JUMP TO:

Garmin announces automatic sync with Strava, MapMyFitness and Endomondo

image

Today, Strava along with MapMyFitness and Endomondo have announced automatic sync with Garmin Connect.  This means that your activities will now (or soon in some cases) automatically show up on those three platforms, should you choose to enable it.

Some of these partnerships, but in particular Strava, have been worked on behind the scenes since almost the beginning of the year – so it’s great to see this finally pop out of the woodwork.

These three companies join Training Peaks and RunCoach in the automatic sync boat, which started in June.  Additionally, you’ve got MyFitnessPal as well for calories synchronization, which starting last week included all Garmin devices (not just the Vivofit and FR15 anymore).  Note however that these much anticipated announcements did however come at the expense of smaller developers and hobbyists, as I discussed in this past post.

With that I’ll run through those that are available today (Strava), and then some notes on both MapMyFitness and Endomondo.  So with that, let’s dive into it!

Strava Sync: How it works

First up we’ll run through how the Garmin Connect to Strava sync works, including getting it setup and my experiences with it.

To start, you’ll go ahead and login to Strava and then click on the big orange ‘Upload’ button which will take you to a page that allows you to choose how and what to upload.  From there you’ll click on the left hand side and select ‘Device’, before then clicking ‘Get started’ below the Garmin logo:

image

Pressing that will get you to where the magic happens, which opens up an all new dialog box that allows you to connect your account with Garmin:

image

Next you’ll get a pop-up window that’ll show the below page.

(Tip: If you don’t get said window, ensure your browser’s pop-up windows are allowed for *.garmin.com & *.strava.com)

This page is coming from Garmin Connect and is asking for your permission to grant access to Strava.  This means that later on you can always ‘revoke’ access from the Garmin Connect control panel if required.

image

Once you click sign-in you’ll wait a few seconds and it’ll show you a confirmation page on Strava.  It explains that activities can take a few minutes to sync from Garmin Connect.  How you get your activity to Garmin Connect is totally up to you.  For newer devices it’d likely be via your phone (Bluetooth), or via WiFi.  But, many Garmin devices also work just fine with USB and Garmin Express on the computer directly.

While Garmin Express had a rocky beginning, I don’t have any issues with it these days – pretty much just works for the wide assortment of devices I use.  Either way, it doesn’t much matter how you get the activity to Garmin Connect – you just need to get it there.

image

So you’ll go ahead and sync your device however you normally do it, from wherever you normally do it.  For example, with the Garmin Fenix2 it can be sync’d via Bluetooth Smart to your phone.  So in my case I did it on a rock on the side of the mountain to my phone, with no PC anywhere near me.  But that same sort of Bluetooth wireless connectivity works with other units like the cycling focused Edge 510/810/1000 and the running-focused Garmin FR220/FR620.

DSC_3084

Next it’ll automatically send the activity over to Strava, shortly after upload.  In my case, you can see all this directly from the phone.  On the left, Garmin Connect, and then on the right, Strava.

20140802_155857000_iOS 20140802_160222000_iOS

Note of course that if you have a unit that plugs in via USB, the automatic sync still works the same way – just with wires instead.

Once uploaded from your device, the activity will be named the usual activity names that Strava generates. It won’t change the name of the activity to match Garmin Connect’s activity name (i.e. ‘Sunday Long Ride’).

image

In my testing, the sync was happening as fast as about 20 seconds.  Though, one has to keep in mind that I’ve been using the system that otherwise has light load on it.  Once Strava’s kazillion users join, then it may change (but hopefully not).  As noted above in an earlier image, Strava estimates between 3-5 minutes for the sync process to complete.

image

As usual, once on Strava you can go ahead and edit the name of the activity, as well as the specific bike or shoes used (or activity type).  Note that it’ll automatically assign your default bike or shoes, so you may want to double-check those settings if you haven’t done so recently.

image

(Updated) Note that it will sync the previous 30 days of activities from Garmin Connect after you’ve sync’d your first new activity.  So once you do that it’ll backfill the last 30 days of activities.  Activities older than that are not brought over.  You can sync older activities using this option, though do ensure that you don’t have both software tools enabled, as you’ll likely end up with duplicates.

Finally, on privacy – it’ll assume your default Strava settings, not your default Garmin Connect settings.  This means that if you have your activities set to ‘Private’ by default on Garmin Connect, it’ll ignore that and publish anything and everything you upload to Strava.  Kinda a bummer, I wish I could easily set it otherwise.

MapMyFitness: Coming soon!

image

Next there’s MapMyFitness, which is the massive MapMyEverything platform that includes the more well known sites MapMyRun and MapMyRide.  The platform is also used by many 3rd party companies behind the scenes, such as TomTom.

With the new sync, you’ll be able to also send your Garmin Connect activities direct to MapMyFitness as well, just like Strava above.  In talking with them, they believe the functionality should be available ‘soon’ (it sounds like a few weeks at most from my discussions with them).

I’ll make a note in a ‘Week in Review’ post once that happens, though the process should mirror the Strava process above in terms of initial setup, then authentication with Garmin Connect, and finally automatic sync functionality.

Endomondo: Coming Soon!

image

Last but not least, there’s Endomondo.  In short, there’s not much to say here other than Endomondo will get automatic sync running with Garmin Connect at some point in the future.  But they don’t have a date because according to them the development team has barely started looking at it.  So…there ya have it.

With that – thanks for reading!

FOUND THIS POST USEFUL? SUPPORT THE SITE!

Hopefully, you found this post useful. The website is really a labor of love, so please consider becoming a DC RAINMAKER Supporter. This gets you an ad-free experience, and access to our (mostly) bi-monthly behind-the-scenes video series of “Shed Talkin’”.

Support DCRainMaker - Shop on Amazon

Otherwise, perhaps consider using the below link if shopping on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot. It could simply be buying toilet paper, or this pizza oven we use and love.

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked.
If you would like a profile picture, simply register at Gravatar, which works here on DCR and across the web.

Click here to Subscribe without commenting

Add a picture

*

285 Comments

  1. Dennis

    Really nice!
    What about SportTracks? Is this Feature coming soon?

    • Stay tuned for an announcement soon…

    • Gingerneil

      I’ll be looking out for it Aaron. I love that ST is the first comment! 🙂

    • AC

      Hoping for the desktop version and not just .mobi.

    • Tisztul_A_Visztula

      +1

    • SKDohm

      My husband and I both use the same garmin 610 watch and he set it up for automatic uploading, which is working just fine. The problem is that it uploads to both our Strava accounts regardless of who actually used it.
      Any ideas on how to delete this option from one account? We will prob get a new device soon for me, but in the meantime it is annoying to have to go and delete the activity from the other person’s account.
      Thanks!

    • SportTracks auto sync integration to Garmin went public last weekend. Cheers.

      link to sporttracks.mobi

    • Please put in a configurable delay, say 5-10 minutes, for the auto integration. Then that gives me time to change the ride name and other things in GC, without having to change it in GC and ST.

    • ease put in a configurable delay, say 5-10 minutes, for the auto integration. Then that gives me time to change the ride name and other things in GC.

      Negatory. Unfortunately this is impossible at this time. API integration partners are not given access to -ANY- of the data on Garmin Connect. We get your FIT file recorded off your watch. Nothing more. Nothing less.

      With this API it’s better to think of Garmin Connect as a “mailman” delivering “packages” (workouts) from your device. They won’t open those packages and add any information, and the receiver doesn’t have the choice of when those packages are delivered. They are sent the moment you sync (pending any queues due to high server load) as-is without modification.

    • Ah, that makes sense. In that case there’s no benefit to a delay, so you might as well grab the FIT file immediately. Thanks for responding!

  2. MARK MIDDLETON

    Great news. I think i never really expwcted a direct sync between garmin and strava with garmins new segments recently appearing but glad to see they have done this. Now i can relax much sooner after a ride…

    • Paul S

      Given the erratic way Garmin has added segments to GC, I’ve often wondered if all they wanted to do was to set up the ability to have segments displayed at GC, and that a partnership with Strava would actually fill in all the details. It makes little sense to duplicate all the effort that went into Strava segments. I guess we’ll see soon…

  3. Rodrigo Valle

    There is one big issue with these automated sync tools.
    I use a Garmin FR110 for all my running and cycling, and even for OW swimming in the swimcap from time to time.
    Each time I upload my training to Garmin Connect, SportTracks or Strava, I always have to take these two steps:
    – Change the sport from running to cycle/swim, if applicable.
    – Add gear that I used for the training (shoes, bike)
    – Add comments

    The gear information is not synced across plattforms, of course, so I would always have to go to each site and update that.
    But for example, if I just uploaded a bike ride to GC, and it syncs to Strava before I can change the sport from run to cycle, it will be flagged as a suspicious running workout in Strava, and all hell breaks loose.

    So, for these auto-syncs to work properly, there has to be a way in Garmin Connect to first be able to change sports, add comments, and only then click some button saying “Done, go for sync”.

