New Garmin Forerunner smartwatches get hotfix for ghost touch issue

The new Garmin Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 smartwatches are currently receiving software version 6.18. These two wearables were released in May 2025 alongside the HRM 600 heart rate monitor.

The public software version 6.18 resolves a problem which has been reported by many users on the Garmin forum. Customers had flagged ghost touches, where the touch screen detected an input where there was none. According to the change log, this latest release should reduce the frequency of these false inputs. A couple of users who have already installed this update have reported improvements in the brand’s forum.

However, other users have flagged a new lag related issue with the version 6.18 update, reporting the screen freezing upon entering the device’s PIN code or when scrolling through glances. Garmin has yet to acknowledge this issue. Plus, there appears to be a fresh problem linked to the Forerunner 970’s altimeter.

This is the second Hotfix for these Forerunner smartwatches, following the version 6.17 release, which was said to improve the expected battery life on the watch face for the 47mm variant of the Forerunner 570 (curr. from $549.99 at Amazon). If you own a Garmin Forerunner 570 or Forerunner 970 smartwatch, you can install software version 6.18 by going to Menu > System > Software Update > Check For Updates.