Bluetooth keeps dropping out - iPhone / F5Plus

Hi Everyone

I am continually having problems with the bluetooth connection between my iPhone XS and my Fenix 5 Plus. I have recently totally wiped my iPhone and set it up from scratch (not from a prior backup) and also yesterday did a factory reset on my Fenix 5 Plus too. 

I thought all was going well (ie bluetooth staying connected) but in less than 24 hours it had dropped again. It never seems to re-connect either, and this is a real pain as I do use the notifications function on the watch.

Is this just how they all are or is there something going on with my watch? 

I am on software version 13.00 on my watch and 13.6.1 on my iPhone, but I've had this problem for many versions of both watch and iPhone firmwares.

Thanks

Will.

  • Same issue since far over a year!

    Garmin simply does not care!

  • Absolutely no issues with a Samsung A40 which costs a small part of the iPhone, but it's clear it cannot be Apples fault....

  • I do have the same problem. I need to manually connect my fenix 5 plus everytime I need to sync. This is an issue that I had since I upgrade to version 13. It might relate to a problem with the bluetooth antena that they are trying to correct in a new version of the software. Lets hope the do this and also address the issue of battery drain that happens after excercising with music. 

  • Will - my wife has exactly the same problem with her Fenix 5s + - and has done since she received it on the 3 August.  Again across different f/w versions.  She has an iPhone XR.  After an initial faff where the latest f/w wouldn't activate, My Fenix 5+ has worked perfectly and stays connected (and re-connects) to my iphone.  I saw that this was an issue in older firmware's so was thinking this was a Garmin regression - but after >1month of resetting her watch, phone and removing the BT connections, I am now wondering if this is a physical issue with the watch...?

  • Well I've been playing around and the best workaround I can seem to come up with at the moment is creating a new shortcut (see https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208309) which turns the bluetooth off and then on on my phone every morning at 6am before I get up. This then triggers the watch to connect (if it isn't already) and then it seems to stay connected for the day. 

    I am more convinced this is an iPhone bluetooth issue rather than a garmin one because I can go out of range with my watch then back in range and it will auto connect again. 

    I have started using a new watch face (https://actiface.blogspot.com) as this also has a little telephone symbol on the watch face that tells me when the phone is connected or not. I can now just see if the connection has dropped during the day and do something about it rather than just not know.

    When I setup the new shortcut on the iPhone to reset the bluetooth I also added it to my home screen so I can quickly just tap the shortcut and it resets the bluetooth so i don't have to go all the way into the settings etc. 

    A workaround, yes, but it is saving my sanity at the moment. I just wish is was more slick. Maybe iOS 14 will help, although I suspect that will break something else!!

  • Is that version 13 on the watch or the iOS you are referring to? 

  • I have been experiencing the same issue ever since I got this F5+ and with different models of iPhones over the years, currently an XR. I had the same problem before that with a regular F5. Before that I had a F3 and F3HRM, both rock solid in this regard. With the 5/5+ I have gone through countless iOS and Fenix f/w versions. Never with much success.

    Phone/watch typically stay connected until they get of reach once. They don't seem to automatically reconnect afterwards.

    When they get disconnected (e.g. indicated by strike through phone symbol) the phone's BT setting menu usually still says the Fenix is connected. However, the connection icon in the Garmin app is typically greyed out. In this mode, notifications and sync no longer work.

    Force closing the app in combination with toggling the phone's BT setting usually brings it back to reconnect.

    I was about to call Garmin support this week to see if they have a good answer, but after seeing this thread I don't have high hopes.

    Overall I am a pretty disappointed that this has been going on for so long. At this point I am very curious to see if the about to be released next gen apple watch will be a viable sports watch.

  • I have had the same issues with my Fenix 5+ and having searched and searched for a solution without any luck, I think I stubbled upon one.

    In my iPhone settings: Privacy -> Location Services -> System Services (the bottom of the list) I have disabled DeviceManagement.Framework and after this, my device has a stable connection and I no longer need to find my phone, turn off / on bluetooth, remove/readd or reconnect the device via bluetooth.

    Perhaps this works for others as well