Garmin Fenix 8 beta update fixes crashes and mapping bugs
Garmin’s Beta Version 24.13 brings 18 fixes to the Fenix 8 family and related watches, but beta testers should note a remaining Indoor Climb crash and disabled ECG and dive features.
Garmin has moved its Fenix 8 family and several closely related outdoor watches to Beta Version 24.13, an over-the-air update that focuses on stability rather than adding headline features. The public beta is available for the Fenix 8, Fenix 8 Pro, Fenix E, Enduro 3, Tactix 8 and Quatix 8 families, according to Garmin’s own announcement.1
The update follows Beta Version 24.12, which Garmin said brought dozens of changes. Version 24.13 adds 18 further fixes, but the changelog is deliberately practical: this is maintenance work intended to make the watches behave more reliably during everyday use and outdoor activities.1
What the update fixes
Garmin’s list includes a fix for devices crashing when users select the map page, along with another for occasional crashes during track-run activities. It also addresses watches becoming unresponsive after extended USB connections, distorted alarm and notification audio, and heart-rate broadcasting stopping after Bluetooth is disabled.1
Several fixes target navigation and mapping. The update corrects the map theme not changing when selected, coordinate information appearing on map pages, and the magnifier failing to work in address search. It also fixes average-grade adjusted pace failing to populate and the screen going black when saving a point of interest.1
The remaining changes cover smaller but still visible annoyances. Garmin says the Display Settings shortcut could open the wrong menu, the Iron Portal watch face could lose data fields, and activity summaries could show incomplete heart-rate graphs. Move alerts could remain in the notification centre, streak alerts could replace goal alerts during activities, and NTN “try again” screen buttons could fail to respond.1
A beta update with an important warning
Garmin says Version 24.13 is available over the air to participants in its Public Beta programme. It is not a general stable release for every owner, so installing it means accepting the usual beta software trade-offs.1
There is one especially relevant warning. Garmin has identified a problem that can cause a watch to crash while recording an Indoor Climb activity, and says that issue will be fixed in a future version. Anyone who relies on that activity type may therefore want to wait for the next beta release rather than installing 24.13 immediately.1
The beta also disables ECG and dive features on compatible Fenix 8 software. Garmin says those features are expected to return towards the end of the beta cycle, while they remain available on compatible watches running live software. Users who need ECG or dive functionality should treat the update as a test build, not a routine recommendation.1
Our opinion
Version 24.13 looks like a worthwhile maintenance release for beta testers who are affected by the listed crashes, map problems or Bluetooth behaviour. The fixes are specific enough to suggest Garmin is responding to real reports rather than padding a changelog with vague promises. The trade-off is equally clear: an update that can still crash during Indoor Climb recording, and temporarily removes ECG and dive features, is not a universal upgrade.
For most Fenix 8 owners, the sensible approach is to wait for the corresponding stable firmware unless one of the fixes addresses a problem that is actively disrupting their watch. Public beta users who do install it should check their software version afterwards, test the features they depend on and keep Garmin’s backdating instructions in mind if the build causes trouble. This is a useful repair job, but it is still beta software.