One of the major selling points of Fitbit’s ever-expanding wearables, particularly fashion-focused wearables is the ability to change between multiple devices during the day. You could start the morning off with a workout on the bulkier Fitbit Surge GPS, and then transition to a slimmer activity tracker for the remainder of the day.
It’s a gap that’s been a pain in Garmin’s side for quite a while, especially as they too have created differentiated product lines aimed at the more fashionable side of fitness. Earlier this year at CES they committed to having a multi-device strategy completed by the end of the year, and true enough – they managed to hit that timeline with almost two months to spare.
This week Garmin rolled out ‘TrueUp’, which enables you to transition from one device to the next and have updated activity tracking stats not just on the backend, but also displayed on the devices themselves.
(Note: I’ve got a separate post covering the other announcements they made in the last two days, around Fitbit data migration and Strava Beacon, but I’m waiting for some technical issues to be resolved there…)
How it works:
The way it works is that each time you sync your activity tracker device it’ll update the Garmin Connect platform with your activity stats, just like it always has. However now, that information will be sync’d back to any other devices that you have on your account and sync with.
To demonstrate this, I’ve been primarily wearing the Garmin Forerunner 35 the last month or so, as I prepare for a review. But I decided to charge up a Garmin Fenix3 to demonstrate how this works with two devices. Obviously most people would have a blend of a more robust GPS device with a thinner device – something like a Vivofit series band for the daytime, and with something like a Garmin FR235 for GPS running. But the exact devices don’t matter too much, as long as it’s on the list of compatible devices.
Speaking of that list, here it is: Fenix 3, Fenix 3 HR, Fenix Chronos, Forerunner 35, 230, 235, 630 and 735XT, Approach S20/X40, D2 Bravo, Tactix Bravo, Quatix 3, Vivofit 3, Vivosmart HR, Vivosmart HR+, Vivoactive HR
The general trend you see there is basically devices released in the last 12 months (+ the Fenix3). Devices such as the FR15, FR25, FR920XT, Epix, and Vivomove/Vivofit1/Vivofit2 are all missing. My understanding is that on that these non-supported devices it’ll properly upload steps to supported devices, but just not display the ‘True Up’ numbers on the non-supported device. But I haven’t tried it in that configuration. Said differently, if you use a Vivosmart HR during the day, but run with the FR920XT, that should actually work in terms of seeing your run-step data on the Vivosmart, but you won’t see it on the FR920XT. In theory anyway.
With all that said, you’ll want to set your ‘Preferred Activity Tracker’, within Garmin Connect Mobile. This takes all of 1.5 seconds, and simply lets Garmin know which data you prefer.
In any case, first, I walked a bunch of steps to the bakery and back with my FR35. You’ll see at this point that it shows those steps on my watch.
Meanwhile, I purposefully turned off the Fenix3, so that it wasn’t accumulating any steps.
Once turning it on (before sync), you can see it shows 0 steps). Next, I went ahead and sync’d the FR35 to Garmin Connect Mobile. Obviously it’d do this automatically throughout the day, but I’m impatient, so I just forced it. Now you see my steps match on Garmin Connect Mobile:
But here’s the real party trick. Now I let the Fenix3 sync to my same mobile phone:
Once it completes that, if you go to the activity stats page on your Fenix3, you’ll actually see it briefly display ‘Updating’, and a swirly thing around the outer edge:
A few seconds later after pondering life, it’ll actually show you the exact same steps:
And with that, my work here is complete. I could inversely now use just the Fenix3 for some steps and then see the FR35 display updated (which I’ve tried, and it works too). Additionally, steps on devices walked at the same time don’t end up being duplicate, but rather the overlap is cleaned up. TrueUp includes coverage of steps, distance, calories, stairs, and intensity minutes.
Further, when it comes to overlapping device data – Garmin will prioritize the higher quality device. This means that if you wear a Vivofit3 (non-GPS) at the same time as running with a FR235 (GPS), it’ll use the distance data from the FR235.
With that – thanks for reading!
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Do you still have a vivomove, Ray? I was considering picking one up for step tracking on meeting days (can get one for £109 locally), and I notice it isn’t on the list. I wouldn’t be fussed about the vivomove not showing steps from my F3, but if its step count doesn’t integrate at all, that would cut my interest a lot.
@John , I do not get your point. TrueUP is currently just a basic syncing ( of steps) between devices and owned and Garmin Connect in a more organized flow. These are not activities we’re talking here but steps. I do not see why it will be usefull to sync activities between devices , as it makes no sense. Say you have an edge 520 and also a vivoactive. Why would you want to sync the cycling activity done with the vivoactive to your 520? IT’s not like you going to “lose” something.
Seems I pressed the wrong reply button. Answer is for John 🙂
@Dom , vivomove is not supported as it doesn’t show numbers of steps but percentage completed to you goal. It would be difficult to implement I guess but don’t quote me on that , trueUP is currently in it’s early stages and we could see new things in there.
Thanks. I can imagine it would be difficult on a device which displays the progress in a completely different way. My question at the moment is whether my Fenix 3 would pick up the steps from a vivomove, and Robert Fogle’s comment below suggests that it works like that with a vivomove and an FR630, so probably would with an F3.
You know it’s funny, when I was transcribing all the supported units (and then trying to remember ones that aren’t), I kept saying to myself “I know there’s something I’m missing here”, and sure enough – Vivomove was it.
