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

uwskier
29 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 14 days ago in reply to uwskier

    @uwskier, how did you do this?  I've tried it and Tasker says it can no longer do this.

    uwskier said:
    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 14 days ago in reply to Mrs.B

    You have to enable developer options and use ADB to side-load a utility called tasker tools in order to trigger bluetooth anymore.  Like I said, it's a hacky workaround.  Slight smile

  • 0 14 days ago

    I've just installed the July Pixel update for Android 16, which was released today. So far it seems to have fixed this issue even though there were no Bluetooth fixes mentioned in the release notes. Fingers crossed that it lasts! Why not give it a try and report back.

  • 0 14 days ago in reply to Tony

    Same.  When my phone rebooted, I noticed my watch was connected.  That's odd.

  • 0 13 days ago in reply to Tony

    Will report back with findings tomorrow after it's had time to establish a track record.

  • 0 13 days ago

    Pixel 8a July security patch installed as well.  Noticed it mentioned wifi fixes but not Bluetooth.  So far it's working. Cautiously optimistic...

  • 0 13 days ago in reply to 5023349

    Walked the dogs without my phone and when I got back the watch connected on its own.  I suggest installing the Android July patch if your experiencing frequent disconnects.

  • 0 13 days ago in reply to 5023349

    I've had two disconnects since installing the July update 8 hours ago.  Both required bluetooth toggling to resolve.  I'm not out of the woods yet but it's seemingly better than before where I could rarely go more than 30 minutes without a random drop.  Still odd it's only my Garmin watch though and doesn't happen to any other of the dozen or so bluetooth things I have around the house.

  • 0 13 days ago in reply to Tony

    When I woke up I saw that it had disconnected. So maybe the upgrade/reboot process temporarily cleared the issue, but didn't cure it permanently. Sad times. Will contact Garmin support with this new information.

  • 0 13 days ago in reply to uwskier

    Same. It did seem better for a while, but it's back to dropping again. A couple of times toggling BT will work, but I'm still getting the popup that my watch is disconnected and let's reconnect it! Had to turn off/on BT twice to reconnect that time. 

    Other things are starting to feel off. My heart rate monitor went off 11 times yesterday and it's saying I barely slept, which is definitely not true as I took sleeping meds. 

    I'm noticing as well that my battery, on both my watch and my phone are draining much more quickly than usual. I imagine this is them trying to find connection. 

    ETA:  Because I've owned this watch slightly less than a year, and because I've now spend about a third of that time with the watch not functioning normally, I tried a last-ditch thing today before just buying a Pixel watch on Prime Day sale.  I factory reset the watch, forgot it in my Bluetooth on my Pixel, removed it from Connect, uninstalled Connect, rebooted my phone.  I set everything up as new.  It's been about an hour and still connected, so fingers crossed.  

    ETA2:  Spoke too soon.  Opened Connect and it was disconnected.