Can a Connect IQ app sound an alert from the background?

Hello Connect IQ developers,

Is there a supported way for a Connect IQ watch app to produce sound and vibration at a scheduled time while it is not in the foreground—for example, while the watch face is displayed?

Can this be done through public Connect IQ APIs, or are system notifications the only supported option? Any brief guidance or examples would be appreciated.

Thank you.

E

  • No, but what you can try is Background.requestApplicationWake

  • Thanks for your suggestion and for taking the time to reply. I understand that Background.requestApplicationWake() can ask the user to open the app, but requiring confirmation would not meet this use case.

    Could you please let me know whether Garmin offers any special permissions, an App Approval Exception, or another authorization that might allow an app to trigger a scheduled sound and vibration automatically while running in the background, without user confirmation?

    I’d be grateful for any guidance on whether this is possible through an exceptional approval process, or if it is not supported.

  • There is a reason Garmin doesn't allow this.  With just a tone or vibration, there is no clue what it relates to.  Imagine if there were multiple apps that did this in the background, the user would have bi idea which app caused it.

    "my watch beeps at random times for no reason"

  • Thank you for taking the time to explain this concern. I understand why an unidentified sound or vibration from a background app could be confusing, particularly if several apps behaved that way.

    Perhaps this could be addressed by requiring every alert to display a clear message identifying the app and the reason for the alert—much like Garmin’s own alarms and timers do. With appropriate safeguards and strict requirements for when and how alerts may be triggered, this capability could also enable some genuinely useful Connect IQ apps.

    Do you think Garmin might consider a controlled mechanism or approval process for this kind of clearly identified background alert? I’d be grateful for any guidance on whether something like this is possible within Connect IQ’s current rules.

  • I doubt anything will changes with is.  It hasn't in yeras.

    In your background service, you could pass something in Background.exit() and then the next time the main runs, perform the specific action.

    Recall that a background runs every 5 minutes at most, so there is already a delay involved.