I've been watching this for a while and it's just dropped from £209.00 to £177.00 at Amazon. It's the updated version that was released in April.
GPS smart watch with a sunlight-readable, high-resolution colour touchscreen and has rechargeable lithium ion batteries
Built-in-GPS sport apps, running, cycling, golf, swimming and activity tracking
Elevate wrist based heart rate gives you heart rate all day and night - no additional strap required
Receive smart notifications and smart coaching on your Vivo Active HR from Garmin Connect, when paired with your phone
Sync with Garmin Connect app to upload activities. Rechargeable battery: 8 days (watch/activity tracking mode), 13 hours (GPS mode)
Top comments
biggiep
19 May 169#8
I've had this a week now and I really enjoy using it, I got it from cotswold for £168 and got £10.80 cashback. However you can't get that deal now and this is a good price. In a few months it'll probably go a bit cheaper but I'm happy for the price I paid.
For anyone struggling to connect the device... Download the Garmin Connect app first, do not try and pair the watch without the software. Load the app and click you want to add a device, make sure bluetooth is switched on. Then switch the watch on for the first time and run through the wizard it will get to a screen with a spinning circle then it will pair in a few seconds.
Do it in that order and all will be well!
Some points to note, don't expect and OLED screen with huge brightness because you won't get it, this is more like an ebook screen with colour. When you go outside you'll appreciate that screen because you can see it at its best in full sunlight.
I charged the watch at 8pm last thursday and it is now on 16% battery, I cycle 30 mins each way to work and use the GPS for this. I have done a couple of walks and used it for two sessions at the gym for 2 hours each (doesn't use GPS to monitor strength training or cardio. Also played badminton for two hours and set it to cardio, it monitored the heart rate pretty well, the graphs look similar to the chest strap I have (3 year old garmin one) however there is the odd spike when it has a hissy fit but overall it offers a reasonable insight.
As odd as this sounds what I always wanted was something that worked as a watch that was always on, and reasonable battery life. This has ticked most of the boxes so far, for what I need.
Hope this helps if you're thinking of getting the watch!
Latest comments (57)
bottle123
24 May 16#57
So can anyone send a screenshot of the price when they purchased it for £177 (from your orders section in your account) thanks
matyhaty
24 May 16#56
Please explain the main differences. You'd be surprised just how similar they are in function.
The real difference is the look and no touch screen.
The_Hoff
23 May 16#55
Different device entirely. Not better, different.
Read some proper comparisons.
Soph711
23 May 16#54
Thank you, I've taken the plunge and bought one!
innyinskip
23 May 16#53
Yeah quidco tracked pretty quickly afterwards. Whether they honour it is a different story though :disappointed:
Soph711
23 May 16#52
Has your Quidco tracked? I'm not sure if they honour cashback if a code has been used already :disappointed:
innyinskip
23 May 16#51
I got mine yesterday from Cotswold Outdoors.Had a code bringing it down to £189 and then Quidco made the overall price £178 I think.
Good piece of kit. Im enjoying it
DG197
23 May 16#50
Or right . it's showing normal price again mabe until it's restocked
jaroslawpiech
23 May 16#49
There was no code, they dropped the price to £177. Maybe because it's out of stock/7-8 days for a delivery.
DG197
23 May 16#48
Has this deal expired Amazon won't accept the code ???
jaroslawpiech
23 May 16#47
Why? Who is doing a price match?
DG197
23 May 16#46
bottle123
22 May 16#45
Does anyone have a screen shot of the price reduced by Amazon?
bottle123
22 May 16#44
Anyone know of anywhere else that is priced the same or less?
matyhaty
21 May 16#43
We just brought forerunner 235 from Amazon. 4 day battery + using it for activities twice a day
Looks way more classy than the vivo and a much better device. Touch screen is over rated sometimes five classic buttons is just easier and better. Especially with sweaty hands.
