Older Garmin smartwatch receives new bug fixes and improvements with latest beta update

The Forerunner 955 is now eligible for a new beta update, the third it has received as part of Garmin's 18.xx software development cycle. Based on Garmin's forum post, Beta Version 18.20 could be the final 18.xx beta update for the Forerunner 955 too. However, this will only be true if Garmin does not observe critical issues during its Beta Version 18.20 rollout.

In other words, Beta Version 18.20 is a Release Candidate build. Hence, the update should soon reach all Forerunner 955 units as v18.20, along with the changes that Garmin bundled within Beta Version 18.12 and Beta Version 18.15. While Garmin has made minimal improvements to the Forerunner 955 with Beta Version 18.20, its stable counterpart should ship with the following changelog:

• Addressed potential issues with optical heart rate performance in cold weather.
• Adds Auto Activity Detect transition for multisport profiles.
• Adds database of 400m running tracks all over the world.
• Adds Jump Rope activity profile.
• Adds Lap Undo.
• Adds Sleep Coach glance.
• Fixed backlight brightness level when using real time settings.
• Fixed backlight gesture not working in do not disturb mode.
• Fixed crash when swiping left to dismiss certain smart home notifications.
• Fixed freeze/crash associated with trying to update weather info on invalid location data.
• Fixed slow notification updates on watch face notification data field.
• Fixed strength profile set weight now remembered in structured workout.
• Fixed text clipping issues in activity summary page.
• Fixed touch screen settings when in sleep mode.
• Fixed truncated text on map navigation data fields.
• Fixed various sport profile settings bugs.
• Fixed various UI and system bugs.
• Improved headset compatibility.
• Improved turn point course navigation.
• Various bug fixes and improvements.

As for Beta Version 18.20, Garmin claims that the update has already reached 50% of Forerunner 955 units enrolled on its Beta Program. Although it could take a few more days for the update to appear across all eligible models, it is possible to trigger its download manually by heading to the Main menu, Settings, System, Software Update and then selecting 'Check For Updates'. Please see Garmin's forum post for more details.

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