Subj : I dunked the Garmin Fenix 8 in cold water and crash rumors are tr To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Fri Sep 27 2024 14:15:05 I dunked the Garmin Fenix 8 in cold water and crash rumors are true but a fix is imminent Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2024 13:00:02 +0000 Description: Things arent looking good for Garmins first Fenix dive watch. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Earlier this week, reports emerged of Garmins new flagship watch, the Garmin Fenix 8 , crashing in cold water conditions. At the time, we had just published our Garmin Fenix 8 review , which stated that while we hadnt yet tested the dive functionality (and were planning to hand it to a recreational diver for this purpose), the watch was otherwise rugged, expensive perfection, one of the best Garmin watches ever, and worthy of five stars. This was before a reader emailed me (with the subject line Garmin Fenix 8: zero stars) to inform me of the issue. They also provided links to several different Reddit threads and forum posts featuring multiple users complaining about the issue. The Garmin Fenix 8, with its leakproof buttons and dive watch capabilities, reportedly crashed when submerged in liquid with a temperature below 8C. According to the owners manual, the watch is able to operate in water up to 0C. I was a little skeptical, but I opted to test my Fenix 8 review unit very unscientifically under the conditions I had available: an ice-cold glass of water straight from the TechRadar offices water cooler and my colleagues generously donated Garmin Fenix 7S as a comparison test. First, I started the Apnea Dive workout profile on the Fenix 8 and then submerged the device in cold water for 10 seconds, timed on my phone. That was all it needed: unfortunately, the watch bricked before it even came out of the water. I was able to revive it again with a press of the On button, so it didnt appear to have suffered any permanent damage. It immediately buzzed away with notifications again. On the other hand, a dunk of the Fenix 7S for the same amount of time did nothing to impair it; as far as we could tell, the watch came out unscathed. (Image credit: Future) Undeterred, I tried again: I refilled the water from the same tank at the same temperature and submerged the Fenix 7S first, this time, followed by the Fenix 8, in case the water had warmed during that first submersion. Again, almost the same result: the Fenix 7S was unharmed, and the Fenix 8 shut down. This time, it made its way all the way out of the glass before crashing. The watch restarted once again without issue. However, any attempt to swim or dive in cold water will likely cause the watch (at least, my review unit and those tested by the forum posters) to shut down, stopping the watch from tracking your dive or other activity. (Image credit: Future) Don't panic, divers: A fix may be imminent Following the story's publication and reaching out to Garmin for comment, its been brought to my attention that a fix is imminent. A post on the Garmin forums reads: Our engineers have identified a potential concern, that may cause the watch to shut down when submerged in water. They have released the latest BETA software update version 11.81, that includes a fix for this. So if you are experiencing this concern, you may consider installing this update. A link to the Beta update is available here. However, this doesn't immediately solve the issue, rather it just temporarily disables the ECG/Dive functionalities. The update post states, "the ECG and Dive features will be made available again on versions of beta software that we anticipate becoming Live updates. In other words, you will see the ECG/Dive features become enabled again in Beta software toward the end of our quarterly beta cycles. The ECG feature and Dive features will remain available with Live software updates (on compatible watches)." So it appears Garmin is working on a solution and that it's a software issue rather than a hardware one. You might also like... Wear OS 5 update for older Pixel Watches looks to have been pulled after users report major issues Apple Watch Series 10 review Garmin Lily 2 review ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/i-dunked-the-garmin-fenix-8-in-cold-w ater-and-crash-rumors-are-true-but-a-fix-is-imminent --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .