New Garmin smartwatches plagued by display issue, owners should check and maybe return their wearable

It’s a well known fact that Garmin offers a wide variety of smartwatches, including the comparatively affordable Instinct, which is a wearable with a rather unusual design. More specifically, its display is divided into two parts. The larger screen displays text, while a second, circular screen shows certain symbols. Unfortunately, several Reddit users have now reported a problem with the display of their Garmin smartwatch.

To be more precise, the Garmin Instinct 3 (Solar) is affected by this latest issue. The defect is not immediately apparent and affects the smaller second screen mentioned above. The screen can still show symbols and there are no issues from a usability standpoint, but the display itself appears to be off-center in these cases.

The severity of the issue varies from user to user and is more obtrusive in some cases. It’s entirely unclear if this is a hardware defect or caused by a software bug, which could be fixed with a corresponding update. It’s also unknown how widespread the display problem of Instinct 3 is, as Garmin smartwatch owners who are experiencing an issue are more likely to speak out. That said, one particular user reported that 4 out of 6 smartwatches from a certain retail store were affected.

According to an unverified claim from an affected user, Garmin has acknowledged the defect in some cases, but the company has no immediate solution to offer. At this point, users who recently bought a Garmin Instinct 3 might want to check their smartwatch for this display problem and possibly return the wearable if they are still in the return window. This is the safest way to solve the issue, since it’s unknown if and how Garmin will fix the affected watches under warranty.