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Sync'ing without internet connection

I've had my FR35 for 6 months or so now. I've noticed that, while sync'ing with my smartphone, if I have no internet connection, the sync won't happen. I'm a touring cyclist and it would be nice if I could buffer my data on my smartphone for the days I don't have a connection. My upcoming tour includes Western Australia where I likely won't have a connection for a few days.

Firstly, is it true that a smartphone is just an intermediary device to get data to the Garmin site, and an Internet connection is mandatory?

If so, then, secondly, are there any workarounds, i.e., is there some sort of hack to buffer the data to my phone?

Thirdly, are there any Garmin activity trackers - NOT bike computers as I want to stay with my Polar - that can transfer data to a phone and then transfer to Garmin when an internet connection is available? I've got GBs of available storage on my phone so that's not a worry.

FYI, Not being able to buffer the FR35 data to my phone, or whatever, without an internet connection is not a showstopper for me, but a 'nice to have,' as my primary cycling computer captures the data I require. It's just that my Polar bike computer is 10 years old and the Garmin technology is a bit newer., and the interface is a bit more modern :-) The Garmin's a lot more power-hungry than my Polar bike computer which only requires battery changes once every 6 months. So, I'm not even sure it's worthwhile taking along... it'd be yet one more thing to power in the Outback...

bryan

0 tmk2 over 4 years ago

7924920 said:
is it true that a smartphone is just an intermediary device to get data to the Garmin site, and an Internet connection is mandatory?

Yes.

7924920 said:
are there any workarounds, i.e., is there some sort of hack to buffer the data to my phone?

Well, if you manage to connect your watch to the phone via the USB cable, then you can offload activity .fit files from the watch to the phone's storage, and then import them manually into Garmin Connect once you're back to civilization. Things get easier if you have a computer with a USB port.

7924920 said:
are there any Garmin activity trackers - NOT bike computers as I want to stay with my Polar - that can transfer data to a phone and then transfer to Garmin when an internet connection is available?

I don't think so, but the more advanced wearables have a lot more storage than the FR35. AFAIK the FR35 holds only 7 most recent activities, while for example the more advanced running watches can hold months of running/cycling (and other) data without the need to upload them to garmin connect.