The Garmin Forerunner 570 Warranty Sentient Failure

Around two months ago I decided to see if a Garmin mid range device would cure my desire to upgrade and try new devices so I went for the Garmin Forerunner 570. In many ways it didn’t deliver drastically more than the Garmin Instinct 2. I noticed that it was just as bad at sleep tracking. The key issue though, is that after a swim, and a ride one day I noticed that a plastic o-ring seemed to have made it’s way between the glass and the watch body.

I sent it via who I purchased it from under warranty and they said it would be sent to Garmin for repair. Within a week or two I got the “repaired unit” in a different box, with charger and more. I noticed one key problem. The watch strap felt too soft and malleable, as if it has been worn for seasons or even years, exposed to sweat, sea water and UV light. In essence, the strap felt worn.

If I had sent in a device that was one or two years old I’d expect that. If I had sent in my Garmin Instinct purchased years ago, and the strap felt like that, then I’d think “oh well”, but this warranty case is with a two month old device, and that worn strap feeling is a red flag.

My key concern, and I have no way of knowing if it is valid, or not, is that Garmin doesn’t give battery health. It only gives current state of charge.

To see whether my perception was correct, or not, I checked the strap from the Garmin Instinct 2 and that strap still feels solid, and resistant. This confirms my instinctive reaction.

It amuses me because when I saw the brand new box, with a new charger I thought, “They sent a new unit” but when I opened the box and felt the strap it felt too soft and pliable and I felt “I’ve been conned”. They got a two month old watch and I got a watch that feels old, due to the straps, but also due to the difference in serial numbers. The SN numbers are:

8N710xxxx and 8N708xxxx.

8N708xxxx had the issue.

It’s worth noting, after rational thought that although the strap for the new watch feels old and malleable the watch unit is younger by a considerable margin. My gut feeling was wrong. This also illustrates why the process of blogging is important. It is about differentiating between an emotional response and a rational one.

If and when I contact Garmin support I will get them to explain their warranty service more clearly. According to the serial number I now have a much newer unit. This means that the battery should be fresher, and healthier. It is possible that the first unit I had sat in a warehouse for a year or two before being sold. That could be why it had the physical issue.

I now have two USB-C Garmin chargers. Recently I had considered buying some. Now the need is gone.