hang ups for the 610 are:
1. Reviews of problems with the charger
2. Older release
What I like that the 220 lacks:
1. Virtual Racer/Partner
(this seems like it would be a valuable training tool used often)
2. Bike compatibility
3. Touchscreen
My hang ups for the 220 are:
1. No Virtual Racer/Partner
2. No bike
3. INTERNAL ACCELEROMETER (bugs to work out, accuracy unsure)
What I like that 610 lacks:
1. Newer release date
2. Calendar
3. Iphone compatibility (newer technology)
4. Longer battery life
5. No foot pod needed?
I have never owned a HR/GPS watch before but have been a runner for 10 years. The watch would be used 1st and for most for running. I also bike. I have a bike computer but it would be nice to have a back up or another option for recording biking data.
Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated! Thank you!
I think you’re analysis is pretty much spot-on and accurate. The only item of note is your #5 on the FR610. It does not need a footpod for outdoor, but does need one for indoors use (if you want distance/pace/cadence).
Ultimately, you can configure data screens for a cycling-like experience on the FR220 – it just won’t be counted as a cycling workout until you tweak it on Garmin Connect (a simple dropdown). Personally, if choosing between the two given what you’ve said, I’d go FR220.
Thanks for your response! I appreciate your opinion. A couple more questions for you: I really want the virtual partner/racer… so, what can you use in place of this on the 220? And is there a one glance stick figure that shows you vs your goal pace ? Do you think all of the issues with the 610 are reason enough to not buy it or is it the lack of newer technology? If you had to choose between virtual partner or a training calendar which would you choose ? Is the virtual partner a tool you use a lot or can live without?
Thanks again!
I guess I just don’t see that many ‘issues’ with the FR610. If you look at things some people encountered (such as corrosion/etc), those have been solved within a few months of release. It’s a perfectly good watch, there’s no issues there.
I think ultimately you’ll be happy either way. Jason noted his like of Virtual Partner. I think it’s cool. Is it (for me) cool enough to forgo some of the FR220 features? Probably not (for me), I’d at this point take the FR220 over the FR610.
Since this is the 620 forum, perhaps you could consider that too. It has all the things you like about the 220 plus touchscreen and Virtual Partner too which agree can be very handy. For me I find “VP” more useful than say Training Calendar as ultimately I feel you buy these devices for the most benefit out on the run. Anyway 620 has both.
Hi Ray,
I am ‘new’ here on your forum though not a newcomer when it comes to running. I’ve been a polar user ever since and still keeping an eye on what ‘they’ come up with. I’ve also thouroughly studied your comments on the betaversion of polar’s v800. Think it is time to change now (to Garmin’s ) FR 620. Looks magnficient to me, let us (double)check on weakness i am ready to accept:
– altitude is ‘only’ calculated by GPS not barometric(ly), right?
– footpod use is optional but possible, right?
Thnx for your answer/statement on questions. I will of course use your amazon link when buying Garmin’s FR 620 and must let you know: Think you are doing a great job (beside your job!) here on your webside and appreciate your work.
Greetings from vienna (outskirts of town).
Reinhard
:-)
I have opened a support ticket with Garmin. I feel that problems with the GPS go to the heart of this type of fitness device. For me, that is the information that I want correct. It speaks to the crediblity of the unit. I would be more understanding with Garmin if I were in beta but I paid a full price for this device and my expectation was that it would work the same or better than the 610.
Using 620 with foot pod outdoors:
Is pace (i.e. instant pace) more responsive with the foot pod than with GPS?
Is pace still displayed as 0’s or 5’s or as 1’s. 2’s etc.?
Yes, however, right now it overrides the GPS in all circumstances, and you’ll need to manually configure the footpod as well. I don’t remember offhand if pace is in 1’s, but I’m pretty sure it’s still 0’s and 5’s.
If you’ve bought a FR620 or are on the fence about the Running Dynamics info, take a look. We will be doing an in-depth tutorial later about how to use our segment analysis features to really dig into these new metrics… looking at things like terrain and it’s effect on your running efficiency, how things like hill grade effect your cadence, and your running form efficiency falling apart later in runs as a indicator of fatigue.
Not yet available in the ST3 PC app but we are working on an update and it shouldn’t be long.
We are also in communication with the tapiriik.com guys to see if the data can be pulled from Garmin Connect and sync’d thru to SportTracks.mobi to support wireless uploads.
Hi, Ray. I really appreciate your site and the work you put into it. I just wanted to add to the discussion that I had an awful experience with the 610 when it was first released. I was of the opinion that something that expensive should work right out of the starting gate instead of still being in a “beta” state. I understand though that a lot of people like their 610s.
I am now, again, an early adopter of the 620 and I love it. I have heard of people having some minor issues with it (that they seem to think are BIG issues, think “the screen colors aren’t vibrant enough “, etc.) but the 620 clearly leads the pack in terms of what a running watch should do. Whatever little disappointments I may have with it will clearly be improved with firmware updates in the future.
I’m curious what your view is on companies releasing products that are, some might argue, still in beta.
Another excellent review, thank you!
Looked at both the 220 and 620 and, as i’m a data geek, went for the 620 about a month ago and it’s been great. The GPS did roam a little (ok a lot) during a couple of runs…in one instance it looked as if i’d spent half a mile leaping the rooftops instead of running through a park but i’ve just updated to GPS 2.9 so hoping this is resolved.
Wonder if you can help with an unusual query. I’ll be spending some time on a ship and wonder what metrics i’ll be able to pull (i have the HRM) while there. 1k will be equal to 1.5 laps of the deck so distance will be an easy measure but as for the remaining metrics which i’ve grown to obsess about with the 620, i’m hoping i can pull more than just HR. I’m assuming that when the ship is in port i can turn GPS on and it will track my run as usual with all metrics ‘active’ however when the ship is at sea what are my options? I guess i can safety say that i should turn off the GPS as my moving circuit would surely throw things out but, by doing this what other metrics would i lose? Distance, Cadence, GCT etc? I currently don’t have a foot pod, would this be advisable? Thanks !
At sea while underway you’ll get all the Running Dynamics data just using the HRM-RUN strap, that doesn’t change any. However, currently without the footpod (unless it changed in the most recent firmware yesterday), you won’t get VO2Max, Recovery Adviser or Race Predictor. Given you’ll spend most of your time with it in an ‘indoor’ state, I’d really encourage you to pickup (and then calibrate) the footpod.
Thanks for all of your great reviews! I have had 2 Garmin’s so far – the Garmin Forerunner 305 and the Garmin Forerunner 210. I am an avid runner, so definitely need the capabilities of the GPS watch and have been between the Forerunner 220 and the 620. I have been doing extensive research and can’t seem to come up with a good solution to my workout issues. I am looking to get another GPS watch, that has the capabilities to show cadence on a Spinning bike (obviously indoors), as well as to connect to an android based phone. I just got a Samsung Galaxy S4. I can’t seem to find the best solution to all my needs. I love the capabilities of the 620, but from some reviews it said that it will take into consideration all of your workouts when computing your pace time etc. Any thoughts on what type of GPS watch might be most appropriate for the needs that I have (the phone connection is the last of my concerns)??
FYI, if you connect to Garmin Connect (since a few hours), it says firmware 2.50 is available, just need to connect the watch to PC and launch Garmin Express Fit.
Just trying, but nothing happens. Anyone managed to get this update installed ?
Hi guys, I have had the watch for 5 weeks now and apart from the dodgy app that keeps freezing (and thanks to this site I know how to unfreeze it now) I am pretty happy with the watch. I do however get the heart rate spike in the first 10 mins of a run tho. Does anyone else think that the vo2 max and race predictor is accurate. ? I ran a 5k last week in 17.53 now it was a bit windy and it had 4 sharp turns in it but the watch predicts I can run 16.16 and have a 64 vo2 max , I average about 25 miles a week . Does this mean if I put more miles and training I could run 16.xx ?? I am 48 years old , has anyone else experienced this too ?
If you have a 64 VO2Max (and again, that prediction may or may not be accurate), then realistically you can run faster. Speaking simply, yes, 25 miles a week is a bit low to be throwing down 16.xx times, but again – it all depends on the person – and more importantly, how that time is spent.
I have been recording my spinning sessions on my garmin with no gps and using the heart rate date and then changing them to cycling when uploading them to Endemondo.
Do you think doing this exercise in the evening following running in the morning will inflate my V02 Max as it is currently quoting 2hr 49 marathon. I’ve only done 3hr 29minutes but it’s 10k suggested time is 37.29 which is only 45seconds better than i’ve done.
Or will my Heart rate recorded cycle sessions not affect the VO2 max?
Speaking very broadly (and honestly), if you can run a 37.29 10K (thereabouts), then you’re not likely training properly if you’re marathon time is 3hr 29m. Of course, that could simply mean that your focus wasn’t the marathon, or any other number of things. Sticking in a 38:15 into a few predictors still puts you sub 3hr (~2:55).
Just uploaded the latest firmware for the 620. I briefly browsed through the screens and didn’t see anything different. I was curious if anyone knows exactly what this update updated?
Thanks,
Stu
Did my first race with my 620. It told me that I could do a HM around 3.5 minutes faster than my PR. I had logged 50MPW (80km approx) for the past 12 weeks but with no real speed work. but didn’t feel I was anywhere near in shape to get near the time the 620 said. Race didn’t go to plan, faded and finished 4 mins slower than my PR(flat course, good weather) As soon as I stopped my watch I get a new improved VO2 and now says I can run a HM 8 mins faster than I just did and the projected marathon time is also 8 mins faster than my PR.
Is it really a case that I’m not training right? If I start doing more dedicated speed work I should start to get much closer to the Garmin race times?
So many factors (besides that VO2 just being an estimate. What was your taper? How was your sleep and diet in the days leading up to the race? And speed work is huge. At least one track day a week.
I got the new fw update 2.5 and I’m wondering if GPS is now used for distance and speed, when one uses foot pod? Also will it calibrate the foot pod automatically?
I ran this morning with foot pod and I think the distance was too long and also after my exercise, the foot pod calibration factor was still 100.0.
Yes, with 2.5 GPS is now used for distance and speed even when a footpod is attached. At least, it’s supposed to be. I haven’t tried it yet myself to confirm.
Hi Ray,
great review, thanks.
I hope that I found one specific thing, which has not been touched here (in case I didn’t miss it in this 1km long text stream :-)).
For indoor training footpod makes a huge difference (vs built-in accelerometer). Its not only about accuracy, but actually it wakes up all GPS-related powerfull features like VO2max/race predictor and recovery check features.
These features are simply disabled when GPS is off (accelerometer working only), but enabled when footpod is connected.
Great thing for treadmill users (regards to all European athletes sitting at home hiding from frost and snow).
Jason & Rainmaker – Thanks for your feedback. I realize there’s no underestimating a weekly speed session.
Jason – I tapered quite hard. Week before the HM I ran 62 miles as I’ve just started marathon training. Taper week was Mon 11m LR pace. Tues rest day & massage. Wed 6m recovery. Thurs 3m recovery. Fri & Sat rest days as still some slight soreness from massage. Sunday race. Sleep was fine all week. Same with diet (plenty of carbs). Weight was only about 2lbs or so more than my PR’s back in April.
Hello, do you have any detailed information about the new features intoduced by the 2.5 firmware upgraded? For example I’d like better understand how to manage the followings improvements:
– Added feature to allow the CONNECT key to wake the device and start a Wi-Fi transfer.
– Improvements to the interaction between foot pod and GPS.
– Added feature to inform the user when returning to the target range of a workout step.
1. Quite minor really. When in Low Power Mode (clock showing) press the Connect button and then tap the screen to start a WiFi transfer.
2. Fixed bug on an outdoor run with GPS if you had a paired footpod, pace and distance were coming from the pod. They now both come from GPS.
3. Not so sure on this as not had a chance to try as yet. Presume if you were doing a workout with say a step with HR or pace range and you moved outside the range a bleep would occur. This seems to indicate if you came back in the target range it would notify you.
I upgraded from the 410 to the 620 , have used the 620 for 6 weeks . Requarding the V02 MAX is 56. i do 50mls a week and i am 55 years old , the VO2 PREDICTS a 5k in a time of 18.24 . My recent 5k race time was 18.12 , so this puts my VO2 in the ballpark .
Downloaded the 2.50 update and noticed my mile splits came up about 10 meters short before the upgrade , this also happened when i done my first runs with the watch , but they got closer to my mile splits after using the watch the following week.
Well pleased with the watch , had no issues so far.
Thank you Matt for your reply. So in countries where the supply of mobile internet connection Is expensive, the users of live tracking app we will need a fortune in order to track a long activity, a marathon race for example! I expected that an Internet connection should be necessary but in Garmin’s site I read that live tracking app uses the signal of the phone and this was a little bit confusing.. Thanks again for the prompt reply.
Question for Tim Grose , Hi Tim I notice our age is similar and our current pb times are similar (you are a bit quicker atm) I would be intersted to see what it has your vo2 max at and how it progressed . Mine has now gone up to 65 , and says potentialy could run a 5k in 15.53 ….I wish haha
Hello Ray
It did actually reach 65 too but that was with a max HR of 173 that I had not actually reached for a few years. I put max HR down to 165 which is about what I have actually managed in the last few months and it’s 62 at moment. Still looks somewhat challenging but in ideal conditions just about possible I think (or rather hope)!
Hi. Will the 620 communicate with the Garmin Training Center software and the ANT+ USB transfer dongle and automatically transfer the training activity like with the 405? I really like the Training Center software because it supports 1.50000 Garmin maps. That is important to me because there is no high resolution Google map coverage in my area..
Thx for the reply.. It does via wireless and wireless internet, upload the activities to Garmin Connect, does it not? If so, then one could use the “receive from unit” function in the Training Center to retrieve the activities, because that one retrieves activities uploaded to Garmin Connect.. If I can’t get my activities into the program without using an usb cable, then I don’t want to buy the 620.. I refuse to go backwards.. And I want to use my Garmin Topo Adventure maps.. Cheers
You don’t need a cable, I have the 620 and I use Training Center (I have a MAC but I think it’s the same with the PC version). After uploading your activity via wifi to Garmin Connect you simply have to open the activity itself on the web site and export it in a TCX file to your PC. Then you use the import function in Garmin Training Center to select and import the file. I think it’s simpler than using an USB ANT dongle beacuase you don’t need to remember where it is.
Hello Rain, I’ve just published 2 posts on my blog about the 620, they’re in PORTUGUESE. I used some of your pictures (along with mine) but I credited your blog and made a link to this article. Please LMK if you’re not comfortable with that.
My first post is about the 620 itself: link to bor.ba
My second post points to differences between 610 and 620: link to bor.ba
I plan a final article about connectivity methods and issues.
Regards!
“After uploading your activity via wifi to Garmin Connect you simply have to open the activity itself on the web site and export it in a TCX file to your PC. Then you use the import function in Garmin Training Center to select and import the file..”
Thx for the reply.. After it’s uploaded to Garmin Connect, the Training Center will retrieve it if you you go to file-receive from unit, will it not?
Has anyone any idea why Garmin does not add in a device of $450 a temperature sensor or make use of GPS in order to provide such information. I think its a useful information and not costly at all.
Does not upload data via BT to the iPhone Connect app. There is a bug in the app software that forces you to reboot the watch and iphone to get it to upload again. Typical symptom is that you see the run listed by date, but it has a “waiting…” to upload message that does not go away.
Very frustrating to spend so much on a watch, and then have to wait until you get home to upload via wifi (or cable). I am using the latest firmware update (2.5) on the watch, but the problem is with the iPhone app (has not been updated since November).
Is the screen of forerunner 620 made of Plastic or Glass? If it is made from plastic isn’t it more dangerous to be scratched or broken after a lot of use?
But, just like glass, there are many plastics and glasses out there. Some are stronger than others. In the few months I was using the unit (before switching to the unit I bought myself) I didn’t manage to scratch it. Which, is actually saying a lot. When I’m travelling (which is every week), it just sits in the front pocket of my backpack, which is kinda like a torture chamber worth of sharp pokey things – keys, coins, electrical plugs, etc… TSA hates me.
First off, insanely great in-depth reviews, D.C. Just wanted to add a few quick notes on the 620. I picked up a 620 right when they came out for the general public this past November, having waited several months since my 610 had completely died and was beyond affordable repair. For the first several months that I had it, it was very consistently almost exactly an eighth of a mile long every mile. I knew this from having run my routes for years and very acutely knowing my distances from several sources. I contacted Garmin and they told me that they were working on a software update for the 620, and that that should fix it. This was early on. After about 2 ½ months of waiting, I contacted Garmin and asked to simply have my 620 replaced under warranty since none of the software updates fixed this problem. They were great and let me send in my old 620 for a brand new one. Once I did get it though, I had the same miscalculations of distance. I was incredulous! I finally read through some forums, and found a thread referring to using the 620 in combination with the Garmin foot pod for cadence, which I had always used and was listed as a compatible accessory. The first time that I removed it and went on a run, the problem was completely fixed, and my 620 is now spot on accurate. Apparently since the 620 has it’s own internal accelerometer that measures cadence, having the foot pod confuses the watch in some way. Possibly some sort of missed handshake between the two pieces that needs to be corrected. I’ve seen many many people complain about this same problem with the 620, unaware of the foot pod issue. I did email Garmin about this, but they still have the foot pod listed as a compatible accessory with the 620. Which is may be in the future if they fix this issue. But for now, I’ve been telling all of my running friends and my local store that I used to work for, to mention this to potential buyers.
Just a quick heads up that as of earlier this week a firmware update was released that address the issue of the unit and the GPS outside now overrides the footpod. This is firmware update 2.50.
Has anyone found out any uses or worked out how to improve the vertical oscillation and the GC time , for me so far the are just numbers that dont really mean much ??
As a happy user of the 610 for the past 2,5 years I was looking forward to the Forerunner 620.
The specs of the new 620 are quite good, unfortunately there are also some shortcomings:
– Why is there still no possibility to record temperature as this is an important factor during training ?
– I am using three different shoes with footpods, every footpod has Its own calibration factor which I have to manually alter in the 610 before I change shoes.
It would be much easier if I could register three (or more) shoes in the 610 (or 620) with different calibration factors, so when selecting a shoe this would give me the correct calibration factor (a function found in some Polar models)
Another benefit would be If you were able to keep track of the mileage of the shoes in Garmin Connect.
– No support for ANT+ scale is really frustrating, hope Garmin will correct this issue.
– No bike support, which is not a big deal for me but something that could be easily added I guess.
And then there is the new HRM-Run soft strap.
To make use of the new functions you have to buy the HRM-Run strap, with transmitter this will cost € 100,00.
Just the soft strap will cost € 40,00 which is fine if it will last 2 years, but for some reason I don’t believe it will last 2 years, or even 1 year without spikes or other failures (currently using a Garmin Transmitter with Polar strap without any problems)
So, the 620 could be the perfect running watch for me, but I’m not convinced yet.
Is there a way of deleting a split from a run? I keep ending races, then not realizing that the watch has continued running after I’ve hit stop. I know you can delete a whole run, just wondering if I somehow missed what should be a fairly straightforward action. I can’t seem to be able to do it on the watch or on GC.
I ordered the FR620 again via the Clever Training link from your website.
So I’ve had the watch for a couple of weeks now and have used it around 6 times. I gotta say that I really like the watch but I am disappointed with the accuracy of the GPS. I’ve had a 305 fro years and have always found it pretty accurate. I decided to ‘upgrade’ to the 620 as a treat for reaching some goals last year.
I have compared all my distances and speeds via the map my run website and have found them to be on average between 5 and 10% out every time. It’s not the end of the world, but I would love to find a way to improve the accuracy. I need every motivation I can get!! On a few runs last week the watch had my pace down by 0.7 mph. Today, it was ‘only’ down by 0.3 mph, but this was over a longer run.
I’ve also noticed that on 1 of the runs, no map was recorded, and when you look at the maps of the other runs it doesn’t seem to follow the road and can cut corners.
Keep up the great work, and thanks for any assistance you can give me.
About Livetracking, I see two little up/down arrows to the left of “Average Pace”, does it mean you can toggle to Instant Pace (or other metrics) by clicking on these icons? I’m guessing you can since the Mobile version doesn’t seem to show graphs?
As a side note it would be nice if Garmin had a demo Livetrack session handy ;-)
So I’ve been running with my 620 for a month now and love it. Question: Does the “instant pace” only show pace in increments of 5 seconds? For instance, seems like my typical easy run apce will fluctuate between 7:20 to 7:30. But the pace will always be 7:20, 7:25, or 7:30. Never 7:23, 7:21 or 7:29 for example. But when the lap time hits it’ll show a pace that’s not always in increments of 5 seconds. Does this makes sense? I look forward to hearing from you.
Yes, instant pace is in 5-sec increments. Lap and Run Average paces are all shown to the exact second, both in history, but on the data fields as well. I use Lap Pace (average) during my runs for most instant-pace scenarios.
After several months of struggle, I am reasonably happy with my 620. First HRM strap has been replaced, later followed by full watch swap… I am happy with end result, but NOT happy on Garmin support. E.g. hardware replacement takes 1.5 weeks; but before Garmin is willing to replace, I was asked to runs several experiments.
On the strap design, this is first strap which does chafing, there is tiny red line on my chest.-) I did not have these issues in past with both Polar and Suunto straps.
I’ve also had issues with the HRM making marks and abrasions on my chest. Even when adjusted the right way. But if I wear it more than 3 or 4 days, it actually causes bleeding. So I generally just wear it only every so often. I’ve tried washing the strap and rinsing it with fabric softener without luck. Also have tried using items such as Body Glide on the inner part of the strap that causes the friction as well as moving it higher or lower along my rib cage, also with no luck. I think it’s a great strap, but it just is what it is, and probably shouldn’t be worn every single day.
I’ve had the chafing issue as well. Hurts like hell when you take a shower. So I put a thin strip of medical/athletic tape on the bottom edge of the HRM strap. And if the chafing gets bad, I put a strip of tape on my chest where the chafing occurs…
One more thing, the running dynamics are very useful for me. I am working on improvements in running style to be less prone for injuries. I set auto-lap to 1km, and do technique on-off cycles (1km default/normal run, 1km some technique focus). For example knee-drive-forward (as focus point), shows more bounce and lesser GCT. Especially on treadmill (where speed is constant, no turns) I can clearly analyze in GC effect of some change in style.
I do not agree with Garmin color gradients, which indicate lesser bounce is better. But useful it is, these running metrics.
Thorough review!
A question though. If the we use the 620 with the HRM, does the watch know automatically to use the HRM accelerometer rather than the internal watch’s accelerometer for cadence data? Appreciate the info.
Question about battery life expectancy: I heard that every time you plug in an iphone, even if its for a second or two, you take away one of the charges from the battery life. If this is true will the 620 battery be diminished each time I plug in the USB to download a workout?
Hey,
Not sure if this section is still being monitored or not but feel that as these watches become more complicated its increasingly hard to get what you want out of the watch
Is there a resource/FAQ/video/book that will go through how to set the watch up to gain a specific goal? Pulling all the features together into a cohesive and useful package is proving difficult.
Thanks
Is there anyway to manually upload the satellite pre-fixes for Garmin 620? My wifi is a college network that won’t allow the watch to connect, so I’m not getting the automatic 7-day cache…..
If you download the Garmin Express Fit program to your computer, and then simply plug the watch in (perhaps 30-60 seconds worth), it’ll grab it that way.
No, it lacks transmission of the Running Dynamics pieces that the HRM-Run does. So it’ll give basic HR, but that’s it. No cadence or other running dynamics pieces.
Thanks for the review: very useful for a sport-tech-neophyte like i am.
I am just wondering: will I be able to plan indoors trainings (on a track) with the training-planing system?
Thank you
Dear DCRainmaker,
I am very tempted to buy the 620. I do have a 910, but would eventually sell it. Since I use two Garmin soft strap that must not be sold, (who would buy a used strap anyway?), could I use the straps with the new HRM-run pod? What changes have been made to the strap?
Ultimately, while the HRM-Run will work with the FR620, you won’t get running dynamics without the HRM-Run pod.
When it comes to the strap portion, there were changes made in the spring 2013 timeframe when they introduced the HRM3, which reduces spikes. Then, in July 2013, they introduced new firmware to all HRM3 pods (for new purchases) that significantly reduced spikes/dropouts. The strap itself didn’t change.
Andy, The previous Garmin soft straps will work with the 620, but I’m not sure if they would work with the HRM pod snapped to them. I suspect that they would, but would not give you the same amount of information. The new HRM-run’s strap does actually have some of it’s technology in the strap itself. You can see this in the side of the strap below the stitched Garmin logo and gray area. I am not sure which metric is measured with that. DC may know more of the specifics of that. I’ve had a 620 for about 3 months now, and did have issues with it’s compatibility with the Garmin foot pod. Since both the watch itself and the pod measure cadence, this throws off the distance calculation for some reason, causing the your distances to be about 1/8 of mile long. Not using the pod fixes this immediately though, and you do get cadence from the watch itself. I hear Garmin is working on a software fix for this. I didn’t know this at the time that I was having the problem though, and actually had Garmin replace my 620 for free with a brand new one, which they were very good about. Overall though, the watch is beautiful, extremely lightweight, and simple to use. It’s wireless capabilities are wonderful as well. No more plugging in for software updates or uploading information to Garmin Connect using a USB ANT+ stick. It works over wi-fi and bluetooth. I don’t like that it has no bike features or compatibility with the Garmin bike sensor, but I never really used these features on previous Garmin models anyway. It also will not work with ANT+ body composition monitors such as the Tanita, but again this is not a huge deal for 99% of users.
The changes in the strap are just to improve earthing and cut spiking, as far as I can tell.
I have used a Polar Wearlink+ strap with my HRM-RUN clipped on it when I couldn’t remember where I’d left the new strap, and all the data were fine.
It does not have settings for different users. Ultimately, if you’re just using it outdoors, and don’t care much about the VO2Max, Recovery Advisor and calories portion, you’re fine to mix and match.
Those are the pieces that are user specific.
If you go indoors on a treadmill, the pace/etc is calibrated per user based on outdoor use. Though, in my testing I find accuracy sucks indoors anyway, so that’s probably a non-issue.
Ray, for me after the 2.5 firmware the accuracy measured in pace/distance improved in the treadmill. The only piece left is the response time when you chance pace. It takes time to notice it.
I was one that complained about accuracy in the Garmin forums, but now I recognize the improvement.
Anyone seen something different than ‘good’ after recovery check?
Independent on how I feel or shape I am in, 620 displays ‘good’.
Looks marketing feature to me.-)
I did get a reading of “fair” once or twice but mostly just “good.”
I’m more concerned as to why my Vo2 Max number is always too high when compared to web calculator values and why it hasn’t moved for the last 7 runs even though I’ve done outdoor and treadmill runs and lowered my max heart rate from 180 to 176 in my user profile. Ideas?
Keep in mind that VO2Max doesn’t continually get better. For the most part, you pretty much stay the same (flat-line) after a short bit of athletic training. It’s really more of a genetic marker of your potential, but not indicative of your actual training (again, beyond an initial ramp from ‘couch potato’ to 5K type shape).
Hi great review. One thing I can’t see how to change the date on my 620 any idea. I am also having trouble connecting via wifi. I have done a manual update so will see if this helps when it finishes charging.
Harmless – I nearly always get “Good” but I’ve had “Fair” a couple of times the day after a hard workout (17m/29K+ long run or a hard tempo run) this is accurate as I don’t feel 100% and I’m doing a recovery run.
LB – Just to follow up on Rainmaker, it can take weeks of intense training to see improvements in VO2 scores. It depends a lot of what kind of training, how intense and how often you train. Somebody running 30m/50K a week won’t see the same improvements as someone running in excess of 62m/100K a week and doing dedicated speed work once a week.
Try moving your max HR down even more. I had to do the same from 179 to 169. This will probably give you a more accurate score(it did for me). Remember the device is set to the default 220 minus age. For many of us that is not a realistic number.
DCR & Caferey – Thanks for responding.
I’m not concerned that the VO2 Max is not increasing. My concern is that it is too high in the first place and the current value is not fluctuating.
Based on my race times, my VO2 Max should be in the 39 to 40 range, according to various internet VO2 calculators. This watch has been consistently high in its estimation of my VO2 Max. It started at 41, then 43 for 2 runs and now 45 for 7 runs. My actual max HR in a race 2 weeks ago was 176, so I lowered my max heart rate on the watch from 180 to 176 for the 2 most recent runs. Still there was no change in the VO2 Max at 45. Any ideas?
I’m 67 years old and a low mileage runner by your standards (1100 K total last year). I always train at high intensity levels, i.e. tempo pace or harder. I have been running for more years than I care to admit.
Keep in mind that VO2Max race predictors online assume the best possible training plans and procedures, and assume you put out your genetic max. It’s a bit more difficult because of your age and knowing whether each table on the internet has accounted for that (or, whether the Garmin has accounted for it).
I wish I had a better answer. Ultimately, as noted above there isn’t much that VO2Max is going to tell you in terms of how to get faster, it doesn’t generally fluctuate much beyond initial training (and you’re 1100 K of last year certainly qualifies). What would likely improve you’re pace is mixing up the intensity levels though. ;)
Most web-based VO2 calculators don’t factor in age or other possible variables. Generally they just use distance and time. Perhaps the 620 is in the right ballpark. The race predictor shows a half-marathon time of 1:46:29 which is just 7 minutes faster than my actual HM time.
I hear what your saying about mixing up intensities. I dialed things down a bit while training for my HM but old habits die hard.
Great review, it convinced me to buy the 620. Only “problem” VO2 max is not calculated on the watch, it keeps saying have a run outdoor with HRM for about 10 mins. I live in the Netherlands, could this be a language problem? I’ve tried to switch language but this did not help. Do I have to do a factory reset? I am on firmware 2.50.0.0. Thanks, Peter
Hi,
What about VO2 max, it is still not displayed on my watch. I did a factory reset, did wear the right monitor, ran at 70% of my max HR, ran 4 runs. What could be wrong?
Thanks, Peter
Question:
In order to get accurate pace/distance on a treadmill with the 620… Will I need the foot pod? Also, has Garmin officially announced plans to add cycling to the 620? Thank you!
Yes, I believe that in order to get accurate pace indoors/treadmill you need a footpod at this point. Perhaps in time Garmin will improve it, but I didn’t see any indoor improvement in 2.50 based on my testing.
As for cycling, yes, they’ve announced they plan to add it “in the spring” (which, technically I suppose goes all the way till mid-June).
There has been a pretty cool blog entry doing some accuracy compares across the gps running watches. The 620 comes out quite low on accuracy. I sure hope Garmin continues to work at addressing this issue. Hopefully its software and not a fundamental ‘feature” of the hardware design such as the antenna location.
It’s interesting, though, I wish there was a bit more information about how many times a test was run. Meaning, it appears that a test was one just once, on just one course.
I think you’re missing the “count” column. He ran the same course many times with each watch, with a total of over 2000 laps for the 620. He talks about this in the writeup. So, I think he does have some statistical basis.
Yeah, I saw that, but that doesn’t really make sense to me. Surely he hasn’t run that course section 944 times with just the FR620? After all, it’s only been out three months, so that would mean 300 times a month, or 10 times a day. I’m sure that column means something useful, I just don’t understand it reading through the descriptions.
Perhaps it is more likely that his “count” is laps, and I think I read that his laps are each 1/4 mile. That would mean he has run 236 miles with the 620, which is believable. Very interesting data.
Reading through it, he breaks everything into quarter mile segments except the last out and back sections which he breaks into 1/8 mi segments. So those counts are for those segments.
