Garmin Connect suddenly not compatible with my android version

PekaBali said:

Since yesterday, I can suddenly no longer download rides, my phone says that my Garmin Connect app is "not compatible".

What exactly do you mean by "downloading rides"? Are those Courses, Workouts, or Activities? Where are you downloading them from? What exactly does the error message tell? Isn't it rather telling that the file is not compatible, and not your phone?

My suspicion is that you are trying to import a GPX Course file, which triggers the error. In that case, it has nothing to do with the Android version of your phone. It is rather an incompatibility of the given GPX file - there were other reports of it, here on the forum. Report it to the Support, and in the time being before Garmin fixes the incompatibility, you should be able to import the course files with Garmin Connect Web at https://connect.garmin.com/modern/courses (it works on a phone too, no need for a computer).

trux said:

Isn't it rather telling that the file is not compatible, and not your phone?

My suspicion is that you are trying to import a GPX Course file, which trigger the error.

Typical "I don't believe you" forum response when someone reports a problem. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I wouldn't say anything except that I see it all the time from multiple people. It's really a lot like the experience with actual technical support employees, where a mountain of evidence has to be provided by the user before anyone will take them seriously, as if it's a court case.

My interpretation of the OP is that they are talking about activities, which would fit the usage of "rides" and "workouts" to refer to the same thing, as well as the word "download". If it was just a single incompatible GPX course file, I think it would've been obvious to OP that it's only one bad course, and I think they might've mentioned that other courses still work.

PekaBali said:

I have been using the Garmin Connect Android app (v4.76)on my Samsung phone to download workouts, without issue. Since yesterday, I can suddenly no longer download rides, my phone says that my Garmin Connect app is "not compatible". I did not upgrade to a newer Android (still on 8.0.0), the apk is supposed to work just fine for Android 7+, so why does an existing version of Garmin Connect suddenly not work on my phone?

Can you please share screenshots of:

- Your android OS version

- Your Garmin Connect version

- The error message you're seeing

It's not that I don't believe you, but it's an interesting problem that I wanna dig into, and screenshots might help.

FlowState said:

Typical "I don't believe you" forum response when someone reports a problem. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I wouldn't say anything except that I see it all the time from multiple people. It's really a lot like the experience with actual technical support employees, where a mountain of evidence has to be provided by the user before anyone will take them seriously, as if it's a court case.

Sorry, FlowState, but you are often unnecessarily resorting to an insulting tone, and to invectives; that are not deserved. My suspicion in no way means that I do not believe the user, but as people often mix the terms workout/activity/course, it is not always easy to interpret the issue correctly, without getting more details, like the exact form of the error that I asked for.

Since I did not hear yet about any "android compatibility" error message while downloading Workouts (from Garmin Connect to the device), nor about downloading (syncing?) Activities from the device to Garmin Connect, but I know about the recent incompatibility of the Garmin Connect Android (not  iOS!) app when importing GPX Courses, I suggested a solution for that case. If the user provides more accurate information, and the error message, perhaps I (or anyone else) can help better.

Providing a tip for fixing an issue, based on an ambiguous information, is not meant to declare any disbelief towards the user. It is rather meant as a posibility of a quick fix, in the case the guess was in the right direction.

I mean by "downloading rides" that I did a workout/ride that is on my Garmin correctly and I want to sync it to my mobile phone via the Garmin Connect app, which I will then edit on my PC via the Garmin Connect website. The proper terminology acc to the Garmin naming conventions is "activitiy".

The issue that took place was during the transfer from my Garmin device (Edge 820) to my mobile phone. Normally I switch on bluetooth and GPS geo location on my mobile phone (seems both to be necessary, though I truly wonder why Garmin would need my location for that), open the Garmin Connect app, turn on bluetooth on my Garmin and pair it with the phone, then click in the phone app on the sync symbol and it uploads the ride (Activity) data from the Garmin to the phone. Which then will automatically be seen via the cloud on my PC Garmin Connect a few seconds after that.

This time around, the connection between the Garmin and the mobile phone (Samsung A7, android v 8.0.0) did not take place. I checked the app on the Play store and to my surprise, it stated there that the Garmin Connect app is "not compatible" with my phone. This is exactly the issue: it has been compatible for years, now suddenly isn't.

The remarkable part of it is that the app is the same version (v4.76), my android is the same version (8.0.0), so there should not be a compatibility issue.

I have two suspicions, but wanted to run above through this support site first. Maybe you could reflect on both as possible causes for the issue, though I do not see how technically these could be the cause:

1. As my phone memory was running out, I bought a new SD card and put most app storage there. This should however only slow down the process, not hamper it. It would also not explain the Connect app incompatibility, which is shown on the Play Store site.

2. I installed a version of MicroG on my phone to enable running YouTube via Revanced instead of via the Google app. This has caused some instability issues with other apps. It may seem like the most likely culprit, but again, I do not see how this would influence the fact that in the Play Store, it suddenly finds incompatibility with my phone. The phone is the same, the Android version as well, all apps run (theoretically) through the source code and a Garmin app should not be influenced by any google products running apps like YouTube. Unless.. Unless there is a link between google and Garmin that is unseen. Which would make things really interesting.

