Garmin Vívofit 3 Activity Tracker Fitness Band
Get and up and get moving with the Garmin Vivofit 3. This activity tracker records your walking, running, biking, swimming, and even elliptical stats. The Vivofit 3 helps you set and meet your daily goals so you can reach your desired fitness level. It’s time to switch up how you move with vívofit 3, the activity tracker with Garmin Move IQ automatic activity detection. Its 1-year battery life lets you track activity 24/7 so you never have to turn it off or charge it. The red move bar reminds you when to move and you can also view stats like steps and calories on its easy-to-read high-resolution display.
- Move Bar – Motivates you to be active throughout the day by displaying a red move bar after one hour of inactivity. Additional segments light up for every 15 minutes of inactivity. Just walk for a couple of minutes to reset.
- AUTO ACTIVITY DETECTION – Capture different activities automatically and view them on Garmin Connect online
- 24/7 Wearable – Stylish, comfortable and water resistant wristband that is always on and ready to go.
- Long Battery Life – Stays on for more than a year without having to change the battery. Easy-to-read display – View the time of day and your stats right on your wrist.
- Achieve your Goals – Vivofit learns your activity level and assigns a personalized goal each morning. Count calories – Records calories burned throughout the day including base metabolic rate.
- Monitor your Sleep – Set the sleep mode when you go to bed to track the quality of your rest.
- GCM COMPATIBLE – Sync automatically or manually with our free smartphone app to view and analyze your stats
- DISPLAY – Display size 10 millimeter x 10 millimeter. Display type sunlight visible, transflective memory in pixel (MIP). Display resolution: 64 x 64 pixels
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Nicholas Calderone –
When fitness bands started becoming popular about a year, I did a lot of research. There are many of them in the market now and I was looking for something very specific. I wanted a fitness band that had a display, tracked sleep, acted as a watch and was above all else comfortable. I found all of these things with the Garmin Vivofit. I’ve been a fan of Garmin for many, many years — ever since I bought my first GPS. It’s been a trusted brand and when I discovered they had a fitness band in the market, I was very excited. I knew that it would be built well and be easy to use. I was not disappointed.Looking at the basics of the Garmin Vivofit, it’s a stylish, lightweight fitness band that gives users the ability to turn everyday activities in to goals and good fitness habits. The activity tracker always stays on and because of Vivofit’s year-long battery life (two replaceable CR1632 coin cells), it can always stay on your wrist. It’s got a water rating of 5ATM, which means you can safely wear it in the shower and swim with it up to 50 meters in depth. This is something that many of Vivofit’s competitors can’t promise. The display is always on and has several view options (time, date, step counter, steps left to goal, distance, and calories burned). It’s easy to read and shuffle through the different options.While the Vivofit does not have a vibration alert like some of tis competitors do, it does have a Move Bar on the top of the display that appears after an hour of inactivity. And possibly one of the most impressive features of the Garmin Vivofit is the Autogoal. Vivofit learns your routine and patterns and begins modifying your daily fitness goal based off of your behaviors.Now that I’ve discussed the specs of the Vivofit, I’d like to introduce you to why I love it. First of all, it’s comfortable. The soft rubber band doesn’t pinch like traditional watch bands to and it’s flexible enough that when I’m typing on a keyboard, I don’t even notice that I’m wearing it. Another thing that I love about the Vivofit is that those comfortable bands can be exchanged for other colors. The Vivofit comes with one band in the box, but users have the option of using replacement bands of varying colors. The ‘brain’ of the Vivofit can easily be removed from any Vivofit band and swapped out.Vivofit also comes equipped with a sleep tracker, which is something I was very interested in. Over the past several years, my sleep schedule has been thrown off of ‘normal’ for a variety of reasons. I was interested to see what my patterns were like and how long I was sleeping. The findings were fascinating. I found that even though I average about 4-5 hours of sleep a night, my sleep is not exactly sound. Vivofit shows my movements while I sleep. And at times, my movement is so frequent that my sleep cannot be sound.Another feature that I’ve been curious about is how accurate the pedometer is. I’ve tested out a few fitness bands and some of them are so sensitive to movement that even simple arm movements count as steps. Within the first few hours of wearing the Vivofit, I discovered that might be the case with it, too. However, I found that over time, the pedometer evens out.I was concerned about was the ease of syncing between my device and my iPhone. As it turns out, it was probably the easiest Bluetooth syncing I’ve ever experienced. To sync, you press and hold the main button until the display shows ‘sync’. As long as you have your Garmin Connect app running on your mobile device, the two will connect and your information will sync flawlessly. I’ve not had any connection issues for the month I’ve been using the Vivofit. It usually only takes about 15-20 seconds to sync. Besides the ease of syncing, the Garmin Connect app displays the most vital information from your Vivofit and organizes it so that it can be reviewed easily. The app is comprehensive and allows for editing. There have been several times that I’ve forgotten to put my Vivofit into sleep mode and I discovered that in the app, you can define your sleep times even if you didn’t put your Vivofit into Sleep mode and the movement data will sync up with those times.Has Vivofit changed my fitness behaviors? In some ways, yes. I have become much more aware of certain health factors that might be ‘red’ flags and have discovered several ways to improve my daily habits. I do find myself moving around more throughout the day.I believe that the Vivofit by Garmin is the best value on the market for fitness bands. In addition to all its other charms, Vivofit is compatible with HealthKit from Apple and will sync data with MyFitnessPal.”This product was received at a free or discounted price in exchange for my review. I am a technology journalist and pride myself on providing fair and honest reviews. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have.”
