Pair the Garmin vívoactive 5 through the Garmin Connect app first—not through your phone’s Bluetooth settings. Once it is paired, you can select a preloaded watch face, edit one that supports customization, create a new layout, or download a face through Connect IQ. Wi‑Fi, music, Garmin Pay, safety features, and profile details are optional setup tasks, not prerequisites for changing the face.
Pair the vívoactive 5 with your phone
During first-time setup, accept the pairing prompt on the watch and scan its QR code with your phone. Complete the on-screen steps in Garmin Connect. Garmin’s pairing instructions specify using Garmin Connect rather than starting the pairing process in the phone’s Bluetooth settings.
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If you skipped pairing during setup
- On the watch, hold the button to open the menu.
- Go to Settings > System > Connectivity > Phone > Pair Phone.
- Scan the displayed QR code with your phone and finish pairing in Garmin Connect.
Choose and customize a watch face
Select a preloaded face
- From the current watch face, hold the button.
- Choose Watch Face.
- Swipe left or right to browse, then tap a face to activate it.
Edit an existing face
- Hold the button from the watch face and choose Watch Face.
- Scroll to a face that has an edit control and select it.
- Choose an option to change, scroll to the value you want, and press the button to select it.
- Tap the face to activate it.
Not every preloaded face is editable. Garmin’s watch-face instructions describe the available edit flow and note that some faces cannot be changed.
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- Open Watch Face from the watch-face menu, then swipe left and choose the add control.
- Choose the face type, background, dial, and data fields.
- Set time markers and an accent color, then press the button. The watch activates the new face.
When choosing a layout, consider whether the time is easy to read at a glance and whether the displayed data is useful to you. Preloaded faces, editable faces, custom layouts, and downloaded faces offer different choices; Garmin does not identify one style as best.
#1 Best Overall
- Designed with a bright, colorful AMOLED display, get a more complete picture of your health, thanks to battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode (5 days display always-on)
- Body Battery energy monitoring helps you understand when you’re charged up or need to rest, with even more personalized insights based on sleep, naps, stress levels, workouts and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Get a sleep score and personalized sleep coaching for how much sleep you need — and get tips on how to improve plus key metrics such as HRV status to better understand your health (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Find new ways to keep your body moving with more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, HIIT, swimming, golf and more
- Wheelchair mode tracks pushes — rather than steps — and includes push and handcycle activities with preloaded workouts for strength, cardio, HIIT, Pilates and yoga, challenges specific to wheelchair users and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
Download a face with Connect IQ
Pair the watch first. Install and open the Connect IQ app, select the vívoactive 5 if prompted, choose a feature, and follow the app’s instructions. Garmin’s Connect IQ guide covers downloading features; it does not establish that every item works identically or is free.
Set up optional features if you need them
Garmin lists Wi-Fi, music, Garmin Pay, safety features, and the user profile among setup tasks for owners who want those capabilities. They are separate from pairing and watch-face personalization; you do not have to complete them to change a face. See Garmin’s setup guide for its task list.
Rank #2
- Designed with a bright, colorful AMOLED display, get a more complete picture of your health, thanks to battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode
- Body Battery energy monitoring helps you understand when you’re charged up or need to rest, with even more personalized insights based on sleep, naps, stress levels, workouts and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Get a sleep score and personalized sleep coaching for how much sleep you need — and get tips on how to improve plus key metrics such as HRV status to better understand your health (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Find new ways to keep your body moving with more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, HIIT, swimming, golf and more
- Wheelchair mode tracks pushes — rather than steps — and includes push and handcycle activities with preloaded workouts for strength, cardio, HIIT, Pilates and yoga, challenges specific to wheelchair users and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
Connect to Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi can automatically upload recorded activities, download software updates, and send workouts or training plans from Garmin Connect to the watch. In Garmin Connect, use Menu > Garmin Devices > [your watch] > System > Connectivity > Wi-Fi > My Networks > Add a Network, then choose a network and enter its login details. App labels can change with software updates, so the current interface may differ slightly.
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Garmin’s vívoactive 5 support page lists tutorials titled “Customizing Glances” and “Customizing the Controls Menu,” and the product manual covers controls-menu and device-customization topics. Glances and the controls menu are distinct features, and activity favorites are a separate customization. The available official instructions here do not establish the exact vívoactive 5 steps for changing the glance loop or adding, removing, or reordering favorite activities, so this guide does not give unverified button-by-button paths. Consult the current vívoactive 5 Getting Started support page and the watch’s manual for the applicable instructions.
Rank #3
- Designed with a bright, colorful AMOLED display, get a more complete picture of your health, thanks to battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode
- Body Battery energy monitoring helps you understand when you’re charged up or need to rest, with even more personalized insights based on sleep, naps, stress levels, workouts and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Get a sleep score and personalized sleep coaching for how much sleep you need — and get tips on how to improve plus key metrics such as HRV status to better understand your health (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Find new ways to keep your body moving with more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, HIIT, swimming, golf and more
- Wheelchair mode tracks pushes — rather than steps — and includes push and handcycle activities with preloaded workouts for strength, cardio, HIIT, Pilates and yoga, challenges specific to wheelchair users and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
Which manual version is this based on?
The cited online owner’s manual is web version 8, dated September 2025. Garmin’s separate manual listing displays Owner’s Manual Revision A, September 2023; that listing metadata is not the same edition label as the dated web manual.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Designed with a bright, colorful AMOLED display, get a more complete picture of your health, thanks to battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode
- Body Battery energy monitoring helps you understand when you’re charged up or need to rest, with even more personalized insights based on sleep, naps, stress levels, workouts and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Get a sleep score and personalized sleep coaching for how much sleep you need — and get tips on how to improve plus key metrics such as HRV status to better understand your health (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Find new ways to keep your body moving with more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, HIIT, swimming, golf and more
- Wheelchair mode tracks pushes — rather than steps — and includes push and handcycle activities with preloaded workouts for strength, cardio, HIIT, Pilates and yoga, challenges specific to wheelchair users and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
Rank #4
- Designed with a bright, colourful display, get a more complete picture of your health, thanks to battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode
- Body Battery energy monitoring helps you understand when you’re charged up or need to rest, with even more personalised insights based on sleep, naps, stress levels, workouts and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Get a sleep score and personalised sleep coaching for how much sleep you need — and get tips on how to improve plus key metrics such as HRV status to better understand your health (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Find new ways to keep your body moving with more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, HIIT, swimming, golf and more
- Wheelchair mode tracks pushes — rather than steps — and includes push and handcycle activities with preloaded workouts for strength, cardio, HIIT, Pilates and yoga, challenges specific to wheelchair users and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
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