20.6.2016

I started using my Vivosmart HR on the 19th of May, so after a month of use I feel I'm now qualified to provide some feedback. Just to give you some background my daily workout routine consists of 20 mins gym cardio after work at around 120-135HR followed by anywhere between 90mins to 120 mins of free weights and weights machines; I do 2 days on and one day off. Usually on my day off I'll do an evening hike of upwards of an hour in my local woods.So here's the first caveat, I'm using it with my Samsung S4 Mini, if you expect to be able to leave your Vivosmart HR permanently Bluetooth connected to your smartphone to receive all your smartphone notifications and constantly update you Garmin Connect App you're going to be sorely disappointed.If you try doing that you're going to basically eat through the battery in a little over two days which is basically then going to require a longer charge. Now if you're not interested in sleep tracking, you could pop it on charge then no problem, but if your're like me and you really want to use your band to track as much of your life as possible you're going to have to turn off that bluetooth. I flick my bluetooth on first thing in the morning, 2 or 3 times during the course of the day and just before I go to bed. I charge it for the ten minutes it takes me to shower in the morning and evening; that keeps it pretty much topped up. I can live without the smartphone notifications.Syncing needs your smartphone to have a data signal. If you haven't got wi-fi or strong network data signal on your smart phone, your band will not sync with the Garmin Connect app, seems odd to me as the app is quite happy to display cached offline data and notify you of such.If you're like me and you like to just jump into things without reading the manual, here's an important point to note. When the heart icon is flashing, your band is searching for a heart beat, when it's solid, its got a strong signal. Like an idiot I thought that it was the other-way round, so every time the Heart icon was solid I was adjusting the band on my wrist thinking I had flatlined. When it's solid it's good.Another small anomaly refers to the way in which the activity tracker displays tracked activities in the Garmin Connect App. This is really minor but an odd niggle all the same. The band can track 3 different types of activities, Running (I've not tried yet), Cardio and Other. In my mind Running refers to running, Cardio refers to any activity that increases your heart rate that isn't running; and I thought I would use Other to track my weight lifting activities. When you sync your band to your phone, the Cardio activity is illustrated by a picture of a dumbell, and the Other activity is symbolised by a little person possibly doing a star jump. I just would've thought it would've been the other way round. (Picture attached)The literature that comes with your band is absolutely feeble. If you just want to track your steps and see your HR ad hoc, it will get you by, but if you really want to get the most out of your purchase your're going to have to get on the web to find the online manual. The online manual is a little confusing as it covers Vivosmart HR and Vivosmart HR+ in one document, sometimes its obvious, other times its less than obvious as to which device its referring to. Despite reading the manual several times I still haven't worked out how to display my HR as power zones or % of maximum, from reading the manual I'm not even sure whether the HR can do it or its a HR+ only feature. The manual could be much better.Ok now the good stuff. The HR monitor for me anyway seems fairly accurate, it pretty much always matches what the gym cardio equipment says (pictured) if it doesn't its never usually out by more than 1 or 2.The sleep monitoring seems to be absolutely bang on the money for me. It's actually quite uncanny to wake up from what you know to be a night of deep sleep or broken light sleep and see this very clearly visually represented.Overall the Garmin Connect App is very impressive, presenting you with as little information or as much as you like dependent on how far you wish to drill into the app. I've been very impressed in the way in which the App learns and adjusts your goals based on your performance, wasn't something I was expecting it to be able to do .**** UPDATE ON ACCURACY*** I've had several trips to the hospital recently and in every instance I was hooked up to a heart rate monitor the reading always matched my Garmin

