VA5 disconnecting since Android 16 update

https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/healthandwellness/f/venu-3-series/415237/pixel-8a-android-16-and-venu-3-14-15-toxic-combination/1948558#1948558

Looks like it's happening with the Venu 3 as well.  Used to be that when my watch would disconnect, it at least remembered when I'd set it back up that I'm left-handed and that I wear my watch on my right hand.  Now it forgets even that.  I get the welcome email every time I reconnect it.

Widespread. I can't make my va5 connect anymore. So frustrating 

Same here with a Pixel 9a following the Android 16 update. Frustrating.

Rebooting the vivoactive 5 makes it discoverable again, but I have to re register the device.  Not really useful since app notifications stop working almost immediately.

Unpair watch from android bluetooth settings, clear all data from connect app. put watch in pairing mode and pair it using android bluetooth settings, after that open connect app and it will discover the watch automatically. It is the best workaround, garmin does not care about this watch and the poor app they developed. Its a sham that an 50€ chinese brand phone doesn not have nothing of this problems and an almost 300€ watch has. Garmin doesn not care, it was the first and last Garmin watch for me, i'm on the second unit after the first has been replaced because of the same problerms, the new unit behaves the same, the only workaraound is the one i mencioned before.

Just a heads up - when it's disconnected like this, the security features don't work.  As in, incident detection, assistance, etc. can't notify anyone.  

I've spent a ton of time on with Google and with Garmin.  Both blame the other and nobody seems to give a rip that these watches that we paid a decent amount for are paperweights right now.

Thank you for trying Mrs. B.

If any Product Manager/ UX Researcher / Tech Lead is reading this. After having lived through this bug twice (each spamming weeks to months) since I bought your watch, I do not have faith on a permanent solution. As a result, I'm moving to OnePlus this same month, one of your competitors.

I'd love to hear how many vivoactive 5 owners will renew their watch for another from your brand after getting this experience. Specially as Pixel is increasing market share everywhere. My guess is that not that many.

Yep. I'm actively shopping for a different watch. Probably Pixel or Fitbit. I've loved Garmin, my VA 3 is still going, my daughter uses it. My son has one, my Mother-in-law has one. I will not have another. This twice thing is too much. One was a Garmin update, one a Google update. And the only response being a shrug and finger pointing is so frustrating. I'm a substitute teacher. I can't have my phone out in class, but need to know my kids get where they're going safely. Can't do that if I can't get notifications. Can't walk on my own and feel safe that my watch can notify my family if there's a problem. Yes, it still track things, but an old Fitbit Versa can do that. 

I have a VA5 and also going for a diffent brand, my wife bought a 50€ smartwatch that is always connected to phone, super stable, Garmin in all is expertise says Google is the one to blame, Google says: hey we "own" android so this are the rules, Garmin says i dont care! Customers complaint and Garmin says i don't care! Well never tough to see again the old days of Garmin behaving like when GPS market was a thing, tottaly destroied in market share by TomTom, the same will happen with the smartwatch market. Nevertheless there is (to me) more to this, there must also be some kind of hardware problem thats why there is a VA6 but Venu 3 still remains... well just my two cents. Thanks Garmin for this lousy experience on an almost 300€ watch. Lesson learned and yes it was my fault.

The July update on our Pixels seemed to have helped, but as in the other thread, several of us woke up to disconnected devices.  I've even tried a full reset of the watch, forgot it from BT, uninstalled Connect, rebooted the phone, then set it up as a Bluetooth device BEFORE connecting it to the Connect app and it was just disconnected again, about an hour after I did that.