Still, it isn’t quite complete. He doesn’t mention what firmware version or GPS FW version he has. It also seems some have had more issues than others with there devices so he might have one of the bumm devices.
Lastly, he says that with the GPS pre-loading of the 620, it gets a more accurate GPS lock quicker. I think many of us have found that is incorrect. It gets a quicker preliminary lock but still needs a reasonable amount of time to get a more accurate lock on the satellites.
So interesting data point on accuracy, but not very scientific beyond his personal device and that one route.
Certainly more scientific than Ray’s comments in the original review that he feels the device is pretty accurate, based on his qualitative observations and just a few runs. Ray did promise a future comprehensive GPS accuracy test for the newer GPS devices, so perhaps we should wait for that. In the meantime, Garmin admits that the issue is a work in progress, and has issued some GPS firmware update. Problem is, according to a number of people on the Garmin forums, its still got accuracy issues. It appears that it varies from one run to the next, so tracking and distance may be accurate for a run, then same run at another time has a displaced track and distance errors.
I don’t know, I think each test has it’s own merits and values. I test across a wide variety of routes and circumstances, not one single route. I also test against multiple devices at the same time, thus allowing me to see that if it’s a transient issue (such as radio interference), it might (or might not) show up across all devices. I did that for the better part of two months worth of runs in a lot of places.
He’s testing a single route repetitively, which has different value.
When I do accuracy tests I try and cover a wide range of scenarios, just like a wide range of runners buy these units. Be it treeless areas, narrow streets with tall buildings (cities), or forests. I’m focusing on the entirety of the run, as well as the mile by mile splits.
As for the FR620, there are no doubt people that have issues. But there’s also a heck of a lot of people that don’t (I’d guess the majority, if not vast majority). Even looking at the Garmin Forum threads on it, if you were distill down the number of unique respondents per thread, how many would that be? And compared to how many units shipped? I’d guess they’ve shipped well into the tens of thousands of units by now, perhaps 50-60K easily? Don’t get me wrong, there are clearly certain units with issues – no doubt. But for better or worse, none of the units I’ve got through normal retail channels are showing those. And virtually all of my runs are automatically published to Strava for folks to analyze.
I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said. And my personal experience over a few months of runs is good. On the other hand, this watch does contain a different GPS chipset than the other Garmin run watches of the previous generation. So, it just may be that Garmin is still getting through the details of optimizing this. (Previous watches use SirfStar, this watch uses MediaTek).
The run I use for testing covers open areas, tree covered areas, goes under a bridge, has power lines and has two turn arounds. It does not cover tall buildings, nor does it have long straight sections. However, if you look at the ‘bad days’ section, you can see that devices do have problems that are somewhat random. When testing the 910/310 together, each had bad days when the other was fine. I try to get at least 1,000 points to even out any random problems and get some statistical averages. Looking at the courses recorded, you can see that most devices do post-hoc smoothing, so straight courses should be more accurate than those that twist a lot. I suspect that the recent firmware upgrade to the 620 to ‘improve’ GPS performance actually added a lot more smoothing.
On a certified 8K race course, my 620 measured 8.07K (and I started it a bit behind the start line). Using an uncalibrated Garmin footpod, it measured 10.01K on a 10.0K treadmill run. That’s good enough for my purposes.
Guys,
I would like to understand what would be the procedure like to calibrate a footpod for my FR620 (I know how to pair it with the watch). I bought the footpod with a Suunto Ambit 2S, so this would be my first use with a Garmin device (don’t have a calibration factor).
I’d the understanding that running outdoors would eventually configure it for using it indoors? Is this right? Will this change the calibration factor? Treadmill running is why I’d like to have it configured.
Thanks!!
Any indication from Garmin or any others that they will introduce the ability to determine a runner’s power and fatigue index using the RAST method on a watch such as the FR620? Seems like with all the metrics being captured with running watches that determining power for a runner would be the next logical step. I’ve read a few articles regarding the RAST test protocol and it appears the FR620 and Garmin Connect site could easily be updated to provide this data as yet another metric to analyze running performance over time.
Dave,
Never heard of RAST before your input, thnx for making me curious. I think I know better now, does not seem to be a complex test (www.brianmac.co.uk/rast.htm). If I understand the testprocedere correctly ( and I am quite sure I do …) I would definitely not suggest to implement it on a GPS-based watch like FR 620. Why? The RAST test is a series of 35m sprints with 10 sec intervals. I would assume that the 35m distance is not really the ideal (lap-)distance for GPS-coverage not even footpod-measuring I would say. Any non GPS-watch on the market would be more suitable for a RAST-extension I would say ….
kr, reinhard
Very good point regarding the GPS accuracy over such a short distance. Perhaps another test protocol exist that I’m unaware of that could measure a runners power. Certainly interesting to say the least!
I’ve done a bit of web surfing recently and found that Sporttracks has a plug-in that computes a runners power. Not sure how accurate or reliable it is though. I’ve been considering downloading SportTracks 3.1 and giving it a try since they also support import /analysis of all of the new FR620 running dynamics.
Awesome review!
Ordered the FR620 online from Clever Training (10% discount with Ray’s code and no sales tax or shipping) immediately after reading the review on Monday 2/10. Received my new watch on Thursday 2/13! Set up took just 10 minutes and then out to the track for a workout.
Love the FR620 over my old FR610. Garmin did good with the update.
Can anyone pls help me out? My FR620 crashed during last garmin software update and now it wont reboot. I only see the GARMIN boot screen but nothing else happens. Soft reset does not work either and I als tried to empty the battery but it still does not work.
You could try a hard reset as well. Failing that, I’d recommend ringing Garmin. In the vast majority of cases they can get you all squared away without having to swap units.
I would like to know why my forerunner 620 is not turning on the bluetooth, sounds is not working anymore and it is not turning off. GPS sign also is not available….terrible. It happened after the first training.
It sounds like you’ve got a bunch of problems, perhaps related, perhaps not. In either case, a quick call to Garmin support will probably get you settled (really, the Garmin phone support folks in the US are actually some of the most knowledgeable and helpful folks you’ll talk to on a tech product). Since you’re in the US, here’s the number: 800-800-1020, it’s open till 6PM Eastern.
You do know that if a bug is never reported to Garmin you can’t expect them to know there is a bug that needs fixing. Also even if they know about the bug it may help them know how big of an issue it is so they can better prioritize fixing it.
A new version of GPS Chipset Type M426 (Fitness Region File) is available as of a few days ago. I’ve loaded it but won’t get to try it out until tomorrow. See it here: (you will have to accept the agreement) link to www8.garmin.com
Changes made from version 2.90 to 3.00:
Improved GPS accuracy and time to first fix in some cases.
Ran a 50k event at the weekend using the 620, last year ran the same event using the 310XT. Distance as measured by the 310XT was 50.09km, distance as measured by the 620 was 48.75k. That was with the latest GPS update.
Luckily I had a paceband as my expensive running watch was only able to function as a basic stop watch. The new features are really good but if the basic functionality doesn’t work….
Does anyone have any experience of buying watches from Clever Training in the UK? Did a quick research, and it turns out that buying the Garmin 620 through them is roughly £70 cheaper, even after the $30 shipping charge (using DCR discount). Anyone ever had any issues, how is their customer support, etc.?
I bought one from from Clever Training and had it shipped to the UK. When it arrived at customs I got a letter telling me that I needed to pay around £50 to release it! I rang Clever Training and they confirmed that they could do nothing about it as some products do get stopped at customs and this is the result.
They were very helpful and told me that if I just ignored the letter, eventually it would be sent back to them and they would then refund me for the watch (minus the $30 shipping). Fortunately for me I knew of someone travelling to the States who could collect another one for me. I am still waiting for my refund though!
I tried to find out the answer to my question in this forum and elsewhere and I failed miserably.
Hence the question: does FR620 support any other activities then running? Specifically, I wonder if I could use 620 to record weight lifting sessions and have them listed in Garmin Connect website but under some other activity type. (Ideally if these “other” activities could be included in calculation of the recovery time, it would be really great)
Currently I use Suunto T6d and after the work out I can specify activity type. From what I understand Ambit 2 allows for predetermined activity types thus making it even easier because of the ability to select activity type before starting it.
I really like 620 and its features (mainly interval training and vibration), but it seems that Ambit 2 could be a better choice, because I could use it for some other activities – weight lifting, hiking, possibly biking. Still my main focus is running and this would be main purpose of the watch.
So, after rereading my post I guess my question really is: is FR620 suitable for other activities that are not running? Do you think that maybe Ambit 2 would be a better choice?
Kind of depends what you mean by “support other activities”. If you mean is there a special mode you can put it into to get options particular to that other activity then no there isn’t although a cycling mode is supposed to be coming this spring.
If you mean can you timer the start, see how long your did something, take manual laps and see what your HR was then yes you can. When you upload to Garmin Connect, just change the activity type.
I have noted that when I edit a workout, that was already uploaded to the device from Garmin Connect, the changes do not appear on the device. I have to delete the Schedule.fit files from the device’s GARMIN folder and then upload the edited workout. Is that correct? It seems not too user-friendly. Are you aware of any ways around?
Ray,
Given the Felix2 announcement today, and the really cool inclusion of the ability to have a phone send updates to the watch, do you think the Forerunner will ever gain this functionality?
Especially now that the Forerunner will (sometime) get the addition of a cycling mode, it would be awesome if it would display text messages as some contacts…
I hope Garmin adds this.
As always, thanks for all you do!
You might gain something like that while in activity mode, but definitely not in non-activity mode. In talking with them previously, the low-power characteristics of the chipsets included within the FR220/FR620 doesn’t really give them the option to hang out in a Bluetooth low-power mode for days on end.
ANDROID update is finally here! Hey did you get the connect app update? I still see inability to upload courses to the watch. Do you know if this is a feature within the watch to begin with?
Hello dear Ray, my Forerunner 310XT shows with a 4-field display in stopwatch data field after an hour only the hours and minutes, not seconds. Is that with the Forerunner 620 also the case?
On the 620, with 4 fields on, if you put the total time in the top field it displays h:mm:ss (I’ve never run over 9:59:59, so I don’t know what happens then ;) )
Using the 620, how do you record time and heart rate without being in run mode? For instance, on a bike trainer you want to record the time and heart rate data for that activity. Thanks for your help!
You can turn the GPS off and start the timer. You might randomly get some cadence info (this happened to me last night when I was swimming) that’ll confuse you, but it will record time and associated heart rate info.
Once you’ve stopped the event and uploaded to Garmin Connect you can then change the activity manually to biking (or swimming, or whatever).
I loved your review but I’m having a little bit of troubleshooting and was wondering if you could help!
Sometimes the GPS takes more than 5 minutes to connect to the satellite and sometimes (at the same location) less than a minute! What can i do?
I alteady hace a marathon workout made on my garminconnect page but cant transfer to the watch. It tells me it doesnt support workout schedules! Do you have an alternative?
Thanks!
The Bluetooth connection on the new connect is very sketchy. The pairing doesn’t survive turning off Bluetooth on the nexus 5. And sometimes it won’t connect even if you leave the Bluetooth on. Anyone have any better results on other androids + 620?
I just bought the 620 yesterday and created a new training calendar. I was expecting the transfer of the calendar to the watch to be smooth but it was a nightmare. Every time I tried to send the calendar, Garmin Connect will state “No device found that supports scheduled workouts”. What is this?! Did I just buy an expensive paperweight?! Suspecting that it may be an issue with the browser, I tried to use Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer on both OSX and Windows but none worked for me. I had also tried removing and re-adding the watch to Garmin Express Fit and that didn’t work as well. A search through the Garmin forum also turned out to be fruitless. The watch may be great but now I have very, very little confidence in Garmin’s capability to come up with a decent, working web app.
I have problems with Garmin.connect site since around 3 weeks ago. It reported “stopped time” as “moving time”. Before it was fine. My FR 305 is just working fine. I am currently waiting for April launch of xxxxx V800 hoping it is supported by a seamless web activity reporting site.
I’ve noticed other bugs recently – such as my resting hr is stuck at 0 so my zones are all messed up. Changes to resting and max hr won’t save in any browser or via the Android app. I was able to adjust them on my 620 and sync it which updated my max hr, but the resting stays at 0.
Seems like the transition to the new site is turning into a bit of a bumpy ride for them – and us.
Set on the 620 without the HR monitor until I read your review. Looks like I may need to invest in that too. I am looking to upgrade from my 2010 Forerunner 405 which came with a 1G HRM with ANT+. Will this work with the 620? Looking to save the 50$ if I can.
Thanks!
I have been a great advocate of the 620, but I ran the Tokyo marathon along side my son on Sunday. He wore a Garmin 10 and I had on my 620. His 10 measured 42.7k. My 620 measured 52.0k!!!!! Same course, same weather, same start point, same acquisition time, same same. Something is wrong there. The 620 just doesn’t cope with buildings anything like the 10. And Tokyo isn’t as built up as many cities. I am logging it it Garmin, and I have the latest firmware. Disappointed.
Thanks for another awesome review. I’m currently using the 610 mainly for running and interval training . I also use the 610 for bike commuting but not serious road biking.
I would also wear the watch when swimming or doing triathlons and am thrilled that I could wear it from the start of the race rather than having to put it on in transition.
Do you think it is worth upgrading ? Does your girlfriend prefer the orange to the blue for girls ?
Thanks for another awesome review. I’m currently using the 610 mainly for running and interval training . I also use the 610 for bike commuting but not serious road biking.
I would also wear the watch when swimming or doing triathlons and am thrilled that I could wear it from the start of the race rather than having to put it on in transition.
Do you think it is worth upgrading ? Does your girlfriend prefer the orange to the blue for girls ?
Thanks for another awesome review. I’m currently using the 610 mainly for running and interval training . I also use the 610 for bike commuting but not serious road biking.
I would also wear the watch when swimming or doing triathlons and am thrilled that I could wear it from the start of the race rather than having to put it on in transition.
Do you think it is worth upgrading ? Does your girlfriend prefer the orange to the blue for girls ?
She prefers the orange one, mostly because it’s not the black one. She’d prefer the purple FR220 colors cheme, but there’s no option for that on the FR620.
As for the FR620 for a triathlon, yes, it works. However, you won’t get splits per sport, nor is there a cycling mode like on the FR610 (it’s coming later this spring though). Definitely no swim mode though, nor multisport option.
Just got my Garmin 620. Spent a good hour trying to figure out where and how I can connect to wifi (feeling like an idiot)… I came across a thread where supposedly with the new software garmin put out recently left this part out?
oh!!! lol, ok now I feel stupid. thank-you. In my defence the directions told me to follow the onscreen directions (none) and had a completely different picture. Regardless thank you!
So for anyone else having wifi issues with their 620 and wifi, I figured out the problem with mine. Even after I had added a network in “Manage Networks” in Garmin Express Wifi was not working..620 kept saying “Use Garmin express to setup wifi”. What had happened was when I first set up my watch in garmin express, I managed to accidently click cancel on the wifi network it found… I figured no biggie and I will add it later… which I did… however it never worked and as I previously said I would recieve “Use Garmin express to setup wifi”.” when I hit the connect button on my Garmin. So I deleted the 620 out of the Garmin Express (didnt have to do it on the garmin connect saite..however ther eis an option to do that), and then the Garmin Express software started as first run. This time I set up the wifi with the onscreen instructions with first setup… and all is good now. I guess that the garmin software is still a little broken and does not push out the wifi settings to the watch after it has been added to Garmin Express. It appears you must do it on first run, with teh on screen popups. Im on Mac OSX Mavericks. And had the most up to date Garmin xpress software as of yesterday. Hope this helps someone else.
I’m still frustrated by this. My device is plugged in, i’m on Garmin Express 2.30, I’m in the Device Info section and there is no “Manage Networks” option. I’ve deleted and reinstalled the device, loaded the software on my PC (instead of MAC) and still no option.
Will adding the foot pod to the 620 give me accurate pace on the treadmill?
Also, the cadence has either not shown in graph form or not at all on my last few runs, in fact all the running dynamics did not record for a run. Have you seen this issue and do you know the fix?
I had the same issue with all dynamics functions too. The watch said I would have to run with the specific HRM strap first to be able to record that, it recorded heart rate fine though. The watch didn’t recognized the HRM strap as the dynamics one, although they where boxed together.
After a few runs I was fed up with it, did a full reset and paired the HRM strap again, after that no issues anymore.
Hello, anyone know if the Navi function (back-to-start) whether is planned for the Forerunner 620?
It is really important for me. I would otherwise sell the clock again and buy the fenix 2…
Thanks in advance
It’s not currently planned. The chipset on the FR620 isn’t really designed for a low-power mode to do 24×7 type notifications (ala Pebble). However, it would be able to support during-activity notifications without any additional hit.
It’s something I’ve discussed with them, but definitely nothing they’ve confirmed as happening.
Ray…Garmin has gone curiously silent on their forums since last week when the Connect 2.0/Express nightmare started. Do you have any connections or insight into how big of a deal this is for them? Core functionality of the watch is broken because of the new site, software, & app & while the Garmin forums fill up with angry users, Garmin appears to have gone underground.
I think it’s a fairly big deal for them. I know folks are working almost around the clock. Some things get fixed, others get broke, etc… Either way, it’s a complete and total mess of broke on all sorts of levels. And that’s even before we discuss the merits of the design itself.
Yeah, the new design I have seen from some users who have the vivofit & already got the new dashboard is less than exciting, but that’s the lesser issue at this point. The fact that core & basic functionality was broken by this upgrade is potentially indicative of a larger issue at Garmin. I’m still Garmin loyal (for now), but they could lose a significant segment of customers who depend on seamless integration to stay on their training plan.
Thankfully I had already loaded several weeks worth of workouts to my watch before this crash, but the inability to make modifications to my plan or adding new workouts (even individually) is taking a toll.
I ordered this watch with complete excitement only to be totally disappointed. This product is not ready for prime time and they shouldn’t be selling it yet. My watch was clearly a lemon and has been returned and i now desperate for a GPS watch and will read your other reviews. In talking with Garmin it appears they have so many bugs to work on that they are planning the year around fixing them but it will be some time before they get them solved. My watch failed before the 10th activity and then wouldn’t hold a charge and many functions didn’t work. They gave me a 10 step fix that i could try before each activity, sad answer.
Thank you so much for the review, I placed my order on Clever Training and the discount code worked great. I am excited to try this watch. Was not happy at all with the Nike + watch. I do most of my running in the early hours and you cannot activate the back light on the Nike watch very easily, rendering it useless in the dark while running.
Really starting to lose patience with this new garmin app now , cannot upload any of my runs now to garmin connect as the app and my 620 will not pair . I can use the watch on its own but hey whats going on , the old app did work ….. Just but the new improved haha app does not work at all . DOES Anyone test these apps ? I want my money back !
If you haven’t already, I’d really encourage you to ring up Garmin and open a support case to illuminate how bad the new GC/GCM is. Because realistically, the team is far to underwater right now to read comments here.
I’ve googled. I’ve RTFM. Google is tough because the term “lock” gets confused with Satellite Lock AND with how the GPS gets locked when in normal watch mode.
How on earth do I lock the keys (from inadvertent pressed) WHILE IN GPS MODE? I do lots of long runs, and in the winter am wearing gear, on trails dodging trees and grabbing things. What is to stop me from accidentally pressing the Start/Stop button or the Lap button while running?
On my 310XT this was easy (a two button key press which I’ve tried to no avail on the 620). On my Ambit there is a button (shared with backlight – also tried on the 620) dedicated for this obvious and necessary purpose.
My lack of google results tells me no such lock exists on this watch, but that would be so useless! Nothing worse than heading out for a 6 hour trail run to get home and find the data is a mess! Help GREATLY appreciated.
Garmin support finally got back to me…….and….there is no lock mode during an activity! I don’t understand why they have removed features with the new model. Beginning to miss me FR410 now.
The 310xt didn’t have this either when it was originally released; it came in a firmware release many months later. And that’s a tri watch which really needs a button lock for when you’re doing all the things that go with transition and whacking everything in sight. There’s a place on the Garmin website you can post suggestions; might be worth us all asking for this.
hi, great review!!
i am a micoach user and really wanted to hear that the smart run is even similar to this, but i think this garmin is a lot better…
i have the micoach pacer with HR stripe and speed cell, as both are Ant+ do you know if i can pair the G620 with my adidas HR and speed cell footpod? if so do you recomend this or is better to get the garmin original HR stripe?
thanks a lot
It depends. If you do indeed have the ANT+ speed cell/HR strap, then you’re good (though, you won’t get Running Dynamics). You can validate they are ANT+, as they’ll have the little ANT+ logo on them.
I’ve just bought a 620, but am at the moment still using my old classic plastic HRM strap.
Amazon are listing the HRM-Run as “This item is due to be released on April 1, 2014.” here but Garmin are apparently selling it right now.
Are Garmin releasing an updated version of the HRM-Run (in which case it would be better to wait and buy in April), or do you think there is no significance in the April release date?
Garmin 620 owner here- Any city runners here? I live in Philadelphia and the GPS is horribly inaccurate around the skyscrapers. Once I run away from them, it improves greatly. I don’t think there is much I can do about it, but it is frustrating. I had a 305 which took forever to lock into the satellites- hoped the 620 would be more accurate (it is faster though)
I run in New York (but not in midtown where the giant buildings are). I’ve never had a problem with weird/poor satellite reception (Including running over the Queensborough Bridge pretty frequently.
I run in NY too. Usually I run by the edge of Manhattan so there’s no problem there but I generally start in the middle of the Financial District (home) or Midtown (work). I find the 620 pretty good compared to my phone GPS – around the big skyscrapers my route will often be off by half a block or so (often suggesting i’ve run straight through a building). Compared to my phone GPS which often can’t get a lock of any kind and just doesn’t track my run at all, i’d say its a big improvement.
Can’t compare to other GPS watches though as the 620 is my first one.
Hi Luke – I too run over Queensboro Bridge on a regular basis. Quick question for you, do you notice the elevation being wonky when you go from Queens side to the Manhattan side?? I notice the elevation drops from 23 to – 60ft (dropping 80 ft when you are climbing), then immediately jumps 150 feet to 90ft of elevation.
From the Manhattan side to the Queens side, on the incline, it also shows erratic data. I think it’s probably due to an error in Garmin’s database for that location? Would love it if someone can shed light on how Garmin watches calculate the elevation? If it’s based purely on the GPS, it could be that the pedestrian crossing is on the north side of the bridge, thereby reducing the accuracy of the GPS as the satellites are due south.
This has been happening ever since I had my 610, and the data is still showing the incorrect elevation decline/jump on the FR620 (on both watches that I had).
Ok.. I also seem to run through buildings with my 620. usually not far off, but sometimes it has some weird readings,.. guess there are limits to the technology- thanks
Albert, the watch internally calculates elevation based on GPS. When the file is uploaded to Garmin Connect, the elevation is corrected from a map of elevation values. That map has some limitations, mainly due to having low enough resolution that it doesn’t see bridges, so it will probably show you the river level at that point.
So if it’s the elevation shown on the watch itself, it’s a GPS issue; if on Connect, it’s an elevation map issue.
Dom hit it right on the head, it is a garmin connect / data issue.
When I bike with my Edge 500 (which has a barometer) the elevation on the bridge is “correct” (I have no idea what the elevation actually is, but the Edge puts me in the 115 – 140 feet level. I’ve never checked the elevation when I’m actually on the bridge to see what the actual FR 620 thinks, but I’ve always written it off as an elevation correction issue.
Luke – according to NYRR’s Marathon elevation map, the Queensboro starts at an elevation of around 16ft (from Queen’s side, the direction of the marathon) and peaks at 135ft. I couldn’t really tell what the Manhattan side of the bridge elevation is as there seems to be, but it looks like 48 ft.
Dom – thank you for the explanation, that makes a lot of sense. It’s just frustrating that the elevation drops and immediately jumps back up. Maybe it has something to do with Roosevelt Island being right beneath the bridge. Oh well.
I have just run the Tokyo marathon with a 620 on and my son ran next to me with a Garmin 10. He got 42.7k, I got 52.0k. Yes, the 620 has real issues with even mildly built up areas.
I’ve run 3 London Marathon’s and when you get into Canary wharf (where are tall buildings) the GPS goes haywire, that’s with a FR305 & 310XT, don’t think it’s the watches fault just all that metal and glass making the signal bounce all over the place.
I need an advice. Can I use the forerunner 620 to swim in salt water (maybe for more than 3hours) or it is going to kill it ???? According to the specification of the watch I suppose that I can but you can never know!
There’s no problems with salt water, nor spending time with it. As noted in either the FR220/FR620 review, I spent a few hours in salt water without issue.
Just after a run in which I uploaded a workout to the watch with intervals (upload worked fine) and I’m now ready to throw the watch in the bin, it drove me nuts! The pace alarm for the interval sessions went off every few seconds even thou I set a 5 second buffer and kept an even enough pace. GPS was accurate after reviewing after upload, not jumping around. The avg pace on the interval screen was showing pace either from last sample or pace alarm which was around 4-5seconds, it wasn’t showing the overall pace since start of that interval because a couple of KM’s into a temp interval the avg pace was jumping anything from 3:50min/km to 4:30min/km within a few seconds which is impossible for the avg over 5K to jump that much within a few seconds. Will open a ticket with Garmin on this. Also as backlight, alarm , and vibration going off every few seconds it drained the battery very fast.
Hmm, as I noted in the review, I wouldn’t put a 5-second buffer on the pace alerts, it’s just going to be really tough to get that level of accuracy.
Now, the ‘Avg Pace’ or ‘Lap Pace’ shouldn’t have been jumping that much. Can you validate you have that exact pace field shown? In my case, I’m running fairly consistent intervals within it and the unit is usually within a few seconds pace-stability using Lap Pace.
Keep in mind that Lap Pace doesn’t have any impact on Pace Alerts (which are hyper-sensitive).
Hi Ray, the pace I’m referencing is the one shown on the interval screen, not one of the customizable screens. Previously on my FR410 I would set interval limits within 5 seconds or eg 3:48 to 3:52 min/km and was able to hold them without issue and would get the odd alert at the start but not every few seconds like with the FR620. The pace on the interval screen on the FR410 showed the average pace for the interval and didnt jump all over the place.On the FR620 the pace on the interval screen jumps all over the place and certainly isnt the interval average as as above a few KM’s into a tempo interval it was jumping up and down by 10’s of seconds.
I’m due another interval session tomorrow and will see how I get on as I now have increased from smart to 1 second and also upgraded from 2.50 to 2.60
Have you had problems with your current pace being accurate? I have had the 610 and every time I start running faster or sprinting, it immediately changes my pace to how fast I am going. I am noticing that the 620 takes a significantly longer time to lock into my pace. Does changing date recording to every second help this?
My pace stability is much improved with the 620 over the 610. Part of this is that they’ve smoothed the pace a tiny bit, so it make take a second or five until you see shifts in pace if you instantly start sprinting.
Also, some folks don’t like that it rounds up to the nearest 5-seconds (though, that’s a whole different debate).
Hmm. Mine takes longer, like nearly over a minute to change my pace when I am sprinting. Which makes it frustrating when I am running 30 sec sprints or so.
It slowly goes up by increments of 5 sec. Does this happen to you?
Hi Ray, I checked the video and when you stop running it actually takes only few seconds to change the current pace to “– –“. Could it be that behaviour is different when you don’t stop but walk instead?
My experience with interval training is that the pace when you go from running to walking (or viceversa) does not change drastically but gradually. For example, when I stop running (5:00 min/k) and start walking (10:00min/k) actual pace does not change to 10:00 in few seconds. It will go gradually up to 10:00 min/k and it will take more than 1 minute to show the actual walking pace. Same issue when I start running again after the walking recovery. (even though I might be running again at 5min/k in few seconds, I won’t show it until a couple of minutes later).
Anyone with the same experience?
I have fun with the 610 for the last couple of years and like it a lot. It appears the 620 would be a certain upgrade but I would prefer an all black watch. Do you think we will see new colors any time soon?
I don’t expect to see any new colors at this point for spring. Perhaps something for the fall running season. But I wouldn’t really expect to see a pure black honestly, since the blue one is so close to that already (just blue edging).
Ok, I’ve confirmed with Garmin that ANT+ Speed/Cadence sensor support is indeed going to be part of the Garmin FR620 spring firmware release. They declined to comment on an exact definition of spring however.
Rainmaker,
Long time reader, first time poster. Thank you for your reviews, they are the absolute best reviews to decide on products, you don’t miss a thing! I also wanted to thank you for your discount code for CT, I had placed an order via the Garmin site for the 620 with HRM 2 hours before I noticed the code and link to CT. I called them, asked if they had it in stock and if I could get it by the weekend (impatient me) and they said yes. I clicked send, you saved me $50, and I am happy. Please keep on writing the reviews and sharing your knowledge.
Anytime! Just got the email notification that my 620 has shipped, fine service from CT. Now comes the horrible habit of checking the tracking information site all day tomorrow…..
I probably am not doing the right thing with my new 620 but here goes…
I use the top right button to start my run and then the same again to pause/stop the run. If I have paused a run and want to just reset/save/discard, I press the top right button and need to hold it for a few seconds. However, this starts the run again (and adds precious few seconds to my time ;-) ). I have to then press stop again and hold if for a few seconds – this then brings up the Save / Discard option. In 610 and earlier I could just press the lap button for 3 secs to bring up the reset timer option.
It there another method to reset/save/discard the timer without having to go through the above sequence?
You don’t need to hold the button to get the save/discard screen to come up. It will come up automatically about 3-5 seconds after pausing/stopping the run.
Now, the big question that I have seen on the Garmin forums is whether or not you should wait several minutes to save the run or if you should save it right away. The thought is that the recovery adviser looks at your heart rate at the time the activity is saved. If you save it right away, your heart rate is elevated & it will tell you to wait like 3 days before your next run. If you wait until your heart rate settles, it can reduce that time to like 24 hours.
Did my first run today with the 620. Seems the GPS was off by quite alot, compared to my old 305. I ran a route that I know is 12 km. and the watch had it at 10.92 km. Also the lap times was incorrect the whole time, the first 6 laps was displaying way too high min/km and the last 5 laps was showing too low min/km. Does anyone have any idea what has happend here?
There have been some stories of the 620 GPS being off from other devices & others of it being dead accurate. I can tell you that my first full marathon measured out to be 26.5 miles on my 620, but I chalked that up to taking turns wide & weaving through crowds side to side on the course.
One thing I would change first is the Data Recording Settings. By default it does smart recording, but you want it to record every second. This will give you a much more accurate & detailed recording. just press the 3 bars on the right > Settings > System > Data Recording. From there, change it to Every Second.
Drew – thanks for the tip about changing the Data Recording from Smart to Every Second. I’ve had a 620 since Tuesday and on the two runs since have noticed it under measures routes versus my old 305. Will be interesting to see tomorrow if the distance increases with sampling every second.
Mikael – How long did you wait before you started running? I had a 305 too and I know the 620 gets satellites in a fraction of the time of the 305, but this doesn´t mean that it has enough to be accurate. As you know there is no accuracy screen on the 620 like the 305. What some are doing is displaying elevation field. Once you see the elevation has stabilized – it should be more accurate.
I still cant pair my 620 to the new garmin connect app , is it just me or can nobody else connect either , quite surprised nobody else is talking about it . Have contacted garmin and they took a week to reply with a standard email saying whats the problem
Download the latest version of Garmin Express & the app. They finally fixed the issue of Garmin Connect & the iPhone app (assuming you are on an iPhone) & the 620 not seeing each other & communicating properly. After updating everything, I was able to send workouts to my watch via USB cable before a run & then upload my activity via the iPhone app with no issues.
