GARMIN FORERUNNER 645B Music, GPS Running Watch With Pay Con (Open Box)

If you were like me and wanted to see a review because this watch allows you to download music, READ ME! I'll start my review by speaking about the music compatibility and move onto the watch features. Spotify - I've watched countless reviews on Youtube and read hundreds of comments because I wanted to get this watch for triathlon training. 1) Setting it up - I found that the set up was really easy and was impressed when I first got it. However, when I went to update my playlist a week later the watch wouldn't recognize Spotify, the Garmin App didnt detect Spotify in the store, and it was just a headache. Ended up connecting my watch to my computer and downloaded the software and attempted to make up workarounds to get Spotify back on. It would show on my device, but once used, it wouldnt connect. Finally, I gave up and thought about returning it or just running without music. About a week later, I decided to try connecting it again through the Garmin Shop and it worked! Since then, I haven't had any issues with using it (past month) and am easily able to update my playlist. 2) Pairing Headphones - I have a Samsung S10 phone and it came with the bluetooth headset, which is amazing. I saw alot of comments complaining about cutting in and out. I did notice that Garmin does provide a list of qualified headphones to use on the watch and mine wasn't on there. I would expect my expensive watch to be able to pair up with any headphone I have. Anyways, I have noticed cutting out when outdoors. If you are indoors, it seems the bluetooth picks up really well and won't be much of a problem. When I am running outside it is a bit funky. If you're the type of runner that wants to enjoy sprints and you pump those arms, this sucks. The moment my arm is lower than a 90 degree angle it will start cutting in and out really bad. However, i tend to keep my arms up while running distance and hold a water bottle, so the music doesnt cut out. It is a drawback and can be really annoying for most people, which is why I gave this watch a 4. Garmin Watch - I've never had a Garmin watch but my favorite Youtubers have them all and I am a beginner to using them. However, it seems very simple to use and can used for the bare necessities. I know there are a ton of features that Garmin's can do but I haven't dug into the watch, it is a bit intimidating. But I have the exercises that I do on the watch, its response time is immediate. I have found the GPS to be very accurate within my biking and running - haven't had a chance to swim with everything going on. And I like that it is all digital so I can change the face of the watch. Garmin Connect - the app is really nice. Again, alot of features that I do not understand but they have "?" near everything and will explain what that specific factor means. As a result, I have found myself understanding my sleep schedule better, Heart Rate, my performance while exercising and so many others. Overall, if I could do this again, I'd probably buy a samsung active watch. Because of the compability, i'd be able to take phone calls, text, and etc. easier without the worry of bluetooth connection. But I did buy this watch and am happy with the performance it has provided so I dont really complain. I hope this review was useful to somebody. Cheers from Nebraska.

First off if you get error code 0700 or have trouble connecting to the WiFi or Syncing with Amazon Music just return the watch. Don't bother troubleshooting. I spent a lot of time like others have fussing with that on my first watch and found it was a hardware issue that Garmin should have caught in testing before shipping the product. Once I got the replacement watch it worked just fine from the start! There are a lot of good features like V02, recovery time recommendations, Training load, Anaerobic and Aerobic effort, nice watch faces available, and the GPS sync/tracking and music all work well! Sleep tracking seems to work pretty good as well and syncs up pretty well with how I fell in the morning (rested or not). Effort level (heart rate based) seems to also sync up pretty well with the effort that I feel I'm exerting during a run so I'm pretty happy with that metric too. The main thing that I don't like is that certain Bluetooth headsets will cut out a little