Sarah Hinman –
I hate this F*ing thing.It started out innocently enough. Track your steps, I thought. It’ll be good, I thought. So I sprang for the Garmin. Low(ish) cost, counts steps and keeps track of stuff. Yeah. That’ll work. What happens after you turn 50, see, is the weight can creep on. Slowly. Slowly. Silently. Until suddenly you weigh more than you did at the highest during pregnancy. Yikes! And since my girls are teens, I can no longer blame the youngest one for baby weight, which is what I did for years.So I get the thing and put it on. It innocently looks at you and says, “Yeah, you can do 5000 steps a day. That’s not much, fatty.” So I do. At the beginning, it was just for tracking steps. You can connect to this other app to track food intake if you want, but no, that’s not for me. I just wanted to see how many steps I was doing every day in my rather sedentary life.Well. That first day I did nothing but watch. Um. 3584 steps. Really? So, I realized, yes, this is bad. After that I made it a point to AT LEAST make the minimum steps. After a couple of weeks, I noticed that the required count was sneaking up. Suddenly I had to step 5200 steps, and on an on, until finally it hit 7200. OMG. So, meanwhile I’m trucking along every day, meeting my steps. Who wants to sync up and see all those lovely orange step lines (goal met for the day) with horrifying blue mixed in (goal not met). It happened a couple of times, don’t judge. Have I left it until 10:00 p.m. to find that I still need 4000 steps? Yes I have. Again, don’t judge. I did the steps.So then to add insult to injury, the other thing this guy does is it blinks a red line at you if you sit on your butt too long. I’M WORKING. It doesn’t care. So now I find myself leaping up and marching around so as to not piss it off with my inactivity.So then it starts playing mind games. “Geez, you’re doing all the steps. Would it kill you to give up some of the sugar and carbs?” So then you decide okay, I can give up sugar one or two days a week. Hey, I really like ice cream, kill me. So after it looks at you and rolls it’s eyes, you figure, okay. Sugar just one day a week. I can do this. The Garmin is like, “Yeah, piggy, you can. It’s not going to get you the thanks from a grateful nation, but it’s a start.” So that happens. Next it’s carbs. I mean, you’re doing the work, right?Next thing I know, I’m not wasting any precious step-taking minutes. Waiting for water to boil on your scrap of dinner? WALK! Take the dog out a couple of extra times, it adds up. This thing is breathing down your neck, tracking every move you make. I have worn a track through my kitchen, living room, and family room waiting for stuff. By the way, books on tape are awesome.I find myself a month later. I have more energy (who knew?). My dog is thinner. I’M thinner. We’re saving a fortune on rocky road ice cream. My girls and husband are happy because I have less time to hassle them.It’s all this Garmin’s fault.
Smart shopper –
This is actually my second garmin vivofit. I bought the first one and it lasted for two years before the battery died! It is not broken at all. I weighed the price of battery and new band against the price of a new garmin and believe I am coming out ahead with a new one and keeping the old as a back up.Pros:- Lasts a long time and I wore it everyday. (two year battery life on my old one)- Display listing so that you can use as a watch as well. Others you have to log on to see what you have done. Even provides the date!- easy syncing with the garmin app- the band has had its moments of coming undone but garmin has heard the feedback and now provides a clasp to keep it securely on your wrist.- Accurate tracking! I have tested this garmin a lot of ways by trying to shake my arm around and even trying to simulate a walk without actually walking. Yeah, I looked like a nut. It recorded nothing! This thing is pretty accurate! I have also counted my steps and tested it against what it recorded and it is spot on!- Affordable- I have worn my garmin in the pool while swimming and while in the shower just to test the waterproof ability and it keeps ticking.- Sleep tracking- Syncing directly with iPhone- Comfortable to wear- The app feeds data directly to my fitness pal to track level of activityCons:- Honestly I can’t think of a single con to buying this product.Honestly I shopped around for a replacement thinking something else might fit my needs better. I circled back around to this one for the durability and reliability. Love this product and would rate it higher if the option existed.
