Unable to sync daily steps

it should automatically sync the step data, what happens if you force a sync from the watch? or from the connect mobile app? the mobile app should automatically sync when you open it on the phone, there should be a blue bar at the bottom that says "syncing with fenix 5" then it will turn green and say "sync complete" , this is for android since that is what i use...does this happen when you open the app?

mine had data on it from before i owned it as well, i think the watch got turned on while in transit...it had an elliptical exercise for like 20+ hours, i mistakenly hooked it to my Garmin connect account - then found out later that, while you can reset the watch completly, you can not clear data from your Garmin account...so i had to make a different account to associate my fenix 5 with. You might want to try doing a full reset of the fenix 5, if you need info on how to do this let me know.

Did you own another Garmin device previously?
Check that your fenix 5 is set as your primary activity tracker. I have iOS so not sure it'll be in the same place in the Connect app but under <Device><Device Settings><Activity Tracking> make sure activity tracking is turned on. Also in the previous screen at the bottom make sure your device is set to be the "Preferred Activity Tracker"

it should automatically sync the step data, what happens if you force a sync from the watch? or from the connect mobile app? the mobile app should automatically sync when you open it on the phone, there should be a blue bar at the bottom that says "syncing with fenix 5" then it will turn green and say "sync complete" , this is for android since that is what i use...does this happen when you open the app?

I've tried your suggestions for the last two days - manually syncing the watch via the phone over bluetooth before heading off to bed. Nothing. Even worse - a run that I did yesterday and synced has somehow disappeared. It no longer appears in my connect account. I know that it synced because I had been looking at the statistics from it (vertical oscillation, etc). My Strava account is also connected to my Connect account and the run was automatically sent to Strava.

Does Garmin simply not know how to get software right? I have a few days left before I cannot return this watch. I have tried contacting their official support but have not received any help.

I think it might be time to kill my two year old Connect account. I suspect the problem lies there. Here are the issues I have noticed, in addition to my steps not syncing.

1) No step syncing. Data stays on the watch but will never transfer over to Connect.
2) Running activities are randomly disappearing within 24 hours after syncing to Connect. Fortunately I have the .fit files backed up and can manually upload them.
3) The link between Connect and my Strava account has to be re-authorized about every other day. That is, I'll sync an activity and see it upload to Connect but it will never make it over to Strava. Then I'll log out of my Connect account, log back in, and get a notice about needing to authorize my Strava account. This has been happening for a year now.
4) I sync my activities from different computers and from my mobile phone. Is it possible this confuses Connect? I have a desktop at work that I use to sync my daily lunch routines. I work in a secure facility where I'm not allowed to have my mobile phone, so that isn't an option there. For my weekend or evening workouts I use my Macbook at home or simply sync over my mobile phone after an activity is done.
5) I have two devices: The Fenix 5 and an Edge 520. The Edge 520 is listed first on my account but is not set to be the "activity" tracker. Only the Fenix 5 has those options available. Could having two devices be confusing the system?

Thanks for your suggestions so far.

I found the issue, I believe. I decided to go into my account and delete my two devices. Then I logged out of Connect. When I went to log back in, to verify that the devices were gone, I noticed that my password keeper used my login name (dogunter) that I had when I first signed up for my account. Although the field is labeled "Email". So I checked - there seems to be both an account under just "dogunter" and one for "[email protected]". They are completely identical and both even use the same email address.

Anyway, if I log into Connect using my email address instead of my initial login name only, I see the step data, etc.

Now I just need to figure out if there really are two separate accounts and how to delete the other. This clears up the Strava disconnect issue as well, I hope. In that at home I'm probably logging in using the full email address but from work, using just the login name. So each account was authorizing to Strava, knocking the other off.

That's great!! I am glad to hear you may have found the culprit, unfortunately there is a little more work yet to do - but at least you have a direction to head. I have used Garmins chat help many times and have been happy with the results, i know you mentioned having contacting their official support to no avail, but if you havent tried the chat you might want to give it a go.

I found the issue, I believe. I decided to go into my account and delete my two devices. Then I logged out of Connect. When I went to log back in, to verify that the devices were gone, I noticed that my password keeper used my login name (dogunter) that I had when I first signed up for my account. Although the field is labeled "Email". So I checked - there seems to be both an account under just "dogunter" and one for "[email protected]". They are completely identical and both even use the same email address.

Anyway, if I log into Connect using my email address instead of my initial login name only, I see the step data, etc.

Now I just need to figure out if there really are two separate accounts and how to delete the other. This clears up the Strava disconnect issue as well, I hope. In that at home I'm probably logging in using the full email address but from work, using just the login name. So each account was authorizing to Strava, knocking the other off.

Hi All, I have a forerunner 235 it has not synced my steps to my connect.garmin.com account unless it happens to have step info a day I did a cycle or run workout. It does accurately sync those swim and running workouts, too. Also, on the watch, itself, it displays accurately my current step count as well as the steps for the last 7 days. Only the step data is never synced with Connect. And it is not showing up on my calender at all. Please help!!