Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Garmin fenix 5 Plus, Premium Multisport GPS Smartwatch, Features Color Topo Maps, Heart Rate Monitoring, Music and Contactless Payment, Black with Black Band

Top positive review

I absolutely love this watch!

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2020

I purchased this Garmin fenix 5 Plus Sapphire watch on March 6th and have been wearing every day since. Over the years I have worn fitness watches from Polar, Timex Ironman, and the Whoop fitness band (which I thought was fantastic, but I couldn't stand the $30 monthly access fee). I have to say this this thing is the absolute BEST as it so functional for me. You can prioritize your sports and fitness activities so that you don't have to fumble with all of the settings to get to the ones you want.

For the past two years i have been using a Garmin eTrex on my mountain bike with an ANT+ connection to an chest strap HR monitor and bluetooth to Garmin Connect & Strava integration. Being able to ditch the chest strap with the Fenix has been a total delight. There seems to be a bit of delay in my HR during workouts, but the Fenix catches up within a few seconds and its recording everything with decent accuracy. I have been running both the Fenix and eTrex simultaneously on MTB rides to evaluate the GPS accuracy, integration with Garmin Connect, and it's really good with no perceptible difference between the two.

I feel like i have put this watch through its paces and it is so impressive on so many levels. Battery life is great particularly when you compare it to an Apple Watch (meh). I think I have been charging the Fenix once every 9 or 10 days and use the GPS for 4-6 hours a week during MTB rides and rowing. the other thing the Fenix does really well is integrate with Garmin Reach, so if you are interested in connecting your personal EPIRB to the Fenix, no problem. Get messages while you are out in your kayak, snowshoeing in the backcountry, or hiking at night. The Sapphire crystal face is holding up great with no scratches or issues.

This thing is great and you won't be disappointed. Lastly, all of this COVID-19 quarantining has me spending way too much time in my home office and the "Get up and Move" reminders, steps, stair flights, etc. really let's you know when it's time to get off your fat a** and move around:) I'm such a fan and looking forward to see how this Garmin holds up over the long term.

4 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Some Guy

Bugs, glitches, hang-ups, and resets

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2023

Never have i ever been so frustrated by a piece of electronics. After buying a Fenix 5X Sapphire for my wife (which was and is working fine for the past 3 years), i decided to get this one for myself, and it worked fine for 6 months or so, before randomly hanging up and rebooting, usually during a tracked run. Had a difficult time reproducing it, and was always in the middle of something (like a run) to try and troubleshoot it. Lost a lot of data, but fitness tracking is not of great value to me. No computer update would fix it, but finally deleted the Amazon music app, and it seemed to clear up. Wasn't sure why (i wasn't listening to music when it hung up), maybe a memory leak? Who knows but it worked well again, at least thru the warranty period.
Next up, it decided to stop syncing. Showed up on the app, bluetooth was working, but syncing would just give me an endless spinning arrow. After trying a dozen things, including the ubiquitous update, but it took a factory reset to get this playing again. (though now the map is apparently corrupted? Don't care enough to fix it, it'll just make it worse).
The latest: the back button quit working. You'd think you could make due without a back button, but you'd be wrong - watch says "hey, new user, how click this and i'll show you some tool tips", and the whole watch is suddenly useless. And trying to link it to the computer just results in a reboot cycle.
So now for my investment in all this tech with all these features, i have a watch that sometimes counts steps, and sometimes reports them.

687 total ratings, 153 with reviews

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From the United States

Jay

I absolutely love this watch!

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2020

Verified Purchase

4 people found this helpful

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merandi2

Zero Regret. Love it!

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

Love this watch/activity tracker... Screen seems to be indestructible and I went swimming/snorkeling with zero worries. I could easily read the face of the watch underwater. Took a minute to get used to the non-touch screen, but once I figure out the buttons, it's been fine. I love that I can download music to listen to whenever I want. The step tracking is way more accurate than my previous FitBit, as it doesn't give me a zillion steps due to the vibration of the lawn mower, that I didn't actually earn. The GPS is obviously more accurate, as well. I plan on testing additional features this summer when I go hiking.
There is so much more information and features that I still am learning, but overall, I LOVE this gadget and am pleased with my purchase.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Must say I'm very happy with this one

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

Previously owned Fenix 3. Must say I'm very happy with this one, almost in every aspect.
The size is perfect for my wrist, the design is better, overall speed increased dramatically. Although feels like the battery don't last as long as the 3, its enough. Didn't went out for a hike yet, but probably will take a portable charger with me for a 2 or more days of hiking.

