Garmin Forerunner 945 - Latest Firmware

The latest firmware for the Garmin Forerunner 945 smartwatch is version 13. It was released on 10 July 2023. Within two days of the release, the firmware version 13 had been rolled out to all the eligible Forerunner 945 devices.

In the past five months, there has been no new release of firmware for the Garmin Forerunner 945 series smartwatches.

Topics covered in this post

Firmware 13 for Forerunner 945 – Changelog

Fix a bug that in rare cases could lock up the device during PacePro activities.
Improvements to altitude calibration error handling (Addresses reports of sudden elevation changes during an activity).
Fix a crash when trying to view some Daily Suggested Workouts.
Fix a rare issue where certain metrics like VO2 Max or Training Load may stop updating. Several activities may be required to obtain new metrics.
Updates to bike camera support.
Minor GPS improvement.
Other bug fixes and improvements.

Install the firmware on Forerunner 945

Firmware updates for the Forerunner series watches are pushed out automatically by Garmin. These updates are released in a phased manner. Firmware version 13 was rolled out fully by 12th July 2023.

The preference must be given to updating Garmin Forerunner through the Garmin Express application on your computer. If you do not have Garmin Express, there is an alternate option to install firmware updates through the Garmin Connect app on the smartphone.

Garmin Express

Install software 13.00 on Forerunner using the Garmin Express application

Garmin Express is a proprietary application that can be installed on any computer. It is available for Windows and macOS computers.
Garmin Express for Windows or macOS computers can be downloaded from this page on the Garmin website.
The Windows version of Garmin Express comes as an executable file of size 127 MB.
The Mac version of Garmin Express comes as a .DMG file with a size of 55.5 MB.
Once you have downloaded Garmin Express, you can install it on the computer by executing the file.
Validate if Garmin Express is working cleanly. You will need to add your device to the Garmin Express application.
Garmin Express helps in pulling firmware updates, map updates, Golf course updates and uploading your activities to the Garmin Connect app.
Once you have linked your Forerunner 945 to the Garmin Express application, open the Garmin Express application.
Connect your Forerunner 945 to the computer using a USB cable.
Allow Garmin Express to validate the current firmware version on Forerunner 945. Allow it to pull the latest firmware version from the Garmin website.
Once the software has been downloaded on the Garmin Express application, it gets pushed out to the connected Garmin Forerunner 945 device.
This will initiate the firmware installation on your Forerunner 945 smartwatch.
Please allow sometime for the firmware to be installed automatically on your Forerunner 945 device.
You can verify if the latest firmware has been installed on the Forerunner 945 device by going to Settings —-> System and finding the firmware in the About Device section.

Garmin Connect

Garmin Connect is an app that can be installed on the smartphone paired with the Forerunner 945 device.
Garmin Connect for Android phones can be downloaded from the Google Play Store page for Garmin Connect.
Garmin Connect for iOS devices can be downloaded from the Apple app store page for Garmin Connect.
Install Garmin Connect app on the smartphone paired with Forerunner 945. Once the app is installed, link Forerunner 945 with the Garmin Connect account.
Do ensure that the Bluetooth connection between the Garmin Connect app and Forerunner 945 is good. Also, do ensure that you have adequate battery charge on the Forerunner 945 and paired smartphone for the firmware update process to complete flawlessly.
Garmin Connect validates the current firmware version on your Forerunner 945 device. If a software update is available through the Garmin servers, Garmin Connect will download the firmware files from the Garmin servers automatically.
After the software has been downloaded on the phone through Garmin Connect app, it gets pushed out to the Forerunner 945 device over a Bluetooth connection.
Once the firmware has been installed on the Forerunner 945, you can verify the current version of software or firmware by going to the Settings —-> System and About Device section on the watch. It would tell you the version of firmware installed on the Forerunner 945 smartwatch.

Battery drain after firmware upgrade

Some Forerunner 945 users may experience battery drain issues after firmware updates. This is a common issue. To resolve battery drain issues on a Forerunner 945, you may use the following two-step process below:

Perform a soft reset of Forerunner 945 – Reboot your Forerunner 945 running watch to perform a soft reset of the watch. A soft reset is sufficient to resolve the battery drain issues on a Forerunner 945 device post a firmware update.

Hard reset of factory reset – if a soft reset fails to resolve the battery drain issue, you may perform a hard reset or factory reset of the Forerunner 945 smartwatch. Factory reset will cause data loss. Therefore, we suggest backing up user data and smartwatch settings through the Garmin Connect app. After the factory reset, you can restore data and settings by syncing the device with the Garmin Connect app.

Can I rollback the firmware on Forerunner 945 device?

Firmware update on Forerunner 945 is an automatic process. You cannot roll back the firmware update or go to a previous version of firmware on the Forerunner 945 on your own.

For this, you require a manual process of reverting the firmware files to an earlier option. Sadly, the nature of automatic updates prevents the firmware from being rolled back automatically.

Manual download of firmware for Forerunner 945

Manual download of firmware files for Forerunner 945 is no longer available through the Garmin website for the stable release firmware versions.

However, if you participate in the beta program of firmware updates, you can download the beta version of firmware updates for the Forerunner 945.

We strongly discourage manual upgrades of firmware for any Garmin smartwatch, including the Forerunner 945.

Summary

Forerunner 945 is currently on firmware version 13. The firmware update process is completely automated and the software update is sent to your device by Garmin automatically.

The last firmware update for Garmin Forerunner 945 happened in July 2023.

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Helen Kurt

Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].