I’d really highly encourage you to call again. I encourage all folks to call. The answer is instant, versus waiting for whenever e-mail happens and then the excuse for them to delay further an answer. True of any company, unfortunately.
I’m really frustrated with Garmin Customer Service at this point.
With the reset issue I’ve been having after the 2.5 update (as many others have been having – as noted on the Garmin forums) I contacted them and it’s just been a total run-around. They want me to pay to ship my watch to get it “repaired”. A watch that had ZERO problems until I updated it to 2.5.
There’s no way in hell I’m paying for shipping! They also expect me to be without a watch for a certain period of time?? NO WAY! Is that a joke? I received the watch as a gift, so another thing I have to do if I want to send it back is get a receipt from the person who gave it to me.
UGH.
I’m not happy at all. In the past with my FR305, as other companies do when you are dealing with expensive items and potential unhappy customers, Garmin sent me a new watch right away along with a shipping label to send back my defective 305. Recently, my dad had an issue with his Kindle Fire and Amazon simply put a hold on his credit card and sent him a new one, when he received the new unit he sent the old one back.
That’s good customer service.
Get with it Garmin. Seriously.
Thank you so much for such an in depth review. It gave me the confidence to buy a 620 + HRM-Run last week to replace my six years old Forerunner 305. I live in UK and the best price I could find online was GBP 314.99 for 620 + HRM-Run. Things are cheaper for you guys in US!
Is the Garmin Express Fit app available from garminconnect.com? I can only find Garmin Express (which seems to work fine).
Garmin Express is the replacement for the Garmin Express Fit. I think the general idea is that Garmin Express will be able to manage all devices whereas “Fit” was just for the 220/620.
The price difference in the US is basically just a case of tax not being included in the price shown. I bought my 620 at retail for $450 + tax of almost 9% taking it to around $490. If you take the 20% UK tax (VAT) off what you paid it’s pretty similar. Before tax your purchase is £251.99/$421.83 so actually a bit cheaper than the pre-tax price in the US.
Of course lots of online stores over here don’t collect the tax depending on which state you’re in. In this case you’re supposed to voluntarily pay it via your annual tax returns (which I’m sure everybody does….)
Sorry if that was boring to most people but moving from the UK to the US it surprised me, as I’d always looked on enviously at US prices.
ps. of course Ray’s awesome discount at Clever Training does make it cheaper – if only I’d been willing to wait and get it through them than getting it a week or so earlier at the NYC Marathon expo…
Ran the hot chocolate series15 k race in Seattle last weekend and it recorded 9.27 miles , that seems decent , the connect software was buggy on windows 8.0 i literally could not enter my login and password info, upgraded to 8.1 and everything is working fine. The watch I got has been great so far.
Can you confirm that Garmin will be releasing an update to add a cycling mode to the 620? I have the 610 and would like to upgrade and keep reading that Garmin announced that they would release it in Q1 of 2014. I called Garmin Tech Support today and asked if they could confirm that an update would be available eventually and they said no. I would hate to spend the money to find out the plans to release the update got scratched.
So, are the older Garmins more accurate because they used Sirfstar IV chipsets, whereas the newer ones apparently use cheaper Mediatek ones? Wow, definitely not a wise decision by Garmin, as you get what you pay for and they’re now paying the price with so many people complaining about inferior GPS quality in the 620.
Wonder if those having GPS problems have Mediatek chipsets and the ones that don’t have Sirfstar IV. Is there a way I could check to ensure that if I buy the FR620 that it would I get the one with the better chipset?
I think FELLRNR’s data stuff is cool. I think it’s interesting. I’m impressed with his dedication to it. But it’s just a single segment on a single route he takes…over and over again. So while one could debate academically on that, I’m not sure that says anything more than his single unit on a single route repeated.
That’s the core reason I include comparisons across a broad range of runs in my review’s.
Fantastic review… I find your reviews to be the single best source of objective information about these products.
Just a note, however. A water resistent rating of 50m does not mean the watch can handle depths of 50 meters. I’m not sure how they decideded on these ratings, but a 50m watch is okay for general swimming but not diving.
They’re tested to 50m. All the major top of the line manufactures do test them to that. It’s one thing to look at a cheap watch that costs $15 and says that on the side (and might not really be).
But these companies do actually test them at those levels. I’ve seen it firsthand at Suunto, as well as the test clips from other companies like Bia.
No worries…I’ve got some new gear coming in later this spring being custom made to test exactly that on demand. :)
It won’t get the ability to hang out like a Smart Watch 24×7 and get text notifications. In talking with Garmin about it, the FR220/FR620 lack a lower power mode on the BT chipset that would enable this.
However, it could technically get a ‘while in workout’ mode text notifications. Whether or not they implement that remains to be seen. I suspect at the moment they’re fairly sidetracked with the GC2 fixes/etc, and thus I don’t expect we’ll see new features in that are (which is where I suspect this would come from) until things stabilize there.
Bill,
I missed the same feature when switching from my Polar 800 some weeks ago.
HR-zone information works fine whith using Garmin 620 data on Sporttracks: You can define your HR zones (as many as you want!) and apply those zones on all of your records ever imported. Import comes via USB from FR620 direct and is simple.
… If you are willing (at all), to use yet another tool for interpretation of FR 620 output.
kr, Reinhard
Is it possible for Garmin to add the swim feature to 620? I think that it is just a matter of a simple software update and I strongly recommend that Garmin should add it otherwise this product comparing with the new Fenix 2 it will result to a commercial failure as the latest has all 620 feature plus many more. And this is pity because I believe that 620 it is a good enough watch. So maybe we have to request from Garmin to add this feature as well as cycling feature in order for 620 to be more competitive.
Swimming: Technically, it’s probably possible. Realistically? Not a chance.
I’m not sure which product you’re looking at as “a commercial failure”, but by any metric I’d look at it, the FR620 is the most successful GPS running watch (by sales volume) of all time. And the Fenix2 appears to be far outselling expectations for what effectively an old physical unit with new software.
As for the cycling piece, it’s already being added as noted in the review – timeframe is spring.
By “commercial failure” I want to say that many people may prefer the new fenix2 instead of 620! By the way I own a 620 and I have to be more realistic and stop hoping for swim mode :) However I am very satisfied from the watch. And for once more thank you very much both for your time reading this and for you reply.
“Not a chance” for swimming is really disappointing. Do Garmin believe it would dilute the market for the Fenix2 if they added this? And maybe the Garmin Swim too?
I can see the argument but in my case I am considering selling the 620 and getting the Fenix2 just for the OWS support (though I need to try again with the swimming cap method after an unsuccessful first go which reported that I swam 1m in 30mins!) – but that would mean I lose Live Tracking which I use all the time, and the 620 is just a much better looking watch to wear during the day too (IMHO),
Anyway since that comment was a couple of months ago I just wanted to check if it is still definitive or if you have sensed any movement from Garmin on it?
Ultimately, Garmin segments watches into different categories – and this would be in the runners category. Even things that could have been fairly obviously related to running aren’t there (like Virtual Racer, course navigation, etc…).
Personally I’ve always believed that Garmin should tweak their model a bit and have a base platform that allows paid upgrades to different feature-sets. But, that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
Personally I’ve always believed that Garmin should tweak their model a bit and have a base platform that allows paid upgrades to different feature-sets.
That would be great – but I agree unlikely from Garmin. Would make an interesting Kickstarter project though if someone could figure it out.
I had/have several Forerunner watches (305, 405, 310XT, 910XT and 620) and I had nothing but problems!
Unbelievable!
At the moment, I have serious problems with my 620 (just like everyone else…)!
Everything worked ‘normal’ until there was an automatic update last week (via wifi!) and now…. my wifi doesn’t work anymore, Garmin Express fit doesn’t work no more and when connecting to their new system Garmin Express…. al data on my watch got erased!!!! And I can’t re-install wifi with Garmin Express because it doesn’t give me that opportunity… pffffffffff
Tonyh interesting, since last week WiFi does not work anymore for me, looks I am not only one… Although much slower BT upload to Ipad does work. I am afraid to do factory reset, advised by Garmin, since most of personal data get lost… You might give this a try. Good luck.
I went back and reinstalled garmin express fit (the old version that I first had when I got the 620) configured wifi there and now its fine.
Ray, previously you mentioned that the 620 is one of the companies highest selling units – do you know how many sold roughly? I’m curious because it feels like a barrage of bad press, but wonder how many people are actually having substantial issues.
I must say, I’m surprised you have still been responding to comments this far down the thread – legend.
Not exact units. They don’t disclose that. I know that pre-orders in the first month of the unit exceeded their entire annual forecast for the watch. I know from talking to multiple retailers that it’s by far been the most popular watch to date in terms of sales volume.
As for a ‘barrage of bad press’, the challenge is that people really only post if something is wrong. Be it here or the Garmin Forums. Thus even if you have less than 1% failure rate (which would be exceptional for a consumer electronic device of any type), those people invariably post here or the Garmin Forums – simply because it’s the most likely site to show up in search results. Usually before even bothering to call/engage support. So, let’s take 1%? Pretend there are 50,000 devices in the wild (it’s more). That means there are 500 people that might have a problem posting somewhere. And if we take a more normal 3%? Quite a bit more.
Which isn’t to say there aren’t bugs that Garmin had to solve (or could solve), there certainly are. But if everyone was having wide-spread problems I’d be seeing comments every single day on it here. But I’m simply not. I see a comment once every few days, and in many cases support (if the person chooses to engage) solves the issue and they’re up and going again. Just like most other consumer electronic devices.
Hi Ray, thank you very much for your detailed review. It convinced be to buy the FR 620 and overall I’m very happy with this watch. I wish race prediction and recovery time calculation were a bit more sophisticated than they are but otherwise I have nothing to complain about (no garmin connect wifi issues over here).
Oh, there’s one other thing and that’s actually the reason why I’m posting here. I created a training plan based on one of Garmin’s plans. All the workouts are nicely shown in the diary and could be transferred to the watch hassle-free. Unfortunately once I finished a workout and upload it to Garmin Connect it’s shown as an untitled activity and a new entry is created in the calendar. Is it supposed to be like this or am I missing something? I wish it would get the proper name (e.g. W02D3-Intervals) and would be recognised by the calendar as part of my training plan. At least the splits are transferred correctly.
Yeah, unfortunately none of the Garmin devices record the pre-scheduled workout name in the actual completed workout file. And thus, don’t do any correlation post-upload on Garmin Connect to scheduled vs completed.
Do you know if two users can share the same 620 watch? And maintain separate profiles? I’m guessing the answer is ‘no’ but I can’t find it anywhere… I really don’t see the need to regularly use the strap with the extra info, but I think my bf would love it. I would like, however, to be able to use it once in a while to check cadence etc. without messing with his statistics… thanks!
I’ll defer to Ray on the one watch two person issue (maybe possible if you have discrete upload options and don’t mingle them, but that’ll be super hard).
However, you can certainly share one heart rate monitor as long as you’re both not running together. But, given that the cool stuff for the 620 (what differentiates it from the 220) is all HRM functionality related I wonder if it is worth either spending the extra $50 (less with discounts) on the second HRM or buying the BF a 220 (which is a perfectly perfect watch for a newer/less insane runner).
As always, if Ray chimes in and overrules me I stand overruled…
Cadence is built in so you can see that without the HRM-Run although if you wear it comes from it due to be higher up the precedence order. You could share a strap but are you exactly the same size else would be a pain to have keep adjusting it.
There’s only one profile on the watch. You could definitely get two watches and share a HR strap, no problem there (obviously, only one at a time).
If you share a watch, the vast majority of items aren’t immacted. However, a few areas would be:
1) Recovery Advisor Data on the FR620
2) VO2Max data on the FR620
3) Calories
4) Treadmill paces without a footpod, since it would be calibrating constantly off a blend of both of you.
It would not impact cadence, since that’s calculated immediately. I’d agree with Luke that perhaps getting the BF a FR220 would be a better option.
it’s soooo difficult with two engineering nerds who run together *sigh*
He was having injury/issues and was very concerned with shoes, pace, cadence, form, recovery… whereas I’ve always been a random go-out-and-run-10miles-girl. I LOVE analyzing my pace and elevation gain, etc. so I love the gps factor in general. Neither of us use a gps but both want to. Now that my worsening bronchial asthma has had such a major affect on my running style (turned me into a walk/run/walk/run but can still maintain my old pace!) I’m wondering if I shouldn’t compare it to my heart rate data. Also, I’ve always wanted to understand my VO2Max etc. but never new how to collect that data…. choices choices.
Today there was (somehow) no GPS reception, and the accelerometer took over pretty fine. That said, even intervals showed higher speed than during W-up/C-down, so accelerometer stuff is not too bad.
WIFI does not work for a week or so. Then GC reminded me there is FW update 2.6. After erasing all FIT files from watch, Garmin Express reported no storage space on watch. At the end I tried Web updater and here I had more success. I upgraded to 2.6, re-installed Wifi link, and now GPS and Wifi are working again, for as long as it takes.-)
While wearing my garmin 620 inside on the treadmill, the avg pace it reads is close to 2 mins slower per mile than what the treadmill pace is reading. GPS is turned off on the watch. I do wear the HRM. Any ideas why it’s so far off?
Yeah, my results varied as well (as seen in the review). I have seen it get better with recent firmware updates. A couple things that help:
1) Keep it on the same wrist, whether indoors or outdoors, it’s ‘learning’ while outdoors and running
2) The unit uses GPS outdoors to calibrate, and does so across a broad range of paces. So while running outdoors, you’ll want to try and have as much data as possible included at various paces, so that when indoors on a treadmill you cover those paces well.
Thanks for the quick response. I do wear it on the same wrist everytime. As you mentioned, I’ll just have to get more runs outside w/various paces. Crazy how doing so will help with using it indoors.
Has anyone else found the recovery advisor to be worthless? For example, yesterday I ran 12.7 miles in the morning at 6:57 pace (1 minute slower than marathon pace) and it said I needed 22 hours to recover. Then in the evening I ran the exact same route at 6:42 pace. First it beeped and said my recovery was good, and at the end of the run it said I needed 10 hours to recover. Huh?
So this morning I go for a run, and despite running 25.4 miles the day before it said my recovery level was good. Come on, I was totally spent.
I’ve been using the watch for over 2 months, so it has a lot of history on me by now.
Mark,
I have the same experiences with the ‘recovery advisor’ function and therefore turned it off. In my opinion it is one in a row of new features that are quite worthless (others in that row: Ground Contact Time / Oscillation Figures / Elevation Figures). As to that specific recovery figure: Similar information is provided by ‘efficiency’ a (new) key figures in a range from 1-5 that – in my opinion – gives a fair picture of (extended) recovery needs.
Finally: Important to say at this level of criticism: I am generally very satifisfied with my FR 620 and cannot verify most of the negative feedbacks that are given (sometimes) here but more often on Garmin’s FR 620 forum.
In deciding whether to buy new FR620 vs whatever else is on the market, it appears from DCrainmaker’s Polar V800 preview that these severe Recovery limitations have been properly solved on the V800:
“Training Load and Recovery: This is designed to provide a holistic picture of training load and recovery. This is similar to other load/recovery systems that you see within other platforms such as Training Peaks and TSS (Training Stress Score)…
The workout data is then combined with historical data to determine your recovery times. The unit will use the previous 14 weeks of training history to help determine these recovery times. In addition, it’ll account for other activity from that day. For example, if you spent the first 4 hours of the day at the mall walking around like a madman doing last minute Christmas shopping, and then you ran 15 miles, it’ll compensate for the fatigue from both.”
Based on this alone, I have pre-ordered the V800 instead, despite the fact that I don’t cycle nor swim. I’m surprised that Garmin’s latest premium running watch is still in the dark ages in terms of real actionable recovery feedback.
Ray, is Garmin planning on fixing this gap, anytime soon on the FR620 or would they need a different watch to solve this huge limitation?
Sorry, I changed the name of the figure without noticing : Correct name is ‘training effect’ given in the HR-Overview of any FR 620 workout [Similar key figure in different scale is also available in Sporttracks (called ‘Effort’)].
Today I did a long run, and had following observations:
1. watch does not show seconds in total time, I believe once 1h has passed. This is weird for high-end watch.
2. I covered 21.2km, and total time shown post-workout was 2h and 6 seconds (I stopped the watch when minute and hour incremented).
3. I have not been that far with this watch so I received personal best, longest distance and best half marathon.-)
4. However half marathon is rounded 21.1km, interestingly the watch says 2h and 5 seconds as personal best.
Bottom line, some strange rounding is happening, but maybe I am too sensitive to number accuracy.-)
Thanks Matt, will move overall-time field to top, glad to read there is way to get seconds back.
But this does not solve the accuracy issue. How comes the total covered distance is 21.2km at 2.00.06, and a PR of HM (21.1 rounded) is stored at 2.00.05, where I have seen live the HM point reached just before the 2h mark.
Side note: In GC I noticed the begin and end-point of GPS track is at very different places then were I started-stopped the 620 (with most recent FW for GPS+620).
This watch keep on surprises me.-)
I believe any time a distance is “near” a race distance, it essentially takes the total time.
For example, if you ran a 10K (6.21 miles) and it had 6.3 miles, it would take the total time to account for extra distance you ran during the race.
It’s like when people race on a track, they may be in the 5000m, but running wide on the turns causes them to run 5050m. The official time is still for 5000m.
so the fix for the PRs in the watch not matching the PRs in Garmn Connect is to send any and all old PRs logged with an older model watch to the 620 from Garmin Connect. I started running with the 620 and started getting “new” PRs that were not really my PR’s. After i saw that i could send them from Garmin Connect to the watch i obviously did so. All my real PRs overwrote the new fake ones so my watch now shows my true best.
OK so I apologize in advance if this has been answered already, I tried scanning the thread but it is TL;DR. I ran for the first time with the 620 on a treadmill and it was way off. I forgot the heart strap so I am wondering if it is the watch that is off and if the heart strap will increase the accuracy for the treadmill somehow. I turned the GPS off but it kept resetting my workout by itself so I ended up with like 3 separate runs. It was only a 35 treadmill session. I ordered a foot pod but I read that it is difficult to pair the foot pod and garmin suggests that it is not needed, however it was off by like 1.5 miles and had the pace nearly 30% slower on a 35 min run.
I don’t believe the HR strap measures distance, only cadence and the other running dynamics.
DC has stated the accelerometer varies and is only accurate closer to regular pace. Running slower or faster throws it off. Also, it requires some time to get the calibration right with numerous runs outside.
I use the footpod for my 620 when on the TM, it’s easy to pair and finds it right away. Also, much more accurate. Again, you also need to calibrate it by running outside.
So I had my 620 since november and I really like the watch, but unfortunately I’ve had issues with bluetooth livetracking from day 1. Constant disconnects and if i’m lucky, reconnects. I’ve updated each firmware with issues still. Have master reset and still issues. I’m on my 2nd 620 and did a run today, I was pessimistic at first but after the first 1.5 miles, I didn’t have any issues with it disconnect. Finally thought I had it fixed. Then wham, at mile 1.7 it disconnect. It disconnected and reconnected 15 times for the 8.2 mile run. I had 7 disconnects between 1.7 and 3.4 miles. After 3.4 miles, it didn’t reconnect again until mile 4.2. There were times where it reconnected after I stopped it at a red light, only for it to disconnect the minute I started moving again and hit start. There was even a point when I was running that it connected and then proceeded to disconnect while the “phone connect” batter was still on the screen.
And if you’re wondering, no it’s not the phone. I’ve used 2 friends’ 220s with no issue on multiple runs up to 16 miles with no issues.
Looks like I’ll be exchanging for the Fenix 2, it can’t use ant+ and bt at the same time, but considering my luck with the bt on the 620, it doesn’t really matter.
In the review Ray writes about the Virtual Partner: “The unit will then tell you how far ahead or behind that virtual pacer you are, in both distance and time”
I can only see the difference in time, but would really love to have it in distance as well. How??
Great job on the reviews and all of the other stuff Ray!!
You write that the watch has an internal accelerometer that measures cadence, but Garmin on link to youtube.com say the accelerometer is in the HRM strap.
No thinking involved. Both are correct. The FR620 contains an internal accelerometer that does cadence calculation. However, the HRM-RUN that’s compatible with the FR620 also does cadence calculation. The HRM-RUN strap will override the cadence calculation on the internal unit, because it’s not susceptible to arm-swing events that could change (like drinking from a water bottle). Check out the HRM-RUN (Running Dynamics) section for more details.
Hi Ray
You wrote the following on the section about “Treadmill running and Internal Accelerometer”
“Once that’s done you can go ahead and specify the calibration factor if you know it”
What’s a “calibration factor”?
I mean I know what the definition of Calibration factor, or at least what google says it is but what does it mean on a watch like the FR 620 or the new Fenix 2? How do I find the calibration factor for me?
I tried going thru the posts at the end but this far there are 1843 posts and replies etc… if its in there I couldn’t find it.
Hi Ray
Thanks for great reviews!
I do a lot of off road running. Any specific concerns using the 620 in this environment?
Also, Do you know if the two 620 colour options are unisex? I’ve seen the white/orange version described as ‘ladies’.
Best regards
No specific concerns there, that aren’t otherwise shared with any GPS unit. Which is that off-roading is the most difficult for any GPS, because of tree cover, quick turns, etc…
Are you able to see altimeter/ elevation readings on the 620 while running or is it only on garmin connect afterwards? Sorry if you already mentioned, I couldn’t find it in the review.
I’m trying to decide between Suunto Ambit 2R or 620. Mostly used for trail running.
Ray, could you add some additional comparison field to your tables where you compare different devices?
In this case resolution of time alerts (and autolap based on time). 620 has only increments of 5 seconds which to me is too limited.
Why? well suppose one want to run/swim 10 laps timed at 1.42, leading to 17minutes, e.g. on 500m running track (total 5K) or in pool (10 times 100m: 1000m). With the 5 seconds increments, only 16.40(1.40) or 17.30 (1.45) is available.
Maybe Fenix2 is doing better here? I expect Polar and Suunto’s are doing better on this.
Would be good to be able to compare these kind of metrics, however I do understand it requires time investment from you.
Interval function on watch, has only 5s increments too, probably due to combination scroll/touch-screen functionality.
But when using workouts feature in GC, there is 1s resolution available, so we are good here!
Having on-device features are great, but it would be good to make it clear to potential users/buyers, there are some limitations.
Will text/e-mail notifications eventually be available with this watch….it seems from a hardware perspective it’s possible. Any word that there will be a software update to include this with the 620?
Hello, and thank you for these really good reviews you’re making!
I’ve got a FR 610 and since a couple of weeks the vivofit. Now I’ve purchased the FR 620. Because of the non existing tanitasituation I will keep my 610 (yes, there ARE people who travel with their scale:)).
Now the thing: Besides running I usually use my FR 610 when walking the dog, too. Now I understand the FR 620 isn’t the good choice for walking. Am I right, that I should either take the FR &610 or only the vivofit when walking? And: Would any activities from other devices stored at GC be transferred to the FR 620 considering recovery time? Or, would it be a better idea to walk with the FR 620 but not take on the HRM? In my experience the “results” from walking are very similar with or without the strap.
The calories are similar for walking simply because the math works out that way as the heart rate isn’t elevated. so it becomes mostly a simple mass*distance calculation.
Right now, taking both will result in the duplicate data. But ultimately within a few weeks or so, it’ll be a non-issue as it’ll automatically take the high quality data and then when the Vivofit sync’s it would see the FR620 walks. Thus, long term I’d use the FR620 on the walks.
Just wondering if the mini Duracell device you reviewed with the 310xt works with the Garmin 620?
I’ve also heard of people using the Power Monkey Discovery portable charger (not the Garmin branded type) – here is the link: link to powertraveller.com
Have you had any experience with the Power Monkey Discovery? And if so, do you know if it’s compatible with the Garmin 620?
As for the Duracell specifically, I don’t quite know where mine is at the moment. But I tried it out on two similar ones (the Power Monkey Solar), and then an external USB battery park. They all work the same way though, supplying power to the unit that doesn’t trip as a mass storage device.
Unfortunately, any power applied to the unit immediately goes into standby mode (fwiw, the Fenix2 does not, it allows continual power).
No, unfortunately not. There’s actually no GPS running watch I’m aware of that allows two separate person profiles. It’s mostly because companies want you to buy separate watches.
That said, you can create two Garmin Connect accounts and then simply upload the data individually to the appropriate account.
hi
under settings system format running speed or pace
what does that function do? why the need to close one since u can see both on the activity screen
Do you have any idea why in the table where all our running activities appeared in Garmin Connect doesn’t appear the Running dynamics (vertical oscilation and Ground contact) in order to compare them with the past activities??? I have seen that the only reference is the Avg Run Cadence received from the watch but not from heart rate monitor. Any idea if they are going to update the table by adding also these data? It is confusing to have to open all the past activities in order to compare them.
I expect we’ll probably see some trending in graphs/reports as things transition to GC2 in the coming months, as there’s no real work going on with the older variant of GC. Right now though, I’m honestly just happen when an activity opens up successfully at all in GC.
Is there any update of when a cycling or other sport mode will be added. I am loving this watch so far and adding the cycle mode will just make it top watch ever.
hey there… have you heard of size issues with the HRM strap that comes with the Forerunner 620? My Forerunner 210 strap was better fitting than this new one. I have it on the smallest fitting but it’s still loose. I am not petite but thin and prefer my last strap than this new one. Garmin is no help. I wonder if the “premium” strap is different than that which comes in the bundle? I misplaced my Forerunner 620, so I need to purchase a new one :( Would be nice if this GPS-enabled device could have a similar function as the “find my iPhone” functionality in case of theft or loss. here goes another $450….
I haven’t heard of anyone with strap length issues. The HRM3 and HRM-RUN (which is the strap that comes with the FR620) are identical, just different pods. One thing that some folks do in general if the strap is too long is to tie a knot in it. Kinda annoying, I agree, but it would be an option.
Another item you can do is that you can actually swap the pod from the HRM-RUN to the FR210 strap. They all are interchangeable. Or, you could just use your FR210 strap (except, you won’t get Vertical Oscillation and Ground Contact Time).
After overcoming both hardware/FW issue, I finally start liking my 620.
I started using the workout feature, and within one workout I am able to mix and match intervals/segments based on speed/HR/distance. On-site designing workouts, upload to watch, and then trying to nail the workout.
I am using Ray tricks to get HR readings proper, wetting strap, watering chest before applying strap. On top of this I also wet T-shirt where strap is located. Then in most case HR readings are fine. Seems there is some smoothing/averaging done to avoid spikes, with as result the response time is slow. But this seems acceptable. Furthermore, I am using Band-Aid to avoid chafting.
Your blog post a while back mentioning cycling mode for spring also mentioned a sooner update for footpod calibration. Any idea what’s happened to that?
On Garmin Connect is there a way to track shoe mileage? I really want to get the 620, but find the shoe mileage tracking on Nike+ that I am a bit reticent to give it up.
Not on Garmin Connect, and people have been requesting it for years.
Consider an independant site such as RunningAhead.com that does track “equipment” and has a good setup for building your own training plans. I’ve been using it in parallel to Garmin Connect with my 610 for quite a while.
Thanks for the response. What a disappointment. I am not sure I want to give up the ease of shoe trackng. I rely on it greatly and I don’t have enough free time for tracking in multiple places.
If you want a premium solution SportTracks is another option. It fully supports the Garmin 620 including the Running Dynamics stuff (vertical oscillation & ground contact time).
As far as the gear tracking goes it’s amazingly robust – distance and lifetime tracking, subparts (tires, insoles), prediction of when you need to replace things, plugins for maintenance reminders, yadda.
We have a handful of users that track 10 pieces of gear on workouts. Pretty crazy actually.
And I think there is a plugin to suck all your Nike+ data in too…. maybe. :)
Couple of thoughts. First is I’d be cautious about entrusting your entire history to one vendor if you value having that historic info. One simple policy change could lock it up preventing export elsewhere, or one serious database screwup and your data is gone. Not trying to be Chicken Little, the chances are of course small, but they do exist and you should weight that against the valu you place on your historic data.
Second, as this file becomes more crowded with different devices and manufacturers, it is possible the allure of a different platform may become strong. Do you want to also have to weigh losing your prior data as part of the cost of making a switch?
These are the reasons I do make the effort to sling my data up to RA. Thbiggest reason is simply that RA allows me to build my own training plans and then schedule / modify / re-use them. That, the shoe tracking, and a some reportinging capabilities make it worth uploading my data there. My 610 auto syncs data to Garmin Connect so it’s not like I have much additional work to do other than copy/past my notes/comments from one browser window to another.
BTW, there are some platforms that can keep things in sync, I’m not sure of the effect of some recent Garmin policy changes w.r.t. API access from this parties. Ray had a good post a few months back on syncing up different platforms.
I really think those days are behind us for fitness websites. The industry is now going on almost 10 years, cloud infrastructure is mature at this point.
Today the risk of data loss is ~nil for the major players that have corporations behind them (ie. aren’t just hobby projects run by some random person in their free time).
A development team competent enough to put up a scalable web infrastructure to serve 10x thousands of users will make disaster recovery a priority. A commercial website (taking subscription payments or advertiser revenues) will make it a priority for business risk reasons.
If anything the bigger risk is people who -ONLY- store workouts on their PC or mobile phone. Between the people who have no clue they *need* to make backups, those that aren’t technically capable, and those that forget, or simple have busy lives and other things to worry about (can you blame them??)…
Trust me – I get these emails every month: “umm… it turns out I didn’t have a backup, any chance you can restore from the cloud?”
So at a minimum I would strongly urge an online solution that manages your data. Not an online backup. Not dropbox. An actual fitness application, that just works. Garmin Connect is a good fallback option (if you use a Garmin device)
Policy changes are an *ENTIRELY* different matter. TL;DR: I agree with you completely.
Data portability is a thorny issue also. Here is a concrete example for you:
Endomondo doesn’t have an API to access your data. So nobody can build apps to backup or share your data (unlike most other websites out there). They have even actively blocked apps who hacked access (tapiriik).
They also don’t have a bulk export. There is a 3 year old request for this. So you can’t click a button and get a backup to export your data.
So how do you get your data? Click each workout and export. One. By. One. Technically you can get that data. So you could.. in theory… move to another website. But who is gonna do that? Click through 1,000 workouts? 2,000? No thanks.
Endomondo has 50 bazillion users, so… most people don’t care apparently. LOL.
Aaron, just to clarify I wasn’t referring to catastrophic data loss affecting the entire or even a significant portion of the user base. Instead I had in mind the sort of hiccups/overwrites that can affect individual users as may have happened recently to some Garmin Connect users at this thread and others: link to forums.garmin.com
Ray,
Just looking through the Garmin forums trying to see if anyone is putting a date to bringing back cycling functions for the 620. Found this page and laughed. It seems that you are well connected! Not that I really had any doubts. link to forums.garmin.com
Ray,
My bike has been broken for three weeks now waiting for parts that are unavailable where I life and I picked up running instead. I’m reasonably fit but a total nitwit regarding running. I picked up the 620 because of that and it’s been great to me. It does what I expect from it. At my novice level I’m comfortable with the recovery estimates as a useful guideline not to do too much in the beginning. Also, I have uploaded a marathon training plan to the watch. It has made waiting for my bike parts that little bit more bearable and who knows you/the watch might have converted me into a runner of sorts. Thanks for the great review and making my choice for a running watch an easier one. One question, how big is a marathon training plan, do I need to worry about storage space when I log multiple long runs?