One thing I didn't liked and hopefully they will fix it quickly - It is not impossible to sync music from iTunes, there is an option, but everything I tried didn't worked. I'm not the only one, people complaining about it since Garmin released that feature on previous watches.

Edit: Garmin released Spotify support for the watch. Sync playlists and listen offline whenever until content expires

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

Howard W. Abell

Best Garmin Ever

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

I have owned Garmin devices for a long time. I purchased one of the early model running watches that had a screen that looked like a small TV. It was one of the first models out but it had GPS and it was a great training tool but not a watch you would want to wear as a watch. I later purchased the Garmin 610 with touch screen. I thought this was the best running watch every. It could do everything. Still not a watch I would wear as a watch and battery life was not that great but wow the things it could do for training. I then bought the Garmin Fenix 3. I hit the jackpot a watch with everything and one I could wear all the time. The features on it were fantastic. This was it Garmin could not improve on this watch. Then came the Garmin Fenix 5 plus. It had the wrist heart rate so no more chest strap. It also incorporated music you could download to the watch and then pair with Bluetooth headphones. All the features of the Fenix 3 plus more. I keep saying I don't how Garmin can top the other watches I have had from them but they just keep doing it. If you are looking for a multi-sport watch that looks good to wear for all occasions don't hesitate this is a great watch.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

RickS

Nice looking watch and Garmin support stepped up to the plate

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

UPDATE #2:
Garmin support has really stepped up to the plate so I'm changing my overall rating of the watch. They've helped me resolve the connectivity and the gesture issues (resetting to default and start over with connecting watch). I'm back to really liking the watch!

UPDATE:
The "gesture" still doesn't work properly, and now that I've been able to wear the watch more often I've noticed that the connection to my iPhone (via their app) is frequently disconnected (even though I'm not "that" far away from the bluetooth connection), but more importantly, it doesn't reconnect automatically when I get back in "range". So, for example... I leave my watch on my desk, I go get a coffee and return to my desk. My watch doesn't reconnect unless I manually complete the reconnection. Where this sort of "matters" is that I like to get my email/text notifications on my watch... which can't happen unless I'm connected.

I emailed Garmin support on October 17. No response so I sent another email 2 weeks later. I just received my first email response now, and their only suggestion was to update my software (without even asking what software version I was running). I told them that the watch has been updated regularly since I took it out of the box (and that I've set it to update automatically). So... add "terrible support" to the list of issues I'm having with this rather expensive watch.

[Here's my first review]
First, I think this is a very nice watch. It seems loaded with features, looks great, and seems to be solidly built.

Be forewarned though... the "gesture" feature (getting the dark watch face to illuminate when you move your arm upwards so that you can see the watch face) is VERY poor... finicky... unpredictable. Apparently it's not "just me", as there's a lot of talk online about "gesture" not working right. I've emailed Garmin support (twice) and never received a response.

The fact that I can't get "gesture" to work properly definitely affected the number of stars I can give it in my personal review.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Adam Sandone

Instinct vs Fenix 5 Plus

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2021

Verified Purchase

I’ve had the Instinct for about a year, and I love it, but I wanted something with a little more tech so I opted for the Fenix. I originally ordered the 5 plus, and thought it was too big so I exchanged it for the 5s. The S was too small, so I swapped them once again and decided that the 5 plus was a fine size. I’m military, so a slightly larger watch is okay. Between the instinct and the Fenix, the Fenix is a far more accurate heart rate, step, and sleep tracker. It’s much more customizable, and the heft of it at least gives me the impression it can take a bit more of a beating. I still use my instinct for fitness purely because of how light it is, but I bet after wearing the Fenix for a while one might get used to the weight. I would recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a tougher daily wear watch, or is generally active in their free time.

Helpful

MtnBiker

Better than expected

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2020

Verified Purchase

Seen Amazon have this on a sale so picked it up for a great price. Wanted the Instinct but got the Fenix 5 plus instead. Incredible sports/gps watch! Use it daily for biking, hiking, kayaking, etc. Have used it golfing and it's nice seeing how far you are from the green and keeps track of strokes. Heart rate is pretty accurate but not as accurate as a chest strap. I'd say 80% of the time it's right on though. Nice to have topo maps on this also and has already helped me out on some hikes. GPS seem very accurate. Super happy!

Helpful

ChonkyAudio

Best watch Ive ever owned

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

I previously owned a Garmin Fenix 3 HR which looked similar to this watch. When that watch hit end of life I got an Apple watch (which I hated and immediately scratched screen). I saw this Fenix 5 Plus at a good price one day and pulled the trigger. Smaller than my Fenix 3 HR and the processor is noticeably quicker. Battery lasts 1 - 2+ weeks depending on how many activities you track which use the GPS. This watch is very sturdy and the sapphire front is a must if you tend to bump into things easily. TLDR: Much recommend, very watch.