One thing I did notice is how good the app and watch motivations are. Really makes the iWatch a waste of time.
inhumangeek
20 May 16#42
code doesn't work now...
bottle123
20 May 16#41
Ah dam that's a shame was waiting for Amazon to lower it since contacting them about the cotswoldoutdoor deal :disappointed:
Parp
20 May 161#40
It was direct from amazon but the price has now gone back up to £209.
bottle123
20 May 161#39
So was this listed as warehouse or just normal price drop from Amazon?
bottle123
20 May 161#38
So was this listed as warehouse or just normal price drop from Amazon?
Tweedie
20 May 16#37
anyone managed to pair with a lumia mobile phone (specifically the 950XL)? I seemed to pair, but I am then stuck on the "paired" screen [on watch] with no way to go forward - only back which is doing the initial setup again for me! No error indication on either watch nor phone, and phone appears to have synced ok. I've tried it twice now and even restarted both the phone and watch.
fireman1
20 May 16#36
You say that like it makes sense for Amazon. So the price of initial postage, add the return cost and then the re posting of the exact same item, then the logistics of re listing as a warehouse item, selling and posting yet again. At the same time reducing the price as its now a used return. And all within a £32 window of difference. Seems pretty unlikely thats a good business model. More likely is that when it gets well known enough that they don't do it, people will just start to accept it and not bother returning and re ordering.
dougan
20 May 16#35
Yes, mine came on Monday, but returned yesterday and reordered one when they had them in stock £32 cheaper!
paulwmather
20 May 16#34
Incorrect. This isn't how the watch performed. I set sleep hours to 10-6am. But often didn't go to bed until 11. When I'd not fall asleep until 11:30. In the morning the watch would report 8 hours sleep.
vassy201187
20 May 161#33
Bought the Garmin forerunner 25 from Currys for £110. Price matched with John Lewis
The_Hoff
20 May 16#32
Same HR sensor as Fenix line.
innyinskip
20 May 16#31
Did anyone actually get this from amazon? Most places that I find (Cotswold, Freeborn, Decathalon) are all pre-orders to be delivered in June/July
polskasweetiepie
20 May 16#30
is this better than the Garmin Fenix 3 Sapphire HR?
Pete525
20 May 16#29
Anyone know a waterproof GPS with decent battery life?
SteveM
20 May 16#28
But its on pre-order; expected delivery around 8 weeks :-(
Raseo7
20 May 16#27
jeesh this is so expensive
innyinskip
20 May 16#26
Are Freeborne reputable?
jaroslawpiech
20 May 161#25
Available for £167.99 from Freeborne
The_Hoff
20 May 16#24
Sleep tracking? Not correct. Sleep mode is you telling the watch when you do not want to be disturbed by notifications, vibrations or anything else.
The sleep activity tracking is entirely separate to this. If I have my sleep hours set from 2300-0700 but don't go to bed until 0100 it wont start thinking I'm asleep until then.
The screen is perfect as is the battery life in my opinion.
The_Hoff
20 May 162#23
Yes, there's a variety of apps in the Connect IQ store that will perform this, amongst many other things (locating a parked car, HIIT timers etc). If that's your primary use case though, get the older model at a discount, it's the same functionality, screen and ecosystem.
James_cleeve73
20 May 16#22
Quick question for those that have this watch, can you get it to display your coordinates as determined by the GPS? Reason I ask is for sea kayaking, I have a UHF radio but would like to be able to tell the coastguard my exact coordinates should I end up in the drink without a paddle!
wilx
20 May 16#21
Deal seems to have gone now, shame I bought one at the weekend. The backlight issue was fixed yesterday with a firmware upgrade BTW and if you change the screen colours from mainly black to others and use a custom clock face its fine
matyhaty
20 May 16#20
Now showing £205
paulwmather
20 May 16#19
I got one on launch day. Paid full price. Ultimately took it back. The sunlight readable screen is shocking in indoor light. The backlight is fairly **** too.
The sleep tracking is poor. It asks what time you goto bed and it starts tracking at that time every night.
For tracking activity I found it was great. Swimming was spot on.
bottle123
20 May 16#18
Oos?
vassy201187
20 May 16#17
Heard of warehouse deals ?? Amazon would sell it there.
MrToast
20 May 161#16
I have the vivoactive and use it daily, would highly recomend the garmin products
The_Hoff
19 May 16#15
I've got the original device and HR chest strap, can't speak highly enough of it.
