Fenix 6 Sapphire Bluetooth won't connect to phone - cannot enter PIN

My Fenix 6 Sapphire has suddenly disconnected from my phone to which it has been paired for over 2 years without issues. I've read several troubleshooting guides here, and tried to remove it from the Connect app, and pair it again only to find out it won't pair to any phone anymore. I tried reinstalling the app, even installing on a fresh new empty phone, tried two Android phones and one iPhone, and even to a computer. The watch never connects - most of the time the pairing just fails almost immediately, sometimes (less than 25% tries), I get asked for the PIN, but the PIN dialog disappears before I manage to enter the numbers (it lasts less than a second). A couple times I managed to enter the whole PIN and confirm, but still the pairing failed imediatelly after that.

I tried to reset the watch, even reset many settings on my main phone (until it occurred to me to try on a different device to see the issue is obviously with the watch)

What can I do about it?

Top Replies

All Replies

0 sliwowitz 6 months ago

Digging deeper I found a suggestion to put the watch in the fridge for a while. To my surprise it worked - the watch pairs without issues when cold. Unfortunately, as soon as it warms up to the room temperature the connection is lost.

I had the watch for some 4 years already, so it's past the warranty :-( anyone has heard about Garmin repairing this defect, or do I have to buy a new watch?

0 2352404 6 months ago in reply to sliwowitz

Same thing happened to me. I followed all the troubleshooting steps. Finally did reset. Still disconnects when internal temp reaches 75f. Called Garmin and was told they never heard of this before. Obviously no one has checked the forum.

0 CamKessler 6 months ago

It has to do with temperature. You can downgrade the Bluetooth firmware. Follow this: https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/fenix-6-series/332441/fenix-6-bluetooth-pairing-initializing-stuck-and-fail-to-pair

I have a Mac, so I used MacDroid software and the free trial to side load the bluetooth downgrade

0 2352404 6 months ago in reply to CamKessler

I tried going back to 5.04 it worked until internal temp reached 75. What gets me is when I called Garmin I was told by the representative they had never heard of this issue before. Obviously if you follow the above thread it has been a known problem for years.

0 CamKessler 6 months ago in reply to 2352404

Yeah I actually spoke too early, I was a bit excited. The issue returns once the watch warms back up

0 CamKessler 6 months ago in reply to CamKessler

Garmin-Jimmy tagging for visibility

0 CamKessler 6 months ago

Garmin-Laurie Tagging for visibility

+1 Garmin-Laurie 6 months ago in reply to CamKessler

Hello, I am sorry to hear you are having trouble with the watch. You can try the following steps if you are having trouble with pairing.

Ensure the phone is on the latest OS.
Use these steps to try pairing again:

Uninstall the Connect Mobile app
Clear the phone cache and history
Ensure the watch does not appear in the phone's Bluetooth menu. If it is, please remove the device
Powercycle the watch and phone. To do this, hold the Light button until this shuts off. Then power on again
Reinstall the Connect Mobile app
Try the pairing again ( Be sure there are no other Bluetooth enabled device nearby)

If there is no change, we would recommend trying a factory reset with these steps:

You may need to hold LIGHT for up to 30 seconds to turn the watch off.
Press and hold BACK and START/STOP.
Press LIGHT to power the watch on while holding these two buttons.
After the first beep release START/STOP.
After the second beep release the remaining button.

If this is still not pairing, you will want to contact Garmin Product support as the device may need to be replaced.

0 2352404 6 months ago in reply to Garmin-Laurie

Hi, I have done all of that. This is my 3d watch, first bricked during update, 2d refurbished one arrived with pixelated screen, this one worked for 2 years but as soon as internal temp reaches 75F it disconnects from phone. It has increased battery usage probably due to trying to connect. I will make due.

0 sliwowitz 6 months ago in reply to Garmin-Laurie

I already did a factory reset, but tried once more anyway. Seems the watch is dying - not only the factory reset didn't help, but now the watch face shows wrong time even if it's been GPS synced, and the sync result show correct time. It seems it only updates the display every couple hours, so completely useless.That's right after a factory reset and setting the basics like units and language. Also the watch spontaneously restarts once to twice a day. It didn't do any of that before.