Garmin notifications on Windows 10 AU

[js14873]

has anybody else lost their notifications after updating to 14393.67? I had it last week and ended up recovering my phone back to 8.1 and taking OTA updates back to 10586.545, because I didn't get any notifications on my Garmin after the update. I had soft reset the phone, sign out and back in and uninstalled/reinstalled the Connect app to no avail. The only thing I didn't try was a hard reset, mainly because other users on the Garmin forum reported the same problem.

I liked everything else I saw on .67 so I'd like to have it back, but not at the expense of Bluetooth smart notifications.

I have a Vivosmart HR+, but it doesn't seem to be device specific.

 

[Podster16]

With my Garmin 235 I've never had the notifications work

 

[js14873]

Garmin doesn't appear to have tested the 235 with any Windows phone model.

The Vivosmart HR and HR+ had notifications until the AU update. I'm seeing on the Garmin forums that 393.82 still hasn't fixed it.

 

[cndspec]

Yes I am only getting intermittent notifications n my Vivosmart HR. I wasn't getting any at all after the AU and then tried reinstalling the app. That allowed me to start getting some notifications. However, it appears that the Bluetooth connection keeps dropping which seems to be causing it. As soon as I manually sync then I get notifications again for a bit.

On an aside, are you also getting a periodic notification on startup of the app indicating "You are running preview software. Some functions may not be working as intended." This is weird in my instance as I am running the public release not an insider version.

 

[js14873]

On an aside, are you also getting a periodic notification on startup of the app indicating "You are running preview software. Some functions may not be working as intended." This is weird in my instance as I am running the public release not an insider version.

Yes, I was getting that notice as well, when I was running .67 on insider preview. Haven't been getting it since I rolled back to 10586.545. I guess it's a sort of acknowledgement of the problem from Garmin, but I wish either Garmin or Microsoft would come out and say something so we'd know whose end it was on and who was going to fix it.

have you tried a hard reset? I saw someone on the Garmin forums with a FR235 that did a long, complex sequence that he couldn't exactly remember of unpairing, pairing, etc using the phone settings instead of GC that fixed his notifications, which makes me wonder if a hard reset would do it.

 

[cndspec]

Haven't tried a hard reset of the phone. However, I also just noticed a couple of days ago that I no longer seem to be getting any intensity minutes registering on the Vivosmart HR. I realized that there was a software update to (3.40) around the same time that the issues started happening. So now of course I am wondering if the problem is on Garmin's end, or is it two separate issues that have coincidentally happened at the same time.

 

[zack251]

I have this problem too. Mine is Vivoactive HR, phone is Lumia 950. Notification is intermittent.

 

[js14873]

update - hard reset didn't fix it. I put in a support ticket with Garmin and they asked a bunch of questions, including that I zip a folder on my Garmin device and send them for analysis.

 

[George Ponder]

I've reached out to Garmin on this issue and so far nothing looks promising. My first response instructed me to make sure lockscreen notifications were turned on and if that didn't fix the problem, my Windows Phone model may not be compatible. I've asked for clarification on the lockscreen solution and that all my Windows Phone models were not sending notifications to the Vivosmart.

The Vivosmart is growing on me and I really would like the notifications to work. Just makes the decision to kill off the Band series all the more frustrating.

 

[buzzard75]

I contacted them regarding their compatibility list. They offer a lot of newer models that just aren't even shown on their Windows Phone compatibility list let alone tested. The rep said that as long as I can get the Garmin Connect app on my phone and my phone was Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) version 4.0 capable, that it would work with the fenix that I was interested in.

I have my doubts.

 

[George Ponder]

Good luck.
I think I'll stick with the Vivosmart and hope things can get fixed. I also like the Fitbit Charge 2, but there's something about the Garmin that grows on you. It's not the flashiest of bands, but has a nice feature set and very comfortable to wear. Plus it's waterproof, which is always a plus!

 

[cndspec]

George,

I'm in the same boat as you. I had a Fitbit and much prefer the Vivosmart HR for comfort and that waterproof feature is now a must have for me. I'm finding that the notifications are coming through sporadically now after the recent update from Microsoft, along with a firmware update from Garmin. Not as reliable as before the AU but better than it was. I'm hanging on in the Garmin camp now.

 

[George Ponder]

Still going back and forth with Garmin support. I think they mean well but do not seem familiar with Windows Phones and there is a tremendous lag time between emails (about 48 hours).

 

[George Ponder]

Crap. I may have sorted it out with notifications and the Vivosmart.

From the Garmin Connect Mobile App I went to Garmin Devices option in the drop down menu.
Then to Device Settings and then to Display Options.
Here you find an option for Visible Screens (never saw this before) where you can turn on and off the various screens on your Vivosmart.

You can find VIRB Remote, Music, Notifications, Floors Climbed, Intensity Minutes, Weather and all the other screens the Vivosmart can display. I turned on the Notifications option and all of a sudden I started getting notifications on the Vivosmart.

Now I was testing a Vivoactive HR that seemed to open up a few more options in the Connect Mobile app that wasn't there before. That could have triggered things or Garmin snuck in an update. The updates are a little sporadic, but working.

 

[cndspec]

George,

I can confirm that that is not my issue at least. I have always had those toggles on for my device. Still finding that the notifications are sporadic and sometimes take some time to actually push to the device. I'm thinking at this point that it is MS and not Garmin.

 

[George Ponder]

Was hoping it was something new, but feared that I simply overlooked the screen toggles. I like the Connect Mobile App isn't the easiest to navigate around and I'd like to have seen the menu items stand out a little better.

As far as the notifications go, they remain sporadic and I agree, there is a slight delay when they do appear. One maybe two seconds after you see them on the phone. Last I heard from Garmin was that they were testing things out on an updated Windows Phone to see if they could replicate the problems.

I hope they sort it out. The more I use the Vivosmart HR+, the more I'm liking it. It's no Band 3, but the waterproofing is nice.

 

[cndspec]

Not certain what has changed in the background this week, however, my notifications now seem to be back to working properly again. Anyone else seeing this a well?

 

[rp0021]

Thank you for your post, just bought the vivosmart hr+ and could not figure out how to turn the notifications on, and this worked.

 

[Yakkob]

Got a VivoActive on it's way. Should be with me tomorrow. I was holding out to see what was coming up but have been watching this one closely as it does everything I need (especially now the notifications are working).
My BAND1 broke last weekend. It lasted twelve months, which isn't great, so I'm hoping the Garmin fares a little better.
Will let you know how I go on.

Cheers

 

[Yakkob]

Well. The vivo connected and stays connected. Notifications are indeed sporadic. It's a hell of a lot comfort than the band1 and the options it had are a huge improvement. Really want the notifications to improve, and I have sent a technical issue report. The more reports they get the better