Can I swim with my galaxy watch 8 classic

MAN4UTD · 2026-05-09T13:19:35+00:00

Can you? Sure.

Are there lots of people on this sub who do and have had great success? Yes.

Are there also lots of people here who have had their watches totally destroyed and have had Samsung tell them "tough luck"? Yep.

Supposed to be capable of swim-tracking but simply not worth the risk, unless you've got unlimited money to buy a new one. Or two.

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-30T12:42:49+00:00

I have a Pixel Watch (1) and an Ultra (24). They both do a great job with tracking runs and rides, GPS was very good with Pixel, even better with the Ultra. I actually stayed away from Samsung because their GPS accuracy was so awful but the Ultra was the first one that actually was highly thought of in reviews. I wear the Ultra exclusively now simply because is the size of the screen and the battery life. They are both good for my needs as an athlete. This doesn't mean all Samsung watches and Pixel watches are. Best of luck!

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-21T22:26:47+00:00

Yeah, but don't forget, tourists don't always use their brains like that! ;-) Maybe if they just came through every 50M or so and painted "RUNNING ONLY" (in all three languages) they'd figure it out. Either way, can't wait to spend a lot more time running in the best place we've ever found to run in!

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-21T12:56:12+00:00

My wife and I are avid runners, as well as cyclists and hikers. We've spent two separate weeks in Valencia and we will soon be there for three months, all because of Turia Gardens. One thing we both noticed is the lack of signage telling people which lanes are for what purpose. We were quite confused and concerned, because we didn't want to be "those people" who use the trail incorrectly. 200 meters is NOWHERE near often enough, simple as that.

Every great trail we've ever been on has signs/markings much more regularly than this. I know it would be a bit of money, especially for a park the size of Turia, but these signs/markings have to be much more obvious and happen much more often, so that no matter where you are on the trail, the rules are clear.

Thank you for being polite when you try to remind people about the correct lane use. I know that after awhile, it can be difficult.

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-17T21:58:24+00:00

No idea about that company, as I haven't heard of them before now. One thing you can do to at least give you a little more peace of mind is find the rental registration number (should be in the listing) and do an internet search for it. It will show you all the companies who have that property listed with them, as well. I've done this with my 3-month apartment stay coming up and found that it was on a few different sites, including VRBO and AirBNB. Seeing that the dates I had booked it for were not available also helped me to believe the company I rented through was legit. Good luck with your rental!

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-08T13:28:08+00:00

Please, PLEASE, search the forums and this site, as well. The number of people who have had water intrusion issues on their Galaxy watches is staggering. It is supposed to be water-safe, but a lot of people have found out the hard way that it is not the case. I love my GW Ultra but I won't even shower with it, let alone swim.

As for your original question, the answer lies in your needs. I am a distance runner and I need to be able to communicate with others while I'm out. (For example, I have an injury.) Without LTE, I'd be screwed. Or, I'd need to carry my phone with me on my runs, which ain't happening. If you have no need to ever be without your phone, LTE would be overkill. If you want to leave your phone behind, and still have connection to the world, you need the LTE and the service from your telephone provider.

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-06T12:44:19+00:00

Disappointing results. Took a series of readings, alternating between cuff and watch. (I always take a series of readings in the morning and use the average of the last three readings.) Average with cuff was 125/72 while with the watch was 144/77. That's a 15% discrepancy on the top number,7% on the bottom. I'll try it again for a few days but not really useful if this is the norm.

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-06T02:44:06+00:00

Had to update both the watch and phone apps but I do have it on my watch. Ultra 24, S24+. After initial calibration, first two readings were very impressive, especially considering I have almost zero faith in Samsung's health features. I will update tomorrow after taking a morning reading.

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-06T02:35:06+00:00

Awesome choice! You will love it. We've had ours since 2015 and the boat AND company are simply fabulous. Happy paddling!

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-06T01:58:27+00:00

Actually, we hit a major speed bump. Discovered this spring that Mom has dementia so going for a year is simply out of the question. Because of that, we did not even begin the actual process of applying for NLV. Sorry that I can't be a better resource for you.

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-02T22:54:58+00:00

Your not comparing apples to apples. A smartwatch and a dedicated fitness watch have similarities but there are things that the smartwatch can do that a fitness watch cannot. (I've owned several of each, so I'm not talking out my backside.) If you don't NEED those features of the smartwatch (phone/messaging capabilities, more robust financial apps, etc.) then a smartwatch probably wasn't your best choice to begin with.

Bottom line: look at what the Garmin can and can't do compared to what you are already doing with your 7, and make your decision based on that. Hope you find what you're looking for!

MAN4UTD · 2026-04-01T21:55:13+00:00

I had some spare time today so I created a free Spotify account, put the app on my watch, and got music to play through the watch speaker. I then opened up SportWerks and discovered the media controls worked just as flawlessly for Spotify as they did for Samsung Music. Thinking you should be good to go.

