Forerunner 45 newbie

So you manage syncing without WiFi  - using just your data package from your telecom service provider? And does it do this automatically or do you hit the sync button? Maybe I should give this a go at the end of a run before driving back home. 

Yes, I sync without Wi-Fi. I live in a small town where there's no public Wi-Fi, and I normally finish my run before I get home, to allow time for a cool-down walk. I stop the watch, and typically within a minute or so I'll get a chirp from the watch and a notification from Strava that "Your run is ready to view".

Now I'd always assumed that syncing to Garmin Connect required only a Bluetooth connection, but:

RobinNZ said:

Your phone having an internet connection is required to sync though as any activity data is stored in the cloud rather than on your phone.

That may very well be true*. The phone signal is a bit patchy round here, and last time I went out the watch failed to sync automatically. There are also times when it's automatic, but takes longer. So it seems likely that lack of any internet connection – either Wi-Fi or mobile data – will prevent an automatic sync to Garmin Connect. (I'm pretty certain that syncing onwards from Connect to Strava, if you do that, will need an internet connection.)

If you have a decent data signal at the point where you finish your run, I'd expect it to sync automatically before you are ready to drive home. If you don't, I'd expect it to sync automatically once you get back into Wi-Fi range. If neither of those is happening then something is amiss.

There isn't a sneaky setting for auto vs manual sync, is there?

*My Android phone shows the Connect app at 200+ MB, so I reckon there's a good deal of data being stored on the phone. But that doesn't mean an internet connection isn't required for syncing.

BeeCee said:

Am used to running with Strava app on iPhone where GPS pick up is instant. Can take quite a while on 45 which seems very odd for a dedicated GPS device. Very frustrating but if that’s normal I’ll have to live with it. 

There does seem to be a lot of frustration around both satellite acquisition times and accuracy. All I can say is that here in the UK I get a lock in around 10 seconds on a good day, perhaps 1 minute on a bad day. Is that too slow for you? As tmk2 said, the antenna is small.

I live in a fairly GPS-friendly environment without tall buildings. I have it set to use GPS and Glonass, not Galileo, because I read somewhere that that was the most thoroughly tested setup. I used it in Austria over Christmas and that was fine too. Accuracy is no better than my old Forerunner 35, but I reckon both do a pretty good job under trees. If I can see where I changed from one side of the road to the other, I'm happy :-)

I do most of my group runs in a town centre so I’d expect good signal - 4g - there but I will remind myself to actually check next time I’m there.  Where I actually live, mobile signal can be dire but if the phone and garmin are side by side then Bluetooth should kick in at least for the transfer between those two. Once again, I’ll need to stop and check. 

I’ll see if I can find any mention of a manual/automatic upload setting anywhere. 

Thanks for all your input. 

1. I’ve done a bit of searching tonight and found a couple of posts which have proved useful. I got a new phone at the same time as the Garmin so know it has the version of software that is referred to here which is known to cause problems. I followed through with each of the suggested steps and found that a connection was established after number 3. I also toggled the button to ‘always’ in location settings as per the second link. Here’s hoping I have a permanent fix. 

(Have tried to add the links but am unable to .)

For my run last night the lock time was the usual 10 seconds, and auto-sync was the usual minute or two once I stopped. But yes, pressing the "Start" button and choosing "Run" is something you should do while the rest of the group are still tying their shoelaces. The watch will buzz when it gets a lock, and you then have five minutes or so (I'm not sure if that's adjustable) until it starts to go into power-saving mode, which will turn off GPS. But you get a warning, so it's not a huge deal.

Good luck with your running career and with any other Garmin issues! I'm not remotely competitive – the occasional parkrun is the nearest I get to a race – but still I like to improve, so I love the Garmin data. And the "virtual coach" thing seems very promising.