Garmin Forerunner® 955 Fitness Watch

Why did the software update turn my heart rate off

I actually upgraded from my 955 to the 955 solar just this january 2026. I've beenusing Garmin for over 15years. The ease of use, connection to the app and other software to track my training as well as my athletes is why I use and recommend Garmin over any other brand.

I’ve owned the solar 955 for about 3 years now. Love this thing. It tracks all my activities(hiking, running, snowboarding, etc.). It’s subtle and classic enough for work. Comfortable enough to sleep in. Battery life is exceptional. I travel for work and can be on the road for as long as 10 days straight. As long as I remember to charge it before I leave, there’s plenty of juice to not have to worry about bringing a charging cable. Can’t say enough good things!

Fantastic watch, 2-3 years later though the solar charging doesn't work anymore. Have used on hikes, mountains, backpacking trips, thousands of miles running. With every sensor on the battery lasts about a week, maybe a little more.

I've been using the Forerunner for a few years, and a small defect started appearing recently on the screen. Without question, Garmin worked with me to send out a replacement fully covered by the warranty. The hardware and software are amazing, and the support team goes above and beyond. All together, there is no reason to look for fitness watches outside of Garmin.

I wanted a watch with maps ability and solar for hiking/backpacking. I'm a petite woman with a small wrist and tried the Enduro, Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar, Fenix 7S Pro Sapphire Solar, and Forerunner 955 Solar. The Fenix 7S Pro Sapphire Solar and the Forerunner 955 Solar were the only two that didn't look over-the-top absurd and hang way over both sides of my wrist. The Fenix 7S Pro Sapphire Solar was a great size (diameter), but the screen was smaller and not as clear as the Forerunner and the thickness of the Fenix 7S was considerably more and made it very uncomfortable whenever I moved my hand around while wearing it - it dug into my arm. So I found the Forerunner 955 Solar was the best for me based on these models I tried. I'm not saying this watch isn't large -- it absolutely is and is larger than what I would ever choose for a regular watch, but it has the functionality I wanted and is the best fit of the models I tried. I'm doing a lot of studying to figure out using this watch because it does so much more than I'll ever need. I'm loving the morning report and evening sleep advice and most of all I'm so happy to have navigation on my wrist instead of constantly taking my phone out of my pocket. They may be out there and I just haven't found them yet, but I wish Garmin had a use specific series of videos for each of their watches, i.e., "Using your Forerunner 955 Solar for Hiking/Backpacking" that would cover from zero to advanced for the new Garmin user. I also would prefer the white color option was changed to something more muted like a light gray or beige that I think would age better with heavy outdoor use.

The accuracy and features of this watch are amazing and do not disappoint. Tested against my Fitbit versa 4 and Fitbit logged .05mi more on a 5k run. Also have used this in a race with a measured course and it was on track for each mile marker. I will say the solar charging doesn’t do much while active but can probably keep the watch from dying or gain some battery life if left out in bright sunlight while on a hike or at the beach.

I’ve had this watch for a few weeks and so far am happy with it. Coming from an Apple Watch, the battery is insane, although I don’t think it’s quite as good as they advertise. I wore it on a backpacking trip with great solar charging opportunities and a few hours of gps use daily. The battery didn’t last 5 full days in that environment, which was a little disappointing. But in usual use it’s atleast 7-10 days depending on my length of workouts. It’s very light weight and scratch resistant (I’ve cracked every Apple Watch I’ve had and this one.. not even a small blemish). Happy all round, probably more features than I’ll ever need but it’s a fun upgrade.