Garmin Connect services were down
connect.garmin.com
connect.garmin.com
[1] Local-first software:
[2] Murphy's law:
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.
- Attach watch to laptop via USB-C -> opens like a USB drive, showing all the config and activity data files. You aren't locked into Garmin Connect or Strava or any other platform.
- You can also use the Garmin Connect API and go via the web service. I tried that first. But since discovering the raw data is available directly on the watch, I don't anymore.
- Activity data files are in the FIT format. Garmin has an SDK on GitHub in languages including Python, C# and a few others. I've tried the Python one.
- There are a couple of projects on GitHub for decoding FIT files. I've just started writing my own as I want to output modern Pydantic models. (And the Python code in the Garmin SDK is not the most efficient or idiomatic).
I've had my Garmin watch for 10 months now, and rate it as my best ever purchase for improving my fitness and performance, and for overall motivation to be more active. Having easy access to the raw data files is a huge bonus that I didn't originally consider.
They let you develop apps with an API and a proprietary programming language called Monkey C that looks a bit more like JavaScript / ActionScript. It runs in a bespoke VM that has been reverse engineered but I don’t think anyone ported another programming language or LLVM to it.
There is a small open source community.
Overall it’s not that different than developing open source apps for Apple, but with much fewer people.
Here's a quick writeup of my experience:
I'm a very happy Garmin customer. I'm on my 2nd watch, a Venu 3. My favorite feature: the battery lasts multiple days, usually a week, w/o a charge (depending on how I use it).
The watch provides access to its flash storage using MTP (Media Transfer Protocol). This allows me to access the contents and update the music on it using my Linux computer.
I manage the other watch features (tap-to-pay, custom watchfaces, apps) using the Garmin Connect and Garmin IQ app on an Android phone. These are not open source, and I don't know of clones.
The watch UI itself is a pretty clunky, menu-driven design. It took quite a bit of tweaking to configure it to my tastes, but the combination of "glances" and "shortcuts" let me access the features I want within a few swipes, taps, or button presses.
Configuring apps and custom watchfaces requires internet access, as these use javascript-based applets running on your phone inside the Garmin app to do the configuration. This is annoying. Everything else works offline, or with a bluetooth connection to an offline phone (for example, I have a habit of changing the time to my destination timezone when I'm on a flight, this works once I update the timezone on my phone with no internet).
There is a desktop Garmin program for updating firmware, but it is terrible. It is designed to work with every Garmin product (not just watches) and has a definite "design by committee" feel. Luckily, I don't need it. I think I would need to use it if I had one of the larger watches that supports offline maps.
The features I use the most:
- the clock
- sports tracking, step & stair tracking
- tap-to-pay (this is so nice)
- pulse
- the compass (sometimes I just want a cardinal direction when I'm disoriented)
The sleep tracking is interesting, though I don't need it (mostly it says I don't sleep enough).
APIs are locked behind "contact us" button and is only reserved for enterprise users with seemingly arbitrary criteria on what/who they want to work with
... Sorry, what type of file is it? Just a CSV?
Obtaining the file is as easy as connecting the cable to the device and plugging in to a USB port and accessing the mounted drive
FIT format details: https://docs.fileformat.com/gis/fit/
Converter: https://github.com/dodo-saba/fit2gpx
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.
How's the outgoing connection established to send the position established then?
I think the only major impact is that "coached" activities won't be available, but everything else in the watches works without a network connection. Data history isn't hugely available on the watch either, but that's just an inconvenience.
It might be annoying, but it still works. Without a note in the app, i would not have noticed.
Garmin support[2] is not really good. Some commenters here mentioned that Garmin watches can work without servers, maybe that's why.
It's not local-first by definition, because you still need a phone with an app, but it's the best I got for now (apart from finally assembling my PineTime watch).
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.
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.
...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.
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.
That argument makes no sense, other than a red herring saying “durr, glass cockpit bad”.
I guess it might need second refresh to properly fallback to local mode
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.
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.
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
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).
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.
They certainly can change that in the future but they haven't so far
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,QZSSI can still see and navigate through everything
- Coordination of supply drops during multi-day backcountry ski tours.
- Weather updates in the Rocky Mountains where weather can change in an instant.
- Contacting a personal dispatch POC over messaging during an avalanche injury that required SAR without having to hit the SOS button.
Additionally, my wife relies on her inReach mini every day as a safety net as a biologist in remote areas of Colorado. Most people I encounter in the outdoors space rarely use their Garmin for navigation. Instead they use an app akin to onX, Gaia, CalTopo, etc.
It may just be mobile services?
Hopefully they were not hacked again and wiped out like last time where the had to do a full restore for a month.
Another option for syncing is the desktop app, or just manually copying the fit files to somewhere. I sometimes copy the fit files and convert them to gpx to upload GPS traces places. Also I can view the GPX files in e.g. gpxsee which shows them on a map.
Ransomware might be the underlying cause though.