Garmin Venu 2 Series
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I really liked the watch, but a little over a year old with fairly conservative use (running and hiking 5 hours/week) the charging port in the back of the watch became loose and I could no longer charge the watch. Unfortunately Garmin product support are extremely slow to respond and make you jump through many hoops. Unlikely to be worth the time… Read more
and trouble to try and get it fixed and will probably end up replacing the watch. I thought the reason for registering your details when you buy the watch was to get ongoing support for the product, but seems like it might just be a data harvesting exercise.
Initially a great watch, but disappointed with battery life. I wanted to share my experience with the Garmin Venu 2 Plus after nearly three years of ownership. I’ve rated it 4 stars overall, as it served me well in that time. But recent issues have left me a bit disappointed, and I think there’s room for improvement. I received this watch as a… Read more
birthday gift from my partner. It’s been used gently—mainly for general fitness tracking, with many features turned off to conserve power. It was never overcharged, never submerged in water, and generally had an easy life.
Recently, however, the battery has started to fail. It will still charge, but only holds for about 2 hours with light use before shutting down entirely. Unfortunately, Garmin doesn’t offer a battery replacement service, and the warranty is only valid for one year.
We paid close to $770 AUD when the watch was first released, so naturally, we expected more from a premium product backed by a reputable brand. My previous device, a Fitbit Versa, cost less than half that (around $200), lasted longer, and came with a 2-year warranty. Fitbit even replaced it after that warranty had expired when the software failed.
After doing some research, I found that others have had similar issues, and the general consensus is that 3–5 years is a typical battery lifespan for Garmin watches. I’m now looking into third-party repair services, with quotes for battery replacement ranging from $165–$220. It’s still more affordable than replacing the watch entirely, but not ideal.
When this replacement battery reaches the end of its life, I’ll likely switch back to something more affordable, like a Fitbit. In my experience, they’ve proven to be more reliable and come with better warranty support.
I do understand that rechargeable batteries degrade over time, and that’s to be expected. But if you’re reading this and considering investing in a mid to high-end fitness watch, be cautious. Unless you truly need all the extra features, you might be better off choosing something simpler and more affordable. In the end, you’re often paying for features—not necessarily better build quality or support.
Unreliable heartbeat monitoring – I bought this watch for a number of reason. Battery life was one and compared to apple they are brilliant but one of the other reasons was to monitor my heart rate when at the gym or hiking as I’m in my 70 + year and like to keep an eye on my heart rate. I find when exercising that it is very inaccurate quite a lot. Have done all the things that they suggest but still very unreliable. Would definitely look at the other option.
Wish I never bought it – I had issues with my last few Apple Watches and everyone raved about Garmin - so I purchased the equivalent. I hate it and wish I never switched - it's not user friendly the time doesn't easily display when I move my wrist. I would happily go back to Apple even with the issues - now my Garmin isn't orth anything and trade in doesn't exist Show details
Great, for one year only – Purchased the Venu 2S. Good: Loved it, loved the tracking of runs and other exercise, loved the notifications of text messages and phone calls. Looks smart and stylish. Easy to charge and keep clean. Bad: in less than a year, one of the buttons on the side of the watch got stuck in the down position. Returned the watch (JB hifi made it easy) and… Read more
got another. Again, same thing happened within 1 year. Got a replacement. Then, the watch one day just outside of 1year warranty stopped working properly - it had the wrong time and would not reset back to factory settings, would not connect to my phone, and so luckily had taken out a care plan which only offered a JB hifi gift card rather than a replacement watch. I won’t purchase another, as I had so many issues with the first 3 watches.
Good but issues syncing sometimes – Got this as a Mother’s Day present as I was trying to work in my steps/walking goals. Everything is working well but for some reason my messages do not show on my watch when they come through. I get phone calls just no messages. I have tried following instructions to sync correctly but nothing seems to work. It’s quiet a pricey watch for this feature not to be working! Show details
So many great features in one watch – I wanted a watch that could get phone calls and receive messages and notifications. I didn’t want the typical Apple Watch look The Garmin Venu 2 Plus has all the features mentioned and more. I can use it to pay for things. It’s really stylish on. The battery lasts so long It reads your health statistics, steps, heart rate, sleep activity and much… Read more
more. I’ve answered calls on it and can hear the other person clearly. I can’t reply to messages but can read them. Lots of different faces to choose from
Beautiful watch, BUT – charging it is a nightmare. I find it impossible to keep the charger connected - it will connect/disconnect CONSTANTLY. Most definitely a design flaw. The only solution was to purchase a non-genuine charger which supports the charging port with a back to rest the watch on; in a $500+ watch, this is unacceptable and ridiculous. Garmin, get your act… Read more
together. Thankfully, the battery life is excellent.
