Garmin fixes a bunch of annoying bugs in the Forerunner 570 and 970 watches with the latest beta update
If you’re the proud owner of a Garmin Forerunner 570 or Forerunner 970 watch and you’ve noticed a few annoying bugs, you’re in luck – there’s a new beta update on the way.
Garmin is calling it Beta Version 16.17, and while it does throw in a few other useful features, the main issue here is bug fixes. And many.
According to Notebookcheck, the corresponding changelog (the software log file that shows any updates) is full of small problems that can quietly damage the daily experience, especially if you are the type that uses things like course navigation, sports scores or HRV chart.
What’s new in beta 16.17?
This review has a lot to do with reliability. Garmin lists several fixes for issues that can cause watches to reset, including one directly linked to viewing the heart rate variability (HRV) chart. If you’ve ever had your watch crash while trying to check recovery metrics, that’s the kind of thing this update is aimed at.
Sports fans also get a small but welcome upgrade, with Garmin adding support for displaying stop times in sports scores. There’s also expanded support for spoken watch face issues, which basically means more things your watch can read out loud when you use voice prompts.
Elsewhere, Garmin says it has improved the layout of the course details page, and adjusted the audio information for distance intervals to report the time of each interval more clearly.
Navigation and course tracking are also receiving attention, with fixes to waypoint names for long courses, incorrect “dwell time” when the course includes a rest area, and a bug where adding a navigation data screen could cancel the job.
Golf and indoor cycling are also not overlooked. Garmin has noted a fix in this release for the golf course green display issue, as well as a possible reset when loading an indoor cycling course.
Garmin has been pushing stable updates to other golf wearables recently, including the Approach S70, S44 and S50.
(Photo credit: Matt Kollat/ T3)
How to get it
Garmin said Beta 16.17 is currently rolling out to Forerunner 570 and 970 owners who are already signed up to Garmin’s Beta Program. But if it’s not installed automatically, you can manually pull it from the watch by going to Menu > System > Software Update and check for updates via Garmin Connect.
For those who are not enrolled in the program, you should receive it in due time.
Garmin is on the list with the latest watch updates – it was only earlier this week that the company announced it would start rolling out a new stable update for its Approach S12 golf watch, called System Software 5.10. And while it won’t add any shiny new features, it will iron out a few golf-specific bugs that can make the watch less annoying to use.
Shortly before that, Garmin said that similar updates will be released soon for the Approach G12 clip-on GPS rangefinder and stable updates for other golf wearables, including the Approach S70, S44 and S50.
