Garmin releases a new update that abruptly disables the ECG feature on new smartwatches

Several of Garmin's most recent smartwatches have received a new update. With Beta 9.16, the second update in as many weeks, ECG functionality is suddenly disabled without any notice and there is no way to download a rollback file to restore stable builds.

Intriguing news has been released by Garmin regarding the Venu 3 and Venu 3S. It looks that the update, which was also made available through the Beta Program, has the same changelog as the previous version. Comparably, with Betas 8.23 and 8.25 having nearly identical improvements, a similar situation happened the previous year.

In summary, the company resumed beta build distribution two months ago with the release of Beta 9.15, which was made available less than two weeks ago. As of right now, Garmin has updated the Venu 3 and Venu 3S to Beta 9.16, which can once more be downloaded directly from the wristwatch itself as opposed to via its forum post or the Garmin Express desktop application. Consequently, you can update the Venu 3 or Venu 3S by going to the Main menu, then Settings, System, and lastly Software Update.

Smartwatch is updated to Beta 9.16, you will also need to download new audio prompt files. Although Beta Program participants have noticed at least one significant difference between Betas 9.15 and 9.16, Garmin has not disclosed any new changes. It appears that the company has turned off the ECG feature on beta builds for the Venu 3 series, and this has now also been implemented for the Fenix 7 series. It did not, however, choose to notify the owners of Venu 3 of this modification or to provide a file for reverting to stable updates with ECG turned on.