The Garmin Vivosmart 5 is Deceptively Simple | Full Review
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I use Fenix 7 for outdoor activities and the discreet Vivosmart for wellness monitoring.
can it broadcast HR?
The Vivosmart 5 isn't a fitness tracker; it's a wannabe smart watch. I got it with the intent of tracking fitness activities. It is a total failure. Rather than reduce the amount of data to fit on the small watch face, they reduced the font. And then they force you to page through multiple screens to get to what you are looking for. You cannot lock the screen. When you look at it, first you need to figure out what data is being shown. They you tap your way through the screens to get to what you want. You cannot lock it onto one useful screen. "Useful" and Vivosmart 5 are mutually exclusive. The final insult is that they don't display battery level in the app. You can't abandon the device face entirely and rely on the app; you are forced to look at the Vivosmart 5. I deeply regret getting it; I have found that, because it is so frustrating to deal with, I ignore it and fail to achieve my fitness goals.
gotta have my phone with me to play music off this?
Can you swim, surf with it?
I love this types of designs, wish more watches were like this to have more options
Got this a few days ago, again it's not bad. Didn't really like the selection of watch faces at first, but i eventually went for the first watch face on this – the thinner numbers – and now i really like it. With this watch face it would be similar to a Fitbit, I've generally had no issues with it at all.
just bought this as my first fitness tracker!
??? People, before buing Garmin product, please read the Garmin forum – you will see how many complains the users have.
My Vivosmart 5 periodically "goes wrong" and displays crazy distance data: GPS is working well, the track on the map looks fine, Xiaomi (Zepp life) is working well (at the same time!). F.e. after running 1km outdoor I have got 77km on the Garmin device (6sec/km lol). Sometimes it just stuck on some number, doesn't matter how far you will run.
Garmin support center takes no action, just talking "soft words" but not giving a solution. So I don't recommend you to waste your time on Garmin!
P.S. And I am going to post this message in many Garmin reviews – people must know the truth!
Please make a comparison video on Garmin vivosmart 5 and fitbit charge 6.
Excellent review, thank-you.
Does it pair with a heart rate monitor ie polar H10 chest strap
How do you remove the watch face completely? It didn’t allow to remove it when I tried
I like the simplicity of this device. The size, the monochrome screen, no subscription fees and most of all that I can turn off Bluetooth.
Thanks for the info, your content is awesome!
Was thinking of upgrading my Fitbit Charge 3 because i like the Readiness Score but turned off by the subscription. Thinking of getting this because no monthly fees, am i missing out? Really interested in how my body is recovering
Bfuhft que no es lo mismo que
Looking for a small band to sleep with… How is the vibration alarm strength?
Can I flip the hands that I wear it on a regular basis?
Great review as always from Lexy! As someone who only uses fitness bands to track sleep and exercise, I don’t mind the monochrome screen since there is no paywall compared to my fitbit luxe which is frustratingly limited and can’t even sync to apple health.