28.4.2016

After looking through lots of reviews for different smart watches, I finally decided to get this one for my wife to keep her motivated to exercise. Naturally, I also spent quite some time testing it. After 3 months of use (mostly her of course), I can finally write a review about this great product.Overall it looks nice. Slim and not too flashy, it doesn’t have a cheap toy look for sure. It is reasonably comfortable to wear for a long period of time. The strap is made of silicon. The strap mechanism is just like most watches, it is easily adjustable to most wrist size. For everyday use, I tend to wear it a bit loose. Despite of the protruding heart rate sensor against your wrist,it doesn't make you feel weird. While in the gym or during active exercise, I will wear it tight fit to use the heart rate monitor, then I know my heart beat is being probed.The watch has a good sized touch screen for what it’s for. It is monotone and easy to see in daytime and under sunlight. You can control the display brightness on the watch. I usually set to the lowest setting to prolong battery life, and suitably tune up for outdoor in a bright sunny day. It also has a backlight, which turns on by touching the screen. It is not too bright and it won’t be too “intrusive” to wake your partner when use at night in bed. There is a bar on the screen which gets longer when you have been idling for a while. It will vibrate at some point to remind you that you need to get some time off your desk. Or sometimes, it’s just a nice way to say “You are lazy, get up and do something.”Being an activity tracker, it sure does its job well. There is a number of stats you can view by swiping up/down the screen: time/date, step track, distance, calories burned, stairs climbed, heart rate monitor. There is a menu button on the bottom of the screen. It displays 3 symbols in a row, just swipe to see more options. The symbols are pretty much self-explained for anyone with a bit of experience with smart phone/tablet/PC.Pairing the watch with a smartphone or tablet is not too difficult. Though unlike most gadgets, instead of directly pairing on the Bluetooth menu, it can only be paired using the Garmin Connect App (with Bluetooth turned on). Press on the button on the watch, select Bluetooth, turn it on, swipe for pairing mode. Then, follow instruction on the Apps to choose the correct device and pair. Syncing is easy, no problem. Firmware update is straight forward, so far the watch has been updated for 2 times. This is a good sign, showing that the watch is still being actively supported.It comes with a proprietary charging cable to use with any standard USB charger. So, it means another cable to carry when travelling. Charging is quick, there is no need to use rapid charger with more than 1A. Under normal use, the watch can easily last 4-5 days without reaching for a charger. This is with the heart rate monitor turned off most of the time, other than during active exercise.The watch interacts with you with vibrations, no sound nor microphone. The notifications work most of the time. I got a few misses when using WeChat etc. Though quite limited, you can check messages on this watch, which is a plus. Vibrating alarm is very useful. It is strong enough to wake me in the morning, sometimes my wife too. Unfortunately the alarm can only be set using Garmin Apps. On the watch you can only activate/deactivate the alarm, but not be able to set time/day. Hope Garmin can improve this in the next firmware update.Overall, my wife and I are happy with the watch. It certainly has room for improvement, but it does most of the jobs we wanted it to.

18.4.2016

I bought my smart HR via an Amazon warehouse deal and it arrived in original packaging with no damage whatsoever so I was really pleased. The reason I chose this device was I needed some motivation to be more active, but didn't like the fact the fitbit devices (i considered the charge and charge HR) were barely splash proof, also the garmin devices are much better integrated with your smartphone as you get notifications, texts and caller id (vs. just caller on the charge).The product itself if beautifully designed, very simple lines and looks great whether dressed casually or with a work shirt on. It's also really comfortable, the strap is strong but of a very soft type of plastic/rubber polymer which just hugs your wrist.

6.3.2016

I read up on a lot of fitness trackers with heart rate. After reading up I decided on this one. There have been people saying that the app isn't great but I found that it shows all the details that I want. Ok so you don't get an instruction manual with the the app but it only took me about 30mins playing about until I had it set up and I now know what everything does.The screen display is quite small but I manage to read it with no problem (and I wear glasses for reading normally ). I have the screen in landscape and my wife has hers on portrait, just personal preference. Having looked at the competitors ; the Fit-bit HR has a small screen so I prefer the Vivosmart HR. The strap is comfortable.

25.5.2016

I have had this watch for a few days now, I have the Garmin 630 which I use for running and cycling, I bought this to wear every day, my 630 was getting knocked around at the gym and this would still give me activity tracking without risking a £300 watchFirstly about the Heart Rate, at times it was way off compared to the chest strap of my 630. I can tell you I have worked for 25 years for a healthcare company providing this technology to hospitals and knowing the limitations of the technology i.e. trying to measure blood flow which is moving along with the sensor, it does a good job to give you the reading it does, so fair play to Garmin or Firstbeat whoever developed the technology.

3.5.2016

I'm really pleased with this. It's a good size to wear all the time and the data it collects is genuinely helpful in encouraging good habits.What I really like -The screen is great - really easy to read outside or indoors, and having backlight is good.It's properly waterproof (not just splashproof).Step counting works well. I think it reads slightly more than the Jawbone I had before, but not massively different.I wasn't expecting to use this feature, but the smartphone notifications are really useful. Being able to have a quick glance at an incoming email or message works really well.Garmin seem to be developing new features for this - I got a firmware update recently that added a much-needed

6.9.2016

This Garmin was bought to replace my Fitbit Charge HR which, although still working as intended, disappointed with its lack of water resistance - what use is a fitness monitor you can't even wear in the shower!Bulkier than the Fitbit and, in my view, less pleasing to the eye, the Garmin is still my preferred fitness monitor for a number of reasons. Unlike the Fitbit, the display is on all the time, making it really useable as a wristwatch. The Garmin is waterproof, so can be used while swimming, showering etc with no fear of damage. The Garmin has a genuine 5 day battery life. The band comes in 2 sizes but these cover most wrist sizes. The Fitbit straps are quite small & I could only get XL from Fitbit themselves..

