Garmin Vivoactive 3 GPS Smartwatch with Built-in Sports Apps - Black/Silver (Renewed)

Garmin's watches have always been geared towards a health centric audience and the Vivoactive 3 is no exception to that. There's so many trackers and sport modes that I never even thought of. Like, It never occurred to me Skiing could be an exercise routine, but you bet they've got you covered if it's your routine of choice. Personally the most exercise I do is biking, and for that purpose it does just fine, but 80% of the use that comes out of my watch is as a shortcut to my phone. It's super convenient to glance at my watch and see my notifications at work, or to swipe up in the morning and see the weather. While there is no built-in microphone or keyboard for texting, it does allow you to save many premade messages that you can edit in the app to send to someone when texting you and that's typically worked for me since, if I'm not already looking at my phone, I'm probably only going to be letting someone know I'm busy. The last software thing I have to mention is the sleep tracker. I love the sleep tracker. I don't have much use for the info apart from seeing how long I've slept, but it goes incredibly indepth recording things like how long you were in rem sleep, how often you moved in the night, and even tells you if you woke up at all in the night. It's also a very thin, lightweight watch. Definitely much more "throw it on and forget about it" than others I've used in the past (looking at you, Ticwatch). That "forget about it" is helped by a fantastic battery life. The watch has an always on display with a front light rather than a typical backlit display like you'd find on your phone, and I think that's what helps the battery last well into 4 days on one charge in my experience. If that's not already huge, it also charges ridiculously fast: I've seen it go 0-100 in a little over an hour. The only downside to this is that, because the watch is waterproof, it doesn't use a traditional Micro USB or USB C port for charging, opting instead for a unique port of their own that works just fine, but requires you to have a very specific cable. Basically if you lose or break the charger, you'll have to go directly to Garmin for a new one, and you're probably gonna be paying a prettier penny than you'd like. Overall I'm VERY happy with the Garmin Vivoactive 3. I think it's a great watch for anybody, but especially those who have health in mind.

I have been using a Pebble Time for several years and was happy with it. In mid September I bought a new phone and the Pebble app is not available for the Android 9 the new phone runs. I bought a Fitbit Versa but returned it after a short time because it would not stay connected to the phone and consequentially did not provide reliable GPS tracking. After comparing options in the same price range I decided on the Refurbished Vivoactive 3. I am glad I did as it has performed flawlessly for me and it is very attractive. The user interface is very logical and easy to use. It has it own GPS so does not rely on the phone for GPS data or require a connection while recording and activity. I have never found it disconnected from the phone which matters because I use it as a trusted smart lock device to keep my phone open. I do not think the battery life is exceptional, at least with the watch face I use, but it does not matter to me as I put it on the charging cable every night anyway. The only annoyance I have found with the Vivoactive 3 is that if the screen is unlocked it is easy to long press the screen against ones body which brings up a setting menu and changes the watch face. My answer is to set the screen to lock when recording an activity and to manually lock it after I have stopped and saved the activity.

It offers step, stair, heart rate, stress, VO2 max and sleep tracking features, as well as the ability to record a number of different sports activities with or without GPS data included. Additionally, a broad selection of downloadable widgets, app screens and clock faces from the Garmin IQ store make this watch quite customizable. I added a few widgets and a new clock face almost immediately and it’s now suiting my needs quite nicely. While it doesn’t offer the advance sports metrics found in more expensive Garmin devices, it can broadcast heart rate data to other ANT+ devices. This means that I can send my heart rate to my older Forerunner 620 when I want to see advanced running metrics (which I only do on occasion). I can also send the data to any ANT+ compatible bike computer to get complete cycling data with heat rate included. Given the price for this watch new compared to the Forerunner 935 or Felix 5 series of watches, I’m fine with what limitations the Vivoactive 3 does have. Since I bought the refurbished model for even less, and it works like new (and looks like it, too), I have absolutely no complaints. If that should change for any reason, I will update this review accordingly.

Overall I like this fitness watch, but it does have its issues. I am a woman with an approximate 6 inch (15cm) wrist. *Comfort and Fit: 3/5 - This watch is pretty comfortable to wear for an extended period of time. I can wear it all night without having any discomfort. However, the issue I run into is the fit. I cannot seem to adjust the band to where it not too lose or too tight. On one notch it slightly digs into my skin and leaves indents and red marks. One notch looser and I get the green light that shows me that it is not reading accurately. For me, I have to leave on the looser notch and just slide it down on my wrist. *Style: 3/5 -The watch face just swallows my wrist. It looks like a child wearing her father's watch. It's not super fashionable, and looks very unitarian. It is fine for working out, but that's about it. Which if you wanted to count steps while running errands, it might not fit with your everyday look. *Mobile app: 5/5 - This watch was very easy to set up on the app. Plus it was very user friendly. The user interface is very intuitive and the average person will easily navigate through it. Additionally, it links up with my other fitness app, making calorie counting and keeping track of my activity, super easy. *Battery Life: 5/5 -This watch seems to last forever. I only have to recharge it once a week with daily use. *Accuracy: 4/5 -Since I have issue with the fit I feel like that compromises the accuracy of the watch. Otherwise, it seems on par with my equipment that tracks heart rate.

