Garmin Forerunner 305 problems anyone else ?

Just wondering if anyone else has had a problem with their new 305 ?

I bought mine less than a month ago and had only had chance to wear it a couple of times before yesterdays FLM due an an injury but uptil yesterday i was very pleased with it.

Wore it for yesterdays London Marathon and it was going fine uptil half way (as I was) but then it all seemed to go wrong (for me and my 305 :-) at the same point I did, some point around 20 miles I looked down to see what snails pace I was now going at and found it had switched itself off.

I hadnt knocked it on anything and it was fully charged the night before so I was a bit peeved as to why it was switched off and even more so when it wouldnt switch back on via the power button.

After a few pushes off the on button not reviving it I decided to forget about it and concentrate on my staggering instead.

After crossing the line I noticed it had strangely switched itself back but also I could see that there was water inside it.

I know it was quite a wet race yesterday but these things are meant to be waterproof upto 1 metere for an hour or something arent they ?

Anyway gonna call wiggle (where i bought from) first thing in the morning to see what I have to do to get it sorted but was wondering if anyone else had had a similair problem with one ?

Wore my forerunner 101 in all sorts of weathers and never had a problem and had to have the cover off every few runs to change the batteries so I am a little surprised this has happened with the 305.
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Comments

  • Hi Banbert,

    I have had mine for a month now and not had anything like that happen. The only issues I have is that I live in quire a hilly area and it takes ages to get a fix but once it has one it is very good.

    If I were you I would return it and get a replacement or at least it can be returned to Garmin for them to examine it.

    Just one thought what did the unit read when you uploaded it to the training centre??
  • Hi DM 1

    Looking at the lack of responses and the positive one form you is quite reassuring as I have been very pleased with how mine performed up to this Sunday so hopefully its an isolated problem that I have.

    I think i must be tired (even though dont feel it) because I meant to upload the data, but completely forgot and have now merrily sent it on its way back to Wiggle after going through their returns process.

    Sounds like they will just replace it straight away (from the automated responses) which is great service and will keep me buying from them in future if thats the case.

    Doh doh and double doh .. I would have liked to see what it said about teh first half of the race ;-(

    Ta for the feedbac about your unit.
  • Hope the second units works out better, glad to hear wiggle is top notch as thats where I got mine from.
  • For the price, I'm disappointed in the calorie calculation (approx 300 per mile).

    I'm also probably being thick, but can you actually have the heart rate showing in one of the main boxes and not just as a dot in the corner?
  • Hi Carol,

    You can configure the screens to show what you want ranging from GPS accuracy to HRM.

    You do it through the settings menu, can't remember of the top of my head as I have not got it in front of me. I will post this evening if no one jumps in before me.
  • DM1 many thanks

    I did read that, but couldnt get past selecting 4 options - I wasn't then able to change the existing options

  • In a fit of complete boredom and waiting to go home I have looked up how to change the displays on the 305. So here goes:

    1) Press mode until you get to the options/settings page
    2) Use the Arrow keys to scroll down to the Settings Page. Then Select General then Data Fields
    3) Select the page that you want to change
    4) Then select the number of fields to be displayed
    5) Then use the up and down arrow keys along with enter to select the fields that you want to display.
    6) Use mode to exit once happy.

    I hope that helps, I was bored enough to download the manual from Garmin. If you need any more info just yell and I shall go through it in more detail this evening once I get back from my run.

    Hurrah now only 17 mins left!!!!
  • Looks like wiggle have sent me a replacement 305 today (got an email and checked my account online with em) which is great service if they have, always worry about service when buying from an online retailer but they will keep my future business based on their performance on this one so far !
  • i bought a 205 from Wiggle (not interested in heart rate monitor etc) and it would not charge. Sent it back on Monday and new one arrived this morning so another vote for Wiggle - never had a single problem in any order i have placed with them. As you say Banbert they have got my business from now on.
  • DM many thanks - I've sussed it with your help.

    The next thing will be the virtual training partner - have you done this - is it easy?
  • Hi Carol,

    I have only played with this on a course as I am not racing myself at the moment but I have got it working with little fuss. If you need a hand let me know.

  • I am actually on my third. Have been for one run so far and apart from the bonkers calories (200 a mile for me) it seems pretty good so far. Both of the others i had just wouldn't pick up and retain a signal but I got mine from sweatshop and they have been first class about it all.

    (I was getting pretty paranoid about it).
  • Only used mine twice and have had no problems really.... the buttons froze once but you just press mode and lap reset and its ok....again, calories, about 200 per mile for me too ???? I like that part ;)
  • Anyone know what the coverage on this is like? I'm looking at getting the new garmin forerunner 305, but am currently working (and living) in southern sweden, is there somewhere that shows the european coverage? I'm only here for another 2 months, so will predominately be using it in the UK, option is to buy it next weekend when back in the UK or wait until i'm back for good mid july, hmmm...
  • Hi Rats,

    As it is basically a GPS system you should get coverage. However this can be effected by your environment i.e. Mountains and tall buildings, heavily wooded areas will effect the signal that you receive from the satellites. For example I have issues getting reception as I step out of my front door due to the surrounding town houses however 200 yards away I pick up excellent signal strength.

