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Garmin devices don't reliably appear when plugged in to a Windows 10 machine - why?

tinkertoy
over 3 years ago

No Garmin Forerunner device I have ever owned has ever been shown as connected when I plug it in to any Windows 10 system I have used.

When I first boot my computer, and plug in any of my devices (Forerunner 745, Forerunner 935, Forerunner 620), it USUALLY appears, but not always.

After the computer has been up for awhile, devices stop reliably being shown as connected when plugged in.

This has happened for YEARS.  I have never seen a reliable connection when I plug in any Forerunner device to my several Windows 10 computers.

Does anyone know why this happens?  Is there any fix for it?  My only guess is that Forerunner devices just don't play well with Windows 10 USB subsystems and drivers, but shouldn't that have been fixed after all this time?

- Tim

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Just to be clear, this isn't a problem with Garmin Express - when I plug a Garmin device into the computer, it SHOULD appear under Windows' "Devices" list, and when that happens correctly, Garmin Express sees the device.

    However, the device doesn't reliably appear under the Windows "Devices" list, and, of course, Garmin Express doesn't see it because Windows doesn't see it.

    This is a Window device/driver level issue, and I wonder why this has never been reliable.

    - Tim

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Have you already tried this?

    support.garmin.com/.../

    Or this (klick "Windows Troubleshooting" and then "My Computer Does Not Recognize My Garmin Device as an External Drive")?

    support.garmin.com/.../

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I haven't had your problem, but I have been plagued for some time with intermittent Express issues that were fully resolved by running the Windows Compatibility Troubleshooter.  To do this simply navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Garmin\Express\express.exe and right click "express.exe" then chose "Troubleshoot compatibility".  It takes about 15 seconds and then provides some prompts to accept the choice which in my case was to run in Windows 8 compatibility.  My machine is a Dell, factory supplied with Win 10 and fully up to date.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to JohnfromPA

    Thanks, I'll give that a try! (my computer is one I built myself, I've often built all my own machines).

    - Tim

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Macke1972

    I have not, but I'll give it a try, thanks!

    - Tim

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to JohnfromPA

    Hi again - this isn't really the problem - it's nothing to do with Garmin Express, it's to do with Windows seeing the device at all.  If Windows doesn't see it, Express compatibility won't make any difference.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Macke1972

    I tried a few of the things those pages suggested; nothing really was applicable, unfortunately.  I'll wait again for the next time the watch does not appear in Windows and try some other things to see if I can debug the issue.  Things don't even appear in the Device Manager, so Windows isn't even seeing the USB having been plugged in.  It's something quite low-level going on.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to tinkertoy

    Did you at least try the compatibility check?  it would not be the first time I've had issues taken care of by what seems to be something totally unrelated.  It takes less than a minute and can quite easily be undone if needed.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to JohnfromPA

    Yes, I ran that, it was running fine.  There were no changes necessary, from what I could see.

    But, again, Windows seeing the device at all != problems with Garmin Express. :-)

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to tinkertoy

    Does the USB problem happen with other devices? or is it just the Garmin device. Have you tried to connect the device to a different computer to narrow down where the problem might be? or have you tried a different cable. Other than these suggestions it might just be the device that is faulty