Which is wonky, because Vivomove is quite frankly *the most* applicable unit to have TrueUp on. Literally, it’s the perfect use case. Sigh.
I disagree with the comments about the Vivomove supporting data as percentage, not steps for two reasons:
1) it had to store steps vs time to display / sync to Garmin Connect properly.
2) my step goals have gone wonky before when I had to reconnect it to my phone. For some reason they reset to 30k/day. My progress bar was very low as a result of the high goal. When I reset the goal to auto determine in Garmin Connect and re-synced it came back in line. Therefore the watch had to know total steps.
I suspect it’s a matter of firmware on the watch end. I hope Garmin decides to update it to allow it to “TrueUp.”
@gARMIN van Buren: Syncing of data between Edge 520 and vivoactive maybe doesn’t make sense. But between Edge520 and Fenix 3 is completely different story, at least for me. I uses 520 always on the bike as it nicely shows all training/power data, and F3 for other activities like running, swimming, cardio, etc. On F3 I regularly miss data about calories burned on the bike, correct intensity minutes, recovery time, etc. I thought TrueUp will solve it. Now I’m dissapointed…
+1 on the disappointment.
I hope its just new sw for the EDGE units, that’s keeping them off the list.
I feel so annoyed with Garmin, when I sit down, completely busted after an intense bike ride, and then my VivoAct HR goes brrrrrrr -> move. And that’s even when wearing the the VA HR during the ride….
Yup, the system is very single minded about steps. I don’t have an Edge, I use a Fenix 3 for cycling. Ride to work, lock up, walk from bike shed to my desk, and it’s the walk through the building which clears the move bar.
Which is to say, the underlying problem here isn’t Edge support so much as the way step tracking ignores anything which doesn’t involve arm swings. I don’t really know how you’d try to translate cycling, or yoga, or weights into steps. Clearing the move bar if you’re doing an activity which qualifies as intensity minutes (which, oddly, cycling doesn’t unless you’re wearing an HRM) doesn’t on the face of it seem difficult to implement. (Maybe it is; step tracking is pretty miserly on power, and the hardware implementation might be so divided from the main processor to make that challenging. Not my field.)
I have one more thing to post, which is an official Garmin comment which answers my original question.
From here:
“All devices that have activity tracking will be able to upload to Garmin Connect and the total number of steps taken from both devices will display. Not all devices have the ability download step data from Garmin Connect so that the steps update on the device. A list of devices that can download the steps from Connect can be found in this link: link to garmin.com…nnect-updates/.
If a user is wearing two devices at the same time, Garmin Connect will take steps from the device that has more steps. If both units have the same number of steps, the steps from the “Preferred Activity Tracker” will be used.”
So any step-tracking device will contribute to the total step count, but not all of them can show steps from other devices.
Seriously frustrating, I’ve been holding off on getting a Garmin activity tracker until they came out with something like TrueUp but what’s the point if it doesn’t work with my Vivomove? What a fail Garmin.
I have a Fenix 3 and just got he Vivoactive HR for daytime use. True Up isn’t working when I sync though. Any thoughts?
I totally agree. We need better sync between the Fenix3 (or other serious trackers) and Edge units. Stuff like VO2MAX, recovery times, calories, etc. Garmin must get it to a point where Connect does a proper job at merging all the data and update the units with complete picture, regardless of which unit was used to record the activities.
Focus on steps is simply for the basic fitness crowd. But that is not the important crowd. People that train don’t look at steps, they look at more important training related information.
Garmin please take that a big step further for the athletes. People counting their steps are not.
So calorie counting is for the big kids and step counting is just for the little non-athletes? Seriously…relax and bring yourself back to reality. ?
@gARMIN van Buuren: Yes, you will lose something. You will lose one of the two activities on your two watches. TrueUp might retain the data on the Edge or it might retain the data on the Vivoactive, but it will not retain both. You know, no double counting.
A person wearing both a supported watch (Edge) and unsupported watch (Vivoactive) should always have one of these watches in sleep or power-down mode. Use whichever watch is best for your current activity. Before starting a new activity, sit down (to stop the recording), sync the watch you are taking off, power off the watch being taken off, power up the watch to be used, walk 50′ for step data, sync the now-active watch, and do your exercise. This sequence will give you the data that you need for Garmin badges (such as 60-day streaks of step goals) but not cause a dreadful conflict with the TrueUp verification app.
So only steps get synced, that makes sense.
How do bike rides with, say, an Edge 520 and a ANT+ HR monitor work? Any issues on the backend in Garmin Connect merging the Edge data?
Yes, I was wondering that too. walk the dog, out for a bike ride then off to town with the family. Is Garmin compiling this into an all day activity report across devices?
Also curious. I actually use both my edge 500 and forerunner 235 on rides, because I want the activity attributed to my daily calories, but also to be able to see my data while riding on the edge. I would LOVE to be able to plug the edge in afterwards after the fr235 has synced and have garmin realize I did not in fact go on two separate, equidistant, simultaneous rides… and just merge them.
I have an Edge 820 and Vivoactive HR. The cycling HR data doesn’t sync into the daily HR timeliness. So if I go for a ride for 4 hours connect has a blank period in my timeliness, which then translates to an avg HR that is really low! Petty, but frustrating.
Finally, this is great news.
I just tried it with 2 non-supported devices (vivofit & vivoactive) and as expected True Up doesn’t work on them but Garmin Connect reports the combined data correctly!