    • Eric Lofgren

      Me too. This happens already on Runkeeper, which takes my FR220-tracked bike ride and generates an excited “new running record” email before I can get it changed.

    • Anders Majland

      Another mee too.

      I would also like a half automatic sync.

      I use endomondo as my primary site to get an overview but have several garmin devices that syncs to garmin connect. For some of the devices like the 910xt garmin express store a file locally that i can import in endomondo while i have to export others from connect.garmin.com (i.e vivofit)

      I also use Strava for rides that includes interesting segments but it does not make sense to sync most of my workouts to Strava.

      So it would very usefull with the option that only exercises manually marked as “ready for sync” are synced to strava. Even better if you also could make a setting for each of you devices to auto sync or manual marking. I.e. a bike computer is likely to only be used for exercises where strava sync is relevant while my 910xt is used for a bit of everything …

    • Tadej R

      – Add gear that I used for the training (shoes, bike)

      If you set certain gear as default it’ll use that for all activities of the certain type.

      – Change the sport from running to cycle/swim, if applicable.

      If you use the service like copymysports.com , you can easily change the activity type on Garmin Connect, because the sync interval is rarely below 20-30 min. That’s why while this native Garmin->Strava integration is very nice, it might be an extra hassle if they sync the data too fast.

      It might be best to wait out for a bit until the kinks for this service are ironed out and they address this wish for a bit of syncing delay and use copymysports.com or something similar in the mean time.

    • SurlyWill

      When I make a Livetrack session and name it, it doesn’t show up in Garmin Connect. Likewise, if I choose my mountain bike on my bike, Garmin Connect can’t pick up that I’m mountain biking.

      I don’t think it’s a cross syncing issue. I think it’s just something that Garmin hasn’t paid much attention to.

  4. thomsk

    Isn’t Sporttracks a bit of a different animal?
    Sporttracks Mobi is web based but the main program is something that is installed locally on someones PC?

    I guess you could automatically upload to Mobi. My issue is that I can Bluetooth uploads from my Fenix 2 to Garmin connect but I then have to connect my Fenix to the cable in order to export the fit file from the watch and upload it to Sporttrtacks.

    There is a plugin for sporttracks that used to sync Sporttracks to Garmin connect but I believe that was broken when Garmin made a change to the Connect website.

    If anyone knows how an easier (wireless) way of updating Sporttracks please let me know.

  5. as long as the activity naming is not synced it makes not real sense for me. as i am not naming everything right away, it is easier for me to snyc side by side in order to keep it clean.

    • Rick

      Yeah this is a bit of a sticking point. It won’t keep me from using it but Tapiriik can manage to bring across my GC activities’ names so hopefully Strava can manage to do that as well.

    • Luke

      I’m sticking with Tapiriik until everything (run names and comments I add) sync seamlessly.
      Will probably stick with Tapiriik anyway as it also sends directly to my dropbox account (so now when Garmin and / or Strava want to charge me for my stuff I have it already)

    • Janyne Kizer

      Agreed. I’d like a pause in there so that I can name the activity, add comments, etc. before it gets sent over. I’ve been enjoying Tapiriik.

      I’m not sure that we can get the equipment sync going as long as Garmin Connect doesn’t do equipment tracking. Goodness knows that GC should do equipment tracking…

    • Tatnai Burnett

      totally agree as well. I hate having to fiddle with names twice. I name my ride in garmin the second I am done, and Tapiriik drags it over. I’m guessing part of the problem is that if Garmin is truly sending it immediately as the activity shows up on Garmin Connect, then it is likely sending it prior to me naming it anyways.

      I think since the control is on Garmin’s side, one solution is a checkbox “ready to sync” that sends it over. OR… I may just stop paying attention to Garmin Connect and just look at Strava alone, and name it there once. Neither are an ultimate solution which would be true sync, but oh well.

  6. Tyler Haas

    Is there any way to select gear used (shoes/bike/etc) in Strava aside from selecting and editing the activity? I rotate shoes, and Strava keeps track of the mileage for me; if the Garmin upload doesn’t do that, there’s no reason to change from manual uploading.

  7. Noel

    Not getting the pop up window, popups are not blocked. Any ideas?

  8. Rob H

    @Ray

    Are you using a Strava Test/Beta Site as i cant set my Strava Activities to private by default, only by individual upload…

    Cheers

    • Sorry, no, I was just getting my terminology mixed up and thinking of privacy fences/zones. Just updated above.

    • Michael

      @Ray

      +1 for also not being able to set all Strava activities to default by private. I see the privacy zone, but not default import options. Please tell us how you do it! Thanks!

  9. Chris Normann

    What about Runkeeper integration?

  10. wojtek

    Still, tapiriik seems to be much better option. You can update everything on Garmin, and just click “sync” all naming and comments are transferred to Strava, Endomondo, RK. Furthermore, it works both way, thus you can use Strava mobile app to record a workout when you don’t have your garmin with you, and this will be synced to all other portals, including Garmin Connect.

  11. Very nice. I’ve been using the rather patchy CopyMySports (and was actually part way through a mobile app to copy these yourself) but I don’t have to deal with any of that now they’ve done it properly.

    @Ray do you know if this is implemented as a push from Garmin or polling by Strava? I think that CopyMySports had issues with continually polling Garmin to check for new activities – this was much more of an issue that actually copying.
    I’m sure (and I hope) that Strava and Garmin have implemented a much better solution.

  12. Nigel Pond

    I already have the same rides on Garmin Connect and Strava (uploaded separately to each). If I set up the account connection, will I end up with duplicates on Strava of all the existing rides on GC, or will it only sync new rides in the future? Thanks.

  13. Fabrizio

    I am happy to see that the different platforms finally start to be more open towards each other and implement such things like automatic sync.
    However I am quite disappointed how they are doing it. As the other comments already point out, there is a lot of meta data missing in the synced data, first of all the name of the activity. As they have been thinking and working on the integration for months for sure they could have found a way to handle the gear data, too.
    For me this means I will keep using tapiriik.com which automatically syncs my activities between Strava and Garmin and it _does_ also name the activity as it has been named on the other platform…

  14. Paul

    Hi Ray

    Was looking forward to auto sync between Garmin Connect and Strava as thought it might be an improvement on CopyMySports which I started using based on your previous recommendations. CopyMySports works pretty well in my opinion and I have a couple of questions about the merits of changing over.

    CopyMySports has a delay on “Unnamed” Connect activities and if its “Untitled” will wait 30 minutes to sync allowing you time to name it in Connect. Although not a massive big deal this seems a slight retrograde step to have to name things twice.

    CopyMySports doesn’t require your Garmin Connect Password, am I being overly cautious here?

    Indoor Treadmill runs on my 620 I don’t think will sync via CopyMySports as a GPS signal is required. Is this a prerequisite for the new Garmin Strava direct sync as well or am I going to be able to push treadmill workouts using the new tool?

    Finally now that Garmin and Strava are linked directly are Garmin likely to throttle CopyMySports bandwidth going forward so that their tool becomes less reliable.

    Keep up the good work!!!

    • Erik

      You’re not being paranoid about your password.

      The dialog that pops up when connecting from Strava to Garmin is actually a dialog from Garmin. When you enter your password on that page it goes straight to Garmin and then Garmin sends Strava a “token” that they can use to access your data. Strava never sees your Garmin password this way.

  15. Michael Quarantello

    I am new to Garmin Connect. I previously used CycleMeter for all of my cycling data. I now use my Garmin Forerunner 620 with the cadence/speed monitors. Can someone explain to me what Strava provides that I can’t currently get via Garmin? Thanks!

  16. Dex

    I don’t get it.

    Why go to the trouble of sync’ing the activity without pulling the name of the activity across? With Tapiriik I upload to GC and leave it to do everything else. With this integration I’ve still got to add the name (and comments?) so it’s just more work again.

    Are they going to allow the sync’ing of segments I wonder?

    Dex.

    • +1 on this post. The only way I’ll leave Tapiriik for the GC sync is if the latter actually syncs quicker than the former in practice.

    • Henry Collet

      +2 for name sync

    • Don

      because it syncs within seconds of uploading to Garmin connect which is before you can name the activity on Garmin connect.

    • Rick

      Agreed, BikingBrian. Lately Tapiriik seems to have been accumulating technical difficulties that have shaken my faith in their consistency, so this auto-sync should be a welcome alternative. However, if it can’t bring across the activity name and any description I might add, then one has to weigh the stability of tapiriik against the convenience of the Strava auto-sync.

  17. Keith

    +1 for sporttracks!

  18. Fabio

    What about the other way around? Strava to GC? Is that possible?

  19. Bob Goodman

    Would be nice to have the segments sync as well. Meanwhile, one of the users on the Garmin edge 1000 program has written software and a web interface to transfer Strava segments to the 1000. Its a very nice piece of work.

