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

Calm down people! :)

With all the new announcements at CES + all the new rollouts of software things seem to have gotten a bit buggy.
I am sure the Garmin web team, connect team, app teams and hardware teams all have their big boots on and a can of raid trying to search out the issues.

Mostly making this post to thank the ones working on fixing the issues!

Keep up the good work!
  • Asking for a company to provide a working product to its paying customers isn't ever out of line, in my opinion.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    I have been using my vivofit for 3 days & my fitness pal isn't syncing. I thought I was doing something wrong ! I am very technologically challenged so it can be extra frustrating trying to figure out how these things work as it is. Should I return my vivofit for something more user-friendly ? I have been trying so hard to get motivated to get rid of excess weight & thought the vivofit would help but not if it isn't working properly !
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    I agree with SNORTINGBULL: first of all, most of these problems have happened before as evidenced by the threads, and secondly both the CES and the holiday crush should have been well-anticipated. They may lose more customers from this debacle than they gain from the CES announcements. I can buy a mechanical pedometer at the dollar store. When I buy the vivofit, the software is an absolutely crucial part of the system..... and used as a selling point.
  • I have been using my vivofit for 3 days & my fitness pal isn't syncing. I thought I was doing something wrong ! I am very technologically challenged so it can be extra frustrating trying to figure out how these things work as it is. Should I return my vivofit for something more user-friendly ? I have been trying so hard to get motivated to get rid of excess weight & thought the vivofit would help but not if it isn't working properly !


    I imagine it will be fixed in the short term. Most electronics have issues at some point in time. When those issues occur around Christmas, it causes chaos. iFit and Nordictrack updated firmware a year ago and hosed up most people's treadmills for a month. You want to talk about some very angry customers...

    The truth is, an activity tracker will help with motivation for a short time for most people. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I doubt many. I've found lasting motivation comes from knowing my health is worth the effort. You are worth the effort. It doesn't matter if you have this thing on your wrist or not.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    As a guy who loves this technology and has tested many, I think garmin has the best hardware hands down. They may need to work on the app but software can be updated, hardware cannot. Be patient with the team. I am new to the forum but trust me, everyone on here wants every function under the sun. They are making it happen for YOU guys and everyone else. Yes it is buggy but it does the job very well and improves everyday. Be thankful not hateful. Thank you garmin, I fully agree with the original post.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    Well, you complainers could just hand enter the data instead of Garmin working on an automated option and offer that to you all for FREE. I'm lucky as I'm not experiencing any issues.

    Here's the thing, you can hate all you want and return your device if you wish. However, if you decide not to then be helpful instead of a jerk. note the error and provide the following information to Garmin.

    1. What device are you trying to Sync? Vivofit, Vivosmart, Watch, ect.
    2. When was the last time it synced successfully?
    3. Is it a brand new item that has never synced?
    4. Did you read the manual before attempting to sync?
    5. How are you trying to sync? Through a phone or computer?
    6. If through a phone
    a. Is it a supported phone or has the proper OS version?
    b. Did you try rebooting the phone before syncing?
    c. Did you try uninstalling the app and re-installing it ?
    d. If it's a Kit Kat enabled phone and you have the app installed onto a storage card, try moving it to the internal memory. (KitKat messed up the writing to disk feature)
    7. If on a PC
    a. What OS are you using?
    b. Did you check for an update in the Garmin Express application or device and apply it?
    c. Have you unplugged the ANT device and plugged it back in?
    d. Have you uninstalled and re-installed the Garmin Express software?
    e. Have you tried viewing the Garmin Connect site in different browsers? Does it recreate the issue in all of them?
    f. Have you tried clearing the cache and cookies on the browser? (Google how to do that as all browsers are different.)

    In regards to third party apps like MyFitnessPal, they might have some fixes on their end they need to do to connect to Garmin's API. Contact them as well and see if they can offer some support.

    Just be patient, Garmin is working on this issue, I have a feeling they will have it resolved soon and everything will be fine.
  • Well, you complainers could just hand enter the data instead of Garmin working on an automated option and offer that to you all for FREE.


    Sorry, no...it's not free. The hardware and software are sold as a package and in many cases the hardware is useless without the software. So now folks have a piece of hardware that's effectively useless. There's no reason to be patient and if you've been around Garmin enough you'd know that this is nothing new and there's no guarantee that it will be resolved soon.

    And P.S. no, it shouldn't be on the customer to help troubleshoot Garmin's problems. People pay to have working hardware & software not debug Garmin even though more often than not that's what Garmin leaves for their customers.
  • I'm a software dev, and Garmin Connect is the buggiest piece of software I have to use. connect.garmin.com is probably the worst site I have to use.

    CES is an awful excuse. If Garmin expects to sell their new products, they shouldn't be pissing on their current customers.
  • Sorry, no...it's not free. The hardware and software are sold as a package and in many cases the hardware is useless without the software. So now folks have a piece of hardware that's effectively useless. There's no reason to be patient and if you've been around Garmin enough you'd know that this is nothing new and there's no guarantee that it will be resolved soon.

    And P.S. no, it shouldn't be on the customer to help troubleshoot Garmin's problems. People pay to have working hardware & software not debug Garmin even though more often than not that's what Garmin leaves for their customers.


    Exactly. If it was a one off case, that I had an issue, I'd probably just shut up and come back when it worked. I'd say most of the time when I sync my Garmin something goes wrong. I miss my Polar.
  • I've had my vivofit since Xmas and this is my experience so far: 1. more failed syncs than successful ones; 2. no successful transfer of data between GC and MFP; 3. no calories in or out; 4. steps report doesn't show steps from the last four days even though the widget right next to it shows today's steps AND I'm getting badges for the steps I did over the last four days; 5. weight widget won't accept new entries; 6. a polite discussion with customer service thanking me for my patience but now more information than "it should be fixed soon"; 7. and to my horror I see lots of forum threads about similar problems over the past few months..... so this is not just a New Years problem. On the upside, the battery is still working!


    I've had mine for 2 years now. The problem never goes away unless it's replaced by a new problem.