Disconnects on iOS11 and 6.0 firmware

I've upgraded to iOS 11 on my iPhone 7 and updated my Fenix 5X firmware to 6.0 about the same time, so I'm not sure which of those two is to blame...
Anyway, what I've been observing since, is disconnecting my Fenix from my phone and issues with reconnecting it back. I can only enforce connection restore by going to Settings, turning BT off and on and then waiting approx 2-3 minutes. The I need to enforce Garmin Connect to be shut down completely and re-run it. This brings the connection back.

Otherwise, even though Fenix is visible in Setting as connected via BT, the Garmin Mobile app claims it's not connected and refuses to sync.

I strongly believe it's the iOS 11 issue, as this system is super buggy and I'm experiencing other issues as well, and many others are reported by different users. Regardless, what I'm looking for here is obviously an advice how to overcome the connection issue. Any help will be much appreciated!

0 shandel23 over 7 years ago

After 11.0.1 update, I am at least able to fix the BLE connection by turning bluetooth off and on via the phone. It then reconnects. With 11.0 I had to reboot the phone completely. It still lost the connection with 11.0.1 and wouldn't automatically reconnect, however. Still more work to do...

0 runningfan97 over 7 years ago

The "app has to be started" message seems to be gone.

Well, not really. Just had reconnection problems again, despite of 11.0.1.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

I'm having the same issue with a Forerunner. If I shut the iPhone 6 BT off and back on again, it will reconnect.

0 runningfan97 over 7 years ago

Issue still persists with latest update of GCM on iOS 11.0.2. Random disconnects of the watch and the phone where watch is saying: "open app on phone" (rough translation from German).

Can someone from Garmin please confirm that this issue is being investigated?

0 Garmin_ODQA over 7 years ago

We know that iOS 11 introduced some Bluetooth issues that affect how Garmin products connect with Apple devices. While we have taken efforts to rectify the problems being reported, it has been determined that these are issues that Apple needs to address. We apologize for the inconvenience, but for the time being, your Apple device will need to be power cycled since the phone is responsible for connecting to the Garmin device. If the phone does not try to connect to the device, there is nothing the Garmin device can do to force it to connect.

Reports have also been circulating that the latest beta of iOS (11.1) does address some connectivity issues, so it appears that Apple is continuing to work on it.

Garmin Outdoor SW Quality Team

0 shandel23 over 7 years ago

Still having issue on 11.0.1 and only solution is to reboot phone.