Thanks,
Allard
Thanks a lot for your reply. Btw I feel guilty commenting and asking questions when I didn’t buy the device through you. The risk with (Thai) customs just didn’t make sense especially when living almost right next to a Garmin shop. Anyway I have used the watch on ten runs now and two thing I find a little annoying. I always need the back light on continuously when running because I run at five in the morning when its still cool (only 29 C.) but then I need to turn it of again after the run to not drain the battery accidentally which happens very easily and has happened to me already. An automatic ‘always on back light during activity only’ would be most useful. It’s quite a few steps into the setup and easy to make a mistake. Also, I don’t use the Running Dynamics screen when running but I believe in order to turn off the screen you also have to turn off the running dynamics? Is there a way to only turn off the screen? I still want to analyze the running dynamics after the run.
I should probably post this on the Garmin forum but perhaps you spoil your readers with your fast and clear replies too much…
thanks again!
Allard
@Allard / question2
I can answer that question from my personal experience: Just turn the runningdynamics screen off – you won’t lose any RD-data as you will recognice after transferring workout data to GC ( as long as you fix the HRM-transmitter in the correct position …).
kr, Reinhard
Do you know if the garmin PRs are calculated from any point to any other point. Most watches I’ve used only measure PRs starting on mile boundaries. (so if I start a fast mile at 1.5 and end at 2.5 it won’t count)
Love your reviews!! I have the 620 and had no problems for the first 3 months. Last week for some reason the screen showing mileage and pace stay blank? I must have turned something off but dont know what. Now all I end up with is total time. Can you help please?
Hmm, that’s definitely odd. If it hasn’t happened again, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If it does happen again, i’d ring up Garmin support and see if they have a fix for it.
Am I the only one having problems with the wifi connection??
I just can’t get the watch to recognize my wireless network. Even when I set it up manually, go for a run, and then try to make a transfer, it won’t work. I can only make a transfer if the watch is connected via the usb cable
‘Your’ wifi-connection problem is mine and that of many others. Comes with firmware updae 2.60 und has not been fixe yet.
see more at link to forums.garmin.com
i have seen some problem for initial connection, when i started to configure wifi options via Garmin Express on my Mac – choosing preffered network, setting up password, etc but seem to not work. everytime i pressed “connect” on the watch it said “please set up network from pc” or smth like that. I did the set up again from the old windows pc instead of apple mac and it worked out instantly. maybe this will help.
I’ve just bought the 620 and I was wondering if the battery lifetime is affected in time , if I use only the USB connection for uploading the data. I’ve seen that it is recommended to charge the battery complete , but in this case the unit is connected only a few minutes. Should I let the unit to be fully charged each time when I use the USB ?
Thanks !
Hi, may I ask how the indoors running exactly works (without footpod)? I didn’t find an option anywhere in the watch and it’s not really clear to me from the review either. Do I just start the watch as if I would go for an outside run and start the treadmill once the watch is ready?
Thanks Ray! I find it very hard to find out about these things using Garmin resources. Usually the best option seems to be to have a look at your review and ask a question in the comments if necessary. Does Garmin provide some kind of comprehensive manual for the device? I couldn’t find anything apart from the short manual that was included in the box.
Thank God, all my problems with the Forerunner 620 are solved!
How?
I sold this piece of crap!!!!
Never again Garmin, never again listening to the bullshit Rainmaker pushing customers towards buying Garmin!
Take a look at almost all his answers when people ask for advice which watch to buy, he almost always send them towards crap Garmin!
Also Rainmaker, something I read on another forum about your reviews, especially about GPS accuracy: you always compare one watch with other watches to indicate that the distance measuring accuracy between the two or more watches is within / without limits.
But your NEVER test the watches against KNOWN distances, eg an official 5 or 10 KM.
I still have the Forerunner 910xt (thanks to the ‘wonderful’ original review of Rainmaker!) but this piece of crap I will throw away once I get my Suunto and later my Polar V800!
So, bye Rainmaker! I deleted your weblog from my favourites!
Ray is not Garmin support. People were bringing him issues without even trying Garmin first. He’s been pretty up front with Garmins blunders so he’s obviously not shilling for them. As an early adopter you might be disappointed with a product. Oh well. Sell it, move on. And if you think those other products won’t be rife with bugs, you’re out of your mind.
That said, ‘never’ is a strong word in your statement, since I’ve done testing against measured distances multiple times: link to dcrainmaker.com
But, don’t let accuracy get in the way of a good rant.
Of course, the reality is that while testing against shorter roller distances is good fun, testing against a 5K or 10K is pretty much useless, since your chance of getting within a few percent of that distance by running again is actually really difficult. Thus, it’s far more useful in longer-distance tests to tests against a bunch of units across real runs in real conditions and see where they stand.
Finally, TonyH, I do ask that if you post here, you use the same name each time – rather than changing the name each time to pretend you’re different people.
Oh, and one last little thing – I found it kinda funny that when you recently listed your FR620 for sale on another site, you actually ‘borrowed’ one of my photos for your listing. I suppose thus it’s sorta ironic you also then linked to the review (I appreciate that).
Rainmaker makes some reviews and you like me if we want we can read them in order to have a better understanding about the products. I don’t think that Ray has pressed as to buy one or another product, he just makes a review. If you don’t like him you can stop read his reviews, but I really cannot understand why you have to complaint here. If you are good enough create a blog like Ray and make also your proposals if you are better from Ray in your reviews I am sure that you will have your own funs, otherwise stop behaving like a 6 years old kid. Your choices are not Ray’s or any other responsibility is yours.
Hi Ray.
Have you had any conversations with Garmin as to whether they will add FITNESS EQUIPMENT connections which will support the PM4 to their future updates?
No, it’s not currently on the docket. I think you’ll see support for that in the running watches die-off entirely. I do however think you’ll see it eventually show back up in the cycling units…
I might be a bit late to the party on this… but my Garmin site has been updated to the new garmin modern look.(I had the choice to do so)… if geographical location is important…. I’m in Ontario Canada. Keep up the great work Ray!!! Thanks for everything. And from one photographer to another…nice burn on the person using your photo :)
To follow up…I really like the layout of the modern look, and I love how it is customizable. The only complaint so far is that when I make a custom dashboard, and I add a an item to it such as Personal Records, it is defaulted to mini view (that has no info)…it would be nice to be able to set it to full view by default. Perhaps this is possible, but I haven’t found it yet. link to dropbox.com
I have had my 620 since March 4th. It has worked great until the last two days. It will not connect to my home Wi-fi anymore to upload data. It just comes up with a message saying, “Cannot find a known Wifi network” or “No Wifi network available”.
I reset the watch, reconnect to garmin express and made sure the Wifi network was there. I tried everything and it did connect once after that but said there was no data to transfer. I have read other people having the same problem of the watch connecting for a month or two and then just won’t connect anymore.
I have been able to upload data through my iPhone app, but the Wifi is what I need.
Anyone else report this problem or know how to fix it?
I had a very similar issue with my 620, wifi failing repeatedly after several months of successful wifi uploading. All the while BT uploads to the phone still worked properly. I re-installed Garmin Express Fit (the old wifi configuring tool), and got wifi uploads working again.
That being said, when I experienced the issue, my Garmin Express was no longer showing the “Manage Networks” link on the device page. I chalked it up to an issue with Express, and reverted to Express Fit. A fews days later now, Garmin Express is again showing the Manage Networks link.
I went into the Manage Networks page and deleted the network and then re-added it. It then connected and said No files to transfer. Maybe it will start working now. It is a hassle.
Well, I have had to reset the Wifi on the watch a few more times.
Now it seems to connect but it always comes up and says Transferring… then it will say 1 File Failed. Even though it says that the file was uploaded. Have you seen this?
it was same for me. glad i had an old windows pc. installed old version of garmin express with another style of menu and it worked fine. even now when i am back on garmin express on my mac, earlier preset networks work fine. even i have added one network from mac. seems to be some kind of initial setup of wifi. on old pc interface they ask for password two times. firstly after initial setup and later on for saving network options. i think that was the case
There appears to be a bug in how the 620 calculates the speed it displays on screen. I’ve observed that at high speeds (i.e., flying) the display speed “maxes out” at 235.9km/hr -even when we clearly are moving multiples faster than that. I have not had this problem with my old forerunner 405, and quite enjoyed having the watch on to tell me speed and altitude throughout my flights.
My 620 will not accurately report speeds faster than the 235.9km “ceiling”. Ironically, the watch actually “knows” how fast we are going – as evidenced by the fact that the lap paces it reports are correct (e.g., 4 seconds per km), though it will display a fixed speed of 235.9km/hr.
In addition, after downloading the data to garmin connect, there are quite glaring and colossal errors in the speed numbers displayed. E.g., on a recent flight I measured using the 620 the, the activity summary correctly shows distance traveled as 3,487km and the time as 4:15:42 (hrs:min:sec) – also correct. But is shows the average speed as 110.5km/hr – which is grossly incorrect!!! So the hardware seems fine, we’re accurately measuring distance, time, altitude, but are not reporting speed (in km/hr or miles/hr) correctly. As a check I used both my forerunner 620 and 405 on this flight and they agreed on everything except speed. And the speed on the 405 was within 1-2km/hr reported by the plane (peaked at about 965km/hr).
I’ve seen the same in a few other Garmin fitness devices semi-recently (last 1-2 years), while using while flying. I asked once a while back, never got a good answer there.
Have just invested in a 620 and thought that I would test it out this last weekend.
Seem to function on the run as expected, I was using the HRM as well. Can’t comment on route mapping and running dynamics as I seem to have lost the activity as described below.
The issue I experienced was when I came to download the data from the device and upload to Garmin Connect. I am using a Mac (OS X) and I went to the website and selected the “Get Started” button which then downloaded the Garmin Express software which I then installed. It prompted to discover a device and I placed the 620 in USB connector which it then found. It prompted that there were updates to install( including firmware 2.60 and some others) which I opted to install but the progress bar got to about 10% and then seemed to hang for a long time. After a long period of no activity I decided to try and reset the connection. I removed the device from the connector and it stayed in USB mode for a while before going back to Run mode. I closed and reopened the software application but it just seems to be very very flaky. Either not discovering the device and then when it did it would just hang and not update.
I then opted to try the Windows version of the software and repeated the above steps on a Windows 7 virtual machine running on VMware Fusion. Here it seemed to update correctly and even tried to sync, however it said that there were no activities. I checked the device and my run from earlier in the day was gone, showing “No Saved Activities” when going into History. I also checked the “Activities” folder via the data connection and it too was empty, no .FIT files. I am convinced that I opted to “Save” the activity when I completed it however in the connection / sync process it seems to have vanished! I recall selecting Save, but might not have selected “Done” after it displays the summary, not sure if this would then loose the activity. My totals were still listed as were PB / PRs for the run but the activity itself gone! Also, the PB / PRs would not upload to Connect, not sure if this is by design and it will only upload these when an activity is uploaded.
Starting to doubt the fact that I did save the activity, I did a test. I started a “run” and let it go for about 10secs, stopped it and then saved. Checked it was visible on the device in History > Activities and then tried connecting it again via USB and to the Mac. I struggled again with it discovering the device and at some stage the activity was definitely lost i.e. no longer on the device and not uploaded to Connect. I also did not have the option selected to delete / remove on upload. Not sure if this is only related to the Mac version of the software, I did manage to sync another test activity using the Windows software but was getting very frustrated so didn’t do any more to see if some would get lost using the Windows software too.
Looking at various posts online this does seem to be a bit of an issue with lost activities. As a workaround and not wanting to loose any more activities I have configured the WiFi option on the 620 for Auto-upload. My thinking is if I do not have to connect to the computer perhaps I will have more luck. This was problematic on the Mac in itself. Although the option is available in Express and lets me select the SSID and set the key, this does not seem to save to the device. Once disconnected and the “Connect” button pressed it still says configure via Express…Aaah! I did the same on the Windows software and when you save the SSID it opens a logon prompt for Connect online and then seems to have been saved on the device. I performed another test activity and it was uploaded automatically over WiFi so hopefully this will be the end of my issues.
Not sure if anyone has had a similar experience or can offer any advice?!
No, an oft and long requested featured that’s never been implemented on either display or Garmin Connect. There are many sites that do however, and can easily pull the Garmin data.
Hi Ray, as I totally agree with Max’s “request” I’m wondering which site(s) you could suggest for this reason among the “many sites” you mentioned? Thanks!
(I still couldn’t decide whether to invest into a Garmin missing this really basic function – let’s say a basic calculation and a screen – I can not understand how Garmin can afford to miss it…)
Interestingly the now somewhat defunct Garmin Training Center does and this does work with a 620. I still use it as my quick lookup of my runs over the years – now 10 years with GPS devices!
Ray, with Boston coming up I would have expected something from the Garmin folks, am I off on the product cycle and they’re just waiting for the NYC Marathon?
We saw lots of running products announced last fall, and then the cycling stuff last week (+ new Vector pods today). Typical product cycle is 2 years. Thus, about the only things left out right now are some of the lower-end running devices.
Obviously, given it’s Tuesday (Garmin almost always announces on a Tuesday at 7AM), there’s nothing coming for Boston.
I face the following problem: I have used the HRM run since February 2014 and in the last two runs after 4-5 klm the HRM run suddenly stops transmitting heart rate data to the 620 (all the other running dynamics are appearing correctly except from heart rate data) . Does anyone has any idea why this is happening??? Any advice, should I return it back to Garmin or to try sth else first???
Thanks for reading
I am using my 620 for insanity classes as well as running outdoors. I turn of the GPS and use wth HRM but I am sure that the calories lost during the class is inaccurate compared to when I am running outside. I mean really low like 200 !!! and I am working really hard. Am I doing something wrong or do I need a footpod ???? Please help.
You’ll want to validate that your user profile settings are correct (gender/age/etc…). That does seem a bit low, but it’s hard to say exactly. I’d also look at ensure the HR reading feel/look accurate.
Calorie burn on any device out there is rarely 100% accuracy, but usually in the general ballpark.
Hi, any idea to upload an activity without a PC/Notebook? Ok, pre-configured (mainly home) wifi connection, but what can I do for example abroad or at the countryside? Having mobile phone/tablet with me. Any solution to upload using the mobile app and the existing bluetooth connection? At least in the near future? Thanks!
You could configure your mobile phone as an WLAN access point. After first configuration you should be able to upload activity wherever your mobile phone has online access via the standard way.
Thanks! It works well while using a mobile network and a wifi connection can be shared. (I thought this connection use a dinamic password, but since it is constant, I can pre-configure it with Garmin Express). The only left question is, while I’m abroad, having no mobile data network, but hanging on a wifi with the phone. In this case I can not use the wifi sharing, only bluetooth connection can be shared – but the watch is looking for a wifi connection. Maybe I’m wrong, but still don’t see the solution in this latter case.
Ray, thanks for great review and 100s of responses above.
I am trying to figure out if Garmin has finally made it possible to download Training Plans/synchronize Training Calendar via WiFi?
Initially this was not possible but I saw some mention in a few posts that it may be added at a late date.
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Has anyone heard any updates on the possibility of adding a bike mode? I know they are focused on other things (mostly bugs?) at the moment, but it would be nice to have an idea on if that is going to happen anytime remotely soon (next few months maybe?)
Thanks!
I know the VO2 max has been discussed before, but I don’t have a question about the accuracy of the projected race times, but a question about how the score compares to the score in Daniel’s running formula.
I got a new VO2 max today and the times are roughly what I think I can do, but when I looked up my score in Daniels the race times he gives are much more aggressive there is no way I could get near his times. The marathon time is 8 minutes faster than the Garmin time and the HM time is over 3.5 minutes faster.
Any idea why the race times could be so far out? Is it that the Garmin VO2 score is an approximate score whereas Daniels scores have been done under laboratory conditions?
After producing a VO2Max value, it then compares that against a lookup table. In the case of the FR620, it’s using data from the Cooper Institute (link to cooperinstitute.org) to determine the correlation between VO2Max + Age + Gender and a potential max race time. It’s a straight lookup with those three items to determine absolute fastest potential time. It does not take into account any of your recent runs.
Ultimately, as to why Daniel’s is different than Cooper, it’s just using different assumptions. There are many other methods out there as well on different sites. No single method is perfect.
Rainmaker – thanks for the quick reply. It makes more sense now.
Great review for a great watch. Reading over some of the comments here I feel very fortunate. Received mine on 2 Jan and it worked perfect right out of the box. I jokingly told a friend “it’s like it was designed by Apple”. Ray thanks for you hard work and diligence to detail in these reviews.
Is there a way to check the accuracy of the GPS info on the 620? My Forerunner 305 shows my distances shorter (3.17miles vs 3.25 miles or so on a fairly standard run I do) and speed slower than I am getting by using the 620. The 620 shows me going farther and faster than the 305 but I wonder if this is really accurate. If it is inaccurate, how can I adjust the 620?
Hi Rainmaker,
I have a problem with my FR620, not sure whether you can help. The watch cannot get the GPS signal once I start it, the signal bar display only 2-3 bars and it never go to the running mode. However, it looks ok when I start running and display both pace and distance. the problem is, after the run I upload the run into Garmin connect and Strava, both of them doesn’t show the map. And the programs think that I was running on the treadmill. I try to restore the factory default and it doesn’t work. The watch didn’t even change the time automatically as before. Do you know how to fix this please? Thank you very much for you reply.
Natchanan
link to forums.garmin.com
Please check out this thread on Garmin forums if you have recently started having problems getting a GPS fix.
Known bug, see the Garmin Forums. Garmin messed up with GPS Software update v2.90. I’d either fire their QA staff or they don’t have enough testers.
Just a quick update as well from my side on the foot pod bug:
I ran for 1h and I got 15,5 Km from the Forerunner 620 with the foot pod.
After that I direclty imported the session to Sportrack and I got 14,14 Km.
I tried the same without external foot pod and everything was fine
Just to share with you :)
The 620 does not provide interval alerts at 1second. The lowest interval alert is 5 seconds. Which for any athlete training on an athletics track and wanting to know splits at a predetermined point (say every 100 metres), or wanting to know 1k splits in a 5-10k race, makes this watch totally useless. I spoke with Garmin. They weren’t aware of this basic fact, but have no immediate plans to rectify it. And they confirmed that their software people are techies, they never use the watches themselves as athletes. So, a £300 sports watch cannot do what a £25 kids watch can do. Unbelievable. All the gear, no idea. I have now reverted to my £50 Timex. I doubt I will look at a Garmin product ever again.
UK Ebayers, keep your eyes peeled for my 620. No reasonable offer refused.
Who uses a GPS watch on a track? Lol
You want 1 sec lap times? May I ask why?
I find it difficult to believe that Garmin makes these watches for techies only. If that would be the case, all the watches would have notifications and other things that would make it a proper tech watch.
I’m not sure I understand. The unit provides splits at any distance (such as the 1K you mention). And you can make a split at any value – such as 6:17.
Are you asking to do an interval alert every 3:17 seconds?
As for a track, honestly, no GPS watch is really good for track work if you’re looking at sub-5 second accuracy. On a track, you should be using the actual track length distance based on the lane you’re running in. For me, when I’m on a track, I go by the track length (assuming inside lane), and simply use the watch to record whatever distance it will, and focus on the times it’s going for.
If outside doing intervals, then I’m doing the same using distance and time. For example, I’ve lately been doing 800’s at 2:56 a shot. So I’ve setup my lap pace to pace me to 5:54/mile. That works well, no 5-second round numbers required in any of that.
I did ask about this as well. As GPS is no good on the track what I have done in the past is set time alerts to bleep so I can check an audible check point. Say I wanted to do 78s in a 5000 could either alarm every 39 or 78 secs and I can get a check if am up or down bit like they do in track cycle pursuit races. Of course now I need to make that 75 or 80s per lap – huge tempo difference.. Not the end of the world as in a track race they shout out splits anyway and of course can just look at the timer if not.
As for Garmin staff and not being runners – I don’t buy that. They may not be elites but then who is. Take a look at Ray’s article when he went to Garmin HQ and he talks about going for a run with them! In any case these watches are designed to be used by a huge variety of runners – from beginners on jog/walk programs to Olympians and everything in the middle.
Feel free to delete my repetitive comments. I wasn’t trying to troll this guy THAT bad. My phone just told me the comment wasn’t posting :). Carry on.
Jason, I don’t feel trolled, not THAT bad, in fact not all all, all four responses (other than Rainmakers helpful comments) were from you. I ignored them. The whole world loves a smart arse. But you must have money to burn if you think it’s ok to have more than one (expensive) sports watch for the same event, ie running. I bought a watch that happens to have GPS. Of course I don’t want GPS for the track. I’m just equally amused that anyone wouldn’t want a very expensive watch to be able to bleep/vibrate at a pre-set interval by the second, as my cheap Times does. And as my 15 year old Polar does. I own a sports car. I don’t need to drive it at 170mph, it just happens to have that capability. But I would be a bit irritated if it didn’t have a radio because the petrol heads told me I didn’t need it.
If I want to run 1k’s on the track in 3 mns I want to do it efficiently. That means I would like the watch to bleep at 100 metre intervals of 18 seconds. Not 15 seconds, and not 20 seconds. I know when I’ve hit the 100 metre marks, there’s one on each corner, athletics tracks have for many years shown clear distance marks. So no, I don’t need GPS for the track, but thanks for pointing it out, otherwise I might not have known.
Terry, I am TOTALLY with you on this one.
While doing say 5k on the track at 4:50 pace, I set my timer alert (on my FR610!) to beep every 58secs (time for 200m) so that I can pace myself correctly. How else can I know how fast/slow I am unless I am an ace at math and manage to add up the cumulative time per 200m? At the same time the 610 is of course taking a record of my heart rate.
The GPS does not come into track training. As you say, the 610 just happens to have one (which is used for totally different scenarios). Garmin must surely remember how they managed to do this!
I really cannot imagine why some posters are trying to rubbish our request of having the timer on the 620 (a more recent watch) work the same as a 610? Don’t really know, but it should be possible to incorporate this in a future firmware update.
This feature is a deal-breaker for me, and I will never buy a 620 unless I can set the timer alert to the second rather than 5 seconds. Only solution is to get another 610 while they still make them for when the present one croaks. A cheap Casio on the other wrist just does not cut it.
I am looking to purchase a Garmin for my marathon training and am looking at the 220 and 620. Could you please tell if the touchscreen on the 620 is an issue with sensitivity? People in my group who have had touchscreen tend to lose their screen just by accidentally touching with a jacket, etc. Any comments?
In most cases I don’t hear issues with touch-screen folks, but rather with touch bezel folks (FR405/FR410), which is (in my opinion) a pain in the butt and does as you describe. I haven’t had any issues with running with mine with jackets/etc here in the winter (including my run yesterday posted on the home page).
Has anyone notice a difference between the 620 and 220 screens in terms of contrast and sharpness? When I put them side by side, the 220 blacks are a lot darker and easier to read. Perhaps the difference is caused by the touchscreen?
Hi Ray,
I’ve had my 620 for a couple of months now and really love it! The only two issues I’m facing is the footpod overriding the GPS (which I can see from above is a known issue and due to be fixed in the next firmware release). The other issue I have is that I often see that the map has me way off where I actually ran (e.g. in the water instead of on a bridge). This has also happened to me in different countries. Is this a known issue? Is it related to the previous one I mentioned?
Thanks for your amazing website, and the time you put into all our questions!
On the walking on water, you’ll definitely want to first validate changing to satellite view instead is map view – as many times the map is wrong near rivers/streams/lakes/oceans.
If however you’re still in the drink, then you may be having similar issues to some on satellite issues. For that, one can try a hard reset, otherwise, it’ll be waiting for a new firmware update.
Cheers.
Android OS 4.3 was just released in Norway an finally my HTC One was able to detect my New Garmin Forerunner 620, but still it has trouble paring With it. When trying, the phone remarks that “this unit demand a Bluetooth low energy-progam to function normally” I’m a bit puzzled…Without paring Garmin Connect App can’t detect it either and the Live track function is still not available. Any remarks to how to solve this?
The Garmin Connect mobile app doesn’t support Android for Bluetooth Smart devices (FR220/FR620) yet. The target is Q1, so sometime between now and March.
Dear Rainmaker,
The review for the 620 is fantastic! And I really admire the time and effort you put in to writing this stuff. it really s very helpful indeed! I just had a few questions…first an introduction…
I’m an unfit overweight guy who lives in a place (not as encouraging as where you stay), and it really takes me a lot of willpower to get out for a workout. My runs/walks don’t really last too long since I’m a stone cold beginner. However, I am constantly looking for inspiration to get up and go out and run – get fit and lose some weight, and I know shelling out 400$ isn’t really a good call. (I could always go for the less inexpensive models, but the problem is that I love the 620 – or atleast the way you’ve put it). That said, I do feel that owning a fitness watch would motivate me as I see numbers and graphs on my screen, and I’ll want to continuously improve them, hence, I’ve sort of made up my mind to go for a GPS tracking watch.
Secondly, I want a watch that would perhaps work with Running, Cycling (I’d like to know that the option exists as the 610 offers), and is waterproof to some substantial depth.
Could you recommended any product for me, whichever you may suggest from your experience and my requirements or … situation! Hehe
Thank you so much!
Dear Rain Maker:
I sent you a message a couple days ago regarding rusted spots on y 610. As you said, Garmin is willing to send a new unit in exchange, however the option does not work for me because I´m in Mexico and it will involve a long wait and taxes to be paid.
Any way, to make the story short, there is a guy who would swap my 610 for a 620 (I´ll have to pay a difference), but my concern is that I do mostly cycling and basically I never run. Do you think the 620 with the VO2 and recovery features will be a good match if I use it along with an Edge800?
Thanks in advance,
Juan
I’d agree with Tim. The FR620 isn’t really aimed at cyclists, and there are uncertainties around what exact functionality cycling mode will bring.
Not sure that a 620 is for you then as it is a watch for runners although some sort of cycling mode is promised for the spring. However, as it currently, stands V02 & recovery won’t work from cycle rides and I can’t see VO2 ever could for cycling as the variables (.e.g road surface, wind, weather, drafting) are too much for meaningful analysis.
purchased a 620 a couple of weeks ago and I am very disappointed with the accuracy of the unit. I am not using a footpod, but I have been running on the same routes that I usually run with my 910xt. With the 910xt, the trajectories are very clean, while with the 620, the trajectories on the map are all over the place. I understand that GPS are not 100% accurate, but the 620 seems much more inaccurate than my 910xt and seems like a step backward. For info I am using both units on 1s recording; also my firmware for the 620 is updated (3.2). I am thinking of returning the unit because the accuracy does not seem up to par with my previous watch. Very disappointed.
If you’re seeing issues with GPS accuracy, I’d highly encourage you to open up a support case. Garmin is actively looking for examples were GPS ‘wanders’ out of the middle of nowhere.
Thanks rainmaker. I have sent a similar email to Garmin and waiting for their response. It’s too bad I can post the map pictures here because they are really telling of the track differences between the 910xt and the 620. On a 4mile run (5 loops of 0.8M), the 620 track is completely erratic on several areas, while the 910xt track is almost perfectly aligned. Also the 620 tends to systematically “cut the corner” in 90° turns, while the 910 doesn’t – which explains the shorter distance shown by the 620.
Apparently I am not the only user complaining as this has been mentioned on the Garmin forum.
There is a sticky thread at the top of the forum saying that a software update is in the works that should fix these accuracy issues. However I am not sure I want to wait for this and really thinking about returning my watch – I won’t run again with it anyway and will definitely go back to my 910xt.
Thanks to Tim and to Rain Maker
Is there a way to turn off the save feature the appears on the face of the unit every time the timer is stopped? I turn the timer off when I tie my shoe or something and I asks me if I want to save the run. i have bumped that sreen too many tomes and would like to turn it off, possible?
thanks
Dan
Just replied to the version of this on the Garmin forums!
link to forums.garmin.com
Had my 620 for around a month now and I love it. Haven`t had any problems and happy with the GPS performance.
One thing that I amazed at is the difference with calorie figures when running with the 620 with HR strap and the my old 305 without the strap.
I burn about 55-58 calories per km, but with the 305 without the HR strap it was 74-79 cal per km. Pace, route and weight (around 74 kg/163lb) haven’t changed.
Without the HR strap is calorie calculation really so inaccurate? As it’s quite difference, especially if your looking to become leaner in order to get closer to your ideal racing weight.
Calorie count: According to my Timex Ironman Digital Heart Rate Monitor watch my calorie consumption per kilometre is around 70. This is consistent with my Pacemaster Treadmill and various calorie calculators on the web. So far my FR620 is showing my calorie consumption rate at approximately 50 calories per kilometre. I noticed in the photo above that your calorie use rate at 1948 for 18.55 miles is also quite low. Any thoughts?
Vo2 Max: Also my Vo2 Max is higher than it should be showing 43 to 45 when it should be around 37 to 39.
I’ve done 5 outdoor runs and 1 treadmill run.
LB: the Garmin unit uses Firstbeat’s proprietary technology for estimating calories; they claim it is superior to other methods using the formula developed by Keytel et al. (DOI: 10.1080/02640410470001730089; see Firstbeat.com for their white paper on their method). It’s used by other Garmin products like the Edge 800. I have noticed that my calorie estimates are much lower on my Garmin devices than on other heart rate monitors, but that the Garmin numbers are a lot closer to what Bikecalculator.com and Strava estimate for my cycling performance. In my case, at least, I think the lower Garmin numbers are more accurate. Supposedly, the devices “learn” your performance and adjust accordingly, as with VO2max.
I dont like to be notified every lap i do (km). So i turned autolap off. But then it wont track them and will show my run as one big lap. Is there a way for it to track laps but dont notify me about them while running?
No, Garmin Connect doesn’t do any sort of ‘virtual laps’ overlay. Strava does, as does Sport Tracks, fwiw.
I’m very disappointed with the 620. I’ve had GPS inaccuracy issues and Support pushed out a chip set update that didn’t help. I feel like I spent $400 to be a beta tester for Garmin. With wearables exploding, Garmin will face some tough competition in the future. They are out front in the endurance community but with such poor support and lack of response, I can’t say that I will stay in the Garmin camp. I’ve owned the 405, 610 and now the 620. I like the light weight and other features but would rather have the reliability of the 610 any day. Could Garmin be the next Blackberry?
Just to be clear, the chipset push a week or so ago wasn’t expected to fix 100% of the issues (or even 50%).
That said, have you opened a support case so Garmin can get your data? I can’t stress enough that Garmin really is looking for example data of the issue, if you have it, get it to them.
Scott-
Are you saying you’d pick the 610 over the 620? I’m trying to decide between the 610 and 220 but some of the negative reviews on the 610 have me wondering. On the other hand it looks like there are quite a few bugs to work out on the new 220’s (and 620) internal ACCELEROMETER. Are all the bugs work out on the 610 since it’s older! And is having the newer
Technology of the 220 & 620 worth the hassle of like you said being a tester? I’m interested in your opinion since you have owned both the 610 and 620. Also, is Virtual Partner something you use a lot? And do you prefer the touchscreen of the 610 over the new 620?
Thank a for your help!
My device has been back at Garmin for 10 business days now and I haven’t been able to track it by the RMA number. The 620 has been a real disapointment for me and after wearing a Garmin device since 2008, this is my last.
