i haven?t seen anyone complain about having to reconfigure all apps, widgets, data fields, etc after the update. Is there a way to preserve settings and not have to do it every time? Seems like irrational waste of time...
If you mean when a CIQ app gets updated, if you get the updates using Garmin Express vs the update button on your phone, settings are preserved. They changed/broke something in GCM/iOS a while back where the settings get lost. It's the same for all watches and not just the f5/s
With Garmin Express, the default is when you plug in the watch, the CIQ apps are updated automatically if there's a newer version.
Unless specifically stated in the software release notes (which for the Fenix 5 has never been so) the settings are not lost when you update from an older software to a newer one; including beta software. The only time settings are lost is if the device is intentionally reset or the device software is 'downgraded'; the typical scenario is that someone installs the latest beta, doesn't like it for some reason, then wants to go back to the last production software version. There are methods for backing up and restoring some device settings (link below), but they only reliably work where the device is remaining on the same software version before and after backup-restore.