  20. Carlos

    Would be good to have an option to only automatically sync only certain activities types. For example i upload swim, bike and run wkouts to garmin and while it’s great to have all of them transfered to Trainingpeaks, it makes little sense for me to have swim, and even run, wkouts in strava…

  21. panos

    Fantastic news

  22. Brian

    What about Ride With GPS?

  23. Dave Lusty

    Glad I went with the Fenix rather than V800 now, Polar still don’t even have export of any kind!

  24. I’ve set up the connection between Garmin Connect and Strava, and I’ve tried to trigger the connection to get my workouts to sync from Garmin Connect to Strava (I want to see everything on Strava). I get this message: “You have linked your Garmin Connect and Strava accounts. View status.” But, nothing is actually connected. Any thoughts? Suggestions to make them connect? Recommendations on which one (Garmin or Strava) to contact to get answers?

    Strava won’t let me upload anything directly, and it also won’t actually connect to Garmin Connect (though it says it’s connected).

    (I guess I’m looking for a solution other than “copymysports” (which is GREAT in the interim but not ideal.)

  25. Gunnar

    I occasionally use a Garmin Edge 705 and 310xt. But most of the time I just use my iPhone 5, iSmoothrun App and my Pebble smart watch for logging my workouts. I get Power data, HR data etc. etc. from the phone to my Pebble.

    The best thing is the instant upload to many different platforms including Strava, Garmin Connect etc. Works instantly and for 4 months now flawlessly.

  26. Fabio Reis

    Guys, I’ve notice when you are using CopyMySports or tapiirik to sync GC to Strava, you end up with more elevation gain than you should at Strava.

    For example. You do a ride with 1000m elevation gain with a Garmin that has a barometric sensor. If you upload it directly to Strava, it will shows exaclty this. But if you upload to GC and a 3rd app sync it to Strava, you get a bump on this numbers, like, eg, 1250m. Also, you lost temperature readings. It happens also with exporting .tcx and uploading it.

    Its happening the same with this new auto sync?

    Thank you

    • That’s because Strava re-calculates both distance and elevation metrics on their site. They’ve always done that. Here’s two posts they have about it:

      Distance: link to strava.zendesk.com

      Elevation: link to strava.zendesk.com

    • Fabio Reis

      I know this, Ray.
      But do a small test.
      Upload an activity (a ride) directly from you Garmin device. It will show an elevation X. Very close of what you have on your device. Then delete it, go to GC, export the .tcx file from the same activity and then import on Strava. You will have something like 20% more.
      Its really weird.

    • Fabio Reis

      FWIW.
      Since Strava are using raw .FIT files, they manage to get the same elevation as my Edge510 and GC.
      I think the issue with tapiirik or copymysports is that they get the .TCX.

    • Ed

      CopyMySports used .tcx, but tapiriik is doing something else. It’s almost as if they are getting actual .fit file because all data is preserved! It works great for me and I’m sticking with it until this current tool gets the bugs worked out.

  27. Ryan

    Thanks Garmin!
    However i’m a little worried.
    First they allow us to sync automagically to Trainingpeaks….now Strava. Whats the sinister plan Garmin? I love your products however I dont trust you at all. Your up to something! #gotmyeyesonyou

  28. Mike R.

    Can’t you just do the upload to Strava from Garmin and then export to any other site you want from Strava at that point?

    • Sure, assuming there’s a partnership between Strava and the other site.

    • Strava doesn’t preserve the original data as it was recorded on your GPS. So yeah… you can export from Strava, but do keep in mind what comes out the export will not usually match your watch.

      Whether this is good or bad depends on what you want to do. On the good side – things like data corrections and fixing poor GPS elevation can be great for bike rides.

      Losing things like running dynamics (Forerunner 620), vector left/right power balance, and all swim lap data are showstoppers for many people. As well… many people don’t like the elevation correction aspect (see comments in the article).

      TL;DR – You shouldn’t expect Strava to be your data authority. Better to go back to the source (Garmin).

  29. Brook

    Great news. I see a Garmin in my future.

    • Lee

      I agree with Fenix 2 multi sport files. I did a Triathlon last night in 24 minutes. The activity icon in Strava is a swirly circle.

      Let’s hope this gets fixed soon but a great step forward

  30. Rickey

    I think this is in general an exciting update, but in practice, I’m seeing two issues. First, I tested with a “Hike” activity on a Garmin Fenix 2. It immediately crossed over to Strava but was coded as a Ride. Why can’t the activity type be carried over too?

    Next, I’m disappointed about no title being carried over; it seems they could have some logic that it syncs on title change or after a brief period of time. I actually would just favor a button in the connect app (or website) that does a “Sync with linked accounts”. If the button isn’t pushed, the sync could be done after some interval of time.

    I don’t know if this is an issue, but I did another workout — a walk coded as “run” — today. It didn’t get carried over. Perhaps there is a back log of uploads. Time will tell, but for now, I may stick with my ConnectStats app as it does just what I need without the typical garmin flakiness.

    • I noticed something similar, but saw two different cases. In one hike set as Hike on the Fenix2, it came across as run, and the other as ‘bike’. It would take Strava to update coding for that.

      They also have some issues with multisport files from the Fenix2 – for example my triathlon came across all messed up. They need to update their parser on Strava’s side to understand the Fenix2 multisport .FIT files (it’s something I discussed with them over the weekend).

    • Xavier

      Glad to see it’s not just me. Love my Fenix 2, but my last 70.3 in Garmin connect showed that I was on the bike for two and a half hours, yet put all the GPS data into my T2 and got real screwy. It also didn’t actually start tracking distance on the run until I hit start/stop twice. Hopefully 3.70 fixes that.

    • Chris S

      I’ve got a Garmin Edge 25 on order and I’ve asked this question regarding the Garmin Connect Mobile over at Strava but the helpful people there weren’t too helpful (they keep pointing me in the direction of Garmin Express as if Connect Mobile didn’t exist).

      I see you’ve had success with the Garmin device -> Garmin Connect Mobile app -> Garmin Connect -> Strava upload flow with the Fenix2 and others have reported the Edge 510/810 as working also, did you happen to test this with the Edge 25?

    • Garmin Device > GCM App > GC – Strava works fine, and it’ll work without issue with the Edge 25.

      The mechanics of it are super-simple as its totally device agnostic since it just spits over the raw .FIT file to the 3rd party company (in this case, Strava).

  31. So how do I transfer my existing activities from Garmin connect to Strava? It linked my accounts but didn’t transfer existing activities. Anyone?

  32. Daniel Thursfield

    Automatic Sync to Runkeeper would be must appreciated as well!

  33. Navnit Ranjan

    Great news, I don’t need tapiriik now to sync my garmin data to Starva.

  34. Mike

    Oh great Ray ……… the day you post this the integration between Garmin Connect and TrainingPeaks has stopped working for me (has been working for months now)………
    It’s all your fault! 😉

  35. Wes

    Anyone know exactly how this data transfer works? Is Garmin sending the raw .fit file to these other sites or is it sending them a modified .gpx file to them instead?

    I ask because I want to make sure that if I turn this on, I get the exact same experience I do today when I manually upload raw .fit files from my device to these services. There are data aspects of each that are unique to their algorithms (like calories consumed) that I don’t want to lose if I turn on this type of syncing.

    • Behind the scenes the raw .FIT file is transferred. This is the core reason why it’s better than Tapiriik, which uses an older .TCX file that’s not complete.

      For example, within the .FIT file they also get many of the new cycling and running metrics. So on cycling you get some of the pedal efficiency stuff, and on running you get the running dynamics pieces. Neither of which are available on the exported .TCX file using the backdoor methods.

      Today Strava doesn’t really do anything with that – but I suspect long-term they and/or others will.

    • Luke

      In that case, the moment Strava/GC figure out a way to let you edit the name (perhaps syncing 30 minutes after an upload, to allow some editing etc) I’d consider switching.
      Until the running dynamics stuff is used elsewhere and I can change the name I’m sticking with (awesome) tapiriik

    • Juro

      Tapiriik does not use TCX anymore, judging from this tweet:

      tapiriik @tapiriik · Jul 21

      Just pushed an update that will honor device info from GC activities (it used to do this, until I stopped using TCX for activity download)

    • Hmm, I’m not aware of any backdoor option to grab the raw .FIT file – though, perhaps something has changed in the undergrounds..

    • Ed

      I’m not sure that’s true. Lately ALL ride data gets transferred from GC to Strava via Tapiriik such as device tag, temperature, barometric altimeter elevation (so Strava doesn’t try and correct it), activity name, activity notes, etc. It is just like the .FIT file was uploaded. This was as of July 20, 2014 according to the tapiriik twitter feed. It has been working great for me and I’m not planning on signing up for the automatic GC Strava link until the bugs seem to be worked out since tapiriik is working perfectly.

    • Erik

      You can get GPX files from the Garmin site – that’s what I’ve been using for my own sync utility.

