Interesting. I’ve synced my Edge530 with my Elite Zumo and not had to set anything like that. Speeds are comparable to real life (even to the extent of “riding” a course I’ve done IRL)

Well that worked thanks, I now have speed.

However, the Instinct asked me – for the first time – to connect a Smart Trainer shortly after. I said no as I already have power, speed and cadence separately yet despite that my watch now talks to me through my BT headphones every 5km to tell me my stats.

How on earth do I turn that off? I can’t even see where my headphones are connected to it.

I’m sure that I stumbled on the 5k option thing earlier when looking for the speed settings. I think that it is in one of the ‘bike indoor’ settings submenus?

the Instinct asked me – for the first time – to connect a Smart Trainer shortly after. I said no as I already have power, speed and cadence separately

Aha!. That might be the difference. My Zumo is connected as a Smart Trainer. I guess it therefore has all the calibration data it needs I’ll try to remember that wheelsize “hack” should I ever decide to connect it as separate devices though. Thanks

Whilst it’s not quite £99, the Fenix 6 Pro Solar is currently £399 on SportsPursuit. £100 less than anywhere else by the looks of it. Finally found a replacement to the Instinct that didn’t turn up.

Fenix 6

If anyone has Blue Light Card discount there are good saving to be had on Garmin devices through the Garmin Store (between 20-30% depending on the device). A Garmin Instinct 2 is £225 and a Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is £300 (so 25% of each)

OK, maybe not quite as good as the original PSA, but Garmin Instinct Solar (renewed “works and looks like new”) are £100 on Amazon at the moment.

I don’t really understand the Amazon model. Is that watch sold by Garmin??
Thanks

Look for the bit that says “sold by amazon” – it’s amazon returns I assume.

@frogstomp how did you find that? The link works for me but if I search Amazon for Garmin Instinct Solar it doesn’t bring any up at £99

Frogstomps link goes straight to £99.99 ‘renewed’ Instinct for me

@frogstomp how did you find that? The link works for me but if I search Amazon for Garmin Instinct Solar it doesn’t bring any up at £99

It was put up on HUKD.

I’ve taken a punt as bought renewed before from Amazon and apart from some ‘history’ in the data on the device everything was as new.

Been billed so will see if this one turns up 😉

nuke
Full Member
Frogstomps link goes straight to £99.99 ‘renewed’ Instinct for me

Posted 27 minutes ago

Link works for me too, my question was more about how Amazon search works

Ordered one. Came today, watch looks brand new but missing the charger cable, contacted Amazon via live chat and got £9.99 refunded.

Ordered one. Came today, watch looks brand new but missing the charger cable, contacted Amazon via live chat and got £9.99 refunded.

Get these ordered, much better than the charging cable they come with.

Thanks, I’ll have a look.
Mrs has a Garmin watch so I’ll use her cable for now.

Thanks @frogstomp. I’ve just ordered one. Been using an old forerunner 225, which mostly won’t connect to my phone, so it’s got to be better than that.

The Amazon “used” deals can be quite good, they’re often just a damaged box or missing a superfluous item

Got mine today. Came in a Garmin refurbished box with cable and looks like new. Happy days.

Is the Instinct Solar better than a Forerunner 235? Or very similar in performance etc?

to breath some new life into this 😉

spotted (non solar) “refurbished” instincts on Ebay for £70, plus a 15% off voucher takign them down to £59.49. No affiliation with the seller, was looking for something else and just came across it. £60 for a decent watch is a steal imo.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114641063008

Cheers! Picked up an orange/red one. Had been thinking about a G Shock and a Forerunner 55 recently but this will fit the bill nicely.

How long do the batteries last on these watches after a few years?

I’m slightly wary of buying a 4 year old device with a rechargable battery in it.

I’ve had my forerunner 245 for 2.5 years, used pretty much 24/7 for that time and I’m still getting the full 7 days from a charge.

Received the Instinct from the eBay seller above and it’s going back. It’s really just a second hand watch, grade b suggests it’s a new but opened watch and from the retailer or manufacturer whereas this was a well used item. Also stated as refurbished and the thing was fairly dirty, nothing like someone else’s skin and grime to put you off a new purchase.

I also picked up a forerunner 735XT from that seller with the 15% off, hadn’t seen the link above just pure coincidence, its second hand although condition is pretty good but it won’t turn on (been charging for maybe 30 mins) but doesn’t look good 🙁

There are factory renewed Garmin devices on Amazon. I bought a Venu for £109 and it is literally as new, came with all the docs and cable and a proper Garmin box, albeit with renewed printed on it. Amazon also over 12 months satisfaction guarantee. The prices and option are in a constant state of flux so you have to check back frequently and not dither! 😉

I ended up going for a Forerunner 55 through my works rewards scheme, about £40 off and from Garmin. I’d had hoped that the eBay one would have been like a proper refurbished item, I’ve had an edge 520 refurbished and it was as new.

There are factory renewed Garmin devices on Amazon

I picked up a “renewed” Instinct Solar for £100 from Amazon. Been using it for 2 months, with no issues and no problem with battery life. Very happy with it.

@tenfoot

Kicking myself for not grabbing one of those myself! The Venu is very good though.

ebay seller above is sending out a replacement for my DOA 735XT and said I can keep the original one she sent me for spares….

I picked up a “renewed” Instinct Solar for £100 from Amazon. Been using it for 2 months, with no real clue how it works and how to navigate the various screens. Also a bit peeved that when used biking the buttons frequently get pressed by my wrist/ hand holding the handlebars, and this pauses the Strava recording.

Regarding battery life, was amazed how much power it needs to GPS. Took it off my wrist on one ride, to avoid abovementioned button problem, and stuck it in the rucksack with 27 days battery life showing.

Discovered that it used those 27 days battery in about 3 hours and then shut down mid route.

Have you perhaps googled for the manual? Fenix 3 here, did same when riding when got it – looked at manual and set keylock to 3 seconds, issue resolved. .

So I know of two ways to lock the buttons:

1. Under system settings->Auto-lock (during activity, etc) I have it still set to Off.

2. CTRL->Lock Keys.

https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/instinct/154554/can-you-lock-buttons-during-activities#

Regarding battery life, was amazed how much power it needs to GPS. Took it off my wrist on one ride, to avoid abovementioned button problem, and stuck it in the rucksack with 27 days battery life showing.

Discovered that it used those 27 days battery in about 3 hours and then shut down mid route.

sounds like its a bit knackered. my instinct solar has done a 22 hour ride (fully “on” – no power saving mode) with 3% life left at the end. Granted there was some sun on it in that time, but that won’t make the kind of difference you’re talking about

Maybe it had to flash harder looking for a heart rate?

I’d expect it to track for way longer than 3 hours.

My experience with the instinct solar so far is that battery life after charging shows 26/27 days. Whatever it shows as days more or less becomes hours if it’s using GPS tracking. And if it’s had some solar during the previous discharge cycle the battery life shows more than 26 days. I’ve seen it as high as 32.

Discovered that it used those 27 days battery in about 3 hours and then shut down mid route.

just come back from a three hour ride with 20 days battery left, sounds like you have a dodgy one

Also a bit peeved that when used biking the buttons frequently get pressed by my wrist/ hand holding the handlebars, and this pauses the Strava recording.

On my Fenix I’ve set a key press shortcut (“hotkeys”) to lock & unlock the buttons to avoid this. Have also set some other shortcuts for things I use regularly (e.g. to get to the stopwatch/timer page with one long press of a button). It looks like the same can be done for the instinct.

Garmin Instinct Owners Manual Page