@Paul and @Garrett. Don’t have an unsupported device awake at the same time as a supported device. TrueUp will pick an activity on one of the devices, but TrueUp may not pick the activity that you deem the most important one. Turn off or put in sleep mode whichever device you do not want recording.
I did this same test yesterday with a Vivomove and FR630. The FR and mobile app showed total steps data proper, the vivomove did not show the steps I accumulated with the FR. Given the vivomove wss released this year (July, I think), I wonder what the odds are it’ll be supported. I much prefer wearing my vivomove during the day as I’m more of an analog watch guy (unless I’m data logging my runs).
Robert, I guess you were lucky. I tried this with a FR620 and a Vivosmart HR. The FR620 step count was not reflected on Garmin Connect or the Vivosmart. I spent a bunch of time going over the various reports/screen on the Connect Web Site. Nowhere did the see the FR620 miles converted to steps. I see calories, heart rate, and a separate activity from the FR, just not steps.
The gap around 7am is where the FR activity is. :o(
That’s odd. My vivomove is set as my preferred tracker, is it yours? I’m doing a 5k tomorrow and will leave my vivomove at home. I’ll see if I had a fluke and report back
Yes, the VivoSmart is set as the preferred tracker.
I’m going to test it again on Sunday. I’m going to make a note of the step count on the VivoSmart, before I do my run and sync the FR. Maybe the steps are being counted, but not being reflected in the mobile app (iOS) and web site on the Step Widget. One could hope.
A 620? As I recall, that doesn’t act as a step tracker at all, other than monitoring your cadence during runs. TrueUp is probably reading only the step tracking data, not the individual fit file activities, so I wouldn’t expect it to extract the steps from your run. I looked back at my activity tracking the week I switched from 620 to F3, and the step tracking starts when I started using the F3; there’s no activity in terms of steps during the runs I did with the 620 earlier in the week. So unless you actually mean a 630, I think you might be out of luck.
Hi Dom, thank you. Your right the 620 doesn’t support activity tracking. I just checked the DCR Product Comparison tool.
So, now I need to decide how much is it worth to me to have my FR add to my daily step count. I’m only using it 3 – 4 times a week, indoors on a treadmill. Yes, I know it is very much overkill.
I’m a bit too analytically for my own good, sometimes. I have found I do better at reaching my goals in the gym, when I have statistics to reinforce what I’m seeing/feeling. Also the stats make me continue, when all I want to do is quit.
Thank you everyone for the help.
As a follow up, I used a Fenix3 HR today for the run and the time I was at the event (activities for the kids, race, food, driving both ways). You can see in the screenshot where the hr is overlayed – that was with the f3; space without the hr is with my vivomove. The F3 shows total steps that match what Garmin Connect shows. The vivomove shows I’m at about 35% of my step goal. Overall I’m happy with not having to wear two devices when I run for total daily steps / calorie burn, but it would be nice if the vivomove could sync two ways.
I found another bug with TrueUp and non-supported devices. It appears daily step goals are calculated on the device, not on Garmin’s end. Yesterday I logged about 150% of my step goal, but because of the split between my F3HR and my vivomove the vivomove didn’t think I hit goal; my step goal today was auto lowered by about 200 steps. Again, an annoyance but not a huge issue.
Robert, I have the same F3/vivomove combo and I switch around which one I wear from day to day to count steps. I think you are right about the autogoal being calculated on the watch. But I think the autogoal comes just from the preferred tracker. So my guess is if I switch my preferred tracker from the vivomove to the F3, the F3 should get the vivomove steps and update the goal as long as it is synced with connect at the end of the day. Does that sound right?
I had the same theory. I haven’t tested it yet, but imagine this would work. If you test this, let me know how it works out.
Two days with the F3 as preferred activity tracker and no change in goal. So it seems that AutoGoal does not work on the F3 and if I wear the F3 at all, the AutoGoal on the vivomove will not be accurate. Let’s hope for updates…
Not sure I understand the comment about FitBit not displaying updated values. At least for steps, all FitBit devices show the consolidated values once you sync across multiple devices.
That’s nice.
Do you think they might have some sync of the recovery advice in the works?
I use a 920xt for swim/run/tri but my 520 for normal cycling.
I would love it if the recovery was info was shared.
Will it also sync the Edge 520? It appears within the screenshots but not in your text.
I went on a bike ride with a 520 and Vivoactive HR. I had my chest strap connected to both, and I started and ended a bike ride activity on the Vivoactive at the appropriate times. When they sync, I got two identical activities on Garmin Connect.
So either I did something wrong, this scenario isn’t supported, or the 520 isn’t supported. Or some combination.
That scenario wouldn’t be covered, since that’s duplicate GPS activities. The theory being that you’d only record one.
So does that mean if I go for a ride with my Edge 520 but leave my Fenix 3 (what I use for all other activities aside form cycling) at home that the data from the ride will sync back to the Fenix 3? I know there won’t be any steps but it would be nice to have calories, intensity minutes, etc sync back.
This is what I’m interested in. I’d like records such as climbing, power, longest ride to all be the same on each device. They should also be able to get the rest data across etc as well.
Will this also work with sleep data? I prefer to use the vivosmart HR for casual/downtime in the evening and track HR while sleeping and then switch to the fenix 3 in the morning for the day. I haven’t updated yet (I tend to wait a week or so to see if any bugs turn up), but my tests up to this point all end up turfing my sleep and step data. I’m hoping it covers both.
