In this article, I provide you with a range of tips and explanations on what your Garmin smartwatch can do that you may not have known about. Garmin smartwatches are known for their beautiful design and versatile features, making them more than just a heart rate monitor – they are perfect for those with an active lifestyle.
You may have just bought your first , perhaps you bought a new one or have had it for a long time. Regardless of which category you belong to, there are certainly many features on your that few know about. The is especially known for its advanced features that help you optimize your activities, whether you run, bike, or swim.
Many of the functions on your Garmin smartwatch you may have noticed but not known what they mean. has included a long range of useful functions in their smartwatches, which many of us probably do not use. Therefore, I have compiled a list of features that you might benefit from if you just learn to recognize them.
Create intervals on your watch.
Your can help you a lot with your intervals.
If you're out running and feel like doing intervals, you can easily use the watch's “back/lap” button. When your watch is tracking your run and you press “back,” the watch starts a new kilometer count. If you want to run 500m intervals, just press “lap/back” when your watch hits 500m, and from there the watch will start a new kilometer count.
If you'd like a bit more control over your intervals, you can also set them up before your run on the watch or in Garmin Connect.
You can set which intervals to run. You can set intervals by time and distance, and you can also set your intervals to be open if there shouldn’t be a fixed end time. Similarly, you can set how long breaks you want between each interval session and how many repetitions you want.
All this is, of course, very helpful when you are out running your intervals, but it also allows you to dive into interval data when you return home. Furthermore, if you run with a heart rate monitor, there's plenty of opportunity to thoroughly analyze data from each interval.
See a guide to setting up intervals on your watch here:
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Garmin coach
Do you need a personal running coach?
offers you your very own personal running coach. Via the Garmin Connect app, you can choose your running goal, your current fitness level, and which personal trainer you want. Garmin Coach then provides you with a personalized training program, which you can access in Garmin Connect on your computer or in the app on your phone - it also uploads the workouts to your watch, so you just have to start your training and run exactly as your watch tells you.
Choosing units on the phone
Some measure their runs in kilometers, others in miles. Some prefer speed in min/km, others want km/h. Whether you wish to measure in miles, kilometers, centimeters, pounds, or feet, you can change this under “system”:
- Hold the "Up" button
- Select "System"
- Select “Units.” Here you can choose the formats to measure and weigh your units.
When you start your Garmin watch for the first time, it is often set to 12-hour format. If you want the clock to show 23:30 instead of 11:30, select “system,” “Time.” Here you can switch between 12-hour and 24-hour format.
Furthermore, under “system,” there are many options for making minor adjustments such as turning off sounds, adjusting the backlight, etc.
Use "lap pace" instead of "pace" for a steady tempo
When you start your Garmin watch on a run, it shows your current pace by default. That means if you're running at pace 5:30 and speed up to pace 4:30, your watch will show you the pace you're running at now.
If you want to maintain a more steady pace, press the “down” button once to reach a new screen. Your watch will now show your lap pace, which is the time it will take you to run the current kilometer if you maintain the same pace for the rest of the kilometer. This will provide a more consistent pace on your runs.
Setting up data fields
has created a series of pre-set screens as standard, containing distance, time, pace, lap distance, lap time, etc. If you want to change this, you should do the following:
- Enter the running function on your watch
- Press the "Up" button
- Select “Run settings”
- Select "Screens," here you have the option to change the pre-set screens and tailor the data fields to display on your watch.
Performance condition
You might have wondered why this screen appears on your watch after 6-20 minutes into your run.
These are your performance condition values.
The performance condition function measures your heart rate, steps, and pace on the current run and compares it with how you usually perform on your runs. Based on this, the watch gives you an estimate of how you are likely to perform on the current run you are on. If you run with a lower
at a given speed compared to your usual, the watch will give you a "+" score. This indicates that today you are capable of performing better than usual. Performance condition is measured on a scale from -20 to +20. Each point represents about 1% of your VO2-Max value. So if your watch tells you that you are at +4, it might be a good day to push your run a bit, whereas you might want to slow down and take it easy if you have a performance condition of -4.
In case of emergency? - Incident detection
NOTE! – Garmin advises that this feature should not be used as an emergency call alone. You should always call 911 if an accident occurs.
If an accident happens on your run, you have the option to activate incident detection on your Garmin watch. Your watch sends an alert to your emergency contacts. The message includes a live-track GPS link, so your close contacts can see your current location.
