Garmin Watch Not Syncing With Garmin Connect? How to Fix It

This guide is for a Garmin watch that is paired with your phone but has stopped passing data to the Garmin Connect app. Garmin lists three signs: daily steps that don't update in the app, recorded workouts missing from your account, and a weather forecast that is old or missing. A watch that won't connect at all needs the connection fixed first. Charging, pairing and reset problems are on the Garmin watch fixes hub.

Other watch brands sync through their own apps and follow different steps. The cross-brand guide for smartwatch data not syncing to the app gives the first fix for each brand we cover.

Why Your Garmin Watch Isn't Syncing

A Garmin watch stops syncing for one of six reasons, all taken from Garmin's support pages:

1. Bluetooth is off on the phone or on the watch.
2. The phone is offline. Garmin says: "Your phone requires an active cellular or Wi-Fi signal for Garmin Connect to sync."
3. Garmin Connect has an outage, which shows on the Garmin Connect Status page.
4. Battery Saver or Stealth Mode is on. Garmin says these modes "disable wireless connections like Bluetooth, preventing syncing."
5. Android put Garmin Connect to sleep. Android battery optimization can stop apps running "in the background," and Garmin titles its fix page "Garmin Device No Longer Syncs or Receives Notifications From an Android Phone."
6. The pairing itself is at fault, which Garmin's last step fixes by removing the watch and adding it again.

A broken link to Strava or another partner app is a separate fault, covered further down.

How to Fix a Garmin Watch That Won't Sync

These follow Garmin's own order; after each step, check whether the watch syncs before moving on.

Fix 1: Check the Connection First

Open the Garmin Connect app with the watch near your phone and look at the top of the Home screen. Garmin's sign of a working sync is a green dot there, plus a syncing animation next to the image of your device while data moves. No green dot means the watch isn't connected, and syncing can't start until it is: work through Garmin watch not connecting to your phone first, then come back.

Fix 2: Force a Sync

You can start a sync from either end:

1. From the phone: open Garmin Connect with the watch nearby. Garmin says that with the device connected, the app "should automatically start syncing your data." The Forerunner 265 manual asks you to bring the watch within 10 m (30 ft.) of the phone.
2. From the watch: open the controls menu and select Sync. The button that opens the controls menu depends on the model:

Watch	Open the menu	Then select
Forerunner 265	Hold LIGHT (controls menu)	Sync
vívoactive 6	Hold the top button (controls menu)	Sync
fēnix 8	Hold the upper-left button (controls menu)	Sync
Instinct 3 Solar	Hold CTRL (controls menu)	Sync
Lily 2	Press the touch button	Settings › System settings › Phone › Sync

Fix 3: Restart Your Watch and Phone

Restart both devices, which is step 1 of Garmin's sync order: turn the watch off and on again, then restart your smartphone. On a Forerunner 265, hold LIGHT for 15 seconds until the watch turns off, then hold LIGHT for one second to turn it back on. That manual warns a restart "may erase your data or settings." For other models, see restart a Garmin watch.

Fix 4: Turn Off Battery Saver or Stealth Mode

Check the watch's power modes next, since Garmin's step 2 says they can block syncing:

1. On the watch, open Watch Settings › Power Manager › Battery Saver and turn it off. Some models use Watch Settings › System › Battery Manager › Battery Saver instead.
2. On a Garmin tactical watch, check that Stealth Mode is off too; Garmin covers it on a separate page, "Stealth Mode on Garmin Tactical Watches."

Garmin's Bluetooth checklist adds Expedition Mode to the modes that "can disable Bluetooth."

Fix 5: Let Garmin Connect Run in the Background (Android)

On Android, stop battery optimization from putting Garmin Connect to sleep. Garmin notes that menu options vary by phone model:

• Pixel: Settings › Apps › Garmin Connect › App Battery Usage, turn on Allow Background Usage, then disable battery optimization.
• Samsung: Settings › Apps › Garmin Connect › Battery, touch Optimize Battery Usage, then disable battery optimization.
• Other phones: Garmin's page has separate steps for BlackView, LG, Motorola, OnePlus, Unihertz, Vivo, Xiaomi and RealMe, and a separate page for Huawei.

Garmin's Bluetooth checklist also asks for the latest Garmin Connect app and up-to-date watch software; How to Update Your Garmin Watch covers the watch side.

Fix 6 (Last): Remove the Watch and Add It Again

Remove and add the watch only after Fixes 1 to 5. It is Garmin's last step, and removing the watch deletes any Garmin Pay wallet on it, which you set up again afterwards.

1. Remove it from Garmin Connect: More › Garmin Devices › your watch › the three dots (top right) › Remove Device, then confirm.
2. Remove it from the phone's Bluetooth list. iPhone: Settings › Bluetooth › (i) next to the watch › Forget This Device. Android: Settings › Connections › Bluetooth › the gear next to the watch › Unpair. Garmin Connect app version 5.21 and newer may do this for you.
3. Add it back in Garmin Connect with More › Garmin Devices › Add Device, put the watch in pairing mode and confirm the six-digit code. The full iPhone and Android steps are on pair a Garmin watch with your phone.

Garmin says "a sync should occur during this process," and the green dot returns on the Home screen once the watch is connected.

Syncing Problems by App and Service

Two sync faults sit outside your watch and phone: an outage at Garmin, and a broken link between Garmin Connect and a partner app.

Is Garmin Connect Down?

Check Garmin's service status before you reset anything. Garmin's sync page tells you to "ensure there are no system outages by visiting the Garmin Connect Status page" at connect.garmin.com/status/. If a service shows a problem, Garmin's advice is to check back until it is resolved, then sync again. Our Garmin Connect outage page records the latest check.

Not Syncing to Strava, MyFitnessPal or Apple Health

Garmin's fix for a partner app that stops receiving your data is to disconnect and reconnect the two accounts, in this order:

1. Check both status pages. On the Garmin Connect Status page, "a green ONLINE indicator for third-party indicates no issue from the Garmin Connect side." Then check the partner's own status page.
2. Disconnect in Garmin Connect: More › Settings › Connected Apps › the app › Disconnect.
3. Reconnect from the partner app. Strava: You › Settings › Connect an app or device › Garmin › Connect Garmin, then agree to the terms.

Garmin also recommends signing out of the Strava app and website before these steps, to avoid using two Strava accounts. For steps in MyFitnessPal, open the MyFitnessPal app and pick Garmin Connect under More › Steps › "Choose a device." Garmin Connect "will not forward data that has been received from one third-party fitness website to another." Garmin's third-party page covers MyFitnessPal, Strava and Zwift; it gives no Apple Health steps.