Discussion: How long did your forerunner last?

My latest forerunner (305) has died, after less than a year. My previous 205 lasted less than a year before it stopped talking to the world. Is my run bad luck or indicative of shortcomings in the product?

stopped talking to the world

Please be more descriptive. I have a Forerunner 305 and want to know what to look out for.

When a forerunner 305 dies, it can often be "rebooted" by pressing the mode button and the lap/reset button simultaneously for a couple of seconds.

My 305 is still working and I have used it heavily for just about 1.5yrs. It is starting to look beat up but functioning just fine.

'Stopped talking to the world'. That was the 205. The download to computer via the serial interface stopped and it was beyond me to solve it, despite many permutations with cradles, cables, drivers etc.
The 305 is entirely different symptoms. No response to on button, auto-on when connected via USB or response to recharge.
I'll try the reboot option. Wasn't aware of that, though I now vaguely remember some similar combination worked with the 205.

Mine lasted about 20 months. Went for a long run in torrential rain, water got inside and then it would constantly turn off when not connected to the cradle. I could have got a replacement as I'd bought it from prosportswatches.com (read the Forerunner thread on coolrunning.com.au for how good they are with returns), but I wanted a 405 so got a new one of those instead.

My 305 is three years old and still working - and I use it a lot, for just about everything I do. I´ve had similar problems a couple of times - fearing that it might have died. Usually it has been a matter of leaving it for a really long recharge.
In addition to the "reboot" there are also possibilities to upgrade firmware in the watch (but I don´t remember if or when I´ve actually done that myself) - but that might not be of help with this problem.

My 305 lost GPS reception after 2 years. Not acceptable for a $300 (at the time) watch. I don't see myself getting another Garmin unit.

I bought my 201 on 8/11/2005. It stopped working* just a few weeks out of warranty (early September 2006), but Garmin sent me a free replacement anyway. That replacement has worked fine for the past 2.5 years.

*Wouldn't hold a charge, wouldn't communicate through the cable/cradle, etc.

I had my 305 for about two years and it worked fine for that time, if you consider needing the occasional "reboot" to be working fine. I presume that it still works, and that whoever stole it from me has figured out how to reboot it, too.

There is a 40-page thread over at CoolRunning
http://www.coolrunning.com.au/forums/index.php?s=9...
It covers the reboot, and the fact that retailers should replace the unit if it stops working after such a short time - but the only retailer who is known to replace no questions asked is Pro-Sport watches (formerly Big Al). Also the water problem is well-known, and some 305s appear to have drowned through sweat rarther than full immersion.

Mine is still going strong after 2.5 years! (Maybe I'm not running hard enough?)

No probs with mine other than a salt water paddling-immersion issue 18months ago, replaced no qeustions and the new unit is fine and dandy.

my first one died after 14 month. then the battery was dead. but got a new one direct from garmin, and it's still working (8 month).

I've also heard that Garmin are pretty good if you return things directly to them, even replacing and/or upgrading devices if things go wrong out of the warranty period. Some have postulated that this might be because there are a few 'known' bugs with certain designs...

I think your problem is probably terminal. I've never liked those exposed contacts. Ever since we've been taping over the contacts on our 305s we've been getting great battery life and no problems. Touch wood!! My 301 is still going fine after 3 years, damnit!!

It started working tonight after a rest. I didn't reboot it. If there's one thing that worries me its intermittent faults. I won't expect a long life for the machine. Probably time to start reading the reviews. The 405 looks neat with its I-Pod inspired design.
In climbing this behaviour of mine would be diagnosed as a terminal case of gear freakism..

If you are in Canada, Mountain Equipment Co-op will take anything back, anytime you aren't satisfied (I know, I work there):

www.mec.ca

MEC's Rock Solid Guarantee

Like many retailers, we guarantee our products; if an item hasn't met your expectations, you can bring it back. Unlike most retailers, we also guarantee the product selection advice offered through our catalogue, website, and staff; if an item you've purchased based on this advice turns out to be unsuitable, you can bring it back. In either case, simply return the item for exchange, refund, repair, or credit.

That's a pretty nice guarantee. Do you guys ship to the US?

Eric - MEC in Canada is modelled after REI down there. I don't know about the REI guarantee however. Cross border shipping is a pain in that you never know what you will be charged. The worst case is when some couriers charge a horrendous "customs broker fee" e.g. UPS charged me a flat $25 once on a $50 order, whereas others don't charge anything. You might have to do some inquiring to find out what will happen if you use MEC's Xpresspost courier (basically a service of the national post office). The other fees are usually minor due to NAFTA.

And then consider the inconvenience if you ever wanted to collect on your guarantee? Not a problem if you travel to our major cities every now and then ...we have 13 stores in 8 cities.

Here is the info about US orders:


Shipping to the USA

Orders sent to the USA are shipped by Xpresspost. Orders shipped to the USA are not charged Canadian taxes; however, all orders pass through customs and are subject to import duties, taxes, and custom processing fees. A customs invoice will arrive with your parcel or may follow in the mail. Recipients are responsible for paying these additional fees.

MEC is unable to provide estimates for customs fees. Check with your local customs office for more information.


Xpresspost
up to $1000 $19.00 4-10 business days

I've had my Garmin FR205 for about 1.75 years and have recorded over 800 hours of activity, according to Garmin Training Center. I've taken it orienteering, running, biking, skiing, inline skating, and kayaking.

Overall, my watch still works fine, especially when compared to other devices I have used this much. Its biggest issue is that it occasionally crashes after charging and then appears to be off while it is actually frozen and draining the battery. A soft-reset (pressing Mode and Lap at the same time) makes it possible to turn it back on. To ensure that the battery isn't dead when I need to use the watch, I often turn the watch on and then back off once I disconnect it from my computer.

To maintain my watch, I have promptly cleaned it after using it. This probably prevents the contacts from getting corroded. I have also installed the latest firmware.

See the following URL for a list of key combinations for soft-resetting, hard-resetting, etc.:
http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php?topic=...

If your watch seems to be broken or you are having problems with it, I would suggest trying the following:
- Soft-resetting it (this is like restarting a computer)
- Hard-resetting it (this clears all user data and settings)
- Cleaning the metal contacts on the back
- Charging it
- Upgrading or reloading the firmware (which is available from Garmin's website)

Does it tend to crash on the cradle, or after it's been removed?

The watch crashes after it has been removed from the cradle. In more technical terms, the watch doesn't always transition properly from the state where the battery charging message is moving around the screen to the state where both the CPU and GPS are turned off. As I said in my last post, it does this only occasionally, as opposed to often or all the time.

I've had this issue ever since I got the watch. I don't know whether it is a common issue or an issue affecting just my watch. Do you have the same problem?

Although this issue is annoying, I'm not too concerned about it. I've had similar problems with other electronic devices.