  36. Marc

    Will Garmin enable retroactive syncing? I’ve got 4 years worth of data with Garmin and would love to be able to sync that with other platforms. That’s probably the main reason why I’ve stuck with Garmin all these years. I also know that there are manual methods of downloading my Garmin data and syncing them with others but 4 years worth of data done manually is just too taxing for me. I’d rather have it done automatically. Lastly, The manual method is also not ideal because of the fact that all my runs lose their /mile data. It all becomes one big run. I don’t like that. I need the per mile data as well.

    • I’d doubt it, since my understand is Garmin doesn’t really want that. The reason being that they don’t want companies mining through past data (which is why they aren’t big fans of Tapiriik).

      That said, as noted above, to get past history you can use Tapiriik for now.

    • Chris Normann

      I think you can use the app RunGap to sync all history

    • That is right Chris,

      You can use RunGap to copy both individual as well as all your activities between all the services mentioned in DC’s nice article in both directions.

      In most cases I use one of two Garmin devices to track my activities and prefer to edit them in RunGap (activity type, name etc.) before posting them to Endomondo, Strava, RunKeeper and dailymile along with a comment in a single operation. This also updates the type, name and comments on Garmin Connect.

      Personally I like to control if, when and where my individual activities get posted.

    • That is correct Chris,

      You can use RunGap to copy individual as well as all your activities back and forth between all the services mentioned in DC’s post.

      I normally use one of two Garmin devices to track my activities and prefer to edit them in RunGap (activity type, title, etc..) before posting them with a comment to Endomondo, Strava, RunKeeper and dailymile in a single operation which also updates the metadata on Garmin Connect. In the rare cases where it is worth bragging about I might select Facebook as a target as well.

      I believe that RunGap is a good alternative to automatic synchronisation for this of us who prefer to control when and where individual activities get posted and like to edit things like activity type and title first.

      http://www.rungap.com

    • I believe that RunGap is a good alternative to automatic synchronization

      Is this using the new official Garmin API?

      If not – it is only an alternative until Garmin shuts down the older “unofficial” API, right?

    • Kristian, rungap is just an iOS app, right?

  37. Derek

    This doesn’t seem to be working for me. Not only is it not uploading to Strava, it also seems to have broken the sync with Trainingpeaks that had been working fine for weeks. The TP sync was always instantaneous. As soon as my data was uploaded to Garmin Connect it would appear on TP. It has been about 45 minutes now since uploading and there is nothing on Strava or TP…

    • Derek

      It just showed up on both Strava and TP. It took over an hour and a half. Hopefully they will get that sorted out. So much for 3 to 5 minutes…

    • Andreas

      Coming up on 1h50min right now. Hopefully just performance problems that will get sorted.

  38. Mike

    ^^^ This above !!!
    It has stopped working!
    Total bummer.
    I’ve been using the TPeaks / GC auto-sync for months now.
    I have submitted a ticket.

  39. Frankie

    Does not seem to work. 30 minutes and counting … Nothing happened! And the synch with TP seems broken too now! Teething issues?

  40. Mike

    It’s all good with TPeaks again.
    Just a blip and they were quick to get back to me (I love those guys and gals). Here’s a FAQ link in case it might help:
    link to help.trainingpeaks.com

  41. Phillip

    So how can I upload from a Garmin 910XT to an iphone? If I plugin an ANT will it work? Thanks for any help!

    • No, the FR910XT doesn’t have Bluetooth, which would be required for connectivity to your phone. That said, you could use the below Wahoo adapter and then sync via that. Though, that can also push straight to Strava, so you could short-cut things.

      link to dcrainmaker.com

    • Sergey_from_Moscow

      I use Uploader for Garmin by Carlo Pescio. Works great with my phone, standard Ant-usb-dongle and my 910xt. Program can upload workouts on GC or directly to Strava. Me currently uploading activities to GC, than edit name and comments, after that sync with Strava and Endomondo by SyncMyTracks program. All programs for Android.
      If the new way will sync names and comments – I’ll start to use it. Otherwise too much hassle.

  42. Niclas F

    Question for DC Rainmaker

    Usually you need to change the activity type after upload to Garmin connect when for example syncing from mobile. For example change “bike” from FR620 to “cross country ski”. This takes about 2-5 min if you have your phone on you. If sync takes just 30s you have little time after upload to change activity on Garmin connect. If you change activity type AFTER it has synced to Strava does it “update” the activity profile on Strava?

    If not this will make me have to change activity profile manually on Strava and that kinda destroyes the point of “automatic” upload.

    Any insights?

    • Correct, the type doesn’t get updated unless it’s set natively. So in the case of teh FR620, that’s only Bike/Run. In the case of some other devices (like the Fenix2), there’s more options, but they aren’t appearing to be parsed by Strava today (i.e. Hike).

      But, setting it on GC doesn’t matter in this case. The reason is that behind the scenes the service simply sends the raw .FIT file over, with no Garmin Connect metadata. So in effect, it’s just like uploading the raw .FIT file from your device to Strava.

    • Alex

      DC Rainmaker! You are the best! Happy New Year!

      Quick follow up question on this: I just logged a XC Ski activity on my Fenix 3, it sank to my iPhone Garmin Connect app, but did not sync to Strava for some reason. It’s my first time actually using the XC Ski activity type on the Fenix 3 so I’m wondering if the activity data for that activity type does not auto-sync to Strava?

    • Paul S.

      I haven’t had a chance to use the XC app on my Epix yet (it’s finally cold, but no snow, and it’s supposed to warm up again later this week), but in the past when I used my Fenix 1, it transferred from GC to Strava without issue. Occasionally the connection between them will fail, though, so you might be OK with your next activity. You can always manually upload to Strava by connecting via USB to a computer. Of course, the Fenix sent the data to GC marked “Other” as the activity type, and the XC app might do something else.

      Strava isn’t the greatest place for XC skiing. You choose “Nordic Ski” as your activity type there, and a “Nordic Ski” shows up as XT (cross training) in your Training Log rather than giving you the time spent (since apparently the only activities people ever do are swimming, cycling, and running). Unless they’ve changed it, there’s no “suffer score” computed, and the only graph on the Overview page is elevation (the others show up in “Analysis”).

  43. Askoba

    How can I disconnect this again? would like to stay with taipiriik for now.
    thanks

    • Askoba

      Found it. Under Settings on the right side there is a list with the active connections.

    • Richard

      Thank You! Been searching the web for an hour to figure this out. For many of the reasons above (lack of metadata carryover and I really only want bike rides on Strava whereas I want all workouts pushed to TrainingPeaks), I’m turning off the Strava sync.
      On the Strava webpage, click your name or icon photo in upper right, then settings, on the right probably at the bottom is a disconnect option.

  44. This is great news indeed. Endomondo should really get a move on though. Since changing to the Forerunner 620, the only possible way of transfering workouts, would be to manually export them from GC and upload to Endomondo. This had been a real drag.

  45. Fantastic news! I really like Garmin products, but their social functionality is very poor.The same with training comparison and progress performance.

    With Endomondo there is actually a feature that lets you download training data from a Garmin watch, but I was really fed up with going back and forth.

  46. Brad

    Do the privacy settings on Garmin Connect have to be set to “everyone” for the sync to work, or will it still sync over to Strava even if the privacy setting is “only me” on Garmin Connect? So far I’ve gotten my historical data over to Strava using Tapiriik, but new Garmin uploads aren’t showing up on Strava yet. Here’s hoping. The one (one!) thing I wish Garmin Connect would add is a place to track milage on shoes. Seems like such a basic feature, and that’s the only reason I’d like to use Strava instead.

  47. Alex Frost

    Thanks for this! Finally makes it worthwhile uploading via the Garmin mobile app. It annoyed me having to plug in my Edge 510 via USB after every ride (for Strava & endomondo uploads) when previously with my FR70 I could only transfer via the Bluetooth dongle. The reasoin I hated this was that commuting to work only uses a few percent batteryand I was starting to get concerned that I will ruin the battery only discharging and charging it to 90% some 75% of the time.

    Now I just need to get out again and create same data points!

  48. Matt

    3 hours and counting! Not showing up in either Training peaks which it used to almost immediately or Strava!

    • Andrew Kerr

      Do you think that DC Rainmaker post about it has overloaded the system. I’ve got it synced but just uploaded activities anyway as it’s not hard to plug in and I’m going to type something anyway?

    • Eric Banks

      I’m having the same issue…been about 2 hours now 🙁 Hope it is just a backlog.

    • One of mine was uploaded today, still waiting for second one. I guess export queue is huge today.

  49. Joel

    Can you set it to only sync cycling workouts? I don’t want my running sessions to go to Strava.

  50. Red

    Cool. Now how about connecting with Magellan’s software for auto sync from Cyclo devices?

  51. Chris Elam

    Can’t wait to upload my workouts from my Garmin 920 to Strava. When did you say I’d be able to do that again?

  52. Stu Fysh

    Mine is all set up, uploaded a new ride to garmin connect an hour ago and still not on Strava, maybe this isn’t as awesome as we were all hoping for!

