Forums >Gears and Wears>Garmin Vivoactive HR issues...might go back to my FR220
rectumdamnnearkilledem
My MIL scored a couple of these for cheap before Christmas. On paper it seemed like a cool replacement for my FR220 (which works fine, but I'm paranoid that this won't be the case for much longer, as I think I've had it for going on 3 years and haven't had a Garmin running watch not crap out well before that). I liked the idea of a wrist HR and monitoring my sleep (yay, menopause!).
Anyhow, I have charged it twice, now. And both times it's crashed when I remove it from the charger (connected to my Mac). The only thing I can figure out is that I'm not ejecting it first -- but it doesn't mount any sort of disc icon on my desktop, so I'm not sure how to eject it...or even if it needs ejecting. I've looked at the online manual for the device and it doesn't reference ejecting it -- but this would be my 7th Garmin fitness device (including Forerunners and Edge bike computers) and the first that hasn't required ejecting before removing from charging cradle.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Do you have a phone charger or other USB power adapter that you could use instead of plugging into the computer? My son just bought the Vivoactive HR. He just plugged it into the wall using a phone charger and didn't have any crashing issues.
I agree with mattw4jc, it should charge fine using a usb wall adapter.
When I charge mine using my Macbook, I get a notification on the watch asking if I want to mount it as a mass storage device. If you click yes, you should see a Garmin icon on your desktop, and then you can unmount it when it's charged by dragging that icon to the trash.
If I click no, it doesn't mount, but it will still charge but for some reason won't show the charging percent on the watch face.
I've had my Vivoactive HR since July and I really like it.
When I charge mine using my Macbook, I get a notification on the watch asking if I want to mount it as a mass storage device. If you click yes, you should see a Garmin icon on your desktop, and then you can unmount it when it's charged by dragging that icon to the trash. If I click no, it doesn't mount, but it will still charge but for some reason won't show the charging percent on the watch face.
That's the weird thing...I was never prompted on the device and with all earlier Garmin units the icon pops up on my desktop automatically. I think I will try wall mounting it for charging, since I don't *really* need to plug it into my computer, as I did with earlier Garmin units (this is the first one I've bothered pairing with my phone, though I could have done so with my most recent Edge, for certain).
My neighbor's family purchased 4 of this device during the same sale and they've been having a host of issues with theirs, as well. Seems like they either work really well or are super buggy. It's been a long while since I've had a problematic Garmin (looking at you, FR210).
I just looked at Settings -> System -> USB Mode on the watch and you can toggle which mode you want as the default (either Garmin or Mass Storage) when you connect via USB to your computer. At least that's what I think that does, I don't have my cable or computer with me right now.
I bought my daughter one for Christmas on Black Friday and to my knowledge, she's had no issues.
You should probably make sure, if you haven't already, to upgrade the firmware. You'll need to plug it in to your computer and open Garmin Express; it''ll sync then and any updates will be applied.
I just looked at Settings -> System -> USB Mode on the watch and you can toggle which mode you want as the default (either Garmin or Mass Storage) when you connect via USB to your computer. At least that's what I think that does, I don't have my cable or computer with me right now. I bought my daughter one for Christmas on Black Friday and to my knowledge, she's had no issues. You should probably make sure, if you haven't already, to upgrade the firmware. You'll need to plug it in to your computer and open Garmin Express; it''ll sync then and any updates will be applied.
I think I can charge via my computer, either way. It looks like Garmin mode allows for charging without interrupting an activity (say, with a portable charger). At least that's what I found on a random Google Search. Not finding much on Garmin's support.
Firmware is updated. That was the first thing I did. I think now firmware updates will be OTA...though I'm not 100% certain on that.