Garmin releases new update for multiple smartwatches aimed at fixing activity crashes

Only a fortnight has passed since Garmin released a new stable update for the Venu 3, Venu 3S and Vivoactive 5 (curr. $249.99 on Amazon). Typically, the company sporadically issues new stable updates for the trio, unlike their Enduro 2 and Fenix 7 counterparts. However, Garmin has decided to roll out another stable update to the trio of mid-range smartwatches, which it started publicly beta testing earlier this week.

Incidentally, it seems that Garmin has brought across recent bug fixes from Forerunner smartwatches like the Forerunner 965. Specifically, the new update for the Venu 3, Venu 3S and Vivoactive 5 is said to fix an issue that could cause a crash when starting an activity. Moreover, Garmin reports that Software Version 11.16 should also resolve a bug that resulted in incident detection remaining active after an activity ends. 

For reference, Software Version 11.16 replaces Software Version 11.14. According to Garmin's forum posts, it has offered the new update to approximately 25% of eligible Venu 3, Venu 3S and Vivoactive 5 smartwatches. If your smartwatch falls outside of that scheduled rollout, you can manually trigger the download of Software Version 11.16 through Garmin Express or the Garmin Connect Mobile (GCM) service.