Instinct 2 (Solar) constantly disconnecting and connecting till phone restart (Pixel 6 Pro)

I'm having the Google Pixel 6 Pro phone and the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar watch.
Before I was using the Garmin Forerunner 245 watch with the same phone and never had any issues.

After some time (1-2 days usually) my Instinct 2 Solar goes into some inifinite loop getting disconnected and connected again. In the Connect app I can also see the status changing between "Device connected" to "Device disconnected" again and again every few seconds. This also drains the battery.
Then I restart my phone and the issue is solved. Usually it takes up to 1-2 days and then it starts happening again.

Things I've already tried without success to solve the problem

  • Factory Reset of the watch
  • Reset all network options in the phone (includes to delete all bluetooth devices) and then not connecting any other device than my Instinct 2
  • Enabling the new Gabeldorsche Bluetooth stack in the developer options of the phone
  • Deleting Cache/Storage of the Garmin Apps
  • Re-Installing Garmin Connect + Connect-IQ app
  • Using only Connect app without Connect-IQ

I've found the exact same problem in the Garmin community already reported for the Fenix 7 watch. There most of the users are also having a Pixel 6 phone or a Samsung Galaxy Device. Maybe this is a general compatibility issue between new Garmin devices and certain phones.

forums.garmin.com/.../fenix-7x-sapphire-solar-constantly-connecting-and-disconnecting

I'm wondering as no one else has already reported this issue here in the Instinct 2 Forum. Is there anyone else facing same problems like me witih the combination of Instinct 2 and Pixel phone?

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  • Hello 2391300,

    I know it is not helpful for you. I use Google Pixel 6 (not Pro) and Instinct 2 Solar (Firmware 7.03) / IQ-Connect (V4.54). Bluetooth connection works like charm.

  • I am sorry there is an issue. I am not seeing reports of your connectivity issue using the Instinct 2 series. To be safe, please reach out to Outdoor Product Support in your region.

  • I have huge Bluetooth problems with my Huawei P20 Pro because of Huaweis poor Bluetooth implementation. 

    What helps me is to go to the Apps, Show System Processes and Force Stop of Bluetooth. After that it works for 24 hours or so. 

    My Fenix 6X Pro works instead without any problems. 

  • Hi,

    The same problem here. I returned already a fenix 7 solar(had other isuues too) and tried the instinct 2 solar.it worked fine a few days but now I have to restart the phone and/or pair another time each day! I have a samsung s21 ultra.

  • I'm still having the same problem. Got in contact with the Garmin support already, they offered to replace my Instinct 2 Solar.

    In the meantime I've tried to connect my Forerunner 245 (which has not been causing any problems in the past with the same phone). Now it's running into the exact same error like my Instinct 2 Solar. Therefore, I'm sure this is no error with the Instinct 2 (otherwise that would be a big co-incidence that 2 watches have the same hardware error at the same time). Therefore I didn't try to get a replacement for the Instinct 2. I'm sure the error is caused by the Garmin Connect App or by my phone. Or it started happening on my FR245 as well because of some problem with the latest software update which uses same BLE dependencies like the Instinct 2).

    I've then tried a factory reset of my Pixel 6 Pro. Unfortunately it didn't improve anything, still every 1-2 days I need to restart my phone to stop the infinite loop of switching between "Device connected"<->"Device Disconnected". Doesn't matter if I use the Forerunner 245 or my Instinct 2 Solar - error scenario is the same.

    Now looking forward for next updates (of my phone, the watch, or Garmin Connect) . No idea what could be the root cause apart from that.

  • You can also try installing an older version of the GC Mobile app from an unofficial APK archive such as the apkssl.com or apkmirror.com, to see whether it really comes from the app, or rather from some phone settings. Do not forget to disable the auto-update option at the GC Mobile app in Google Play store.

  • I have the exact same problem with Instinct 2 as well as my Fenix 7. I opened up a ticket to the support, they've collected some data but it is nearly ten days now I didn't hear any valuable thing from them.

  • You might consider if it is a Pixel 6 Pro problem. There are many threads related to some problem with how the P6Pro handles BT and WiFi connections. For instance, with devices like the AAWireless dongle for Android Auto.

    See if this works with your P6Pro and Instinct2:  When it loses the connection, turn off the P6Pro WiFi, and retry the Instinct2 connection. That is what I have to do and it consistently works.  Rando disconnect from watch, turn off P6Pro WiFi, retry, sync, turn phone WiFi back on.  I don't know that this will work for you, but I hope so. Good luck.

  • Hello ,

    I have the same issue and in addition, even when the devices are connected I don't get notifs on watch :/

    and I am waiting software update to see if there is any fix.

    Note that my smartphone is Redmi Note 8 running Android 11

  • User reported in the following thread that his connectivity problems on Pixel were resolved after installing Android v13 beta.

    https://forums.garmin.com/apps-software/mobile-apps-web/f/garmin-connect-mobile-andriod/276734/does-garmin-connect-work-with-android-12-sync-pair-failure-fr945/1439227#1439227 

    This is a Google issue. For those on a Pixel phone, sign up for the Android 13 beta 3 release and you'll find out all the Bluetooth connection issues go away. I upgraded from a Google Pixel 3 XL to a Pixel 6 Pro and had nothing but issues, but after signing up for the beta program, they seemed to have fixed it via software. For those on a 3 XL, maybe see if you can downgrade if you're having issues.