iOS Bluetooth Background Connection - Transfer data without app running in background

For iOS:

- You need to have the garmin app running in the background to be able to get weather data and other Garmin specific information, such as connectIQ app data.
but....
iOS does send BLE notifications for messages and phone calls and so on without the app being running for the moment. That's why the notification can work, but the weather may fail. That's also the reason why it is not possible to alter the notification behaviour in iOS, it is how Apple implemented that.
Syncing of activities and other configurations coming from/to garmin connect backend (web) can occur using Wifi independent of Garmin Connect Mobile.

This functionality has regressed since Beta v4.64-4.74 and v5.00. Since Beta v4.64 data would sync correctly even with the app fully closed. Properly establishing a connection took some hacking, but it would work. Activities and data would be transferred in the background without having to keep the Connect app running on the iOS device. Suddenly in v5.0 this syncing quit working. That is what prompted me to troubleshoot what caused this issue.

For a brief period of time after the release of v4.74, it was necessary to perform some work-around steps to establish a proper background connection. Then a new version of the iOS app was released, possibly v4.11.0.11, and background syncing started working correctly. After upgrading to v5.0 this functionality continued until, for no reason I have been able to deduce, they quit working. None of the troubleshooting steps I have performed above have restored the functionality.

Really would like to get this issue closed and the constant Bluetooth drops during music playback. Other than these two issues, I'm pretty happy with the device. Those issues not being resolved would really push me to just return the device.

My only theory is that one of the beta versions left some latent code and the new version of the iOS app took advantage of this. A restart of one device or the other may have purged out that code from some cache.

I also suspect some setting in Connect online that might be interfering. The only reason I say that is because at one point, I disassociated the 5XP with my Connect app and account online. And then activities started transferring in the background! Unfortunately I wasn't sure where they were going!

Hey CBSalad, my fiancee is using vivoactive 3 and she has exactly the same problem as you have with Garmin Connect App on iPhone 8 with iOS 12.1.2. In order to use functionalities like "Find my phone", "Calendar" or "Weather", she has to turn on Garmin Connect App and do not dispose app from background. Did you managed to fix your issue?

hi all,

I'm now on 6.51 firmware

I spotted missing SMS notifications before IOS12.1.2 (iPhone X)
but not tested with and without Connect in the background.

after IOS 12.1.2
- if Connect closed (not in background)
------- SMS notifications - ok
------- wheater - nok
- if Connect in background
------- SMS ok
------- wheater ok

thank you,
robert

Im gonna suggest this is the app not playing nice with iOS "background app refresh"... probably a security implemention introduced by apple and not fixed by garmin developers.

I can confrim the same work around as above...

If i close the app swipe. Notifications and calls work if i the app is in the background the westher and sync work. This have always been like this since fenix 3 and all my iphones