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A new beta update has arrived for the Garmin Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 smartwatches, version 15.12. This update tackles issues linked to the flashlight, voice alerts and the incident detection feature. Plus, with this beta release, Garmin has removed a shortcut for the sleep mode function, which has been replaced.
Garmin has released new beta updates for the Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 smartwatches. Beta version 15.12 arrives for the Forerunner 970 and version 15.13 for the Forerunner 570. Despite the different version numbers, they have almost identical change logs. They follow the mid-October release, beta version 15.09, which added a calculator hotkey and automatic button lock for climbing activities.
The Garmin Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 watches get a range of bug fixes with beta version 15.12/15.13. The company has tackled a problem linked to activity voice alerts, which could play at the wrong frequency. An issue where the incident detection alarm played through headphones rather than the on-watch speakers has been resolved. Likewise, a bug for runners, where the watch could lock to a track nearby, has been fixed. Problems which could cause an unexpected device reset or the screen to go blank have also been removed.
Only for the Forerunner 970 is a bug fix linked to the flashlight strobe effect, which was not working as expected during activities. Plus, Garmin has removed an older sleep mode shortcut, with users advised to use the new Sleep Focus Mode instead. On top of this, there are said to be updates for the smartwatches translations, though no further details are provided.
In a post on the Garmin Forum, a representative for the brand confirmed that the beta version 15.12 and 15.13 updates are now available for all users of the Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 (curr. $749.99 at Amazon) who are signed up to the beta program. When a stable version of the 15.xx software will be shared with all users of these smartwatches remains to be seen.
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Polly Allcock – Senior Tech Writer – 4791 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021
I’ve been interested in technology for as long as I can remember. From a young age, I have loved gadgets and understanding how things work. Since graduating, I have worked for several technology companies across FinTech, AdTech and Robotics.
Polly Allcock, 2025-10-28 (Update: 2025-10-29)
