Hi everyone,
I'm hoping someone has seen this before.
My Forerunner 265S stopped pairing after I switched to a new iPhone. At first it paired once, but it kept randomly disconnecting. After that, it stopped pairing completely.
Here is everything I've already tried:
- Removed the watch from my old iPhone.
- Restarted both the watch and the iPhone several times.
- Reset the watch settings.
- Performed a full factory reset (Erase Data and Reset Defaults).
- Reinstalled Garmin Connect.
- Tried pairing with two different iPhones (both running iOS 26.5.2).
- The watch enters pairing mode and displays the QR code, but it just stays on that screen indefinitely.
- Garmin Connect cannot find the watch, and iOS eventually displays "Unable to Add Accessory."
- Garmin Connect does not appear under Settings > Privacy & Security > Bluetooth on either iPhone. Interestingly, Connect IQ does appear there.
- Connect IQ also cannot find the watch.
- Garmin Express on Windows recognizes the watch immediately.
- The watch syncs successfully through USB.
- The firmware is up to date (Version 28.05).
- No pending updates are available.
So at this point:
- USB communication works perfectly.
- The watch appears to function normally.
- The only issue is Bluetooth pairing.
Has anyone experienced this before?
Is there a way to reinstall or reset the Bluetooth firmware/module separately from a factory reset?
Or does this sound more like a hardware issue with the BLE radio?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!