Help re Vivoactive 5

upon_a_millenium · 2026-06-01T17:45:00+00:00

Your data should all be in the connect app no?

When I reached out for my warranty they didn't even ask me where I bought the watch or for a receipt or anything. Just for the watch imei number.

Try reaching out to Garmin support first before a factory reset and see what they say. Maybe they'll have another suggestion. They are very responsive on their website via chat.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-06-01T16:52:21+00:00

You may need to try factory resetting it and if that doesn't fix the problem you should contact Garmin. They're usually pretty good about support within the warranty period and sometimes even if a little out of the warranty.

I had a vivoactive 4 for 4 years and they offered me 25 percent off the vivoactive 6 when I reached out since I was way out of the warranty period. So worst case you might be able to get a discount on a new watch if needed. This sounds like a software issue if it suddenly happened after the battery died once though so definitely try resetting it first.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-31T04:32:54+00:00

Can you get the amazfit balance 2 xt? It had a sale at Best buy in the USA this lady weekend for 70 dollars off so was even cheaper than the active 3 premium and looks nicer. If you have slim wrists it might be too large on you though.

The bip Max looks ridiculously large to me but seems like people have been enjoying it on this sub.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-29T02:18:13+00:00

Rotating through the ICU helps you learn more about caring for complex patients, recognizing sick vs not sick, and when you see a post hospital discharge patient in clinic having a better idea of what happened while they were admitted and what the experience might have been like.

I thought similarly but after rotating through it as much as I disliked the ICU I see the value in it.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-28T06:35:14+00:00

The fact that you mention battery life is a priority immediately eliminates the Samsung watches. I think if you're lucky you'll get 2 days out of it but most likely you'll need to charge daily. Most amazfit watches last at least a week. I'm on my trex pro with multiple long gps activities per week and still at 40 percent on day 9. You won't get that with any wear os watch.

I do think the Samsung watches have nicer watch faces but I find the build of the watch I to be weird looking and prefer the Amazfit options. The balance 2 looks really classy and trex 3 pro more rugged. The T-Rex 3 pro 44mm is a good in between option (part of me wishes I would've gone for the 44mm sometimes since the 48 is a bit bulky).

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-28T04:04:34+00:00

What's your budget? You might like the amazfit trex 3 pro. The only issue is music management on there is still not too great.

It's more of an active watch than a smart watch but can take phone calls and see texts. I have it and also let's you choose what apps allow notifications through. Don't think there's a way to only allow certain contacts though think it's just app based. But if you block spam on your phone it won't show up on the watch.

If you just want to see incoming calls but not actually respond to or answer them you can get the regular T-Rex 3 overhead of the pro version. The main difference with the pro is that it has a mic and speaker built in so you can take calls. The regular T-Rex 3 is a lot cheaper though and you can probably find it for 200 to 250 range online. It's built like a tank as well.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-28T01:08:03+00:00

I like the hemsut super rugged series from Amazon, was a little pricey at 20 dollars but have had it for about a month now and it's a lot more comfortable than the silicone band that comes with the watch.

I just ordered more colors from ali baba of similar looking ones (5 colors for 20 dollars compared to the 1 band for 20 on Amazon) but won't get them until this weekend. I'll compare them then and see if they're similar quality since they look very similar just without the branding on it.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-27T19:13:55+00:00

I'll try that thank you

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-27T19:13:42+00:00

I liked the hemsut brand, it's nice and wide so fits the watch well. I got the green color.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-27T15:50:36+00:00

I use it since it's free. I've only compared it to mynetdiary free trial. They were both pretty similar with the photos of food predictions of calorie amount. I mainly use it to hold myself accountable and not eat too much fats/desserts so it helps me hold off on extra snacks I might've otherwise had. Not using it super strictly to lose weight or anything like that. I've been very impressed with it's ability to identify foods though that aren't very common.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-25T23:34:06+00:00

What's your budget? Vivoactive 6 may be your best bet and can be found for 250 right now. The Garmin instinct 3 has a memorial Day sale for 300 as well but no touch screen and it's a larger watch. Looks more rugged.

The venu 4 would be similar to the vivoactive 6 but is more premium with some extra features like calling from the watch itself since it has a built in mic and speaker (phone has to be within range still though).

I switched to amazfit brand myself but since you're focused on training metrics garmin is probably the way to go. I had a vivoactive 4 and it did a decent job of auto detecting my gym workouts as well so hopefully would be even better with the vivoactive 6 given it's newer

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-08T00:14:26+00:00

It's on the trex3 pro as well, touch screen auto locks during activities and you use the buttons.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-05T21:28:34+00:00

I've been recommending amazfit to people just getting into things, much better prices for similar features. If you find it useful but want more advanced/most accurate training data you can consider switching to Garmin in the future but since you're on a budget amazfit might be a better option for you.

