If you recently purchased a Garmin Vivoactive 3 and have no idea much about it, then you are in the right place to learn some fantastic tips and tricks about the watch.
The Vivoactive 3 offers dozens of unique features, such as health and fitness tracking, GPS, live tracking, safety features, play music, set goals, and create exercises.Â
Vivoactive 3 can be used for a variety of things, including running, hiking, cycling, gym tracking, navigation, swimming, and more. This durable watch has no shortage of features.Â
Tracking of activity automatically
Garmin watches feature automatic activity tracking, which means you do not need to manually monitor each sport activity. Galaxy Watches also have this feature. In Garmin, you can turn off or on automatic activity.Â
The auto activity detection keeps a few sensors on all the time and consumes battery. However, you can use them on special occasions like hiking or cycling. The auto activity tracking can be adjusted effortlessly.
You can adjust it by following these simple steps;
- Visit the Garmin Connect App
- Access the Menu
- Select your Garmin device now
- Look for “Auto Activity Start”
- You can now enable or disable it according to your preferences
- By selecting the back arrow, all the settings will be saved automatically
Note: If Auto Activity Start is enabled, the Garmin Connect app cannot determine when an activity began; therefore, it cannot be viewed up to 24 hours after it began.
Configure Garmin Vivoactive 3’s safety features
Most people overlook this crucial feature. Safety tracking feature only found in high-end Garmin smartwatches, but all Vivoactive devices have it.Â
Start by setting up the safety features if you have a new Garmin Vivoactive 3. How do these safety features benefit you?
During any activity, the watch will automatically detect an accident and contact your emergency contacts immediately. The first thing you need to do is add your emergency contacts to the Garmin Connect app.
You will receive an automated message with your name, LiveTrack link, and GPS location. When you are performing an adventure, you must enable Live Tracking.
The incident detection feature can also be turned on/off. You should turn it off while performing indoor activities to save battery life.Â
Customize Garmin Vivoactive 3
Vivoactive 3 is fully customizable, so you can take full advantage of it. On the watch screen itself, you will see three custom pages by default. Then you can choose a widget like distance, pace, or speed.
You can customize the watch face by tapping on the watch face and swiping to choose. There are many built-in watch faces available. Any of them can be chosen according to your needs, and few watch faces can be customized as well.Â
In addition to this, you can use third-party apps or download extra widgets and watch faces from Garmin Connect. You will find everything from your route widgets to your power meter here. To download apps, follow these steps.
- From your phone, open the Garmin Connect IQ app
- Tap the Garmin device icon
- Management of tap activities & apps
- Go to “Get More Applications.”
- You can install your favorite app from here
You can install any widget, watch face, cycling app, running app, etc. Some of the most popular running apps include Running power, dWMap, Ride, etc. Furthermore, I recommend installing an Accuweather widget that provides a daily weather forecast.Â
Avoid a few features to save battery life
Despite Garmin watches’ long-lasting batteries, there is still room for improvement. To improve battery life on Vivoactive 3, you should make some changes.
Due to Garmin Vivoactive 3’s Always On Display (AOD), it consumes more battery power. However, you can disable AOD. Additionally, you can reduce the brightness level from the settings.Â
Next, most people use Auto Activity tracking every time, and it also consumes a lot of battery power. Therefore, I recommend you only use this feature if you are on an adventure, such as hiking or cycling. You must manually track your specific activity if you disable this feature.
Another major cause of battery drain is high backlight. We recommend keeping the backlight at 10 percent if you mostly stay indoors. Â
The best way to track your runs
Vivoactive offers several ways to track your running. You can set your watch to automatically track activity or you can manually track it. However, there is another quick and easy way to accomplish this task.
Push the side button, tap on Run, and then push the button again to track your running. Â
Tracking gear
Most people are unaware of this excellent feature of Vivoactive 3. You can track the wear of running shoes and cycling equipment using this feature. You may also pair it with other sports devices of Garmin, such as the Garmin R10 golf launch monitor.
When the distance has been tracked, your shoes will alert you when it is time to change. Garmin Connect allows you to set up this feature. Go to Menu->Gear->Enter Gear Information first.Â
Additionally, you can edit, remove, or retire a specific gear. The feature also allows you to add information such as the type of gear, model, brand name, and distance to be run, which is helpful for runners determining the best time to buy new shoes.
