Customer Ratings & Reviews

I felt my Vivoactive HR didn't do enough and was growing tired of it. I found this Vivoactive 3 Music had just came out. Looking at the specs, It has everything the HR had plus a lot more. I got the HR because my favorite tracker, the Basis Peak had been recalled, and there was no watch on par or better. The 3M was looking like something that would match up to that favorite watch. The Heart Rate tracking is more accurate and more continous than the HR. The same goes for the sleep tracking, especially now that the 3M tracks REM sleep. I also really love that I can download the workouts to watch. The major downside to the 3M is all the bugs that have come on release. Notifications have issues opening with my Android phone, Battery isn't up to the claims and doesn't come near to the HR with th same activity usage, and rep counting needs much improvement (It completely misses all Leg workout reps, and only counted the first 10 reps of my bench, arm, and back workouts). But with Garmin's record, the regularly release updates that fix issues related to the software, and I'm waiting for the next few updates to make the watch work nicely.

I bought this watch like everyone else not knowing if it’s a good product. This watch has gone above and beyond my expectations. I love the touchscreen and battery life.

The vivoactive 3 music is comfortable and definitely more stylish than the chunky vivoactive hr. Pros: plenty of apps, excellent gps activity tracking, gorilla glass crystal, easy to add additional apps at the garmin store, easy to pair Bluetooth headphones and yes it does play your music Cons: heart rate isn't consistently accurate, activity fields are limited

Not last long. I charged it yesterday and it never woke up. The small ring on the bad was broken within a year.

I wanted a watch to use to track my runs and listen to music without carrying with my smartphone. After comparing this with Samsung and Fossil watches, I decided this fitted my needs. I've had this watch for about 8 months, using it mainly to track my runs while listening to music and monitor my sleep and heart rate during the day. Daily use Garmin advertises up to a week of battery life in this watch. This is true if you turn off most of the features. In reality, you'll get around 3 days if you workout every other day. GPS Accuracy is perfect. It usually takes less than 20 seconds to connect to GPS, though there's been a couple of times that it fails to do so even after some reboots. However, even if you run without the GPS locked, it still records distances accurately (though the mapped run is usually messed up). Music I first started uploading music directly to the watch since Spotify was not available. It was the worst. You cannot upload (as to my understanding) music from your smartphone, only through a PC. Also, albums sometimes did not group correctly or the songs were not in the correct order. With Spotify, it is simpler. You create a playlist in your phone app and then you upload it to the watch. However, be noticed that this process is slow and for some reason it drains the battery. As with the GPS, headphones usually connect fast (I'm currently using Jabra Elite 65t) but it can sometimes fail to do so even after a lot of tries. Also, you will need to use the watch in your right hand as the sound cuts a lot if you use it in your left hand. I read on the Internet that this is because the transmitter in the earphones are placed in the right earbud, so your body is interfering between the earbud and the watch. Battery life I've been training for a marathon for the last couple of months, and it has survived all my runs using GPS and music on (the longest being 3 hours). However, I don't think it can go further than 4 hours. You should take that into consideration and adjust the settings to maximize battery life accordingly (for example, in long runs I turn off the backlight and for the marathon I'll also uninstall all the watchfaces (as some user-made faces are said to drain battery life faster) and turn off any other useless features. Smartphone integration This is not a smartwatch. If you're looking for a watch where you'll be able to answer to notifications and calls and use Android or iOS apps as if you were using your smartphone, look elsewhere. Notifications show up when connected to my smartphone via Bluetooth, and that's pretty much it. Summary If you're looking for an entry-level watch to exercise without carrying your cellphone, this is the watch for you. I do think that the watch is way overpriced for the features. However, I chose this watch because it covers what I was looking for and most importantly I don't have to charge it every single day as I would need to do with an Apple Watch or a smartwatch with WearOS or similar.

The Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music is the best Smartwatch on the market. I have been a member of the Garmin Smartwatch family for over five years and this is my third Garmin Smartwatch device and they really hit the mark with with this Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music Smartwatch. The setup was a little more challenging than previous models but the payoff and many features available is amazing. I have been using it for over a month and on a typical run with 50% charge I was able to run a 5K with music, battery and GPS using up only 20% of charge in an hour worth of activity. The Garmin Smartwatch charges in less than an hour for use in 4 to 5 days at a time. I downloaded my Spotify playlist and iTunes music library on Garmin Express App and synced to Smartwatch. The sound of music has great clarity and bass listening pleasure. I even find myself playing music from Garmin Smartwatch long after I am finished with my run while doing errands. I have used three different wireless, true wireless headphones with my Garmin Smartwatch with music such as JBL, JLabs and all connect and sync to Garmin Smartwatch so effortless. The key is to make sure your phone is at least 33 feet away or just turn it off like I prefer and leave in car when on a run so Garmin Smartwatch can easily connect with Bluetooth headphones. Switching back and forth from run data and music is really a breeze without interruption. The Smartwatch breaks down every detail from last to current run with perfect GPS timing. The Garmin Smartwatch pauses run if you need to change music. If I could give the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music Smartwatch a 10, I would have. It is just that smart.

I have been using for about 2 weeks. Lucky the price dropped during 15 day trial and got it for less than $200. I'm not a big runner/walker, so I have not used the GPS. Using strictly for boot camp type exercises and health monitoring. I have linked Spotify and used in my truck; nice to have. Things I like: Via Garmin Connect IQ you can change watch faces. You can set goals and it will remind you to "move". For me, battery life without GPS & logging 4 training activities per week & full sync twice a day is comfortably 4+ days. Consistently am at 25% after 4 days; then I charge. I have not consistently used Spotify, but think it would decrease battery life. What I don't like, but will live with: Interface is not super intuitive and GARMIN help is so-so. The "activities" they provide are ok, but if you try to create your own, you can't name it what you want. If you copy an activity, say "Cardio", it will name it "Cardio(2)" and you cannot rename (GARMIN, fix that!). Also, I appreciate the VO2max, but it's not intuitive how it works after a workout. Other things: Stair counts are pretty accurate. Steps seem accurate. I've taken a shower and no problems, but at the beach I wasn't going to risk the salt water. Overall, I'm happy and if nothing else, it's gotten me out of my chair on more than one occasion to "MOVE". GARMIN needs to update some things but I'd still recommend, especially at sub $200 level.

Though the colors are drab and there isn't as much customizability as Android Wear watches, I gave up those because I'd need to charge every day or two. This lasts 7 days if I don't use GPS. Other than battery life, the display is always readable even without backlight in bright situations... Way more readable than any of the top Apple/Samsung watches in Bright sunlight and with none of the battery drain of AMOLED trying to outshine the sun. I really like the sleep tracking as it gives me a lot of useful insights and helps me understand scientifically what changing patterns before bed do to my sleep much better than my gut feeling of how tired I am the next morning/day... Again something you need more than 2 days battery life to really dig into consistently. I did find the music function a bit too primitive and awkward to use (have Sony wireless headphones with their own music storage easier to use), and found the non music version of this watch for $120 so ended up returning this great watch for an equivalent at a lot less money. There interface on this phone is pretty simple and usable though I find it a bit slow to get to an individual item like steps that are in the middle of the list of features. Would be nice to have hot spots on the watch face to directly get to at least the pedometer, steps, and exercise activities, but being able to go through the list backwards or forwards at least gives me quick access to checking my pulse history. Only problem so far is the step counter stopped working a couple of weeks in, but turning it off and back on resolved that issue. The Android app is much easier to navigate data with and offers really impressive displays and trends. For perspective, I've owned 2 Android Wear watches but no fitness watches in the past.

I using this watch for 4 months now and work great. I love the music beild in storage and count my sleep and more. there is no downside for this watch. I recommend to everyone that likes any activity working, out running, hiking, and almost forgot I used to pay in the store with Garmin pay. This is much better than Iwatch that you have to charge every night. This Garmen I charge every 5 days depending on how you used it.

I’ve had this watch for almost 2 years and really don’t have any complaints. The charge lasts for several days despite constant use, it’s easy to use, and being able to have music to play on Bluetooth earbuds instead of carrying a phone is perfect.

I snagged one of these to replace my 1st gen vivoactive and couldn’t be happier. Much snappier, faster response, short gps wait, music literally on the watch, and the perfect companion for this runner. Would highly recommend...