Scott, if you are trying to track your device using the RMA number as a tracking number, this may not work. I believe that when I sent my 620 in, I received a separate tracking number for shipping. I may be misinterpreting what you’re saying though. All I can say with things like this, is that nothing is perfect. There are so many great things about the 620, but everyone loves to focus only on the few shortcomings. This is a new device only about 3 months out. With anything like this, there will most likely be a few small things to work out. I did have issues with my 620 a few months back giving me distance that were a full 1/8 of a mile long every mile. But after reading a few forums, I discovered that this was just a compatibility problem with the Garmin foot pod I was using. Removing it solve the problem immediately. Runners (including myself), can be very demanding, no excuses, types of personalities. I’ve had to learn to step back and pause many times when it concerns running and technology. I had a 610 that lasted me just under 2 years before completely dying beyond repair. Initially I was furious. But for using it 7 days a week, 365 days a year, through all sorts of weather (rain, cold, heat and humidity, soaking sweat, etc.), I realize that with that abuse, that’s not all that bad of a run. Nothing lasts forever, especially technology, but you have to focus o the good.
Treadmill distances very inaccurate: I’ve now completed two runs on my treadmill with the 620, wearing the HR chest strap and with GPS turned off. The results were very disappointing. My average running speed was around 12.2 kph with 400 metre peak bursts of 14.1 kph. The autolap one k distances were way off from the start. An 8 k run measured 7.21 k on the watch and yesterday’s 10 k run measured 8.73 k. Naturally all other parameters were way off too. My treadmill speed and distance are quite accurate. I was expecting some inaccuracies given DCR’s report but these results are disappointing.
I’m going in an 8K race this weekend using the watch. I’m still undecided as to whether I’ll keep the watch or not. There are lots of things I like about it but the GPS inaccuracy issues and my treadmill experience have me doubting.
I am looking to purchase either the 610 or 220. In you opinion which is better? My hang ups for the 610 are:
1. Reviews of problems with the charger
2. Older release
What I like that the 220 lacks:
1. Virtual Racer/Partner
(this seems like it would be a valuable training tool used often)
2. Bike compatibility
3. Touchscreen
My hang ups for the 220 are:
1. No Virtual Racer/Partner
2. No bike
3. INTERNAL ACCELEROMETER (bugs to work out, accuracy unsure)
What I like that 610 lacks:
1. Newer release date
2. Calendar
3. Iphone compatibility (newer technology)
4. Longer battery life
5. No foot pod needed?
I have never owned a HR/GPS watch before but have been a runner for 10 years. The watch would be used 1st and for most for running. I also bike. I have a bike computer but it would be nice to have a back up or another option for recording biking data.
Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated! Thank you!
Hi Janelle-
I think you’re analysis is pretty much spot-on and accurate. The only item of note is your #5 on the FR610. It does not need a footpod for outdoor, but does need one for indoors use (if you want distance/pace/cadence).
Ultimately, you can configure data screens for a cycling-like experience on the FR220 – it just won’t be counted as a cycling workout until you tweak it on Garmin Connect (a simple dropdown). Personally, if choosing between the two given what you’ve said, I’d go FR220.
Thanks for your response! I appreciate your opinion. A couple more questions for you: I really want the virtual partner/racer… so, what can you use in place of this on the 220? And is there a one glance stick figure that shows you vs your goal pace ? Do you think all of the issues with the 610 are reason enough to not buy it or is it the lack of newer technology? If you had to choose between virtual partner or a training calendar which would you choose ? Is the virtual partner a tool you use a lot or can live without?
Thanks again!
Virtual Partner is the best thing since sliced bread. Seriously.
I guess I just don’t see that many ‘issues’ with the FR610. If you look at things some people encountered (such as corrosion/etc), those have been solved within a few months of release. It’s a perfectly good watch, there’s no issues there.
I think ultimately you’ll be happy either way. Jason noted his like of Virtual Partner. I think it’s cool. Is it (for me) cool enough to forgo some of the FR220 features? Probably not (for me), I’d at this point take the FR220 over the FR610.
Since this is the 620 forum, perhaps you could consider that too. It has all the things you like about the 220 plus touchscreen and Virtual Partner too which agree can be very handy. For me I find “VP” more useful than say Training Calendar as ultimately I feel you buy these devices for the most benefit out on the run. Anyway 620 has both.
Hi Ray,
I am ‘new’ here on your forum though not a newcomer when it comes to running. I’ve been a polar user ever since and still keeping an eye on what ‘they’ come up with. I’ve also thouroughly studied your comments on the betaversion of polar’s v800. Think it is time to change now (to Garmin’s ) FR 620. Looks magnficient to me, let us (double)check on weakness i am ready to accept:
– altitude is ‘only’ calculated by GPS not barometric(ly), right?
– footpod use is optional but possible, right?
Thnx for your answer/statement on questions. I will of course use your amazon link when buying Garmin’s FR 620 and must let you know: Think you are doing a great job (beside your job!) here on your webside and appreciate your work.
Greetings from vienna (outskirts of town).
Reinhard
:-)
1) Altitude: Correct, GPS
2) Footpod: Correct, optional.
Enjoy!
I have opened a support ticket with Garmin. I feel that problems with the GPS go to the heart of this type of fitness device. For me, that is the information that I want correct. It speaks to the crediblity of the unit. I would be more understanding with Garmin if I were in beta but I paid a full price for this device and my expectation was that it would work the same or better than the 610.
The “pace” field on the 620 seems to only show 0’s and 5’s not the exact pace. Is there a way to change this?
No. Most watches these days are moving to this in order to make the data a bit smoother/cleaner. I just use ‘Lap Pace’, which does show to the second.
Using 620 with foot pod outdoors:
Is pace (i.e. instant pace) more responsive with the foot pod than with GPS?
Is pace still displayed as 0’s or 5’s or as 1’s. 2’s etc.?
Yes, however, right now it overrides the GPS in all circumstances, and you’ll need to manually configure the footpod as well. I don’t remember offhand if pace is in 1’s, but I’m pretty sure it’s still 0’s and 5’s.
We’re happy to announce we’ve added advanced analysis of Running Dynamics metrics to our online app SportTracks.mobi
link to sporttracks.mobi
If you’ve bought a FR620 or are on the fence about the Running Dynamics info, take a look. We will be doing an in-depth tutorial later about how to use our segment analysis features to really dig into these new metrics… looking at things like terrain and it’s effect on your running efficiency, how things like hill grade effect your cadence, and your running form efficiency falling apart later in runs as a indicator of fatigue.
Not yet available in the ST3 PC app but we are working on an update and it shouldn’t be long.
We are also in communication with the tapiriik.com guys to see if the data can be pulled from Garmin Connect and sync’d thru to SportTracks.mobi to support wireless uploads.
Cheers!
Hi, Ray. I really appreciate your site and the work you put into it. I just wanted to add to the discussion that I had an awful experience with the 610 when it was first released. I was of the opinion that something that expensive should work right out of the starting gate instead of still being in a “beta” state. I understand though that a lot of people like their 610s.
I am now, again, an early adopter of the 620 and I love it. I have heard of people having some minor issues with it (that they seem to think are BIG issues, think “the screen colors aren’t vibrant enough “, etc.) but the 620 clearly leads the pack in terms of what a running watch should do. Whatever little disappointments I may have with it will clearly be improved with firmware updates in the future.
I’m curious what your view is on companies releasing products that are, some might argue, still in beta.
Another excellent review, thank you!
Looked at both the 220 and 620 and, as i’m a data geek, went for the 620 about a month ago and it’s been great. The GPS did roam a little (ok a lot) during a couple of runs…in one instance it looked as if i’d spent half a mile leaping the rooftops instead of running through a park but i’ve just updated to GPS 2.9 so hoping this is resolved.
Wonder if you can help with an unusual query. I’ll be spending some time on a ship and wonder what metrics i’ll be able to pull (i have the HRM) while there. 1k will be equal to 1.5 laps of the deck so distance will be an easy measure but as for the remaining metrics which i’ve grown to obsess about with the 620, i’m hoping i can pull more than just HR. I’m assuming that when the ship is in port i can turn GPS on and it will track my run as usual with all metrics ‘active’ however when the ship is at sea what are my options? I guess i can safety say that i should turn off the GPS as my moving circuit would surely throw things out but, by doing this what other metrics would i lose? Distance, Cadence, GCT etc? I currently don’t have a foot pod, would this be advisable? Thanks !
Bump
At sea while underway you’ll get all the Running Dynamics data just using the HRM-RUN strap, that doesn’t change any. However, currently without the footpod (unless it changed in the most recent firmware yesterday), you won’t get VO2Max, Recovery Adviser or Race Predictor. Given you’ll spend most of your time with it in an ‘indoor’ state, I’d really encourage you to pickup (and then calibrate) the footpod.
Fwiw, here’s a bit on running at sea with Garmin units: link to dcrainmaker.com
Thanks for all of your great reviews! I have had 2 Garmin’s so far – the Garmin Forerunner 305 and the Garmin Forerunner 210. I am an avid runner, so definitely need the capabilities of the GPS watch and have been between the Forerunner 220 and the 620. I have been doing extensive research and can’t seem to come up with a good solution to my workout issues. I am looking to get another GPS watch, that has the capabilities to show cadence on a Spinning bike (obviously indoors), as well as to connect to an android based phone. I just got a Samsung Galaxy S4. I can’t seem to find the best solution to all my needs. I love the capabilities of the 620, but from some reviews it said that it will take into consideration all of your workouts when computing your pace time etc. Any thoughts on what type of GPS watch might be most appropriate for the needs that I have (the phone connection is the last of my concerns)??
Thanks! Kristy
FYI, if you connect to Garmin Connect (since a few hours), it says firmware 2.50 is available, just need to connect the watch to PC and launch Garmin Express Fit.
Just trying, but nothing happens. Anyone managed to get this update installed ?
OK, not visible through Express Fit, but downloaded directly in wifi from the watch.
Installing right now …
Hi guys, I have had the watch for 5 weeks now and apart from the dodgy app that keeps freezing (and thanks to this site I know how to unfreeze it now) I am pretty happy with the watch. I do however get the heart rate spike in the first 10 mins of a run tho. Does anyone else think that the vo2 max and race predictor is accurate. ? I ran a 5k last week in 17.53 now it was a bit windy and it had 4 sharp turns in it but the watch predicts I can run 16.16 and have a 64 vo2 max , I average about 25 miles a week . Does this mean if I put more miles and training I could run 16.xx ?? I am 48 years old , has anyone else experienced this too ?
If you have a 64 VO2Max (and again, that prediction may or may not be accurate), then realistically you can run faster. Speaking simply, yes, 25 miles a week is a bit low to be throwing down 16.xx times, but again – it all depends on the person – and more importantly, how that time is spent.
2.5 is installing on mine right now via WiFi. Didn’t get it when I connected via USB.
link to www8.garmin.com
I’ve tried connecting my 620 via wifi and cable, but don’t get prompted for the firmware update. How is everyone updating theirs? Any suggestions?
Hi,
I have been recording my spinning sessions on my garmin with no gps and using the heart rate date and then changing them to cycling when uploading them to Endemondo.
Do you think doing this exercise in the evening following running in the morning will inflate my V02 Max as it is currently quoting 2hr 49 marathon. I’ve only done 3hr 29minutes but it’s 10k suggested time is 37.29 which is only 45seconds better than i’ve done.
Or will my Heart rate recorded cycle sessions not affect the VO2 max?
Thanks,
William
Speaking very broadly (and honestly), if you can run a 37.29 10K (thereabouts), then you’re not likely training properly if you’re marathon time is 3hr 29m. Of course, that could simply mean that your focus wasn’t the marathon, or any other number of things. Sticking in a 38:15 into a few predictors still puts you sub 3hr (~2:55).
Just uploaded the latest firmware for the 620. I briefly browsed through the screens and didn’t see anything different. I was curious if anyone knows exactly what this update updated?
Thanks,
Stu
Hi Stu,
Changes made from version 2.30 to 2.50:
link to forums.garmin.com!
Ray, thanks for the complete review!
Just saw the link above explaining the updates.
Thanks, Toni!
Did my first race with my 620. It told me that I could do a HM around 3.5 minutes faster than my PR. I had logged 50MPW (80km approx) for the past 12 weeks but with no real speed work. but didn’t feel I was anywhere near in shape to get near the time the 620 said. Race didn’t go to plan, faded and finished 4 mins slower than my PR(flat course, good weather) As soon as I stopped my watch I get a new improved VO2 and now says I can run a HM 8 mins faster than I just did and the projected marathon time is also 8 mins faster than my PR.
Is it really a case that I’m not training right? If I start doing more dedicated speed work I should start to get much closer to the Garmin race times?
So many factors (besides that VO2 just being an estimate. What was your taper? How was your sleep and diet in the days leading up to the race? And speed work is huge. At least one track day a week.
Agree, lots of factors.
However, I would say that if you have no speed work (high intensity) within your training program, then no, you’re not training right.
Hello Ray,
I got the new fw update 2.5 and I’m wondering if GPS is now used for distance and speed, when one uses foot pod? Also will it calibrate the foot pod automatically?
I ran this morning with foot pod and I think the distance was too long and also after my exercise, the foot pod calibration factor was still 100.0.
Thanks
Yes, with 2.5 GPS is now used for distance and speed even when a footpod is attached. At least, it’s supposed to be. I haven’t tried it yet myself to confirm.
I actually compared two runs over a shore route with no trees or building to block GPS signal.
The results: w/o footpod: 1.7 km and today w/ footpod: 2.02 km
Will try to check again….
I think I had an issue with the original FW update, because after I connect my watch to the computer, the watch works better.
I went for a test walk and this time I got exactly same distance with and without the footpod.
however the calibration factor remains at 100.
Hi Ray,
great review, thanks.
I hope that I found one specific thing, which has not been touched here (in case I didn’t miss it in this 1km long text stream :-)).
For indoor training footpod makes a huge difference (vs built-in accelerometer). Its not only about accuracy, but actually it wakes up all GPS-related powerfull features like VO2max/race predictor and recovery check features.
These features are simply disabled when GPS is off (accelerometer working only), but enabled when footpod is connected.
Great thing for treadmill users (regards to all European athletes sitting at home hiding from frost and snow).
Jason & Rainmaker – Thanks for your feedback. I realize there’s no underestimating a weekly speed session.
Jason – I tapered quite hard. Week before the HM I ran 62 miles as I’ve just started marathon training. Taper week was Mon 11m LR pace. Tues rest day & massage. Wed 6m recovery. Thurs 3m recovery. Fri & Sat rest days as still some slight soreness from massage. Sunday race. Sleep was fine all week. Same with diet (plenty of carbs). Weight was only about 2lbs or so more than my PR’s back in April.
Sounds you are the same runner just replied to on the Garmin Forums!
Hello, do you have any detailed information about the new features intoduced by the 2.5 firmware upgraded? For example I’d like better understand how to manage the followings improvements:
– Added feature to allow the CONNECT key to wake the device and start a Wi-Fi transfer.
– Improvements to the interaction between foot pod and GPS.
– Added feature to inform the user when returning to the target range of a workout step.
Thank you, Gianni
1. Quite minor really. When in Low Power Mode (clock showing) press the Connect button and then tap the screen to start a WiFi transfer.
2. Fixed bug on an outdoor run with GPS if you had a paired footpod, pace and distance were coming from the pod. They now both come from GPS.
3. Not so sure on this as not had a chance to try as yet. Presume if you were doing a workout with say a step with HR or pace range and you moved outside the range a bleep would occur. This seems to indicate if you came back in the target range it would notify you.
I tried 3. today – it’s basically as I described.
I upgraded from the 410 to the 620 , have used the 620 for 6 weeks . Requarding the V02 MAX is 56. i do 50mls a week and i am 55 years old , the VO2 PREDICTS a 5k in a time of 18.24 . My recent 5k race time was 18.12 , so this puts my VO2 in the ballpark .
Downloaded the 2.50 update and noticed my mile splits came up about 10 meters short before the upgrade , this also happened when i done my first runs with the watch , but they got closer to my mile splits after using the watch the following week.
Well pleased with the watch , had no issues so far.
Hi Ray!
Should mobile phone be connected to the internet in order for live tracking application to record our activity or this is not required?
yes, your iphone needs to have a data signal to upload the live tracking information.
Thank you Matt for your reply. So in countries where the supply of mobile internet connection Is expensive, the users of live tracking app we will need a fortune in order to track a long activity, a marathon race for example! I expected that an Internet connection should be necessary but in Garmin’s site I read that live tracking app uses the signal of the phone and this was a little bit confusing.. Thanks again for the prompt reply.
I haven’t used iive tracking yet as I have an android.Saying that I would assume it’s not a huge amount of data.
But if you don’t need live tracking the watch itself does all the recording for later analysis
Question for Tim Grose , Hi Tim I notice our age is similar and our current pb times are similar (you are a bit quicker atm) I would be intersted to see what it has your vo2 max at and how it progressed . Mine has now gone up to 65 , and says potentialy could run a 5k in 15.53 ….I wish haha
Hello Ray
It did actually reach 65 too but that was with a max HR of 173 that I had not actually reached for a few years. I put max HR down to 165 which is about what I have actually managed in the last few months and it’s 62 at moment. Still looks somewhat challenging but in ideal conditions just about possible I think (or rather hope)!
I’ve tried connecting my 620 via wifi and cable, but don’t get prompted for the firmware update. How is everyone updating theirs? Any suggestions?
Try the Garmin WebUpdater instead (use USB cable with it). It’s my failproof way of updating when I’m in a hurry.
Garmin WebUpdater worked! Thank you.
Hi. Will the 620 communicate with the Garmin Training Center software and the ANT+ USB transfer dongle and automatically transfer the training activity like with the 405? I really like the Training Center software because it supports 1.50000 Garmin maps. That is important to me because there is no high resolution Google map coverage in my area..
No, it doesn’t use the ANT+ adapter anymore. For PC, you can simply plug in the watch and then import in the .FIT files into GTC.
Thx for the reply.. It does via wireless and wireless internet, upload the activities to Garmin Connect, does it not? If so, then one could use the “receive from unit” function in the Training Center to retrieve the activities, because that one retrieves activities uploaded to Garmin Connect.. If I can’t get my activities into the program without using an usb cable, then I don’t want to buy the 620.. I refuse to go backwards.. And I want to use my Garmin Topo Adventure maps.. Cheers
You don’t need a cable, I have the 620 and I use Training Center (I have a MAC but I think it’s the same with the PC version). After uploading your activity via wifi to Garmin Connect you simply have to open the activity itself on the web site and export it in a TCX file to your PC. Then you use the import function in Garmin Training Center to select and import the file. I think it’s simpler than using an USB ANT dongle beacuase you don’t need to remember where it is.
Hello Rain, I’ve just published 2 posts on my blog about the 620, they’re in PORTUGUESE. I used some of your pictures (along with mine) but I credited your blog and made a link to this article. Please LMK if you’re not comfortable with that.
My first post is about the 620 itself: link to bor.ba
My second post points to differences between 610 and 620: link to bor.ba
I plan a final article about connectivity methods and issues.
Regards!
“After uploading your activity via wifi to Garmin Connect you simply have to open the activity itself on the web site and export it in a TCX file to your PC. Then you use the import function in Garmin Training Center to select and import the file..”
Thx for the reply.. After it’s uploaded to Garmin Connect, the Training Center will retrieve it if you you go to file-receive from unit, will it not?
I don’t know … I’ll try next time
Has anyone any idea why Garmin does not add in a device of $450 a temperature sensor or make use of GPS in order to provide such information. I think its a useful information and not costly at all.
Does not upload data via BT to the iPhone Connect app. There is a bug in the app software that forces you to reboot the watch and iphone to get it to upload again. Typical symptom is that you see the run listed by date, but it has a “waiting…” to upload message that does not go away.
Very frustrating to spend so much on a watch, and then have to wait until you get home to upload via wifi (or cable). I am using the latest firmware update (2.5) on the watch, but the problem is with the iPhone app (has not been updated since November).
Have you rung up Garmin support to troubleshoot (or, simply to ensure you’re counted against a list of customers that it doesn’t work for)?
My 620 behaved like that until the 2.5 update, with maybe 1 of 10 sessions working. It has worked every time since the update.
Now wifi…works at the gym, but not at home. :(
Is the screen of forerunner 620 made of Plastic or Glass? If it is made from plastic isn’t it more dangerous to be scratched or broken after a lot of use?
It’s plastic.
But, just like glass, there are many plastics and glasses out there. Some are stronger than others. In the few months I was using the unit (before switching to the unit I bought myself) I didn’t manage to scratch it. Which, is actually saying a lot. When I’m travelling (which is every week), it just sits in the front pocket of my backpack, which is kinda like a torture chamber worth of sharp pokey things – keys, coins, electrical plugs, etc… TSA hates me.
Thank you Ray.
Finally I have decided to buy it.
First off, insanely great in-depth reviews, D.C. Just wanted to add a few quick notes on the 620. I picked up a 620 right when they came out for the general public this past November, having waited several months since my 610 had completely died and was beyond affordable repair. For the first several months that I had it, it was very consistently almost exactly an eighth of a mile long every mile. I knew this from having run my routes for years and very acutely knowing my distances from several sources. I contacted Garmin and they told me that they were working on a software update for the 620, and that that should fix it. This was early on. After about 2 ½ months of waiting, I contacted Garmin and asked to simply have my 620 replaced under warranty since none of the software updates fixed this problem. They were great and let me send in my old 620 for a brand new one. Once I did get it though, I had the same miscalculations of distance. I was incredulous! I finally read through some forums, and found a thread referring to using the 620 in combination with the Garmin foot pod for cadence, which I had always used and was listed as a compatible accessory. The first time that I removed it and went on a run, the problem was completely fixed, and my 620 is now spot on accurate. Apparently since the 620 has it’s own internal accelerometer that measures cadence, having the foot pod confuses the watch in some way. Possibly some sort of missed handshake between the two pieces that needs to be corrected. I’ve seen many many people complain about this same problem with the 620, unaware of the foot pod issue. I did email Garmin about this, but they still have the foot pod listed as a compatible accessory with the 620. Which is may be in the future if they fix this issue. But for now, I’ve been telling all of my running friends and my local store that I used to work for, to mention this to potential buyers.
Hi Michael-
Just a quick heads up that as of earlier this week a firmware update was released that address the issue of the unit and the GPS outside now overrides the footpod. This is firmware update 2.50.
Has anyone found out any uses or worked out how to improve the vertical oscillation and the GC time , for me so far the are just numbers that dont really mean much ??
Hi was just wondering if its compatible with rubitrack?
As a happy user of the 610 for the past 2,5 years I was looking forward to the Forerunner 620.
The specs of the new 620 are quite good, unfortunately there are also some shortcomings:
– Why is there still no possibility to record temperature as this is an important factor during training ?
– I am using three different shoes with footpods, every footpod has Its own calibration factor which I have to manually alter in the 610 before I change shoes.
It would be much easier if I could register three (or more) shoes in the 610 (or 620) with different calibration factors, so when selecting a shoe this would give me the correct calibration factor (a function found in some Polar models)
Another benefit would be If you were able to keep track of the mileage of the shoes in Garmin Connect.
– No support for ANT+ scale is really frustrating, hope Garmin will correct this issue.
– No bike support, which is not a big deal for me but something that could be easily added I guess.
And then there is the new HRM-Run soft strap.
To make use of the new functions you have to buy the HRM-Run strap, with transmitter this will cost € 100,00.
Just the soft strap will cost € 40,00 which is fine if it will last 2 years, but for some reason I don’t believe it will last 2 years, or even 1 year without spikes or other failures (currently using a Garmin Transmitter with Polar strap without any problems)
So, the 620 could be the perfect running watch for me, but I’m not convinced yet.
Is there a way of deleting a split from a run? I keep ending races, then not realizing that the watch has continued running after I’ve hit stop. I know you can delete a whole run, just wondering if I somehow missed what should be a fairly straightforward action. I can’t seem to be able to do it on the watch or on GC.
1st class review again Ray. Thanks.
I ordered the FR620 again via the Clever Training link from your website.
So I’ve had the watch for a couple of weeks now and have used it around 6 times. I gotta say that I really like the watch but I am disappointed with the accuracy of the GPS. I’ve had a 305 fro years and have always found it pretty accurate. I decided to ‘upgrade’ to the 620 as a treat for reaching some goals last year.
I have compared all my distances and speeds via the map my run website and have found them to be on average between 5 and 10% out every time. It’s not the end of the world, but I would love to find a way to improve the accuracy. I need every motivation I can get!! On a few runs last week the watch had my pace down by 0.7 mph. Today, it was ‘only’ down by 0.3 mph, but this was over a longer run.
I’ve also noticed that on 1 of the runs, no map was recorded, and when you look at the maps of the other runs it doesn’t seem to follow the road and can cut corners.
Keep up the great work, and thanks for any assistance you can give me.
Many thanks
Robin
About Livetracking, I see two little up/down arrows to the left of “Average Pace”, does it mean you can toggle to Instant Pace (or other metrics) by clicking on these icons? I’m guessing you can since the Mobile version doesn’t seem to show graphs?
As a side note it would be nice if Garmin had a demo Livetrack session handy ;-)
No, it just toggles to ‘Avg Speed’, as in for cycling.
ok, thanks. So it seems the mobile version is a tad limited then, well at least it’s still free ;-)
Hi Rainmaker,
So I’ve been running with my 620 for a month now and love it. Question: Does the “instant pace” only show pace in increments of 5 seconds? For instance, seems like my typical easy run apce will fluctuate between 7:20 to 7:30. But the pace will always be 7:20, 7:25, or 7:30. Never 7:23, 7:21 or 7:29 for example. But when the lap time hits it’ll show a pace that’s not always in increments of 5 seconds. Does this makes sense? I look forward to hearing from you.
Yes, instant pace is in 5-sec increments. Lap and Run Average paces are all shown to the exact second, both in history, but on the data fields as well. I use Lap Pace (average) during my runs for most instant-pace scenarios.
Thanks for the reply. So when you say you use Lap Pace during your runs is that setting showing pace that’s not in 5 second increments?
Correct, lap pace shows to the nearest second. i.e 7:22/mile.
After several months of struggle, I am reasonably happy with my 620. First HRM strap has been replaced, later followed by full watch swap… I am happy with end result, but NOT happy on Garmin support. E.g. hardware replacement takes 1.5 weeks; but before Garmin is willing to replace, I was asked to runs several experiments.
On the strap design, this is first strap which does chafing, there is tiny red line on my chest.-) I did not have these issues in past with both Polar and Suunto straps.
Tiny red mark on your chest ?? Man up !
I’ve also had issues with the HRM making marks and abrasions on my chest. Even when adjusted the right way. But if I wear it more than 3 or 4 days, it actually causes bleeding. So I generally just wear it only every so often. I’ve tried washing the strap and rinsing it with fabric softener without luck. Also have tried using items such as Body Glide on the inner part of the strap that causes the friction as well as moving it higher or lower along my rib cage, also with no luck. I think it’s a great strap, but it just is what it is, and probably shouldn’t be worn every single day.
For others, here’s one way to address HR strap chaffing: link to dcrainmaker.com
I’ve had the chafing issue as well. Hurts like hell when you take a shower. So I put a thin strip of medical/athletic tape on the bottom edge of the HRM strap. And if the chafing gets bad, I put a strip of tape on my chest where the chafing occurs…
One more thing, the running dynamics are very useful for me. I am working on improvements in running style to be less prone for injuries. I set auto-lap to 1km, and do technique on-off cycles (1km default/normal run, 1km some technique focus). For example knee-drive-forward (as focus point), shows more bounce and lesser GCT. Especially on treadmill (where speed is constant, no turns) I can clearly analyze in GC effect of some change in style.
I do not agree with Garmin color gradients, which indicate lesser bounce is better. But useful it is, these running metrics.
Thorough review!
A question though. If the we use the 620 with the HRM, does the watch know automatically to use the HRM accelerometer rather than the internal watch’s accelerometer for cadence data? Appreciate the info.
Yes, all automatic (no option to configure).
Question about battery life expectancy: I heard that every time you plug in an iphone, even if its for a second or two, you take away one of the charges from the battery life. If this is true will the 620 battery be diminished each time I plug in the USB to download a workout?
I’ve just found a new option on garmin connect site for exporting personal records to device (I’m not sure it’s new but I’ve never seen it before).
Anyway when I try to export pr to my 620 it says that it can’t find any supported device.
How does it work?
Ok it works, but a usb cable is needed
Hey,
Not sure if this section is still being monitored or not but feel that as these watches become more complicated its increasingly hard to get what you want out of the watch
Is there a resource/FAQ/video/book that will go through how to set the watch up to gain a specific goal? Pulling all the features together into a cohesive and useful package is proving difficult.
Thanks
Is there anyway to manually upload the satellite pre-fixes for Garmin 620? My wifi is a college network that won’t allow the watch to connect, so I’m not getting the automatic 7-day cache…..
Thanks!
If you download the Garmin Express Fit program to your computer, and then simply plug the watch in (perhaps 30-60 seconds worth), it’ll grab it that way.
I know you own the 4iiii HRM. Will the 4iiii HRM give all the same funstionality as the garmin HRM withthe 620?
No, it lacks transmission of the Running Dynamics pieces that the HRM-Run does. So it’ll give basic HR, but that’s it. No cadence or other running dynamics pieces.
Thanks for the review: very useful for a sport-tech-neophyte like i am.
I am just wondering: will I be able to plan indoors trainings (on a track) with the training-planing system?
Thank you
Dear DCRainmaker,
I am very tempted to buy the 620. I do have a 910, but would eventually sell it. Since I use two Garmin soft strap that must not be sold, (who would buy a used strap anyway?), could I use the straps with the new HRM-run pod? What changes have been made to the strap?
Ultimately, while the HRM-Run will work with the FR620, you won’t get running dynamics without the HRM-Run pod.
When it comes to the strap portion, there were changes made in the spring 2013 timeframe when they introduced the HRM3, which reduces spikes. Then, in July 2013, they introduced new firmware to all HRM3 pods (for new purchases) that significantly reduced spikes/dropouts. The strap itself didn’t change.
Andy, The previous Garmin soft straps will work with the 620, but I’m not sure if they would work with the HRM pod snapped to them. I suspect that they would, but would not give you the same amount of information. The new HRM-run’s strap does actually have some of it’s technology in the strap itself. You can see this in the side of the strap below the stitched Garmin logo and gray area. I am not sure which metric is measured with that. DC may know more of the specifics of that. I’ve had a 620 for about 3 months now, and did have issues with it’s compatibility with the Garmin foot pod. Since both the watch itself and the pod measure cadence, this throws off the distance calculation for some reason, causing the your distances to be about 1/8 of mile long. Not using the pod fixes this immediately though, and you do get cadence from the watch itself. I hear Garmin is working on a software fix for this. I didn’t know this at the time that I was having the problem though, and actually had Garmin replace my 620 for free with a brand new one, which they were very good about. Overall though, the watch is beautiful, extremely lightweight, and simple to use. It’s wireless capabilities are wonderful as well. No more plugging in for software updates or uploading information to Garmin Connect using a USB ANT+ stick. It works over wi-fi and bluetooth. I don’t like that it has no bike features or compatibility with the Garmin bike sensor, but I never really used these features on previous Garmin models anyway. It also will not work with ANT+ body composition monitors such as the Tanita, but again this is not a huge deal for 99% of users.
The changes in the strap are just to improve earthing and cut spiking, as far as I can tell.
I have used a Polar Wearlink+ strap with my HRM-RUN clipped on it when I couldn’t remember where I’d left the new strap, and all the data were fine.
Great review Ray.
Just wondering has anyone experimented with live tracking while abroad.
Would it clock up big data roaming charges?
I am thinking of getting the 620 for my wife. Will it be difficult for me to use it as well? Does it have a setting for different users?
It does not have settings for different users. Ultimately, if you’re just using it outdoors, and don’t care much about the VO2Max, Recovery Advisor and calories portion, you’re fine to mix and match.
Those are the pieces that are user specific.
