Garmin fitness device woes...
Discussion
Garmin Forerunner 910XT GPS fitness watch issues.
Hi all. I'm by no means a regular in this subforum. I'm not great with "tech" if I'm honest. But I'm having real trouble getting my Garmin watch to connect to the Garmin Express app (which is the only means available to upload activities from the watch).
The issues started when I wanted to connect an old Garmin Edge 500 cycling GPS to the Express app. Garmin Express needed an update, I was told. So I allowed it to update, but that caused an issue with my Forerunner 910XT watch. Both devices had previously been connected to, and recognised by Garmin Express but now all I got for both devices was a "Sorry, we're having difficulty communicating with our servers" message on the app's "search" page.
A bit of internet digging suggested (from both Garmin and other sources) that what may be needed was to uninstall Garmin Express and to download and install it again. I carefully noted the steps for my OS (Windows 10) and carried them out.
Troubleshooting suggestions after reinstalling Garmin Express covered quitting the app, restarting the PC, and priming the settings on the watch to turn "pairing" on. I did all that. Still no joy though. I needed to set up my account with an email address, etc. Initially that was troublesome. I tried signing in with my email and password but it wouldn't accept them. I hit the "forgot password?" button, expecting an email to arrive with a temporary password to regain access. There was nothing in my inbox. Tried again, though, and eventually I was allowed to sign in using the email address and password which were initially rejected. Weird, but hey?
I managed to plug the USB cable for my Edge 500 GPS into the computer and Garmin Express searched successfully for it. So now I thought I'd fixed things. I had (what appeared to be) a working version of Garmin Express. I had synced this with my old Garmin Connect account which still had all my old activities listed, AND which had a listing for my 910XT watch. So 'Connect' has a record of the watch, but 'Express' cannot find the watch.
Like I say, I've tried everything I can think of to sort this. Uninstall/reinstall Garmin Express. Sync Express with Garmin Connect. Restart the PC. Turn off the WiFi router and turn it back on again. Turn off the 910XT watch, turn it back on again, and made sure I've set the watch to pair with Express via the provided ANT+ stick. And this is the problem. There is no way (that I'm aware of) to physically connect the watch to the PC to troubleshoot it. It only connects via the ANT+ stick and no amount of "searching for a device" will find in on Garmin Express.
I've exhausted my ability to pick through the Garmin website for "help" topics too. I've got to the stage where I'm going around in a loop and just trying the same solutions over again, even down to "run the initial startup wizard on next startup" on the watch itself. Nothing seems to work. I've removed all Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices from the vicinity lest they were interfering with the short range ANT+ signal. It's driven me mad this morning...
...so can anyone suggest something that a "basic device user" with little specific IT knowledge could try and/or might have overlooked in this matter?
To make it clear, the watch had been paired with, regularly connected to, and uploading to Garmin Express until I had this "server communication error" message after I'd accepted an update. The uninstall/reinstall of Garmin Express has solved the problem with the Edge 500 GPS, but caused a bigger (it seems) issue with the Forerunner 910XT device. I'm just left wishing I'd never updated Garmin Express now as I'd rather the watch worked than the Edge 500 cycle computer if I'm honest.
Yours,
Frustrated Garmin Owner
Hi all. I'm by no means a regular in this subforum. I'm not great with "tech" if I'm honest. But I'm having real trouble getting my Garmin watch to connect to the Garmin Express app (which is the only means available to upload activities from the watch).
The issues started when I wanted to connect an old Garmin Edge 500 cycling GPS to the Express app. Garmin Express needed an update, I was told. So I allowed it to update, but that caused an issue with my Forerunner 910XT watch. Both devices had previously been connected to, and recognised by Garmin Express but now all I got for both devices was a "Sorry, we're having difficulty communicating with our servers" message on the app's "search" page.
A bit of internet digging suggested (from both Garmin and other sources) that what may be needed was to uninstall Garmin Express and to download and install it again. I carefully noted the steps for my OS (Windows 10) and carried them out.