as you run if you keep the watch on your left hand because of Bluetooth Low Energy to save battery. On many headsets the primary earbud is in right ear so your body will get in the way as you swing your left arm back and forth while running. My solution was to move the watch to my right hand while running and back when I wear it day to day. You could also just buy a headset that is on their list of compatible headsets. And this user's list: Search Google for “Forerunner 645 headphone-compatibility-experience-table” The only other thing that I'm not a fan of is the charge connector. It's the old style connector and it takes a few seconds to get it seated properly and it can shift around if you move the cable. There are many activities that it tracks but I primary use it for running and for that it works great and does what I wanted it too! Overall I feel that this watch has helped me perform more focused training which is why I bought it! It gives me the information to work on my anaerobic (short bursts and speed improvement) and aerobic (endurance) fitness levels and know whether I'm maintaining, improving, or overreaching. The headset thing was a little annoying at first but given the price and features I can deal with moving it to my right wrist for runs. I also could have bought a different headset but I wanted the Jabra Elite 75t for other benefits. The watch also has a classier look than the other running watches so I can wear it daily and it doesn't look out of place with a button up shirt and slacks at work. I purchased a screen protector and a protector ring that have worked pretty well to keep it protected. I cut out a small piece of an old gift card to put between the watch face and the clamp to help distribute the spring force across the watch face so it doesn't cause the screen protector to shift or come loose. Screen protector: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F94ZSTF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Protector ring: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083CV98XM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is my 2nd Gps watch, up grading from the Fenix 2. This is a long transition between generations and it must be like going from the iphone4 to the iphone X. So this review may not be represenative of most consumers as Im sure most people upgrade between every 2-3 years. The Forerunner is just streamlined in functionality. Five button; three on left and two on the right side of the face. So its easy to navigate, scroll and go back to 'time face'. Every thing you come to expect in classic digital watch from the 80's with the practical non flashy technology of the 20's, (that is 2020's LOL). The reason for my leap in this watch is the bluetooth music. This is a game changer for sure, but does take getting used to. With an ipod you have immediate access to volume, fwd, rev, etc. On the Forerunner, once you start your run, horsing around with the music functions can mess up your gps tracking. You must look down to make sure your in the right mode. Its not practical/tactile. However, I must stress I have a $40 earpods. So the $200 earpods probably solve many of these issues including the occasional signal drops. The stopwatch/gps is a generation leap from the Fenix2. No waiting around for satellites its just on, or more probable it adjust after getting gps lock. Either way it is seemless and you just get going. The last thing I'd like to talk about is the sleep tracking. This is just an extra that I've never paid much mind to. The Fenix2 had it but it was way too heavy and the battery life couldnt support the practicality of it. This watch is so small in comparison that I dont even notice it on. More importantly it charges to capacity in like 30 minutes. Basically the time between showers. So you can literally have it on 24/7. The sleep data is 'EYE WATERING', to the point where it is changing habits. And boy do I move a lot. I can correlate headaches and bad days just from looking at my sleep data. It really is disconcerting and incentive to get proper sleep. All in all this is a great watch and is turning into something I cant live without. When I leave the house it's a 4 check; keys, wallet, phone and watch. P.S. The only thing I miss is the elevation when I go hiking. It could be there, but I havent been able to find it.

