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Garmin Express 6.12.0.0 doesn’t recognize Fenix 5X Plus and Crashes Repeatedly

I’ve been working with Gamin on this issue since February 16, 2019, and so far they have no resolution for the problem. I’ve seen similar threads, but nothing that quite matches what I’m experiencing.

My Fenix 5X Plus was working fine with Garmin Express version 6.11.1. When I upgraded to Garmin Express 6.12.0.0, I started having trouble transferring music to the device. I removed the Fenix 5X Plus and tried to re-add it, but I haven’t been able to re-add the device.

When I connect the device to my Windows 10 computer, Windows detects the device within a few seconds, and I can browse folders on the device. With the device connected, when I launch Garmin Express, GE crashes every single time. Even choosing Run As Administrator results in a crash. If I disconnect the device, I can launch GE. When I connect the 5X Plus to the computer, Windows recognizes it again, but GE cannot.

So far I’ve submitted multiple sets of logs and files to Garmin, and I’ve submitted logs and files from multiple computers, but the only possible solution they’ve offered was the Master Reset. I tried, it, but it didn’t work. Garmin tell me that no one else has reported this problem with GE 6.12.0.0. Since they’ve not come up with a solution, I thought I would try here 1) to see if anyone else is experiencing this problem and 2) to see if anyone can offer any troubleshooting steps I haven’t tried yet.

Here are the other things I’ve tried during my troubleshooting. (My apologies for such a long post, but I’ve tried a lot of things so far.)

I’ve tried removing and reinstalling GE. That didn’t solve the problem.

I have an extra cable for the Fenix 5X Plus. I’ve tried both cables, but Garmin Express 6.12.0.0 can’t recognize the device with either cable.

I’ve tried loading GE 6.12.0.0 on a Win10 computer that has never had any Garmin software installed. Windows recognized the device. When I launch GE, I get the repeated crashes if the device is connected. If I launch GE and then connect the watch, GE is unable to recognize the device even though Windows can recognize it. (Same symptoms as primary computer.)

I found an old installer for 6.11.1 and loaded that version on a third Win 10 computer that has never had any Garmin software. GE launched successfully on that computer, and it successfully recognized the device.

I then tried loading Garmin Express 6.11.1 on my primary computer – the one where all the problems started with version 6.12.0.0. However, the older version of GE can no longer recognize the device on the primary computer. (Perhaps GE 6.12.0.0 has permanently modified some file, and the older version can’t replace it?)

I also tried using the current Mac version of Garmin Express, and it recognizes the device with no problems.

I still have my old Fenix 3. Both the older and current versions of Garmin Express can recognize the Fenix 3. (I’m taking this as an indication that the primary Win10 computer is still a valid platform for connecting Garmin devices.)

I’ve tried removing Garmin Express and the running Revo Uninstaller to remove the leftovers. (It found a few straggling entries in the registry.) I’ve also removed the relevant entries in Device Manager. After a reinstall, GE still can’t find the device.

I’ve also tried using Update Driver through Device Manager, but no updated drivers were found.

I’ve tried a suggestion (from another thread for Mac) to keep the watch on its face when it’s plugged in. No luck.

I’ve tried a suggestion (from another thread for Mac) to turn the device off then connect while holding the Up button. No luck there either.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I’ve been waiting for Garmin to offer me a solution for three weeks, but so far there are none.

0 steynja over 6 years ago

What has worked for me in the past, although not exactly the same situation, is to do a system restore to a date before encountering problems. You will not lose any data, but any programs installed after that date will be lost.

0 dkhwv over 6 years ago

Thanks for the tip. I started looking into this, but apparently System Restore is turned off on Windows 10 by default, so I don't have a restore point to try. I guess I'll have to wait around for Garmin to find a solution.

0 dkhwv over 6 years ago

I did several hours of trial and error testing tonight, and my problem finally seems to be solved. I'm going to post the details here in case this is helpful to someone else.

DISCLAIMER: Garmin did not suggest these troubleshooting steps, so this is not an officially recommended process. It worked for me, but after a month of testing and sending log files, it was something I finally tried out of desperation.

Those of you who are more experienced with Garmin Express probably already know that uninstalling the program doesn't really remove all Garmin Express files and folders even when you select the option to have them removed. Tonight I tried to track down more of those files, and I found a number of leftover files in the %localappdata% folder. Within that folder, there were a couple of folders (\Garmin and \Garmin_Ltd._or_its_subsid), each with their own subfolders and files. The folder Garmin_Ltd._or_its_subsid seemed to have a subfolder for every version of Garmin Express that has ever been installed on this computer. I wondered if perhaps a file in one of those folders was corrupt, so this is what I did:

Uninstalled Garmin Express
Moved all folders and files from C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Garmin and C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Garmin_Ltd._or_its_subsid to a temp location (just in case I needed them later)
I left the \Garmin and \Garmin_Ltd._or_its_subsid folders; I just removed their contents
Installed Garmin Express 6.11.1
Plugged in Fenix 5X Plus and waited for Windows to detect it
Launched GE
GE launched with no crashes, and it identified the watch immediately, but I did not add it at this step (I noticed that GE created new files and folders in the AppData Garmin folders)
Went to Settings > About > Check for Updates and let GE install the update for 6.13.0.0
Launched GE after the update
GE again launched successfully with no crashes, and it identified the watch immediately
At this point I went through the setup procedure to add the device and sign in with my Garmin account
I went to the music management section of GE to remove some old podcasts and add some new playlists

So far everything seems to be working properly. In retrospect, I could probably have installed GE 6.13.0.0 directly. However, I knew that 6.11.1 worked previously, and my troubles all started with 6.12.0.0, so I wanted to see if I could get back to a point where 6.11.1 was working. I know it's often difficult to replicate this type of problem, so I sent a copy of the %appdata% directories to Garmin support in hopes that they'll be able to recreate my problems with these files. I've also asked support if I've removed anything critical that won't be recreated by reinstalling Garmin Express and re-adding the watch.

Maybe this will help out someone else along the way, but remember, this is not an official Garmin-sanctioned solution.

Good luck!

0 Wingman4ever over 6 years ago

Above worked for me too.

issue: crash of garmin express due to inappropriate connection break-up between garmin fenix 5xplus during update process
solution: as described above
remark: update did'n t work; needed to uninstall AND remove files as described above manually

@ dkhwv: Thx for the help

0 dkhwv over 6 years ago

Above worked for me too.

issue: crash of garmin express due to inappropriate connection break-up between garmin fenix 5xplus during update process
solution: as described above
remark: update did'n t work; needed to uninstall AND remove files as described above manually

@ dkhwv: Thx for the help

I’m glad to hear that this worked for you. While I wish you hadn’t had to go through this, I also appreciate hearing that at least one other user had this problem. When I was working with Garmin on this issue, they appeared to have had no other users reporting similar problems. I was wondering what was unique about my my computer until I finally tried this line of troubleshooting.

Thanks for posting!

0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to dkhwv

Garmin Express will not give me a music file to access for my Fenix 5s . It works for our other Garmins but not the Fenix 5s, I do not know how to do all those steps you just identified. Garmin cant you please fix this problem, this is very frustrating and I have spent far too much time on this trying to fix it today !!

0 SUSSAMB over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

This thread is about an old Express version. If you've updated to the newest version and still having issues please start a new thread.