The historical dials of Garmin 955 cannot be deleted.

"My Dials" shows 5, but I actually only have 2. The remaining 3 can't be seen or deleted in Connect IQ. Even when the watch is connected to a computer, I can't find and delete them in the APP folder.

who can help me?

Well, don't know if I can help; only speculate about what's happened. A few firmware versions ago Garmin changed the handling of Connect IQ downloads (watch faces, data fields and apps) to make the setup more 'secure' since they now are focusing on monetizing the store. That is, they wanted to minimise the risk of people hacking or cracking downloaded trial versions or subverting music streaming apps etc. The technique employed is to transfer the data as soon as possible into a hidden partition of the device. For example, if you sideload a watch face from a computer into the 'APPS' directory of the watch, upon USB disconnect it is copied to the hidden partition and deleted from the visible directory.

It seems that there is a bug involved which didn't clear this hidden partition data even though you performed a 'factory reset'. And somehow you now have a mismatch in listed installments... In your shoes I would perform another factory reset, and this time the complicated version by holding down buttons:

1) Press and hold the Light button, Start/Stop button, and Back button at the same time until you can hear a first beep.

2) After the first beep, release the Start/Stop button, but keep holding the Light button and Back button.

3) When you hear a second beep, release the Back button.

The reset procedure now commences. And if a second reset doesn't resolve the issue, I would try to install the three 'ghost' watch faces again - if you can remember which they were - and do a normal deletion of them through the Connect IQ app.

TL;DR use the on-device Connect IQ store app to uninstall sideloaded apps: https://apps.garmin.com/apps/7cd38736-510a-4480-8801-0dfe2f5944af

You may also be able to use Garmin Express on a PC or Mac, although people find that Garmin Express tends to corrupt their settings (e.g. the order of glances may be messed up).

--

- It's not necessary to perform a factory reset. I do think it sucks the "normal" factory reset doesn't actually reset everything. (I've seen this in the past, where screenshots aren't deleted when you do a factory reset.)

- CIQ apps have been hidden for a long time, this isn't a new thing. It started with music apps only (when music apps were introduced), it was extended to additional app types a few years ago, and more recently (last year-ish) it was extended to all app types. I agree that this is done for security reasons, and the move to hide *all* apps is probably related to monetization

- It's a known issue that sideloaded apps can't be managed (uninstalled) with the Connect IQ mobile app anymore. (Well, it's known to devs anyway). There's a long history of bugs with the Connect IQ app and sideloaded apps, so I figure this latest thing is unintentional

- The workaround is to use the on-device Connect IQ store app, which should show all apps (including sideloaded apps), and give you the ability to uninstall any app (including sideloaded apps). If you don't already have this app, install it from here: https://apps.garmin.com/apps/7cd38736-510a-4480-8801-0dfe2f5944af

Great that my half-Gluteus-Maximus reply drew you out. You're the one with intimate knowledge in the IQ area! Yeah, the complete hiding of all apps is oldish, but I was operating from memory where the last time I had the FR955 connected to a computer lies in that timeframe - a year ago or so (and then actually looking at that APPS directory with my FW 19.18 eyes). [Trying to edit this paragraph with little success... I've connected more recently, but didn't explore the directory at the time, and since I'm still on firmware 19.18 I believe some sideloaded apps would remain visible... Or something. Not easy writing English!]

I woke up with the feeling that my reply had concentrated too heavily* on the watch part and that I should ameliorate with suggestions around the Connect IQ app, but my thoughts leaned more towards erasing both app memory cache and data before uninstalling and reinstalling...

* The Way is the movement between brush and ink; between hand and paper.

Thank you very much.

soptunna said:

Yeah, the complete hiding of all apps is oldish, but I was operating from memory where the last time I had the FR955 connected to a computer lies in that timeframe - a year ago or so (and then actually looking at that APPS directory with my FW 19.18 eyes). [Trying to edit this paragraph with little success... I've connected more recently, but didn't explore the directory at the time, and since I'm still on firmware 19.18 I believe some sideloaded apps would remain visible... Or something. Not easy writing English!]

Yeah it's true that if you're on old FR955 firmware, some app types will still be visible, as they were when I first got my FR955 about 2 years ago. But for anyone who's been updating firmware regularly, all app types will have been hidden for quite some time now (maybe about a year).

I wasn't really trying to contradict anything you said (you didn't say anything wrong), it's just that the practice of hiding at least some apps (including music apps, as you said) has been going for a long time (ever since the first Garmin that supports music was released, way back in 2018).

I think the timeline is something like this:

2018: first Garmins that support music are released, Spotify is released a few months later. Music apps and only music apps are hidden. (Crucially, music apps have always been hidden, ever since they were introduced. At this point, no other kind of CIQ apps are hidden)

2022-ish: Additional app types are also hidden (I think device apps and widgets are hidden, but watch faces and data fields are still visible)

2024: Currently supported watches like FR955 are updated so all app types are hidden

Anyway it doesn't really matter what the history is, the reality is that going forward, all app types are hidden on Garmin devices, meaning that the old practice of manually copying PRGs from your old device onto your new device is pretty much over, especially since newer devices are receiving updates such that sideloaded apps have to be built with a new version of the SDK (which kills one of the main reasons for doing this in the first place -- your old device has an unmaintained app that hasn't been updated for new devices, so you manually copy it over.)

FlowState said:

It's a known issue that sideloaded apps can't be managed (uninstalled) with the Connect IQ mobile app anymore. (Well, it's known to devs anyway).

Not only sideloads it seems... The watch face pictured below is called "Elegance" and was created by Garmin themselves, but then later removed from the Connect IQ Store. The Connect IQ App can not see or manage it, though "My Watch Faces" lists it as one extra 'Ghost' Face. The on-device Connect IQ store app, as you informed us, can see and delete it (but have not tried a deletion ;-)