I’m wondering this as well. Going to be using FR235 at night and Fenix3 during the day. If the F3 is left on, I’m wondering if the “sleep” data will trump the FR235, even though the 235 will be collecting heart rate and movement data, since it’s a superior device (my FR235 will show a flat line if left on and not used overnight, it still considers it sleep data). Might have to turn off the other device, in my case my Fenix3, to make sure the sleep data is kept from the inferior device. I won’t be able to test until December, but I’m curious. I hate powering down my watches all the time.
So just found this comment below that is good news – hoping it works this way!
From the Garmin forums (Joseph): “The new TrueUp feature is designed so that users do not have to wear two devices at the same time, but if you happen to be wearing two devices while sleeping, Garmin Connect will use the accelerometer data from the device that detects the most movement. If there are any conflicts between the two devices then the data from the ‘Preferred Activity Tracker’ will be used.”
Do you know about any plans to extend this functionality to non-garmin devices? Using e.g. Apple health? It would be really awesome, to have possibility to use Apple Watch sometimes for run and garmin for everything else.
I’m not aware of any plans there, but perhaps they’re working on something.
The following statement about fitbit devices seems to be incorrect:
“While Fitbit consolidates backend information on the website/app, they don’t update displays on the individual devices. Garmin now does that.”
Fitbit may consolidate data on the backend but it does update individual device displays instantly upon sync.
Cheers.
Thanks, fixed.
This is the whole reason I switched to Kindle.
This puts Garmin back in the game for me on wearables.
Kindle?
Reading instead of sports, I presume…
Jeff is probably referring to the fact that Kindle syncs automatically between all your devices – both the Kindle device itself and Kindle apps on other devices, including phones, iPad, etc. This is a good comparison, actually.
Gotchya. As a Kindle person myself – definitely love that.
Sorry, I was thinking he was somehow using the Kindle as a wearable…
Having seen an iPad mini strapped to someone’s arm in the gym recently, this wouldn’t actually surprise me that much!!
It would be nice if the Fenix 3 HR could also show the last cycling activity done with the Edge 520, and not only the cycling activities recorded with the fenix….
This. Also syncing records please
Excellent news and long overdue. I left Garmin entirely (other than bike computer) over this issue issue exactly and now am a big Fitbit user for this reason. I may switch sometime back because obvious the higher end Garmin’s are in a different universe from Fitbit Surge/Blaze but hopefully Garmin makes nicer looking bands at the same time.
PS: any word if any elements of trueup work with edge units? I’d love my edge data to be prioritized and cleaned up with a band/watch I might be wearing at the same time. I’m ok with not seeing summary data on the edge but Garmin should smart enough to use edge heart / calorie data and remove steps from edge workouts.
This is what I was pondering when I read this article, will it combine my edge 820 data with a Garmin wearable’s information. I, as well, don’t need to see this on the Edge 820 per se, but would love to see the wholistic version on the app or on the wearable. Any insight Ray? TIA 🙂
That may be a thing for the future but right now Edge units are not supported for TrueUP. Keep in mind trueUP is in its early stages right now.
This is indeed awesome news! I just put my Vivosmart HR up for sale because I thought I’d never get to use it (got it for a stellar deal). I love my 235, but some days I’d rather be more.. minimal 🙂
Actually this feature has been working on Polar for quite some time. I use the V800 for training and the a360 for daily activity. Activity information appears on both units after syncing with flow.
Yup, I use M400 for running and everyday watch (noone given me a v800 yet ;)) and Loop when I need to wear a proper watch or sleep. Never seen any inconsistencies in synchronising both during the year or so I have had them.
Very cool…any insights as to whether they will include resting HR and sleep data?
From the Garmin forums (Joseph): “The new TrueUp feature is designed so that users do not have to wear two devices at the same time, but if you happen to be wearing two devices while sleeping, Garmin Connect will use the accelerometer data from the device that detects the most movement. If there are any conflicts between the two devices then the data from the ‘Preferred Activity Tracker’ will be used.”
Looks like basically, everything is covered with your preferred tracker being the priority.
Thanks Jon
Yes, it works with 920 and vivosmart hr as you guessed. steps from 920 are updated and summed on vivosmart, but not on 920.
But will it recognize when i walk/run with both devices? or double steps will be counted?
I’ve gotten a vivosmart hr+ today and I started it when my 920xt had about 6000 steps recorded already. So far it is weird. I haven’t gotten the 6k steps onto the vs. And currently I see the following (after wearing 920 left, vs right all the time) :
920: 9610
vs: 3221
Connect: 10840???
I’ll try same arm later, but so far I’m not convinced this works in a reasonable way. Any hints/ideas?
Now after many syncs the vivosmart shows the 10k.
The remainder of the difference might be left vs right wrist related…
Been waiting for a long time for this. Still a bit of disappointment not to see the 920 in the list of supported devices, but it is just a minor issue since having my daily data available while working out is no big deal.
I have a Fitbit on my wrist and walk every day. I have an Edge 1000 on my bike(s) and ride every couple of days. I have a Concept 2 ergo and row when it’s raining heavily (I do live in western Washington). I am a bit of a data geek and would love a way to accumulate all of this in one place, but I haven’t figured it out.
Buy a fenix 3 and use garmin connect
But that won’t work with my Edge or the Concept 2.