I love listening to music while tracking my runs, and years ago I swapped my Garmin Forerunner 305 paired with an mp3 player for a Smartphone. I really hate carrying my phone when running and was looking for any solution to leave it home, so I was really excited for this watch on paper. When I started reading reviews and scouring the forums, I got really skeptical. Many pointed out the issues with skipping music, the watch freezing/restarting, and general firmware issues. Still, the promise of leaving my phone at home was too high, so I pulled the trigger and bought the watch. I am very happy to say that three weeks in, the watch is very close to living up to my expectations. There are some basic firmware issues, the music skipping does happen, and the lack of integration with real streaming services is a big issue. However, most of those aren't so bad to cancel out all the amazing positives of the watch. Music is the main reason I got this watch, so I was very worried about people reporting bluetooth connection issues and skipping music. To make sure I got the best experience, I bought a pair of JBL Mini earbuds which is on the Garmin approved list. Pairing them was a snap, and when I am running, I almost never have issues with the audio dropping out. However, I can force the issue to happen by moving the watch behind my back, and I do notice it when stretching before/after my runs. But, it isn't that bad and it doesn't happen when I am actually running, so I can live with this. The lack of streaming music options is disappointing, though I knew this ahead of time. I still have plenty of mp3's from my old days, so this wasn't a major issue for me. Still, I pay for Pandora, and I really hope Garmin can get them on as a partner at some point down the road. Loading mp3's was simple and easy with my Macbook, I didn't have any issues that other people have reported. There are definitely some firmware/software issues with the watch, but they mainly seem to be around upgrading firmware. The most frustrating moment I had was one night I looked down and my custom watch face was gone, and the default one was loaded. I hooked the watch to my computer to set it back up and upgrade the firmware, and spent the next 2 hours not being able to do either. Every time I tried to upgrade, it kept going through all the steps before the watch finally told me the upgrade failed. Eventually I got my watch face loaded and customized again, and strangely two days later the firmware just magically updated itself, and I haven't had the issue since. Under normal circumstances, the watch runs fine. But loading firmware or debugging problems if they do happen is a real pain. Running with the watch is fantastic. It locks to GPS quickly and is very accurate. I have not experienced the "triangle of death" that others seem to experience where the watch mysteriously reboots during a run. I have taken it out for maybe 10-12 runs, some with music and some without, and so far and all has gone well. The physical buttons are a huge plus, I didn't want a touchscreen watch, but that is a personal preference. The everyday features like step tracking and heart rate monitoring are also very useful. I wear the watch all day, every day and love the feedback and insights it provides. Battery life is pretty much what I expected, it drops about 20% a day under normal use and a run with GPS+music will drain it faster. I charge it every 4th night or so to make sure I always have enough battery for runs. I really like the look of the watch, it isn't too bulky or heavy (a major contrast to the Forerunner 305) and fits well on my wrist. So bottom line, there are some issues, but it works so well in general that they can be forgiven. As the issues get cleaned up and hopefully they pick up some music streaming partners, I could easily see this review moving to five stars. Alternatively, if the issues start to pile up and the music choices don't expand, I can see dropping this down a few stars. So, time will tell, but for now I am very happy with it.

For years I have been an Apple Watch fanatic. The thought of changing to a Garmin Watch had never cross my mind. It was until I spent hundreds of dollars on Apple Watches because they were fragile and broke within a year of having the watches. I did a lot of research and comparison of the Garmin 645 Forerunner Music Watch and it has lived up to the hype. The first thing that I enjoyed about the watch is I no longer required to bring my phone when I went on my workouts, because of the GPS, Bluetooth, and Music features that the watch holds. Running or doing bicep curls with a phone in your pocket can be very uncomfortable...what a relief. Secondly, the health apps on the watch are very resourceful as I am able to track my BPMs, Stress Levels, VOX Levels, Weight, BMI, and other vital health information. Next, the widgets on the phone, such as the calendar, weather, compass, notifications, activities on the phone are phenomenal as I can see all my information on one device. The only disadvantage to the phone is the distortion in the Bluetooth headphones when your arms are hanging down. This is because of the distance of the watch to the receiver (mostly on the right headset). It seems that there is too much of a distance or there is blockage from the body between the headphone's receiver and the watch. If you are looking for a durable watch at the right price that can track your health activities, plays music, Bluetooth compatible, and has a GPS, this is your watch. Highly recommend!!! Let me know if you have any questions!