I wanted a watch that I could keep track of my health, but I really wasn't a fan of the square face of the apple watch. I didn't need all of the 'fancy' features that most smartwatches seem to be pushing. I was looking for something to keep track of my sleeping habits, heart rate, and overall fitness health. The Vivoactive 3, through my research, seemed like the perfect watch for what I was looking for. After using it for nearly a year, I can say, that it has been amazing. Allowing me to view a history of my stress and overall health has been a great way for me to start managing my fitness. I can see in real-time what makes me more stressed and what I need to avoid. Overall, my health has taken an upturn after being cognizant of my well-being. While I don't have the ability to respond to text messages, notifications on iOS, do appear on the watch. This has allowed me to not have to continuously check my phone. You don't realize how often you check your phone until you stop. Honestly, being aware of things that affect you is amazing. It allows you to focus on yourself and make sure that you are being as healthy as you can. I use this to hold myself accountable and it has definitely been working.

My previous running watch was a fitbit, and I decided against replacing it with the same brand because of poor durability (strap came away from the watch). The features on the Garmin are great, especially for running, with distance, pace, elapsed time and more. It also tracks sleep, heartrate, steps etc. Downloading data to the Garmin App is easy, and the App provides a very useful view over time of that data. I'm a very happy customer!

I am surprised how much I love the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music. It exceeds my expectations in terms of being nice looking and an activity tracker. However, there are 2 issues I have with the watch. First, the battery only lasts me a couple of days. I was hoping for around a week, based on the advertised specs. I do use the GPS for running and activities quite a bit though. So, I guess it's fairly reasonable for the amount of use it gets as a running watch. Having said that, it charges FAST!! I typically put mine on charge when it gets down to about 15% charge remaining and it charges fully in about an hour. So, it's not too bad. The other thing is more concerning. I bought bluetooth headphones for running to use with the watch. I believe the antenna is on the right of the headphones and I wear my watch on the left wrist. It cuts out constantly. It's unusable. I could probably get different headphones or switch my watch to the right wrist. But, I prefer to wear it on the left. To determine whether or not the issue was the headphones or watch, I paired the headphones with my phone and it worked flawlessly while holding it in my left hand. If you want to get better battery life, I believe you'd have to jump to the best Garmin option is the Forerunner 935. However, it's made for triathlons and costs significantly more (almost 2x as much). Plus, Best Buy doesn't stock it. So, I might end up living with the shorter battery life and swap this for the non-Music version to save $30 for a feature that doesn't work. Also, worth mentioning, the iPhone application and web application are very comprehensive. I really like this watch and am now a fan of Garmin.

In my few days of using this I thought it did a decent job tracking my workouts and steps. The one thing I don't like is the screen. While the technology used prolongs battery life it simply isn't as bright and vibrant as screens on competing devices. The trade off is battery life for that vibrancy of course.

I love setting up work outs! The best part is I can run without my phone. It plays music directly. If it had one more button for advancing workouts it would be better (you have to touch the screen). I haven’t used Garmin pay yet. Battery works as well as advertised. Durable construction. Customizable watch face. Seems like an honest step counter. I really like the Garmin App.

I have been using the Fitbit products. Like this watch better as it was easy to install music and tracks runs well. I feel the Fitbit is a bit better with tracking activities (Run/walk). The battery life is far better than others brands I have use.

Overall, I really like this watch. I like it's size and the capability to easily find and change watch faces. Heart rate, GPS, steps, etc are very accurate, which is key. The music feature is a little quirky, as I wanted to easily switch between Spotify on the watch directly to Airpods to playing music on my phone, using the watch as just controls. However, I figured it out. I really like Garmin products, especially the software (Connect). Cons: I did not like the watchband. Not comfortable for me at all. However, found a great band for $12. I also have troubles getting it to sync with Android phone when connection is lost. However, it happens infrequently and might be my phone. The distance between the watch and Airpods is quite short. Breaks up if hands are at my sides. Overall, I am pleased with this watch.

The Vivoactive 3 music is everything you could want in a running watch. Connects very quickly to GPS. Able to store music from Spotify on the watch and play through Bluetooth connected earbuds. HR monitor is as accurate as any watch on the market. Extra long battery life. My favorite watch I’ve ever had.

I love the long battery life, exercise tracking, workouts, notifications, and downloaded music. Not as many options for design for watch interface. Met my needs, and I like it.