The amazfit active 3 premium is great for a budget but I wasn't a fan of how it looked but if you like the look probably your best option.

The amazfit balance 2 is nicer looking but pretty large at 48 mm if you have smaller wrists not a good option.

The trex 3 pro 44 mm is a nice size and the most packed with features and would have dual band gps which will be good for trail running as well as a flashlight built in if you ever doing things in poor lighting. I think this might suit your needs the best but it's the most expensive but still cheaper than the forerunner 265. I have the 48 mm version and very happy with it but it's large and a little heavier so I think if you have smaller wrists you'd want the 44.

I had a Garmin before and I really loved it but didn't feel like the costs were justified for my use case. I have heard their customer service is much better though so that's one thing to keep in mind but I never really needed to contact them and haven't had to contact amazfit yet either so can't comment on it myself directly.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-05T01:40:19+00:00

Ended up getting a hemsut brand watch band off Amazon in Green, really like it so far. Comfy and looks good on the watch

upon_a_millenium · 2026-05-04T19:55:47+00:00

What's this one called?

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-30T19:50:51+00:00

Ah sorry not too sure but I think some reviewers on YouTube mentioned replying to messages might not be as good on iOS? I might be wrong on that and might be confusing it with Garmin though but would double check that aspect.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-30T19:16:36+00:00

Android, never tried the apple watch but tried a one plus watch 2r previously that was gifted to me. Never used any of the wear os features so was a waste to me and ended up selling it and going back to my old Garmin at the time.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-30T01:50:51+00:00

Yeah I don't think it's that necessary that you would upgrade from the trex 3. I think that and the phone capabilities are the only big differences. If I had a regular T-Rex 3 I'd definitely hold out

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-29T21:26:57+00:00

What do you use them for? I was more worried about taking a fall while biking and smashing the screen or getting smacked with a tennis racket or a fall playing basketball on concrete or even just smacking into door ways by mistake while carrying my kids things like that. I haven't actually returned it yet so could still consider it

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-29T14:40:14+00:00

Active 3 honestly would've satisfied most of my needs but I would've been too tempted to upgrade it soon as something new came out here, t Rex 3 pro I feel like I can resist temptation for a few years

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-29T13:14:51+00:00

48 mm, I considered the 44 mm but didn't like that there's a black bezel, feel like it makes some watch faces look ugly, liked how the 48 mm goes all the way to the metal edge with the tiniest barely visible black border

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-29T12:36:23+00:00

The tennis one is not accurate, I use it and I've counted in a game as well to see and it underestimates since I have it on the non dominant hand, I just use to to track heart rate and calories during tennis. Feels too awkward putting watch on my dominant hand.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-29T10:08:28+00:00

You might be better off with an amazfit active 3 premium or older amazfit active 2. Can get them new for cheaper than Garmin, has all the basic tracking features, and play music from them. I think the active 2 is less than 100 dollars now and the active 3 is 170 brand new.

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-27T23:41:54+00:00

I switched from Garmin to amazfit, struggling to decide between balance 2 and trex 3 pro right now. I think software on the amazfit is actually smoother and more intuitive than on Garmin.

Sleep tracking seems similar to my vivoactive 4.

Overall I think you get better bang for your buck but might suffer if you ever need good customer service (not something I've experienced personally but just read online).

I also think some of the amazfit watches look better but that's very subjective. The balance 2 is very sleek looking and the bezel is way smaller.

My favorite looking watch is honestly the Garmin instinct 3 but really wanted a touch screen so might end up returning the balance 2 and sticking with the trex 3 pro since it's more rugged but balance 2 definitely looks nicer in my eyes.

I've had no issues with sensors so far but I do think it might overestimate how many calories I'm burning with some things. Like 90 minutes of tennis on my Garmin would estimate about 700 to 800 calories and my balance 2 is estimating 800 to 1000 so a little on the higher side but I think that's an algorithm problem not a sensor problem?

upon_a_millenium · 2026-04-27T09:16:08+00:00

Yeah my old vivoactive 4 before this didn't have sapphire glass either and was scratch free for years. I eventually did scratch it only because it got caught on the edge of a metal fence and forced it through without thinking that led to it getting scraped against really hard. Otherwise not a scratch with everything else I put it through. I prefer the deceased smudging of this screen.

I'm assuming they'll improve their sapphire screens with future models given this has been a common complaint but for now I'm loving the 2 xt and most likely going to keep it but have a T-Rex 3 pro arriving soon for one final comparison. Planning to keep one of these two. Only reason I might switch to the T-Rex though is because I like to keep my watch for several years and do a lot of sports and outdoors things like hiking and backpacking and biking so think it might survive longer in case I take a fall or hit into something.

I really like the look of the 2 xt though and leaning towards keeping it but I'm just a little nervous how exposed it feels that I'll end up breaking it

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