Nice and I hope one day it will work for HR data as well.
Because if I go out for running with FR630 and HRM Run and use FR235 later as preferred tracker the HR data from run is missing in daily overview.
Ray, are you aware of any plans for edge series (520,820) to be included in this? I ride about 10 hours a week but according to Garmin connect I do 0 intensity minutes…
Do you think Garmin will ever release something like this that links in with the Edge series cycling computers?? – If I go and beast myself for 3 hours on the bike, upload it, then wear my Vivoactive HR it would be nice to see that activity and especially the calories burned port onto the wearable device!
Not to complain about a long awaited feature but thinking about this I still confused why I must set one primary device and only the primary device will show the summarized totals? In my Fitbit world if I have a Surge (watch) and Charge 2 (band) and I go back and forth between them during the day not only do they both contribute data to be combined and summarized by the Fitbit mobile app but BOTH show the current merged step, stair, calorie etc. totals. This works with any number of Fitbit devices if you added Alta, Charge HR, Blaze etc. everything remains totaled.
Now look, the important thing is the app now summarizes everything so this is no longer a deal breaker for me but why in the world can’t whatever recent Garmin device I wear and own show me a real summarized total not just some “primary” device? I can easily see someone wearing a Fenix 3 for a dressier watch but using a 735/235 for running workouts, perhaps a lightweight Vivosmart HR band when out and about etc. so why not have them all show the current totals?
Weird.
Another person who would like to see integration with Edge units checking in. At the moment I wear my fenix 3 on rides but I’d rather not if I didn’t have to. I’d even upgrade my Edge 200 with a shiny new 520, if that isn’t enough of an incentive Garmin then I don’t know what is!
Dave, agree. I hope this is a first gen for Garmin and more features are on the way.
Sync to many devices, HR data, etc..
Dave: Where are you getting that only the primary device shows the updated overall step count? He clearly said ghat he tried it in reverse and it worked. BOTH devices will be updated via Connect, regardless of which device you are wearing.
DCRM: Please verify that sleep is also synced. I have a difficult time wearing the FR735XT during the night (it’s just too bulky) and I’d like to buy one of the Vivos for sleep. Thanks!!
Just as a quick update for folks (basically everyone) asking about Garmin Edge integration, I’ve sent on a note to the Garmin folks asking for what the plans there are.
That person replied back they are tracking it down, but they were just boarding a transatlantic flight – so it’ll likely be a bit before an answer is both decided upon/tracked down and relayed to me.
Thanks for looking into it Ray! Hope it’s something that’s in Garmin’s plans.
Hi Ray,
Did you end up getting a response?
Nothing. I’ll circle back. It wouldn’t surprise me given the flights the person was on, if it just slid into the e-mail swamp by time they got back.
No comment from Garmin on this yet?
Seems to be such a popular request that surely Garmin are going to come up with the goods for us cyclists who also have wrist based devices *crosses fingers*
I’m also wondering if this is coming. Any idea if Garmin is planning anything? Surely they want to encourage people to have multiple devices…Aren’t their biggest customers using, say, a Fenix for runs and an Edge for cycling? And isn’t it in Garmin’s interest for the watch to incorporate all this data? It’s strange that currently the best practice to get good Firstbeat metrics on a Fenix 5 is to use it while cycling instead of a Garmin device that is actually designed for cycling…
I too would love an update on whether the functionality will be built to have data from the edge 520 uploaded to the fenix 5. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to log the activity on two devices especially when power meters and HRM’s are involved. Thanks!
I reckon the “killer app” for all of this syncing is getting accurate “recovery times” across different swim/bike/run sports + steps. Right now my recovery time on my Edge 1000 doesn’t take into account I swam 2000m and ran 10k before I went for my bike ride after which I walked 3km to/from the shops.
If they can come up with something usable here rather than the recovery time in isolation numbers (completely useless for us multisport types) they currently do then it’d be a great step forward.
Very true, indeed. It would be also very helpful if not only Garmin Connect, but also at least the sophisticated multisport watches (Fenix, 735, 920) act as platform combining activities from all devices. E.g., that my watch also shows biking data from my Edge device (while I have not warn a watchwhile biking). – I also do not understand from a commercial point of view, why Garmin is not pushing this forward, as then it would make more sense to own and use compatible Garmin devices, instead of gathering all data just via a multisport watch.
It’s not working between 920xt and fénix 3. This should have been figured out so long ago. It seems completely arbitrary that you can only sync steps from 1 device and it discourages buying more Garmin devices which is a bad business decision.
Which way are you trying to go?
It only works: FR920XT > Fenix3.
Why the FR920XT wasn’t updated, I’ve got no idea.
Given the sale prices and the rapid expansion of the Fenix family, it kinda seems they pulled their hands off the 920 and are working towards a successor, even though the model may not be due timewise, it kinda is regarding features and support now.
I have a Vivomove and a 910xt. The 910 is a dinosaur for sure but it’s still working so I’m rocking with it until it dies.
I was hoping TrueUp would count steps from my 910xt footpod (Cadence x distance = ) (I think?), And combine that number with vivomove. I care less about the vivomove showing the steps from a 910xt run, but I do wish it combined in Garmin Connect.
This seems like something that should be doable but I’m clearly not an engineer. Am I missing something?
This is pretty awesome!
Not sure if anyone knows, but would TrueUp work with a Vivofit 3 combining date with the ancient FR 210 I still use to track my runs? Been thinking about getting an activity tracker and that would really cover all my bases.
Combining data, not date
what’ about syncing via WIFI? i love the supereasy way to sync my fenix 3hr via wifi/wlan – will it work too?
So I have tried this with steps (Garmin 920xt and 725xt) and does seem to be able to pick up steps from a secondary device if the main device is charging. I would like to see this be able to merge two workouts if you have tracked it on more than one device (say a 725xt and Edge) while biking rather than making it appear that you worked out twice
One note for those on the 920xt which I learned the hard way this AM. You need to enable tracking on the watch in the settings menu – even if you have done this on the Garmin Connect app (iOS in my case) and synced. It does not appear the setting on the app is changing the setting on the watch.
Everything did work fine between my 630 and Vivosmart HR+ and expect the 920 to be ok now that I figured out the settings.
I use RunGap app to synchronize between my Polar, Suunto and Apple watch.
I tend to stay away from the “evil empire” Garmin that pumps out new similar units every week and who try to kill of all its competition.
Only a first step. From a multisport point of view no progress as regards delivering an overview of all activities on my watch. Rather, it would be very helpful if not only Garmin Connect, but also at least the sophisticated multisport watches (Fenix, 735, 920) act as platform combining activities from all devices. E.g., that my watch also shows biking data from my Edge device (when I have not worn a watch while biking). – I also do not understand from a commercial point of view, why Garmin is not pushing this, as then it would make more sense to own and use compatible Garmin devices, instead of gathering all data just via a multisport watch.
This is excellent. I’ve been given hassles from mates for wearing two watches while running (Vivoactive & 920XT). I’m not bothered about whether the steps show on the device or not… just as long as they are all captured within Garmin Connect!
So will this also help with my situation? I use a Garmin Vivosmart to track my steps. I have a Fenix 3 I use when cycling (which I don’t currently track steps on). When cycling I have to remember to take off my Vivosmart, or it gets confused with bumpy roads and credits me with lots of steps when I’m cycling. So with TrueUp will this no longer be an issue, either with it overriding (no pun intended) any steps recorded when I was doing a cycling activity, or if I turn step counting on in my F3, will it revert to that as the “superior” device – I’m assuming the F3 won’t record false steps while it’s in an activity, I’ve never tried?
Hi Ray,
It seems you forgot to complete your list of compatible devices:
Speaking of that list, here it is: Fenix 3, Fenix 3 HR, Fenix Chronos, Forerunner 35, 230, 235, 630 and 735XT, Approach S20/X40, D2 Bravo, Tactix Bravo, Quatix 3, Vivofit 3, Vivosmart HR, Vivosmart HR+, Vivoactive HR,
I am in suspense as to the next device you were intending to place on after the Vivoactive HR. Was it the Vivoactive as it is not in the unsupported section?
Thank you for the update!
Alfie
Nope, that’s it. I had re-ordered them and must have forgot the comma. Sorry to disappoint!
Damn…..
what are the chances that Garmin will expand the list to include older devices? I use the Vivo Active 1st Gen and that is not on the list. 🙁
Unfortunately I think pretty slim. :-/
Ray, do you know why is there a limit allowing to connect only 2 devices simultaneously to Garmin Connect Mobile app for iOS via bluetooth?
TrueUp makes the limit even more annoying.
I use Vivosmart HR, Fenix 3 and Edge 820 on daily basis. Obviously I want all of them to be connected via BT to take advantage of all the smart features. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be possible and I ended up enabling BT on Fenix 3 only to sync my runs which renders F3 to dump watch as I can’t access weather or calendar widgets.
I believe this is pretty stupid, because what Garmin is telling me is not to buy more than two of their devices and rather buy Fitbit band for activity tracking (which I would definitely have done if I knew about this limitation).
Hmm. Interesting. I was wondering when something like this would surface.
Any idea on if this will sync a manually uploaded activity via Connect to my Fenix 3HR? Case example: TrainerRoad session connected to PC, download the workout file, upload to Garmin Connect (for calorie purposes), activity ends up on watch?
Doesn’t seem to work on my vivosmart HR.
The connect app happily combines. My vivosmart and 920xt. But the combined total never syncs back
Wow! I was just about to pick up a Vivomove for the wife for Xmas!
She uses a Forerunner 25 for running, and thought that this would be ideal now!
I can’t believe they aren’t supporting the Vivomove with TrueUp, this seems the device that it’s made the most for!!
One less sale for Garmin then!
Nathan, true up will work with the Vivomove (and any Garmin activity tracker) but it will not upload the combined totals to the Vivomove. If you go for a run with a F3 and get 10k steps and then use the Vivomove for the rest of the day, Connect will show the combined totals.
Hi Ray,
What would interest me…
Synching of VO2 max, and max power over 20 minutes would interest me much more then counting my steps through the local super market 😉
As far as I know that doesn’t work yet. Did I miss something? And if I didn’t miss something, could you put in some good words at Garmin?
Best regards and many thanks,
Jonathan
I was excited about this but I’m sad to report utter failure.
On Thursday, I enabled activity tracking on my 920XT *after* my run. Worked great.
Today, I walked the dog with my Vivofit 2, ran with my 920XT, and then synced. I should have had in the neighborhood of 2000 steps plus my run. Instead, I had something over 17,000 steps. My run synced as a run but it does not show up in my “Today” as anything but a zillion steps.
