Guide
Which Garmin watches can read depth in a Connect IQ app
When a Garmin spec sheet says a watch "reads depth", that doesn't mean a third-party Connect IQ app can read it too. Garmin's own dive activity (on watches that have one) uses a dedicated sensor that Connect IQ apps never get to see. An app like inDepth Apnea Blue only gets whatever pressure value the firmware passes to the Sensor API, and on several current Garmin watches that value stops at about 3 m however deep you go. Below is a dated table of what we've measured on each watch, and how solid the evidence is for each row.
Updated
Measured, inferred and reported: three tiers of evidence
The rows below aren't all backed by the same kind of evidence, so we label each one instead of pretending they're equally certain. Measured means we logged a pressure or depth value on a specific date, on an instrumented dive or in a pressure chamber. Inferred means the watch shares a sensor generation or case rating with one we measured, so we expect the same cap, but nobody has dive-tested it. Reported means one tester saw it in the water. That's useful, but weaker than an instrumented run, and we never attach a pressure figure we don't actually have.
Connect IQ depth reading by Garmin watch
| Watch | CIQ depth reading | Evidence | inDepth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Descent Mk3i 51 mm | Saturates at 131,048 Pa ≈ 3.3 m | Measured: instrumented dive + recorded FIT file, both pinned at the same ceiling. | Blue + Pool (dive-time rest models only) |
| Fenix 8 Solar 47 mm | Tracked to 8.445 m in a pressure chamber, no saturation | Measured in a pressure chamber, on a single run with one firmware build. That shows the reading is consistent, not that it's calibrated. There was no reference instrument in the chamber, so we don't publish a Pa ceiling. | Blue + Pool |
| Other Fenix 8 SKUs (43 mm, 47 mm, Pro 47 mm, Solar 51 mm) | Shipped as true-depth, same family as the tested Solar 47 mm | Not individually chamber-tested. No data on these specific SKUs. | Blue + Pool |
| Fenix 5 / Fenix 5 Plus family | Field-verified to 30 m, uncapped | Measured, in open water. (Not verified past 30 m, so no ~42 m figure.) | Blue on all six; Pool on the Plus models only |
| Fenix 7 family | ~3 m (clamped) | Inferred from the measured Descent clamp. Not dive-tested on a Fenix 7 itself. | Yes, dive-time rest models only |
| Descent Mk3 43 mm | ~3 m (clamped) | Same clamped family as the measured Mk3i. Not separately instrumented. | Yes, dive-time rest models only |
| Descent Mk2 / Mk2S | ~3 m (clamped) | Reported by a tester. No pascal figure, not instrumented. | Yes, dive-time rest models only |
| Descent G2 | Unverified, no figure published | Not tested at all. Nobody has instrumented one or even reported on one. We're going by the rest of the Descent line, which is weaker evidence than the Mk2 tester's report. | Yes, dive-time rest models only |
| epix (Gen 2), epix Pro (Gen 2), Forerunner 255, 265, 570, 955 | Unknown | No data. | inDepth Dry only. Blue and Pool aren't supported |
| Fenix 6, MARQ, Venu, vívoactive, and other epix and Forerunner models | Unknown | No data. | Not supported. Tell us your watch below |
"Can this watch read depth?" and "Does inDepth run on it?" are different questions, and the table only answers the first one. A watch can have a barometric sensor and still not run inDepth. We have no measured or reported Connect IQ depth data for the Fenix 6, epix, MARQ, Forerunner or Venu lines, and inDepth Blue, the depth app, doesn't run on them today. The flip side: a watch inDepth does support can still have a capped reading. The Fenix 7 family and every Descent run inDepth Blue and Pool, just with the depth-based surface-rest models hidden. On the Descent G2 that's a precaution, not a measurement, since nobody has tested one. Check the table's "inDepth" column as well as the reading before you assume either way.
Why does Connect IQ depth stop at about 3 m on some Garmin watches?
It's Garmin's firmware, not a bug in any app. On watches with a dedicated dive sensor, Garmin keeps that sensor for its own built-in dive computer. Third-party Connect IQ apps only get the surface altimeter barometer, and on the Descent Mk3i that tops out at around 131,048 Pa (about 3.3 m of water). We measured that on an instrumented dive and saw the same ceiling in the recorded FIT file. A tester reports the Descent Mk2 / Mk2S stopping the same way, though nobody has put a pressure figure on it. We expect the Fenix 7 family to stop near 3 m too, for the same reason, but haven't dive-tested one. Nobody has tested the Descent G2 at all. We don't publish a figure for it, and inDepth treats it as capped simply because it's a Descent.
Is the Descent a real dive computer even though its Connect IQ depth clamps at 3 m?
Yes. Its own dive mode uses a dedicated deep-range sensor that Garmin doesn't share with Connect IQ. The 3 m figure is only about what a third-party app like inDepth can read or record through Connect IQ. The Descent's built-in dive computer reads far deeper than that. Apps just can't see it.
Does inDepth still work on a watch with a clamped depth reading?
Yes, with fewer features. On a capped watch (the Fenix 7 family, Descent Mk2 and Mk3, plus the untested Descent G2) inDepth still times your dives, logs your sessions and runs the surface-rest models based on dive time instead of depth: 2x, 3x and Manual. The models that need depth (Adaptive/AIDA, Taravana, Molchanovs) are hidden on those watches, because a capped reading can't run them safely.
This page is about what Connect IQ can read. It isn't a claim about diving safety. inDepth Apnea Blue is a freediving aid, not a medical device, and no surface-rest model takes away the risks of freediving. See the surface intervals guide for what each rest model does.
Don't see your watch?
If your Garmin isn't in the table, we don't have depth data for it and inDepth doesn't support it yet. Tell us the model and we'll email you if that changes. That's all this list is for.
Already have one of the supported watches? Download inDepth and check your watch's depth reading for yourself, or read what inDepth Apnea Blue adds on top of it.