NOTE! Your watch must be Bluetooth-paired with your phone for this function to work.
Body battery
Your Garmin watch combines your sleep quality, activity data, heart rate variability, sleep tracking, fitness tracking, and stress level to assess your overall body battery. Your body battery is the amount of energy you have left in your body - and thus indirectly a measure of how tired/alert you are. Your body battery is measured from 0-100. Garmin has divided your body battery into the following intervals: 0-25 as a low amount of reserve energy, 26-50 corresponds to a medium amount of reserve energy, 51-75 is a large amount of reserve energy, and 76-100 corresponds to a very large amount of reserve energy.
Find my phone
We all know the problem. Where did we just put our phone? Garmin has created a feature that helps solve this problem! Hold the “light” button down, select “find my phone,” and your watch will now make your phone emit a loud sound, making it easy to find your phone. If the sound is turned off on this feature, Garmin has also ensured that there is a field on the sides of your watch face that becomes more and more green the closer you get to your phone. Conversely, the field becomes more and more red the further you move away from the phone. However, this function requires that you have a Bluetooth connection to your phone. So it's most useful if you misplace your phone in your home, at work, or similar, and not so useful if you left the phone on your vacation abroad last week.
Find my watch
The opposite function also exists.
If you misplace your watch, you can go into the Garmin Connect app on your phone. Here you can select “find my device” Your watch will now ring and vibrate, making it easy to find. This function also requires a Bluetooth connection.
Turn off notifications
Not everyone wants to receive smart notifications on their watch. If you are among those who prefer to be without notifications, you can easily turn them off.
- Hold the “Up” button
- Select “phone”
- Select “Smart notifications”
- Press “status”
- Select “off”
Create your own backgroundand customize your watch face via Garmin Connect IQ
If you want to personalize your Garmin watch or just want a different background, you can do this with Garmin Connect IQ. In the Garmin Connect IQ app, there are many different watch faces you can download to your watch. You can also upload and tailor your own watch face, which you can then install on your phone.
Through Garmin Connect IQ, you can also download various apps for your watch, such as music apps, weather apps, and calendar apps.
Menstrual cycle tracking
This feature might not be relevant for everyone, but for about half of the world's population, it can be useful. Through the aforementioned Garmin Connect IQ, you can download a widget to track your menstrual cycle. When you track your cycle with your Garmin watch, you also get information on physical and emotional symptoms, menstrual and fertility predictions, and health and nutrition information.
You can see more about this feature in the video below.
Hot keys
Some functions are used more than others. Therefore, it's convenient to easily access the features you use most often. With "hot keys," you can assign frequently used functions to specific buttons.
- Select 'system'
- Select 'Hot Keys'
- Select features
The following functions are only available on select Garmin models.
Navigation (find home)
Are you out running and perhaps having trouble finding your way back? Admittedly, it's unlikely during a jog around your home, but perhaps on a vacation or similar. The function works by allowing you to pause your run and hold down the "up" button to choose "navigation."
On some of , the "find-home navigation" is only possible as "Track Back," showing you the same route home.
On some top Garmin models, you can select a different route home, guiding you a new way back.
Some Garmin watches offer turn-by-turn navigation on a topographic map, similar to a car GPS, though it requires substantial battery life.
Navigation (suggest route)
Your watch can suggest running routes. Simply tell it the distance and direction you want to run, and it will present three possible routes. This is great if you're tired of the same path or in a new area and need route ideas.
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Navigation (download, load, and follow route)
You can also download GPX files, which contain specific routes, to your watch. Load them to be guided through the chosen path.
Transfer music to your watch
If you want to listen to music on your watch, some models support this. Most have music controls, while some can play music directly. Transfer music by downloading Spotify or Deezer via the Garmin Connect IQ app. A Spotify Premium is needed to play music via your watch. Once downloaded and connected to wifi, you can choose which Spotify playlists to download.
Garmin Pay
On some watches, like the Garmin Forerunner, you can pay with Garmin Pay, making it easy to run without a phone or card. With Garmin Pay, you always have a card at hand—literally. It's convenient for buying a coffee after a morning run.
See a guide on installing Garmin Pay here:
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For instructions on how to pay with Garmin Pay, check out our guide in the inspiration universe titled: Garmin Pay - Pay with your watch - how it works
If unsure if your watch has a specific feature, find it on Garmin.com and check its specifications.
