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Customer support refuses to fix sync problem between Garmin and my fitness pal

Below is a copy of an email I just sent to Garmin customer support which is passing the buck on a syncing problem between Garmin connect and my fitness pal. Because this is happening to three different Vivofit's I hope others will utilize the social media to apply pressure to fix the problem not blame the other guy

Matt: I am very frustrated. My Garmin connect has refused to sync with my fitness pal since December 18, 2014. I have written Garmin customer support on at least four occasions. This problem not only involves my Vivofit/Garmin connect but also my wife's and as of December 26, my son's new Vivofit given to him as a Christmas present. The only advice customer support has been giving me is to disconnect and then reconnect which I have done on multiple occasions, and is doing nothing.

Now your advice is to contact my fitness pal, which was advice given to me five days ago and which I did to no avail. I suggest to you that it should not be my problem to sort out which system (yours or my fitness pal) is the source of the problem. You should be contacting my fitness pal, sorting out the problem or problems, and resolving them between the two systems.

Your Vivofit success depends on the interaction of these two systems. I suggest that if you have at least three Vivofit's malfunctioning in one family you have a systemic problem that the Vivofit team should be all over. Please advise me of the results of your contacting my fitness pal.

Joe Buchanan:mad:

:(

0 SMESHANE_ over 9 years ago

We have a critical ticket open and the issue is being worked on. We plan that this issue should be resolved very soon. I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. For now your data can be synced by using the manual sync option in Connect.

How to manually sync your data:

1. Log in to your account and click on calories in/out from menu bar
2. Select the date(s) you are missing data from MyFitnessPal
3. Choose the Sync now option in the Calories In/Out tab

*Note - The manual sync option is not availalbe through Garmin Connect Mobile

Shane
Garmin Connect Subject Matter Expert

0 dobssi over 9 years ago

Am I right in thinking this manual syncing only updates MFP info into Garmin and not vice versa?

I've been using a vivofit with MFP since the summer and this link has been a massive part of a successful weight loss. Then things started going pear shaped earlier this month as the link was broken, fixed, then broken again a week or so ago. Luckily I had decided to pause MFP over Xmas otherwise my logging would have been totally undermined at a time where every step counts!

Now I've ben lucky enough to get a 920xt for Xmas and will be back logging next week using the 920 for everything from runs to cycling to steps. Will be a massive frustration if this basic functionality isn't back up and running by then.

At the back of my mind I can't help wondering if Garmin are fundamentally comfortable with this partnership of perhaps have plans to bring in a food logging service of their own at some point?

Ironically I suspect ultimately Apple will nail both at some point anyway ;-)

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

We have a critical ticket open and the issue is being worked on. We plan that this issue should be resolved very soon. I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. For now your data can be synced by using the manual sync option in Connect.

How to manually sync your data:

1. Log in to your account and click on calories in/out from menu bar
2. Select the date(s) you are missing data from MyFitnessPal
3. Choose the Sync now option in the Calories In/Out tab

*Note - The manual sync option is not availalbe through Garmin Connect Mobile

Shane
Garmin Connect Subject Matter Expert

lol - I've tried it several times and it now reports that I have 11,754 calories remaining!

What appears to be happening, is during every sync, my activities (on Myfitnesspal) are being doubled as "Aerobits, General" and the only way to fix it, is to manually delete them from MFP. Not a deal, but the Garmin app cannot be reset, edited, or properly updated...so...it just keeps doubling the activities and adding up the calories to the previous total. Since I was previously scolded for assuming that the problem was on Garmin's end, I won't make that assumption, but who is to blame is irrelevant. It is Garmin's tool, on Garmin's site, and it doesn't work.

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

New update from myfitness pal:

>>*December 30, 2014 - 1:20pm PST:* Garmin has deployed a fix for the root cause of the syncing issue. Traffic is currently flowing from Garmin to MyFitnessPal. HOWEVER, they have a very >>large backlog of requests to send out. We cannot be 100% sure how long this will take, but once this is finished all should be restored to working order.

For complete post, see:

http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1804316-not-seeing-garmin-exercise-adjustment-since-12-18

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

The latest update on the MFP site today says it is fixed, but I'm still not seeing steps show up in MFP.

http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1804316-not-seeing-garmin-exercise-adjustment-since-12-18-updated-12-31-fixed-

0 jim_m_58 over 9 years ago

The latest update on the MFP site today says it is fixed, but I'm still not seeing steps show up in MFP.

http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1804316-not-seeing-garmin-exercise-adjustment-since-12-18-updated-12-31-fixed-

GC has never sent steps to MFP, as far as I recall. It's one of those things that's planned for the future.

0 danielsfrazier over 9 years ago

Seems you should go to myfitnesspal.desk.com, as it seems MFP has had problems syncing with a number of other sites that they are working to fix. When GC to MFP became unstable, so did MFP to withings, fitbit, bodymedia, and others....

http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1804316-not-seeing-garmin-exercise-adjustment-since-12-18

I had gone there. MFP claimed that the problem was on GARMIN's side. I was still syncing with other sites like withings. We didn't assume this was Garmin's fault, we were told it was by MFP. If you talk to Garmin support, they won't even acknowledge that there is a problem or they will tell you to contact someone else. I've tried to use Garmin's support no less than a half dozen times for problems related to the vivofit or my 610 after their firmware updates my watch became unstable. They are about useless and uninformed. I get better support from researching the issues on my own on the forums that costs me a lot of time that would be better spent elsewhere. I've spent enough money with Garmin between 2 vivofits, a FR305, FR610 (+HRM+Foot pod+straps), Nuvi and mobile apps that I expect decent support. I've spent more than $1500 with them and recommend them all the time when someone asks me about a "running watch" but I always preface it with "It's great when it works. When it won't, don't expect good support. Garmin will just want you to send your watch to them for months or you can PAY for a refurbished unit which they won't send until they have received yours." I've worked in IT (sr network/server admin) almost 15 years and I've dealt with support a LOT. Garmin support isn't good. /rant

0 danielsfrazier over 9 years ago

GC has never sent steps to MFP, as far as I recall. It's one of those things that's planned for the future.

They don't send "steps" but they do send a "Garmin Connect calorie adjustment" based on steps activity on the vivo*.

0 Miss_Hiker_Pants over 9 years ago

I received a new vivofit for Chrismas and cannot get GC to read the calories from MFP. Please help resolve this issue.

Mine just did the same thing synced 1/2 of the day but when I went to tally up the rest of my food I ate it won't sync.

0 Dr Phil over 9 years ago

Garmin tell me they are working on it...