Still unsure about upgrading just because barring the HR there's little difference.
The screen is actually the same on the new device, but turned 90deg, though apparently the digitiser is better at picking up swipes?
The_Hoff
19 May 16#14
Agreed, stupid business model.
dougan
19 May 16#13
Ordered it from Amazon last week at £209, received it 3 days ago, now £32 cheaper!
Spoke with Amazon about a refund for the price reduction, but they have stopped doing that now.
So posted back and reordered, which seems pointless and a waste of time and money on their part really.
whatyadoinsucka
19 May 16#12
just checked the second hand value of the vivoactive, is not great, mines in perfect working order but has a slight scratch on the screen, if i could get a minimum £60 for it, i think i'd be happy to pay the upgrade for this HR one.
no point it sitting in my drawer
bdizzle84
19 May 161#11
Great price. Love this watch. Upgraded from the old Vivoactive and it's an upgrade in every way. Much quicker to get gps lock is the main bonus for me. Heart rate is a bit hit and miss. Seems to work well at the higher range and lower but in the middle is a bit iffy. Still, great price
jaseb000
19 May 16#10
Also have the vivoactive, great bit of kit, very tempted with this!!
adsham
19 May 161#9
I got the vivoactive @ £99 too, does everything really well and the best bit is the battery last 2-3 weeks. Would be interested in HR monitoring but am waiting until it gets more accurate.
biggiep
19 May 169#8
I've had this a week now and I really enjoy using it, I got it from cotswold for £168 and got £10.80 cashback. However you can't get that deal now and this is a good price. In a few months it'll probably go a bit cheaper but I'm happy for the price I paid.
For anyone struggling to connect the device... Download the Garmin Connect app first, do not try and pair the watch without the software. Load the app and click you want to add a device, make sure bluetooth is switched on. Then switch the watch on for the first time and run through the wizard it will get to a screen with a spinning circle then it will pair in a few seconds.
Do it in that order and all will be well!
Some points to note, don't expect and OLED screen with huge brightness because you won't get it, this is more like an ebook screen with colour. When you go outside you'll appreciate that screen because you can see it at its best in full sunlight.
I charged the watch at 8pm last thursday and it is now on 16% battery, I cycle 30 mins each way to work and use the GPS for this. I have done a couple of walks and used it for two sessions at the gym for 2 hours each (doesn't use GPS to monitor strength training or cardio. Also played badminton for two hours and set it to cardio, it monitored the heart rate pretty well, the graphs look similar to the chest strap I have (3 year old garmin one) however there is the odd spike when it has a hissy fit but overall it offers a reasonable insight.
As odd as this sounds what I always wanted was something that worked as a watch that was always on, and reasonable battery life. This has ticked most of the boxes so far, for what I need.
Hope this helps if you're thinking of getting the watch!
MickeyRedEyes
19 May 16#7
I was going to buy one of these on my way home from work yesterday but they were out of stock. Just bought this. I did post the deal as well but you got there first :smiley:
benjai
19 May 161#6
Biggest problem is that you can't setup workouts which makes it pretty useless for any kind of interval training.
agitatedclimax
19 May 16#5
This would be my upgrade from the Vivosmart HR. Garmin are great at updating and these have excellent battery life and proper waterproofing (5ATM which is 50 meters). Heat for this price, but a little bit above my budget still.
jasee
19 May 161#2
It may be cheap for this model, but you are paying a lot for the build in heart rate monitor. And those wrist types are not (apparently) very accurate anyway.
whatyadoinsucka to jasee
19 May 16#4
Always one let down, the HR doesn't work in water, otherwise I'd have snapped it up, and would be looking to offload my old one
Currently got the vivoactive £99 on Boxing Day, since the latest few software updates it's been perfect, syncs well and for swimming lengths, hiking and mtb'ing its been great, although garmin lowers altitude climbed by about 10-15% on a iPhone gps reading
Kearns
19 May 16#3
Thanks for this. I had an order with cotswold Outdoor from last week that got messed up and they are still trying to fix. Cancelled that now and ordered this instead. Still had the tenner off on prime now aswell.
