Frequently asked questions

Elevation problems in Garmin Connect

When selecting the activity profile Alpine Skiing the elevation shown in the Garmin Connect summary is wrong due to a bug in the Garmin software/firmware as shown in the figures below:

The shown values in the app are fine as well as the values stored under connect IQ as shown in the figure below:

We already reported the problem in the Garmin forum on 24.02.2019. Press here to see the progress on Garmin side.

Until it is fixed, please use the Generic Profile as activity type as work-around.

What is the purpose of the FREE version?

The FREE Version is fully functional and offers you a basic feature set which allows you to test the application or data field intensively without any risk on your Garmin device. If you like it and would like to have a more advanced feature set, please donate to upgrade to the PREMIUM Version.

How to upgrade to the PREMIUM version?

If you like this application or data field and would like to have more advanced features as well, please donate to upgrade to the PREMIUM version. After donation we will sent you the unlock key immediately.

I did not received the unlock keys for the PREMIUM Version after donation?

After successful donation you immediately will get a mail to the mail address used in PAYPAL. It contains the unlock keys and the activation information for the selected PREMIUM version(s). The information is provided as attached PDF. If this is not the case, please do following:

Check whether you used the right mail address. It is the one you are using in PAYPAL.
Check whether the mail went to your JUNK or SPAM folder.
Write a mail to rh-sp.nosp@m.orts.nosp@m.@gmx..nosp@m.at to request the keys.

What to do if after entering the key, still the FREE version is active?

The FREE version is active if you see the "Please donate as EARLY BIRD" message upon application start. Some users reported that the FREE version is still active after entering the registration key and synchronization. In all known cases the key was entered properly.

Here some important registration hints:

Hint 1: Please copy the registration key with 9 characters length exactly in the given format (XXXX XXXX) into this text field. The registration key is a hexadecimal number (numbers from 0 to 9 and big letters from A to F) and the evaluation is case sensitive. No spaces are allowed at the beginning or end. One space is mandatory after the fourth character.

Hint 2: Users reported that on some devices (e.g. Android-based mobile phones) more than one space is added when copying the key to the app settings field. Please make sure that there is exactly one space after the fourth character.

Hint 3: Please synchronize the settings with your watch afterwards. If you use Garmin Express software on PC or MAC, please disable the bluetooth connection between your mobile phone and watch during configuration as otherwise the settings might be overwritten again.

Hint 4: Sometimes it is necessary to reboot the watch once (for whatever reason).

Hint 5: Please use the right key for the selected application or data field.

Hint 6: Please make sure that there are no floating point values in the app settings anymore (except for Swimming App where they are allowed).

What to do if GPS is not found upon start?

Sometimes it happens that GPS is not found during app startup and the app polls infinitely for a proper GPS signal. According to customer feedback this happens when the Garmin (sensor) firmware was updated. This is out of our control. Following workaround seems to do the trick:

Once start a Garmin native app like running, cycling, etc.
Wait until GPS is found.
Stop the Garmin native app and start one of our apps.
GPS should be found soon.

Note: Indoor it is sometimes very difficult for a device to find a proper GPS signal. So please make sure you do it outdoor.

How to enable GPS, GLONASS or GALILEO?

Garmin does not allow Connect IQ applications to controll that. Following steps seems to do the trick:

Once start a Garmin native app like running, cycling, etc.
Select the required positioning sources in the settings of the native app.
Stop the Garmin native app and start one of our apps.
According to our information the selected sources of the native app are then used for our apps as well.

What to do in case of a app or data field crash upon start?

If you see following icon on your Garmin device upon application start or when you add a data field:

please completely uninstall and reinstall the application or data field. The setting file changed and the automated Garmin install is not replacing the setting file.

What to do if settings cannot be changed?

Currently there is a show stopper problem in the Garmin mobile app for iOS that user settings cannot be changed. Garmin is aware of the problem and made an official statement with a possible work-around. For further details, please click here.

We have tested the workaround with following sequence on an iPhone 7 and it worked properly:

Delete app with Garmin Connect app.
Synchronize.
Once reboot the watch.
Install the app again with the new Connect IQ app.
Configure it with the new Connect IQ app.

Note: Unfortunately this is out of our control and we have to wait until Garmin fixed that problem.

User settings lost after update?

Unfortunately Garmin might reset the user settings when updating the Garmin firmware version of the application or data field. This leads to the problem that all configurations are lost and the FREE Version is active again. I´m testing some work-arounds but so far I was not successful. As soon as I have updates, I will publish them here.

Activity not visible on Garmin Connect?

There could be several reasons why an activity is not visible on Garmin Connect:

Activity recording was never started.
Activity recording was not saved upon leaving the Garmin native app.
No synchronization between device and Garmin Connect happened.
Especially in indoor sessions it can happen that the device stays in Auto-Stop Mode. Please deactivate this feature in the user settings.
Especially in indoor sessions no movements might be detected by the device. Thus distance stays 0. In such a case no activity results are stored on Garmin Connect.

Activity tracking and fitness metric accuracy

The app uses the Garmin API´s to retrieve most of the information and cannot be more precise than the data delivered from there. Garmin states following about activity tracking and accuracy:

"Garmin devices are intended to be tools to provide you with information to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle. Garmin wearables rely on sensors that track your movement and other metrics. The data and information provided by these devices is intended to be a close estimation of your activity and metrics tracked, but may not be precisely accurate. Garmin wearables are not medical devices, and the data provided by them is not intended to be utilized for medical purposes and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Garmin recommends you consult your doctor before engaging in any exercise routine."

