Default Music Player

I have a question about the default music player. Is there something in the settings on my phone that will allow a certain app (in my case, Rock My Run) to be designated as a music player choice so that my watch will automatically open that if I start music from the watch? Right now, when I go into the settings in Connect to set my default music player, Rock My Run is not even a choice in the list of music players on my phone, but it's solely a music app. However, if I start Rock My Run from the phone first I am then able to control the music from my watch. I just can't designate it as the default. So it seems that Connect is not recognizing it as a music player for default purposes.

I have a question about the default music player. Is there something in the settings on my phone that will allow a certain app (in my case, Rock My Run) to be designated as a music player choice so that my watch will automatically open that if I start music from the watch?

There was. It was the very idea of the default music player setting; I haven't updated my Garmin Connect Mobile app for Android past v3.*, and so (from testing it again just now) when I press the Play button in the music controls widget on my FR630, the Pandora app on my connected Android handset starts automatically – even though it was not running at all before that – and commences playing music.

There was. It was the very idea of the default music player setting; I haven't updated my Garmin Connect Mobile app for Android past v3.*, and so (from testing it again just now) when I press the Play button in the music controls widget on my FR630, the Pandora app on my connected Android handset starts automatically – even though it was not running at all before that – and commences playing music.

Thank you. That's not really what I meant though. I no longer have the most recent Connect Mobile version because I couldn't get my email notifications, so I went back to the previous version where we could still choose the default music player in the app. When I go into that setting to choose my default music player, Rock My Run is not even in my list of choices for music players on my phone so I can't set it as the default. So when I press Start in the music widget to open my music player it can't even open Rock My Run. I have to start Rock My Run from my phone first and then once it's open I can control my music from the watch. My question is, how can I tell my phone that Rock My Run is a music player so that Connect Mobile will recognize it as such so that it will populate into that list when I go to set the default?

I am probably not being very clear, but it's not a big deal. I'll just open the music app I want from my phone first. Thanks for your help!

My question is, how can I tell my phone that Rock My Run is a music player so that Connect Mobile will recognize it as such so that it will populate into that list when I go to set the default?

I don't think you as the user ever could have done so. There are two logical possibilities I can think of for how it works:

• Garmin maintains a ‘white-list’ of music player apps it recognises, that it thinks are valid choices for the default music player if those apps are installed on the mobile device in question, and the list is embedded in the Garmin Connect Mobile app's distributable code. Therefore, the responsibility (for updating the list) rests with Garmin.
  — or —
  
• Each Android app capable of being a music player registers itself with the operating system as such upon being installed, and the Garmin Connect Mobile app queries the operating system for a list of valid/installed/available music player apps. Therefore, the responsibility (for registering the app correctly) rests with the music player app developer.
  

Given it would be more work for no gain for Garmin to implement it in the former manner, I think that is highly unlikely to be how it actually works.

Obviously, I'm just guessing here, not being an Android app developer myself.

Yea, I thought the same thing about it being No. 1 above, that Garmin has a list of commonly used music players and the list is populated based on which ones are installed on the phone. It's fine though, I just thought if I "could" start my music from the watch then that's great but not necessary. Once Rock My Run is open on the phone I can control my music from the watch during a run so at least that part works. Thanks so much for your input!

Back to Kindle when trying to play music. Seems if I have used the Kindle app to read a book Garmin sees it as the default music player again. Have to open the music player to reset it. Please add back the option to specify the default music player. (uninstalled the audible app as some comments feel that may be creating a false music player option - we'll see if that works).

I prefer selecting a default music player. Now if I hit play on my Vivoactive HR it opens chrome. O.o

It worked fine how it was before. Selecting the app you wanted as default. Now my music won't start automatically when I hit play. Instead some random app opens up. Today it was YouTube. Yesterday it was Google play. I only want to use Samsung music this is very annoying!

I just posted in the Vivoactive forum about this - I use Amazon Music app and can't control the music from my watch, only volume. I can't play or pause, FF or rewind from the watch.

We are still investigating issues with the Amazon music service not responding to the music controls feature as expected.