Garmin - vívoactive® 4S
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 10, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
24
9
"It's been a few years I've had it too, so it's durable."
"it survived all my adventures in outdoor sport, DIY, forestry and more."
"I have this one for almost 2 years now and I am extremely happy with its functionalities and have no intent of upgrading/switching soon."
16
8
"The battery is about 6 days with me using it for a workout almost every one of those days, and usually a round of golf takes about 20%-25%."
"My previous Garmin watch (Vivoactive 4) lasted me 4 years, and I sold it second-hand; the battery was still holding up 5-6 days on regular usage patterns. I do 2-3 runs a week with a GPS tracking and gym 3-4 times a week. ... My Vivoactive 4 also was good even after 4 years of usage, when I took it off only for a charge. The battery was lasting 5-6 days on a full charge, and I sold it, because I wanted to upgrade to a different look."
"Oh yes I swear I charge maybe every 2 weeks."
16
2
"I record all of my dedicated walks with it, OTF, spin classes, yoga, skiing, etc."
"It has heartrate (lines up exactly with my chest heart rate monitor)"
"I use it for golf, running, walking, and indoor cardio/weightlifting workouts. ... I think the Venu and Vivoactive models are all-around models, which is where I landed on the Vivoactive 3 and then eventually upgraded to the Vivoactive 4."
7
0
"Super slim and light ... I still miss it sometimes because I have a much bulkier watch now"
"I've got pretty small wrist, run with a garmin vivoactive and get along well. ... Love it."
"My previous one was Vivoactive 4s and it was a much better size for my wrist"
1
0
"without any expectation of continuing fees (unless it was reasonable, like the inreach subscription or a cellular plan)"
Disliked most:
2
7
"my vivoactive 4s died a few months ago now after a few good years services, I wanted to change it. I couldn't because I had the change the whole watch, planned obsolescence."
"Two Garmin Vivoactive are in my drawer cause the battery is dead and can't be replaced."
"The battery is hardly active for 1-2 hours after a full charge. ... I have VA4 and VA4, and both are busted now."
0
5
"the vivoactive with the rounded edge of glass hasn’t lasted for me"
"cracked screen"
"the screen is starting to fade"
1
7
"it's crap at accuracy on laps."
"it can't do custom swim workouts or swim drills"
"My previous Vivoactive 4 or Vivoactive 1 were very erratic, even trying different IQ apps."
1
5
"the GPS was inaccurate while trail running"
"My previous Vivoactive 4 or Vivoactive 1 were very erratic, even trying different IQ apps."
"My VA4, not so much. ... even in the deep woods ... I do a lot of trail running in Appalachia."
1
9
"it can't do custom swim workouts or swim drills"
"This was a much needed upgrade for me for the training status and progress."
"I had features in mind that i wanted (triathlon/brick) ... I’m upgrading from a vivoactive 4s for trail marathon & triathlon training"
My VA4 seems to do a great job.
r/Garmin • Lost in brands, who is actually tracking sleep very well nowadays ? ->My Garmin Vivoactive4 has never let me down!
r/beginnerrunning • Smartwatch for running ->I use my Garmin and it's great for swimming as well as hiking. I tried it a few times cycling and it was quite accurate too- it has loads of different sports and I love mine. It's been a few years I've had it too, so it's durable. I used to have a Fitbit but I hated the strap and mine totally broke a number of times. Garmins seem much more sport focused whereas Fitbits didn't hold up for me.
r/Swimming • Best sportwatch for multisport use? ->Oh yeah sorry- left that out! It's a Vivoactive 4S so yeah not one of the newer ones but a great piece of kit!
r/Swimming • Best sportwatch for multisport use? ->Mir ging es ähnlich. Ich hatte lange Zeit die Vivoactive 4 und schon seit längerem auf die Enduro 3 geschielt. Mit Solar und Offline-Karten sah ich mich gedanklich auf langen, abenteuerlichen Touren. Aber ich bin Vater von zwei Kindern. Wenn, dann machen wir was zusammen. Radtouren, wo mein Garmin Edge dabei ist oder kurze Trips durch die Eifel oder die sächsische Schweiz - schön, aber nichts Abenteuerliches. Selbst im Urlaub, wo wir mal fremde Umgebungen auskundschaften, reicht mir die Vivoactive um damit wieder zum Auto zu kommen. Also Enduro 3, die schon bestellt war, wieder abbestellt und die Vivoactive 6 geordert. Bin gespannt auf den intelligenten Wecker und die 'Brotkrumen'-Navigation. Eine Unsicherheit bleibt allerdings: Grund für die Neuanschaffung war, dass mir meine Vivoactive 4 beim Schwimmen abgesoffen ist; also vielmehr bei einem Sprung vom 5m-Brett um fair zu bleiben. Die Uhr zeigte beim dritten Sprung einen Unfall an, den ich stoppen wollte und dabei ist sie komplett schwarz geworden und lässt sich auch nicht mehr reanimieren. Da hatte ich die Hoffnung, dass die Enduro etwas robuster ist und ich weiß jetzt schon, dass ich die Vivoactive 6 bei solchen Aktivitäten lieber ausziehen werde.
r/Garmin • Experiences with the Vivoactive 6 as a former Fenix user ->I just bought it a few days ago, and have been loving it so far! Upgraded from Vivoactive 4
r/GarminWatches • Garmin Forerunner 955 is currently down to $349, should I go for it? ->I have Ignite 3 and Garmin vivioactive 4. Garmin is much more accurate. Ignite 3 at the distance 1200m is loosing 150m. In both cases there is no problem with Strava.
r/Polarfitness • Swimming activity - polar or other brand ->I'll stick with my Garmin Vivoactive 4
r/Android • The Google Pixel Watch 4 is the Android watch to beat ->I've owned a Vivoactive 4s for 5 years. I've picked up running this year and am training for a half marathon, so I wanted to treat myself to a new watch. Two weeks ago, I bought the Forerunner 570, and then four days after, the Venu 4 was announced. I was gutted! Venu 4 has everything the Forerunner 570 has, and it is prettier for an office job. So I bought both, compared, and am sticking with the Venu 4. This was a much needed upgrade for me for the training status and progress. I sweat a lot and am in humid MN, and I've not had issues with only touchscreen. My vivoactive 4s didn't have five buttons, so I'm also used to the two buttons and prefer it. The GPS is a little slower than the Forerunner because of the different tech, but I'm not running trails/a super serious runner, so this is fine for me. I thought the light was going to be a feature I didn't use, but I actually use it a lot. I run in the dark, and it's great there. I search for items at night without turning on lights. The lifestyle tracking is fine. Nothing other apps don't already track. I also LOVE the smaller size. My wrist is just under 6 inches, and even the 42mm Forerunner looked too big. All in all, I'm happy with the purchase and plan to have this for another 5 years, so the price was fine for me.
r/Garmin • Those who bought Venu 4, please brag about it~ ->I bought a refurbished garmin vivoactive 4 a few years ago. Wear it daily and have really put it through its paces. It still works as good as the day I got it. I put a screen protector on it also since every smart watch I’ve had before had the screen cracked within 6 months of use.
r/C25K • Run/swim Smartwatch recommendations, anyone? 🏃🏻♀️🏊🏻♀️ ->I had the VA3 for 3 years and am going on year 3 with my VA4. I've noticed some GPS drift lately so it might be tine to retire it, but overall I really do think these are great watches.
r/Garmin • Experiences with the Vivoactive 6 as a former Fenix user ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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