  53. KeithS

    What would be interesting is a feature comparison of each of these online services and why people might/or do use one over the other.
    I have accounts in most of these but really use SportTracks for data and analysis. Plus a little bit of Strava for segments, but only 5-10 or so. I prefer the social stuff to be real rather than virtual.
    Maybe something like the 3-5 best feature of each service, and the 3 biggest frustrations?

    • Joel

      Agree – I’m curious why people use one or the other or several online services. I’ve never really used Garmin Connect although both my run and bike data get sent there automatically by either Ant Agent (Forerunner 405) or wifi/Bluetooth (Edge 510). I manually upload to Strava for segments and KOMs and use WKO+ for actually analyzing my workouts…then shoot it to TrainingPeaks online for no good reason.

  54. denise

    Way back when Strava was just a young pup – you had to change the files you uploaded. They’d either all come in as bike or run – right off the device. (If my memory serves me correctly) They have, of course, updated that now and I only expect that they will continue to update.
    I’ve found Tapiirik to be useless lately. With files sitting on GC for days before they finally end up on Strava. So if this works better, I’m fine with doing a name change on the Strava app. Not a big deal for me as I rarely name stuff on GC anyway.

  55. Adam Harrison

    I was quite interested in the Strava link, but on reading the article, I feel the functionality is inferior to copymysports, which seems to port across more user info, certainly including the activity title. I like the fact that copymysports waits 20-30 minutes in case I am intending to add a title, which I can easily do from my phone via the Garmin app once my activity has synched.

  56. seattlejp

    Not working for me either – over an hour and no sync.

    • me neither.. doesn’t work.

    • lma114

      Same here. Yesterday Garmin Connect synced almost instantly to my TrainingPeaks account. Today, no sync (so far) to TP or Strava. Seeing the increased server load that GC experienced with their introduction of segments, it may very well be that their servers have been overwhelmed with people setting up auto-sync to Strava too..?

    • adam

      It’s beyond belief to me that a company such as Garmin can’t plan ahead for server load such as with segments. Segments remains a joke, and not even worth looking at currently. And yet again, it’s happened with strava link. The sign up page is just hanging for me. Garmin have a lot of work to do in order to restore any kind of air professionalism in the future!!

  57. MAGNUS

    I echo the RunKeeper sync feature request… I’ve used a few didn’t sites but neither seem to work consistently.

    • Definitely forward those requests specifically to RunKeeper. The partnerships are initiated from that side of things in most cases (especially since they have to pay the $5K fee).

  58. Aashiek

    DC – have you gotten Garmin Express to work with the FR610 on a Mac? I battled to get GE to see my device and after deleting some files etc it finally saw it. But it refused to upload data to GC or push to Strava. I removed GE and went back to Ant Agent. That seems to work fine again.

    • Eric Hanneken

      I have that combination (610, Garmin Express, Mac). As I recall, I had to remove the 610 from Express (Devices tab -> Delete Device from Express) and re-add it to get syncing to work. I don’t know if that would help in your case. If it’s been a couple of months since your last attempt it might be worth trying again, since Garmin has been issuing frequent updates to Express.

  59. Stanislav

    Has anyone noticed the speed/pace discrepancy between the Garmin Connect and Strava screenshots for the same activity in the post above?
    Garmin shows 2.27 mph average speed and 2.72 mph moving speed. Strava shows 21:03/mile pace which is 2.85 mph.

  60. ismo

    Nice feature, if they get it working. I will not hurry taking it into use and wait until they sort out the biggest problems first.

  61. Crispin E

    All working for me with Fenix 2 to GC on iOS via Bluetooth then on to Strava. However, I’m going to continue using CopyMySports for now so that the activity name and type get copied accross. I guess it’s Strava that will have to update the integration bit to copy the additional data and add a slight time delay (maybe a user selectable option).

  62. I use Smashrun.com – probably the best site I have come across when it comes to looking at running analytics and motivation.

  63. Frankie

    It worked flawlessly today both TP and Strava were synchronised in minutes (te time it took me to have a shower). It was an unusual time if the day though (mud morning) which would suggest it is likely to be a traffic / capacity issue. If garmin increase capacity, forget about their segments (they’ll never beat Strava) they now are on a huge winner!

    Changing the name of the activity in a Strava is easy and if you’re a Strava user chances are you’ll be looking at your ride pretty soon after uploading it 😉 so what’s the problem with changing the name manually (for just now I’m sure).

  64. Frankie

    It worked flawlessly today both TP and Strava were synchronised in minutes (the time it took me to have a shower). It was an unusual time of the day though (mid morning) which would suggest it is likely to be a traffic / capacity issue. If garmin increase capacity, forgets about their own segments (they’ll never beat Strava on that) they now are on a huge winner!

    Changing the name of the activity on Strava is easy and if you’re a real Strava user chances are you’ll be looking at your ride pretty soon after uploading it 😉 so what’s the problem with changing the name manually (for just now I’m sure).

  65. Dazz

    What this means for Strava users, is that it is now worth upgrading from an Edge 500/800, to a 510/810/1000 with the wireless Garmin Connect sync capability.

    Nicely played Garmin.

    • Joel

      I’ve had the 510 for many months, mostly because of the live tracking feature that I can share with my wife while I’m out but the automatic upload to Connect is super nice now that it will also get shot over to Strava automatically.

  66. Fwiw, for those curious I’m seeing about a 15-minute delay right now on sync to Strava (9AM East Coast time). Will be interesting to see if that increases or decreases later this afternoon. As others noted, I suspect it’s more of a capacity thing on the GC side, since it seems to be equally impacting Training Peaks and Strava.

  67. Carrie

    One of the things that drove me to my new Bia Sport was that I don’t have to do anything to upload my workouts — I don’t have to plug in a device, use some extra software on a computer, or have a smart phone — and they auto-sync with Strava. This discussion has continued to bolster that decision.

  68. Mike Pregler

    So is it now assumed/agreed that the data (distance, elev, speed…) from Garmin is more accurate than that collected by the Strava or the MapMyRide apps on an iPhone? Can I stop recording rides with Strava & MapMyRide and just use their websites as the storage/competitive comparison tools? My Garmin is a Touring Edge+. Thanks and sorry if this is a duplicate question. I scanned the comments for it and may have missed it.

  69. Just as a minor heads up (also edited/updated above):

    The initial Strava sync will indeed sync the previous 30 days of activities from Garmin Connect after you’ve sync’d your first new activity. So once you do that it’ll backfill the last 30 days of activities. Activities older than that are not brought over. You can sync older activities using this option, though do ensure that you don’t have both software tools enabled, as you’ll likely end up with duplicates.

  70. Chris P

    Does anyone know if manually entered runs/rides also sync to strava from GC?

  71. Bryan Mills

    Not working for me! Connected to Garmin from Strava fine, but activities not coming across. Tried disconnecting and reconnecting, but to no avail. Boooooo!!!!

    • pete

      Anyone surprised it’s not working… Garmin usually takes 2 months to 10 years to actually make something they release work. it should be back up just in time for Summer 2019

  72. Another one where it’s not working – and where it’s knocked out/delayed my sync feature in Training Peaks. So I concur that it looks like a Garmin Connect issue. Interestingly right after I started seeing the error a ‘Scheduled Maintenance’ warning went up for Wednesday. Methinks these things are related and they’re adding capacity or fixing a bug or two.

    • Joshua Parks

      Some time in the middle of the night it started working – I found out via the duplicate (auto sync) entry in my Strava account. Believing this to be a ‘soon solved’ issue I didn’t manually update my TrainingPeaks account, and sure enough last night’s workout was there too. So a minor problem, perhaps now solved.

  73. Adisorn

    If I upload activitie from file (gpx, tcx) or other service such as wahoo fitness app to GC, there still auto sync to strava?

  74. Don’t worry, it works. But slow like hell. Typical Garmin.

  75. n8udd

    Did anyone else have an issue with their Vivofit HR activities being imported to Strava?

    I previously had Garmin Connect and Strava both linked to myfitnesspal, Strava for my rides, and Connect for my vivofit data, but I have logged in this morning and all of my vivofit activities have been imported. All of them record no distance, just HR which has skewed my 4 week average when creating courses.

    I’m not sure if they’ve been imported via Garmin Express or Myfitnesspal, but either way, it’s annoying.

  76. Kevin Jeffery

    I am seeing duplicates back through July 7th that I previously copied to Strava from Garmin via Tapiriik. If I delete these duplicates, will they be re-synced? Also I assume I need to now break the Tapiriik connection to avoid duplicates. True?

  77. D

    Didn’t work for me last night. Waited over an hour and then just uploaded to Strava manually.

  78. Hi Ray. I can’t find a way to stop this synchronisation after having activating it. To be true, I don’t find this to be great: the data I add (title, comment…) are not sync, so I’d rather use copy my sports! But I can’t find the “stop” button on Garmin or Strava…

  79. Nicola

    This is a great new! I’ll test it immediately!

  80. Dave

    I’ve had to stop using this feature until they figure out how to replicate not only the ride, but the privacy settings for the activity on Garmin.