This has potential but there sure seem to be a lot of bugs to work out.
So far all it seems to do is overwrite the lower step goal. I had 1 watch with 5000 ish and the other one I wore for a walk. I got 6700. While syncing it’s overwritten the 5000 on my fr630. I don’t care if it does t show updated totals.. But this 5000 steps are totally and utterly gone now. My GC total is only 6700.
I’m wondering if the TrueUp would actually synchronize my Garmin Oregon 700 activity data with my Fenix 3 HR. I just purchased the Oregon 700 to replace my old Oregon 600 because it supports Garmin Connect data sync.
If I simultaneously turn on both devices for a hike or bike trip, and later on sync both devices. Would them be showing up as two activities in Garmin Connect or one trip? And would I have the ability to choose which device’s data takes priority when syncing recorded activities?
@Lex. TrueUp will get confused if you have two active watches. Before your walk, you needed to sync out your 1st watch and then power it off. Now power on the 2nd watch for the walk. Walk 50′ to give the 2nd watch some data. Sync with the 2nd watch. Go for your walk. Sit down. Sync out the 2nd watch. Power down the 2nd watch. Turn on the 1st watch. Walk 50′ with the 1st watch. Sync the 1st watch. Now continue your day with the 1st watch. Notice that in these instructions only one watch is active at a time. TrueUp is never given a choice between two activities at the same time. Nothing is ever lost. Well, sometimes something sleep is lost. Going back and forth between daytime watches can get some bizarre unreliable inaccurate sleep patterns, but your more important data (your daytime data) will be accurate.
Assuming I wear my vivoactive hr and broadcast hr to my fenix 3, will the activity (steps) be aggregated in garmin connect (ie double counting)?
@Cw78. You will never get double counting. You may get lost data if TrueUp picks the wrong watch for the data that it aggregates. My recommendation to anyone such as myself who uses two watches is to always have one of these watches asleep (or powered down) while the other is on. This gives TrueUp no choice as to what data to save (TrueUp will save everything as there is no conflict).
Any update on Edge integration? Must be pretty high on the list of requested features, hate looking at my 735xt and getting told iv done nothing after a long ride.
Hi Ray, Seasons Greetings from Australia. Great article on Garmin TrueUp. I am using my new Fenix 3 and my Vivosmart HR to track activities. BTW, the Vivosmart works brilliantly to broadcast HR to the Fenix 3 whilst I am on the bike. Much better than a HR strap. Trueup seems to be syncing up to Garmin Connect well. The issue is that whilst TrueUp synced the steps data back to the preferred device for a day or so it now seems to have stopped. Any ideas? I have turned Bluetooth off and on and also swapped the preferred devices to no avail. Thanks for your website. I follow it with great interest. Regards, Phillip
My experience is that a watch that will not pair is not paired. Check your cell phone to be sure that your phone recognizes your Bluetooth device. If not, pair again. Otherwise, you are on the correct path by turning off and on the relevant devices. If you can force a sync by touching something, be sure to force the syncs. When having problems, do not have two watches awake (actually, never have two watches awake). Turn one off. Work with the other watch to sync it. Then turn it off and power up the other watch. Then sync it. In general, having two Garmin devices awake at the same time is not a good thing.
Assume that cant sync a Withings steel step counter with garminconnect trueup? Anyone found a solution to this (other than buy another Garmin device?)
Why is not Vivoactive 1 st Gen supported?? It make no sense.
2 nd Gen Vivoactiv HR is quite bulky and nothing I would like to wear on a daily basis – it really is another activity-watch-piece design wise.
Garmin, should re-consider and include Vivoactive 1 st Gen for the users to get the correct facilitation of steps and goals switching between e.g. Fenix 3.
You will get the combined totals on the Garmin Connect app and website, it is just the combined totals will not be uploaded to the original VA.
Just wondering. Does it only sync step data? Just wondering if it would mean Hr data from a vivosmart hr would be synced with location data from my fenix 2 in connect? From my reading I gather it isn’t but wanted to find out.
What if one of the “devices” is a manually entered activity?
I am trying to figure out if I wear my Fenix 5 to the gym for strength training and do not start recording it as an activity (I didn’t see that as an option), and then I go to connect and manually create an activity and tell it the time I was at the gym, will it count the calories twice?
I did notice that when I look at my heart rate history that (after leaving the F5 home) that there was a little icon under the gap in HR data.
FitBit handles this correctly, does Garmin?
Ray,
Do you know if true up will true up fitness status across two different devices? For example, fenix 5 and forerunner 935?
Thanks.
Did you ever figure this out? I just got a Fenix 5 plus and want to know if I should record everything on my watch or I can record rides on my 520 and “get credit” on my Fenix.
Also interested!
Hello Ray.. Sorry to dig up this old post..
So.. Recently I got a Garmin epic (previously have and using a Garmin fenix 3) I’m not getting this trueup feature.. The steps on the fenix 3 is about 3500 and the Epix is at 200 only
And one other thing is that I’m stuck at the 2.2 update in the Epix.. I’m not sure how to force update it.. I have tried connecting it. To Garmin connect and express.. Still it says I’m up to date at a 2.20 version… I’d be. Glad if you’d throw some. Light on this…
Ray!!! or anyone!!! Help please!!
I’m pretty sure true up is broken. Worth logging a fault fall with Garmin.