If you go indoors on a treadmill, the pace/etc is calibrated per user based on outdoor use. Though, in my testing I find accuracy sucks indoors anyway, so that’s probably a non-issue.
Ray, for me after the 2.5 firmware the accuracy measured in pace/distance improved in the treadmill. The only piece left is the response time when you chance pace. It takes time to notice it.
I was one that complained about accuracy in the Garmin forums, but now I recognize the improvement.
Anyone seen something different than ‘good’ after recovery check?
Independent on how I feel or shape I am in, 620 displays ‘good’.
Looks marketing feature to me.-)
I saw “fair” twice I think, in the first month since I got the watch. Since then, it’s always been “good”, even when I know it’s a lie :)
I’m wondering if there is something wrong with my watch, or its a standard “feature”,…?
I did get a reading of “fair” once or twice but mostly just “good.”
I’m more concerned as to why my Vo2 Max number is always too high when compared to web calculator values and why it hasn’t moved for the last 7 runs even though I’ve done outdoor and treadmill runs and lowered my max heart rate from 180 to 176 in my user profile. Ideas?
Keep in mind that VO2Max doesn’t continually get better. For the most part, you pretty much stay the same (flat-line) after a short bit of athletic training. It’s really more of a genetic marker of your potential, but not indicative of your actual training (again, beyond an initial ramp from ‘couch potato’ to 5K type shape).
Sorry for my English.
Do you know if the Forerunner 620 you can watch when keying is a activitée Started?
On the forerunner 620 it is not possible
Hi great review. One thing I can’t see how to change the date on my 620 any idea. I am also having trouble connecting via wifi. I have done a manual update so will see if this helps when it finishes charging.
Cheers Llew
Have you gone outside yet to get GPS signal? That automatically sets the time.
Harmless – I nearly always get “Good” but I’ve had “Fair” a couple of times the day after a hard workout (17m/29K+ long run or a hard tempo run) this is accurate as I don’t feel 100% and I’m doing a recovery run.
LB – Just to follow up on Rainmaker, it can take weeks of intense training to see improvements in VO2 scores. It depends a lot of what kind of training, how intense and how often you train. Somebody running 30m/50K a week won’t see the same improvements as someone running in excess of 62m/100K a week and doing dedicated speed work once a week.
Try moving your max HR down even more. I had to do the same from 179 to 169. This will probably give you a more accurate score(it did for me). Remember the device is set to the default 220 minus age. For many of us that is not a realistic number.
DCR & Caferey – Thanks for responding.
I’m not concerned that the VO2 Max is not increasing. My concern is that it is too high in the first place and the current value is not fluctuating.
Based on my race times, my VO2 Max should be in the 39 to 40 range, according to various internet VO2 calculators. This watch has been consistently high in its estimation of my VO2 Max. It started at 41, then 43 for 2 runs and now 45 for 7 runs. My actual max HR in a race 2 weeks ago was 176, so I lowered my max heart rate on the watch from 180 to 176 for the 2 most recent runs. Still there was no change in the VO2 Max at 45. Any ideas?
I’m 67 years old and a low mileage runner by your standards (1100 K total last year). I always train at high intensity levels, i.e. tempo pace or harder. I have been running for more years than I care to admit.
Keep in mind that VO2Max race predictors online assume the best possible training plans and procedures, and assume you put out your genetic max. It’s a bit more difficult because of your age and knowing whether each table on the internet has accounted for that (or, whether the Garmin has accounted for it).
I wish I had a better answer. Ultimately, as noted above there isn’t much that VO2Max is going to tell you in terms of how to get faster, it doesn’t generally fluctuate much beyond initial training (and you’re 1100 K of last year certainly qualifies). What would likely improve you’re pace is mixing up the intensity levels though. ;)
Most web-based VO2 calculators don’t factor in age or other possible variables. Generally they just use distance and time. Perhaps the 620 is in the right ballpark. The race predictor shows a half-marathon time of 1:46:29 which is just 7 minutes faster than my actual HM time.
I hear what your saying about mixing up intensities. I dialed things down a bit while training for my HM but old habits die hard.
Great review, it convinced me to buy the 620. Only “problem” VO2 max is not calculated on the watch, it keeps saying have a run outdoor with HRM for about 10 mins. I live in the Netherlands, could this be a language problem? I’ve tried to switch language but this did not help. Do I have to do a factory reset? I am on firmware 2.50.0.0. Thanks, Peter
Hi,
What about VO2 max, it is still not displayed on my watch. I did a factory reset, did wear the right monitor, ran at 70% of my max HR, ran 4 runs. What could be wrong?
Thanks, Peter
Question:
In order to get accurate pace/distance on a treadmill with the 620… Will I need the foot pod? Also, has Garmin officially announced plans to add cycling to the 620? Thank you!
Yes, I believe that in order to get accurate pace indoors/treadmill you need a footpod at this point. Perhaps in time Garmin will improve it, but I didn’t see any indoor improvement in 2.50 based on my testing.
As for cycling, yes, they’ve announced they plan to add it “in the spring” (which, technically I suppose goes all the way till mid-June).
There has been a pretty cool blog entry doing some accuracy compares across the gps running watches. The 620 comes out quite low on accuracy. I sure hope Garmin continues to work at addressing this issue. Hopefully its software and not a fundamental ‘feature” of the hardware design such as the antenna location.
link to fellrnr.com
It’s interesting, though, I wish there was a bit more information about how many times a test was run. Meaning, it appears that a test was one just once, on just one course.
I think you’re missing the “count” column. He ran the same course many times with each watch, with a total of over 2000 laps for the 620. He talks about this in the writeup. So, I think he does have some statistical basis.
Yeah, I saw that, but that doesn’t really make sense to me. Surely he hasn’t run that course section 944 times with just the FR620? After all, it’s only been out three months, so that would mean 300 times a month, or 10 times a day. I’m sure that column means something useful, I just don’t understand it reading through the descriptions.
Perhaps it is more likely that his “count” is laps, and I think I read that his laps are each 1/4 mile. That would mean he has run 236 miles with the 620, which is believable. Very interesting data.
Reading through it, he breaks everything into quarter mile segments except the last out and back sections which he breaks into 1/8 mi segments. So those counts are for those segments.
Still, it isn’t quite complete. He doesn’t mention what firmware version or GPS FW version he has. It also seems some have had more issues than others with there devices so he might have one of the bumm devices.
Lastly, he says that with the GPS pre-loading of the 620, it gets a more accurate GPS lock quicker. I think many of us have found that is incorrect. It gets a quicker preliminary lock but still needs a reasonable amount of time to get a more accurate lock on the satellites.
So interesting data point on accuracy, but not very scientific beyond his personal device and that one route.
Certainly more scientific than Ray’s comments in the original review that he feels the device is pretty accurate, based on his qualitative observations and just a few runs. Ray did promise a future comprehensive GPS accuracy test for the newer GPS devices, so perhaps we should wait for that. In the meantime, Garmin admits that the issue is a work in progress, and has issued some GPS firmware update. Problem is, according to a number of people on the Garmin forums, its still got accuracy issues. It appears that it varies from one run to the next, so tracking and distance may be accurate for a run, then same run at another time has a displaced track and distance errors.
I don’t know, I think each test has it’s own merits and values. I test across a wide variety of routes and circumstances, not one single route. I also test against multiple devices at the same time, thus allowing me to see that if it’s a transient issue (such as radio interference), it might (or might not) show up across all devices. I did that for the better part of two months worth of runs in a lot of places.
He’s testing a single route repetitively, which has different value.
When I do accuracy tests I try and cover a wide range of scenarios, just like a wide range of runners buy these units. Be it treeless areas, narrow streets with tall buildings (cities), or forests. I’m focusing on the entirety of the run, as well as the mile by mile splits.
As for the FR620, there are no doubt people that have issues. But there’s also a heck of a lot of people that don’t (I’d guess the majority, if not vast majority). Even looking at the Garmin Forum threads on it, if you were distill down the number of unique respondents per thread, how many would that be? And compared to how many units shipped? I’d guess they’ve shipped well into the tens of thousands of units by now, perhaps 50-60K easily? Don’t get me wrong, there are clearly certain units with issues – no doubt. But for better or worse, none of the units I’ve got through normal retail channels are showing those. And virtually all of my runs are automatically published to Strava for folks to analyze.
Just things to keep in perspective.
I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said. And my personal experience over a few months of runs is good. On the other hand, this watch does contain a different GPS chipset than the other Garmin run watches of the previous generation. So, it just may be that Garmin is still getting through the details of optimizing this. (Previous watches use SirfStar, this watch uses MediaTek).
The run I use for testing covers open areas, tree covered areas, goes under a bridge, has power lines and has two turn arounds. It does not cover tall buildings, nor does it have long straight sections. However, if you look at the ‘bad days’ section, you can see that devices do have problems that are somewhat random. When testing the 910/310 together, each had bad days when the other was fine. I try to get at least 1,000 points to even out any random problems and get some statistical averages. Looking at the courses recorded, you can see that most devices do post-hoc smoothing, so straight courses should be more accurate than those that twist a lot. I suspect that the recent firmware upgrade to the 620 to ‘improve’ GPS performance actually added a lot more smoothing.
On a certified 8K race course, my 620 measured 8.07K (and I started it a bit behind the start line). Using an uncalibrated Garmin footpod, it measured 10.01K on a 10.0K treadmill run. That’s good enough for my purposes.
Guys,
I would like to understand what would be the procedure like to calibrate a footpod for my FR620 (I know how to pair it with the watch). I bought the footpod with a Suunto Ambit 2S, so this would be my first use with a Garmin device (don’t have a calibration factor).
I’d the understanding that running outdoors would eventually configure it for using it indoors? Is this right? Will this change the calibration factor? Treadmill running is why I’d like to have it configured.
Thanks!!
German
Here’s a link to the Garmin 620 forum which should provide some help. There are several other links within this thread.
link to forums.garmin.com
Rainmaker,
Any indication from Garmin or any others that they will introduce the ability to determine a runner’s power and fatigue index using the RAST method on a watch such as the FR620? Seems like with all the metrics being captured with running watches that determining power for a runner would be the next logical step. I’ve read a few articles regarding the RAST test protocol and it appears the FR620 and Garmin Connect site could easily be updated to provide this data as yet another metric to analyze running performance over time.
Dave,
Never heard of RAST before your input, thnx for making me curious. I think I know better now, does not seem to be a complex test (www.brianmac.co.uk/rast.htm). If I understand the testprocedere correctly ( and I am quite sure I do …) I would definitely not suggest to implement it on a GPS-based watch like FR 620. Why? The RAST test is a series of 35m sprints with 10 sec intervals. I would assume that the 35m distance is not really the ideal (lap-)distance for GPS-coverage not even footpod-measuring I would say. Any non GPS-watch on the market would be more suitable for a RAST-extension I would say ….
kr, reinhard
Very good point regarding the GPS accuracy over such a short distance. Perhaps another test protocol exist that I’m unaware of that could measure a runners power. Certainly interesting to say the least!
I’ve done a bit of web surfing recently and found that Sporttracks has a plug-in that computes a runners power. Not sure how accurate or reliable it is though. I’ve been considering downloading SportTracks 3.1 and giving it a try since they also support import /analysis of all of the new FR620 running dynamics.
Hello, I am not able to share my activities in FaceBook through the mobile app. Did I missed any setup procedure?
Thank you,
Awesome review!
Ordered the FR620 online from Clever Training (10% discount with Ray’s code and no sales tax or shipping) immediately after reading the review on Monday 2/10. Received my new watch on Thursday 2/13! Set up took just 10 minutes and then out to the track for a workout.
Love the FR620 over my old FR610. Garmin did good with the update.
Which coupon code did you use? DCR10TXS ?
Hi Cary – It’s currently DCR10MKG (it changes every few months). You can always find it on the sidebar on the right side. Enjoy!
Can anyone pls help me out? My FR620 crashed during last garmin software update and now it wont reboot. I only see the GARMIN boot screen but nothing else happens. Soft reset does not work either and I als tried to empty the battery but it still does not work.
any ideas how I can fix this?
Best regards,
Shikko
You could try a hard reset as well. Failing that, I’d recommend ringing Garmin. In the vast majority of cases they can get you all squared away without having to swap units.
I would like to know why my forerunner 620 is not turning on the bluetooth, sounds is not working anymore and it is not turning off. GPS sign also is not available….terrible. It happened after the first training.
thanks
It sounds like you’ve got a bunch of problems, perhaps related, perhaps not. In either case, a quick call to Garmin support will probably get you settled (really, the Garmin phone support folks in the US are actually some of the most knowledgeable and helpful folks you’ll talk to on a tech product). Since you’re in the US, here’s the number: 800-800-1020, it’s open till 6PM Eastern.
Clayton, it happened to me a couple of weeks ago.
I just kept pressing the “power”button (top left) for 15/20 seconds to reset it.
Good Luck!
German
You do know that if a bug is never reported to Garmin you can’t expect them to know there is a bug that needs fixing. Also even if they know about the bug it may help them know how big of an issue it is so they can better prioritize fixing it.
A new version of GPS Chipset Type M426 (Fitness Region File) is available as of a few days ago. I’ve loaded it but won’t get to try it out until tomorrow. See it here: (you will have to accept the agreement) link to www8.garmin.com
Changes made from version 2.90 to 3.00:
Improved GPS accuracy and time to first fix in some cases.
Ran a 50k event at the weekend using the 620, last year ran the same event using the 310XT. Distance as measured by the 310XT was 50.09km, distance as measured by the 620 was 48.75k. That was with the latest GPS update.
Luckily I had a paceband as my expensive running watch was only able to function as a basic stop watch. The new features are really good but if the basic functionality doesn’t work….
I’ve a support case open with Garmin already.
Does anyone have any experience of buying watches from Clever Training in the UK? Did a quick research, and it turns out that buying the Garmin 620 through them is roughly £70 cheaper, even after the $30 shipping charge (using DCR discount). Anyone ever had any issues, how is their customer support, etc.?
I bought one from from Clever Training and had it shipped to the UK. When it arrived at customs I got a letter telling me that I needed to pay around £50 to release it! I rang Clever Training and they confirmed that they could do nothing about it as some products do get stopped at customs and this is the result.
They were very helpful and told me that if I just ignored the letter, eventually it would be sent back to them and they would then refund me for the watch (minus the $30 shipping). Fortunately for me I knew of someone travelling to the States who could collect another one for me. I am still waiting for my refund though!
Hope this helps.
I am interested on a garmin that can make metrics for both runnung and swiming.
Is the 910xt thee only option? Any other opition you suggest?
I tried to find out the answer to my question in this forum and elsewhere and I failed miserably.
Hence the question: does FR620 support any other activities then running? Specifically, I wonder if I could use 620 to record weight lifting sessions and have them listed in Garmin Connect website but under some other activity type. (Ideally if these “other” activities could be included in calculation of the recovery time, it would be really great)
Currently I use Suunto T6d and after the work out I can specify activity type. From what I understand Ambit 2 allows for predetermined activity types thus making it even easier because of the ability to select activity type before starting it.
I really like 620 and its features (mainly interval training and vibration), but it seems that Ambit 2 could be a better choice, because I could use it for some other activities – weight lifting, hiking, possibly biking. Still my main focus is running and this would be main purpose of the watch.
So, after rereading my post I guess my question really is: is FR620 suitable for other activities that are not running? Do you think that maybe Ambit 2 would be a better choice?
Thank you!
Kind of depends what you mean by “support other activities”. If you mean is there a special mode you can put it into to get options particular to that other activity then no there isn’t although a cycling mode is supposed to be coming this spring.
If you mean can you timer the start, see how long your did something, take manual laps and see what your HR was then yes you can. When you upload to Garmin Connect, just change the activity type.
HRWC says a spring 2014 update will include cycling mode. Can you confirm this?
Thanks!
Yup, I covered this a couple weeks prior to their announcement as part of my CES coverage: link to dcrainmaker.com
Hi,
I have noted that when I edit a workout, that was already uploaded to the device from Garmin Connect, the changes do not appear on the device. I have to delete the Schedule.fit files from the device’s GARMIN folder and then upload the edited workout. Is that correct? It seems not too user-friendly. Are you aware of any ways around?
Jim
Ray,
Given the Felix2 announcement today, and the really cool inclusion of the ability to have a phone send updates to the watch, do you think the Forerunner will ever gain this functionality?
Especially now that the Forerunner will (sometime) get the addition of a cycling mode, it would be awesome if it would display text messages as some contacts…
I hope Garmin adds this.
As always, thanks for all you do!
You might gain something like that while in activity mode, but definitely not in non-activity mode. In talking with them previously, the low-power characteristics of the chipsets included within the FR220/FR620 doesn’t really give them the option to hang out in a Bluetooth low-power mode for days on end.
Hi Ray,
quick question. If we buy the HRM – Run, will the new running metrics show up on a FR910xt?
Thanks
No, the FR910XT doesn’t record those metrics. Sorry!
ANDROID update is finally here! Hey did you get the connect app update? I still see inability to upload courses to the watch. Do you know if this is a feature within the watch to begin with?
No, courses are not on the FR620, nor, at the moment, are they planned to be.
Hello dear Ray, my Forerunner 310XT shows with a 4-field display in stopwatch data field after an hour only the hours and minutes, not seconds. Is that with the Forerunner 620 also the case?
On the 620, with 4 fields on, if you put the total time in the top field it displays h:mm:ss (I’ve never run over 9:59:59, so I don’t know what happens then ;) )
Using the 620, how do you record time and heart rate without being in run mode? For instance, on a bike trainer you want to record the time and heart rate data for that activity. Thanks for your help!
Simply tap the GPS icon at the top when inside and it’ll give you a menu to turn off the GPS.
You can turn the GPS off and start the timer. You might randomly get some cadence info (this happened to me last night when I was swimming) that’ll confuse you, but it will record time and associated heart rate info.
Once you’ve stopped the event and uploaded to Garmin Connect you can then change the activity manually to biking (or swimming, or whatever).
I loved your review but I’m having a little bit of troubleshooting and was wondering if you could help!
Sometimes the GPS takes more than 5 minutes to connect to the satellite and sometimes (at the same location) less than a minute! What can i do?
I alteady hace a marathon workout made on my garminconnect page but cant transfer to the watch. It tells me it doesnt support workout schedules! Do you have an alternative?
Thanks!
JM – The “doesn’t support workout schedules” problem is a fault with the Garmin Connect site rather than a problem with your own device or set up.
link to forums.garmin.com!
For the GPS issue, I’d reset the watch, it sounds like something is hung. Failing that, ring up Garmin support to get it sorted out.
The Bluetooth connection on the new connect is very sketchy. The pairing doesn’t survive turning off Bluetooth on the nexus 5. And sometimes it won’t connect even if you leave the Bluetooth on. Anyone have any better results on other androids + 620?
I just bought the 620 yesterday and created a new training calendar. I was expecting the transfer of the calendar to the watch to be smooth but it was a nightmare. Every time I tried to send the calendar, Garmin Connect will state “No device found that supports scheduled workouts”. What is this?! Did I just buy an expensive paperweight?! Suspecting that it may be an issue with the browser, I tried to use Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer on both OSX and Windows but none worked for me. I had also tried removing and re-adding the watch to Garmin Express Fit and that didn’t work as well. A search through the Garmin forum also turned out to be fruitless. The watch may be great but now I have very, very little confidence in Garmin’s capability to come up with a decent, working web app.
I have problems with Garmin.connect site since around 3 weeks ago. It reported “stopped time” as “moving time”. Before it was fine. My FR 305 is just working fine. I am currently waiting for April launch of xxxxx V800 hoping it is supported by a seamless web activity reporting site.
Had the same issue but came across some threads detailing it. Here’s a bunch of people discussing the issue:
link to forums.garmin.com!
and here’s a thread Garmin will be letting us know they’ve fixed it via:
link to forums.garmin.com
I’ve noticed other bugs recently – such as my resting hr is stuck at 0 so my zones are all messed up. Changes to resting and max hr won’t save in any browser or via the Android app. I was able to adjust them on my 620 and sync it which updated my max hr, but the resting stays at 0.
Seems like the transition to the new site is turning into a bit of a bumpy ride for them – and us.
Great review, thank you.
Set on the 620 without the HR monitor until I read your review. Looks like I may need to invest in that too. I am looking to upgrade from my 2010 Forerunner 405 which came with a 1G HRM with ANT+. Will this work with the 620? Looking to save the 50$ if I can.
Thanks!
It is indeed compatible. However, you won’t get any of the running dynamics pieces.
I have been a great advocate of the 620, but I ran the Tokyo marathon along side my son on Sunday. He wore a Garmin 10 and I had on my 620. His 10 measured 42.7k. My 620 measured 52.0k!!!!! Same course, same weather, same start point, same acquisition time, same same. Something is wrong there. The 620 just doesn’t cope with buildings anything like the 10. And Tokyo isn’t as built up as many cities. I am logging it it Garmin, and I have the latest firmware. Disappointed.
Thanks for another awesome review. I’m currently using the 610 mainly for running and interval training . I also use the 610 for bike commuting but not serious road biking.
I would also wear the watch when swimming or doing triathlons and am thrilled that I could wear it from the start of the race rather than having to put it on in transition.
Do you think it is worth upgrading ? Does your girlfriend prefer the orange to the blue for girls ?
Thanks for another awesome review. I’m currently using the 610 mainly for running and interval training . I also use the 610 for bike commuting but not serious road biking.
I would also wear the watch when swimming or doing triathlons and am thrilled that I could wear it from the start of the race rather than having to put it on in transition.
Do you think it is worth upgrading ? Does your girlfriend prefer the orange to the blue for girls ?
Thanks for another awesome review. I’m currently using the 610 mainly for running and interval training . I also use the 610 for bike commuting but not serious road biking.
I would also wear the watch when swimming or doing triathlons and am thrilled that I could wear it from the start of the race rather than having to put it on in transition.
Do you think it is worth upgrading ? Does your girlfriend prefer the orange to the blue for girls ?
She prefers the orange one, mostly because it’s not the black one. She’d prefer the purple FR220 colors cheme, but there’s no option for that on the FR620.
As for the FR620 for a triathlon, yes, it works. However, you won’t get splits per sport, nor is there a cycling mode like on the FR610 (it’s coming later this spring though). Definitely no swim mode though, nor multisport option.
Garmin GPS chip : SiRF(610) is replaced by the MTK(220,620)
GPS Inaccuracies of the FR620, Garmin Forum being discussed seriously
Don’t see this on the 620 forum at forums.garmin.com
look here
620 GPS poor accuracy
link to forums.garmin.com
Just got my Garmin 620. Spent a good hour trying to figure out where and how I can connect to wifi (feeling like an idiot)… I came across a thread where supposedly with the new software garmin put out recently left this part out?
You add/config the wifi via Garmin Express
Yes but the problem is there are only two tabs on garmin express new software.. Updates and Device.
With the watch connected, open Garmin Express and then goto device and then in the info section you will see “Manage networks”.
oh!!! lol, ok now I feel stupid. thank-you. In my defence the directions told me to follow the onscreen directions (none) and had a completely different picture. Regardless thank you!
So for anyone else having wifi issues with their 620 and wifi, I figured out the problem with mine. Even after I had added a network in “Manage Networks” in Garmin Express Wifi was not working..620 kept saying “Use Garmin express to setup wifi”. What had happened was when I first set up my watch in garmin express, I managed to accidently click cancel on the wifi network it found… I figured no biggie and I will add it later… which I did… however it never worked and as I previously said I would recieve “Use Garmin express to setup wifi”.” when I hit the connect button on my Garmin. So I deleted the 620 out of the Garmin Express (didnt have to do it on the garmin connect saite..however ther eis an option to do that), and then the Garmin Express software started as first run. This time I set up the wifi with the onscreen instructions with first setup… and all is good now. I guess that the garmin software is still a little broken and does not push out the wifi settings to the watch after it has been added to Garmin Express. It appears you must do it on first run, with teh on screen popups. Im on Mac OSX Mavericks. And had the most up to date Garmin xpress software as of yesterday. Hope this helps someone else.
I’m still frustrated by this. My device is plugged in, i’m on Garmin Express 2.30, I’m in the Device Info section and there is no “Manage Networks” option. I’ve deleted and reinstalled the device, loaded the software on my PC (instead of MAC) and still no option.
As odd as this sounds, after adding in the device, unplug it – and then let the device fully boot-up and install any updates if applicable.
Then plug it back in, and see if it shows the option then.
I saw that last week while adding in a new FR620 into my Express setup. Was kinda odd.
Hi Ray,
Will adding the foot pod to the 620 give me accurate pace on the treadmill?
Also, the cadence has either not shown in graph form or not at all on my last few runs, in fact all the running dynamics did not record for a run. Have you seen this issue and do you know the fix?
Thanks!
Janelle
Yes on the first. Not quite sure on the second. I’d ring up Garmin support.
I had the same issue with all dynamics functions too. The watch said I would have to run with the specific HRM strap first to be able to record that, it recorded heart rate fine though. The watch didn’t recognized the HRM strap as the dynamics one, although they where boxed together.
After a few runs I was fed up with it, did a full reset and paired the HRM strap again, after that no issues anymore.
Hello, anyone know if the Navi function (back-to-start) whether is planned for the Forerunner 620?
It is really important for me. I would otherwise sell the clock again and buy the fenix 2…
Thanks in advance
I contacted Garmin about future features and they said submit all via link to garmin.com
It is not currently planned.
Ok Thanks, Ray.
So I will sell my FR620… :-(
Hi Ray, is “notifications via Bluetooth Smart” coming to the FR620 like the Fenix2? thx
I seriously hope so.
It’s not currently planned. The chipset on the FR620 isn’t really designed for a low-power mode to do 24×7 type notifications (ala Pebble). However, it would be able to support during-activity notifications without any additional hit.
It’s something I’ve discussed with them, but definitely nothing they’ve confirmed as happening.
Ray…Garmin has gone curiously silent on their forums since last week when the Connect 2.0/Express nightmare started. Do you have any connections or insight into how big of a deal this is for them? Core functionality of the watch is broken because of the new site, software, & app & while the Garmin forums fill up with angry users, Garmin appears to have gone underground.
I think it’s a fairly big deal for them. I know folks are working almost around the clock. Some things get fixed, others get broke, etc… Either way, it’s a complete and total mess of broke on all sorts of levels. And that’s even before we discuss the merits of the design itself.
Yeah, the new design I have seen from some users who have the vivofit & already got the new dashboard is less than exciting, but that’s the lesser issue at this point. The fact that core & basic functionality was broken by this upgrade is potentially indicative of a larger issue at Garmin. I’m still Garmin loyal (for now), but they could lose a significant segment of customers who depend on seamless integration to stay on their training plan.
Thankfully I had already loaded several weeks worth of workouts to my watch before this crash, but the inability to make modifications to my plan or adding new workouts (even individually) is taking a toll.
I ordered this watch with complete excitement only to be totally disappointed. This product is not ready for prime time and they shouldn’t be selling it yet. My watch was clearly a lemon and has been returned and i now desperate for a GPS watch and will read your other reviews. In talking with Garmin it appears they have so many bugs to work on that they are planning the year around fixing them but it will be some time before they get them solved. My watch failed before the 10th activity and then wouldn’t hold a charge and many functions didn’t work. They gave me a 10 step fix that i could try before each activity, sad answer.
All i can say is “not ready for time yet”
I welcome suggestions for a watch that works!
Mark
Thank you so much for the review, I placed my order on Clever Training and the discount code worked great. I am excited to try this watch. Was not happy at all with the Nike + watch. I do most of my running in the early hours and you cannot activate the back light on the Nike watch very easily, rendering it useless in the dark while running.
Thanks for the support Mike, I appreciate it!
Really starting to lose patience with this new garmin app now , cannot upload any of my runs now to garmin connect as the app and my 620 will not pair . I can use the watch on its own but hey whats going on , the old app did work ….. Just but the new improved haha app does not work at all . DOES Anyone test these apps ? I want my money back !
If you haven’t already, I’d really encourage you to ring up Garmin and open a support case to illuminate how bad the new GC/GCM is. Because realistically, the team is far to underwater right now to read comments here.
I’ve googled. I’ve RTFM. Google is tough because the term “lock” gets confused with Satellite Lock AND with how the GPS gets locked when in normal watch mode.
How on earth do I lock the keys (from inadvertent pressed) WHILE IN GPS MODE? I do lots of long runs, and in the winter am wearing gear, on trails dodging trees and grabbing things. What is to stop me from accidentally pressing the Start/Stop button or the Lap button while running?
On my 310XT this was easy (a two button key press which I’ve tried to no avail on the 620). On my Ambit there is a button (shared with backlight – also tried on the 620) dedicated for this obvious and necessary purpose.
My lack of google results tells me no such lock exists on this watch, but that would be so useless! Nothing worse than heading out for a 6 hour trail run to get home and find the data is a mess! Help GREATLY appreciated.
I’ve a ticket open with Garmin asking same…..awaiting reply!
Thanks Keith. Please post back.
Garmin support finally got back to me…….and….there is no lock mode during an activity! I don’t understand why they have removed features with the new model. Beginning to miss me FR410 now.
The 310xt didn’t have this either when it was originally released; it came in a firmware release many months later. And that’s a tri watch which really needs a button lock for when you’re doing all the things that go with transition and whacking everything in sight. There’s a place on the Garmin website you can post suggestions; might be worth us all asking for this.
hi, great review!!
i am a micoach user and really wanted to hear that the smart run is even similar to this, but i think this garmin is a lot better…
i have the micoach pacer with HR stripe and speed cell, as both are Ant+ do you know if i can pair the G620 with my adidas HR and speed cell footpod? if so do you recomend this or is better to get the garmin original HR stripe?
thanks a lot
Andres
It depends. If you do indeed have the ANT+ speed cell/HR strap, then you’re good (though, you won’t get Running Dynamics). You can validate they are ANT+, as they’ll have the little ANT+ logo on them.
Hi DC
I’ve just bought a 620, but am at the moment still using my old classic plastic HRM strap.
Amazon are listing the HRM-Run as “This item is due to be released on April 1, 2014.” here but Garmin are apparently selling it right now.
Are Garmin releasing an updated version of the HRM-Run (in which case it would be better to wait and buy in April), or do you think there is no significance in the April release date?
Cheers, Robin
Nah, it’s just the same strap. It’s simply a random Amazon error. You’ve been able to buy it individually since last fall sometime.
Sometimes Amazon falls a bit behind on accessories.
Coo, ta!
Garmin 620 owner here- Any city runners here? I live in Philadelphia and the GPS is horribly inaccurate around the skyscrapers. Once I run away from them, it improves greatly. I don’t think there is much I can do about it, but it is frustrating. I had a 305 which took forever to lock into the satellites- hoped the 620 would be more accurate (it is faster though)
I run in New York (but not in midtown where the giant buildings are). I’ve never had a problem with weird/poor satellite reception (Including running over the Queensborough Bridge pretty frequently.
I run in NY too. Usually I run by the edge of Manhattan so there’s no problem there but I generally start in the middle of the Financial District (home) or Midtown (work). I find the 620 pretty good compared to my phone GPS – around the big skyscrapers my route will often be off by half a block or so (often suggesting i’ve run straight through a building). Compared to my phone GPS which often can’t get a lock of any kind and just doesn’t track my run at all, i’d say its a big improvement.
Can’t compare to other GPS watches though as the 620 is my first one.
Hi Luke – I too run over Queensboro Bridge on a regular basis. Quick question for you, do you notice the elevation being wonky when you go from Queens side to the Manhattan side?? I notice the elevation drops from 23 to – 60ft (dropping 80 ft when you are climbing), then immediately jumps 150 feet to 90ft of elevation.
