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Vivoactive 4 Bluetooth Music + GPS Intermittent Connection

Former Member
Former Member over 4 years ago

Hi,

I've been using my vivoactive 4 for the past two months and have never gotten my Sony WF-1000XM3 Bluetooth Earbuds to work reliably with my watch. It pairs fine, and plays fine with stable connection while I am not in an activity, but as soon as I attempt to locate a GPS signal before the start of the activity, the music starts and stops repeatedly. Even when the signal is found, the reliability doesn't improve. Turning off the GPS Search instantly stops the intermittent music playback.

I was wondering if other users were facing the same problem and have gotten it to work for their set of earbuds and their vivoactive 4. I know other users have had issues pairing their earbuds with their watch (https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/healthandwellness/f/vivoactive-4-series/229620/bluetooth-music-and-gps-fail/1091467#1091467), but I have no issues with that. Pairing and unpairing doesn't work either. I've tried a complete reset of my watch but it hasn't worked either. It also isn't a matter of the side I wear my watch on (https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/healthandwellness/f/vivoactive-4-series/239326/running-with-gps-and-music-seems-unstable); the WF-1000XM3 is True Wireless but AFAIK it pairs primarily on the left and I wear my watch on the left as well. 

Thanks!

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago

    I have the same issue with VA4 and XM3.

    Now, if I put the watch RIGHT NEXT to my left earbud (basically touching) then the intermittency goes away. However the two devices had to be like within 5 cm. Again, it is only an issue when GPS activity is on. No issues with normal distance if I'm just playing music from the watch.

    It is almost like the BT power from VA4 is reduced when GPS is on?

    The problem is repeatable every time.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I have the same problem with my Bose Sound Sport. Haven’t figured out a fix, mainly posting so Garmin remains aware of the issue. Hoping a SW update can help fix BT signal strength.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 3820806
    3820806 said:
    I have the same problem with my Bose Sound Sport. Haven’t figured out a fix, mainly posting so Garmin remains aware of the issue. Hoping a SW update can help fix BT signal strength.

    Hello! Have you been able to update the watch to software version 5.60? If not, please update with Garmin Express on your computer. If you have and are still experiencing this issue, please let me know. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Garmin-Isabella

    Yes, the watch software is ver 5.60 and I will get the intermittent BT audio connection while running.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 3820806
    3820806 said:
    Yes, the watch software is ver 5.60 and I will get the intermittent BT audio connection while running.

    Okay, are the Bose Sound Sport headphones also up to date? Have the headphones been removed from your phone before they are paired with your watch? If so on both of these, can I have you remove the headphones from your sensor list, restore to defaults on the watch, then re-pair the watch and headphones. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Garmin-Isabella

    I performed an update on the Bose headphones. Then unpaired the headphones with my phone, removed the headphones from the sensor list on the watch, and restored defaults on the watch. After the restore, I repaired the headphones with the watch and went for a run. In the first 1 - 2 minutes the connection was pretty choppy but then it improved. Through the remainder of the run the connection was pretty good, just a 2 or 3 small 'blips' later that were much less noticeable.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 3820806
    3820806 said:
    I performed an update on the Bose headphones. Then unpaired the headphones with my phone, removed the headphones from the sensor list on the watch, and restored defaults on the watch. After the restore, I repaired the headphones with the watch and went for a run. In the first 1 - 2 minutes the connection was pretty choppy but then it improved. Through the remainder of the run the connection was pretty good, just a 2 or 3 small 'blips' later that were much less noticeable.

    Okay! I am glad to hear this. Here is an article that can also help troubleshoot some of the cut-out issues.

    https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=FnVJLBvvw51RfH3OE2YUO6

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Hi,

    i also experience some stability issues while running with gps and music on with Bluetooth coupled. But only when running in the direct surrounding of 4G/5G telephone masts. 
    as soon as I cleared them the connection goes stable again.  

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to jdgraaf

    I believe I have the same issue. Doesn't happen when my bose earbuds are connected directly to my phone though.