Customer Ratings & Reviews

After finding out that the forerunner 235 only had music controls and not full music features, I had to bite the $150 bullet and purchase the 245 music. Best upgrade ever. Loading my amazon music was literally effortless because it automatically did it for me. The garmin connect is wonderful. I can view my entire day, sleep to steps, energy levels to stress and much more. The workout details are the best. I can view all my running stats and see them on the map. The watch is lightweight and good looking. It is comfortable on my wrist and I sleep with my watch on for the first time ever. It pairs with satellites almost immediately and no waiting. It took a few days to get used to the buttons and how to access the stuff I need, but now it is second nature. The music feature is great, using my amazon prime music that downloads my workout playlists and pairs right away with my wireless headphones. The best watch I have owned so far. If it can last as long as my previous Tom Tom, that would be a bonus.

This is my first Garmin smartwatch, and I have used it for about 2 weeks now. It's better than what I expected. The first time I saw the transflective display, I was a bit shocked how dull and dated it appeared, but that's expected indoors. The display really comes to life outdoors where it's bright. It takes a bit of a learning curve to navigate the menus and setting up Garmin Connect and Connect IQ apps on the phone. For most part, I followed some Youtube walkthroughs on how to create custom workouts and data fields in the watch. Once you've managed to get past the initial setup to suit your workout tracking needs, the watch is a delight. The silicon strap is soft and comfortable. The Forerunner 245 isn't heavy at all, after a few hours of wearing it.

They nailed this watch at this price point. Has every feature you need unless you are a professional triathlete. You can liberate yourself from your phone during workouts with this watch. The emergency call for help feature does not work without the paired phone near however. Only other minor downsides are it is a bit cumbersome to load music and change music volume easily while running. The SpO2 is not really that useful as it runs about 5% low for me & there is no low SpO2 alarm (was thinking this may be a good Covid related feature). Buttons are so much better than touch screen and you can always see the screen in all conditions. The Garmin coaching Feature and advanced metrics are spectacular- especially the VDOT score. Also really nice group features to help you and your friends stay motivated.

My wife has been training and running marathons for about 20 years and her last three smart watches have been Garmins so when she cracked the screen on her last one, I surprised her with this one. It has great battery life, is easy to sync and use the analytics, and the heart rate monitor seems to be more accurate than her older models. She also loves being able to load music on it so that she does not have to carry a separate player.

Music is great. Easy to use with Amazon music (even the prime free version). Battery life is great. Sensors and app features on the 245 music are awesome. My only real colaint is that you have to use the Garmin IQ for widgets, and then the Connect App for workout, bio, etc. I just wish it was all wrapped into one app solution, and not 2. That is my only small complaint, but that is more about the Garmin eco system and not the watch itself.

This watch is easy to use. GPS is quick to capture and accurate. The ability to run with music and not have to carry my phone is awesome

Garmin has the best running watches. The GPS is second to none. This is my 3rd running watch and have used it for all my races. Easy to use once you play around with the buttons a little and pretty accurate. Big plus is that I can link it to my wireless earbuds to play music on my runs!

First of all I love that this watch is NOT touch screen. The buttons on the sides are all you use and they are enough. It shows me basically everything I want to know without all the extra stuff like the Apple Watch. It has great features, tracks sleep, female cycle, heart rate ect. All customizable and you can take things on and off. This was my first smart watch and I’m in love! Battery last almost a week and less if I play music on it while I workout. Which is a great feature my Spotify playlist easily downloaded on it. I have the new 75t Jabra headphones and the connection is great. Really can’t complain about anything with the watch! Only thing maybe is the price.. tad steep but it’s worth for the use I give it!

I have wanted this watch since it came out, stalking the Best Buy website for availability. I reached out to them via Twitter to inquire when it would go on sale and they got back to me quickly, and not long before the link for purchase went live. It was worth the wait. I get excellent running data and perfect GPS tracking without needing to carry my phone around. I live in a wooded area and the accuracy has been astounding. Having music on my watch is an added incentive that I use regularly. This is the best purchase I’ve made in years.

I've been using my Nike Apple Watch for running for several years now but I needed a watch that's more dedicated to running. The 245M is the perfect fit for my running needs! I no longer need to carry my iPhone with me anymore because I can store my Spotify playlists on the watch itself. The watch is accurate too with all my running stats. Pros: Stored music on your wrist, Lightweight, Accurate GPS, Physical buttons Cons: Face could be bigger, Plastic body

Love it, sleep tracking is decent. Love the ability to have music without carrying a phone.

Been a while since my purchase but this review is long over due. This watch is beyond durable, easy to use, easy to customize and overall the battery seems to last me forever. I am a very active person and my job always has me on the move. With that being said, this watch definitely is one of the best ones I have.

I had been using my phone to run with and listen to music, but this watch handles the music pretty well and is obviously much smaller and more convenient. The GPS works so long as you start running right after you press the Run button.

Switched out an Apple Watch for this and LOVE IT! Battery life is great, distance and heart rate is more accurate, and I love seeing recovery zones, v02 max, etc. Absolutely recommend.

Bought this as a Christmas present for my boyfriend he was always complaining about his Apple Watch dying on his long distance runs. Now with this watch the longest he’s had it on without charging is about a week. Super happy about this purchase def worth the investment.

Have had this for a year and does what its supposed to. The only thing is the band that basically tore apart and had to buy a new one. Other than that its perfect. You really dont need a lot of the crazy features that other watches offer. You jeed to sit down and ask yourself if you really need all that higher end watches offer. That is unless you don't mind spending your money in which case go ahead

As a person with a smaller wrist, I was surprised how the size didn’t bother me at all. The watch is incredibly light and I purchased specifically because I didn’t want to have my phone with me on runs. With Spotify premium, you can sync your playlists to the watch to listen offline. The only cons are that it’s not able to detect stairs climbed and the sleep tracking is better on the fitbits I’ve had previously

My husband loves this watch!! We looked at other watches of this type but different brands and kept coming back to the Garmin. It has many features and easy to use once you know what you're doing.

This watch is everything it advertises. Very easy to setup and use. Lots of useful features and configuration options. The watch along with the mobile app gives a lot of data for fitness savvy or healthy conscious people. My only concerns are that it sometimes takes time (5 mins+) to synchronize the watch with the GPS signal. This might be a location issue? Second, it is difficult to calibrate the watch with accuracy with a treadmill. One needs to re-calibrate often based on treadmill, incline and speed mixes, or steps per minute on arm wearing the watch (if you drink with your arm wearing the watch you lose steps and it reduces the measured distance).

I’m happy with this watch. It’s really easy to sync playlists from my Spotify, as well as connecting to my Pixel buds. Also, it’s fun trying out different watch faces through the connect app. GPS has been reliable on my jogs so far. If I had a complaint, it would be that the stretchy band never feels quite right. It feels loose unless I cinch it down, but then it ends up being too tight and uncomfortable. But there’s tons of replacement bands available for cheap, so shouldn’t be a big deal. I think I’m gonna try out a leather one.