From the Manhattan side to the Queens side, on the incline, it also shows erratic data. I think it’s probably due to an error in Garmin’s database for that location? Would love it if someone can shed light on how Garmin watches calculate the elevation? If it’s based purely on the GPS, it could be that the pedestrian crossing is on the north side of the bridge, thereby reducing the accuracy of the GPS as the satellites are due south.
This has been happening ever since I had my 610, and the data is still showing the incorrect elevation decline/jump on the FR620 (on both watches that I had).
Ok.. I also seem to run through buildings with my 620. usually not far off, but sometimes it has some weird readings,.. guess there are limits to the technology- thanks
Albert, the watch internally calculates elevation based on GPS. When the file is uploaded to Garmin Connect, the elevation is corrected from a map of elevation values. That map has some limitations, mainly due to having low enough resolution that it doesn’t see bridges, so it will probably show you the river level at that point.
So if it’s the elevation shown on the watch itself, it’s a GPS issue; if on Connect, it’s an elevation map issue.
Dom hit it right on the head, it is a garmin connect / data issue.
When I bike with my Edge 500 (which has a barometer) the elevation on the bridge is “correct” (I have no idea what the elevation actually is, but the Edge puts me in the 115 – 140 feet level. I’ve never checked the elevation when I’m actually on the bridge to see what the actual FR 620 thinks, but I’ve always written it off as an elevation correction issue.
Luke – according to NYRR’s Marathon elevation map, the Queensboro starts at an elevation of around 16ft (from Queen’s side, the direction of the marathon) and peaks at 135ft. I couldn’t really tell what the Manhattan side of the bridge elevation is as there seems to be, but it looks like 48 ft.
Dom – thank you for the explanation, that makes a lot of sense. It’s just frustrating that the elevation drops and immediately jumps back up. Maybe it has something to do with Roosevelt Island being right beneath the bridge. Oh well.
I have just run the Tokyo marathon with a 620 on and my son ran next to me with a Garmin 10. He got 42.7k, I got 52.0k. Yes, the 620 has real issues with even mildly built up areas.
Hi,
I’ve run 3 London Marathon’s and when you get into Canary wharf (where are tall buildings) the GPS goes haywire, that’s with a FR305 & 310XT, don’t think it’s the watches fault just all that metal and glass making the signal bounce all over the place.
Hello to Everybody!
I need an advice. Can I use the forerunner 620 to swim in salt water (maybe for more than 3hours) or it is going to kill it ???? According to the specification of the watch I suppose that I can but you can never know!
There’s no problems with salt water, nor spending time with it. As noted in either the FR220/FR620 review, I spent a few hours in salt water without issue.
I have done a couple of ocean swims with it, plus lots of laps in the pool, and it hasn’t missed a beat. At least that is working well!
Thanks a lot both of you.
Just after a run in which I uploaded a workout to the watch with intervals (upload worked fine) and I’m now ready to throw the watch in the bin, it drove me nuts! The pace alarm for the interval sessions went off every few seconds even thou I set a 5 second buffer and kept an even enough pace. GPS was accurate after reviewing after upload, not jumping around. The avg pace on the interval screen was showing pace either from last sample or pace alarm which was around 4-5seconds, it wasn’t showing the overall pace since start of that interval because a couple of KM’s into a temp interval the avg pace was jumping anything from 3:50min/km to 4:30min/km within a few seconds which is impossible for the avg over 5K to jump that much within a few seconds. Will open a ticket with Garmin on this. Also as backlight, alarm , and vibration going off every few seconds it drained the battery very fast.
Anyone else experience the same?
Hmm, as I noted in the review, I wouldn’t put a 5-second buffer on the pace alerts, it’s just going to be really tough to get that level of accuracy.
Now, the ‘Avg Pace’ or ‘Lap Pace’ shouldn’t have been jumping that much. Can you validate you have that exact pace field shown? In my case, I’m running fairly consistent intervals within it and the unit is usually within a few seconds pace-stability using Lap Pace.
Keep in mind that Lap Pace doesn’t have any impact on Pace Alerts (which are hyper-sensitive).
Hi Ray, the pace I’m referencing is the one shown on the interval screen, not one of the customizable screens. Previously on my FR410 I would set interval limits within 5 seconds or eg 3:48 to 3:52 min/km and was able to hold them without issue and would get the odd alert at the start but not every few seconds like with the FR620. The pace on the interval screen on the FR410 showed the average pace for the interval and didnt jump all over the place.On the FR620 the pace on the interval screen jumps all over the place and certainly isnt the interval average as as above a few KM’s into a tempo interval it was jumping up and down by 10’s of seconds.
I’m due another interval session tomorrow and will see how I get on as I now have increased from smart to 1 second and also upgraded from 2.50 to 2.60
Increased the pace gap for my intervals to 20seconds and as expected the alarm didn’t go off every few seconds.
I can confirm also that the pace on the interval screen is the instance pace, not the average pace for that interval.
Hit a new bug also yesterday with 2.60. Sometimes pressing the time button (bottom left) the watch reboots!!
Have you had problems with your current pace being accurate? I have had the 610 and every time I start running faster or sprinting, it immediately changes my pace to how fast I am going. I am noticing that the 620 takes a significantly longer time to lock into my pace. Does changing date recording to every second help this?
My pace stability is much improved with the 620 over the 610. Part of this is that they’ve smoothed the pace a tiny bit, so it make take a second or five until you see shifts in pace if you instantly start sprinting.
Also, some folks don’t like that it rounds up to the nearest 5-seconds (though, that’s a whole different debate).
I had an instantaneous pace increases of nearly 2 min/mi yesterday on the 620:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/452804473
Pretty sure I didn’t speed up, or am even capable of speeding up that quickly!
Do you see the current pace on your watch change quickly?
Hmm. Mine takes longer, like nearly over a minute to change my pace when I am sprinting. Which makes it frustrating when I am running 30 sec sprints or so.
It slowly goes up by increments of 5 sec. Does this happen to you?
Within the post I included a video showing the pace changes including going to a complete stop.
Hi Ray, I checked the video and when you stop running it actually takes only few seconds to change the current pace to “– –“. Could it be that behaviour is different when you don’t stop but walk instead?
My experience with interval training is that the pace when you go from running to walking (or viceversa) does not change drastically but gradually. For example, when I stop running (5:00 min/k) and start walking (10:00min/k) actual pace does not change to 10:00 in few seconds. It will go gradually up to 10:00 min/k and it will take more than 1 minute to show the actual walking pace. Same issue when I start running again after the walking recovery. (even though I might be running again at 5min/k in few seconds, I won’t show it until a couple of minutes later).
Anyone with the same experience?
I have fun with the 610 for the last couple of years and like it a lot. It appears the 620 would be a certain upgrade but I would prefer an all black watch. Do you think we will see new colors any time soon?
BTW- your site is great!
I don’t expect to see any new colors at this point for spring. Perhaps something for the fall running season. But I wouldn’t really expect to see a pure black honestly, since the blue one is so close to that already (just blue edging).
I note that thisisant.com lists the GSC10 as compatible with the FR620 (link to thisisant.com)
Can you confirm the FR620 firmware was updated to recognize the GSC10 and, if so, the FR620 now lists a distinct cycling mode.
ANy information is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I haven’t confirmed that to be the case (that it will support that sensor type). I’ll poke some folks.
Ok, I’ve confirmed with Garmin that ANT+ Speed/Cadence sensor support is indeed going to be part of the Garmin FR620 spring firmware release. They declined to comment on an exact definition of spring however.
Awesome! Thanks again for looking into this.
A stunningly detailed dissection of major GPS running watches and their GPS accuracy, including the 620. This would be worthy of your site Ray!
link to fellrnr.com
It’s interesting. You’ll see a bit more discussion about my thoughts (and others thoughts) on it back about a month ago here: link to dcrainmaker.com
Rainmaker,
Long time reader, first time poster. Thank you for your reviews, they are the absolute best reviews to decide on products, you don’t miss a thing! I also wanted to thank you for your discount code for CT, I had placed an order via the Garmin site for the 620 with HRM 2 hours before I noticed the code and link to CT. I called them, asked if they had it in stock and if I could get it by the weekend (impatient me) and they said yes. I clicked send, you saved me $50, and I am happy. Please keep on writing the reviews and sharing your knowledge.
Awesome, thanks for the support!
Anytime! Just got the email notification that my 620 has shipped, fine service from CT. Now comes the horrible habit of checking the tracking information site all day tomorrow…..
Tip of the day: On UPS/Fedex site you can set it up to trigger e-mail alerts when it delivers/exceptions. ;)
I probably am not doing the right thing with my new 620 but here goes…
I use the top right button to start my run and then the same again to pause/stop the run. If I have paused a run and want to just reset/save/discard, I press the top right button and need to hold it for a few seconds. However, this starts the run again (and adds precious few seconds to my time ;-) ). I have to then press stop again and hold if for a few seconds – this then brings up the Save / Discard option. In 610 and earlier I could just press the lap button for 3 secs to bring up the reset timer option.
It there another method to reset/save/discard the timer without having to go through the above sequence?
Thanks
Dinesh
You don’t need to hold the button to get the save/discard screen to come up. It will come up automatically about 3-5 seconds after pausing/stopping the run.
Now, the big question that I have seen on the Garmin forums is whether or not you should wait several minutes to save the run or if you should save it right away. The thought is that the recovery adviser looks at your heart rate at the time the activity is saved. If you save it right away, your heart rate is elevated & it will tell you to wait like 3 days before your next run. If you wait until your heart rate settles, it can reduce that time to like 24 hours.
Did my first run today with the 620. Seems the GPS was off by quite alot, compared to my old 305. I ran a route that I know is 12 km. and the watch had it at 10.92 km. Also the lap times was incorrect the whole time, the first 6 laps was displaying way too high min/km and the last 5 laps was showing too low min/km. Does anyone have any idea what has happend here?
Link to GC:
link to connect.garmin.com
There have been some stories of the 620 GPS being off from other devices & others of it being dead accurate. I can tell you that my first full marathon measured out to be 26.5 miles on my 620, but I chalked that up to taking turns wide & weaving through crowds side to side on the course.
One thing I would change first is the Data Recording Settings. By default it does smart recording, but you want it to record every second. This will give you a much more accurate & detailed recording. just press the 3 bars on the right > Settings > System > Data Recording. From there, change it to Every Second.
Drew – thanks for the tip about changing the Data Recording from Smart to Every Second. I’ve had a 620 since Tuesday and on the two runs since have noticed it under measures routes versus my old 305. Will be interesting to see tomorrow if the distance increases with sampling every second.
Mikael – How long did you wait before you started running? I had a 305 too and I know the 620 gets satellites in a fraction of the time of the 305, but this doesn´t mean that it has enough to be accurate. As you know there is no accuracy screen on the 620 like the 305. What some are doing is displaying elevation field. Once you see the elevation has stabilized – it should be more accurate.
I still cant pair my 620 to the new garmin connect app , is it just me or can nobody else connect either , quite surprised nobody else is talking about it . Have contacted garmin and they took a week to reply with a standard email saying whats the problem
if you mean pair by wifi, I posted about what worked for me on my Mac OSX OS Mavericks
link to dcrainmaker.com
Download the latest version of Garmin Express & the app. They finally fixed the issue of Garmin Connect & the iPhone app (assuming you are on an iPhone) & the 620 not seeing each other & communicating properly. After updating everything, I was able to send workouts to my watch via USB cable before a run & then upload my activity via the iPhone app with no issues.
I’d really highly encourage you to call again. I encourage all folks to call. The answer is instant, versus waiting for whenever e-mail happens and then the excuse for them to delay further an answer. True of any company, unfortunately.
I’m really frustrated with Garmin Customer Service at this point.
With the reset issue I’ve been having after the 2.5 update (as many others have been having – as noted on the Garmin forums) I contacted them and it’s just been a total run-around. They want me to pay to ship my watch to get it “repaired”. A watch that had ZERO problems until I updated it to 2.5.
There’s no way in hell I’m paying for shipping! They also expect me to be without a watch for a certain period of time?? NO WAY! Is that a joke? I received the watch as a gift, so another thing I have to do if I want to send it back is get a receipt from the person who gave it to me.
UGH.
I’m not happy at all. In the past with my FR305, as other companies do when you are dealing with expensive items and potential unhappy customers, Garmin sent me a new watch right away along with a shipping label to send back my defective 305. Recently, my dad had an issue with his Kindle Fire and Amazon simply put a hold on his credit card and sent him a new one, when he received the new unit he sent the old one back.
That’s good customer service.
Get with it Garmin. Seriously.
Thank you so much for such an in depth review. It gave me the confidence to buy a 620 + HRM-Run last week to replace my six years old Forerunner 305. I live in UK and the best price I could find online was GBP 314.99 for 620 + HRM-Run. Things are cheaper for you guys in US!
Is the Garmin Express Fit app available from garminconnect.com? I can only find Garmin Express (which seems to work fine).
Garmin Express is the replacement for the Garmin Express Fit. I think the general idea is that Garmin Express will be able to manage all devices whereas “Fit” was just for the 220/620.
The price difference in the US is basically just a case of tax not being included in the price shown. I bought my 620 at retail for $450 + tax of almost 9% taking it to around $490. If you take the 20% UK tax (VAT) off what you paid it’s pretty similar. Before tax your purchase is £251.99/$421.83 so actually a bit cheaper than the pre-tax price in the US.
Of course lots of online stores over here don’t collect the tax depending on which state you’re in. In this case you’re supposed to voluntarily pay it via your annual tax returns (which I’m sure everybody does….)
Sorry if that was boring to most people but moving from the UK to the US it surprised me, as I’d always looked on enviously at US prices.
ps. of course Ray’s awesome discount at Clever Training does make it cheaper – if only I’d been willing to wait and get it through them than getting it a week or so earlier at the NYC Marathon expo…
Ran the hot chocolate series15 k race in Seattle last weekend and it recorded 9.27 miles , that seems decent , the connect software was buggy on windows 8.0 i literally could not enter my login and password info, upgraded to 8.1 and everything is working fine. The watch I got has been great so far.
I am back looking for a watch. I bought Tactix, which had a batter drain problem. Without even turning ON gps.
Looking to either replace it with another Tactix, or 620 or Ambit2/2S.
Is cycling going to be in spring release? I don’t swim, cycling option would be nice as I do not want to carry another device for cycling.
Ray,
Can you confirm that Garmin will be releasing an update to add a cycling mode to the 620? I have the 610 and would like to upgrade and keep reading that Garmin announced that they would release it in Q1 of 2014. I called Garmin Tech Support today and asked if they could confirm that an update would be available eventually and they said no. I would hate to spend the money to find out the plans to release the update got scratched.
Yes, a bike mode with ANT+ Speed/Cadence sensor support is coming to the FR620.
It was never announced as ‘Q1’, but rather ‘Spring 2014’. Technically spring goes all the way to summer.
Thanks for the reply. I am very happy to hear this.
“Garmin express failed try again”.
I’m tearing my hair out. The big appeal of this for me was the wireless upload, and I can’t get the software for it to install. Any ideas?
Is the Iphone 4s way more accurate than FR620? link to fellrnr.com
So, are the older Garmins more accurate because they used Sirfstar IV chipsets, whereas the newer ones apparently use cheaper Mediatek ones? Wow, definitely not a wise decision by Garmin, as you get what you pay for and they’re now paying the price with so many people complaining about inferior GPS quality in the 620.
Wonder if those having GPS problems have Mediatek chipsets and the ones that don’t have Sirfstar IV. Is there a way I could check to ensure that if I buy the FR620 that it would I get the one with the better chipset?
Sigh.
I think FELLRNR’s data stuff is cool. I think it’s interesting. I’m impressed with his dedication to it. But it’s just a single segment on a single route he takes…over and over again. So while one could debate academically on that, I’m not sure that says anything more than his single unit on a single route repeated.
That’s the core reason I include comparisons across a broad range of runs in my review’s.
Fantastic review… I find your reviews to be the single best source of objective information about these products.
Just a note, however. A water resistent rating of 50m does not mean the watch can handle depths of 50 meters. I’m not sure how they decideded on these ratings, but a 50m watch is okay for general swimming but not diving.
They’re tested to 50m. All the major top of the line manufactures do test them to that. It’s one thing to look at a cheap watch that costs $15 and says that on the side (and might not really be).
But these companies do actually test them at those levels. I’ve seen it firsthand at Suunto, as well as the test clips from other companies like Bia.
No worries…I’ve got some new gear coming in later this spring being custom made to test exactly that on demand. :)
Ray,
Do you think the 620 will get the text notification capability that the fenix 2 has?
Thanks again for all you do.
It won’t get the ability to hang out like a Smart Watch 24×7 and get text notifications. In talking with Garmin about it, the FR220/FR620 lack a lower power mode on the BT chipset that would enable this.
However, it could technically get a ‘while in workout’ mode text notifications. Whether or not they implement that remains to be seen. I suspect at the moment they’re fairly sidetracked with the GC2 fixes/etc, and thus I don’t expect we’ll see new features in that are (which is where I suspect this would come from) until things stabilize there.
Great review!
Has Garmin installed the ability to see time spent in HR zones? The one feature that keeps me with Polar.
No time in zone.
Bill,
I missed the same feature when switching from my Polar 800 some weeks ago.
HR-zone information works fine whith using Garmin 620 data on Sporttracks: You can define your HR zones (as many as you want!) and apply those zones on all of your records ever imported. Import comes via USB from FR620 direct and is simple.
… If you are willing (at all), to use yet another tool for interpretation of FR 620 output.
kr, Reinhard
Hello to everyone!
Is it possible for Garmin to add the swim feature to 620? I think that it is just a matter of a simple software update and I strongly recommend that Garmin should add it otherwise this product comparing with the new Fenix 2 it will result to a commercial failure as the latest has all 620 feature plus many more. And this is pity because I believe that 620 it is a good enough watch. So maybe we have to request from Garmin to add this feature as well as cycling feature in order for 620 to be more competitive.
Regards
Swimming: Technically, it’s probably possible. Realistically? Not a chance.
I’m not sure which product you’re looking at as “a commercial failure”, but by any metric I’d look at it, the FR620 is the most successful GPS running watch (by sales volume) of all time. And the Fenix2 appears to be far outselling expectations for what effectively an old physical unit with new software.
As for the cycling piece, it’s already being added as noted in the review – timeframe is spring.
Hi Ray!
By “commercial failure” I want to say that many people may prefer the new fenix2 instead of 620! By the way I own a 620 and I have to be more realistic and stop hoping for swim mode :) However I am very satisfied from the watch. And for once more thank you very much both for your time reading this and for you reply.
“Not a chance” for swimming is really disappointing. Do Garmin believe it would dilute the market for the Fenix2 if they added this? And maybe the Garmin Swim too?
I can see the argument but in my case I am considering selling the 620 and getting the Fenix2 just for the OWS support (though I need to try again with the swimming cap method after an unsuccessful first go which reported that I swam 1m in 30mins!) – but that would mean I lose Live Tracking which I use all the time, and the 620 is just a much better looking watch to wear during the day too (IMHO),
Anyway since that comment was a couple of months ago I just wanted to check if it is still definitive or if you have sensed any movement from Garmin on it?
Nothing’s changed there.
Ultimately, Garmin segments watches into different categories – and this would be in the runners category. Even things that could have been fairly obviously related to running aren’t there (like Virtual Racer, course navigation, etc…).
Personally I’ve always believed that Garmin should tweak their model a bit and have a base platform that allows paid upgrades to different feature-sets. But, that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
That would be great – but I agree unlikely from Garmin. Would make an interesting Kickstarter project though if someone could figure it out.
Garmin suck big time!!!!!!!
I had/have several Forerunner watches (305, 405, 310XT, 910XT and 620) and I had nothing but problems!
Unbelievable!
At the moment, I have serious problems with my 620 (just like everyone else…)!
Everything worked ‘normal’ until there was an automatic update last week (via wifi!) and now…. my wifi doesn’t work anymore, Garmin Express fit doesn’t work no more and when connecting to their new system Garmin Express…. al data on my watch got erased!!!! And I can’t re-install wifi with Garmin Express because it doesn’t give me that opportunity… pffffffffff
I am so pissed off!
I will NEVER buy another GARMIN watch never!
And when you called Garmin support so they could fix it, what options did they give you?
Tonyh interesting, since last week WiFi does not work anymore for me, looks I am not only one… Although much slower BT upload to Ipad does work. I am afraid to do factory reset, advised by Garmin, since most of personal data get lost… You might give this a try. Good luck.
I went back and reinstalled garmin express fit (the old version that I first had when I got the 620) configured wifi there and now its fine.
Ray, previously you mentioned that the 620 is one of the companies highest selling units – do you know how many sold roughly? I’m curious because it feels like a barrage of bad press, but wonder how many people are actually having substantial issues.
I must say, I’m surprised you have still been responding to comments this far down the thread – legend.
Not exact units. They don’t disclose that. I know that pre-orders in the first month of the unit exceeded their entire annual forecast for the watch. I know from talking to multiple retailers that it’s by far been the most popular watch to date in terms of sales volume.
As for a ‘barrage of bad press’, the challenge is that people really only post if something is wrong. Be it here or the Garmin Forums. Thus even if you have less than 1% failure rate (which would be exceptional for a consumer electronic device of any type), those people invariably post here or the Garmin Forums – simply because it’s the most likely site to show up in search results. Usually before even bothering to call/engage support. So, let’s take 1%? Pretend there are 50,000 devices in the wild (it’s more). That means there are 500 people that might have a problem posting somewhere. And if we take a more normal 3%? Quite a bit more.
Which isn’t to say there aren’t bugs that Garmin had to solve (or could solve), there certainly are. But if everyone was having wide-spread problems I’d be seeing comments every single day on it here. But I’m simply not. I see a comment once every few days, and in many cases support (if the person chooses to engage) solves the issue and they’re up and going again. Just like most other consumer electronic devices.
Yes the ‘barrage’ I was alluding to was user comments on forums, here and Garmins own. Mine has its bugs, but 99% of the time has been great.
thanks again
Hi Ray, thank you very much for your detailed review. It convinced be to buy the FR 620 and overall I’m very happy with this watch. I wish race prediction and recovery time calculation were a bit more sophisticated than they are but otherwise I have nothing to complain about (no garmin connect wifi issues over here).
Oh, there’s one other thing and that’s actually the reason why I’m posting here. I created a training plan based on one of Garmin’s plans. All the workouts are nicely shown in the diary and could be transferred to the watch hassle-free. Unfortunately once I finished a workout and upload it to Garmin Connect it’s shown as an untitled activity and a new entry is created in the calendar. Is it supposed to be like this or am I missing something? I wish it would get the proper name (e.g. W02D3-Intervals) and would be recognised by the calendar as part of my training plan. At least the splits are transferred correctly.
Thanks! Glad it’s working out.
Yeah, unfortunately none of the Garmin devices record the pre-scheduled workout name in the actual completed workout file. And thus, don’t do any correlation post-upload on Garmin Connect to scheduled vs completed.
Do you know if two users can share the same 620 watch? And maintain separate profiles? I’m guessing the answer is ‘no’ but I can’t find it anywhere… I really don’t see the need to regularly use the strap with the extra info, but I think my bf would love it. I would like, however, to be able to use it once in a while to check cadence etc. without messing with his statistics… thanks!
Or… can we at least buy TWO 620s and only buy ONE HR strap and share it??
I’ll defer to Ray on the one watch two person issue (maybe possible if you have discrete upload options and don’t mingle them, but that’ll be super hard).
However, you can certainly share one heart rate monitor as long as you’re both not running together. But, given that the cool stuff for the 620 (what differentiates it from the 220) is all HRM functionality related I wonder if it is worth either spending the extra $50 (less with discounts) on the second HRM or buying the BF a 220 (which is a perfectly perfect watch for a newer/less insane runner).
As always, if Ray chimes in and overrules me I stand overruled…
Cadence is built in so you can see that without the HRM-Run although if you wear it comes from it due to be higher up the precedence order. You could share a strap but are you exactly the same size else would be a pain to have keep adjusting it.
Luke is correct.
There’s only one profile on the watch. You could definitely get two watches and share a HR strap, no problem there (obviously, only one at a time).
If you share a watch, the vast majority of items aren’t immacted. However, a few areas would be:
1) Recovery Advisor Data on the FR620
2) VO2Max data on the FR620
3) Calories
4) Treadmill paces without a footpod, since it would be calibrating constantly off a blend of both of you.
It would not impact cadence, since that’s calculated immediately. I’d agree with Luke that perhaps getting the BF a FR220 would be a better option.
it’s soooo difficult with two engineering nerds who run together *sigh*
He was having injury/issues and was very concerned with shoes, pace, cadence, form, recovery… whereas I’ve always been a random go-out-and-run-10miles-girl. I LOVE analyzing my pace and elevation gain, etc. so I love the gps factor in general. Neither of us use a gps but both want to. Now that my worsening bronchial asthma has had such a major affect on my running style (turned me into a walk/run/walk/run but can still maintain my old pace!) I’m wondering if I shouldn’t compare it to my heart rate data. Also, I’ve always wanted to understand my VO2Max etc. but never new how to collect that data…. choices choices.
Today there was (somehow) no GPS reception, and the accelerometer took over pretty fine. That said, even intervals showed higher speed than during W-up/C-down, so accelerometer stuff is not too bad.
WIFI does not work for a week or so. Then GC reminded me there is FW update 2.6. After erasing all FIT files from watch, Garmin Express reported no storage space on watch. At the end I tried Web updater and here I had more success. I upgraded to 2.6, re-installed Wifi link, and now GPS and Wifi are working again, for as long as it takes.-)
While wearing my garmin 620 inside on the treadmill, the avg pace it reads is close to 2 mins slower per mile than what the treadmill pace is reading. GPS is turned off on the watch. I do wear the HRM. Any ideas why it’s so far off?
Yeah, my results varied as well (as seen in the review). I have seen it get better with recent firmware updates. A couple things that help:
1) Keep it on the same wrist, whether indoors or outdoors, it’s ‘learning’ while outdoors and running
2) The unit uses GPS outdoors to calibrate, and does so across a broad range of paces. So while running outdoors, you’ll want to try and have as much data as possible included at various paces, so that when indoors on a treadmill you cover those paces well.
Thanks for the quick response. I do wear it on the same wrist everytime. As you mentioned, I’ll just have to get more runs outside w/various paces. Crazy how doing so will help with using it indoors.
Has anyone else found the recovery advisor to be worthless? For example, yesterday I ran 12.7 miles in the morning at 6:57 pace (1 minute slower than marathon pace) and it said I needed 22 hours to recover. Then in the evening I ran the exact same route at 6:42 pace. First it beeped and said my recovery was good, and at the end of the run it said I needed 10 hours to recover. Huh?
So this morning I go for a run, and despite running 25.4 miles the day before it said my recovery level was good. Come on, I was totally spent.
I’ve been using the watch for over 2 months, so it has a lot of history on me by now.
Mark,
I have the same experiences with the ‘recovery advisor’ function and therefore turned it off. In my opinion it is one in a row of new features that are quite worthless (others in that row: Ground Contact Time / Oscillation Figures / Elevation Figures). As to that specific recovery figure: Similar information is provided by ‘efficiency’ a (new) key figures in a range from 1-5 that – in my opinion – gives a fair picture of (extended) recovery needs.
Finally: Important to say at this level of criticism: I am generally very satifisfied with my FR 620 and cannot verify most of the negative feedbacks that are given (sometimes) here but more often on Garmin’s FR 620 forum.
In deciding whether to buy new FR620 vs whatever else is on the market, it appears from DCrainmaker’s Polar V800 preview that these severe Recovery limitations have been properly solved on the V800:
“Training Load and Recovery: This is designed to provide a holistic picture of training load and recovery. This is similar to other load/recovery systems that you see within other platforms such as Training Peaks and TSS (Training Stress Score)…
The workout data is then combined with historical data to determine your recovery times. The unit will use the previous 14 weeks of training history to help determine these recovery times. In addition, it’ll account for other activity from that day. For example, if you spent the first 4 hours of the day at the mall walking around like a madman doing last minute Christmas shopping, and then you ran 15 miles, it’ll compensate for the fatigue from both.”
Based on this alone, I have pre-ordered the V800 instead, despite the fact that I don’t cycle nor swim. I’m surprised that Garmin’s latest premium running watch is still in the dark ages in terms of real actionable recovery feedback.
Ray, is Garmin planning on fixing this gap, anytime soon on the FR620 or would they need a different watch to solve this huge limitation?
What is this ‘efficiency’ number you talk of?
Sorry, I changed the name of the figure without noticing : Correct name is ‘training effect’ given in the HR-Overview of any FR 620 workout [Similar key figure in different scale is also available in Sporttracks (called ‘Effort’)].
Today I did a long run, and had following observations:
1. watch does not show seconds in total time, I believe once 1h has passed. This is weird for high-end watch.
2. I covered 21.2km, and total time shown post-workout was 2h and 6 seconds (I stopped the watch when minute and hour incremented).
3. I have not been that far with this watch so I received personal best, longest distance and best half marathon.-)
4. However half marathon is rounded 21.1km, interestingly the watch says 2h and 5 seconds as personal best.
Bottom line, some strange rounding is happening, but maybe I am too sensitive to number accuracy.-)
1. Where do you have the time displayed. If you have four data fields, set the time to the top data field and it will show seconds after one hour.
2. do you mean when it hit 2 hours you hit stop?
3. congrats haha
4. would you prefer the HM to be a different distance? i guess it is technically 21.0975km or so
to clarify for #2, if you can’t see the seconds, you likely could have a slow trigger finger
Thanks Matt, will move overall-time field to top, glad to read there is way to get seconds back.
But this does not solve the accuracy issue. How comes the total covered distance is 21.2km at 2.00.06, and a PR of HM (21.1 rounded) is stored at 2.00.05, where I have seen live the HM point reached just before the 2h mark.
Side note: In GC I noticed the begin and end-point of GPS track is at very different places then were I started-stopped the 620 (with most recent FW for GPS+620).
This watch keep on surprises me.-)
I believe any time a distance is “near” a race distance, it essentially takes the total time.
For example, if you ran a 10K (6.21 miles) and it had 6.3 miles, it would take the total time to account for extra distance you ran during the race.
It’s like when people race on a track, they may be in the 5000m, but running wide on the turns causes them to run 5050m. The official time is still for 5000m.
so the fix for the PRs in the watch not matching the PRs in Garmn Connect is to send any and all old PRs logged with an older model watch to the 620 from Garmin Connect. I started running with the 620 and started getting “new” PRs that were not really my PR’s. After i saw that i could send them from Garmin Connect to the watch i obviously did so. All my real PRs overwrote the new fake ones so my watch now shows my true best.
OK so I apologize in advance if this has been answered already, I tried scanning the thread but it is TL;DR. I ran for the first time with the 620 on a treadmill and it was way off. I forgot the heart strap so I am wondering if it is the watch that is off and if the heart strap will increase the accuracy for the treadmill somehow. I turned the GPS off but it kept resetting my workout by itself so I ended up with like 3 separate runs. It was only a 35 treadmill session. I ordered a foot pod but I read that it is difficult to pair the foot pod and garmin suggests that it is not needed, however it was off by like 1.5 miles and had the pace nearly 30% slower on a 35 min run.
I don’t believe the HR strap measures distance, only cadence and the other running dynamics.
DC has stated the accelerometer varies and is only accurate closer to regular pace. Running slower or faster throws it off. Also, it requires some time to get the calibration right with numerous runs outside.
I use the footpod for my 620 when on the TM, it’s easy to pair and finds it right away. Also, much more accurate. Again, you also need to calibrate it by running outside.
