Garmin descent mk1

[cristianopoli]

Hallo, I’m new to scuba.. I need a computer. And I am a Fenix 5 happy user. I use it for running and alpinism.
I really like descent mk1 but I’ve read some bad reviews about bugs and support.
Do you have opinions about this watch..? Is it Better a specific scuba computer...?
Thank you!!!
Cristiano

 

[scubadada]

Maybe you should wait for Mark 2/2i

 

[cristianopoli]

Yes I know but it will be a bit too expensive... mk1 has a lot of features for me and the use that I’ll do... but cheaper. But I don’t know if it’s a good computer..

 

[ATJ]

I've had a Mk1 since March 2018 and I am happy with it. It has performed well as a dive computer as well as a sports watch (running mostly) and an all day activity tracker.

It is far from perfect and has had numerous bugs, although none of them affect the safety of it.

Examples of the bugs include:

• Displaying a different temperature on the dive to what is logged (this was fixed twice and reintroduced with the latest fix)
• In dive compass only working with True North and not Magnetic North. This was more of an oversight and was fixed in the first few months.
• No safety stop on watch if you go into deco but then clear before reaching 5 metres. This was reported, fixed, reintroduced and fixed again.

The biggest problem is the poor support from Garmin. We report issues or ask questions but get no response at all. That said, it is much the same sort of support I get from Apple or Tesla, so it is probably typical of large companies.

The firmware upgrades are also few and far between. After reporting a problem, it can take months for a fix to appear. Garmin are NOT Shearwater!

If you were going to buy a fitness watch and a dive computer, I think this is a good way to do it.

 

[cristianopoli]

Thanks! So they are not so important bugs...

 

[ginti]

The biggest problem is the poor support from Garmin. We report issues or ask questions but get no response at all. That said, it is much the same sort of support I get from Apple or Tesla, so it is probably typical of large companies.

Which channel did you use to contact the support? On Facebook usually they answer, although I was not always satisfied with their answers...

 

[ATJ]

Which channel did you use to contact the support?

Most often on the Garmin run forum dedicated to the Mk1. Sometimes by phone support but they know almost nothing about the device.

 

[ginti]

Most often on the Garmin run forum dedicated to the Mk1. Sometimes by phone support but they know almost nothing about the device.

I didn't even know that they had a forum. It looks nice, but it seems to me that the support doesn't write there... it's just a group of users helping each other, correct?

On facebook, I had the same impression of you: it looks like the support does not know a lot of the device. But my guess is that the device is so new and their experience with diving so limited, that they still have to learn a lot. Also, they once answered to one of my questions by sayng that the device was not tested for this (it was about measuring heartbeat with a toracic sensor underwater), so, again, maybe a lack of anszers is possible do to the limited number of tests they did (I think Garmin did the minimum necessary to break the market, as any other company would have done)

 

[ATJ]

I didn't even know that they had a forum. It looks nice, but it seems to me that the support doesn't write there... it's just a group of users helping each other, correct?

Well... yeah... basically.

That works fine for devices with a huge number of users but doesn't work well at all for niche products like the Mk1. A number of questions go unanswered or just have speculation.

Interestingly, the Garmin Connect forum (all Garmin users use Garmin Connect) has regular contributions from Garmin staff.

On facebook, I had the same impression of you: it looks like the support does not know a lot of the device. But my guess is that the device is so new and their experience with diving so limited, that they still have to learn a lot. Also, they once answered to one of my questions by sayng that the device was not tested for this (it was about measuring heartbeat with a toracic sensor underwater), so, again, maybe a lack of anszers is possible do to the limited number of tests they did (I think Garmin did the minimum necessary to break the market, as any other company would have done)

The device is 3 years old so not all that new.

It is a good product but would be a great product if Garmin had just put in a little effort. Just look at the reception Shearwater gets, even when they have some serious hardware issues (battery and depth sensor issues with the Teric). Any issues are impossible to eliminate but Shearwater steps up and solves them quickly. Garmin does not.

That said, when the top right button on my Mk1 stopped working around Christmas in 2018, I had it replaced with a brand new one in under a week. It did help that I literally drive by Garmin Australia headquarters every time I go diving, but I was pleased to get it resolved that quickly. I know if I had a hardware issue with my Perdix it would take weeks to be resolved.

 

[Lostdiver71]

You may want to wait as once the Mk2 is released they will probably drop the price on the remaining Mk1's!