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Pixel 8a: Android 16 and Venu 3 14.15: TOXIC COMBINATION

uwskier
11 days ago

DO NOT UPGRADE to Android 16 or take any upgrades to your Venu 3 if your watch and Connect app are working fine.  Mine were working fine on Android 15, but either the upgrade to Android 16 OR the latest/most recent Venu 3 update has caused frequent disconnects.  3 or 4 times per day I'll need to re-add my Venu 3 to the Connect app.  It'll just be completely missing when I open the app.  I can have the app open and sitting right next to my watch, and I'll get the "phone disconnected" message on my wrist.

So far I've:

Cleared app cache

Cleared all app data

Turned off all possible battery optimizations for the app

Turned off any bluetooth power saving settings in the phone

Soft reset my Venu 3

None of this has helped.  On top of that, there's no way to get Voice Assistant working.

I like this watch when it works, but I'm still in the return window.  I think I'm going to do so.

  • 0 7 days ago

    Same problem with pixel 8a on android 16, need to switch off/on bluetooth toggle on pixel to have the connection back 

  • 0 7 days ago

    It's a hacky workaround, but I've written a Tasker task that automatically toggles bluetooth off then back on if the watch disconnects, but it only works if the watch is the only connected device.  It helps for general use, but if I'm listening to a podcast or something when it happens, the watch is offline until I decide I can pause my audio and toggle manually.

  • 0 5 days ago

    Last night, chat support provided me with the following instructions to try, which I just completed.  Not pleased with having to do this, but I'll play the support game and see what happens.

    Thanks for the info. please use these steps to fully un-pair and pair up your device and phone again to see if the issue persists. Re-pair steps:

    1. Remove the device from the app and your phone's Bluetooth [How Do I Remove a Device From the Garmin Connect App?]

    2. Uninstall the mobile app

    3. Update if applicable and restart your phone

    4. Restart your Garmin watch [Restart the Watch]

    5. Reinstall the mobile app (use the same login credentials as before, do not make a new account)

    6. Put your watch into pairing mode manually [Pairing Steps] then open the app, tap on More, tap on Garmin Devices and tap on the blue Add a Device button.

    At one of the last setup steps on the phone, I got a notice that my Pixel 8a's Assistant and Bluetooth Calling are NOT supported...

    We'll see if the watch continues to disconnect today and continue with support as needed.  

    Venu 3 (SW Version 14.15 & BT Version 9.16) | Pixel 8a (Android 16)

  • 0 5 days ago in reply to 5023349

    Garmin still advertise the watch with calling and assistant functionality. Yet they claim to not support these features on a reference android phone and the latest version of android. And I can't find a list of devices garmin actually do support these features on.

    Very poor support from garmin.

    I think this has taught me to not buy another! I wonder if these features work on the latest just released venu. I pity anyone e who spends money on it.

  • 0 5 days ago in reply to 5023349

    Within an hour, I got another disconnect. Toggle BT on the phone and its back.  Waiting for another disco before engaging chat again.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to 5023349

    Yeah, I tried all that and it didn't work for me either.  My tasker solution isn't really working very well right now either since Android changed the API for bluetooth control.

    I had a Pebble smartwatch 11 years ago that was more reliable and more usable than this lump.

  • 0 4 days ago

    Same problem here Pixel 8a, Android 16 and a Vivoactive 5.  Tried re-installing the apps and re-pairing the watch, everything short of factory resetting the watch which I don't really want to do

  • 0 4 days ago

    I still have no answer from Garmin Support, but this thread clearly shows that at least with the 8a there's something not right on Android 16. Really disappointing 

  • 0 4 days ago

    Same issue on Pixel 9a (Android 16) and Venu 3 for me.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to 5023349

    Today, support enabled logging on my Venu 3, and I was able to reproduce the disconnect and submit those logs.  Appears there is a master ticket, which I feel is a positive thing.  Now it's up to the engineers to figure this out...  If you are having this issue, please take the time to submit a case and logs.

    atlas-chat.garmin.com/.../