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Garmin Fenix 7 Solar – Smart Notifications stop working while Bluetooth connection and synchronization remain active

konkee

Hello,

I would like to report what appears to be a software issue affecting Smart Notifications on my Garmin Fenix 7 Solar.

Device Information

Watch

  • Model: Garmin Fenix 7 Solar
  • Device ID: 3400696541
  • Serial Number: 70Q000883
  • Software Version: 26.09
  • Host: 26.09 (82d435d)
  • GPS: 14.01
  • Sensor Hub: 35.10
  • Connect IQ: 5.2.0
  • Wireless Version: 28.27

Phone

  • Xiaomi POCO X5 Pro 5G (256 GB)
  • Android 14
  • HyperOS 2.0.14.0 UMSEUXM

Garmin Connect

  • Version 5.25

Issue Description

For the past several weeks, Smart Notifications have intermittently stopped working on my Fenix 7 Solar.

The issue affects all notification types, including:

  • SMS
  • WhatsApp
  • Viber
  • Gmail
  • Alarm/Clock notifications
  • Booking.com notifications

When the issue occurs, no new notifications are delivered to the watch.

However, at the same time:

  • Bluetooth connection remains active.
  • The watch shows the phone as connected.
  • Activity synchronization works normally.
  • Activities upload successfully to Garmin Connect.
  • "Phone Connected" and "Phone Disconnected" alerts continue to work correctly when moving in and out of Bluetooth range.

This indicates that Bluetooth connectivity itself is functioning correctly, while Smart Notifications stop working.

Observed Behavior

When the problem occurs:

  1. New notifications are no longer delivered to the watch.
  2. The Notifications widget on the watch still contains old notifications.
  3. These notifications may include SMS, WhatsApp, Viber, Gmail, Booking.com, and alarm notifications.
  4. Opening and reading the notifications on the watch does not remove them.
  5. The watch appears to retain old notifications even after they have already been viewed or cleared on the phone.

At one point, the notification list contained approximately:

  • 8 notifications displayed with the SMS icon,
  • 2 email notifications,
  • 1 WhatsApp notification.

While these notifications remained in the watch's notification list, no new notifications were being delivered.

Troubleshooting Performed

1. Phone Restart

  • Disabled Bluetooth.
  • Restarted the phone.
  • Re-enabled Bluetooth.

Result:

  • No improvement.

2. Watch Restart

Restarting the watch immediately restores Smart Notifications.

After a restart:

  • Alarm notifications work again.
  • SMS notifications are delivered again.
  • Email notifications are delivered again.

Result:

  • Temporary improvement only.

3. Factory Reset

I performed a full factory reset of the watch and paired it again from scratch.

Result:

  • The issue returned after some time.

4. Android and Garmin Connect Settings Verification

Verified:

  • Notification access permissions.
  • Application permissions.
  • Battery optimization disabled for Garmin Connect.
  • Phone notifications enabled in Garmin Connect.

No configuration issues were found.

5. Garmin Connect Cache Clear

I cleared only the Garmin Connect application cache on the phone.

Sequence of events:

  1. The watch displayed a message indicating that it was waiting for synchronization with phone data.
  2. The old notifications were still visible initially.
  3. After a short time, the notification list on the watch became empty.
  4. New notifications immediately started arriving again.

Result:

  • Smart Notifications started working again without restarting the watch.

This behavior suggests a possible synchronization issue between Garmin Connect and the watch notification database/state.

Additional Notes

The issue has now occurred multiple times.

A factory reset of the watch did not permanently resolve it.

The most significant observation is that clearing the Garmin Connect cache caused the watch notification list to reset and immediately restored notification delivery.

Based on the behavior observed, it appears that:

  • Bluetooth communication remains functional.
  • Activity synchronization remains functional.
  • The issue affects only Smart Notifications.
  • Old notifications appear to remain stuck on the watch.
  • New notifications stop being delivered.
  • Restarting the watch or clearing the Garmin Connect cache temporarily restores functionality.

Could you please advise whether this is a known issue with Software Version 26.09 or whether there are any diagnostic logs that I can provide to assist with troubleshooting?

Thank you for your assistance.

Best regards,

Łukasz Konkol
Garmin Fenix 7 Solar
Serial Number: 70Q000883
Device ID: 3400696541