Okay a few things. But, in my opinion important. Choose/select GPS nation as your seller from the list. Their customer service is excellent. I emailed them, they got back to me SO fast. Excellent customer service. You truly have nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to gain buying a product via Amazon Renewed. 90 day guarantee, helping the planet, saving money for other things, helping a small business flourish. I mean, win win win all around. From their email correspondence these are refurbished (speaking about this particular seller, can’t say it’s like this for other sellers) directly from Garmin, new battery installed too. I mean, can you go wrong? Sure there maybe lemons 🍋 but even new electronics fall victim to this. It looks brand new! I have used a fitbit charge 2 for years, then an Apple Watch, then tried a cheaper type fitness tracker(it was okay) and now, a Garmin. The fitness information blows fitbit and Apple out of the water. I’m one of the very few who wasn’t “in love” with an Apple Watch. It was very nice but I’m more of a fitness first in a watch. Brings me to next point. If you’re looking for more of a smart watch first, vivoactive 3 probably won’t be your jam. If you’re seeking more health information, more in depth fitness information then Garmin would be a great brand to try. It’s fitness watch first with some smart watch things. This is why I went with a refurbished watch bc in addition to the other awesome reasons, I can try a Garmin watch and see if I like it. So if you want to try Garmin and love a fitness focused watch give them a try. BE PATIENT. A lot of different software updates so give it a bit to get those downloaded. They had a link on the sheet, but I just let the watch do it’s thing. It took a bit, so don’t assume technical issues if you just got the watch and it doesn’t stay synced. Or syncs and un syncs.Give it time. It is frustrating, but to be expected. Watches have software updates. Once it got those done, syncs flawlessly and I get my phone notifications. NO issues staying synced. It also connected to my phone right away. (iPhone 6s plus) Also, if used to an Apple Watch or fitbit, have patience and give yourself time with the watch bc there is a small adjustment/learning curve with operating the watch and un digging all the in depth health and fitness information , apps; wallpapers etc within The Garmin Connect apps. (There’s connect and IQ, that’s the one with wallpapers and more) Just give yourself a few hours and do a couple workouts. I’m on day two and I have most everything down that’s important for me at least. Still testing it out. Watch looks brand new! You can buy 20 mm bands for it to switch out bands. I was super skeptical about a refurbished watch but their items are refurbished by Garmin, fast customer service, good shipping time. Nothing to lose. At this price point I bought the extended warranty just in case. It was like 8 and some change for extra piece of mind but I don’t think I needed to now. It’s not a pretty box, so if giving as a gift it may not be as perfect as a box that doesn’t say refurbished on it. So if that matters to you, I’m sure you can repackage in a different box. I will update with any issues. I put a screen protector and bumper on mine, and switched bands already. It’s working flawlessly, staying synced. Just need to go for an outdoor walk and find some stairs bc I want to make sure all the sensors work. I will also update on battery life but I usually don’t wait until my watch dies, I’ll throw it on to charge when I shower. I’m thinking it lasts about 4-5 days, that’s with workouts, notifications, Normal use etc.

Love , love, love this watch. Its like new , no scuffs or marks anywhere. Came with charger and instructions . Synced straight up to my cell phone and to the IQ store and computer. Took about a hour to fully charge and update . Everything works great , GPS accurate and compared HR with blood pressure monitor pulse. The battery last about 5 days and I'm always using it to workout which is about 2.5 hours and I've still got it connected to my bluetooth on my cell. The Garmin has lots of widgets and aps . I love this one as it shows you carbs and fat burn and vo2 level , but you do have to download the widget for that and set it up. Its waterproof and easy to use, what more can you want for fitness?. Fits my lifestyle perfect

I had one major problem with the Fitbit, which imo was a safety and hygiene hazard. The Fitbit was built in a way that bacteria very easily grew on the sensor side of the watch, and it was impossible to clean unless you did a deep soak in bleach solution at least every other day. If you swim in a chlorinated pool regularly, this isn't an issue, but if you don't, be prepared for some intense maintenance to keep your Fitbit and your wrist clean. This was enough of a problem that I decided to try the Vivoactive instead, and it was a worthwhile switch. So far, after about a month of use, the Vivoactive is very easy to clean with just soap and water. No bacteria build-up. The watchface is a bit large for me, but I don't mind it too much. The wrist straps are generous with lots of holes to adjust to your liking. The most important part for me is the pedometer, and it does a good job of keeping track of my steps. I also like that I get my phone notifications on my watch. One downside so far is that it doesn't seem to consistently auto-track workouts. It keeps track of my heart rate just fine, but I've gone on 2x30 minute jogs and a 45 minute swim this week, and neither the watch or the app picked up on it. The watch may need to be restarted every once in a while? Otherwise, this is a great fitness tracker with some added perks. You can control your music from here, check the weather, check your calendar, etc.. Really nice to have. And big bonus -- this watch was refurbished! It looked brand new to me, and feels brand new as well. Really happy I was able to get this watch at a discount.

Muy bueno