LiveTrack on Edge 1030 v8.00 iPhone 11 Pro v13.1.1 - 'Phone Disconnected' Messages - UPDATED

I agree that the problem is the Bluetooth connection on the 1030.  Garmin's phone connectivity has always been extremely poor (i.e. unstable).  As many on this and other forum threads have noted, it is a big issue with a very high frustration factor.  Garmin's assertion that the phone is the problem just doesn't cut it.  I have about a dozen different Bluetooth devices paired with my iPhone 7, and the only one that disconnects at random times and stubbornly refuses to reconnect is the most expensive device--my Garmin 1030.  It's really shocking that despite all the hype about the 1030's connected features the single biggest defect in the device is its phone connectivity.  You'd think they'd at least chime in on the forum comments about this frustrating subject, but all we hear from Garmin is crickets.

I've been following the Livetrack discussions and I find it interesting that you have been able to activate Livetrack without running GCM. It's my understanding from reading Garmin's Livetrack instructions that GCM must be running for Livetrack to function. With my Iphone 6, I need to have GCM running. I'm not saying that yours doesn't connect without GCM. I'm just trying to understand the mystery of Garmin Bluetooth connections. In the year and a half I have had the 1030, I have had no disconnections once the Iphone links to the 1030.

A very brief history of LiveTrack for me over a long time.

- Many months ago used to work most of the time with auto start (without having to open GC app first).  The LiveTrack would fail maybe 1 time out of 5 during an activity, i.e. just stop tracking and would not know till looked at end of ride.

- Then in recent months and updates (one of those was the contacts update change) it all went to pot, auto start stopped working.  The actual LiveTrack failed more often than not.  I also started to see the GC app consuming loads of iPhone battery, both background doing nothing?? and when trying LiveTrack.  So I all but gave up on it and just used iPhone share location.

- Now as I had new iPhone and latest updates I decided to try once again ... which I described above.  But yes AutoStart now does work again without having to open the GC App - it is still running in background.  I will try next time with the GC App open and in foreground to see if that makes a difference to Phone Disconnected messages.

I understand now. You have GCM running in the background. I thought you meant that you did not have it running at all. There have been firmware updates that somehow allowed my Iphone to connect without GCM running in the background but Livetrack would not work. I also have it running in the background and  Livetrack usually works but not 100%. Sometimes it does not autostart and sometimes it does not end when finished with the activity. I have hoped that I could rely on it to work 100% of the time.

What I have been using for the last two years is the RoadID app which works flawlessly and performs the same thing as Livetrack. It just takes a few seconds to activate it at the start of a ride and stop it at the end of the ride. I also like it because it sends a text message with a link for tracking me to my wife. The text alerts her that I have started and finished a ride better than a email like the Garmin uses.

Perhaps I have better cell phone coverage in my area and that is the reason for no disconnects. I have ridden in other parts of the U.S. and the Iphone has kept its connection.

Overall, I think Garmin can do much better in producing a product that has consistent bluetooth performance for every buyer.

Tried again tonight on a different 2 hour ride.

This time I had GC app running in foreground, but no difference.  Still had many 'Phone Disconnected' and 'Livetrack Interrupted' messages on the Edge.  The Livetrack did actually work and route seems complete on Livetrack link - so got to ask what are all these messages all about?????.

I was using my bluetooth headphones and had no issues playing music from the iPhone for the whole ride, proving there is no general Bluetooth issue.

I did about a 2 1/2 hour ride today and I had no disconnects and Livetrack almost worked perfectly except Livetrack did not stop when the activity ended. I saved the activity and it uploaded instantly but, going to the Livetrack site, it states "the activity is not yet complete, but the tracking session has ended". This has occurred several times with firmware 8. 

Have you tried with another phone?

:-( same problem here with iPhone 11 Pro and iOS 13.1.2

This is not specific to the iPhone....I have had various Samsung Android phones (S9, Note9 and S10+) since the 1030 has been released, and I can echo EXACTLY the experiences that are noted above. I would note, that whilst you *think* livetrack has recorded all of the time.....if you look closely, you may find a straight line between where it disconnected and reconnected (GPS drop and reconnect) - I did not notice that at first, because it was only disconnected for about a mile, on mostly a straight road.

I did actually have a stable connection 95% of the time with Garmin Connect 4.20 (stopped it auto updating),  1030 Firmware  7.50 and Wifi off. Stupidly, I upgraded to 8 and let the GC app update.  Bad move on my behalf.

I've looked closely at several tracks on Livetrack and I see no interruptions. On one track about a month ago, I did see that Livetrack did not start until about a mile into the ride. On that ride, Livetrack did not end when the activity was saved. Turning Wifi off should not do anything because Wifi is automatically turned off when a activity is started.

I've been impressed by the sudden effort Garmin has been putting in to correct the problems and add additional features  to the 1030. Garmin has 97% of the bike computer market and perhaps they are now concerned with the various computers that being sold such as the Wahoo.I have had no where close to the issues I have read about here in the forum. Firmware 8 and the latest GCM have worked very well for me.  

Updated original post with experience of v8.07 Beta and iOS v13.1.2