Related
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Device Is Not Paired After Updating My Garmin Connect App (5.21) on iOS

7801950

Hello everyone. Since the day I updated to iOS 26, my phone and my watch have not been able to connect to each other via Garmin Connect. I’ve tried everything that has been suggested on the forum, but I haven’t been able to solve the issue.

Should I be waiting for an update from Garmin or from Apple regarding this problem? I’m not even sure if I’m the only one experiencing it.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

!!!UPDATE!!!

Hi everyone,

After months of struggling with an issue, I finally managed to resolve it by working closely with both Apple and Garmin technical support teams.

I wanted to share the key steps here in case it helps others who might be facing the same problem:

  1. If you’re using any VPNs, remove all of them completely and restart your phone.

  2. If, like me, you manage your children’s Screen Time from your own phone, you’ll need to disable this temporarily. Screen Time must be turned off during the process. After disabling it, restart your phone.

  3. Under Privacy & Security settings, make sure that location permissions for the Garmin apps are enabled.

  4. When deleting the Garmin Connect app, make sure to delete Garmin Connect IQ at the same time. Then turn off Bluetooth and restart your phone again. After that, reinstall both Garmin Connect and Connect IQ and try pairing again.

Following these steps allowed my phone to successfully connect to Garmin Connect.

As I mentioned, this may not work for everyone, but it did the trick for me—hopefully it helps point some of you in the right direction.

Best of luck!

  • 0

    Same issue here - Garmin devices no longer connect via bluetooth since the app was updated to 5.21 (As a garmin connect+ user, I would expect Garmin to properly test their app updates before launching)… Absolute joke.

  • 0

    Same here... Typical mess with update politics of Garmin... Not sure what they did in their development studios... Obviousily not testing with real life conditions...

  • 0

    Version 5.21 has broken bridge connectivity for all users. Please fix it, if all users need to reconnect that is a lot more work than fixing it upstream ;)

    Luckily my device is anyway using WiFi. I recommend using WiFi, smartphone not needed and faster. Aside from bluetooth-bridging the app is a mere web-view.

  • 0

    I was able to solve it. Delete Bluetooth connection in  iOS settings. Reconnect via QR code on device. worked for fenix 8 and edge 1040 for me. 

  • 0 in reply to aribiker

    Thank you. This worked for me on my devices that can produce QR codes. I'm still looking for a solution for my GPSMAP66 which can't produce QR codes.

  • 0 in reply to alannmills

    Garmin support suggested removing device from garmin connect web, then adding back. Reluctant to do that for multiple devices...

  • 0

    There is an update in the App Store of Garmin Connect, v5.21.1

    I was hopeful but it didn’t fix this issue.

    The issue started for me today after installing 5.21

  • 0

    It happened to me after autoupdate to version 5.21 about 14 hrs ago, I have iOS 18.7.3 so it should not be the iOS version but the latest Garmin Connect versions from 5.21 onwards

  • 0

    Same for me. I ( unfortunaly) have ios26 for some weeks installed, but last night update of connect caused disconnected instinct solar watch. The problem must be the updated connect 5.21.1 version

  • 0 in reply to FietsBie

    Do you know if it was the 5.21 or the 5.21.1?. I am asking as I see on the app store log the version 5.21 release 26 hours ago and the 5.21.1 released 5 h ago. I have the disconnection from earlier this morning, so I think was the 5.21 that was updated overnight.