Failed to save workouts Garmin Instinct 2 Solar

Thank you for the reply. 

I have wiped all activities off my watch and executed a soft restart. However, on Garmin Express I'm unable to download the latest update as it's stating "The latest software does not fit on your device's internal memory. Please contact Product Support for help with updating your software."

I'm not sure where to go from here. I soft reset the watch after deleting all activities and I still end up with the same issue. 

Thanks,

You can clean up the following folders, to make the needed room for the firmware update:

• //GARMIN/Activity/ - all files
• //GARMIN/RemoteSW/ - all files
• //GARMIN/Debug/ - all files
• //GARMIN/Courses/ - remove unneeded courses
• //GARMIN/Workouts/ - remove unneeded workouts
• //GARMIN/Text/ - remove all unneeded languages

You could also remove some unneeded Connect IQ apps, if there are any

trux said:

You can clean up the following folders, to make the needed room for the firmware update:

• //GARMIN/Activity/ - all files
• //GARMIN/RemoteSW/ - all files
• //GARMIN/Debug - all files
• //GARMIN/Courses/ - remove unneeded courses
• //GARMIN/Workouts/ - remove unneeded wokrouts
• //GARMIN/Text - remove all unneeded languages

You could also remove some unneeded Connect IQ apps, if there are any

This is great advice - should be done periodically as preventive maintenance to assure responsive performance on our Instinct watches.

Thanks very much trux for posting this.

Thank you,

I got it to work after clearing some things and restarting computer and watch.

This should be widely dispersed knowledge. Garmin should make it known to consumers that there may be a space issue that prevents activities from savings. Moreso, there should be a notification on the device when memory is almost full so the user can free up space. The disappointment experienced from finishing an ultramarathon and finding out your device didn't save the race would be huge.  

5466649 said:

Garmin should make it known to consumers that there may be a space issue that prevents activities from savings.

Well, that's not really the main risk, though it is certainly better keeping the storage as free as possible. It is rather a problem at firmware updates, as in the case of the OP. Normally, you should get a warning message "Memory Full Delete History" when you reach the limit for storing activities. At least, the documentation (Why Am I Getting a Memory Full Message on My Garmin Instinct? | Garmin Customer Support) claims it - I never keep old activities on my watch for more than couple of days, so have never reached the limit.

It would be great if there was a check each time you sync an activity, such that it will delete sync'd activities older than X days so as to keep the watches memory free'd automatically. Of course this could be an on-off option ("auto remove sync'd activities older than 1 week/month" or something like that).

I wonder if this is a feature in other watches but in particular the Instinct 2 with the low storage space it would be great. Also considering its an outdoors watch and having a situation like the OP's where you go on a multi-day activity of multiple hours and then it isn't saved would be a total bummer.

Agreed, this would be a fantastic function. Hopefully this can be implemented in the next software update. As the Instinct 2 ages there will be many users with the same grievance. 

HwanZike said:

Of course this could be an on-off option ("auto remove sync'd activities older than 1 week/month" or something like that).

File storage was a big problem with the FR205 and a couple of later models. On those models it really was necessary to clear the Activity folder regular or else the watches would crash. AFAIK, all watches released in the past few years automatically delete older activity files to make space when required for newer activities. Here’s the link from the Instinct 2 user manual  https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-31D23DBB-57C2-4DF7-A0C9-8D1A00AB4BE7/EN-US/GUID-E549F49A-3FB6-4FDB-8CB6-3622B1DCAE78.html

That said, in the past I used to regularly clear my Activity, Courses, and Workouts folder but now don’t bother. I have Activity data on my watch going back quite some time. The only time I am aware that files need to be removed is when Garmin Express tells me that files have to be deleted before an update can be applied. Pretty sure the last time this happened, GE deleted the files and then the update was applied. 

As for the OP’s problem it’s hard to know exactly where the problem lies. While it might be due to file storage - was there limited space available? - there could be any number of other reasons for it. It’s never easy to diagnose a problem from a distance and with limited information. Perhaps Garmin needs to be investigating whether or not old data is being overwritten as intended especially when large activities are being completed and require substantial space that might not be immediately available.