    If I sync a public activity on Garmin, I expect it to be public on Strava (with the default Strava privacy zones also).
    If I sync a private activity on Garmin, it should also be private on Strava. The origin of the data (Garmin) should ‘win’ the privacy setting.

  81. Tom Sauerbrei

    I’m not having a problem if I sync a file off of Garmin 910x to Garmin connect, but if I use the Garmin fit app on my Samsung S4 it syncs to training peaks web site fine, but the Strava web site only syncs a portion of the ride usually less than .5 miles?

    • Michael Wehrle

      @Tom Sauerbrei, I have a Garmin FR210 and the activities are syncing over perfectly, while I also use the Garmin Fit iPhone app from time to time. This weekend I noticed that the activities synced over to Strava, but they did not have any of the GPS track or totals on them. I suspect Garmin might have some bug in their export code which doesn’t allow the GPS tracks to be exported to Strava for Garmin Fit activities. I was able to export the tcx files from Garmin and upload them manually to Strava and they were complete then.

  82. Daniel

    Only a tiny tiny step in my opinion! What I really miss is a WIFI upload from Garmin to Strava. Garmin guys, for this option I would pay some money to get the device for it (still sticking to the Edge 500 with cable to strava).

    Please…

    Cheers from Germany,
    Daniel

    • Umm, that’s there. It’s the Edge 1000. 😉

      Or, for Bluetooth uploads via your phone, the Edge 510/810. Enjoy!

    • n8udd

      You can’t upload directly from your Garmin device to Strava though, can you?

    • If you plug it in, sure. But not via WiFi/BT. That’s pretty normal for any device company though, as almost nobody actually exposes SDK access directly on fitness devices to create such connections. And honestly, from a software development place that’s a poor place to do it since it’s far easier for a company to update a single web API call than it is to update firmware and push that to tens of thousands of devices.

  83. Rickey

    Today’s sync happened in real time (~8pm central). That’s encouraging. I’ve also noticed that the FIT files have much more data than the prior GPX files there were being moved over using some of the autotools. That’s pretty cool. So after a few days of a shaky start, I’m happy with the current direction.

  84. Justin

    Gahh, it’s really annoying it doesn’t copy the activity name like Tapiriik. How do I stop it?

  85. Dennis J

    Maybe this isn’t the place to ask but was this it for Garmin news at the OR show? No new devices? Maybe Garmin has a different timetable? My perception is Garmin is lagging behind several others…

  86. Juro

    It’s partially off topic but does Garmin Connect work for anyone today? I can’t sign in nor access forums for past ~8 hours.

  87. Convenient new feature yes, but am I missing something? It seems I can no longer upload directly from my 910 XT/Edge800 to Strava, but now MUST go through Garmin Connect to get my Garmin data into Strava. I had thought this might be an additional feature I could choose to use or not. But the old direct upload is gone from Strava (or I haven’t found it yet). This means that my data is now also going to Garmin whether I like it or not. Since you posted Strava is monetizing my info seemingly contrary to Strava’s own Privacy Policy and now Garmin is in the loop whether I want them there or not, do you think Garmin is kicking back to Strava (I’m sorry let me rephrase that, participating in Strava efforts to monetize my info)?

    • Nothing’s changed there, you can always upload direct from your Garmin device straight to Strava if you plug it in.

      Simply upload the file directly from the Strava website.

  88. jeff

    How do you unsync the strava/garmin connect. My is working fine but I want to stop the automatic sync

    • To disconnect login to Garmin Connect:

      1) Then click the little head icon on the left side and then click ‘Settings’.

      2) Then in the menu click Account Information.

      3) Finally, scroll down to Application and you’ll see Strava listed.

      4) Click ‘Remove Permission”.

      That’s it!

  89. Joel

    Weird thing happened to me yesterday. I came in from a swim workout and saw that my Garmin Swim initiated a data transfer. I went out to Garmin Connect but the workout wasn’t there. The workout, however, showed up on Strava. I tried manually uploading the file from Strava to Garmin Connect but (Garmin Connect) gives me an error message when I try that.

  90. Joel

    Nevermind…it magically updated this afternoon…24+ hours later.

  91. Phil

    I used before the tool tapiirik to synchronize my activities.
    the problem with this was that the data package that was exportet was not in the quality i uploaded in garmin – so distances and altitudes were false in strava!

    second point – garmins segments are useless – they should coorporate with strava in this case as well. everyone is riding with strava segments!

  92. Benjamin Winter

    It syncs fast but all laps are missing. Kind of makes it hard to analyse interval runs. Going back to using Tapiriik.

  93. Marc steingrand

    Hello any news on mapmyfitness

  94. Louis

    This has been working well for me. Too well actually. All my new activities are uploaded twice, and then Strava says I did a “group activity” with myself (sounds fun right?). Any idea why? These are not a blend of old and new activities but rather just the new ones that come over twice. I am baffled why it is happening. I have a Fenix 2 (second one I have had- took the first one back and got this one) and have Garmin Connect on my phone so I use the Bluetooth thingy to bring workouts from the Fenix 2 to the phone and then on to STrava. Thoughts?

  95. Courtney

    I am new to owning a Garmin and have previously had a FitBit. I am unable to sync my new garmin Vivofit to MapMyFitness, Am I doing something wrong or is there no capability for this yet?

  96. Sebastian

    Completed another Triathlon on the weekend.

    There is still an issue with the multisport sync. Strava showed Bike+Run in the total time. Missing Swim+Transitions.
    I don’t mind appearing that fast but that time would have put me on the podium 🙂

    Any updates on this?

  97. Tina

    Can I link two different devices to my Strava account?

  98. Oliver Kiemschies

    Any word on when the MapMyFitness integration will occur?

    I asked support at MapMyFitness (referencing their own press release) and they thanked me for my “suggestion”. My Garmin 220 sits waiting for this feature.

    P.S.
    By the way. Just a warning, I didn’t even THINK to check of the Garmin 220 does AVERAGE speed. It does speed but not average speed (I just assumed). That’s a big disappointment too.

    I bike, run and do indoor fitness. The 220 (WITH the heart rate monitor) seemed a useful tool for all that. Unlike my old 310 the 220 would EVENTUALLY be able to sync to MapMyFitness without needing to connect to a computer ever time (just with my phone) and isn’t as bulky so I could just wear it all day too. Not having average speed, however really makes this less useful for biking.

    Thinking of returning it and finding something that I can use for heart rate adjusted calories for multiple activities, keeps outdoor data significant to running AND biking, can sync to MapMyFitness WITHOUT a computer (just my phone) and perhaps isn’t too bulky.

  99. i was doing this; Garmin 500 to GC to Training Peaks and Strava. This week I linked MyFitnessPal to GC and Strava. Now I am getting duplicate rides in GC, MFP and TP. one shows all stats and uses the KJ (train with power) for calorie calculations like i want and the other is just a shell (time, distance, & Calorie number from the 500).

    any ideas? it seems like the KJ and Calorie numbers might be tricking MFP into seeing two rides, then MFP pushes the duplicate to GC whcih pushes it to TP. not sure.

    • You have to unlink MFP from Strava. If you link it to Strava AND GC, the following happen:

      – You upload a ride to Garmin Connect.
      – It gets copied to Training Peaks, Strava and MyFitnessPal.
      The new ride on Strava gets copied to MyFitnessPal, because they are linked.
      – Garmin Connect detects a new activity on MyFitnessPal and copies it.

      Now the ride is around twice on every platform.

  100. Daniel

    Does this synching also go from Strava to Garmin Connect? I have an Edge 510 and love that it synches to Strava, but I have also recently purchased a Vivofit. I was debating between that and the Forerunner 220, but went with the lower price. I forgot to take into account that since the Vivofit doesn’t have GPS, that I will need to do a reverse synch with Strava tracking my runs and sending them to Garmin. Will this work, or should I return the Vivofit and get the Forerunner to ensure that all of my data is in both places?

    Thanks

  101. think i figured out my issue. Garmin Connect receives workouts from MFP so when Strava pushes to MFP it pushes to GC whcih pushes to TP. its like a never ending push.

    i really just wanted MFP to get the info so i dont have to manually enter my workouts/calorie burn and Strava was the only one to push that data. anyway, carry on.

    • Daniel

      So basically, what your saying is, there is a round-a-bout way to get Strava pushed onto GC?

    • Ah, I just answered to your old comment. Do you upload any workouts directly to any other platform than GC? Because if you don’t, it should work the way I described. It does for me, at least.

  102. Jim

    Seeing as how the VS and VF do not use GPS, would it be possible to run Endo or Strava to record the activity with GPS and then merge the Garmin data with Endo/Strav during the sync?

  103. Hi DC & others,

    Is there a way to unsync strava and garmin after having linked them? As you noted the privacy thing is very annoying and I don’t want everything that I post for my diary in connect to be broadcast on Strava. But I cannot for the life of me work out how to undo.

