Customer reviews from Garmin
Garmin - Forerunner 165 Music GPS Smartwatch 43 mm Fiber-Reinforced Polymer - Gray/Whitestone - (2024)
Average customer rating
4.3
(148 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 148 reviews
5 Stars
94
4 Stars
31
3 Stars
8
2 Stars
3
1 Star
12
Customer Reviews for Garmin - Forerunner 165 Music GPS Smartwatch 43 mm Fiber-Reinforced Polymer - Gray/Whitestone - (2024)
Customer Rating
4
Decent Upgrade
on January 15, 2026
Posted by: #StravalessTeddy
I’ve had it for just about a month. I run approximately 25 miles a week. It replaced my Forerunner 245 Music. It’s a decent upgrade. Does what I need it to do. Screen is nice. I don’t like that you cannot disable the step counter. It’s an unnecessary feature for some that drains the battery if you don’t need it.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
3
Lacks in features
on January 15, 2026
Posted by: RunningOnGarmin
While I can appreciate the price point of this watch, it doesn’t have any of the features that I came to expect on my Apple Watch. It notifies me of calls and texts on the watch but I cannot answer or respond to texts from the Forerunner 165 music. The battery life is not as long as they state if you use the notifications. I have had my watch now since Christmas (so about 3 weeks) and have had to charge my battery 3 times. If you want the same capabilities of an Apple Watch then this is not the model for you. If you want the Forerunner 165 music strictly for the running metrics then it’s a great tool. But, if you’re like me and miss the features that you’ve gotten used to this won’t work.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Enjoying the Music
on January 16, 2026
Posted by: Gump637
A Christmas gift that I greatly appreciate. Had been using an old iPod for my music and it was being more and more difficult to charge. Resulting in numerous complaints from me. This gift from my wife corrected all of that!!! I've been VERY pleased with the features and the ease of use. Currently the battery life seems a little bit short. Though that could be on me. I need to review some of the settings. GPS performance has been excellent, syncing promptly. The music feature is easy to use once you discover how. VERY PLEASED overall!!!!
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
A Fit(ness) for the Whole Family
on January 16, 2026
Posted by: SoccerSarah
I purchased this watch and 2 others for my daughter's (we are a Garmin family) for Christmas. After reading and watching several reviews, the 165 Music gave us more than we needed at a great price point. Each one of us had different features we were looking for in a watch. The music was the most popular ask, with the ability to listen and not be connected to a phone. My 10 yo was excited to track her steps, check her "body battery", and see her sleep. My 12 yo LOVED the music feature and was excited to start running with the watch to see her progress. I am thankful for the easy to see interface, long battery life, use of touch and button functions, and how many features the watch has from my previous 645 Music. They even threw open water swim as a workout. For a simple fitness mom like I am (lifting, running, cycling, swimming and HIT), this watch was exactly what I was looking for.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin