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Edge 1030 Bluetooth connection only works when Garmin Connect is open on phone

Hi there,

I upgraded my Edge 1000 to an Edge 1030 some months back, and I like the unit except one (vital) thing, which is the bluetooth functionality. It is only connected to my OnePlus 6 when the Garmin Connect app is open. If not, it simply will not connect. And if I make sure that it is connected before a ride (by having the mobile phone screen on and the Garmin Connect app open), then it only works until the BT connections is dropped, then it never reconnects again.

I never saw any issues like that on my Edge 1000, and neither on my Forerunner 735XT, the connection just works perfectly.
I wrote to Garmin (in Denmark), and their response is that the Edge 1030 works differently than other Garmin devices when it comes to Bluetooth, and they are aware of the problem, but the problem is actually on the phone side, so they are not necessarily going to do anything about it.

It may very well be true that the phone is the problem, but now I have a solution that does not work for me. All online features are essentially no good, as the connection is too unreliable. And for example the incident detection was one of the reasons I bought the unit, but obviously that cannot be trusted at all.

Anyway, I see post here and there with people experiencing the same thing. Perhaps it would be a good idea to gather those experiences in this thread? Perhaps people would be kind enough to post which phone they have that DON'T work, so that we can get an idea just how many phones will have issues with the Edge 1030.

As mentioned I have a OnePlus 6

Thanks.

0 steve_s_t over 6 years ago

I have to turn my 1030 on, then open Garmin Connect on my Pixel 2 manually every time, although the 2 usually then connect straight away. If I forget to do this the wind speed/ direction widget that I use won't work ("no phone connected" error). However, I do occasionally get a "phone disconnected" message on the Garmin during the ride, but even though the app and the 1030 have definitely disconnected, the wind speed widget continues to work. All very glitchy and confusing, although I have internet based connectivity issues with the Pixel 2 and my car (which I solve by toggling roaming, of all things") so I wouldn't rule out some of the flakiness being down to the phone, not just the Garmin.

0 steve_s_t over 6 years ago

Well, I used the 1030 with the latest Connect Mobile update for my commute last night, and whilst I still had to open the app before it would connect to my phone, the ride did upload itself automatically (after I'd saved it) for the first time in months. No such luck this morning though as the phone lost connectivity with the app again, after about an hour of riding, so I had to manually reconnect and sync to Connect to get the ride data uploaded. One step forward..........................

0 whitesnuf over 6 years ago

I had exact the same problem with the Edge 1030 and the OnePlus6, even the older one 1000 have had this problems with the OnePlus6. Numerous deletions and new pairings doesn't help so I was on the way to give up.

Yesterday I discovered that after Pairing in Garmin Connect the Edge 1030 was also in saved in my known Android Bluetooth Devices. There I the deleted it and it seems that the connection to
Connect works flawless without opening Garmin Connect.

I will keep you updated on success or another failed try for solution

0 grunk over 6 years ago

well there is a few issue and things to remember
i had a edge 1000 myself and now edge 1030
the old edge 1000 had to be paired to the phones bluetooth settings but the new edge 1030 should not be paired to the phone but only to the connect app..
i am a apple user and when i got my edge 1000 everything worked perfectly,even if the connect app wasnt open BUT with an IOS update that chenged overnight and after that the connect app allways have to be open in the background to work properly
this is in no way an issue as long as one remember to start the app everything works but it is not garmin that have done restriction rather than the phone developers

0 whitesnuf over 6 years ago

The most interesting part is: I have never paired the 1030 direct to the phone. All pairing was done in Connect, nevertheless there was an entry in "Known Devices" in the Buetooth Settings from Android.

0 Philippe57 over 6 years ago

well there is a few issue and things to remember
i had a edge 1000 myself and now edge 1030
the old edge 1000 had to be paired to the phones bluetooth settings but the new edge 1030 should not be paired to the phone but only to the connect app..
i am a apple user and when i got my edge 1000 everything worked perfectly,even if the connect app wasnt open BUT with an IOS update that chenged overnight and after that the connect app allways have to be open in the background to work properly
this is in no way an issue as long as one remember to start the app everything works but it is not garmin that have done restriction rather than the phone developers

The same for me. I Have an Iphone 7 with EDGE1030. The edge was installed by connect with in bluetooth, EDGE 1030 and BT_Edge 1030.

The two must be connected and you need connect to do so.

I have an Samsung Frontier watch with the same matter. The APP Galaxy needed to be started for it to work. After new APP release and IOS ... it works without the APP Galaxy Watch started. Samsung has founded a way ... perhaps, one day, garmin will too ...

0 cheracogoff over 6 years ago

Concerning the connection to a Iphone. I have a Iphone6 with the latest firmware. It connects fine with the 1030 without the connect app running. It should be noted that when you look at the Iphone's bluetooth settings, only Edge 1030 should show. You do not need BT_Edge 1030 connected. My understanding this connects only when there is a need to transfer data to the phone like when you save a ride. I have looked at the Iphone when saving a ride and I saw the connection take place.

0 whitesnuf over 6 years ago

After countless attempts, new pairing, resets and permission assignments I give it up and hope that Garmin gets it someday solved.

0 Martin868 over 6 years ago

Concerning the connection to a Iphone. I have a Iphone6 with the latest firmware. It connects fine with the 1030 without the connect app running. It should be noted that when you look at the Iphone's bluetooth settings, only Edge 1030 should show. You do not need BT_Edge 1030 connected. My understanding this connects only when there is a need to transfer data to the phone like when you save a ride. I have looked at the Iphone when saving a ride and I saw the connection take place.

For the transfer to work you need to Garmin Connect Mobile app to be loaded on the phone. If it runs in the background that is sufficient, does not need to be the active app on the screen. But it definitely needs to be loaded for any transfer with Garmin servers to take place. This is independent of the BT connection process. The app acts as a bridge between the Edge and the Garmin servers. If the phone establish a BT connection to the Edge without the app running (which will happen, they are independant processes), the actual data transfer won't take place. You should get an error message in that case when the Edge tries to transfer data. I personally let the GCM app run in the background all the time and let it do it's things. That's how it works. Cheers.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Once in a blue moon my 1030 will connect to my phone (Garmin Pixel 2, Android 9) without GCM running in the foreground. But the great majority of the time, the 1030 and phone will not establish a connection until the GCM app is started on the phone. And this is after having performed a factory reset on the 1030 and having uninstalled/reinstalled GCM on the phone is an attempt to fix the problem.

I also notice that even once there is a connection between phone and 1030, every so often I will get a beep from the 1030, and on looking at the display I see a "Phone connected" message briefly appear at the top of the screen. This usually happens three or four times during the course of an activity lasting several hours. So it seems that even once the connection has been established, it's not stable.