Helpful

michael gruendel

Still evaluating but mostly good

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2020

Verified Purchase

In my opinion, this Fenix 5 Plus offers more features that the average fitness aficionado would ever need, and with all those features comes a fairly steep learning curve, especially for one just entering the fitness tracking world. I really like that my particular watch holds over 700 songs, even though the manual says it will hold 500 - I originally had 800 songs to import and pared the list down to about 700, so who knows, maybe it would have held 800. The Garmin Pay feature in theory is great, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet - everywhere I've been so far while wearing it hasn't accepted touchless payment. The amount of stats available after a workout is staggering. I've only had the watch about a month and still playing with the stats, but the mapping and workout statistics are very comprehensive for walking, running and biking - the only workouts I've used with the Fenix 5 plus. GPS satellite acquisition is super fast, but the Bluetooth signal is very weak - the Fenix 5 plus pairs nicely and easily with a set of wireless earbuds, but the antenna is in the right bud, and I wear the watch on my left wrist, so terrible reception - I have to wear the right bud in my left ear to be closer to the watch - not a problem, but I would have thought the signal would be at least able to reach the other side of my body. Nice selection of watch faces and widgets through the ConnectIQ store, however the weather apps I've tried so far really do not impress. If there is a way for the Garmin Fenix 5 Plus to read weather from my iPhone, I believe the issue would be fixed. Currently you have to add an API code to the weather apps, and receiving regular weather updates requires wifi and GPS readings, plus an activity is required to be started for some apps/widgets. Many more weather options with Garmin than with the Apple Watch, but the Apple Watch functions much more seamlessly. I've worn an Apple Watch since the 1st edition, and am now wearing the Fenix 5 Plus every day. I would guess the biggest drawback for most is the price, at almost $400 during Prime Days - don't know if I would have purchased if it wasn't on sale - I wanted the 5X Plus or 6X, but couldn't justify the expense as a newcomer to the fitness training world. I have until January to return, but I believe I will stay with it.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Skwint

Nice device. But horrible software renders the device almost useless--UPDATED below

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2018

Verified Purchase

I used to like this thing. I’ve had it for 9 months. The device itself is great, but the Garmin software—both Garmin Express for desktop and Garmin Connect for iOS—are horrible.

1. GE just can’t find the device anymore. Period. Hardwired, Bluetooth, doesn’t matter. It is now May 3, and I just learned that it hasn’t been uploading anything since March 10, about 8:04 pm. (No, I don’t look at it every day or every week. I use the device to track weeks at a time, and long term trends.) I just went to plug it in to update and, pfffft. Nothing for the last 7 weeks, and it can’t even find my device today.

2. Updates. No. I do not need to update the Scandinavian, Hungarian, Laotian, Thai and Finnish language capabilities. Nor do I need to update the maps for the South Pacific Islands, Andorra, the Australian Outback or the topo maps of Mt. Fuji. Yet these are the things it wants to update on those rare occasions when the device is recognized by the software. Today, when it didn’t recognize the device, Garmin Express did seem to recall the last date it had updated software, and wanted to spend 4 hours updating maps of places I’ve never been to, and languages I don’t speak. Fortunately I was “saved” from that by the fact that GE couldn’t find the device it wanted to update. Phew. Thank heavens for dubious favors.

These people need a good class action to wake them up.

UPDATE: 10/8/19. The most recent firmware release seems to have solved a lot of the connection issues. Garmin Connect on my iPhone now finds the device pretty fast, and updates promptly. It is also significantly more reliable when I connect directly to Garmin Express on the desktop with the cable. One strange thing though, is that when connecting to the iPhone, it frequently wants me to input the 6-digit code that the watch generates in order to pair with my phone. I haven't sorted out why that is yet, but maybe it needs to do that after the phone powers up.

I added a star, but won't give it 5 until it communicates with more fitness apps and devices that are not presently supported. I have a Withings scale, for example, and the only way Garmin gets that data is through a multi app syncing process that adds layers of complexity to what could be a simple sync. I think it goes from Withings to Apple Health to Garmin through a back door that I can no longer find. Same with the Peloton Bike app, but that may be a Peloton problem as I see that the Peloton apps don't play well with most other apps.

6 people found this helpful

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Garmin fenix 5 Plus, Premium Multisport GPS Smartwatch, Features Color Topo Maps, Heart Rate Monitoring, Music and Contactless Payment, Black with Black Band

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