Otherwise, it's a beautiful watch to use. Super clear to read, gorgeous screen. Recommend getting a screen protector. Hard to find free watch faces (frustrating). I'd like to be able to turn off things like "stress", which are misleading and not accurate, in my experience. But otherwise, it's working for me. So much better than a Fitbit (Sense), where Fitbit suffers from bad quality control.
Great watch but screen scratches way to easily – It’s a decent watch with good battery life but as a fitness device it’s basically unusable for one very important reason. The screen scratches very very easily like no watch I’ve ever owned before. A small bump leaves a major scratch or the sleeve of a running jacket rubbing against it when jogging leaves scratches. I’ve owned Apple Watches,… Read more
Fitbits and Timex devices before this and never had this scratching issue with them.
Now after 3 months of ownership the watch screen is unusable because the screen is so scratched. I can’t speak for other models but don’t buy this watch at any cost.
Love this watch – I've had this watch for a week now. I decided to upgrade from the Fitbit Sense that I'd had for only 8 weeks and I'm so glad I did. I was nervous moving from Fitbit to Garmin as I was on my 4th Fitbit. I did so much research beforehand and I'm so glad I chose the Garmin Venu 2 Plus. I love everything about it. It's fabulous for tracking workouts… Read more
and bike rides and all the stats are interesting. The app is easy to use and allows me to track calorie intake too. The notifications are also great and it's an easy to see screen. Highly recommend this watch!
excellent watch – Bought this watch for its sensitive fall detect. works great sending information and gps to support person - emergency contact. love that its water proof 50mtrs. features are great, training, long life over 7 to 11days battery life. affordable and generally user friendly. Show details
Great item – Great watch, elegant design. Beautiful amoled screen. Lots of training settings available. Custom watch face available online,11 days battery life, heart rate, barometer, thermometer, Bluetooth, wifi and more and more…..I would definitely recommend it! Show details
Excellent Watch – I bought this watch 3 weeks ago after deciding this was the watch I wanted. I waited over a month to see if there were going to be any discounts but when the screen protector I ordered arrived, I bought one from Johnny Appleseed with a $50 discount. The display is colourful and bright and responsive to my touches. The fitness tracking (for me… Read more
mainly just walking) is great. I love the fact that I can just start walking and after a kilometre, it automatically starts a session including the preceeding kilometre. (There are options to kick in at a shorter or a longer distance if so desired). I can also pay for my shopping using the watch. I haven't tried making or answering a phone call on it - I don't see much value in that.
After my last charge, the warning of 10% battery life left appeared after close to 9 days. This beats any of my previous watches by around twice, so I am really happy with that. I have a hard plastic screen protector that clips on so it should prevent any scratches.
The associated app records a lot of information about the fitness sessions; way more than I am ever going to need. There are lots of watch faces available to choose from.
It is an expensive watch, but compared to some of the top of the line smart watches around, it does seem a reasonable price.
Edit: June 2024. I've now had the watch for over 2 years and am still as happy with it as when I first bought it. Battery life is still excellent, and the screen protector has kept it looking like new!
Excellent Balance between Smart Watch and Fitness Watch – I have owned my Venu2 plus for around a month now. I went from a an apple series 6 watch which I also really liked. I wanted a better fitness tracker that fitted in with the other Garmin products I own. The phone calls and google assist works really well and so far no pairing complaints. I particularly like the Garmin App it's really easy… Read more
to use and you get a fitness snap shot each week. The battery life is amazing on the Venu and I get about 5 days before a charge is required. The interface is easy to use and I mainly use it as a golf watch which links up with my ct10 club sensors. The Garmin pay is really easy to use as well. The watch heart rate and sp ox is also accurate to use along with the sleep parameters. I would like the full virtual caddy option in the golf segment but that is locked to Garmin golf watches. I particularly like the built in speakers and blue tooth connections. The screen is also robust and bright. The availability of quality apps is still limited compared to Apple watch. However I am happy I made the switch and now aren't limited to Apple phones which is a bonus and in my opinion have less customisation compared to Android. I would recommend Garmin who want a robust smartwatch with a decent battery life.
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