poker-724 –
Face on Fitbit is too small to read for me. There should be a way to increase the font(s). Had the unit 3 weeks and when I sync it tells me my battery is low and needs to be replaced.
pamel_roade –
I walk at my job everyday. I wanted to know how far I walked and the calories I burned. This Garmin Vivofit 3 does just that and very easy to use. I highly recommend this fitness band.
lexusman2 –
I did not know if I would be able to “pair” the Vivofit 3 with my Windows 7 desktop computers. So many of the reviews assumed that the buyer would be pairing the watch with a smart watch. There were no specific instructions in the box on how to pair with my desktop computer. Since I have owned the original Vivofit watch for nearly three years and have not even had to replace the battery, I thought that it would be an easy install. I was mistaken in that assumption. I was disappointed with the clasp. I had thought it would be similar to an ordinary watch with a single metal prong. Having to find two holes and turning to lock is an inconvenience and also results in the strap being loser than I desire. Overall, I think I will be pleased with the Vivofit 3 activity tracker. Having the Garmin Express already installed on my desktop has made the task much easier.
trddd –
This is very easy to use and discreet. I’ve taken it out of the wrist band and use a clip instead in my front pocket or attached to my bra. I love that I don’t need to remember to carry my phone around all the time to get a daily step count!
D.Marie –
New face vs vivofit 2 is simpler, easier to read. App is simple , reliable.The steps seem to be quite accurate. The sleep hours vary on accuracy — but overall are correct.I have mine on 24/7. No issues, other than difficulty finding alternate bands made by Garmin, for the 3, smaller size— but not kid’s size. Off brands on Amazon are cheap, & buckle clasp vs snap in. Regardless, I wear this instead of my apple watch because 1. Waterproof 2. No recharging 2.comfortable 4. Tracks main things I need : time, date, steps, sleep. Syncs easily to Garmin app.
tonygca –
Great product to help one keep active and fit! It is attractive, light weight and the battery will last a year! Very easy to use and records are kept to monitor your progress. It is also a stopwatch and shows the current time. A very nice product and I do not need to charge it.
dmb776 –
I love the Garmin Vivofits because 1. They are lightweight and comfortable 2. They are waterproof, I rarely take mine off. 3. They use a year long battery, no charging! I use it to track my sleep and steps. My grandaughter always asked me to wear mine so I got her the vivofit jr.
Betty Ann Adams –
Watch, pacer, comfortable
Mary Davis –
The battery life on the VivoFit line is what prompted me to purchase this item. I had the original version for two years before the battery gave out. No recharging and I can shower at the gym without having to take it off? Yes!!! I can sync it with my Garmin app quickly. I haven’t mastered connecting it to MyFitnessPal, though. When this one gives out in a couple of years, I’ll buy my third!
Zesty 101 –
At first I was unable to switch screen.My husband got it worken just great.A happy customer from maine!!!
Azura –
I love it! This is my second Garmin fitness watch. The first I ordered (several years ago) because at the time it was the only one I could find to wear during water aerobics. I later found out it was also the only one that didn’t have to be recharged. The battery lasted well over a year. When I started researching for a new fitness watch, I found that most now could be used in water, however, all the other name brands still needed to be recharged every day or so. I never have to take my Garmin off my wrist.
Molly –
I like the simple, easy to read device as I am older and still exercise and track my steps each day.
Dana T. –
So far, I’m on day one using this thing and I’m super frustrated. I put it on and it seemed to be working counting my steps. I synced it to my phone to see what it would look like on the app and nothing synced even after it beeped saying the sync was done. There is nothing recorded on the app of the steps I’d already taken. And to top it off, the tracker reset the steps after sync, so I have no record of the steps I’d already taken. I’ve tried going to the website to get more troubleshooting info and and there is no helpful info. It just spouts useless info of what it should be doing and not what can be done to fix anything. I’m even having trouble finding contact info. The app is super unfriendly. It takes some real digging just to find the steps area and there is no info there even though I synced my initial steps. Unless, I can figure out how this thing works with the app, it will be going back.
ychare –
This thing I bought on January 5th 2020. The device failed today. Just will not connect to the phone or app. I lost all the data. Please do not waste your money on this garbage. Garmin is horrible and getting worst day by day. I also believed on positive reviews and bought the device, but, yes it failed me and I will never ever by any garbage from Garmin.
LaNissa –
I bought this product in December because my vivifit 2 stopped working. I purchased it from QVC 2017 and it had a great run. I’ve used this for 6 months and now it doesn’t work. I changed the battery with my fingers crossed and that was a waste if $5. I ordered a refurbished one 6/8/20 the day it went out from Amazon again. If this one fails I am done with Garmin. I am so disappointed.