Forerunner 165 Touchscreen Disabled During Swimming

The Forerunner 165 touchscreen is unavailable during swim activities by Garmin’s documented design; an unresponsive touch display in that mode is expected. Use the buttons to control the activity, rather than looking for a swim-touch unlock setting.

Why does touch stop working when I start swimming?

Garmin’s Forerunner 165 manual states: “The touchscreen is not available during swim activities.” It does not give an engineering reason on the supplied page. We cannot attribute the restriction to a particular water-rejection system or claim it prevents accidental inputs based on that evidence.

The useful distinction is between having a touch-capable display and having touch enabled in a specific sport. If swiping works in ordinary watch use but stops in a swim activity, that matches the documented restriction. Do not treat it alone as a broken screen or assume a setting has been accidentally changed.

Which buttons do I use instead of the touchscreen?

Use START to begin recording, UP or DOWN to change data screens, and STOP to open the stopping options. Garmin’s activity instructions give the following sequence; learning it before your next session avoids relying on a swipe that swimming disables.

Start, navigate, finish

Choose the activity with START From the watch face, press START and select your activity from favorites or the extended activity list. Selecting the activity is not the same as starting its timer.
Press START to run the timer Wait until the watch is ready, then press START. Garmin says activity data is recorded only while the activity timer is running.
Press UP or DOWN for other screens These buttons display additional data screens. The general recording page also mentions swiping, but the separate swim-touch restriction means buttons are the relevant route here.
Press STOP, then choose what happens next Select Resume to continue, or Save to save the activity and view details; Garmin then directs you to press START and select an option. Discard is a separate option, so check the selected label before confirming.

BACK has a different role: Garmin’s general instructions associate it with recording laps, starting a new set or pose, or advancing a workout step. That is activity-dependent guidance, not a universal instruction to end every swim rest with BACK. The supplied pages do not establish a complete pool-rest or drill-mode button sequence.

Can System > Touch turn swim touch back on?

Garmin documents holding UP, then selecting System > Touch and an option to customize touch for general use or activity profiles. The same page explicitly excludes swim activities, so this menu is not evidence of a swim-touch override.

If touch is also unavailable outside swimming, review those general settings before drawing a conclusion about the hardware. If your question is which numbers to show, see the separate pool-swim data-screen guide; its model-specific menu paths should not be copied blindly onto the Forerunner 165.

What should I check before buying a touchscreen swim watch?

Control recommendation

Choose by the documented swimming controls, not the touchscreen label.

For the Forerunner 165, plan on buttons during swimming. If touch during a swim is essential to you, this documented restriction is a reason to reconsider that choice; these sources do not establish an alternative model with swim touch enabled.

If you are comfortable with that control scheme, use the Forerunner 165 swimming guide for the broader model decision. Our Garmin swim-watch guide covers the wider shortlist; this page only resolves the touch and navigation question.

Garmin Forerunner 165 watch product image See Forerunner 165 options

Before heading to the pool, organize the session in the AquaPlan free workout builder . Planning the session is separate from watch controls; this link does not imply that the Forerunner 165 supports every workout-transfer workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I enable the Forerunner 165 touchscreen for swimming?

Garmin explicitly says the touchscreen is not available during swim activities. The general System > Touch setting is not documented as an override for that restriction.

How do I change screens without swiping?

Press UP or DOWN to view additional data screens. Garmin lists these button controls in its Forerunner 165 activity-recording instructions; use them instead of the swipe option during swimming.

Does an unresponsive screen during a swim mean the watch is broken?

Touch being unavailable during a swim activity matches Garmin’s documented behavior. That alone does not establish a fault. This restriction does not explain a touchscreen that also fails outside swimming when touch is enabled.

Sources and editorial process

Sources verified October 26, 2026; published October 26, 2026. This guide uses Garmin’s Forerunner 165 Series English manual pages, version 5, dated June 2025. It is a documentation-based explanation, not first-hand watch testing.

Limitations: the supplied pages confirm the swim-touch restriction and general recording controls, but do not explain the engineering rationale or provide a full swim-rest workflow. They do not establish the behavior of other Garmin models or later firmware; consult the current manual for your exact watch.

Automated editorial check (daily-ai-v1): this article was authored using AI and checked through an automated editorial process. No human expert review is claimed.

Article publisher

Published and maintained by AquaPlan. The article above identifies its evidence sources and automated editorial process; no human expert review is claimed.