Garmin vivosmart 5

It keeps up with my steps on regular frequency but some other features go in and out. Just have to go through the steps to reset them.

I was looking for a watch that I could use primarily for monitoring aspects of my health rather than training for an athletic endeavor. While this watch can serve some of both purposes, it performs well for my primary purpose alone. Being able to turn off certain functions to extend battery life is a good feature.

The sleep tracking has improved my life dramatically after decades of feeling groggy during the day. I get much more bang for the buck compared to other tech options and much more effective help than my sleep doctor's. Included features many other trackers don't have: 4-hour SPO2 monitoring during sleep, body battery monitoring, and 24-hour stress tracking. These have all helped me make modifications that have greatly improved how alive I feel during the day. Ex. A significant boost came from noticing that my stress levels were typically high for several hours after I'd gone to sleep. I experimented and found that not eating for 6-hours before bedtime made a huge difference in how rested I felt the next day. I was able to not eat dinner later after I adjusted my other meals. Thank you Garmin, because I never would have figured that out without seeing the data from my watch. I completed a medical at-home sleep study. The SPO2 data for that night matched the data I got from my Vivosmart. I use the body baterry feature to figure out whether it's time to get up in the morning. I'm always tired when I wake up (extreme night owl), but the body battery gives me a good indicator of how rested I actually am. I compared to my friend's Oura and didn't see any metrics on hers that I didn't have on my vivosmart, BUT the vivosmart doesn't require a monthly subscription to be used after purchase. When the Vivosmart was new, one battery charge would last me 8 days, but I only turned on the bluetooth briefly to transfer my sleep data every morning. Running bluetooth or making the watch sensitive to gestures takes up a lot more battery. Added bonus: the watch motivates me to walk more and do more intensity minutes each week. Deadlines help! As a result I've gotten more deep sleep time. Some intensity minutes count double because they're more intense. I didn't realize that at first, but it made sense once I understood how it works. On most of the 9 metrics that show up on the main screen, I can go back in my phone and see how they have changed over various time periods up to the full 3.5 years that I had the watch. The flaws: After about 3 years, the band got stretchy and the watch itself came out too easily. I was about to replace the band, but the watch fell out somewhere, so it's gone. Still, I got what I needed in 3.5 years of use at a lower cost than using any of the other options I've found. In the last year, I got a lot of software updates (like once a week for a few months), and it seems like the number of days a charge would last dropped after each one. By the time I lost the watch after 3 years and 5 months, my battery charge was lasting 3.5 to 4 days instead of 8. Not sure if that's planned obsolescence, but I did read somewhere that with the right little screwdriver, the battery can be changed. I did not get a chance to try that. I wish there were a setting to get SPO2 to run longer than 4 hours during the night. It takes a lot of battery to run SPO2, so I might want an 8 hour option that I could toggle to once per week. Technically, I could go into the app and just turn it on manually before I go to bed. (A lot of features are controlled from the app, not the watch itself.) An odd quirk: If I get up in the morning 4 hours before my normal wake up time, the watch tracks all of my subsequent awake time (walking, driving, eating) as REM sleep untill it gets to my normal wake time. Doesn't happen if I'm only 2 hours early. Automatic intensity tracking fills the screen with things I don't want while I'm running, so I can't see the things I do want: heart rate & what time it is. I disabled automatic tracking. Intensity minutes still get counted on the watch without blocking all the other features by showing stopwatch and date. This watch has the features I need for sleep tracking without forcing me to pay a LOT more for features I don't need.

I have had this useless watch for over one year. It frustratingly disconnects from the app all too often, and I have to do a complete reconnect. This is difficult as the watch fails to display the necessary links to do so. Garmin records would indicate I have purchased many of these watches because I have to register it as a new watch everything to get it working again. I am tired of this. It is a Garmin issue as this has only been happening since the last 2 "upgrades".

need to use it longer I think using it longer will allow a better review! Happy 2026

I’m very happy with my watch. I have had for a few months and it works great.

I ordered my watch a month ago and I have to keep pairing the watch to my phone. Therefore it doesn't always track my sleep.

Very happy with my purchase. My vivosmart 4 quit working after 3 years.not real happy about that. Hopefully this one will last longer.

What a great way to go with for your health in the future!

It’s perfect if you’re looking for something that just has the basic accessories. Keeps track of heart rate, sleep schedule, & steps. Simple to use since it only has the basic accessories to keep track of. This watch is also pretty small and slim which is very nice if you’re not looking for something not as bulky. It’s a little more low profile. For the size and what it does I think the price range is reasonable.

I am sorry that I purchased the Vivosmart 5 and some of it is because I am a super senior and eyesight is not one of my assets. My first complaint is that the time disappears all too quickly and it is difficult to see many of the links I want to access.

This is the third Vivosmart watch I have owned and the best so far. The features are as good as the too-large smart watches, and it has replaceable bands. An amazing amount of helpful data, which is shareable health and sleep websites. A Great smart watch at an affordable price and size!

It's been helpful tracking my sleep so that I know where I can improve

I bought this to replace my old Vivofit and what a surprise. It's wonderful. I've had it for a month or so and just discovered a new feature this morning-the relaxation exercise. I also love the health insights. I'm glad I bought it it.

I started a few year ago with Vivosmart 4. Each one I've had, I received as a replacement since there were so many glitches. Some from the device, some from the app. The device will stop recording many of the categories, primarily sleep, stress and body battery. Turning the device on and off and resetting it needs to be part of your routine to help prevent this, but it'll still happen. I continue to use this since my primary reason for buying it was size. I want a smaller device and I don't need all the stats that outdoor enthusiasts look for in more expensive models. Maybe one day Garmin will work out these issues. If you know of a better device this size, I'd love to hear about it.

Received as a gift. I don't like it. This last year when both time changes occurred, I was unable to change the time as it did not do it automatically. It stopped recording my stats and asked if I wanted to add a new device!!!!

I’ve had a Vivofit over a year and vivoactive over six months. The sensors work fine. Battery life is good. Customizing displays is difficult/impossible to achieve granularity of data. I don’t use this for pretty pictures. Manual on line useless as is the advice displayed on the watch. “Listen to your body” No I want data from my device and the software. The app is hard to use. Related features are buried in different categories. The paid service offered no more useful ways to correlate and compare data. The phone help is always pleasant. They have different degrees of experience so sometimes getting a resolution takes time.

TOO MANY STEPS TO DO SIMPLE THINGS. IT TOO MANY STEPS TO DO SIMPLES THINGS. TOO CONFUSING YO USE. FOR EXAMPLE, I WANT TO DO CARDIO. WHY DO I NEED TO SET INTERVALS. I JUST WANT TO DO 20 MINUTES. I WOULD LIKE TO SET IT AND WORK OUT. THE SAME WITH SLEEP. WHY ISNT JUST MEASURING MY SLEEP? ITHIS SHOULD BE AUTIMATIC. THIS IS FOR AN ASTRONAUT OR ENGINEER. AS A RESULT I JUST USE IT FOR TIME. WOULD LOVE TO EXPERIENCE ALL FEATURES BUT ITS TOO TIMT CONSUMING TO SET. A FITBIT IS MUCH EASIER TO USE.

Vivosmart 5 does all I need it to do, when I don't want my chunky Fenix watch on my wrist. Smart & sleek.

Nice upgrade from the orinal but the band gave me a rash.