Your old Garmin watch is getting some great new workout tracking features

Man using Garmin Forerunner 945 watch
(Image credit: Garmin)

Garmin has released a new firmware update for the Fenix 6 watch, which adds some handy new features to the three-year-old sports watch. The new release, v23.80, is rolling out now to members of Garmin's public beta testing program (check out our guide to find out how to sign up).

Despite its age, the Fenix 6 is still an excellent watch, and this new firmware update should breathe some new life into it. Additions include a new backcountry snowboarding activity, incident detection (with automatic alerts sent to an emergency contact), and an exercise load graph.

The update also fixes various bugs, including a problem that prevented elliptical workouts from saving correctly, an issue with treadmill calibration, and a particularly strange problem where the dog-walking widget would only display distance in yards, not miles. Check out the patch notes on Garmin's site for the full list of changes.

The update is also available for Garmin's original lineup of Marq watches (not to be confused with the second-gen Marq devices released earlier this month).

Some users on Garmin's support forums have reported issues including unusually fast power drain, and step targets failing to update after downloading the update. These issues don't seem to be universal, but if you'd prefer to wait until any potential bugs are ironed out, you can hold out and wait for the finished public release instead.

Cat Ellis
Former editor

Cat is Homes Editor at TechRadar and former editor of Advnture. She's been a journalist for 15 years, and cut her teeth on magazines before moving online. She helps readers choose the right tech for their home, get the best deals, and do more with their new devices.