UPDATE July 14, 2020 - I have been wearing this watch almost every day for almost 2 years and I like it very much. (I had forgotten that I hadn't liked this watch, so am updating this review. See my previous reviews below for what my problems were at the time.) In the end, I was able to convince Garmin Support to send me a new watch instead of a refurb. I think I had to pay for shipping or something. The new watch has not had any of the step tracking issues the prior watch had. Nor any of the synching issues. I think the O/S update did in fact solve the synching problems. (I'm an Android user, for reference.)
I use the Strava synch all the time and it works great. Every now and then there's a delay for the watch to synch its data to the Garmin app on the phone, but as soon as it's on the phone it posts to Strava. I primarily use this watch to track cycling activities, but have also used it for running, hiking, swimming, skiing stand-up paddle, and some others.
It's been quite durable as well. I did buy a tempered glass screen protector, which now has a chip in it, but the watch itself has taken something of a beating.
The waterproofing works as well. I basically never take it off. Always shower with it. Swim with it, etc.
Sleep tracking has been good.
HR has seemed accurate to me.
Battery life has been excellent. I go about a week between charges when I'm not using the activity tracking feature. This is great. I really don't worry about the battery. When I am going to go cycling, I charge it up fully and then I can get about 8-9 hours of tracking. If you want to use it mainly for tracking runs and you run for less than an hour every other day, you could probably charge it only once every five days. When I do charge it, it will go from 20% to full in about half an hour or forty-five minutes, so even when I wake up to go cycling and realize I forgot to charge it I can just do it then while I'm getting the gear ready.
Two years have passed since I bought it and I had expected that there'd be a better watch out now that was a Wear O/S watch with LTE capabilities (which is the only thing this watch lacks, IMO, b/c I"d love to be able to leave the phone at home), but there isn't. If this watch broke today, I'd just buy another one. For the current price, it's a steal.
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UPDATE Nov 15, 2018 - I can't recommend this watch. More and more problems are occurring. The first problem is that it stopped tracking any floors on the stair counter. This happened after I took a trip on an airplane and other posters had mentioned that maybe their altimeter (barometer) broke in conjunction with a plane trip. I called Garmin Support and they discussed this and they said that maybe and update to the O/S from 5.4 to 5.5 (which was due any day) would help, and/or they'd be happy to send me a new watch and if i wanted even faster they would send it immediately if I'd pay a deposit which they would refund when I got the new watch. I said, okay, well, I'll wait til 5.5 comes out and see and the maybe return it and they said that was all fine.
So, I waited, it didn't fix it, and I contacted them to do the exchange, and they sent me a form for payment and I see that the watch they intend to give me is refurbished. They did not specify this earlier. I'm annoyed b/c at the time I was still in my 30 day return window and could have just returned it and bought another new one.
Additionally, since that time, other problems have occurred:
--synching has become a real problem. The watch just sometimes will go days without synching to the phone app. Also, the app seems to be built in some stupid way where it needs Internet connectivity in order to sync the watch. So, forget synching if you're traveling to some country where you only receive 2g, or are otherwise in an are with poor signal.
--Relatedly, I discovered while in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest, is that even the GPX maps that I had loaded to the Garmin Connect app cannot be displayed without an Internet connection. Seriously, Garmin?!?!? You are making fitness devices for people to use out in the wild, and yet they can't even access their loaded routes in your app without an Internet connection?
--the heart rate monitor seems to have gotten much less reliable. Often it sits at 90 when I'm clearly in aerobic or anaerobic range (130+)
--I have noticed... why is there no Timer app on this watch? So simple. Why didn't they include it. Or an Alarm feature.
---my original review from Oct 2018-----
I have had this watch for a couple of weeks and have been very happy with it. I had tried the Amazfit Bip and Ticwatch E and both failed to accurately track my heart rate when going over about 130bpm. No watch is as good as a band yet for that, but those were so obviously wrong doing things like showing 80 when I was huffing and puffing. The Garmin Vivoactive 3 seems accurate enough for my purposes.
The battery life is acceptable/good. You can get multiple days unless you are tracking long activities. If you are running GPS and doing long cycling rides (4-8 hours) like I am, you will not get more than one ride per charge. I suppose this is asking a lot of the battery.
The problem I am having is that already the stair step counter has stopped working. It worked for awhile but now has just stopped. Not sure if that is a common problem. Have tried to contact the seller but there doesn't seem to be any way to do that here. May have to return it for a replacement if I don't hear something back from them based on this post.
