Although I’ve had it a while, I’ve finally decided to write this Garmin Vivoactive 3 review. Okay, let’s see how this sports and fitness watch stacks up.
Before we move on, take a look at what we think are the best hiking watches of 2020.
How to install watch faces on your Garmin Vivoactive 3 or Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music. In this tutorial, I show you how download watch faces from the Connect I. A Garmin Vivoactive 3 review, or for that matter any other sports watch, wouldn’t be complete with a shot of the display. The watch is pretty sleek matte black with a silver bezel (other colours are available but this one seems to have been either the first to go out, or shipped in larger quantities, as it’s far more widely available) and a.
Jan 14, 2021 - Customize your Fenix, Vivoactive and Forerunner with these swish watch faces. How to customize the watch face on your Garmin Vivoactive 3 or Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music. From the watch face hold the touchscreen. To create a new watch face swipe to the bottom of the watch face list and select Create New. Select Settings Data Screens. Connect smartphone app device icon top just to right of center tap device device settings.
I realised (after buying the Vivoactive…) that it’s only been two years since I last upgraded my running watch, which was itself the fourth Garmin running watch I’d owned. In some ways it’s hard to justify all the upgrades – my very first watch did pretty much what I need for most runs, in terms of providing me with distance, time, pace and a few other key metrics. None of that has really changed – it’s all the additional features that have kept me coming back for newer watches and, in this case, it’s the mix of a decent running watch with all-day lifestyle fitness tracking functionality (sleep, 24/7 heart rate, steps and more) that made this attractive.
I have to be honest, if you want a really thorough review of this watch, you couldn’t do much better than to read the DC Rainmaker one. It’s pretty hard to compete with DCR’s reviews, and I’m not going to try, but what I will do is talk a bit about the functionality and then more about how useful it actually is, what is it like to use in practice, and hopefully guide you towards some idea of whether it’s right for you.
Visually, the watch is a move away from the chunky, very ‘smart-watch’ look of the previous Vivoactive, and a bit more towards the ‘watch’ look of the Fenix or some of the Forerunnner series. In its standard mode, it shows an ordinary analogue watch-face (with plenty of options available, including a digital watch in fact) and is fairly indistinguishable from an ordinary watch.
It comes boxed with just a manual/warranty info, and a charger. Nothing else, and no real need for anything else. As has been standard with Garmins and many other devices for at least a few years, the charger is a USB cable without a plug. I don’t have an issue with that, clearly they know that most people will have plenty of USB plugs lying around, or will charge through their computer anyway. The cable, incidentally, is the ‘standard’ Garmin charger that they have apparently finally released since I last bought a watch. All the previous ones I’ve owned have had unique charging cradles, which honestly is a pain in the neck.
The watch is pretty sleek matte black with a silver bezel (other colours are available but this one seems to have been either the first to go out, or shipped in larger quantities, as it’s far more widely available) and a single button on the side. This button controls a lot of functions, including obvious ones like starting and stopping workouts, while navigating through menus is done primarily using the touch screen. There is also a touch-sensitive scroller on the side of the watch, which moves through screens and menu options. I found it a bit unpredictable and awkward to use, and much preferred just swiping through the touch-screen, but it may come down to personal choice.
Day-to-day use of the Vivoactive 3: Thoughts
For day-to-day use (i.e. not during a specific activity), it’s up to you what information you want to focus on. As well as the watch face, which can be customised and replaced with downloadable designs, the default set-up includes steps, ‘intensive minutes’ this week, heart rate info, flights of stairs climbed, notifications from your phone, weather, calendar, music controls, last activity details, and possibly a couple of other things I’ve forgotten. Personally there was too much info for me and too many screens that I didn’t need to see on the watch itself (since it is all viewable on the app) so I quickly trimmed this down to a slightly smaller number of screens, one of which is the ‘My Day’ which in any case summarises steps, flights, intensive minutes, and minutes of activity.
Whatever your preferences, it’s likely that the steps counter will be one of the key elements for everday use, as are the phone notifications. It’s the first time I’ve had a smart watch and I’m already loving having notifications sent to my watch, where it’s easier to quickly check them, especially if I’m in the middle of something else. During a run, of course, this is probably even more valuable, but I’ll come back to that.
I also kept calendar and weather, which are both fairly useful, heart rate, the full steps counter screen which includes goal and the red ‘inactivity’ bar, and the music controller. The watch doesn’t actually store any music itself, but it acts as a remote control for your phone. Day to day this probably isn’t a huge benefit, though it may be handy, but it will be brilliant when running, and for me is one of a few key justifications for upgrading from my Forerunner 225.
