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All about wearable technology - Reviews, news, and advice!

Average Joe's Wearable Tech Blog

All about wearable technology - Reviews, news, and advice!

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to Record an Activity

September 5, 2018 by Average Joe Leave a Comment

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I recently bought a Garmin Vivoactive 3, and will be publishing a review soon. In the meantime, I am very happy with how easy it is to record activities on this smartwatch. However, it took me a little while to figure it out, so I thought I would publish this handy step-by-step guide to how to use your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to record activities.

Step 1: Press the Button on the Side of your Garmin Vivoactive 3

My Garmin Vivoactive has a button on the right-hand side. (You can set up your watch to have the button on the left side, if that works better for you.) This is my Garmin watch. I got a white strap because I am so tired of grey and black clothes and accessories!

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to Record an Activity. My Garmin Vivoactive has a button on the right-hand side.
My Garmin Vivoactive has a button on the right-hand side


Simply press the button when you want to record an activity. The very first time, it will ask you to pick your favorite activities. I picked Bike and Walk. So, every time I press the button, I am offered a choice of these two activities.

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to Record an Activity. Every time you press the button on the side of your Garmin Vivoactive 3, you will be offered a choice of the activities you have chosen as favorites
Every time you press the button on the side of your Garmin Vivoactive 3, you will be offered a choice of the activities you have chosen as favorites

Step 2: Choose Your Activity on your Garmin Vivoactive 3

Next, simply choose your activity by touching it on the watch with your finger. If it is an activity that requires GPS, the Garmin smart watch will immediately start searching for a GPS signal. It will ask you to wait until it finds the signal.

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to record an activity - Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 will ask you to wait until it finds the GPS signal
Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 will ask you to wait until it finds the GPS signal

Once your Garmin Vivoactive 3 finds the signal, it will let you know that it has found it, and so it is ready to record.

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to record an activity - Once your Garmin Vivoactive 3 finds the signal, it will let you know that it has found it, and so it is ready to record your activity
Once your Garmin Vivoactive 3 finds the signal, it will let you know that it has found it, and so it is ready to record your activity

Related Post:

7 of the Best Fitness Trackers for Cyclists, 2020 – Fitbit and Garmin

Step 3: Press the Button Again

My Garmin Vivoactive 3 finds a GPS signal in a few seconds. As soon as it does, it lets me know that it has found it, and reminds me of what to do next – press the button again!

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to Record an Activity. Once it has found the signal, the Garmin watch will prompt you to press the button to start recording your activity
Once it has found the signal, the Garmin watch will prompt you to press the button to start recording your activity

Step 4: Do Your Activity!

You can now start your activity. I always check that the timer has started, so I can be certain that the recording has started.

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to Record an Activity. I always check that the timer has started (the 0:04 at the top of the display), so I can be certain that the recording has started
I always check that the timer has started (the 0:04 at the top of the display), so I can be certain that the recording has started

Step 5: When You Have Completed Your Activity, Press the Button Again to End the Recording

As soon as you press the button, you will see the display below, which tells you that the recording has paused. If you had stopped to have lunch, for example, you could just leave it like this. But if you are done, you can just press done.

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to record an activity - As soon as you press the button, the display will tell you that the recording has paused.
As soon as you press the button, the display will tell you that the recording has paused

Step 6: Save Your Activity

Next, you will be prompted to either Save or Discard your activity. If you save it, it will automatically upload to your Garmin Connect account.

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to Record an Activity. Next, you will be prompted to either Save or Discard your activity
Next, you will be prompted to either Save or Discard your activity

Step 7: Review Your Activity Online

Next, you can review your activity online. It will of course be in your Garmin Connect account. In my case, I have set up my Garmin Connect to automatically upload my activities to Strava, because I prefer the Strava interface. You can read more about how to use Strava here.

How Easy is it to Record Activities with Your Garmin Vivoactive 3?

I am a big fan of Strava, so I usually use the Strava app on my phone to record activities. However, I was pleased and surprised to find that it is even easier and quicker to use my Garmin Vivoactive 3 to record activities, than it is to use Strava. The best part is that I can record activities even if I forget my phone at home, and I don’t have to use up my phone battery. My iPhone is two years old, and I often find that recording activities on Strava really burns through my phone battery. This is especially a problem if I am also using my iPhone to monitor what my GoPro Hero is recording, or to find my way home.

How to Use Your Garmin Vivoactive 3 to Record an Activity. I like using the Strava dashboard. It's very comprehensive, and it's fun to upload photos to remind you of what you did and saw that day
I like using the Strava dashboard. It’s very comprehensive, and it’s fun to upload photos to remind you of what you did and saw that day

All in all, my first impressions of my Garmin Vivoactive is that it is a great fitness tracker, and I expect to spend a lot of happy hours exercising with it!


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Filed Under: Fitness Trackers Tagged With: Activity trackers, Garmin Vivoactive GPS Smartwatch

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Average Joe CyclistWelcome to our blog! I’m Joe Goodwill, and I spend my time testing and reviewing wearable tech (a tough job, but somebody has to do it). This blog features product reviews, news, and advice for people like you who want to use wearable tech - but who want to do their research and be really clear about what they are doing and what they are buying.
Mrs Average Joe Cyclist - MaggieHi! I'm Maggie Neilson (aka Mrs. Average Joe). I share Joe's love of wearable tech, and I love trying gadgets out and reviewing them on this blog.

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