This is a fantastic watch. I paid $289 before taxes because I was patient. I got the 645 Music version and I have not been disappointed. Here are a few things that stand out to me. Background, I'm a fairly tech familiar/savvy guy. But this is my first "smart watch" because I felt these products were dumb. But a training/running watch? Another story. Especially since I don't want to run with my phone. I work in surgery in a large hospital. Buttons I love the fact that this has buttons and not a touch screen. When running, now that I'm familiar with the interface, the button navigation allows me to quickly get to the items I'm looking for and see the data that I want without having to worry about tapping a super small screen with sausage fingers. Buttons are for runners. Accuracy When it comes to counting steps, and miles this thing is spot on. I'm not sure how they get it done but the watch performs well for logging and tracking my steps and running. Milage is consistent and accurate. It's really great to know that even indoors walking through a large hospital going up and down multiple floors this thing keeps track of what I'm doing. Smartphone Notifications: Very nicely done. Once familiar with the interface it is easy to quickly respond with preset messages. The only think I worry about is privacy. I don't want everyone knowing when I'm arguing with my wife or when we're about to make up. So I'm hesitant to leave it out when I have to scrub for a long operation. I'm a private person though. You may be the type to put that stuff on blast. Music: Love that Spotify is available for this as an internet free option (i.e. no internet or phone required to playback the music). You are able to create playlists on spotify and download the playlists to your phone. There are other options to see playlists associated with recently played music. I use this all the time while running... it's unsafe but makes the run that much more enjoyable. Ecosystem: The apps and extended functionality/data screens are really for the athlete. There are a few rather clunky apps that are popular and extend the watch a little bit more than just an activity tracker. I use the minute weather app that tells me if there is going to be rain in the next 60-120 minutes more than I thought I would living in the south. The watch faces are... ok. Love the way that data screens can be customized on some of them. Battery: Excellent. 4d without a charge. Left my charger accidentally at work with 10% left on the watch. Just hanging around the house for 12h I was later at about 4% before having to go and get the charger. Listening to and downloading music drain the battery pretty fast. Downloading is the worst... But otherwise the efficiency of the watch during regular use is great. I'm very happy with the battery. I do charge to 100% before my runs and and I run ~ 3 x week. A 1h run will take me to >80% from full charge. I'm pleased. Screen Legible outdoors. Light button helps you see at night. It is always on (Apple tried to sell that as a feature...). I'm happy with the resolution for what this watch does. Coach Love the Garmin coach and the integration with the watch. You have to set it up on the phone app but it just rolls from there. I have used it to help me decrease my mile times and extend my distance. I have no idea how they calculate the VO2Max and, despite googling this, it remains a mystery to me. If someone knows... post. That said, it's trending in the right direction which I hope is not a gimmick but truly reflects me getting fitter. The Goals for each training setup are reasonable and allow you to target completion or times. Love it. Alarm: This sounds dumb but I have now switched almost exclusively to the Garmin to wake me up. It doesn't wake up my wife which my phone does... the vibrate just makes me get up... hard to explain but a big plus. Heart rate: Works perfectly. i've used equipment at work to check this (pulseox heart rate in a hospital setting) and it is accurate. Period. Cons: Bezel Scratches really easily. Decided to buy a screen protector and something to go on top of the bezel. Wish it didn't scratch so easily. Lagging Rarely the watch lags when buttons are pressed and takes a while to catch up. I think this is analogous to "waking up" the watch from hibernation or something... but it isn't a problem to me. Band: Changed the stock band. Didn't like it too much. But there are plenty of options out there depending on your taste Overall Loved the watch. Hope this review helps.

I've been wearing the Garmin Forerunner 645M for about a week now and love it! I've only gotten three runs in, but was very impressed with the GPS tracking. It stayed steady in places my previous Apple Watch Series 2 would go a little wonky. Speaking of the AW, after a couple of years of frustration with the AW touch screen during activities, I'm so glad to have physical buttons again. I loved my Apple Watch, but it was time for a change. Yes, you compromise a little in terms of smart watch functionality and display quality moving to Garmin, but you more than make up for it in usability, battery life, and tracking/data during activities. Transferring music to the watch is simple and my PowerBeats 3 connected easily. The watch looks great, is light weight, and is comfortable to wear during the day/night and on runs. Garmin Pay is still pretty limited, but hopefully that will be expanded through the year, like Garmin has promised. We'll see, but I can count on one hand the number of times I just Apple Pay on my AW, so it's not a huge deal to me. If it is to you, look closely at the banks it currently supports. It won't take long. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/garminpay/banks/ Overall, this is a great watch that hits everything I've been looking for. More importantly, it executes those things exceedingly well.

