I dunked the Garmin Fenix 8 in cold water and crash rumors are true – but a fix is imminent

Things aren’t looking good for Garmin’s first Fenix dive watch.

27 Sep 2024, 13:00 · TechRadar

News By Matt Evans published 27 September 2024

(Image credit: Future)

Earlier this week, reports emerged of Garmin’s new flagship watch, the Garmin Fenix 8, crashing in cold water conditions.

At the time, we had just published our Garmin Fenix 8 review, which stated that while we hadn’t yet tested the dive functionality (and were planning to hand it to a recreational diver for this purpose), the watch was otherwise “rugged, expensive perfection,” one of the best Garmin watches ever, and worthy of five stars.

This was before a reader emailed me (with the subject line “Garmin Fenix 8: zero stars”) to inform me of the issue.

They also provided links to several different Reddit threads and forum posts featuring multiple users complaining about the issue. The Garmin Fenix 8, with its leakproof buttons and dive watch capabilities, reportedly crashed when submerged in liquid with a temperature below 8°C. According to the owner’s manual, the watch is able to operate in water up to 0°C.

I was a little skeptical, but I opted to test my Fenix 8 review unit very unscientifically under the conditions I had available: an ice-cold glass of water straight from the TechRadar office’s water cooler and my colleague’s generously donated Garmin Fenix 7S as a comparison test.

First, I started the Apnea Dive workout profile on the Fenix 8 and then submerged the device in cold water for 10 seconds, timed on my phone. That was all it needed: unfortunately, the watch bricked before it even came out of the water.

I was able to revive it again with a press of the On button, so it didn’t appear to have suffered any permanent damage. It immediately buzzed away with notifications again.

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors