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Managing Music via Garmin Express - It is just broken!!

tishymouse
over 4 years ago

The music management on the 245M is a truly horrible piece of software it simply doesn't work and I am about to give up on it and go back to using my trusty iPod shuffle. Has this functionality even been tested?

I don't even know where to start with my issues. I have playlists on the watch that don't appear on GE, podcasts on the watch that don't appear on GE and when I create a new playlist and try a transfer not all of the items (in this case podcasts) are transferred. Randomly when I open GE I can see none of the current podcasts at all, then they (sometimes) appear next time I connect. I can't ever see playlists on the watch via GE. I now have a bunch of ghost playlists on my watch that I can't delete.

Is there any intention to address these items? Does anyone have any top tips on how to remove the files (other than a full reset)?

I am syncing from iTunes on Windows 10. Running Garmin v4.10 on my watch.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    same here... never got a respond from garmin, works so bad with the playlists from itunes, ghost tracks and playlists..

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Yah.  Known situation.  There are other threads, look for them.  Using MTP (android file transfer if mac, windows explorer view if w$) can provide another view / way to clear / reload.  Certain things are more problematic than others, sometimes transferring in small batches can help, but, yah, it is broken.  Certain things about the brokenness can be inferred / sort of worked around.  I have several conjectures about the expected / tested usage behaviour and about the basic architectural problems that make it less than a simple software fix.  I ranted about it in thread https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-245-series/209042/forerunner-245-music-database-corruption---even-with-3-77-clean-windows-10-and-new-garmin-express.  For me, I've found enough "tolerable" workarounds that I can live with it... but it is a truly horrible issue.  It isn't as simple as "the music management on the 245M" - it is (only guesses, I don't have access to internals) more likely a combination of #1 a pure file-drop MTP communication (which doesn't allow GE to "see" the music database condition on the watch) and memory limitations combined with no sane error handling for them (meaning, when the watch runs out of memory in situations (it doesn't have much) it "brain farts" but doesn't know it enough to be graceful or even report that it brain-farted).  Handling the database out of memory conditions (again, PURE conjecture) would be possible one would think if they hired a more expensive programmer; but fixing the MTP not real connection thing is a deeper architecture / design issue with the whole paradigm.  They took away mass storage mode, which might have allowed a saner integration - but really, it could be done sanely with a message-based or service-based paradigm.  If you just wipe it with both GE and MTP and let it pass the fiber for a day, you can load stuff; *definitely no need for a "full reset"* you can get it to just have a clear music situation.