    To see if anyone is using the 305 in your area have a look on motion based and see if anyone has uploaded any routes from where you live. You will have to register but it is free. Have a look at motionbased.com

    Hope that helps
  • As DM1 has already said coverage is worldwide and motionbased will show you how many people are using a GPS and motionabsed in your area.

    I subscribe to motionbased and certainly theres quite a few users of the system in Sweden, selecting Sweden as a filter shows up 2,445 trails that have been uploaded to motionbased.

    Training Centre that comes with the 305 and 205 is very good but Motionbased just takes the possible analysis to another level... tis all very motivating !!
  • I bought mine last month and after a couple of weeks, I cannot load/dump to Training Center. The problem is that it seems to be shorting (and gone black) on the left-most contact of the 4. I understand this is a known problem (and not resolved by cleaning it).

    So, I'm a bit miffed I wont be able retain my courses etc. when replaced.

    Keep u posted how that goes.
  • Well it's been ordered, thanks Banbert & DM 1. The only annoying thing now is waiting until next weekend until i go home, rather frustrating knowing it's waiting for me on my door step! Fingers crossed it will work in southern sweden, mountains and tall buildings are definately not a problem here, it's as flat as a pancake!!!
  • Had an interesting problem a couple of times now. I use it for walking as well as cycling and running. When walking, if I stop for lunch I leave it on but stationary for a while. When I down load it i find I have been to some wierd and wonderful places well in excess of the speed of sound and a 10 mile walk turns into a 250 mile round trip. Anybody else get this?
  • I'm on my second GF305. First unit, the battery gave up the ghost and the two outermost terminals tarnished.

    My second one's working fine just now but again the two outermost terminal are tarnishing - I guess this means it may be on it's way out as well.
  • An idea to stop tarnishing.....Put on the long strap and wear it over a wrist sweatband. Its a lot more comfortable and tarnishing stops. Seems an odd place to put the terminals......
  • My GF305 has just stopped working after one month. Seems like the copper bits at the back have burnt or gone rusty and now it won't switch on or do anything.

    Did Garmin change your 305 without any problems? Where did you send it, to the shop or direct to Garmin?

    Would appreciate any help cos I'm well miffed with this.
  • not had any problems with mine and it is nearly 16 weeks old. I would send back to shop
  • KwakaKwaka ✭✭✭
    Just had a problem with my 305. Had it 2 months with fairly frequent use. I downloaded the info into Training Centre last night and left it charging through the computer. Came to do my run tonight and it wouldnt switch on. It wont charge either. Reading through the previous posts and checking the back, the left hand terminal has started to go black.

    Im going to ring the UK support number tomorrow, but one big problem is that I bought it from the States.

    Any advice would be welcome.
  • Hi all

    Recently acquired a 305 and have been testing it out......glad to see my runs weren't short!!

    Anyway, I've been playing around with Sport Tracks but can't seem to get just my most recent activity uploaded....always seems to take the entire history.

    Anybody able to help with this?

    Thanks
  • You can clean the terminals with an eraser. Rub away and they come up as good as new. I like the sweatband idea though. Thanks Woody.

    Darrencroc - it only "adds" the latest activity; it doesn't reimport the entire history.
  • Had my 305 a few week now - pace readouts on mine vary wildly even though I know that I am running at a steady pace (got pace smoothing set to max). Anyone else got this problem or ideas on how to sort?
  • WombleWomble ✭✭✭
    Yep, I had the tarnishing, charging, not switching on/off probs. Sent it back to Garmin last week. However, am having trouble getting it back! They don't/won't use the Royal Mail to send stuff out. Instead they use a company that delivers between 9am and 3pm Monday to Friday, has a depot that I can't get to and they want me to stick a notice on my front door authorising them to try and leave the parcel at a neighbours ("please come and burgle me as I'm not in" springs to mind if I stick a note on my door). Apparently, Saturday delivery can be arranged through Garmin if you make a fuss. At the moment they've agreed that if I e-mail them the name of my neighbour(s) then they will try to deliver to them!!!! Surely, the fact that I've rung them with a reference number chasing the damn thing proves who I am?

    Grrrrrrrrr
  • KwakaKwaka ✭✭✭
    Womble - Was yours still under warranty?

    If I cant get a receipt from the guy in the states I bought it off they say they will charge £65 for a fixed rate repair.

    Have they said what the problem was with your not switching on?
  • Here's a dumb question...how do you change the straps?
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