Customer Ratings & Reviews

I purchased this watch hoping for a good running watch with passable activity tracking. After all, if I wanted an activity tracker, I wouldn't have purchased a watch that is specifically meant for running, right? And the Forerunner 235 claimed basic activity tracking, such as step tracking, sleep tracking and heart rate monitoring. I knew from reviews that it wouldn't be particularly good at it, but I was willing to deal with it in exchange for superior run tracking. However, the watch doesn't even do the basics correctly. For example, the watch doesn't keep the right time, because instead of syncing with your phone's time, it syncs with its GPS satellite. Which means that if for some reason your watch cannot connect to satellite, or takes a long time to connect to satellite, it's possible your watch will be too fast or too slow. There's a manual setting, but this is something so basic that I'm honestly flabbergasted doesn't work better. Secondly, the watch keeps your activities just fine. But the mobile app and the web app that connect to your watch, in case you want to look at your activities on a screen larger than 1 square inch, are terrible. They don't sync properly to the watch, meaning even if you're done with an activity, it won't sync to your mobile app or web app. And that's just running-- it definitely won't sync heart rate, sleep, etc. even if it's displayed on your watch. (When I contacted customer service, the best the service rep was able to do was tell me to connect my watch to the computer manually, then upload the running files myself to the web app. That's all well and good, but what's the point of even providing wireless sync as an option?) So what you're left with is a good running watch that really only works in a vacuum. You can forget about having a good or even working mobile app or web app, and you can forget about doing analysis on your runs outside of your watch. And because Garmin doesn't work with Apple or Google's own fitness tracking services, your data is entirely locked to your watch unless you manually upload from your watch to your computer. Overall, Garmin's software is frankly a trash fire. The hardware is slick and sleek, but it fails even on the most rudimentary abilities of a watch. If your watch can't tell time, I don't care how good of a running watch it is. I think I'll look at Fitbit or Samsung instead.

This is legit the best sports watch I have used. There is also a great community for custom interfaces which really makes this a plus

Runs fast Even when I'm running fast - can't believe the load times

I really like my watch. Wish I could text from it though.

I bought the Garmin Forerunner 235 specifically because it could interface with my Windows 10 PC, since I don’t have a smart phone with Internet capability. This worked fine for a couple months, using Garmin Express for Windows. Then, when a new release of Garmin Express installed, suddenly Express no longer communicated with my watch and I could no longer interface with the Internet to upload my stats or download extras. Since the watch was under warranty, I contacted Garmin support who suggested a number of things to try, including installing Garmin Express for Windows on a different PC. Nothing helped and finally Garmin sent me a replacement watch (after I sent back the original at my expense.) The replacement acts just the same – plugged into my PC it will charge, my PC can access it like a disk drive, but Garmin Express cannot attach it for uploading my workout information. I installed the latest Windows Garmin Express version, it says it found a new device, but cannot “add” it as a device. Support said they cannot provide me with an older version of Garmin Express, so I’m stuck. Basically, all I can do is display steps and distance traveled at the end of the day and manually copy them to a spreadsheet. So now I’m stuck with a $158 watch that does no more than I was already doing with a $20 pedometer.

Two days into this new watch and I am pretty sure I am bringing it back. The 235 is an upgrade from my FR610, which worked flawlessly. I did plenty of research before I bought this and my biggest concern was the optical sensor, which seems to be validated. I finally had a chance to take it for a test run today, and it FAILED. I am in very good shape and can usually guess my HR within 3-5 beats, but the 235 was off the reservation. I started running and it zoomed to 160+ bpm, and I knew I was no where near the 160s. I stopped and timed my pulse 3x on my phone and it was between 115-120, which is where I thought it would be. This thing wasn’t even close. I called Garmin customer service and was told that maybe the device hadn’t “locked on” to my heart beat. Ok, whatever. Then I was asked if it was tight around my wrist, and was told that sweat/tattoos/hair can cause faulty readings. Seriously?? SWEAT? This is a HRM, Garmin. Hair can cause faulty readings? Ridiculous. I also notice that even when I am walking my HR can jump from, say, 80>115>90 without much difficulty. Cheers to all the people giving it 4 and 5 stars because I don’t see it. The optical sensor seems incredibly inaccurate. Wait - I can always spend MORE money and by a chest strap that will make it work the way it should. Garmin - stick to athletes and make products for us vs trying to cater to mall walkers and people who want to know how many steps they take per day.

After reading many reviews and getting input from coworkers, I purchased the Garmin Forerunner 235. The function is fine but unless you plan on taking it off before doing any manual labor, I would not recommend it. I was putting one of my horses back in her stall and bumped the gate...crack all the way across the face. I'll switch back to the 30 dollar Ironman. Not as cool but it can handle abuse.

I purchased this watch around Thanksgiving time (Nov. 2016) and had few minor problems since then but most recently my watch wouldn't hold the charge. After reading through the troubleshooting instructions and exhaustive search for their phone number, I contacted Garmin and they send me instructions to delete some files from the Garmin folder on my computer which hasn't helped. Now I can't even reach them through the tel # That is why I am giving this product a one star and recommending others not to buy it.

I was warned by a few people to avoid the Garmin product at all costs. I should have listened. Bascially I have an expensive watch on my wrist that takes my pulse, but does little else. Most frustrating, 24 hours later, it still will not pair with my iPhone. Not sure what I did, but I got the middle finger and a lump of coal from Best Buy this year.

I loved this watch... For the most part. Has worked great for the past 11 months, I hit 1 year and the battery started to drain quicker. Now the back button does not work, it has incorrect pace, and it is randomly beeping as if it were locked. Screen even comes up saying "Hold key up to unlock" when I did not push any bottons! Should have stuck with my cheaper version Garmin!!! When you spend this kind of money on a watch it should not have issues after a year, should not be a disposable product!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What's wrong with this? Mostly the software. I bought the same model a few das ago and it would not connect with my phone. But, it had great ratings and my son loves his. For over 2 hours, I've tried to create activity profiles for Elliptical, Treadmills, and kayak use. I managed 1, but not the others. The Polar M400 did this with ease. So, I will return this hunk of junk and will go back to the M400. I wish the Garmin Watch was as good as the Garmin Auto GPS's I've owned.

Sorry I bought this device. I cannot reliably initiate a USB sync using the Garmin Express app on Windows 10. Apparently, the device must be turned off before USB sync can be initiated...but even then, there's no guarantee that Garmin Express can find the device when it's plugged in via a USB port. If you want to use a fitness tracker and sync via USB on Win10, look elsewhere.

Great watch until the screen cracked during normal use. Still don't even know how or when it cracked but they want $110 to replace it. My fit bit and polar screens never had a problem. Seems there are quite a few threads about garmin screens cracking. Before you buy be prepared to spend extra on screen protectors or spend half the price of the watch getting it repaired.

The HR built sensor was essentially worthless - it was highly inaccurate. Additionally, the screen is hard to see. Sticking with my older, bulkier one that works.