The watch also automatically tracks sleep, and that information is all viewable in the app, which is really the place to look in more detail at metrics (if you’re so inclined) such as sleep quality, stress score, average HR, VO2 max, and so on.
The ‘stress score’ is interesting, particularly as you build up more data and start to be able to recognise figures that indicate higher stress, or that you are becoming unwell. It’s linked to HR but it’s not as simple as a higher HR equals stress, so for example a day where you do a lot of walking shouldn’t necessarily register as a high stress day.
It’s also not just about emotional stress (though I think that would be partly reflected) but more about physiological stress and how ready your body is to train, based on a measurement of heart rate variability. I haven’t been using the watch long enough to have much data, but even in the week or so that I’ve had it, it was very noticeable that my stress score and average resting HR were both considerably higher on a day that I was extremely hungover.
Obviously I knew perfectly well that I would not be able to train at my usual intensity that day, so I didn’t need the data to tell me, but if I was feeling more subtly unwell; perhaps a bit rundown, or recovering from a two-week long illness and not sure if I was ready to get back into training, or how hard I should train while recovering, then being able to see this hard data could be really helpful.
Another minor but nice feature is the alarm, which wakes you up by vibrating the watch – not a bad way to wake up, and especially useful if you wanted to wake up early (maybe for a run…) without waking your partner, or if you wanted to set an alarm while sleeping on a flight or a long train ride, or something.
So is it useful day-to-day? For me yes, absolutely. The phone connection alone justifies more than 50% of the price for me, and the 24/7 HR tracking, step counter, and sleep monitoring justify the rest, before you’ve even got to the activity features. I really like being able to slowly build up data about my health, sleep activity levels and so on, and then try to make small adjustments to improve it, and this watch is designed to do just that.
Running with the Vivoactive 3
The main sports use for this watch for me will be running of course. In this respect it works fairly similarly to most other Garmins I’ve had before. You can set up custom screens with between 1-4 fields each, on which can be displayed all sorts of information including speed, pace, distance, time, HR, lap averages, overall averages, and so on. It’s simply a case of choosing what information you are likely to want, and getting it adjusted.
Other options from previous Garmins such as auto-lap and auto-pause still exist. Auto-lap at 1 mile is very useful if you want to easily see 1-mile averages as you run. Auto-pause is handy if you’re going to be stopping regularly at traffic lights, but it’s important to remember to turn it off before you race, or else any stop (for a loo break for example) will throw your data off for the rest of the event.
Heart rate continues to be tracked during runs, of course, and can be displayed with HR zones customised based on your age.
Garmin Vivoactive Change Watch Face
The big changes for me with this watch during runs are the notifications (you can disable these if you don’t want them while running, or set it to only display phone calls), and the ability to control music. Both are great for me while training – I like being able to quickly see messages and alerts as they come through, and I love finally having an easy way to skip songs when I’m running with headphones.
However… for a iPhone users there’s a frustrating caveat which is that the music control only works with Apple music, not with Spotify. In part this might be an issue with the iPhone which, unlike Android, doesn’t allow you to set a different default music player. However I’m not convinced that it’s not at least partly a Garmin issue – after all, other bluetooth devices such as headphones, give you pause, play and skip control over Spotify so I don’t fully understand why the Garmin Vivoactive can’t.
This isn’t the end of the world for me, but as a keen Spotify user it’s definitely an irritation. (Update: this is no longer the case and it works with Spotify. Hurrah)
One change for me that is sort of a forward step and backward step is in custom activities. On the one hand, I really like the level of activity customisation possible on Garmin connect (phone or desktop). You can very quickly set up highly complex workouts, if you so choose, with all sorts of repeats and goals in them, and quickly sync them to your watch. It’s great. The only slight backwards step is that the 225 had an inbuilt ability to create and edit simple interval programmes. This isn’t possible within the Vivofit 3 – they would have to be done on your phone and then quickly synced over. That’s really not a massive problem, it’s much easier to create them on the phone anyway, but it’s a change to be aware of, especially if for whatever reason you don’t have access to your phone or a computer.
All the usual data is, of course, available at the end of the workout. Route, speed, pace, distance, HR, cadence (detected from the swing of the watch – a feature that’s been on watches for a while and replaces the foot pod that I used to have with my old Forerunner 610), altitude, weather, and so on. From your workouts, and presumably your HR though I could be wrong, Garmin Connect will also calculate and track your VO2 max, which is a new feature for me, and one that I’m interested in. It’s not directly useful day-by-day, but over time it should act as a relatively consistent measure of fitness regardless of what distance and pace of run I’m doing.