    Any help would be appreciated, I’m sure I’m not the only one annoyed by this and looking to unsync.

  104. Dr. D

    @ Ryan – Under your Garmin Connect Settings, click on ‘Account Information’. You should see ‘Applications’ and their permissions. There is a ‘Remove Permission’ option.

    That should do the trick.

  105. Mario Lira Junior

    Just a quick heads-up… endomondo is now syncable to Connect.

  106. Allan Bullot

    Hi – Sorry if this is a bit of random post related to data in Garmin Connect.

    As a first point I love the reviews that you do and they have helped me buy numerous Garmin products over the years (we have 3 x Forerunner 620’s) in the house at present.

    We leave them set on autolap 1km, but it would be great for my daughter’s track sessions if there was a way that you could get Garmin connect (or some 3rd party App?) to review the entire track session and say hunt for the 200m portions when she is running fast and generate “virtual laps” of 200ms with track times etc while ignoring the rests / warm down portions. It is much better for her training if she doesn’t have to worry about starting and stopping the laps herself for the short repeats. I assume that it should not be too hard to do as the GPS_Speed sailing community has had this sort of tool for speed windsurfing for a number of years where they look for the fastest 100m / 500m portions of a sailing session.

    Sorry if there is a simply way to do this already that I have missed and please keep up the great reviews, really appreciate them.

    Cheers

    Allan

  107. Jim

    My VivoSmart will not sync to Endo. No steps and no activities. I am told it is because Endo does not support non-GPS activities. Since this Garmin is allergic to GPS, it seems I am SOL.

    Anyone else fair better?

  108. Just some random thoughts after using automatic sync from GC to Strava for the last 1.5 months.

    The sync is working well – almost too well, as it syncs almost instantly. I’d prefer to have a 15 minute (or possibly configurable) delay. That would give me time after the workout for the following:

    – Changing the workout name in GC, so that I don’t have to change it both in GC and Strava
    – Same thing when left my Edge 810 at home and had to use my FR220 for cycling, I had to change the workout type from running to cycling in both GC and Strava rather than just in GC
    – Instagram photos uploaded after the ride don’t get linked to the Strava workout, if my Garmin is connected to my phone via Bluetooth, and the ride automatically uploads to GC before I have a chance to upload the photos

    Still no word on MapMyFitness, I assume?

    • Tom

      BikingBrian,

      -Changing the workout name in GC, so that I don’t have to change it both in GC and Strava

      This is because Strava takes the raw .FIT file, or perhaps better stated GC only allows Strava to take the raw .FIT file. Anything that is not in the file, like name and comments don’t carry over. So even if it waited 15 minutes those changes wouldn’t be there.

      It would be nice. I would like an option in CG to push naming and comments to Strava as “finish” updating on CG. I’ve been uploading to both since April of 2011 so I definitely see a benefit even if I have to name twice.

  109. Mark

    Thank you for this and the many other articles that have helped me greatly. I really appreciate the clear, detailed information that you provide. I have found nothing on the web that compares. Thanks again.

  110. Christian Edwards

    Is there any news on automatic syncing with Mapmyrun?
    They made this announcement 2 months ago, about the same time Garmin broke manual syncing using the Garmin Communicator. My previously up-to-date Mapmyrun profile has lay empty since.

    • Shar

      I was finally able to connect MapMyRun to Garmin Connect today! Go to the MapMyRun app, “Connect Apps and Devices” and it finally shows up in the list. Sign into your Garmin account and it will auto-sync your Garmin workout uploads going forward (it will not sync previous stored Garmin workouts -you’ll have to import those manually or add manual runs). I’ve been waiting 3 months since the announcement and Endomondo beat MapMyRun to it?!

    • Sharz

      I was finally able to connect MapMyRun to Garmin Connect today! In MapMyRun app, “Connect Apps and Devices” and it finally shows up in the list. Enter Garmin login and it will auto-sync your Garmin uploads going forward (it will not sync previous workouts). I’ve waited 3 mo for this and Endomondo beat them to it?!

    • Christian Edwards

      The Mapmyrun App? I’ve tried both Android & iOS versions and I don’t have a Connect Apps & Devices on either. Tried the website too.
      This has really soured by experience with Mapmyrun, I might just strick to strava.

    • Christian Edwards

      I can’t find this “Connect Apps and Devices” on the Mapmyrun App (iOS or Android).
      I’ve looked in settings too and on the Mapmyrun website.
      Maybe they have not rolled it out to UK users yet.

  111. Seb Skiff

    Thanks Garmin for linking automatically now to TP, but I’ve now lost the auto sync with Strava. Anyone else have the same problem?

  112. Janyne Kizer

    I’m just thrilled that Beginner Triathlete has this working!

    MapMyFitness should be embarrassed that they don’t!

  113. Peter

    I am not happy that when Strava takes the Garmin feed it doesn’t drop out non-moving time like it used to when I got it through CopyMySports. The Suunto feed into Strava still does this so you can run with someone wearing a Suunto watch on a long run with some breaks and it will look like they are running much faster. Can we get Garmin to change this?

    • It’s actually a Strava problem. Garmin simply gives Strava the raw .FIT file. Whereas with CopyMySports they took a .TCX file and it sounds like Strava parsed it differently.

      For all recent Garmin devices, it would have ‘started life’ as a .FIT file anyway, so it was really CopyMySports that was changing the behavior there, not Garmin (or even Strava)…

    • Kelvin Ross

      hi there

      Just a quick question that I hope you can help me with, the calories burned on my garmin is more than it shows in starva, I use a hr monitor so I would of expected them to be the same?

      Regards, kelvin

    • Paul S

      See this blog post at MyFitnessPal. You shouldn’t expect the same number because measuring heart rate is not the same as measuring calories. There’s a correlation between heart rate and calorie for aerobic activities in certain zones, but there are large errors and different sites/devices use different algorithms.

  114. Dick Wilkowski

    so many question and answers , but none that fit my problem. I have Map my fitness and Garmin connect and tom tom connect on my iMac. Garmin connect can’t seem to find the tcx files even thought i have them set up in tom tom sports. How do i make garmin data go to Tom Tom and Tom Tom data go to Garmin. (automatically would be nice )

    I am not a very techy /savy person. Thanks

    Dick

  115. Oisin

    Hi everyone
    Does anyone know how to sync weight from a Withings scale to Garmin Connect & Strava?
    I was previously able to do it with Syncmetrics, but that service was unfortunately shut down….
    Anything similar which does it?

    Thank you!

    • Oisin

      Looks like sync to Strava works if you setup Apple Health to access both Strava & Withings.
      Still no luck with Garmin Connect however…

    • Paul S

      You can do it through a myfitnesspal.com account. I’ve forgotten the details (looks like you do it under Apps on myfitnesspal), but my weight is still flowing to Garmin Connect that way. My experience is that these doors tend to close after a while…

  116. Tommies

    I don’t know where to post this tips for Strava. I wanted to comment your ” handy Tools” post but it’s not possible.

    Strava permits de export your actvivity as GPS. But this fil doesn’t contain HR data.

    But If you had “/export_tcx.” to the web adress of your activity then you donwload a TCX file of your activity.

    ex :www.strava.com/activities/1234567890/export_tcx.
    Very useful if you use a HR

  117. Christian Edwards

    Mapmyrun syncing is finally available and working in the UK too but it only bringing across Runs, not bike rides,
    All the activities get to Garmin Connect and Strava, is this a bug or have I done something wrong?

  118. Wenzel

    How do you make it stop syncing?

    • Wenzel

      Never mind, I found it.

      “Rainmaker replied
      August 11, 2014 at 8:20 am #187
      To disconnect login to Garmin Connect:

      1) Then click the little head icon on the left side and then click ‘Settings’.

      2) Then in the menu click Account Information.

      3) Finally, scroll down to Application and you’ll see Strava listed.

      4) Click ‘Remove Permission”.

      That’s it!”

  119. Bart

    Hi, can i sinc teh new Garmin 920xt with strava already ?

    • If you have your Garmin Connect and Strava accounts linked, it doesn’t matter which device you use – everything uploaded to Garmin Connect will show up in Strava.

    • Bart

      Hi,

      Thx for your help, but strava always says ” Your device is not supported by Strava”…
      Does somebody knwos why ?

  120. After this was working for me for months it now seems to have stopped. There are quite a few similar problems listed here:

    link to myfitnesspal.desk.com

    I did find one post saying that there were problems in December but that MFP fixed this early Jan (in the last few days).
    I am currently in the situation that I disconnected my accounts and was unable to re-connect from the MFP side but connecting from the Garmin side worked fine.
    However after re-connecting (and garmin saying that the last sync was today) no data is flowing in either direction.

    Does anyone have this problem? What is the best way to get this fixed? I have sent MFP an email but as I don’t actually pay them anything I don’t hold out much hope for a fast resolution. It is Garmin that I have given all my money to but I don’t know the best way to get this escalated.

    @Ray does this still work for you?