Opening post
GPS smart watch with a sunlight-readable, high-resolution colour touchscreen and has rechargeable lithium ion batteries
Built-in-GPS sport apps, running, cycling, golf, swimming and activity tracking
Elevate wrist based heart rate gives you heart rate all day and night - no additional strap required
Receive smart notifications and smart coaching on your Vivo Active HR from Garmin Connect, when paired with your phone
Sync with Garmin Connect app to upload activities. Rechargeable battery: 8 days (watch/activity tracking mode), 13 hours (GPS mode)
Top comments
For anyone struggling to connect the device... Download the Garmin Connect app first, do not try and pair the watch without the software. Load the app and click you want to add a device, make sure bluetooth is switched on. Then switch the watch on for the first time and run through the wizard it will get to a screen with a spinning circle then it will pair in a few seconds.
Do it in that order and all will be well!
Some points to note, don't expect and OLED screen with huge brightness because you won't get it, this is more like an ebook screen with colour. When you go outside you'll appreciate that screen because you can see it at its best in full sunlight.
I charged the watch at 8pm last thursday and it is now on 16% battery, I cycle 30 mins each way to work and use the GPS for this. I have done a couple of walks and used it for two sessions at the gym for 2 hours each (doesn't use GPS to monitor strength training or cardio. Also played badminton for two hours and set it to cardio, it monitored the heart rate pretty well, the graphs look similar to the chest strap I have (3 year old garmin one) however there is the odd spike when it has a hissy fit but overall it offers a reasonable insight.
As odd as this sounds what I always wanted was something that worked as a watch that was always on, and reasonable battery life. This has ticked most of the boxes so far, for what I need.
Hope this helps if you're thinking of getting the watch!
Latest comments (57)
The real difference is the look and no touch screen.
Read some proper comparisons.
Good piece of kit. Im enjoying it
Looks way more classy than the vivo and a much better device. Touch screen is over rated sometimes five classic buttons is just easier and better. Especially with sweaty hands.
One thing I did notice is how good the app and watch motivations are. Really makes the iWatch a waste of time.
The sleep activity tracking is entirely separate to this. If I have my sleep hours set from 2300-0700 but don't go to bed until 0100 it wont start thinking I'm asleep until then.
The screen is perfect as is the battery life in my opinion.
The sleep tracking is poor. It asks what time you goto bed and it starts tracking at that time every night.
For tracking activity I found it was great. Swimming was spot on.
Still unsure about upgrading just because barring the HR there's little difference.
The screen is actually the same on the new device, but turned 90deg, though apparently the digitiser is better at picking up swipes?
Spoke with Amazon about a refund for the price reduction, but they have stopped doing that now.
So posted back and reordered, which seems pointless and a waste of time and money on their part really.
no point it sitting in my drawer
For anyone struggling to connect the device... Download the Garmin Connect app first, do not try and pair the watch without the software. Load the app and click you want to add a device, make sure bluetooth is switched on. Then switch the watch on for the first time and run through the wizard it will get to a screen with a spinning circle then it will pair in a few seconds.
Do it in that order and all will be well!
Some points to note, don't expect and OLED screen with huge brightness because you won't get it, this is more like an ebook screen with colour. When you go outside you'll appreciate that screen because you can see it at its best in full sunlight.
I charged the watch at 8pm last thursday and it is now on 16% battery, I cycle 30 mins each way to work and use the GPS for this. I have done a couple of walks and used it for two sessions at the gym for 2 hours each (doesn't use GPS to monitor strength training or cardio. Also played badminton for two hours and set it to cardio, it monitored the heart rate pretty well, the graphs look similar to the chest strap I have (3 year old garmin one) however there is the odd spike when it has a hissy fit but overall it offers a reasonable insight.
As odd as this sounds what I always wanted was something that worked as a watch that was always on, and reasonable battery life. This has ticked most of the boxes so far, for what I need.
Hope this helps if you're thinking of getting the watch!
Currently got the vivoactive £99 on Boxing Day, since the latest few software updates it's been perfect, syncs well and for swimming lengths, hiking and mtb'ing its been great, although garmin lowers altitude climbed by about 10-15% on a iPhone gps reading