Many of Garmin's latest devices use BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) also referred to as Bluetooth Smart or Bluetooth 4.0. BLE, like its predecessor Bluetooth classic, provides a short range wireless connection between two devices but comes with several improvements. Most notably it consumes less energy than Bluetooth Classic, which improves battery life. Android began providing built in platform support beginning with version 4.3.
Since the release of Android version 4.3 in 2013 there have been thousands of distinct Android devices to choose from and many of them list BLE as a feature in the specifications. Due to the number of different devices available there are many variations of hardware and software in them.
When our developers and engineers create applications and devices, they work hard to make them compatible with as many of these Android products as possible. However, although the manufacturer may have added BLE it may still not pair correctly with our devices depending on how they have implemented the feature and despite the best efforts of our developers and engineers.
The best way to check for compatibility is to view our list of supported devices. These models have been thoroughly tested to work correctly with our compatible applications and devices. The list can be found at http://garmin.com/ble . At a minimum the mobile device will need to be running at least Android 4.3 and also have BLE support.
Many of our users have asked about Garmin Connect Mobile support for our ANT+ enabled Fitness devices, such as the Forerunner 910XT, 405, etc. Unfortunately, due to the limited official support of ANT+ on Android smartphones, these devices will not be supported at this time.
If your phone is not listed at the link:
o It is possible we may not have had an opportunity to test it yet and it may still work if it meets the minimum requirements.
o It may work but not consistently, possibly requiring restarting the devices and re-pairing after each disconnect.
o Unsupported devices may not work with our BLE products.
In order to get the best possible results:
o Check for software updates to the Garmin device, mobile device, and the Garmin Connect application.
o Make sure your mobile device meets the minimum requirements (Bluetooth Low Energy and Android 4.3)