Garmin releases new stable updates to older mid-range smartwatches

Garmin has started delivering a new round of stable updates for the Venu 3 and Vivoactive 5 (curr. $199 on Amazon), having delivered equivalent updates for their successors last week. For context, Garmin last issued stable updates for its older Venu and Vivoactive smartwatches in September.

Since then Garmin returned to its Beta Program, with Beta 17.01 emerging earlier this week. Now, the company has decided to transition that beta to its stable channel with the following changes from Software Version 16.07. Please note that Garmin has completely ignored claims that recent updates have introduced excessive battery drain for either smartwatch.

Changes made from 16.07 to 17.01

• Fixes pairing issue with Garmin Messenger app
• Fixes an issue with an EasyCard icon

Additional Updates

• GCM Translations - 2.30

Garmin claims to have offered Software Version 17.01 to 20% of Venu 3 and Vivoactive 5 smartwatches so far. If your smartwatch remains on older v15.xx software, then you can manually trigger the download of Software Version 17.01 by navigating through the main Menu, Settings, System and then Software Update on your Venu 3 or Vivoactive 5. Please see Garmin's forum for more details.