Outdoor Recreation Archive

fēnix 5 Series bluetooth issues between garmin 5x and android oreo 8.1

bluetooth issues between garmin 5x and android oreo 8.1

aribeirosousa over 7 years ago

Since i updated my mobile phone to android oreo 8.1 (my phone is a bq x-pro), if i get out of range with the garmin fenix 5x, i lose connection and cannot connect again to the phone.

It doens't pair with garmin connect mobile, and it doesn't even recognize the watch.

The only way to solve this is to remove the watch from the phone bluetooth devices and pair it again with garmin connect mobile.

And everytime the watch gets out of reach of the phone, i must do that again (remove and re-pair).

It didn't happen with android 7.

Is there a solution for this ? I have allready did a hard reset to the android phone, but the problem remains.

I've seen other people with the same problems in other foruns.

0 Mauricewal over 6 years ago

Galaxy S7 and android 8.0 no problems with connecting.
I doubt if garmin can fix this. If the phone gets and update maybe the Bluetooth stack is updated or something. I guess the phone manufacturer should fix this.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Might have found a solution. I first paired via connect app only. But now I went in and also paired it under Android Bluetooth settings (asking for pairing code). And directly when that was done the Fenix came up as "connected" in Gaemin Connect App. Right before I did this it had lost connection for an hour or so even though I was right next to the phone.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Damn, only helped for that connection.

0 Mauricewal over 6 years ago

From a different forum (not sure if it could help).
Android 8.1 seems to have a buggy bluetooth for many users.

Try this:

In Android 8.1, there is now an option in developer options to "Select Bluetooth AVRCP Version". This is set at 1.4 by default, but there have been many users that have switched to 1.3, 1.5, or 1.6 and this resolved all of their issues. I would suggest trying each of these settings to see if either works better.

To access Developer options, follow these steps:

Open the Settings app
Tap on System
Tap on About phone
Tap Build number about 7 times
Tap the back button
You should now see Developer options under Backup and above System update

Look for "Select Bluetooth AVRCP Version" under developer options and try each of the different settings.(1.6 could help)
Reboot is needed!

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

I noticed if I turn on location services with Garmin app open, it directly finds the Fenix after it has lost connection

0 islehopper over 6 years ago

I agree with Mauricewal, this is a phone problem, not Garmin. My Nokia 6.1 with Oreo 8.1 (July Update) works surprisingly well. Nokia uses AndroidOne (like Pixel). Activity updates happen quickly after returning and coming within range of phone (7-10m). I receive text message, incoming call, and other various app notifications. It always reconnects automatically after being apart. Garmin nailed it with 9.72. Cheers

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

As propose by Mauricewal I switch to Select Bluetooth AVRCP Version 1.6. It works! Thanks

0 Mauricewal over 6 years ago

As propose by Mauricewal I switch to Select Bluetooth AVRCP Version 1.6. It works! Thanks

Glad it helped. So it's definitely a phone issue.
I hope this wil be fixed by Google someday otherwise I hope everybody with this problem can read this post.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Bluetooth version made no difference to me. I need to have location service on, then it works flawlessly.

Funny is, my Fenix 3HR worked perfect without need for location services, same phone, same Android, same garmin app version.so it is not a phone issue.

When adding Fenix 5, location must be on. Not so with Fenix 3.

0 Chiefyspanner over 6 years ago

I have a 5X and a 235 .I have just changed my phone from an IPhone 8+ to a Huawei P20 Pro on Android 8.1. For two days I was unable to connect either watch to the new phone. On the verge of taking the phone back having tried numerous googled fixes I found a Huawei sub menu which suggested factory resetting the watches if they'd previously been connected to a different phone. Bingo it worked but still disconnected unless I allowed Connect to keep running in the background and turned off power saving measures for the Connect App. I was reasonably happy with that. Yesterday I had an update come through for Garmin Connect - since then I can now turn the power saving measures back on and don't need to keep Connect running in the background. The Bluetooth icon on the watches does disappear when Connect is not running but as soon as I open the App again both watches reconnect after about 10 seconds. It now seems to be completely solved - appearing to be an issue between Android.8.1 and Garmin Connect, possibly aggravated by the Huawei phone. It all seems to work flawlessly now.