Other sports
One of the other reasons this watch appealed to me was that it caters for a wide range of other sports, including strength training and general cardio. In the past I’d tended to wear my 225 for these meaning that I could get the HR data, and then change them from a run to a workout later in Garmin Connect and Strava. It’s not a big deal, but it is nice to be able to record them in the right format to begin with. In addition, you can create workouts for these activities in the same way as a run, with various sets and reps, and the watch will then count reps and give you the chance to enter weight at the end of each set. I haven’t experimented with this hugely as most of my workouts are Crossfit style ones with too many varied movements for me to be bothered with this kind of tracking. All I want is a record of the workout length and HR data, so I just set it to a general cardio workout.
The other nice, and slightly amazing (in a ‘how technology has moved on’ kind of way) is that one of the many sports included is swimming, which tracks laps in an indoor pool. I used to have a whole separate device to do just this – my Garmin Swim which sadly I lost in a swimming pool changing room many years ago. Anyway, it’s not something I’d specifically spend money on (again) but it’s really nice to have. Just to be clear – this relies on you setting the pool length and then the watch detecting your turns and literally counting laps. It doesn’t use GPS and therefore won’t work for open water swimming.
I haven’t tried all of the other available sports, which include paddle-boarding and golf, and I’m probably not likely to. However I imagine that most incorporate some combination of logging HR, counting repetitive movements, and tracking distance travelled, depending on the nature of the activity.
Conclusion: Was it Worth Writing this Garmin Vivoactive 3 Review?
Definitely. No matter what gear we review, every care is taken to ensure we give you the best we can. Neither James, nor I, would recommend a piece of equipment that lacks merits.
Writing this Vivoactive 3 review was a pleasure. Overall I’m delighted with the watch. From a running point of view it does everything my 225 did, plus a bit more. Day-to-day it’s great to finally be tracking HR 24/7 so I can build up a picture of stress, health and fitness. And for both, it’s brilliant to finally have a smart-watch, that makes it easier to keep an eye on notifications whether I’m out on a run or in a meeting.
Several of Garmin’s latest watches offer support for apps, music and other smart features. They can also be personalized by downloading and installing custom watch faces, which completely change the way the main display looks.
Some of the Garmin smartwatches that support custom watch faces include Fenix 6, Forerunner 235, Vivoactive 3, Forerunner 45, Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 945. If you’d like to check whether or not your device is supported you can visit Garmin’s ConnectIQ storefront.
Like much of Garmin’s downloadable content, the watch faces are created by third-party developers. You can browse, download and rate them via ConnectIQ. More are added to the store regularly, so it’s always good to check back and see what’s new.
You can also download apps, widgets, and other updates via ConnectIQ depending on the device you own. Almost any of Garmin’s wearables can be enhanced by adding new device apps or custom data fields, which allows the watch to track more than it does natively. A Garmin Approach golf-themed watch, for example, can be used to track hiking specific stats, or display a star-chart, merely by installing new content.
That being said, one of the best ways to spruce up your watch is to install custom watch faces. You can find new faces that display way more than just the time, like sports stats, calendar details and even custom graphics — there’s a Super Mario themed watch face!
To help you get started, here are some of the best Garmin watch faces you can download right now:
25. Duck Hunt
Remember the classic Nintendo game Duck Hunt? That’s precisely what this watch face is, an animated rendition. When you look at your watch the animation plays, showing an endearing Muttley giggling as ducks fly overhead.
There are no stats displayed, just the time and date so this watch face is best when you don’t care to see your data or metrics.
Compatible Devices: D2 Bravo/ Titanium / Charlie / Delta / Delta PX / Delta S, Descent MK1, Epix, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 45 / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, Fenix Chronos, Garmin Swim 2, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Music, Vivoactive HR
24. CarbonAnalog
If you want a simple analog watch with a carbon-fiber style design then CarbonAnalog is a good choice. Right now, not many devices are supported. Hopefully, the developer will add more soon.