Accuracy of wrist-based heart rate (Elevate)

The app uses the Garmin API to retrieve heart rate related data cannot be more precise than the data delivered from there. Regarding wrist-based accuracy, Garmin states following:

"The optical wrist heart rate (HR) monitor for Garmin wearables is a valuable tool that can provide an accurate estimation of the user’s heart rate at any given point in time. The optical HR monitor is designed to attempt to monitor a user’s heart rate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The frequency at which heart rate is measured varies, and may depend on the level of activity of the user. When you start an activity with your Garmin optical HR device, the optical HR monitor measures more frequently. The intent is to provide the user with a more frequent and accurate heart rate reading during a given activity."
"While our wrist HR monitor technology is state of the art, there are inherent limitations with the technology that may cause some of the heart rate readings to be inaccurate under certain circumstances. These circumstances include the user’s physical characteristics, the fit of the device and the type and intensity of the activity as outlined above. The HR monitor data is not intended to be used for medical purposes, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition."
"Wrist heart rate accuracy during swimming is very limited. Garmin does not recommend using wrist heart rate during swimming activities and on some products, wrist heart rate monitoring is disabled while swimming. Garmin recommends using HRM-Swim™ or HRM-Tri™ heart rate monitors with compatible devices to track heart rate while swimming."

Is there a way to enable/disable GLONASS?

The GPS/GLONASS setting is based on what was last used in the Garmin native apps (like cycling, running). Garmin does not allow Connect-IQ apps or data fields to change this setting.

Why is an update of the firmware required?

Some users reported that an update of the firmware is requested even though the latest firmware is already installed. In such a case, please try out following options:

Update your Garmin Express or Garmin Mobile software (if you don´t have the latest versions installed).
Reboot your device once.

Why is info derived from Altitude (e.g, UP, DOWN, VSPD) not accurate?

People with Garmin watches are frequently concerned about the accuracy (or lack of it) of the altitude data (or from altitude derive data) if the info is derived from GPS and not from a barometric altimeter. Many suspect their equipment or the app may even be defective or buggy when they see the altitude data. Unfortunately this is NORMAL as GPS is not accurate enough regarding altitude information. Following Garmin watches have no barometric altimeter and are thus affected:

ForeAthlete® 230J, ForeAthlete® 235J, ForeAthlete® 630J
Forerunner® 735XTJ, ForeAthlete® 920XTJ, Forerunner® 230, Forerunner® 235, Forerunner® 630, Forerunner® 735XT
Vivoactive™

With the integrated GPS receivers, the horizontal error is specified to be within about +/- 15 meters (50 feet) 95% of the time. Most users find this is a conservative specification and that their modern GPS receivers routinely perform better than this worst case specification. But users should expect that SOMETIMES they may see the error approach the specification limits. AND 5% of the time, the error may be "any value" from zero to whatever. Note: Unless you have a CLEAR AND UNOBSTRUCTED view of the sky you can count on your error excursions to be much greater than the above numbers. Your GPS depends on this clear and unobstructed view or it cannot make accurate range measurements to the satellites. Generally, altitude error is specified to be 1.5 times horizontal error specification. This means that the user of standard consumer GPS receivers should consider +/-23meters (75ft) with a DOP of 1 for 95% confidence. Altitude error is always considerably worse than the horizontal (position error). Much of this is a matter of geometry. If we (simplistically) consider just four satellites, the "optimum" configuration for best overall accuracy is having the four SVs at 40 to 55 degrees above the horizon and one (for instance) in each general direction N, E, W, and S. (Note: You will get a very BAD DOP if the SVs are at the exact same elevation. Luckily, this is a rare occurrence.) The similar "best" arrangement for vertical position is with one SV overhead and the others at the horizon and 120 degrees in azimuth apart. Obviously, this arrangement is very poor from a signal standpoint. As a result, of this geometry the calculated solution for altitude is not as accurate as it is for horizontal position. Almost any calibrated altimeter will be more stable at reading altitude than a GPS. GPS altitude measures the user´s distance from the center of the SVs orbits. These measurements are referenced to geodetic altitude or ellipsoidal altitude in some GPS equipment. Garmin and most equipment manufacturers utilize a mathematical model in the GPS software which roughly approximates the geodetic model of the earth and reference altitude to this model. As with any model, there will be errors as the earth is not a simple mathematical shape to represent. What this means is that if you are walking on the seashore, and see your altitude as -15 meters, you should not be concerned. First, the geodetic model of the earth can have much more than this amount of error at any specific point and Second, you have the GPS error itself to add in. As a result of this combined error, I am not surprised to be at the seashore and see -40 meter errors in some spots.

In our applications following data fields are affected if you have no watch with barometric altimeter:

UP
DOWN
VSPD xs, R AVSPD, R MVSPD

What to do if the application does not work?

We do our best to test the application as good as possible. As we do not have all physical available devices and all ANT+ sensors with all combinations of Garmin firmware versions, we have to do most of the tests on the simulator provided by Garmin. If you detect problems with our application on your Garmin watch, please provide us detailed feedback via the official bug report form in order we are able to understand and reproduce your problem. This gives us a fair chance to provide a fix as soon as possible.

Please press here to get the bug report dialog.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for YOUR SUPPORT!!!!