Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Garmin Connect services were down

connect.garmin.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 74 posts

Re: Garmin Connect services were down

#61

Post by pandemicsyn »

DebtDeflation wrote: post #46
MattBearman wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The Garmin Connect app seems to be completely useless without the Garmin Connect servers being up. It is not even possible to see local data on the phone. Not the case, I can see all the local data from my watch in the app and still sync the two, just missing cloud backups and online specific functionality

Are you sure about that? I have a Garmin Fenix 6 and the Connect app on Android. While it's true that all data is stored locally on the watch and it doesn't need to be tethered to a phone to work, I'm pretty sure that syncing the watch to the Connect app does require the Connect app to be connected to the server. I have experienced this multiple times, after completing a hike in a remote area and I try to sync the Hi…

I could swear I've also gotten data sync's while in limited connectivity situations, but to be fair could be that occasionally it was just able to phone in enough to do its thing.

Service is back up, so just testing real quick, at least on IOS , turning off wifi/cellular (not airplane mode) - my fenix at least seems to still be streaming heart rate data to the app. Not entirely sure what else will update from local data though (if anything).

Re: Garmin Connect services were down

#62

Post by _spduchamp »

We got a Garmin watch for our daughter when she started walking to school on her own. It works pretty well but communication is delayed and sometimes not reliable on rainy days. When we first got it was very unreliable, but after contacting Garmin support, the did some sort of test over the network, made some change, and it was working much more reliably after that. I have no idea what they adjusted to get it working. We're pretty happy with it.

Re: Garmin Connect services were down

#63

Post by TacticalCoder »

_spduchamp wrote: post #62

We got a Garmin watch for our daughter when she started walking to school on her own. It works pretty well but communication is delayed and sometimes not reliable on rainy days. When we first got it was very unreliable, but after contacting Garmin support, the did some sort of test over the network, made some change, and it was working much more reliably after that. I have no idea what they adjusted to get it working…

> We got a Garmin watch for our daughter when she started walking to school on her own.

How does that work? Does the watch have its own SIM card? Does she need to carry a phone for the Garmin watch to work?

Asking for I bought a cheap chinese watch but it's a standalone watch that takes a SIM and, James Bond style, allows to pass and receive phone calls (without needing a lame iPhone in your pocket: the watch is really standalone). The phone feature is really fine but sadly the battery empties quickly (in a day) and the location isn't very accurate.

Re: Garmin Connect services were down

#64

Post by TacticalCoder »

hbbio wrote: post #8
teleforce wrote: post #5

All wearable devices should implement local-host functionality and capability by default, failure to do so it's not acceptable from the perspective of Murphy's Law [1], [2]. [1] Local-first software: https://localfirstweb.dev/ [2] Murphy's law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law

Unlike the Apple Watch, or Fitbit (Google), the Garmin watches function properly without being tethered to a phone. You can setup a watch without a phone and without ever activating the online services. They are here only for backup and additional features like social sharing. You can also backup locally with open source software if you want. That's why I chose one and it's one of the best products I ever had.

> Unlike the Apple Watch, or Fitbit (Google), the Garmin watches function properly without being tethered to a phone.

How's the outgoing connection established to send the position established then?

Re: Garmin Connect services were down

#65

Post by dietr1ch »

hbbio wrote: post #8
teleforce wrote: post #5

All wearable devices should implement local-host functionality and capability by default, failure to do so it's not acceptable from the perspective of Murphy's Law [1], [2]. [1] Local-first software: https://localfirstweb.dev/ [2] Murphy's law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law

Unlike the Apple Watch, or Fitbit (Google), the Garmin watches function properly without being tethered to a phone. You can setup a watch without a phone and without ever activating the online services. They are here only for backup and additional features like social sharing. You can also backup locally with open source software if you want. That's why I chose one and it's one of the best products I ever had.

Yes, but not too long ago they ruined the Android app and made it depend on their servers. At least the watch works fine, but I suspect it's only because the battery isn't large enough to cut lazy devs and hasty PMs from working on harder problems.

