Even the newest version of GE for Windows fails to consistently find devices connected.
Example:
Vivoactive 4S takes multiple tries to connect. More often it does not.
fenix 6x sapphire takes a few tries but connects faster than the vivoactive but still slow
The old vird basic black and virb elite connect quickly
The common denominator seems to be that horrible Garmin connector used on the watches. I have several, all clean, all brilliant-appearing connectors. And they all connect for charging (via USB non-PC changer) immediately but not w W11 PC