Vivoactive Won't Sync

If you look around in this forum and its various sections you will notice that the big recurring problem of garmin devices is that they do not sync properly with connect. You should draw your own conclusions on this.

I am sure somebody from express customer care will post a solution for you on this topic.
Here is my advice: if their solution fixes the problem enjoy your device until it stops synching again, if it the solution does not work return the device. If you do not want to wait, return the device ASAP.

I have similar problem with a different device, I asked for help here. I was given solutions like "uninstall and reinstall" which did not work.
I tried to directly contact support on Monday (it says 3 working days) and they replied to me today (Saturday) telling me that "if your problem is still not resolved you can call as at this number Mon to Fri from 9.00 to 13.00".
So somewhat they expect that my problem solves itself, but if it does not I should call at my expenses next week, from my workplace I might add, where they should provide me some assistance. Oh lol

I just bought my Vivofit as well, literally yesterday. So far, it just sucks. Only after multiple attempts to sync does it go through, MAYBE. Even then though, I'm usually getting the familiar "Sorry there was an error rendering the widget" error. Obviously, I am far from the only victim. This is obviously a a long standing problem, that apparently has never been resolved properly. I am thoroughly unimpressed and frustrated. I really wish I had been more diligent about product research before purchasing it. I thought Garmin had a good reputation, so I wasn't too concerned about it. Lesson learned the hard way, I suppose.

I submitted a support request, so we'll see what happens. I faithfully post on consumer protection sites like Yelp about products/services I buy. As I told them in my support request, the way they handle this issue will determine the content and tone of my post, which is guaranteed to happen. How this proceeds is entirely up to them now.

I have had my Vivoactive for one day. After waiting with high expectations for this device, I am ready to return it. I have an iPhone 6. It rarely stays connected. Takes an inordinate amount of time to try to get the device to sync. I don't know that I will even try it in the swim mode as I am so disappointed and frustrated. Additionally, other than the watch face, everything displayed is quite dark & difficult to read. I have found this to be a very user "unfriendly" device thus far. Ready to return...,

There were glitches yesterday. These glitches probably happen more than they should but it was the first time in about a week that things didn't work as they should. The problems seem to occur mostly on weekends perhaps because more people sync more often on weekends or because of the changes to Daylight Savings Time or whatever.

The reality is that the devices themselves are great but the infrastructure around it can be shaky. If you're willing to put up with these glitches from time to time, your experience will be positive overall.

The mistake people make is to assume that they can fix it themselves so they start uninstalling, reinstalling, deleting devices, etc. which often just makes matters worse when the problem (like yesterday's) is actually Garmin's to fix. The best thing to do when something isn't working right is to come to the forum ands see if multiple people are posting similar issues (like yesterday) before doing anything.

@ pshare,

That would be great if Garmin posted problems.

But sadly they do not and need to be transparent with the user base.

They will tell you do delete, uninstall, reinstall.
Use 3 party uninstallers like ccleaner, Advanced Uninstaller and MS Fixit or Wise Registry Cleaner.

Garmin Express should completely uninstall with out having to use any of these programs.
But it does not.
It leaves bits and pieces on the laptop and registry.

Or tell the user the problem is at your end.
That it is the users fault.

Then remove items from the software for no reason at all.
Then put them back in again because users get angry they removed them.

They need to stop screwing up Garmin Express!!!!!!!!!

Then to come up with this many version in a short period of time:

GarminExpress 4.0.13.0
GarminExpress 4.0.14.0
GarminExpress 4.0.15.0
GarminExpress 4.0.16.0

Only spells out there is a big problem with the programing staff getting GE to work.

I think they need to open up the software to open source and let great programs out here look into why there is so many problems.

Bottom line here is Garmin Express has to work first time every time.

Ron,

I agree with much of what you say. I've had Garmin products for more than 15 years and I can tell you that these types of problems are not new. For example, I'm still on Express 3.2.29 as it ain't broke so I'm not fixing it. For a very long time, people were recommending using MapUpdater (they still do) instead of Express to update their maps for that reason.

What I was trying to get across is that sometimes trying to fix something yourself when really there is nothing you can do often will make matters worse. I've done it myself. That's why I'm suggesting people look in the forum before trying to do major surgery to their system. That is also why I am here so often - to help others but also to help myself.

Yesterday, some widgets weren't rendering. This was both on my phone and on my PC. I came here and saw multiple threads with the same issue. I knew it wasn't me. Newbies might have thought they did something wrong and could have taken steps that might have made things worse for them. I was just trying to caution them.

I don't know if you were here last December, but it was particularly bad at that time. Things have improved dramatically since then but there is still a long way to go. Garmin does step up and fix a lot but I think the deck might be stacked against them in one respect. They are trying to have basically one program/app to do everything for an incredibly wide and diverse product line. Compare that to Fitbit who have maybe 10 products. The challenge is much more significant at Garmin's end and maybe they have bitten off more than anyone should chew.

All that being said, from a functional and hardware quality perspective, I believe Garmin's products are among the best. However, I realize that I pay a price in terms of stability. So far, I'm willing to pay it.

Hi pshare,

I have been around along time too. I also have Express 3.2.29 and will not let it update to any newer version.
I gave that a try on one of my other laptops and only had problems.

Then I have one laptop where it will start but you can never see GE on the screen.
They told me I needed to update my graphic driver.
I have the latest.
So no even with Express 3.2.29 back on this laptop it still no go with GE.
So I gave up completely.
The only thing at this time that works for me is the app on my Android phone for my vivofit.

I hope they get things straighten out by the next map update.
It took me so long to download to my 2595LMT and it never install on my laptop.
Had to go to my other laptop to download it there.
Then copy the install to the correct Laptop.

User's are having to spend way to much time to get anything to work.

And to top it off yesterday Garmin's server crashed for a couple of hours.

It looks like they only have a server in the USA as far as I can see.
I think they need to put up more servers in Europe and Asia to give access to user's without problems.