**EDIT** After almost 2 Years it broke in the same place like other reviews are saying. **** Be Careful! *** Great running watch! Since I started to run I always did it with music and this was always a requirement for me and Garmin never had a watch with this feature. My journey started with Motorola ACTV, I think was the first smartwatch with music capability, I had two and after two years both broke by sweat. Then motorola released Moto 360 1st gen with android, I used it and the best part was that this work with google music. but after some time stopped to work by same problem as the others. When Motorola released moto 360 sport I used it and after last android upgrade it became a unusable due to how slow it became and GPS and Music did not work together and it also broke by sweat. I had to wait more 1 year to buy a new smartwatch, then just bought Amazfit Pace, It is really good I used it to run and has music capability also, for sure you need to have the mp3 files, if you dont have forget about it. It is good to run but normal, nothing special on it. When it arrived to me garmin released 645 music, I took some time thinking why I should buy it even with Amazfit and decided to buy. My conclusion is that this watch is Much better for running activity than Amazfit Pace, but Amazfit is 4x times cheaper than Garmin and the decision was difficult to buy Garmin. I will list why I think Garmin worth the value: 1. Physical Buttons for running controls and music - I thought I would never say this, but during running is easier to use the buttons than the screen with sweat. 2. Do not lag - Do not lag for nothing even when GPS is turned on and Bluetooth. 3. GPS fast - Yes it seach for GPS much faster than any other watch that I had and is much more precise. *4. Music - --Remember you must have MP3 files, if not dont buy it.-- Music screen is easy to use, I dont use lists. 5. Workouts cockpit - The screen for running has all information you need. 6. HR precise - heart rate is very precise. 7. Bluetooth conectivity - I bought a cheap BT headset and it connect without any problem, if you have problems try to use the watch on left or right hand, 8. Always On Display 9. Battery - Even using GPS for running it sill holds for 1 week, much more than Amazfit using GPS and BT that hold for less than this. 10. Very light - lighter than Amazfit Pace that is very light I still use Amazfit for my day due to screen that is bigger than 645 and this is my only down point of 645, the screen is too small could be bigger.

I have this tracker/watch for only 3 days. It paired with my Android phone without any issues, notifications work fine too. The build quality feels great and it is very comfortable on my wrist. The first sync + software update (ver 2.40) was a bit confusing but I just had to be patient. I expect another update to pop-out soon, around March 19th when Garmin is supposed to start allowing mobile payments using the watch. Navigation is ok, takes time to get used to 5 buttons, but not a major problem. The screen is very easy to read on a direct sun, and backlit helps in the dark conditions. Battery: a 6 mile run with music streaming to my bluetooth headset (+GPS) brought down the battery charge by 20%, which I think is expected. The GPS tracking accuracy is fine, it has acquired satellites very quickly, in less than 5 seconds, much faster than my old Tomtom Spark. Bluetooth: paring with my android phone + notifications work as expected. Pairing with the headset I use to run with (Aftershokz Bluez) was easy and the connection worked fine during the run. The issue of BT headsets that some other reviewer complain about is not new to me, it took time to pick the right headset that would work with my old TomTom Spark Music as well. So, breaking BT signal - well, it took me 5 headsets (including $120 JLab) to find the one that works reliably with TomTom and comfortable to run with. So, do not blame Garmin, any watch would suffer from this symptom. The BT antenna in the watch is tiny, it is a low-powered device and you better pick a headset with very sensitive antenna circuit to work reliably with your watch. Thus, the price of your BT headset has nothing to do with it, I had a cheap $20 headsets working more reliably than fancy JLab and Plantronics headsets. Your typical BT headset is built to work with smartphones, not low-powered watches, so take your time as well as the full advantage of Amazon's return program and find the unit that works for you. Anecdotally, in case of my late Tomtom Spark I had to wear it on the right hand to ensure more stable signal