Garmin Connect will not stay connected to the watches

2391573 3 months ago

My Garmin Connect no longer finds my watches, I have an iPhone 17 with iOS 26.5.2

Top Replies

seilogramp 3 months ago +2 suggested
A common fix is to remove the device from both Garmin Connect and the phone’s Bluetooth list, then pair it fresh.
- Verify you're on the latest Garmin Connect for iOS (5.26.2 as of July 8, 2026)…
alnafru 17 days ago +2

I'm having exactly the same issue with my Garmin fēnix 6 Pro Solar and iPhone 17 Pro. The watch stays connected for only a day or two before an error occurs and I have to remove the device from Bluetooth…
6011737 3 months ago +1

Mine does this too, iPhone 15 Pro with a Descent Mk3i. Started maybe 3-4 months ago.
It's gotten so bad that I just don't bother with re-pairing the watch anymore, I just sync through wifi when at home…

All Replies

0 seilogramp 3 months ago

A common fix is to remove the device from both Garmin Connect and the phone’s Bluetooth list, then pair it fresh.

Verify you're on the latest Garmin Connect for iOS (5.26.2 as of July 8, 2026)
Then go to More > Garmin Devices > select your watch (if it exists) > 3‑dot menu > Remove Device
On your iPhone go to Settings > Bluetooth > under My Devices tap the info button next to the watch > Forget This Device
Restart the phone and the watch
Put the watch back into pairing mode (Connectivity > Phone > Pair Phone)
Open Garmin Connect and add the device again

0 2391573 3 months ago in reply to seilogramp

Thank you. I am aware of that feature, but it is now happening weekly, occasionally daily. It may be the age of my watch? My newer Garmin dive watch experiences it too, but not nearly as much.

0 7453107 3 months ago in reply to seilogramp

My watch is also disconnecting weekly from my iPhone, i have to forget the device in the bluetooth settings, then reboot the phone and the watch to get pairing to succeed again.

0 6011737 3 months ago

Mine does this too, iPhone 15 Pro with a Descent Mk3i. Started maybe 3-4 months ago.
It's gotten so bad that I just don't bother with re-pairing the watch anymore, I just sync through wifi when at home. I wish Garmin would fix their app.

0 6610766 3 months ago

We are having the same problem. iPhone 17, current iOS and my husband’s MK2i will not stay connected. He’s had to delete the app, forget the bluetooth connection and go through the manual process to reconnect over & over. This is ridiculous Garmin. Fix it!!!

0 5364063 3 months ago

Adding my experience to the forum.

iPhone: iPhone 16 Pro
iOS: 26.5.2
Garmin Connect: 5.27.1.2
Watch: Garmin Fenix 6
Watch software: 28.02

The watch loses its usable connection to Garmin Connect approximately every one or two days. It will not reconnect normally, and I have to remove the watch from Garmin Connect, forget it in the iPhone Bluetooth settings, restart the devices and pair it again.

This continues despite repeated clean pairings and despite running the latest Garmin Connect version.

Interestingly, Garmin Connect can sometimes display my correct current step count even while it reports that the watch is disconnected, suggesting that some background communication or syncing remains active.

Has anyone got a fix?

0 Garmin - DC 3 months ago

We are sorry you are experiencing frequent bluetooth disconnects. Please follow guidance in Garmin Connect App Bluetooth Troubleshooting. If the issue persists, let us know so we can take a further look into this.

0 7453107 3 months ago in reply to Garmin - DC

This is a persistent issue for me. The troubleshooting steps are what I have to do to get my watch reconnected to my phone when it loses connection every 1 to 2 weeks.

0 CMA-CPH 3 months ago

Last week I tried to move the following devices from an iPad Air M1 to an iPad Pro M5:

Fenix 7
Vivoactive 5
HRM pro +
Index BPM

Only the Fenix would pair with the iPad Pro, the others failed. Re-pairing the failing devices with the iPad Air worked fine.

To me it looks like GCM 5.27.2.1 has a problem with newer Apple devices. iPad Pro is running iPadOS 26.6. I have contacted Garmin Support, but haven’t heard from them yet.

0 CMA-CPH 3 months ago in reply to CMA-CPH

Just updated GCM from 5.27.2.1 to 5.27.3.3. Now all devices pair without issues.