Compatible Devices: D2 Bravo, D2 Bravo Titanium, Fenix 3, Fenix Quatix 3, Fenix Tactix Bravo, Fenix 3 HR, Fenix Chronos
23. Energy Face
If you want a clean e-ink style watch face that doesn’t use a lot of battery, check out Energy Face. It also displays a huge selection of personal stats and info, like Bluetooth status, alarm, and moon phases. It also has several configurable fields.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, All D2, Descent MK1, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ / Forerunner 230 / 235 / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 935, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Music
Energy Face at ConnectIQ
22. Simply Late!
This watch face offers a rather unique take on the modern watch. All that’s displayed is the current hour with a progress indicator to tell you what part of the hour you’re in. Data is also displayed nicely at the top. It’s meant for anyone who likes to see the current hour at a glance, but nothing more.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Descent MK1, First Avenger, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 45 / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, Garmin Swim 2, All MARQ, Rey, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivoactive HR
21. Divinity
Like skulls? Want one on your watch face alongside the date and time? Then check out Divinity, an official watch face from Garmin.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, All D2, Descent MK1, First Avenger, Forerunner 245 / 245 Music / 645 / 645 Music / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivolife
20. GearMin
The GearMin watch face is an absolute beast, displaying just about every stat and personal detail your watch can track. It’s for data lovers and always active people, specifically those that want quick access to all important stats. You get elevation, current location, date and time, total steps, goal progress, Bluetooth status, notifications, heart-rate, alarms, an activity graph and much more.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Darth Vader, Descent MK1, Epix, First Avenger, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ / 920XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 920XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Rey, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivoactive HR, Vivolife
19. Classic Collection
The best thing about this watch face is it’s a bundle that includes several classic designs inspired by real watches. All of the faces feature analog clock designs, of which there are seven. There are a variety of configurable colors, backgrounds, clock hands and more.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Descent MK1, First Avenger, Forerunner 245 / 245 Music / 645 / 645 Music / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Rey, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S
18. DividedTime
Want a plain style watch that displays the current time and date, with plenty of configurable options? Look no further than DividedTime. It offers a wide range of color options for the foreground and background. You can also remove everything extra for an incredibly clean style.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Descent MK1, First Avenger, ForeAthlete 735XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 45 / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, Garmin Swim 2, All MARQ, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivolife
17. Infinity
Infinity mimics traditional analog watches by display hour, minute and second hands. In the background is an infinite array of cubes, which is where the name comes from. At the north side of the face is the battery level and the south side has total steps. It looks great, works great and is definitely one to grab.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Darth Vader, First Avenger, Forerunner 245 / 245 Music / 645 / 645 Music / 935 / 945, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Rey, Venu, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivolife
16. RunningPro
This watch face has another analog-style design, except it displays running and activity stats in the background. You can see battery levels, current weight, altitude, calories burned, total steps, data, moon phase and more.
Compatible Devices: All D2, Forerunner 645 / 645 Music / 935, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5
15. Clock32
This watch face has a stylish, digital design with the time and date in the center and a progress bar around the edges. It supports multiple color configurations and displays a ton of extra details. You can see heart-rate, total steps, notifications, alarms, Bluetooth status, battery level and much more.
Compatible Devices: All D2, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ / 920XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 920XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, Fenix Chronos, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive HR
14. Time Flies
This watch face has a slick, analog and digital clock design with “rich customization options” and support for several detailed stats like data, Bluetooth status, and battery level.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, All D2, Descent MK1, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ / 920XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 920XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive HR, Vivolife
13. DigiSport
This watch face closely resembles the Nike face available on the Nike+ edition of the Apple Watch. The time is displayed on the right, and three circular icons sit on the left. The icons can be customized, allowing you to choose what’s displayed. Most of the options are unlocked by buying the premium version for $1.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Darth Vader, Descent MK1, Epix, First Avenger, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ / 920XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 920XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Rey, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivolife
12. Lachesis (Light)
This animated watch face displays illuminated neon colors around the edges and places the time right in the center. There are four color schemes: coral pink, sunset orange, ocean green and sand grey. Extra info displayed includes calories burned, battery level, data and total steps.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Darth Vader, Descent MK1, First Avenger, Forerunner 245 / 245 Music / 645 / 645 Music / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Rey, Venu, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivolife
11. SkyTracker
If you want to see weather data, SkyTracker is the right watch face. It will show the temperature and weather conditions for your current location. It also displays battery level, heart-rate, mobile notifications, time and data. Additional options are available to unlock, too, like new colors and more.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Darth Vader, Descent MK1, First Avenger, Forerunner 245 / 245 Music / 645 / 645 Music / 935 / 945, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, All MARQ, Rey, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivolife
10. ActiFace
If you want as much information on your small watch display as possible, then ActiFace is the right choice. It shows time and date, daily goal progress, total steps, mobile notifications and heart-rate. It also displays a useful activity history graph that shows the distance you’ve traveled and the total calories you’ve burned along the way.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Darth Vader, Descent MK1, Epix, First Avenger, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ / 920XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 45 / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 920 XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, Garmin Swim 2, All MARQ, Rey, Venu, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivoactive HR, Vivolife
Garmin Vivoactive 3 Custom Watch Face
9. Gigantus
This watch face puts the time front and center in large, bold print. Various stats are displayed around the time, including heart-rate, Bluetooth status, alarms, activity details and more. You can also change the display colors by choosing from several presets.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, All D2, Descent MK1, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 935, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, Fenix Chronos, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music
Gigantus at ConnectIQ
8. Sport Master
Another official Garmin watch face, Sport Master is for all the active folks out there who want to track their progress in real-time. Time is displayed in both digital and analog formats. Additional details include calories burned, total steps, distance traveled, date, battery level and more.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Darth Vader, Descent MK1, First Avenger, Forerunner 245 / 245 Music / 645 / 645 Music / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Rey, Venu, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivolife
7. NoFrills
If you want something that has no frills, this watch face is the one to grab. The time sits front and center in a beautiful, bold font. As you progress towards your daily goal the numbers fill up with water. Additional stats are displayed around the edges including heart-rate, date, alarms, Bluetooth status, notifications and battery level.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Darth Vader, Descent MK1, Epix, First Avenger, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ / 920XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 45 / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 920 XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Rey, Venu, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivoactive HR, Vivolife
6. Ha Long Bay
Another animated watch face, Ha Long Bay adds a beautiful boating scene. Stats include total steps, battery levels, Bluetooth on, and time and date. It’s minimal, but it looks great and leaves plenty of open space to see the animation.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, All D2, Descent MK1, Epix, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ / 920XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 920XT / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive HR, Vivolife
5. JBlack
If you want a clean watch face that’s packed to the brim with info, JBlack is your best bet. It shows alarms, battery levels, BT status, the current moon phase, total steps, and, of course, the time and date. Plus, if you make a small donation to the developer who created it, you can unlock a few other features too like heart-rate or sunrise and set times (to clarify, the watch already shows this info via settings but a donation adds support to the home screen).
Compatible Devices: D2 Delta / Delta PX / Delta S, Descent MK1, Forerunner 645 / 645 Music, 935 / 945, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, All MARQ
4. Crystal
Want as much information on-screen as possible, yet in an attractive way? Crystal is your type of watch face. It was named the winner of “Best New Watch Face” at Garmin’s 2019 Connect IQ Developer awards. It shows a variety of stats and info, and there are three configurable data fields including heart-rate, battery level, and mobile notifications.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, All D2, Darth Vader, Descent MK1, First Avenger, ForeAthlete 735XTJ, Forerunner 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 45 / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 920XT/ 935, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, Garmin Swim 2, All MARQ, Venu, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivoactive HR, Vivolife
3. Movement
Can You Download Watch Faces For Garmin Vivoactive 3
Made by Garmin, Movement is an excellent watch face in style and function. There’s a rainbow style UI, with various metrics placed around the face. You can see elevation, battery levels, a music equalizer, along with time and date. You can also change the colors to personalize the face if you like.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, All D2, Descent MK1, Forerunner 245 / 245 Music / 645 / 645 Music / 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivolife
Change Garmin Watch Face
2. Line
Line takes a unique approach to display metrics and time info on screen all at once. As the name suggests, a line separates the time and date from personal stats. There are multiple configurations so you can swap the layout to be side-by-side or top-bottom. You can change the display colors. The information shown includes calories burned, battery life, weather, heart-rate, mobile notifications, alarms and more.
How Do I Customize My Garmin Vivoactive 3 Watch Face
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, Captain Marvel, All D2, Descent MK1, Epix, ForeAthlete 230J / 235J / 630J / 735XTJ / 920XTJ, Forerunner 230 / 235 / 245 / 245 Music / 630 / 645 / 645 Music / 735XT / 920XT/ 935 / 945, All Fenix 3, All Fenix 5, All Fenix 6, Fenix Chronos, All MARQ, Vivoactive, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivoactive 4 / 4S, Vivoactive HR
1. My Watch
Vivoactive 3 Change Watch Face
My Watch takes the number one spot because of how functional it is. It doesn’t look bad either, especially with how the minor details are displayed. The time takes front and center, and you get a wide variety of stats and info including heart-rate, activity time, altitude, temperature, moon phases, and much more. There are also two styles, light and dark, and none of the features are locked behind a paywall or donation requirement.
Compatible Devices: Approach S60, All D2, Descent MK1, Forerunner 645 / 645 Music / 935, All Fenix 5, Vivoactive 3 / 3 Mercedes-Benz Collection / 3 Music, Vivolife