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Garmin 010-01769-09 vívoactive 3, GPS Smartwatch with Contactless Payments and Built-in Sports Apps, 1.2", White/Rose Gold (Renewed) $159.99 & FREE Shipping
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This Item  Garmin 010-01769-09 Vívoactive 3, GPS Smartwatch with Contactless Payments and Built-in Sports Apps, White/Rose Gold |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $139.99 | -16% $259.99 Typical: $309.99 | -10% $269.85 List: $299.99 | -38% $159.99 New Price: $259.99 | $149.99 | $6.99 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it May 7 - 9 | — | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Mobile App | ||||||
| Battery life | ||||||
| Sleep tracking | ||||||
| Sold By | Tech-Boutique | Sports-and-Gadgets | Amazon.com | Tech-Boutique | Tech-Boutique | GEAK Store |
| size | 1.2" | 42.2 x 42.2 x 11.1 mm | Adjustable | — | 1.2" | — |
| display size | 1.2 inches | 1.2 inches | 1.25 inches | 1.3 inches | 1.2 inches | 44 millimeters |
| connectivity tech | Bluetooth, GPS | Bluetooth | Bluetooth, USB | GPS | GPS | — |
| supported applications | Email, Heart Rate Monitor, GPS | GPS | Heart Rate Monitor, Sleep Monitor, Contacts, Messages, Calendar | GPS | GPS | — |
| input interface | touch screen | touch screen, dial | touch pad | touch screen | buttons | buttons |
| wireless standard | bluetooth | — | bluetooth | bluetooth | — | — |
| water resistance | water resistant | — | water resistant | water resistant | — | waterproof |
| case material | fiber-reinforced polymer with stainless steel rear cover | Aluminum | Stainless Steel | Silicone | — | Silicone |
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Reviews with images
Perfect for me
My medical insurance carrier pays me back $1 for every day I get 5,000 or more steps logged on a Garmin device. I started out with a $35 Vivosmart tracker which got me through the first year. But it is a very simple and not very smart tracker which is hard to read in daylight so I was looking for more. The Vivoactive 3 is PERFECT! It's not real large and I really like the display AND the way I can customize the display for MY tastes. VERY easy to set up and use - especially the Garmin Connect and Garmin IQ apps! Battery life is OK, but one feature that I REALLY LIKE is the power switch. I shut mine off every night and so get five or more days on a charge. I don't need a lot of fu-fu or music or any of the other BS. Just want a nice tracker thinks it's a watch that I can read - AND THIS IS IT! I turns out that I can also see when I get phone calls and messages and that's pretty cool, too. BTW, I'm 75 years old so maybe that explains my negativity to too much fu-fu! Now I just need to carry on for 14 months before it's paid off.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2018
Pattern Name: WatchStyle: StandardColor: Black with SlateVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2019
Pattern Name: WatchStyle: StandardColor: White with Rose goldVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Snowflake07
Great sports watch
Reviewed in Canada on January 22, 2022Pattern Name: WatchStyle: StandardColor: Black with SlateVerified Purchase
J
Excellent value...hope it lasts a long time !😍
Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2021Pattern Name: WatchStyle: StandardColor: White with StainlessVerified Purchase
J
Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2021
Only function that doesn't work I'd Garmin Pay as it's not avaialbe in Canada yet. Also not as many face watch selections as I thought. However it has a cool watch face feature where you can upload a background photo for you watch face (from your camera)! So cool.
It has 30 programmable text back responses when your phone isn't accessible. There's many settings to play with on watch itself including brightness which was one review I read. It goes brighter than you need but sucks battery more.
Battery needs changing every few days I find but charges extremely fast. Within 30-60 mins.
Heart rate seems to be super accurate as is GPS!
Can't wait to swim with this on the summer! Love it! Five Star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Images in this review
Jessica Maya Franco
Vale lo cuesta...por menos de un año
Reviewed in Mexico on May 15, 2020Pattern Name: WatchStyle: With MusicColor: BlackVerified Purchase
Sandra V.
Excelente compra
Reviewed in Mexico on March 19, 2019Pattern Name: WatchStyle: With MusicColor: Granite BlueVerified Purchase
Sandra V.
Reviewed in Mexico on March 19, 2019
Lo que no he logrado es entender cómo funcionan las modalidades para hacer ejercicio en mi caso particular que hago ejercicios funcionales en casa, sin embargo lo demás está súper sencillo de utilizar. Te vienen opciones de deportes y lo seleccionas antes de hacer deporte y te mide todo. La batería me dura como 3/4 días dependiendo que tanto lo use pero lo uso casi diario. Esta súper ligero. Desde la app puedes ponerle distintas carátulas
Excelente compra.
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Great product
Reviewed in India on August 26, 2019Pattern Name: WatchStyle: With MusicColor: Granite BlueVerified Purchase