reception. Well, my current Aftershokz headset allows me to stop worrying about it (I am not promoting any product here and do not benefit from any product sales). Bugs: so far, the only bug I found was uploading a 2h long podcast and Garmin645 refused to see it - yes, you see the file dropped into the right folder in watch's filesystem but you can't play it. I had to remove the file's MP3 tag saying "Podcast", so it would be recognized as a regular "music" file, and that has solved the issue. Going to take my new 645 to a swim this weekend and will update the review accordingly. UPDATE: the tracker/watch performed perfect in the lap swimming, detecting both freestyle as well as backstroke. My old Tomtom had issues missing laps, which taught me to pull off the wall much stronger than I need to. Well, Garmin did really well here. Both trackers could not detect the laps I swam with the kickboard or backstroke dolphin, but that is expected. Waiting for the new firmware unlocking the NFC payments to land anytime now... UPDATED on March 19th: despite Garmin's promises to turn the mobile payments on today, the start of the service seems the be delayed a bit. I was able to activate my card on the mobile app and even got a confirmation email from my bank, but the watch refuses to show the card in its wallet. I had a quick chat with Garmin's Support rep, who ensured me there will be a new mobile app coming out "this week" to solve the issue. UPDATE: mobile payments work as advertised - just tried it at Walgreens a couple of days ago and no issues at all.

After 2 weeks of use, I can attest that it works more or less as expected, based on specs and reviews. I am a runner, and run with intent several times a week and this watch has all the features I need, plus a few more that are really just nice to have. I upgraded from a FR 230 with a chest strap (which made me always regret not getting the 235) and the 230 really has almost all the features I really needed, but the 645 really does have some nice to haves, for example more notifications on performance data (as you move between HR zones) and a few more metrics on workout intensity, which you can calculate by hand on a 230 but pop right up after the workout for instant gratification. And lets face it, at the end of a workout instant gratification is a big thing. I struggled with the extra price between the 645 music and the Vivosmart 3, really just for the music. Even a 235 probably has everything I need from a training perspective. But in the end I caved in to FOMO, and bought the 645, for the music and for the lack of touch screen, which some reviewers got me worried about being overly sensitive on the VS 3. The music is the best nice to have, I have a big phone so I am not going to haul that around on my training run, and my little Clip Sports MP3 player was always not to be found or out of battery at the most annoying moments. Because I don't always run with music, a last minute decision (music or not) is always easier on the 645. The music does cut out more often than the phone or my Clip, even though I have approved headphones and use it on the correct side. But not enough to be annoying or unusable. Also as some reviewers have pointed out it is very finicky about which which headphones it will pair with: yes to my JBL Reflect Minis,; no to my Senso ActiveBuds 250. I also, just out of curiosity, tried to pair it with a few Bluetooth speakers, and it was hit and miss there also (this is not a use case I worry about though) Battery life is spot on from Garmin estimates, as a percentage drop here are some times I have measured: Activity with music and GPS at the same time: about 20% battery level drop per hour Activity with just GPS: about 10% Regular use no GPS, Music or WiFi: about 17% per day Regular use with no HRM, Music, GPS or Wifi: about 8% per day. (This is the way I use it, the green HRM light bothers me at night) I have yet to get caught without enough battery for a run, and that is because so far the device charges up to 100% in the little time it takes me to down load a new play list. I does recharge very fast. The Garmin pay works just fine, I tested it for yucks and suitably impressed the cashier at CVS. But I can't see ever using it, as I don't normally buy anything on my runs. So overall I am please with my purchase, I knocked off one star in the review only because I still get a knot in my stomach when I think of the price I paid. If I am still using this watch regularly 2 years from now, I will give the 645 the final star. (Running software version 3.10 at the time of this review)