Re: Garmin Connect services were down

#66

Post by DebtDeflation »

pandemicsyn wrote: post #61
DebtDeflation wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure about that? I have a Garmin Fenix 6 and the Connect app on Android. While it's true that all data is stored locally on the watch and it doesn't need to be tethered to a phone to work, I'm pretty sure that syncing the watch to the Connect app does require the Connect app to be connected to the server. I have experienced this multiple times, after completing a hike in a remote area and I try to sync the Hi…

I could swear I've also gotten data sync's while in limited connectivity situations, but to be fair could be that occasionally it was just able to phone in enough to do its thing. Service is back up, so just testing real quick, at least on IOS , turning off wifi/cellular (not airplane mode) - my fenix at least seems to still be streaming heart rate data to the app. Not entirely sure what else will update from local d…

Ok, I just tried again.

Turned off WiFi and put phone into Airplane Mode. Verified that Bluetooth is still connected to the watch.

Go into the Connect app. There's a big red box that says "No Internet Connection."

Heart Rate is transmitting to the Connect App in real time.

However, if I try to run a Sync from Connect, it hangs and then fails.

Turn on WiFi and take phone out of Airplane Mode. Run a Sync from Connect. It completes successfully.

Confirmed - If you complete an Activity and want to sync your watch to your phone with the Connect app, your phone must have an Internet connection.

Re: Garmin Connect services were down

#67

Post by avg_dev »

darrenf wrote: post #58
avg_dev wrote: post #56

Tangent: is it possible to use a Garmin watch without turning Bluetooth on on my phone and still get the data synced somehow?

Yes, some (many?) Garmins have wifi which it can use to sync activities. For example my Venu 2 supports syncing with Garmin Connect over wifi: https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-D93137A9-B374-4...

thanks!

Re: Garmin Connect services were down

#68

Post by rojeee »

hihungryimdad wrote: post #45
rojeee wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, I have a Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED. It's an excellent watch. I run for 6-8 hours a week and I only need to charge it once a week. It is very hard wearing and has so many capabilities I don't know where to start. It even has a flashlight with red LED for during the night. With Garmin connect down I can just grab the FIT file from the watch and upload to Strava manually or perform my own analysis locally.

Rojee, could you provide more information about grabbing the FIT file from the watch? Also, what kind of analysis do you do locally? ... Sorry, what type of file is it? Just a CSV?

Sure. It's a binary file and there is a spec for it on the garmin website. There's lots of libraries available for most popular languages for decoding and encoding. You can download an app for your computer. I believe it's called Garmin Express, which allows you to sync fit files to your machine.

I'm building a running analytics app, which is really just for myself but if it turns out to be any good then I'll might turn it into a SaaS. Target market would be for fairly decent amateur runners (e.g. 2:20-2:30 marathon) but not good enough to be pro. The pros have awesome tools but sadly most are not available for us mere mortals but I can build some of them! Example features:

1. The strava GAP model doesn't fit very well for me. So I've made my own. I update the model each month too.

2. I've also built a wind resistance model which works quite well. I'm trying to do the same for surface types, heat and humidity as well.

3.Using adjused pace data I built a pace/duration model to estimate critical speed and this model forms the basis of tracking progress over time. Clearly most training wont be all out efforts, so I also estimate race performances based upon current fitness as well. E.g. if you ran X speed for Y time at a sub maximal effort then you can estimate what a maximal effort would be based upon the remaining aerobic and anaerobic power. From reading sports science literure, this is the most advanced way to track performance at the moment. The actual model I use is called an omniduration model [1].

4. I also have build some other models, e.g. Daniels running formula, which can be used but I don't find them to be as useful as the omniduration model.

5. I'm also trying to model how a workout will effect your fitness. Where it's base/aerobic, threshold, VO2max or an anaerobic effect. Then, the idea would be to look at future training performance to assess whether the model was correct. This was you might be able to determine which types of sessions result in the best outcomes for you.

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32131692/

Re: Garmin Connect services were down

#69

Post by thefz »

teleforce wrote: post #5

All wearable devices should implement local-host functionality and capability by default, failure to do so it's not acceptable from the perspective of Murphy's Law [1], [2]. [1] Local-first software: https://localfirstweb.dev/ [2] Murphy's law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law

They do, you just don't know it.
Post reply on HN