Garmin Smartwatch keeps disconnecting from Garmin Connect App on iOS

3110673 3 days ago

Hey Everyone,

I recently switched from using Android to using an iPhone 16 Pro.
Quickly I noticed that my Forerunner 955 Solar and Phone didn't stay connected after closing the Connect App on my phone.

Steps to Reproduce:

iPhone 16 Pro
- iOS Version: 18.1 (22B83)
- Garmin Connect Version: 5.7.1.2
Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar
- Software Version: 20.32 [DFU-44be53]
Location
- Germany

Connect Watch to Phone via Garmin Connect App
See it working nicely as long as the App is opened. (Sync & EVERYTHING works)
Close app and instantly see the Phone icon crossed through on the watch

Notable behavior:

Notifications are STILL delivered INSTANTLY to Watch on Reception
Notification History IS visible on Watch
Watch is ALWAYS shown as "Connected" on my Phones Bluetooth tab
Calendar does NOT work
"Find my Phone" does NOT work

Steps taken to fix this issue without resolve:

Removed and re-paired the Watch to the Phone in Garmin Connect App (also removed from Bluetooth tab before reconnection)
Restarted both devices (tried before and tried after first step)
Could not update Firmware or App since they're on the newest version. (Watch Version Update was checked on Garmin Express on Windows PC)
Gave the Garmin Connect App an "Always" Location access + Step 1 & 2

Does anybody have some recommendations on how I can fix this issue or is this just the way that it's gonna be from now on on an Apple device?

0 e7andy 3 days ago

You should never ever close the Connect app. Always keep it running and make sure it can use background data.

On Android the Connect app is automatically started if it is closed, but that is not the case with iPhone.

0 3110673 1 day ago in reply to e7andy

I guess that works, but is there really no other way?

0 e7andy 1 day ago in reply to 3110673

No, it must be running. That is how it is designed to work. You should never force close any apps. They are designed to handle the lifecycle on their own.

0 3110673 1 day ago in reply to e7andy

Maybe to make it more clear: I didn't force close the app or end any background task that the Connect App has. In this "not open as an App I actively use" state I can still see the App using 15min of background activity in any single hour of my battery usage statistics. Closing the app on Android had always previously worked for me. So I hoped that it might have a permission issue or that there's something else I can do.

Kind of unfortunate that there's no elegant soloution to this.
But not too much of an issue.
Thx for the info ^^

0 e7andy 1 day ago

3110673 said:
Close app and instantly see the Phone icon crossed through on the watch

How do you close the app?

If you swipe up, pause to show all started apps and then swipe up on the app you are force closing the app.