If the issue is caused by the second point, I could imagine some specific settings in MicroG that need to be changed? I know, not this support site needed for that, but maybe others have raised the same issue.

The third option is of course in case there is a coincidence that something has been changed (via the Play Store) and even older versions (apk's) of Garmin Connect do not seem to be working. That would be strange however, as to my knowledge an apk is stable and is linked to an android version. Which is why I suspect the issue may be at my end with my phone.

The only possible solution I could think of, unless help arrives from this site, is to uninstall MicroG and reverse to the previous Garmin Connect apk. I have now uninstalled version 4.76 and rolled back to version 4.72, as it states that it is compatible with all android versions 7+. Since there is no apk for android 8 (only above), it is the only version I could use from the download sites. This version is recognized and can be installed, but here I cannot link my bluetooth for some reason (between the Garmin and the phone).

Before I forget, the most important piece of information: I decided to bypass the mobile phone alltogether and upload the activity from the Garmin to my PC via USB. That too failed. I found out that the .FIT file is corrupted. I used a third party site to correct the .FIT file and the upload could then take place via Garmin Connect on my PC.

I originally thought that this could mean that it was not my mobile phone Garmin Connect app that was incompatible with the android version, but simply a corrupted file (which was 8 hours and some of it below freezing point, I can imagine the Garmin did something weird and that is how it got corrupted). But I threw away that idea, as the Play Store very clearly stated an incompatibility issue. Which is the reason I am writing on this forum in the first place.

I now have a different version of Garmin Connect on my android phone and could roll back (or rather forward: from the current v4.72 to the previous v4.76 I had on the phone), but fact remains that the 4.76 version is not recognized by the Play Store as a compatible app. Which means it would not work either way.

What makes things even more interesting: when I try to search for "Garmin Connect" on the Play store, it cannot find it at all. It finds the IQ store, the Tacx app, etc., but not the Garmin Connect app. Even though the apk is installed on my phone.

Any idea how this is possible? I thought that even if an app does not work on my mobile, it can still be seen in the store. But maybe I was wrong here and an app can only be seen when it is compatible. It does mean however that no Garmin Connect app would be compatible with my phone, not even older ones. Which is silly, as my phone is still Android 8.0.0 and if an app had a valid version for that, it should still be seen..

But hey, who am I to talk about logic here.

Android OS: 8.0.0 (as stated before)

Garmin Connect: I had v4.76 but now uninstalled and switched to v4.72

Error message: there is no error message. The issue was that the sync button could be pressed, it spun as required, but the latest ride did not get synced. And when I checked the app in the Play Store, it turned out that the apk version was incompatible with my android version.

Now, the caveat here is that even though the ride did not upload and the app version seems incompatible with my device, the app may still have been working properly.. As I described in my response to @trux, it turned out that the activity itself had an error, which, after correction in an external app, I could then properly upload to Garmin connect via USB cable to my PC app. So it may be that even though my Garmin Connect app apk for v4.76 is working, the Play Store simply says it is "incompatible", meaning it is no longer supported, but I can still use it on my phone.

Which makes me think of an idea now.. I will reinstall the previous version of the Garmin Connect app on my phone that always worked (v4.76) and see if my latest ativities will sync or not. The corrupted .FIT file of this latest ride may have been the only issue here and if I can ignore what the Play Store says on incompatibility, I may just continue using the app without issue!

I'll get back on this once I have some new trial workouts. First I will need to find the original apk file though somewhere, since I uninstalled it.

PekaBali said:

I checked the app on the Play store and to my surprise, it stated there that the Garmin Connect app is "not compatible" with my phone.

OK, I see, so you do not get the error from the Garmin Connect app, but rather from Google Play store when trying to update it. The current version of Garmin Connect is v5.7, and for that version you indeed need minimally Android v9.

As far as I can see at apkmirror.com, Garmin Connect was compatible with Android 7.0 (and newer) still in v5.1, so your GC version v4.7 is certainly still compatible with your version of Android. The message that you see in the Play store likely only tells you that you cannot update to the current version 5.7.

I recommend installing the latest available version for your OS. On the apkmirror website, it is the v5.1

I could give that a try, though the question remains why v4.76 worked without issue so far and now suddenly doesn't. No change in OS, no change in app apk version, why the sudden incompatibility then?

Meanwhile I reinstalled v4.76 again by the way. It installs, but I cannot pair it with my Garmin, it does not seem to recognize the phone. Funny enough, the phone does recognize the Garmin. I'm getting the suspicion it is something related to the authorizations.

PekaBali said:

I could give that a try, though the question remains why v4.76 worked without issue so far and now suddenly doesn't.

There are countless of possibilities why it did not work. But since you wrote one of the activity files was damaged, then it is the most probable reason of the failure to sync.

PekaBali said:

Meanwhile I reinstalled v4.76 again by the way. It installs, but I cannot pair it with my Garmin,

You have to remove the watch from the list of Bluetooth devices in the Android settings, in order to be able to pair it again with Garmin Connect.

Well, the pairing works properly now. But the activity upload does not :D I did e test just now and while the activity appears in the Garmin, the pairing works, the sync button runs, the activity does not get transferred from the garmin to the phone app. I'l check if this .FIT file is corrupted as well, which means there is some systemic issue with the phone app (as USB transfer worked last time as well, so the garmin works as it should).