So I had my 620 since november and I really like the watch, but unfortunately I’ve had issues with bluetooth livetracking from day 1. Constant disconnects and if i’m lucky, reconnects. I’ve updated each firmware with issues still. Have master reset and still issues. I’m on my 2nd 620 and did a run today, I was pessimistic at first but after the first 1.5 miles, I didn’t have any issues with it disconnect. Finally thought I had it fixed. Then wham, at mile 1.7 it disconnect. It disconnected and reconnected 15 times for the 8.2 mile run. I had 7 disconnects between 1.7 and 3.4 miles. After 3.4 miles, it didn’t reconnect again until mile 4.2. There were times where it reconnected after I stopped it at a red light, only for it to disconnect the minute I started moving again and hit start. There was even a point when I was running that it connected and then proceeded to disconnect while the “phone connect” batter was still on the screen.
And if you’re wondering, no it’s not the phone. I’ve used 2 friends’ 220s with no issue on multiple runs up to 16 miles with no issues.
Looks like I’ll be exchanging for the Fenix 2, it can’t use ant+ and bt at the same time, but considering my luck with the bt on the 620, it doesn’t really matter.
Hi..
In the review Ray writes about the Virtual Partner: “The unit will then tell you how far ahead or behind that virtual pacer you are, in both distance and time”
I can only see the difference in time, but would really love to have it in distance as well. How??
Great job on the reviews and all of the other stuff Ray!!
/Ken
Hi Ray,
You write that the watch has an internal accelerometer that measures cadence, but Garmin on link to youtube.com say the accelerometer is in the HRM strap.
Which do you think is correct?
No thinking involved. Both are correct. The FR620 contains an internal accelerometer that does cadence calculation. However, the HRM-RUN that’s compatible with the FR620 also does cadence calculation. The HRM-RUN strap will override the cadence calculation on the internal unit, because it’s not susceptible to arm-swing events that could change (like drinking from a water bottle). Check out the HRM-RUN (Running Dynamics) section for more details.
I imagine if a footpod is involved, then it overrides HRM-RUN. Thus, priority would be footpod > hrm-run > 620 for cadence only, not pace, right?
No the precedence order for cadence is HRM-Run, Footpod, 620.
Hi,
Just ordered a FR620 Bundle and a FR220 Bundle on clevertraining.com and saved 75$ thanks to your coupon!
Great reviews, great discount!
Thanks!
Thanks for the support!
Hi Ray
You wrote the following on the section about “Treadmill running and Internal Accelerometer”
“Once that’s done you can go ahead and specify the calibration factor if you know it”
What’s a “calibration factor”?
I mean I know what the definition of Calibration factor, or at least what google says it is but what does it mean on a watch like the FR 620 or the new Fenix 2? How do I find the calibration factor for me?
I tried going thru the posts at the end but this far there are 1843 posts and replies etc… if its in there I couldn’t find it.
Thanks
Hi Ray
Thanks for great reviews!
I do a lot of off road running. Any specific concerns using the 620 in this environment?
Also, Do you know if the two 620 colour options are unisex? I’ve seen the white/orange version described as ‘ladies’.
Best regards
I have the white/orange FR620 and I’m a male!
No specific concerns there, that aren’t otherwise shared with any GPS unit. Which is that off-roading is the most difficult for any GPS, because of tree cover, quick turns, etc…
Are you able to see altimeter/ elevation readings on the 620 while running or is it only on garmin connect afterwards? Sorry if you already mentioned, I couldn’t find it in the review.
I’m trying to decide between Suunto Ambit 2R or 620. Mostly used for trail running.
Thanks! Great reviews.
Yes, you can add the ‘Elevation’ data field to either the FR620 or Ambit 2R.
Ray, could you add some additional comparison field to your tables where you compare different devices?
In this case resolution of time alerts (and autolap based on time). 620 has only increments of 5 seconds which to me is too limited.
Why? well suppose one want to run/swim 10 laps timed at 1.42, leading to 17minutes, e.g. on 500m running track (total 5K) or in pool (10 times 100m: 1000m). With the 5 seconds increments, only 16.40(1.40) or 17.30 (1.45) is available.
Maybe Fenix2 is doing better here? I expect Polar and Suunto’s are doing better on this.
Would be good to be able to compare these kind of metrics, however I do understand it requires time investment from you.
Thanks.
Interval function on watch, has only 5s increments too, probably due to combination scroll/touch-screen functionality.
But when using workouts feature in GC, there is 1s resolution available, so we are good here!
Having on-device features are great, but it would be good to make it clear to potential users/buyers, there are some limitations.
Will text/e-mail notifications eventually be available with this watch….it seems from a hardware perspective it’s possible. Any word that there will be a software update to include this with the 620?
No, there’s no plans to currently.
Hello, and thank you for these really good reviews you’re making!
I’ve got a FR 610 and since a couple of weeks the vivofit. Now I’ve purchased the FR 620. Because of the non existing tanitasituation I will keep my 610 (yes, there ARE people who travel with their scale:)).
Now the thing: Besides running I usually use my FR 610 when walking the dog, too. Now I understand the FR 620 isn’t the good choice for walking. Am I right, that I should either take the FR &610 or only the vivofit when walking? And: Would any activities from other devices stored at GC be transferred to the FR 620 considering recovery time? Or, would it be a better idea to walk with the FR 620 but not take on the HRM? In my experience the “results” from walking are very similar with or without the strap.
The calories are similar for walking simply because the math works out that way as the heart rate isn’t elevated. so it becomes mostly a simple mass*distance calculation.
Right now, taking both will result in the duplicate data. But ultimately within a few weeks or so, it’ll be a non-issue as it’ll automatically take the high quality data and then when the Vivofit sync’s it would see the FR620 walks. Thus, long term I’d use the FR620 on the walks.
Just wondering if the mini Duracell device you reviewed with the 310xt works with the Garmin 620?
I’ve also heard of people using the Power Monkey Discovery portable charger (not the Garmin branded type) – here is the link: link to powertraveller.com
Have you had any experience with the Power Monkey Discovery? And if so, do you know if it’s compatible with the Garmin 620?
No, when you connect an extra battery it’ll automatically kick the unit into standby mode and pause/stop the timer.
Problematic!! So no other tricks up your sleeve to extend the batter life of the 620 during utilisation?
Small verification if I may: the mini Duracell charger IS compatible with the FR620 – but will just throw it into standby mode?
No, it’s sorta an is what it is case.
As for the Duracell specifically, I don’t quite know where mine is at the moment. But I tried it out on two similar ones (the Power Monkey Solar), and then an external USB battery park. They all work the same way though, supplying power to the unit that doesn’t trip as a mass storage device.
Unfortunately, any power applied to the unit immediately goes into standby mode (fwiw, the Fenix2 does not, it allows continual power).
Is there a way to maintain 2 profiles for 2 different runners? Would like to share the use of this with my wife.
No, unfortunately not. There’s actually no GPS running watch I’m aware of that allows two separate person profiles. It’s mostly because companies want you to buy separate watches.
That said, you can create two Garmin Connect accounts and then simply upload the data individually to the appropriate account.
Hi Ray
Can you up load a full 12 weeks training into the 620 calendar, that would be around 50 work outs?
Can you also pick and choose which day to do them if I want to deviate from the exact plan if I cannot do that workout on the exact day?
Thanks
hi
under settings system format running speed or pace
what does that function do? why the need to close one since u can see both on the activity screen
It just changes the defaults for whether it shows items by default in speed (MPH/KPH) or pace (i.e. 7:20/mile).
Hello Ray,
Do you have any idea why in the table where all our running activities appeared in Garmin Connect doesn’t appear the Running dynamics (vertical oscilation and Ground contact) in order to compare them with the past activities??? I have seen that the only reference is the Avg Run Cadence received from the watch but not from heart rate monitor. Any idea if they are going to update the table by adding also these data? It is confusing to have to open all the past activities in order to compare them.
Thank you
I expect we’ll probably see some trending in graphs/reports as things transition to GC2 in the coming months, as there’s no real work going on with the older variant of GC. Right now though, I’m honestly just happen when an activity opens up successfully at all in GC.
You have right.
Thank you
Is there any update of when a cycling or other sport mode will be added. I am loving this watch so far and adding the cycle mode will just make it top watch ever.
The current timeline (as of a week ago when I checked) was still ‘Spring’, which goes till June.
Thanks for the update. Hopefully sooner rather than later spring :)
hey there… have you heard of size issues with the HRM strap that comes with the Forerunner 620? My Forerunner 210 strap was better fitting than this new one. I have it on the smallest fitting but it’s still loose. I am not petite but thin and prefer my last strap than this new one. Garmin is no help. I wonder if the “premium” strap is different than that which comes in the bundle? I misplaced my Forerunner 620, so I need to purchase a new one :( Would be nice if this GPS-enabled device could have a similar function as the “find my iPhone” functionality in case of theft or loss. here goes another $450….
Hi Alexis-
I haven’t heard of anyone with strap length issues. The HRM3 and HRM-RUN (which is the strap that comes with the FR620) are identical, just different pods. One thing that some folks do in general if the strap is too long is to tie a knot in it. Kinda annoying, I agree, but it would be an option.
Another item you can do is that you can actually swap the pod from the HRM-RUN to the FR210 strap. They all are interchangeable. Or, you could just use your FR210 strap (except, you won’t get Vertical Oscillation and Ground Contact Time).
After overcoming both hardware/FW issue, I finally start liking my 620.
I started using the workout feature, and within one workout I am able to mix and match intervals/segments based on speed/HR/distance. On-site designing workouts, upload to watch, and then trying to nail the workout.
I am using Ray tricks to get HR readings proper, wetting strap, watering chest before applying strap. On top of this I also wet T-shirt where strap is located. Then in most case HR readings are fine. Seems there is some smoothing/averaging done to avoid spikes, with as result the response time is slow. But this seems acceptable. Furthermore, I am using Band-Aid to avoid chafting.
Ray thanks for all advice and support.
Thanks.
Hi Ray,
Your blog post a while back mentioning cycling mode for spring also mentioned a sooner update for footpod calibration. Any idea what’s happened to that?
Thanks
Chris
No, not sure on exact timelines. But I have seen some tidbits that’s indicated it’s being worked on.
Thanks for the update
On Garmin Connect is there a way to track shoe mileage? I really want to get the 620, but find the shoe mileage tracking on Nike+ that I am a bit reticent to give it up.
Not on Garmin Connect, and people have been requesting it for years.
Consider an independant site such as RunningAhead.com that does track “equipment” and has a good setup for building your own training plans. I’ve been using it in parallel to Garmin Connect with my 610 for quite a while.
Thanks for the response. What a disappointment. I am not sure I want to give up the ease of shoe trackng. I rely on it greatly and I don’t have enough free time for tracking in multiple places.
If you want a premium solution SportTracks is another option. It fully supports the Garmin 620 including the Running Dynamics stuff (vertical oscillation & ground contact time).
As far as the gear tracking goes it’s amazingly robust – distance and lifetime tracking, subparts (tires, insoles), prediction of when you need to replace things, plugins for maintenance reminders, yadda.
We have a handful of users that track 10 pieces of gear on workouts. Pretty crazy actually.
And I think there is a plugin to suck all your Nike+ data in too…. maybe. :)
Couple of thoughts. First is I’d be cautious about entrusting your entire history to one vendor if you value having that historic info. One simple policy change could lock it up preventing export elsewhere, or one serious database screwup and your data is gone. Not trying to be Chicken Little, the chances are of course small, but they do exist and you should weight that against the valu you place on your historic data.
Second, as this file becomes more crowded with different devices and manufacturers, it is possible the allure of a different platform may become strong. Do you want to also have to weigh losing your prior data as part of the cost of making a switch?
These are the reasons I do make the effort to sling my data up to RA. Thbiggest reason is simply that RA allows me to build my own training plans and then schedule / modify / re-use them. That, the shoe tracking, and a some reportinging capabilities make it worth uploading my data there. My 610 auto syncs data to Garmin Connect so it’s not like I have much additional work to do other than copy/past my notes/comments from one browser window to another.
BTW, there are some platforms that can keep things in sync, I’m not sure of the effect of some recent Garmin policy changes w.r.t. API access from this parties. Ray had a good post a few months back on syncing up different platforms.
RE: Data loss concerns.
I really think those days are behind us for fitness websites. The industry is now going on almost 10 years, cloud infrastructure is mature at this point.
Today the risk of data loss is ~nil for the major players that have corporations behind them (ie. aren’t just hobby projects run by some random person in their free time).
A development team competent enough to put up a scalable web infrastructure to serve 10x thousands of users will make disaster recovery a priority. A commercial website (taking subscription payments or advertiser revenues) will make it a priority for business risk reasons.
If anything the bigger risk is people who -ONLY- store workouts on their PC or mobile phone. Between the people who have no clue they *need* to make backups, those that aren’t technically capable, and those that forget, or simple have busy lives and other things to worry about (can you blame them??)…
Trust me – I get these emails every month: “umm… it turns out I didn’t have a backup, any chance you can restore from the cloud?”
So at a minimum I would strongly urge an online solution that manages your data. Not an online backup. Not dropbox. An actual fitness application, that just works. Garmin Connect is a good fallback option (if you use a Garmin device)
Policy changes are an *ENTIRELY* different matter. TL;DR: I agree with you completely.
Data portability is a thorny issue also. Here is a concrete example for you:
Endomondo doesn’t have an API to access your data. So nobody can build apps to backup or share your data (unlike most other websites out there). They have even actively blocked apps who hacked access (tapiriik).
They also don’t have a bulk export. There is a 3 year old request for this. So you can’t click a button and get a backup to export your data.
So how do you get your data? Click each workout and export. One. By. One. Technically you can get that data. So you could.. in theory… move to another website. But who is gonna do that? Click through 1,000 workouts? 2,000? No thanks.
Endomondo has 50 bazillion users, so… most people don’t care apparently. LOL.
Aaron, just to clarify I wasn’t referring to catastrophic data loss affecting the entire or even a significant portion of the user base. Instead I had in mind the sort of hiccups/overwrites that can affect individual users as may have happened recently to some Garmin Connect users at this thread and others: link to forums.garmin.com
Sorry if I wasn’t clear on the distinction.
Ray,
Just looking through the Garmin forums trying to see if anyone is putting a date to bringing back cycling functions for the 620. Found this page and laughed. It seems that you are well connected! Not that I really had any doubts.
link to forums.garmin.com
Ray,
My bike has been broken for three weeks now waiting for parts that are unavailable where I life and I picked up running instead. I’m reasonably fit but a total nitwit regarding running. I picked up the 620 because of that and it’s been great to me. It does what I expect from it. At my novice level I’m comfortable with the recovery estimates as a useful guideline not to do too much in the beginning. Also, I have uploaded a marathon training plan to the watch. It has made waiting for my bike parts that little bit more bearable and who knows you/the watch might have converted me into a runner of sorts. Thanks for the great review and making my choice for a running watch an easier one. One question, how big is a marathon training plan, do I need to worry about storage space when I log multiple long runs?
Thanks,
Allard
Thanks, glad it was helpful! And hope your bike makes a full recovery.
As for storage space, no problems at all there. There’s plenty of storage on the unit for a ton of long runs, and the schedule pieces are tiny. Enjoy!
Thanks a lot for your reply. Btw I feel guilty commenting and asking questions when I didn’t buy the device through you. The risk with (Thai) customs just didn’t make sense especially when living almost right next to a Garmin shop. Anyway I have used the watch on ten runs now and two thing I find a little annoying. I always need the back light on continuously when running because I run at five in the morning when its still cool (only 29 C.) but then I need to turn it of again after the run to not drain the battery accidentally which happens very easily and has happened to me already. An automatic ‘always on back light during activity only’ would be most useful. It’s quite a few steps into the setup and easy to make a mistake. Also, I don’t use the Running Dynamics screen when running but I believe in order to turn off the screen you also have to turn off the running dynamics? Is there a way to only turn off the screen? I still want to analyze the running dynamics after the run.
I should probably post this on the Garmin forum but perhaps you spoil your readers with your fast and clear replies too much…
thanks again!
Allard
@Allard / question2
I can answer that question from my personal experience: Just turn the runningdynamics screen off – you won’t lose any RD-data as you will recognice after transferring workout data to GC ( as long as you fix the HRM-transmitter in the correct position …).
kr, Reinhard
Hi Reinhard,
Thanks! I shouldn’t have been so paranoid about losing a single entry and just tried for myself;)
Allard
Hi,
Do you know if the garmin PRs are calculated from any point to any other point. Most watches I’ve used only measure PRs starting on mile boundaries. (so if I start a fast mile at 1.5 and end at 2.5 it won’t count)
Yup, between any two points anywhere.
Love your reviews!! I have the 620 and had no problems for the first 3 months. Last week for some reason the screen showing mileage and pace stay blank? I must have turned something off but dont know what. Now all I end up with is total time. Can you help please?
Hmm, that’s definitely odd. If it hasn’t happened again, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If it does happen again, i’d ring up Garmin support and see if they have a fix for it.
Thanks! I just reset it according to the manual and everything appears to be fine. Most likely user error! Keep up the great job!
Am I the only one having problems with the wifi connection??
I just can’t get the watch to recognize my wireless network. Even when I set it up manually, go for a run, and then try to make a transfer, it won’t work. I can only make a transfer if the watch is connected via the usb cable
Any ideas? Thx!
‘Your’ wifi-connection problem is mine and that of many others. Comes with firmware updae 2.60 und has not been fixe yet.
see more at
link to forums.garmin.com
Thanks ritprivat! Guess i’m kinda happy i’m not the only one :(
i have seen some problem for initial connection, when i started to configure wifi options via Garmin Express on my Mac – choosing preffered network, setting up password, etc but seem to not work. everytime i pressed “connect” on the watch it said “please set up network from pc” or smth like that. I did the set up again from the old windows pc instead of apple mac and it worked out instantly. maybe this will help.
I’ve just bought the 620 and I was wondering if the battery lifetime is affected in time , if I use only the USB connection for uploading the data. I’ve seen that it is recommended to charge the battery complete , but in this case the unit is connected only a few minutes. Should I let the unit to be fully charged each time when I use the USB ?
Thanks !
No, it’s fine if you only partially change sometimes.
Hi, may I ask how the indoors running exactly works (without footpod)? I didn’t find an option anywhere in the watch and it’s not really clear to me from the review either. Do I just start the watch as if I would go for an outside run and start the treadmill once the watch is ready?
When you disable the GPS (by tapping the top of the screen), it’ll go indoor an indoor running mode. That’s it!
Thanks Ray! I find it very hard to find out about these things using Garmin resources. Usually the best option seems to be to have a look at your review and ask a question in the comments if necessary. Does Garmin provide some kind of comprehensive manual for the device? I couldn’t find anything apart from the short manual that was included in the box.
No detailed manual that I’m aware of. They have a quick-start guide, and a regular manual, but nothing super detailed.
I have looked at doing some sort of Wiki type thing here, to start to build out some common Q&A type questions.
Thank God, all my problems with the Forerunner 620 are solved!
How?
I sold this piece of crap!!!!
Never again Garmin, never again listening to the bullshit Rainmaker pushing customers towards buying Garmin!
Take a look at almost all his answers when people ask for advice which watch to buy, he almost always send them towards crap Garmin!
Also Rainmaker, something I read on another forum about your reviews, especially about GPS accuracy: you always compare one watch with other watches to indicate that the distance measuring accuracy between the two or more watches is within / without limits.
But your NEVER test the watches against KNOWN distances, eg an official 5 or 10 KM.
I still have the Forerunner 910xt (thanks to the ‘wonderful’ original review of Rainmaker!) but this piece of crap I will throw away once I get my Suunto and later my Polar V800!
So, bye Rainmaker! I deleted your weblog from my favourites!
Ray is not Garmin support. People were bringing him issues without even trying Garmin first. He’s been pretty up front with Garmins blunders so he’s obviously not shilling for them. As an early adopter you might be disappointed with a product. Oh well. Sell it, move on. And if you think those other products won’t be rife with bugs, you’re out of your mind.
Hi Master-
Glad to see you go.
That said, ‘never’ is a strong word in your statement, since I’ve done testing against measured distances multiple times: link to dcrainmaker.com
But, don’t let accuracy get in the way of a good rant.
Of course, the reality is that while testing against shorter roller distances is good fun, testing against a 5K or 10K is pretty much useless, since your chance of getting within a few percent of that distance by running again is actually really difficult. Thus, it’s far more useful in longer-distance tests to tests against a bunch of units across real runs in real conditions and see where they stand.
Finally, TonyH, I do ask that if you post here, you use the same name each time – rather than changing the name each time to pretend you’re different people.
Oh, and one last little thing – I found it kinda funny that when you recently listed your FR620 for sale on another site, you actually ‘borrowed’ one of my photos for your listing. I suppose thus it’s sorta ironic you also then linked to the review (I appreciate that).
Have a good remainder of the weekend!
Hi Master of Disaster,
Rainmaker makes some reviews and you like me if we want we can read them in order to have a better understanding about the products. I don’t think that Ray has pressed as to buy one or another product, he just makes a review. If you don’t like him you can stop read his reviews, but I really cannot understand why you have to complaint here. If you are good enough create a blog like Ray and make also your proposals if you are better from Ray in your reviews I am sure that you will have your own funs, otherwise stop behaving like a 6 years old kid. Your choices are not Ray’s or any other responsibility is yours.
Does anyone know if the Garmin 620 or Fenix 2 can connect to the Concept2 pm4 rower and read distances from ant+?
No, unfortunately neither unit supports the “ANT+ Fitness Equipment” profile, which is what the PM4 uses.
Hi Ray.
Have you had any conversations with Garmin as to whether they will add FITNESS EQUIPMENT connections which will support the PM4 to their future updates?
Thanks.
No, it’s not currently on the docket. I think you’ll see support for that in the running watches die-off entirely. I do however think you’ll see it eventually show back up in the cycling units…
I might be a bit late to the party on this… but my Garmin site has been updated to the new garmin modern look.(I had the choice to do so)… if geographical location is important…. I’m in Ontario Canada. Keep up the great work Ray!!! Thanks for everything. And from one photographer to another…nice burn on the person using your photo :)
To follow up…I really like the layout of the modern look, and I love how it is customizable. The only complaint so far is that when I make a custom dashboard, and I add a an item to it such as Personal Records, it is defaulted to mini view (that has no info)…it would be nice to be able to set it to full view by default. Perhaps this is possible, but I haven’t found it yet.
link to dropbox.com
I have had my 620 since March 4th. It has worked great until the last two days. It will not connect to my home Wi-fi anymore to upload data. It just comes up with a message saying, “Cannot find a known Wifi network” or “No Wifi network available”.
I reset the watch, reconnect to garmin express and made sure the Wifi network was there. I tried everything and it did connect once after that but said there was no data to transfer. I have read other people having the same problem of the watch connecting for a month or two and then just won’t connect anymore.
I have been able to upload data through my iPhone app, but the Wifi is what I need.
Anyone else report this problem or know how to fix it?
Thanks,
-Chad
I had a very similar issue with my 620, wifi failing repeatedly after several months of successful wifi uploading. All the while BT uploads to the phone still worked properly. I re-installed Garmin Express Fit (the old wifi configuring tool), and got wifi uploads working again.
Link to Garmin Express Fit
That being said, when I experienced the issue, my Garmin Express was no longer showing the “Manage Networks” link on the device page. I chalked it up to an issue with Express, and reverted to Express Fit. A fews days later now, Garmin Express is again showing the Manage Networks link.
Thanks for the advice.
I went into the Manage Networks page and deleted the network and then re-added it. It then connected and said No files to transfer. Maybe it will start working now. It is a hassle.
Any one else have thoughts?
Well, I have had to reset the Wifi on the watch a few more times.
Now it seems to connect but it always comes up and says Transferring… then it will say 1 File Failed. Even though it says that the file was uploaded. Have you seen this?
it was same for me. glad i had an old windows pc. installed old version of garmin express with another style of menu and it worked fine. even now when i am back on garmin express on my mac, earlier preset networks work fine. even i have added one network from mac. seems to be some kind of initial setup of wifi. on old pc interface they ask for password two times. firstly after initial setup and later on for saving network options. i think that was the case
There appears to be a bug in how the 620 calculates the speed it displays on screen. I’ve observed that at high speeds (i.e., flying) the display speed “maxes out” at 235.9km/hr -even when we clearly are moving multiples faster than that. I have not had this problem with my old forerunner 405, and quite enjoyed having the watch on to tell me speed and altitude throughout my flights.
My 620 will not accurately report speeds faster than the 235.9km “ceiling”. Ironically, the watch actually “knows” how fast we are going – as evidenced by the fact that the lap paces it reports are correct (e.g., 4 seconds per km), though it will display a fixed speed of 235.9km/hr.
In addition, after downloading the data to garmin connect, there are quite glaring and colossal errors in the speed numbers displayed. E.g., on a recent flight I measured using the 620 the, the activity summary correctly shows distance traveled as 3,487km and the time as 4:15:42 (hrs:min:sec) – also correct. But is shows the average speed as 110.5km/hr – which is grossly incorrect!!! So the hardware seems fine, we’re accurately measuring distance, time, altitude, but are not reporting speed (in km/hr or miles/hr) correctly. As a check I used both my forerunner 620 and 405 on this flight and they agreed on everything except speed. And the speed on the 405 was within 1-2km/hr reported by the plane (peaked at about 965km/hr).
Any thoughts?
I’ve seen the same in a few other Garmin fitness devices semi-recently (last 1-2 years), while using while flying. I asked once a while back, never got a good answer there.
Have just invested in a 620 and thought that I would test it out this last weekend.
Seem to function on the run as expected, I was using the HRM as well. Can’t comment on route mapping and running dynamics as I seem to have lost the activity as described below.
The issue I experienced was when I came to download the data from the device and upload to Garmin Connect. I am using a Mac (OS X) and I went to the website and selected the “Get Started” button which then downloaded the Garmin Express software which I then installed. It prompted to discover a device and I placed the 620 in USB connector which it then found. It prompted that there were updates to install( including firmware 2.60 and some others) which I opted to install but the progress bar got to about 10% and then seemed to hang for a long time. After a long period of no activity I decided to try and reset the connection. I removed the device from the connector and it stayed in USB mode for a while before going back to Run mode. I closed and reopened the software application but it just seems to be very very flaky. Either not discovering the device and then when it did it would just hang and not update.
I then opted to try the Windows version of the software and repeated the above steps on a Windows 7 virtual machine running on VMware Fusion. Here it seemed to update correctly and even tried to sync, however it said that there were no activities. I checked the device and my run from earlier in the day was gone, showing “No Saved Activities” when going into History. I also checked the “Activities” folder via the data connection and it too was empty, no .FIT files. I am convinced that I opted to “Save” the activity when I completed it however in the connection / sync process it seems to have vanished! I recall selecting Save, but might not have selected “Done” after it displays the summary, not sure if this would then loose the activity. My totals were still listed as were PB / PRs for the run but the activity itself gone! Also, the PB / PRs would not upload to Connect, not sure if this is by design and it will only upload these when an activity is uploaded.
Starting to doubt the fact that I did save the activity, I did a test. I started a “run” and let it go for about 10secs, stopped it and then saved. Checked it was visible on the device in History > Activities and then tried connecting it again via USB and to the Mac. I struggled again with it discovering the device and at some stage the activity was definitely lost i.e. no longer on the device and not uploaded to Connect. I also did not have the option selected to delete / remove on upload. Not sure if this is only related to the Mac version of the software, I did manage to sync another test activity using the Windows software but was getting very frustrated so didn’t do any more to see if some would get lost using the Windows software too.
Looking at various posts online this does seem to be a bit of an issue with lost activities. As a workaround and not wanting to loose any more activities I have configured the WiFi option on the 620 for Auto-upload. My thinking is if I do not have to connect to the computer perhaps I will have more luck. This was problematic on the Mac in itself. Although the option is available in Express and lets me select the SSID and set the key, this does not seem to save to the device. Once disconnected and the “Connect” button pressed it still says configure via Express…Aaah! I did the same on the Windows software and when you save the SSID it opens a logon prompt for Connect online and then seems to have been saved on the device. I performed another test activity and it was uploaded automatically over WiFi so hopefully this will be the end of my issues.
Not sure if anyone has had a similar experience or can offer any advice?!
Hi Ray, quick question: does the garmin 620 display the duration you were in each heart rate zone as both suunto and polar do?
No, an oft and long requested featured that’s never been implemented on either display or Garmin Connect. There are many sites that do however, and can easily pull the Garmin data.
Hi Ray, as I totally agree with Max’s “request” I’m wondering which site(s) you could suggest for this reason among the “many sites” you mentioned? Thanks!
(I still couldn’t decide whether to invest into a Garmin missing this really basic function – let’s say a basic calculation and a screen – I can not understand how Garmin can afford to miss it…)
Sports Tracks, Training Peaks, and Strava all do. I’m sure there are others, but those are the three I most often use that do have it.
Interestingly the now somewhat defunct Garmin Training Center does and this does work with a 620. I still use it as my quick lookup of my runs over the years – now 10 years with GPS devices!
Still downloadable from link to garmin.com
Ray, with Boston coming up I would have expected something from the Garmin folks, am I off on the product cycle and they’re just waiting for the NYC Marathon?
We saw lots of running products announced last fall, and then the cycling stuff last week (+ new Vector pods today). Typical product cycle is 2 years. Thus, about the only things left out right now are some of the lower-end running devices.
Obviously, given it’s Tuesday (Garmin almost always announces on a Tuesday at 7AM), there’s nothing coming for Boston.
Hello to everybody,
I face the following problem: I have used the HRM run since February 2014 and in the last two runs after 4-5 klm the HRM run suddenly stops transmitting heart rate data to the 620 (all the other running dynamics are appearing correctly except from heart rate data) . Does anyone has any idea why this is happening??? Any advice, should I return it back to Garmin or to try sth else first???
Thanks for reading
It’s likely best to ring up Garmin support, which is your best bet for resolution.
Hi,
I am using my 620 for insanity classes as well as running outdoors. I turn of the GPS and use wth HRM but I am sure that the calories lost during the class is inaccurate compared to when I am running outside. I mean really low like 200 !!! and I am working really hard. Am I doing something wrong or do I need a footpod ???? Please help.
You’ll want to validate that your user profile settings are correct (gender/age/etc…). That does seem a bit low, but it’s hard to say exactly. I’d also look at ensure the HR reading feel/look accurate.
Calorie burn on any device out there is rarely 100% accuracy, but usually in the general ballpark.
Thanks. Have checked the user profile and all seeks ok. Will check the HRM. Thank you for your support.
Hi, any idea to upload an activity without a PC/Notebook? Ok, pre-configured (mainly home) wifi connection, but what can I do for example abroad or at the countryside? Having mobile phone/tablet with me. Any solution to upload using the mobile app and the existing bluetooth connection? At least in the near future? Thanks!
You could configure your mobile phone as an WLAN access point. After first configuration you should be able to upload activity wherever your mobile phone has online access via the standard way.
Thanks! It works well while using a mobile network and a wifi connection can be shared. (I thought this connection use a dinamic password, but since it is constant, I can pre-configure it with Garmin Express). The only left question is, while I’m abroad, having no mobile data network, but hanging on a wifi with the phone. In this case I can not use the wifi sharing, only bluetooth connection can be shared – but the watch is looking for a wifi connection. Maybe I’m wrong, but still don’t see the solution in this latter case.
Ray, thanks for great review and 100s of responses above.
I am trying to figure out if Garmin has finally made it possible to download Training Plans/synchronize Training Calendar via WiFi?
Initially this was not possible but I saw some mention in a few posts that it may be added at a late date.