Fix for Garmin Forerunner 955 & 255 screen glitch is in the works

If you notice your Garmin Forerunner 955 or 255 watch is showing a black horizontal line across the screen that comes and goes – don’t panic. It seems this is due to a software glitch.

The error was first reported on Garmin forums in late August. For some users it appears during long runs, for others during bike rides. Then again, there are those that report seeing the dashed line across the screen when reading notifications. So it is a bit random when it might appear.

The line is horizontal and goes from one edge of the display to the opposite edge. Its location changes on the screen. At times it appears in the middle of the display, but it can also appear along the top or bottom. The thickness also varies.

Users are seeing the bug intermittently and it can pop-up on both stock faces and other watch-faces. So changing the watch-face on your device will not resolve anything.

Scrolling down and then back up again refreshes the display and gets rid of the line. If you don’t do anything, it will disappear on its own after a short while – usually between 10 and 30 seconds. So you could just leave it and continue about your day, it will not stay there permanently.

Lots of users with the Forerunner 955 and Solar edition of the same are reporting the issue on Facebook forums and various Garmin threads. Multiple screenshots of the line glitch have been posted on social media. Some owners of the Forerunner 255 and 255 Music are also seeing the black line but the problem seems to be more widespread for those with the 955.

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It doesn’t seem to be firmware dependent as users with various software versions are reporting it. And it only seems to be affecting these two watches – there are no reports of other Garmin devices being effected by the bug.

Strangely enough, if you take a screenshot while the line is there, it won’t show up in the image. So it might be something that is not in the actual screen memory. Or perhaps the action of taking the screenshot gets rid of problem.

Garmin says they are working on a fix

Garmin has acknowledged there is an issue and that they are working on a solution. Having said that, it has been about a month since this was first reported so it is taking them a while to find what is causing this.

The good news is that this appears to be a software rather than a hardware glitch. For now there is not much you can do about it, except wait for the update. It is a visual annoyance but luckily users are reporting no other side effects.

Hopefully the fix will be coming soon. We’ll keep an eye out on upcoming Alpha and Beta firmware updates for the Forerunner 255 and 955 and let you know when a solution becomes available.

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