    Thanks

  121. Tom

    Hi, I just got a garmin 510 edge and when I try to download I get a message to say you device is not compatable. I have an I phone and an I pad with latest ISO. Anyone having this problem or know of a work around.

  122. kompresör servisi, sessiz kompresör, medikal kompresör, dental kompresör, kompresor, kompresör, compressor, vidalı kompresör, sessiz kompresör, mikrodew, hava kurutucu, 2 el kompresör, ikinci el kompresör, pistonlu kompresör, hava tankı, kompresör yedek parça, dizel kompresör, 2 el jeneratör, ikinci el jeneratör, samsun kompresör servisi, ordu kompresör servisi, samsun jeneratör servisi

  123. kompresör servisi, sessiz kompresör, medikal kompresör, dental kompresör, kompresor, kompresör, compressor, vidalı kompresör, sessiz kompresör

  124. Hello,
    Does anyone know if the Nikeplus also has this integration with GarminConnnection .

    Thanks

  125. Marc steingrand

    How do I get my workout from starvation to Garmin and training peaks, I forgot my Garmin and had only my iPhone to register my workout I used strata to do so but know ho I get it to Garmin?

    • Paul S

      Go to Strava, select the activity, select the wrench, choose “Export GPX”. Upload the resulting GPX manually to Garmin Connect (click on the word “Activities” in the Activities widget, then on “Import” in the resulting page listing your recent activities). Automatic sync only works in one direction, from Garmin to elsewhere.

    • Marc steingrand

      Hello thanks

      I guess i need a fix pc to do so?i only have an iPhone and iPad to hand at the momentanny suggestion

    • Paul S

      Certainly not with Safari on iOS. You might want to check what happens with iOS Chrome. You need a browser that allows you to download a file and upload it again elsewhere, and I don’t know of any on iOS for certain that will do that.

    • Jim mullan

      Just tried to sync Ostrava with Harmon but get a blank page that fails to upload anything. Anybody else have this issue or any advice!!
      Thanks

  126. Bryan S

    Since Runner’s World is doing away with their “Classic Log” for keeping track of mileage, I am wondering what your opinion is. Which do you recommend more for the “free” service/package: Training Peaks or Strava.
    I will set my Garmin Connect to auto-sync to either of these two. I’m just curious which of them you recommend.

  127. debbie

    Just bought my first GPS watch and want to upload my runs from strava to Garmin connect. I use windows desktop and chrome.
    I tried suggestion above but do not have ‘export GPX’ option if i click the wrench icon

    thanks

  128. Ally C

    Ride With GPS also enabled as of yesterday, 28th April 2015

    link to ridewithgps.com

    I’m a bit of a training log junkie, using Garmin Connect, Strava, Map My Ride, Ride With GPS, Endomondo and Viewranger. Odd, since I’m not competitive about it!

    The frustrating one of those is Viewranger as it still doesn’t support importing from another device – it only works with its own app. As my Galaxy S3’s GPS can sometimes stop without warning, I can’t rely on my just phone for recording rides, and it’s annoying having to remember to set Viewranger running before I can set off on a ride. hopefully they will catch up with the rest of the apps…

  129. Alex

    Hi DC,
    thanks for your advice. i’m already successfully pairing garmin connect with strava by following your advice and i have some activities in garmin connect but the activities still not sync with strava. can you tell me what is the problem? is it because i’m also pairing garmin connect with nike plus? FYI I’m using garmin 920 xt

  130. jeff

    I disconnected the automatic sync from Garmin to Strava. Now I want to set it back up, but the standard way does not work. No permission sent to Garmin.

    What do I need to do?

    Thanks

  131. Ronnie Glen

    I just got a fenix and love the bluetooth sync but the issue with the laps & pause on the .fit files into Strava is a pain! Manually loading a tcx is working (but missing the temperature data which I don’t mind), but the whole wireless automatic experience is then broken!
    Just going to try tapiriik!

  132. smileman

    My problem is getting Strava data to sync to Garmin Connect.

    I have the Vivosmart, which does a nice job of tracking steps. But for cycling and running I use my smartphone/Strava with its GPS to get altitude and distance, and I presume more accurate calorie estimation since it can take into consideration the extra effort spent gaining altitude.

    However, Garmin currently does not allow Strava to add data to Garmin Connect.

    Is Tapiriik my best/only option for adding Strava to add data to Garmin Connect?

    I was also wondering if Google Fit could serve as a ‘Rosetta Stone’ for Strava and Garmin along the lines of what this blogger described, but I read that Garmin doesn’t share step/sleep/calorie information with Google Fit, just activity data:

    link to stationarywaves.com

  133. Another option for sending Strava workouts to Garmin and other services is the RunGap app for iPhone/iPad.

    • smileman

      Hi Kristian,

      Does RunGap sync Strava calorie data into Garmin Connect?

      It appears that Tapiriik does not sync Strava calorie data with Garmin unforunately.

      Also, I have an iPad but not an iPhone (use Android smartphone) so not sure how or if this would affect my using RunGap?

  134. Hi Smileman,
    It appears that RunGap has the same limitation as Tapiriik with regards to calories on Garmin Connect. The technical reason for this is that Strava doesn’t record calories for each lap as required by the TCX format used when sending workouts to Garmin Connect. It works fine on an iPad.

  135. Matthew

    Okay it worked perfectly for me. I did not double distances, times, elevations or anything but data is there but i have big problem with the fact that my privacy zones are not respected by Strava in the data that Garmin syncs over.
    any word on fixing that or perhaps I will just sync them twice.

  136. Valerie

    I don’t suppose you know if there is a way to disable the non-gps enabled activities from loading into Strava? Since I use my Garmin for the HRM feature as well I don’t want it to auto-load non-running/cycle work outs into Strava, but it seems to load everything by default.

    • No method, sorta all or nothing right now.

    • Bryan

      Has there been any update on this?

      I’m confused if the vivosmart with chest strap heart rate monitor can in any way be used in conjunction with Strava. All I want to be able to do is add heart rate/calorie information to my rides with the vivosmart/chest strap.

      Is this a thing yet? Is it still all or nothing? I heard some people say that the activities just registered as walks in Strava?

      Very interested in getting a vivosmart but not sure if I want it if it doesn’t work with Strava!

  137. fwank

    I syncd wid my neighbor she is fit does that count?

  138. Trish

    I know it’s an older post but seems most relevant to my question.

    Just got Garmin 235 and set up sync to strava. I like to rename the run and add details. But the personalization doesn’t sync to strava. Any way to write it once and have it show up in both places???

    Additionally any advice on how to use Garmin 235 for spin class besides manually entering data? I read on one of the threads to set up as cycle and turn gps off. Or use activity “other”. But neither gives me any good data.

    Thank you

    • Nothing has changed there unfortunately. It’s a common request. Basically Garmin just sends the original activity .FIT file over to the 3rd party platform. Whereas stuff like name/etc are all done at a website level, and that piece isn’t sync’d.

  139. This is an oooooooooooooold post, of course. However, I thought it would be relevant to know that you can now go to link to runkeeper.com and add Garmin Connect to the apps available on Runkeeper.

  140. Anne Macfie

    I did a couple of runs today and recorded them on Strava from my phone app as my Garmin had a flat battery. I now want to sync this run to Garmin and can’t see how to do this. Gamin auto syncs to Strava but it doesn’t seem to happen the other way round. Can you give any advise? Many thanks

  141. Ben S

    An update for anybody trying Garmin -> Strava linking, and wondering why historical data isn’t syncing…
    I did it yesterday, and it took about 18 hours to work. It initially looked like it had linked my accounts, and I did a test run which synced. But the last 30 days didn’t appear.
    But this morning I woke up to a load of notifications on my phone, and now I have 30 days of data. So if you see nothing, don’t panic.
    Until tomorrow – tomorrow you can panic.

  142. Marcus Simons

    Hi There – great useful site.

    Background – I’m joining the 21st century by buying a Garmin Fenix 3. I have used a Polar RCX5 for 3 years so have HR / GPS data and comments on PolarPersonalTrainer. I also have used Endomondo for the last 5 years for the purposes of safety (I do a lot of solo night running and riding so my location can be found on Endomondo if I fail to come home – never happened so far) and so have about 800 sessions there but just with GPS – no HR.

    Anyway its all a bit of hardwork to get my HR stuff across so I might just leave it. Like my ProTrainer PC based files before that and my handwritten training notes before that. Its interesting but I’m not that OCD 🙂

    The Garmin comes with iConnect but I wanted to use a neutral third party app to try and avoid lock in of my data. Like I now face with Polar. I was thinking of going to Strava as it seems a bit more open and popular. But I’m not really into the social network side so am having second thoughts as it looks like the useful stuff like HR zones etc only comes with the premium.

    Any comment you would have on the Garmin software and what the extra features you get from Strava are – particularly free strava.

    Cheers
    Marcus

  143. Wiley

    Hey DC, if i used my cell phone for a run and recorded via Strava, can I have it send that activity to the Garmin Connect app on my phone as well?