Garmin is rolling out a software update for one of its popular running watches, which will fix a problem that sometimes caused "invalid weather temperature values" to appear in the weather widget.
As Polly Allcock of Notebookcheck explains, software beta version 19.12 is available now for owners of Garmin Forerunner 955 series watches who are enrolled in the company's public beta testing program.
The update also corrects a problem reported by some iPhone users, who found that their Forerunner 955 would sometimes lose its connection when linked to a Zwift-enabled bike trainer, and fixes an issue that meant Jump Rope activities would sometimes fail to upload correctly.
There are also "various bugs and UI improvements" that aren't described in detail. Take a look at Garmin's forums for the full release notes.
Join the beta program
Joining Garmin's public beta testing program is easy, and gives you the opportunity to try new features and fixes before they're pushed out to all watch owners, but it's important to remember that beta software may sometimes contain bugs that could stop your watch working as expected. The purpose of the program is to pinpoint those bugs so Garmin's software developers can correct them before the new software is released generally.
If you'd like to join, go to connect.garmin.com in your web browser (it's easiest on a desktop) and sign into your Garmin account. Click the small watch icon at the top right of the screen to see all your Garmin devices, select the one you want, and click Device Settings. Provided your watch is supported, you'll see a link to join the beta program. Click this and follow the steps on screen to sign up.
Other weather app issues
Your Garmin watch gets its weather data from the Garmin Connect app on your phone, and although it usually works perfectly, occasionally you may find that the data doesn't appear as you'd expect.
If the weather widget is showing an exclamation point rather than a figure, or you see a message that weather data is unavailable, there are a few things you can try to correct the problem.
First of all, try turning both your phone and your watch off, then back on again. Make sure that your watch is paired with your phone in the Garmin Connect app. If you have a GPS watch, try going outside and briefly starting a GPS-tracked activity (like a run or walk) so it can establish your location. If you have an iPhone, make sure that Garmin Connect is open or running in the background, and don't force it closed.
See Garmin's website for more weather troubleshooting tips.
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