Troubleshooting suggestions after reinstalling Garmin Express covered quitting the app, restarting the PC, and priming the settings on the watch to turn "pairing" on. I did all that. Still no joy though. I needed to set up my account with an email address, etc. Initially that was troublesome. I tried signing in with my email and password but it wouldn't accept them. I hit the "forgot password?" button, expecting an email to arrive with a temporary password to regain access. There was nothing in my inbox. Tried again, though, and eventually I was allowed to sign in using the email address and password which were initially rejected. Weird, but hey?
I managed to plug the USB cable for my Edge 500 GPS into the computer and Garmin Express searched successfully for it. So now I thought I'd fixed things. I had (what appeared to be) a working version of Garmin Express. I had synced this with my old Garmin Connect account which still had all my old activities listed, AND which had a listing for my 910XT watch. So 'Connect' has a record of the watch, but 'Express' cannot find the watch.
Like I say, I've tried everything I can think of to sort this. Uninstall/reinstall Garmin Express. Sync Express with Garmin Connect. Restart the PC. Turn off the WiFi router and turn it back on again. Turn off the 910XT watch, turn it back on again, and made sure I've set the watch to pair with Express via the provided ANT+ stick. And this is the problem. There is no way (that I'm aware of) to physically connect the watch to the PC to troubleshoot it. It only connects via the ANT+ stick and no amount of "searching for a device" will find in on Garmin Express.
I've exhausted my ability to pick through the Garmin website for "help" topics too. I've got to the stage where I'm going around in a loop and just trying the same solutions over again, even down to "run the initial startup wizard on next startup" on the watch itself. Nothing seems to work. I've removed all Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices from the vicinity lest they were interfering with the short range ANT+ signal. It's driven me mad this morning...
...so can anyone suggest something that a "basic device user" with little specific IT knowledge could try and/or might have overlooked in this matter?
To make it clear, the watch had been paired with, regularly connected to, and uploading to Garmin Express until I had this "server communication error" message after I'd accepted an update. The uninstall/reinstall of Garmin Express has solved the problem with the Edge 500 GPS, but caused a bigger (it seems) issue with the Forerunner 910XT device. I'm just left wishing I'd never updated Garmin Express now as I'd rather the watch worked than the Edge 500 cycle computer if I'm honest.
Yours,
Frustrated Garmin Owner
I've not read through all of your post, but surely you can sync your watch with the connect mobile app?
I've got a Fenix 5 and an Edge 1030 which both use the Garmin Connect app, and then from the app it syncs with Strava etc. The only time I've ever used the Garmin Express software was to update the map region on my 1030.
I've got a Fenix 5 and an Edge 1030 which both use the Garmin Connect app, and then from the app it syncs with Strava etc. The only time I've ever used the Garmin Express software was to update the map region on my 1030.
Harpoon said:
Sounds like an ANT+ issue between the 910XT and PC.
Have you moved the ANT+ stick between USB ports? Does it (the ANT+ stick) show up in Device Manager (without any warnings about missing drivers or similar)?
Have you moved the ANT+ stick between USB ports? Does it (the ANT+ stick) show up in Device Manager (without any warnings about missing drivers or similar)?
THANK YOU!!!
Thank you for helping me with this.
Did I mention I'm not great with IT?
That was the solution. If you hadn't mentioned it I'd never have known to look in 'Device Manager', but somehow I found it, and managed to pick out the ANT+ stick in a long list of "devices". When I clicked on it, it told me that there were "no drivers installed for this device". A quick search for, selection of, and installation of a driver/drivers later and the watch was found, installed, paired with, and connected to both 'Garmin Express' and 'Garmin Connect'. Two previously recorded activities have also been uploaded from the watch to 'Express', synced successfully to 'Connect', and subsequently been synced to Strava. It would seem that all is once again good with my (admittedly out-of-date) systems.
