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Garmin Express (Mac) and Fenix 9 problem

Hi guys,

I'm having a problem with Garmin Express on Mac and my new Fenix 9 Pro.

Quick background on my setup: I've been using Garmin Express on Mac for a long time with my Epix Pro Gen 2 and my Edge 1050, and everything works flawlessly there, sync included.

However, when I connect my new Fenix 9 to the Mac, communication between the Mac and the watch (and vice versa) doesn't work. I can log the watch into Garmin Express and it does show up as connected (green dot). But right after the watch is detected, an error message appears saying content can't be synced — for example the records file or golf courses.

The real issue, though, is with the maps. When I switch to the Maps tab in Garmin Express, not a single map is checked as installed, it looks as if there's no map on the watch at all (but there are). If I select a new map to install, the download itself runs, but it aborts at 50% (this seems to be where transfer to the watch begins). It doesn't matter which map, already-installed ones or brand-new ones, none of them work.

Switching to a Windows PC, everything works fine: sync, installed maps show up correctly with a checkmark, and installing new maps works without any issues.

Back on the Mac: same error again. As mentioned, the old Epix and the Edge work fine on the Mac under this exact same setup.

So far I've tried a number of things without success: I fully uninstalled and reinstalled Garmin Express multiple times, including clearing the cache folders in ~/Library/Application Support/Garmin and ~/Library/Caches. I confirmed Rosetta 2 is installed, and I also granted Garmin Express full disk access.

I've also reset the watch to factory settings multiple times without any improvement, and I tried Garmin Express under a different user account on the same Mac — same error occurs.

Can anyone help, or does someone have an idea what might be causing this?

Thanks,
Dirk

  • This is still not working for me. In fact, now it's crashing repeatedly when trying to connect to my F8 even. WTF

  • The updated Garmin Express works on my Fenix 9 Pro. Alleluia!

  • Did you do anything special? For me, Express crashes the second I try to click in to connect to my device

  • The 7.29.3 update seems to work for me.

    I was able to update the CourseView maps, but skipped the Base Map upgrade, where it still suggests a downgrade.

    Another quirk I have noticed is that I installed some regions (Korea, Japan, and Taiwan) that were inexplicably not available via the Map Manager on the watch (they show as available on my Fenix 7x, but not on the 9). These did install without issue via Garmin Express and seem to work, but they do not group under the "TopoActive" layer with the other TopoActive regions that came pre-installed. Instead I have 6 new entries mixed in the main layer list, one for each of the three maps plus another "DEM" layer for each map, making for quite the cluttered list:

      

  • yes, the same issue with new Fenix 9pro, Mac OS Sequoia 15.8.1