Old thread, but FWIW I just now had a pretty good experience with Garmin, when I feared the worst, so here’s my .02.
Trusty Edge 520, nearly 4 years old, no problems (except the clunky UI everybody knows about), until started disconnecting / reconnecting phone and sensors repeatedly every few minutes on outside rides. It did it almost ritualistically so I I assumed it was a software problem in the 13.20 update.
First support chat, they suspected corrupt files and suggested deleting 4 of them from their folders. Didn’t help. Second chat they had me forget all sensors except the Varia radar (the only dangerous disconnect, since when connected it never gives a false negative, but does on these 10-30 sec disconnects). The radar still rhythmically disconnected as before. Third time I got a guy who stuck with me to resolution. At first he laid out a troubleshooting regimen that involved a couple test rides with Ant+ logging. I was curious enough to assent, even though it was kind of a pain.
He called later in the day to report that the engineers weren’t planning to support the 520 any longer, and didn’t want to investigate the testing, but I could get a 20% discount on any newer Garmin head unit. Of course I went into research mode on 530 vs Bolt everywhere I could, starting here. Hadn’t made up my mind over weekend when he called again first thing Monday and said they had decided to send me a refurbished 520 in exchange for my ailing 520.
It arrived 4 days later, and worked fine with all my sensors and phone – 9 days after first contact, 6 days after contact with the guy who could do something more than offer boilerplate suggestions. For a unit that old, it seems to me more than a fair resolution though it took some faffing around before getting there.
Depends on who you get.
I’ve had my vivoactive HR for a while now. It died on me when i went open water swimming and pressed buttons under water (water dmg and all). It was a known issue. Long story short took a few calls and chats and i was able to get a refurbed unit for free. (some agents were going to charge me $110 to get replacement).
Although i’m itching to get a new one, i can’t justify it as pool workouts are cancelled and i don’t enjoy running too much.
I also doubled down on garmin and got an old edge 810 unit and some old vector 2 pedals
So you could say it’s getting kinda serious. Almost pulled the trigger on a Forerunner 735xt on prime day but it’s not really worth it… the 935 was about $100 more… but i know i’d get huge FOMO from the forerunner 745 (since it’s basically the 945 without maps and with crappier battery)
So here i am, waiting for maybe a black friday or cybermonday deal
I find Garmin support hit or miss. Although if you get through to someone who has no clue they seem to offer very good solutions, I’ve had complete replacements for devices out of warrantee many times just by calling numerous times and asking The same Q to different support agents!
Garmin sent me a refurbished (looked new) Fenix 3 to replace mine that had bricked and was scratched up like crazy. With free expedited shipping. This was 2-3 years after I got it, out of warranty, and I wasn’t even the original buyer. That’s good customer support in my book.
Wahoo replaced my Elemnt with a refurbished unit when the altimeter stopper working too. Also good.
I know a lot of people have had bad luck w/ Garmin CS, but I just had yet another very positive experience. One of the mounting tabs on my Varia headlight broke off. This is the second light that it has happened to…but this time it was out of warranty. However, they covered it out of “good will warranty” and my replacement light is on the way. (It seems that the issue with the tabs is that they are slightly undersized vs. other “go pro” mounting tabs, so when I use it on my K-Edge computer mount (alloy), it causes the tabs to deform slightly and, since it is alloy, over time the tab breaks. Moving forward, I am only going to use it as a helmet mounted light with a plastic mount).
FWIW, it seems like the disconnect is between relying on electronic communication vs. calling them direct. Every time I have called them, they have been extremely helpful and I either get my product replaced or offered a refurb unit at a very reasonable price.