what you need to know
- Garmin update 18.22 covers 100% of Garmin Forerunner 965, 955, 265 and 255 watches.
- The update adds a nationwide track database, a lap withdrawal button, jump rope activities, a sleep coach overview, and many other features and bug fixes.
- Although the update lists “improved optical heart rate performance” as a fix, some Garmin forum users have complained about apparent inconsistencies in heart rate data since the update.
Garmin is known for its accurate optical heart rate data on its smartwatches, perfect for users who don’t like wearing a chest strap or armband. The latest Garmin update 18.22 should make it even better. Unfortunately, many Garmin watch owners believe the opposite is true.
Garmin has released the 18.22 update on its forums, which includes a list of feature updates we’ve been eagerly anticipating since the beta was released in January. Among them, Garmin promises that the latest four Forerunner models (255, 265, 955 and 965) will receive “improved optical heart rate performance in cold weather” after the 18.22 update.
Elsewhere on the forums, though, you’ll find various posts complaining about heart rate data becoming inaccurate, stress and sleep summaries showing data gaps for no apparent reason, and specific actions causing the Forerunner 965 (or other models) to crash.
Specifically, many users reported that their heart rate data was significantly lower than what the standalone heart rate strap showed, peaking in the 130-140 bpm range, while their actual heart rate was closer to 180-190 bpm.
I plan to test these issues on my own Forerunner 965, but the number of complaints suggests we can’t attribute it to some isolated incident. I reached out to a Garmin representative for comment and will update this article when I hear back.
Sorry to hear this news, as this update adds functionality that I’ve been excited to test. As someone who regularly tracks workouts to improve my VO2 max, I appreciate the new “lap undo” button in case I accidentally start a new lap and ruin my workout data. The same goes for starting a new mile “lap” during your regular run.
Additionally, a new “Global Track Database” will provide you with more accurate lane data once your Garmin Forerunner’s GPS detects that other athletes are measuring track activity in your location. I’ve asked Garmin if they plan to make this a public resource, but for now, it’s just something that passively helps you track workout accuracy.
I’m also glad that Garmin borrowed the sleep coaching widget introduced on the Venu 3. This is the logical next step after update 17.24 added nap detection and enhanced body battery, and it should help get me into some better habits.
For triathletes, if you start a multi-sport activity, your Forerunner will “detect the transition to the next sport” so triathletes don’t need to manually switch.
In addition to this, Garmin is giving users the option of male voice prompts for directions and lap summaries, a new jump rope activity (which feels long overdue), and various bug fixes. You can view the full list below:
- Automatically detect transitions to the next sport in multi-sport activities such as triathlons.
- Added circle undo.
- Add sleep coach to list.
- Runners have access to a global trail database.
- Add skipping activities.
- Added male audio prompt.
- Improved headphone compatibility.
- Improved optical heart rate performance in cold weather.
- Now remember the weight set by the fixed intensity profile during structured workouts.
- Fixed backlight brightness level when using live settings.
- Fixed truncated text on map navigation data fields.
- Fixed touchscreen settings in sleep mode.
- Fixed a freeze/crash issue related to trying to update weather information with invalid location data.
- Fixed various sports profile settings errors.
- Fixed text clipping issue in activity summary page.
- Fixed an issue with backlight gestures not working in Do Not Disturb mode.
- Fixed an issue where notifications in watch face notification data fields were updating slowly.
- Fixed a crash that occurred when swiping left to dismiss certain smart home notifications.
- Fixed various user interface and system bugs.
- Updated mobile translation.
We’ll have to wait and see if these Garmin Forerunner update issues are resolved. While the controversy pales in comparison to the groundbreaking Fitbit Charge 5 update earlier this year, it will still frustrate long-time Garmin fans who pay above-market prices for solidly built Garmin watches.
In the meantime, you may or may not want to invest in a new heart rate monitor. In addition to Garmin’s own HRM-Fit, I prefer the COROS heart rate monitor, which is easier to wear than my Polar H10.