Sound issues on BT headphones after update to 21.19 (level, alerts, volume control, volume imbalance)

After updating to 21.19:

  • The watch app’s volume control shows only a blue circle. Pressing + or - changes volume in small steps, but there’s no visual feedback.
  • When connecting to Huawei FreeBuds via Bluetooth, the right earbud is almost silent; only the left plays sound. Restarting the watch fixes this until the next disconnect/reconnect.
  • Playing an internal mp3 after pairing starts at maximum, painfully loud volume.
  • Voice alerts in the headphones are extremely loud and cannot be lowered. They overpower the music and are very uncomfortable. Music volume can be adjusted on the watch (with limited visual feedback, as explained), but voice alert volume cannot. Changing the iPhone app’s speaker volume or restarting the watch does not help. Why is there no separate volume control for voice alerts over Bluetooth headphones? Using English US - female voice.

Any suggestions? Corrections expected?

Thank you for support.

  • also go to support in your country and report to them for a fix ...

  • Ditto. Same on Fenix 7 Solar and Epix Gen2 Solid blue ring. Volume unable to be adjusted on watch.

  • Hello. I am sorry to hear you are having this issue. I would love to help investigate this further. 

    • If you have not already, I would recommend a powercycle on the watch. For this, hold the Light button, then select power off. And power on again. 
    • Ensure the watch is on the latest SW version 21.19 with Garmin Express. 
    • It this continues, I would recommend reinstalling the software version using these steps: 
    1. Hold the Menu button
    2. Scroll down and select System
    3. Scroll down and select About
    4. Press the button roughly 8 times
    5. Select Reinstall software

    If this issue continue, I would like to collect the device of this concern. For this, I will reach out to each of your via Private Message. If you are still experiencing this, please feel free to reply. 

  • Thanks for your reply. As mentioned, I already restarted the watch (powered it off and on), but the issue remains. The version shown in Garmin Express is 21.19, same as on the About screen.

    I reinstalled the software as instructed, which took about 10 minutes. After the restart, I opened the sound app and played the last song, which was still available. This time, the earbuds played at the previously set volume. However, the volume control still shows a full blue circle and doesn’t respond to + or – inputs, although the volume changes in very small increments.

    But then, I turned off and turned on the watch again, to re-check the behavior. This time again, the sound started at maximum loudness! So the issue persists, with the side-note that both earbuds start at the same level this time, not imbalanced between left and right volume (that issue seems absent now).

    I couldn’t test the alerts due to the time of day, but I’ll check after my next activity. I have the feeling that issue will persist as well. If needed, feel free to contact me via private message to look into it further.

    Thanks again for looking into this.