Different types of Synchronization?

Former Member over 8 years ago

Hi all,

There seems to be different types of synchronizations, am I right?

I had my first run with the 5X yesterday and the watch synchronized automatically with my phone with the Bluetooth on. Then I could see my activity in the mobile app and on the website. So this is the synchronization of the activities I would say.

However, I tried to synchronize many times with the phone over bluetooth and the daily HR and the sleep data are not uploaded (steps were uploaded though). For that I need to connect the watch to my laptop using the cable and sync through Garmin Express. Is this the right / only way?

By the way, although I could see throughout the day the last 4h HR in the watch widget, the HR data uploaded was only for a few minutes, but this will be the subject of another post. I just mention it here in case someone thinks that it may be linked to the problem of sync.

I was also not able to use the Wi-Fi to connect to Garmin Express and had to use the cable all the time. Is this normal?

Moreover the watch cannot be connected to the mobile app through the Wi-Fi and needs the Bluetooth turned on. Is this also normal?

Then what the Wi-Fi is used for? The Wi-Fi I use at work and at home are simple usual Wi-Fi network with password and Garmin Express could register both network without error message.

To summarize so far this is how the sync process works for me:
- Activities + Steps/Floors = automatic sync via bluetooth (haven't yet tried Wi-Fi as I had my phone with bluetooth while running)
- Sleep and daily HR = through Garmin Express with cable connection (with very poor data for now)

Thanks in advance for your comments!

0 budish over 8 years ago

However, I tried to synchronize many times with the phone over bluetooth and the daily HR and the sleep data are not uploaded (steps were uploaded though). For that I need to connect the watch to my laptop using the cable and sync through Garmin Express. Is this the right / only way?

Nope. I get sleep and heart rate data synced every time I connect to Garmin Connect Mobile App (GCM) via Bluetooth. Without more information about what's going on, I don't have a good guess as to why this isn't working for you. Sometimes I find that certain data fields on GCM don't appear updated but actually are. For example, under the Snapshots tab there is a page called "My Day" and if you click on the timeline option in the middle of the page, you'll see the whole heart rate tracking for the day so far.

I was also not able to use the Wi-Fi to connect to Garmin Express and had to use the cable all the time. Is this normal?

I think perhaps you're misunderstanding how the different wired and wireless connections work.
Bluetooth is used to connect your watch to GCM on your phone. The cable is used to connect your watch to Garmin Express on your computer. WiFi is used to sync data directly to Garmin Connect (the online platform) after an activity is completed (according to Ray Maker, the WiFi automatically turns on for 5 minutes following the end of an activity, and then turns off again). You cannot use WiFi to connect your watch to Garmin Express because the WiFi isn't connecting your watch to the computer. So if you're trying to use Garmin Express, the cable is your only option.

Moreover the watch cannot be connected to the mobile app through the Wi-Fi and needs the Bluetooth turned on. Is this also normal?

Bluetooth is the only way to connect the watch to your mobile device. The WiFi is connecting your watch to the Internet (the Garmin Connect servers, specifically), not to your phone or your computer.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Budish. thanks for the info on the different types of connections!

For the sync of sleep and HR data, I will contact the support.

Actually it seems that the watch does not record any sleep time at all, but only considered my declared sleep time 2 days ago and nothing last night. I have also issues with the HR data I get on GC although it seems fine on the watch.

I have had the watch only for 2 days so I will wait a few days more to see if it gets better.

0 bellostom over 8 years ago

Do you have activity tracking on?

Budish. thanks for the info on the different types of connections!

For the sync of sleep and HR data, I will contact the support.

Actually it seems that the watch does not record any sleep time at all, but only considered my declared sleep time 2 days ago and nothing last night. I have also issues with the HR data I get on GC although it seems fine on the watch.

I have had the watch only for 2 days so I will wait a few days more to see if it gets better.

0 AusGarminT over 8 years ago

Sounds like a Bluetooth connectivity issue, where only part of the information is getting through.

I believe sleep information is only processed once HR and movement data is uploaded, so if the data isn't getting through it won't display it.

Perhaps try a wifi synchronisation (long press light then sync), which syncs directly with Garmin on the web, then Garmin Connect mobile should update from that.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Do you have activity tracking on?

Yes, I have. On the watch and on GC. But actually I noticed that I could not save my settings anymore in GC and had the following error message:

For information, the HR data are uploaded only when I connect the watch to my laptop with the cable and the missing data is extrapolated with a smoothing algorithm.

Today, I synced 2 times with the cables and you ca see that a line has been drawn between this 2 moments:

Yesterday, it was even more weird as I connected 1 time with the cable around 1pm and then the HR was extrapolated up to my run in the late afternoon. So it seems like my HR slowly raised during the whole afternoon until the time I was running ^^

From the watch widget, everything looks fine: