Garmin Venu 4 · problems & reliability report

Garmin Venu 4 problems: what real owners report

49% of 94 verified Garmin Venu 4owners don't recommend it, and 4 describe specific problems — based on real owner comments from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.

For balance: 45% recommend it. This page collects the complaints so you know what you're signing up for — read the full owner report for both sides. How we score

Trend
Recent owners are happier than older ones — the last six months run 54% recommend vs 45% all-time. Early problems may have been addressed.

Most common complaints

In owners' own words

Se han subido a la parra con los precios estos de Garmin y sobre todo en esta serie Venu.
@alfredo6083 on YouTube
Pésimo , es lo mismo que un reloj deportivo
@alejandropeyre7701 on YouTube
But last week I woke up to the blue triangle, read online to troubleshoot, called Garmin, and they essentially tell me my watch is shot and send me a new one.
hyfr4k on Reddit
I got mine the first day while running and it randomly restarted. Then it was often restarting - especially during the night showing up as gaps in the body battery.
wtrocki on Reddit
finding 20 sec for screen to be bright enough for me to see the stats on the screen is very stressful, I have to stop my run and wait
Pikulander on Reddit
Same issue since day-1 and on every firmware version that I've been updates to: doing an activity and listening to music, watch freezes.
joantriay on Garmin Forums
First one the battery only lasted 3 days. On this one I get the black screen and no response. I need to reset so I can get it back on.
dellarx on Reddit
The treadmill distance tracking is not working properly, i have save and clibrate it many times, the wrist gesture works intermittently
Ok_Constant_4636 on Reddit
Here's a list of the missing features I've noticed so far compared to the FR970: Endurance Score Running Tolerance Bio-mechanical load
DerGigantAusDemAll on Reddit
only kept it for a about a month and then switched to a Fenix 8. Main reasons were the curved screen which was not going to last long
S-T-E-V-0 on Reddit
The Sleep Tracking is interesting but I can wake up feeling like I got the best sleep of my life and my score is 34 with a “non restorative”. It’s just flawed science
Suziannie on Reddit
my venu4 is regularly restarting and boot looping. Often over night and I wake up with the blue triangle on the screen. I've already reset the watch, but it didn't help.
CommunityLeading9230 on Reddit

Setup quirks & things to watch for

Not complaints — practical notes from owners that didn't affect the score.

I have the same watch and use pulse ox ( BTW - not very accurate ) all with no issues. Run about 23 miles per week and take it off just to shower.
Bifferer on Reddit
Battery depletion at 2/3 brightness, AOD, BT checking out different watch faces, torch, calls etc was around 2.5% per hour while testing.
Time-pass19 on Reddit
It's absolutely tiny and barely noticeable. Still, I wanted to mention it because it happened so soon after I unboxed the watch.
DerGigantAusDemAll on Reddit
The problem resolved itself for me; I haven't had any problems since the last update a little over a week ago.
CommunityLeading9230 on Reddit
I used the golf feature yesterday, it did take about a “day and a half” of battery
Spiritual_Detail3100 on Reddit
My battery is lasting about 4 days between charges on Venu 4
NeitherShift9027 on Reddit
0,5mm difference between the two. Not noticeable at all
sionett on Reddit
Weighing it up? The full report has the other side — what 45% of owners like about it, who it's for, and every sourced quote. Full Garmin Venu 4 owner report →