SOLVED: Fenix 6 pro and bluetooth/ant unstable (4.20)

I have an iPhone Xs running iOS 13.2 and Garmin Connect 4.24.1 connecting to a Fenix 6 Pro running 4.20 and ANT/BLE/BT 3.60. I do not see the disconnects that you describe when using my Garmin HRM-Dual, Garmin Footpod, or Garmin Tempe. I have a Wahoo bike cadence/speed sensor, but I have not yet connected with that. I also don't have Bluetooth issues with my iPhone.

Did you mention to Garmin support that you are experiencing the same Bluetooth issues with your Android phone? Are you running the latest versions of all the firmware on the watch? What are you doing to determine that the HRM or your Android phone is disconnecting?

I dit mention it and they told me to test with another phone...

I have all the latest versions.

I know that the HRM disconnects because the HR either comes flat or just indicate "--". Then the message "external HR connected appear" and correct data reappears.

I dit mention it and they told me to test with another phone...

This might not be a bad idea, assuming you can get another phone to try. If it fails with another phone, I would say you have a compelling argument for Garmin that there is a problem with the watch itself.

There's a few issues with Bluetooth and Garmin watches at the moment that make it challenging to rule out one end of the connection or the other. Just to clarify, is the disconnecting happening with both Bluetooth and ANT+?

Are you able to connect the strap to the phone using Bluetooth (iOS and/or Android) and see any data? If you can, what happens?

Dr Phil said:

There's a few issues with Bluetooth and Garmin watches at the moment that make it challenging to rule out one end of the connection or the other.

I'm making the assumption that the OP is noticing that the watch is disconnecting from the phone itself versus disconnecting from the Garmin Connect app. If I'm right, then I would say testing with a different phone would suggest whether or not the issue is with the watch. If I'm wrong, then testing with another phone won't matter much.

However, now that I see the chart I'm wondering if the battery in the HRM is bad.

It's a mess right now.  I think things are still unstable with both GCM and bluetooth/ant.  I'm seeing the same things, including the RD pod problems, and dead oximeter readings.   I sent back another watch because of this.   This next one I'm once again keeping at software 3.00.  I'm really tired of the time I'm spending with the problems.  My Fenix 3HR was a GEM compared to this.

DCeremuga said:

I'm seeing the same things, including the RD pod problems, and dead oximeter readings.

While there are clearly issues, they are not universal which would make it more difficult for the developers to track down and fix. For example (and knocking on wood), I am not seeing Bluetooth issues. So if you are and I am not, then imagine the difficulty for developers if the test devices also do not show Bluetooth issues.

Ultimately I expect a fix will happen, but when is hard to say.

I am almost certain the battery in the HRM is fine because I don't have any issue when I connect the HRM to my phone.

I don't have any issue when I connect the HRM to my phone.

What about the watch? What happens on the phone to suggest that the watch is disconnecting after five minutes? In other words, are you seeing the watch disconnect from the phone (via the phone's Bluetooth settings) or from the Garmin Connect app on the phone?

UPDATE : I replaced the HRM and I still have the same issue.

I connected the HRM to my phone (BLE) and to the watch (ANT+) at the same time:

-the watch was losing connection with the HRM while the phone was not !