[0x000042]

All Garmin Connect services are currently down.

This affects most (all?) Garmin fitness products such as the popular Fenix watches.

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.

I guess this also means that at some point in the future when Garmin discontinues the servers an enormous amount of watches becomes useless worldwide.

[ck2]

You can still read and parse FIT files via many many utilities and services.

The problem that happened last time is the satellite shortcut files for GPS were never updated for weeks and went stale, so GPS took minutes to lock instead of seconds.

However it is well known now after years how to create the GPS files for mediatek chipsets.

What's never been documented is how to make them for the SONY GPS chipsets.

EPO.bin (mediatek) vs CPE.bin (sony)

this paper lists other potential sources for those files

https://fruct.org/publications/volume-29/fruct29/files/Vin.p...

ADDING:

aha! this is the url for direct download of CPE.bin which you should put into the \GARMIN\REMOTESW directory on your garmin watch/device that has SONY GPS (not mediatek)

      #(save as CPE.bin into \GARMIN\REMOTESW )
      # https://api.gcs.garmin.com/ephemeris/cpe/sony/lle?coverage=WEEKS_1&constellations=GPS,GLONASS,GALILEO,QZSS

[MattBearman]

> 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

[DebtDeflation]

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 Hike Activity to Connect it fails due to not having a cellular connection despite the watch being connected to the phone via Bluetooth.

[pandemicsyn]

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).

[DebtDeflation]

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.

[redleader55]

Last time this happened, there were two effects: on one hand people making fun of not being able to upload their activities to Strava and on the other hand, and more seriously, people not being able to use their aviation navigation systems. Can someone comment if the Garmin aviation devices are affected?

[briandear]

Garmin glass cockpits don’t depend on Garmin services at all. Perhaps updating charts but that’s a monthly thing generally and it’s not done while airborne.

The “not FAA approved” isn’t a thing — there are devices that go in uncertified (experimental) aircraft, but those also don’t depend on live connections to Garmin services.

[xattt]

How would an aircraft be able to reliably “stream in” maps while in flight?

That argument makes no sense, other than a red herring saying “durr, glass cockpit bad”.

[HappyJoy]

They don't. Glass avionics have a charts database that's physically updated about every month

[jayelbe]

Try visiting their FlyGarmin services at - https://fg.garmin.com - certainly looks to be down.

[duxup]

What indicates it’s down on that site?

[jayelbe]

It was loading a blank white page. Looks like it's back now though!

[ramses0]

Likely they are, likely it "shouldn't" matter, as all their advertising says: "Not FAA approved [wink]"

...like, in an emergency it's cool to be able to click a button on your watch and see the closest airport, but you're supposed to have paper maps, a flight plan, a checklist, etc, etc.

[mvdtnz]

My Connect app (Android) still shows current steps, heart rate data, body battery etc. Only the online portions are affected.

[2716057]

Same for me; "completely useless" is a bit exaggerated. Workouts can be recorded and synchronized, they just don't end up in the cloud.

[clarionbell]

Even my antique vivoactive is doing fine. I wouldn't know anything was off if not for the announcement.

[Szpadel]

interesting, when I first checked the app I got all panels as "no data available" but after reading your comment I checked it again and indeed content showed up.

I guess it might need second refresh to properly fallback to local mode

[tallanvor]

Yeah, it seems they've finally added some local caching to the app. Previously when their services were down the Connect app was completely useless, but now even though the graphs aren't updating, I can still see a lot of information.

[ABS]

it's always been possible to connect via USB and manually copy the activity files to analyse them with countless 3rd party tools.

They certainly can change that in the future but they haven't so far

[blackbear_]

> an enormous amount of watches becomes useless worldwide

Not necessarily, some (many?) of these watches are usable without being connected to a phone. Besides being a funcional watch, including timers and alarms, all the fitness tracking and activity recording features work fine, even those that use GPS, at least on my Venu 2.

[aquatica]

> It is not even possible to see local data on the phone.

I can still see and navigate through everything

[wslh]

> 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.

Yes, I think it was so obvious from their UX/UI because it has lags when you use the application which is very common on basic UI front-end consuming remote APIs as its where local. I would say that it even feel slower than great web apps that also depend on remote services.