9.9.2016

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to buy this activity tracker - after investing in 3 cheaper versions before this purchase. The first purchase fell off my wrist and was lost within a month. The second purchase didn't have a heart rate monitor on it and it was terribly annoying and it didn't count my steps accurately. The sleep monitor was terrible and didn't work properly. The third purchase was surprisingly very good, but then the strap started to pull away after 3 weeks. So, after my dear old father handed me a hundred pounds to spend on myself, I decided to buy a Garmin Vivosmart HR Activity Tracker. Oh my gosh, what a difference this has made to my life.

19.8.2016

Having looked at several fitness trackers with the heart rate monitor, I decided on the Garmin Vivosmart H R. For me, I was very pleased with my choice as it is very easy to read all day whilst on my wrist, the only downside to this, is the more you look at the information, the quicker the battery runs out, but thisI can put up with. The information that can be displayed, if connected to a mobile phone includes alerts of incoming calls and texts and if set, weather. I found everything easy to set up but found the information on how to do this a bit difficult to understand at first. I also found the Garmin Vivosmart website not as clear or easy to use as the Fitbit website,

23.8.2017

Really pleased with my Vivosmart HR. Let me tell you, I did a LOT of research! I started off with a much cheaper, un-branded Tracker that had received a lot of great reviews. I'd had nagging doubts before it arrived and - lo and behold - I couldn't get the thing to charge via any USB port. I gave up after receiving a replacement and decided to go for a more expensive version. The Garmin appeared to come out top in terms of reviews, packed full of features. One charge lasts for ages! I have a smart watch with a Tracker, however, I wanted something where the battery lasted more than a day! I'd usually forget to charge my watch, thus rendering any hope of tracking useless! I find the Garmin incredibly accurate,

26.8.2018

A great little watch for my 5 year old son - my son has a heart condition where we need to monitor his heart rate and if it exceeds a certain level then we need to take further action. This has been hard to do until now. This watch does the job perfectly. It woke my son just after 4am and he alerted us straight away so we could use other equipment to take an ECG that his doctor uses for treatment. The screen is clear and better than my FitBit Surge. It has more notifications than the FitBits as well. The software is better on my phone and on the device. We are going to buy another one so when we charge this one he can use the other.

2.5.2016

Simply brilliant bit of everyday kit. My first activity tracker watch, used to motivate to beat daily goals. So far used for walking, running and swimming. The connect app is great and the auto sync allows constant updates - I have the connect app sync'ed to MyfitnessPal to track calories and starva for gps. The stride mileage, steps and heart rate is brilliant.The notifications is basic but great. The watch vibrates when you receive messages on txt and apps on the phone. Very useful if you're hard of hearing / deaf.Only small down side is that most of my friends are on Fitbit which limits the challenges on connect. However 2 of my friends are now upgrading there boring Fitbits to the smart hr.

2.3.2017

I upgraded to this after breaking my original vivovit and I absolutely love this. It is accurate with the steps.. I love being able to look at my heart rate... and it is making me move more as I try and complete my intensity minutes for the week. I have had this for over a week and have only had to recharge it the once, and that was only for an hour. I agree that the flights of stairs climbed is inaccurate but I really do not see that this is a problem to me. I am yet to go for a run with this to see if it records it automatically but it accurately recorded two short walks yesterday. I have swam with this and showered with it with no problems at all.

2.6.2016

Am loving this watch. Haven't missed a target since getting it. Very addictive. Had a Garmin FR60 previous to this, so when watch 'strap' gave up the ghost I checked out all the reviews re fitness watches and ad I already have a Garmin website database of walking routes etc decided to go with this watch.Love the apps too and am more aware of what I am eating. Good tips on apps and on the watch itself the heart rate and sleep and other info buttons are great. Want to go out walking more now. Haven't tried it re cycling or running but you have to walk before you can run??. Once Iose a bit of weight I WILL get back into my running too. ❤️ My Garmin Vivosmart Hr and I've only had it about a month would be lost without it now.

8.6.2016

I purchased Garmin Vivosmart after comparing it against multiple other activity trackers in the market - and can't say I made the wrong choice. I am 2 months into using it, and it is still going good.Battery life: Almost 5 days if you do not want smart notifications, music etcActivity tracking: It can track accurate heart activity. I use it for Running, Cardio and Swimming. It can do lap counts for running but not swimming (which is a shame). The intensity minutes tracker is very useful to plan your weekly activitiesSmart Notifications: I haven't yet wanted to hook this to FB or anything. But very useful when you want to pay your bills and have a reminder to do this.

Garmin vivosmart HR - Reviews

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