Thank you again for pointing out the problem. It's very much appreciated and has probably saved me from hours of tearing out what little of my hair I have left. I'm so relieved to have it working again, I didn't realise quite how important my Garmin and my Strava account were to me until I was facing the prospect of it not working...
Freakuk said:
I've not read through all of your post, but surely you can sync your watch with the connect mobile app?
I've got a Fenix 5 and an Edge 1030 which both use the Garmin Connect app, and then from the app it syncs with Strava etc. The only time I've ever used the Garmin Express software was to update the map region on my 1030.
As per my previous post, things appear to be working again after Harpoon's prompt to look at device drivers for the ANT+ stick.I've got a Fenix 5 and an Edge 1030 which both use the Garmin Connect app, and then from the app it syncs with Strava etc. The only time I've ever used the Garmin Express software was to update the map region on my 1030.
Your comments, though? I'm not sure what the answer is to connecting the watch via the mobile app. It's an older watch and I've only ever used the ANT+ stick via a PC or laptop to connect/upload/download/update the watch. The watch (and the Edge 500) both predate my ownership of a smartphone to be fair. And the "smart"phone I have is a very low grade thing called a Tokio Phablet II which my nephew gave to me because he and his mother (my sister) were shocked at the old Nokia 3310 I was still using. The Tokio thing is so short on memory now that it only has two "user added" apps - Strava and Instagram. And Instagram struggles to open at all these days if there are more than a handful of photos in the gallery. I know the solution is a new phone, but now is not the time to be signing up for a contract, and buying a new phone (I'm on PAYG still) outright is currently out of reach financially. It's definitely a question I should look for an answer to, though, because I might be able to persuade my wife to download the Connect mobile app onto her phone to sync my activities if the 910XT watch will work at all with the mobile app. Food for thought, I think... Thanks for the suggestion.
Excellent - always nice to nail a problem.
I've got a 310XT gathering dust in a drawer, so I've wrestled with ANT+ and .FIT files in the past.
{Edit}
FWIW, I don't think the 910XT supports Bluetooth LE (BTLE), only ANT+ so will need to transfer via a PC (with the ANT+ stick) and upload via Garmin Express.
I'm still using an Edge 800 which has to sync via Garmin Express over USB. I put a new battery in it last year but otherwise in December it will be 10 years old!
I've got a 310XT gathering dust in a drawer, so I've wrestled with ANT+ and .FIT files in the past.
{Edit}
FWIW, I don't think the 910XT supports Bluetooth LE (BTLE), only ANT+ so will need to transfer via a PC (with the ANT+ stick) and upload via Garmin Express.
I'm still using an Edge 800 which has to sync via Garmin Express over USB. I put a new battery in it last year but otherwise in December it will be 10 years old!
Edited by Harpoon on Friday 26th August 12:38
Edited by Harpoon on Friday 26th August 12:38
2 things I've learned with Garmin gear over the years (watches and Edges) :
1 : Never update the firmware unless it offers a fix to a problem you're having or adds new functionality you need and always have a rollback version of the firmware ready in case it ballses it up, Chances are sooner or later it will
2 : Never use the Express software. Ever
1 : Never update the firmware unless it offers a fix to a problem you're having or adds new functionality you need and always have a rollback version of the firmware ready in case it ballses it up, Chances are sooner or later it will
2 : Never use the Express software. Ever
Gren said:
2 things I've learned with Garmin gear over the years (watches and Edges) :
1 : Never update the firmware unless it offers a fix to a problem you're having or adds new functionality you need and always have a rollback version of the firmware ready in case it ballses it up, Chances are sooner or later it will
2 : Never use the Express software. Ever
How do you transfer workouts from ANT+ only devices without using Express? I don't remember my 310XT ever showing up in Windows to grab the .fit file for a manual upload - only one Express had synced was the fit file available somewhere in the Garmin folder structure1 : Never update the firmware unless it offers a fix to a problem you're having or adds new functionality you need and always have a rollback version of the firmware ready in case it ballses it up, Chances are sooner or later it will
2 : Never use the Express software. Ever
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