Customer Ratings & Reviews

I purchased the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music specifically because I want to listen to music while I run. The watch is lauded for it's accuracy, which I can agree with, and its battery life, which is great. But when I tried to pair my top-rated sports headphones Jabra Elite Active 65t and track my run, it wouldn't work! BUYER BEWARE! If you purchase this model (why else would you buy the 'Music' variant), it only works with select headphones. So make sure to check Garmin's site before you purchase a pair of headphones or purchase this watch if you already have a pair of headphones.

I really wanted to like this watch. I use it for long distance running, and it works great for activity tracking, just like my prior forerunner watches. But the music functions are not ready for primetime. The worst problem is that the watch only works with a handful of types of headphones. Don't just assume your favorite headphones will work. Garmin even has a page on its site listing the compatible 'phones -- and it's a tiny list. Lots of complaints about this on the internet. I kept wondering why different headphones would not pair at all, or would pair but not offer full functionality (volume buttons not working, pause button not working, etc.) I went through three different kinds before even finding that page, so do your homework before buying! Ridiculous that Garmin would release a watch with such poor bluetooth. I'm still going through the list of approved headphones looking for one that works and that I also like. Very frustrating so far. Another problem with the music is the Amazon music app. It's also buggy and not ready for primetime. Not sure if it's Amazon or Garmin at fault here, but it was useless for me. Fortunately, the Spotify app works well, so if you use that platform you should be OK. Also, the battery life isn't great. After a 4 hour run playing music and tracking, the brand new watch is nearly drained. It's enough for now, but if the battery degrades over time, it will become a problem. Finally, there's a bad design choice which might become an issue over time. The charging port is on the back face of the watch, so it rests against my skin. It gets gunked up with sunscreen and sweat every time I use it. I clean it out every time and so far haven't had a problem, but I worry it will eventually corrode. Prior forerunners had a better positioned port, so this wasn't a concern.