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Forerunner 245 Suddenly Started Disconnecting/Reconnecting to Android Phone by the Minute ! ?

5097815
over 3 years ago

I've had this watch for over 2 years and it has been maintaining a solid and dependable connection to the phone during that time.  In fact I could walk to another room and maintain connection -  sometimes 2 rooms away. If I was far away from from phone - walk back and always got a quick reconnect.

That is until 2/25/2022 when that all came to a sudden end. 

For the past four days it has been disconnecting and reconnecting minute by minute. Typically it connects for 15 to 60 seconds followed by a disconnect and multiple disconnect notifications over a period of several minutes. Then rinse. Repeat. All day long. Occasionally I'll get a sustained connection period that could last as many as 5 minutes - but these connection windows are rare and purely coincidental. I'm probably going  thru this disconnect / reconnect cycle many 100s of times a day. 

Nothing slow or  subtle in this disconnect/reconnect behavior - it was like a switch went off on Friday morning 2/25/21. That was with a freshly charged phone a few feet away and a watch that was nearly fully charged.

What I have:

Forerunner 245 with version 8.30 firmware (not Music model)

Google Pixel 3a with Android Version 12

Garmin Connect app Version 4.51.1 (for Android)

What I've done

I didn't change anything when this occurred. Nevertheless, read a number of threads and ensured settings to ensure they are as they should be... BT turned on obviously, battery usage unrestricted, permissions set to allow Garmin not in power savings mode, connect to nearby devices, access to mobile device data, etc....

I've reproduced the problem at the office, in the car and at home making it very unlikely there's a localized interference problem. (and turned the Aftershokz BT earphones off just in case)

Restarted the phone a couple of times.

Soft reset on FR245 (hold light button 15 seconds). 

I've noticed the power level on the watch is now lower at the end of the day when I re-charge. Down around low 70s when it used to be in the 80s or better. I'm attributing that to the excessive vibration notifications that have been recurring all day long (and I just now figured out how to turn off).

Not sure what I can really do here at this point. I can watch it and it will connect, share data with the app briefly, then 'poof'! And repeat. 

FWIW and grasping at straws, I do believe there was some sort of Android security patch earlier last week that required a reboot. 

Further suggestions?

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I left the FR245 to recharge over night and this morning set it ON TOP of my phone on the desk. It connected. And stayed connected.

    Experimenting with distances or ranges:

    • 0 inches: Solid connection maintained
    • 6 inches: Occasionally drops connection but readily re-connections
    • 12 inches: Connects for periods of time in minutes (not seconds) but frequently drops, slow to reconnect
    • 24 inches+: Pretty much goes into the constant disconnect and attempt to reconnect mode described above

    So it would appear that the range has dropped suddenly from 20+ feet to effectively 6 inches or less. 

    Phone is not experiencing BT range issues with other devices such as cars, headphones. (these other BT devices do not connect via an app but rather directly connect to the phones BT)

    Further suggestions?

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Battery life has also decreased when the disconnecting issue started. Prior to this the watch typically was down 10% at the end of the day. Since the problem started, it is down about 30% at the end of the day. 

    Suggestions?

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to 5097815
    5097815 said:
    Suggestions?

    Contact Garmin support.

    Obviously here in the forums nobody can help you and official Garmin people maybe read here, but almost never answer.
    Support maybe can help you, perhaps with a replacement. I had a problem with HRM strap quality, contacted support and got a replacement right away, no further questions asked.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    If it is any consolation, I have the 100% exact same problem with my forerunner 245 (non music) and I have given up. Threads highlighting similar issues get hijacked without solution and my watch is out of warranty.

    If you come up with something I'd love to hear it. Super frustrating.

    Adam

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Same problem here.  Have had my 245 since October 2020 and have never had any Bluetooth problem.  The watch could be 70 feet away from my phone and on a different floor and it would still be connected.  Then a few days ago (1/11/2023), I noticed that some of the notifications weren't getting pushed to the phone.  And today (1/14/2023), the watch started complaining that it's disconnected from the phone if I just wander 8 or 10 feet away.  

    Of course, it could a a problem with my phone too.  But I tested my phone with other Bluetooth devices and they all stay connected at long distances.  So I don't think the problem is with my phone.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I have have 245 for years and same phone for over a year. Running software 12.0

    Just recently I have frequent connection / disconnect with phone. Sometimes even while phone is a close and in my pocket. Something has definitely changed with watch. I just can't correlate with a software update.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I had this problem too. What did it for me was resetting my garmin watch and I stopped using a watch face, which hadn't been updated for 2+ years.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I had this problem too. What did it for me was resetting my Garmin watch and I stopped using a watch face, which hadn't been updated for 2+ years.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I had this problem too. My FR245 was purchased in April 2021, almost 2 years ago. Recently I noticed that it can't display notifications from my phone, and upon closer inspection, I found that it doesn't stay connected to my phone(iPhone13pm).

    I tried resetting my watch, pairing my phone again, connecting another phone, downgrading Garmin Connect APP to the version 2 months ago, it still doesn't work.

    Since I recently updated it from 10.40 to 11.60. Since I don't know how to downgrade the watch firmware, I can't be sure if software or hardware is causing the problem. If there is a hardware problem in just two years, Garmin is really bad!!!

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to 1124489

    I contacted  garmin  and finally convinced them that there is an issue with my watch. They are sending a free replacement. I have to pay a deposit but get it back when they received my watch back.