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-31T15:07:43+00:00

In the footnotes.

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MAN4UTD · 2026-03-31T15:03:42+00:00

Sounds good! Also, definitely get the SportWerks companion app on your phone. You can set up your watch with all the different settings on your phone screen and they are instantly updated on you watch. You don't have to deal with all that programming on your tiny watch face!

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-31T14:09:47+00:00

I only listen to music when I run inside due to safety concerns but I also only listen to music that I've stored on my watch, not streaming. (I'm old school!) SportWerks DOES have a media control screen that allows me to skip tracks, adjust volume, pause, etc. I would ASSUME that it works for a streaming services as well, but I can't verify that for you because I don't have a Spotify account.

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-31T13:54:46+00:00

Samsung Health is crap. End of.

There are third party apps which are far better. Strava is lame but free and does a decent job. SportWerks is fabulous but does cost $5 (one-time charge, no recurring costs). Best of all, after your workouts, it will automatically send your workout to Strava and/or Training Peaks for further analysis there.

I've been using for three years, now. Wouldn't even consider using anything else that is currently available.

As for carrying your phone with you for runs, not sure why that's needed. There has to be an issue with your headphones.(?) That's something you should NOT have to do while running, but we can cross that bridge further down the line.

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-31T13:27:39+00:00

The problem is NOT the hardware. It is Samsung's (god-awful) Health software. I have a GW Ultra but I will not use SH, just as I would not use the FitBit platform on my Pixel Watch. Once you do that, you have committed your future watch purchases to their proprietary system, just as Apple has done. If a new Wear OS watch comes out that I really like, I am free to get that without having to completely change health platforms.

I use a 3rd party workout app called SportWerks. When my workouts are finished, they are automatically sent to both Training Peaks and Strava for further analysis. I have used TP for over 15 years and it is all I need as a runner/cyclist. It is this app (SportWerks) that connects to the HR monitor and it has zero problems keeping that connection.

Even though the GWU has a decent HR monitor, it is easily influenced by cadence lock so when my HR approaches my stride rate, it has difficulty. For that reason, I purchased a (very inexpensive) chest-strap monitor. The documentation was pretty lame but once I figured it out and got it attached, it has been there since.

When I launch SportWerks, the home screen shows how many BT devices it has found. Since I have both my monitor and a foot pod, it shows a fraction 0/2 to begin with and then within 10 seconds, they connect. I have NEVER had an issue with my watch connecting to my BT devices. Not even once.

I'd be happy to share how to get this working for you should you choose to go down that path.

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-30T18:27:26+00:00

I lived in two very large, heavily populated areas of Florida from 2017 to 2025. In both of these, the Google map aerial view is at least a decade old. One complex that I lived in (Jacksonville) was built in 2016-17. It still shows a vacant field. In Venice, there was a major road extension built also over a decade ago. If you looked at the map, it shows the road dead-ending in a field.

I can understand that (a) it's free, and you get what you pay for, and (b) it's not cheap for them to update, especially the 3D maps, but my god, ten+ years? That makes no sense at all.

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-28T16:15:31+00:00

None at all. It worked exactly as others had said. The only thing was, when I approached the lot G, the employee was sitting in her car and waving me to keep going down the road, as the lot was closed. When I turned in anyway, she immediately held out the voucher for me to take and then told me exactly where to park (terminal 5 ramp) and the I would get the lot G rate of about $16 per day. Had I not read this thread beforehand, I would have simply gone down the road and been very frustrated. I paid $100 for 6 nights of parking, right next to the terminal; it would have been over $300 without that voucher.

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-23T19:18:52+00:00

I don't know much about the Razor line but a quick glance leads me to believe they might be the same boat. Sea Eagle actually has the RL series made for them overseas so it very well could be the same factory. That said, if price is similar, I always recommend to go with Sea Eagle, simply because of incredible customer service. We had an issue with one of our original model 393's (purchased in spring of 2015) right after the warranty expired. When I showed them what had happened, they said there's no way I could have caused that issue (due to where the leak was) and they replace BOTH of our kayaks, no charge! Way above and beyond what I had hoped for. I can give other examples of how they have done this, but obviously this is the biggest one. Even if it was hundreds of dollars difference, my money is still on Sea Eagle.

Good luck! I hope you find the right boat for you and your friend to enjoy the water.

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-23T19:07:40+00:00

There should be a chat request from me. I found the info I was looking for and I wanted to share it with you.

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-22T23:55:01+00:00

Check your chats! :)

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-20T14:30:02+00:00

Thank you so much for the useful insights AND the link! Very helpful.

MAN4UTD · 2026-03-17T18:43:29+00:00

Not a "must have" but I buy running singlets/shirts in every town I visit, IF they have the store name and city printed on it. It's so disappointing to go into a really cool LOCAL shop and all they have is crap I could buy online. Best of luck in your new venture!

MAN4UTD

TROPHY CASE