@Gautham. As the article says, an unsupported watch will not show the combined totals of a supported and unsupported watch. You should never have two watches on at the same time. I wear a VF1 at night and a VS HR+ during the day. One gets synced out and powered down before the other gets powered on. Then I walk 50′ to get steps. Then I sync the 2nd watch. When I’m ready to switch again, I sync out the 2nd watch, power down, power up the 1st watch, walk 50′, and sync the 1st watch. All switches are done in sitting mode (no new steps being accumulated).
Good to know. Thanks.
What about dealing with dupe activities from using 2 or more garmin devices at the same time.
Eg 735xt for heart rate whilst riding with edge 820. Sync’ing creates 2 activities.
I thought about not saving the 735xt one, but wanted the watch records and My Day to be accurate.
Advice please?
Hi, I use a 920xt for my activities and am thinking of using the vivoactive hr+ for daytime use and sleep but would also use for the occasional run. I’m not too bothered about seeing all stats on both devices but would like to see everything on connect mobile. Does anyone know if this will work? Also, will my steps on 920 add on to my vivoactive once I’ve finished a run? Thanks
I have that setup and yes it will work. I never checked if it’s 100% precise but if you swap HR+ and 920 things will add up somehow. However, most of the time I wear them both when running anyways.
Hi Ray,
Have been following this for a while hoping edge data portability becomes real.
Did you ever get a response from the guy on the long flights about Edge integration please? I run & swim with the F5 and use it as a daily wearable. My primary activity is cycling and use an 820 mostly. I would like to see Garmin add intensity minutes, calories, distance, recovery time data into the mix. If I I use the f5 to record the cycling activity, this all shows perfectly. The requirement would be “for the data to always show on the f5 as if I had recorded the activity using the f5, even if I record it on my 820 (or other edge variant)”.
The existing capability is really great for those who use multiple wearables, useless for cyclists with an edge.
Hi DCRainmaker,
Thanks for all your great reviews!
I have a Fenix 3 and a Vivosmart HR. I use the Fenix when I go running, and the Vivosmart HR. I would like to know if it is possible to have Garmin Connect take the HR data from my Vivosmart and merge it into the run data from my Fenix? At the moment, I have to wear a separate HR chest strap if I want HR data for my runs.
Many thanks,
Chris
The Vivosmart HR is supposed to be able to broadcast HR over ANT+ — so you should be able to just connect it as a sensor to your Fenix 3 to achieve this?
Thanks Nivedita, I will give that a try.
This worked a treat, by the way.
I case anyone else is reading this, you first have to switch on Setting -> HR -> Broadcast on the Vivosmart before pairing the devices.
The heart rate then synchronises as I wanted it to. There are a few other metrics I was getting from my heart rate chest strap, such as left/right balance, but that is much less important than the convenience achieved.
Hi Ray
Did you ever get a response from Garmin regarding the Edge series compatibility with syncibg via TrueUp as many others have asked above? I used a 3HR daily – including my bike rides (with sensors). I would like to get a bike comp so ride data is more easily read during my rides. If the sync betweem F3HR and the edge series isnt there theres no point in getting an Edge computer. Is there?
I´m also very interested for an update! For a view weeks now I own Fenix 5 and i absolutly love the training stats feature. But I find it somehow stupid to run the watch in parallel to the Edge 520 during a bike ride just to get the update in the training stats.
Hope Garmin finally adds the cross syncing feature for activities and not only for steps!!
Hey, I think you’ll be waiting a while. If you read the posts fully there was a bit of hope, then Ray had a missed call from someone at Garmin about it, he (I assume) called the guy back then radio silence…. I’d say, given how helpful Ray is when he is able, that the call was probably not the news we were hoping for and the reasons are probably commercially sensitive.
Whilst we as consumers see the Garmin device family one way i.e. I bought everything you threw at me, I want it to work together nicely, Garmin and their licenses don’t necessarily share that
Nah, I’ve talked about it a bunch of times, and discussed it a fair bit in other posts. Just hard to keep track of which posts comments/questions come in sometimes.
Their current plan is to start doing cross-device advanced metrics in Q1 2018. It’s not 100% clear on which devices it’ll support, but I had a long discussion with them back in September about it, and they totally get that they’re hurting their most valuable customers (those buying multiple high end devices).
Ray which is the best thread to follow for updates please? Sounds like it’s not this one
Once that happens, I’ll definitely do a standalone post on it on the main page. Fear not!
Good man! Thank you
Awesome! Look forward that. Recording activities on 2 devices is getting really tiresome!
Folowing
I don’t like how it doesn’t put the activity into the watch from other devices like the edge. The phone knows but the watch doesn’t say you burned calories on a bike ride. It’s annoying because when the watch syncs with MyFitnessPal, it starts negatively adjusting for steps it thinks I should be taking. Thanks the 50 mile race was good for me. I know I can turn off the negative adjusting but since I do wear the device all day it would be cool if they integrated all the apps smoothly. My fitness pal unfortunately takes all the data from Strava, trainingpeaks, Apple Watch and the edge and repeats it over and over again. Really one more level for “true up” to go in order to sync all the data by time and unique input and just spit it out in one place. I actually think the Apple health app does the best at this so far but if I had an android there might be something similar. Thanks for all your great posts!!
Has anyone used this recently?
Just got my replacement 935 and it’s showing zero steps, despite 3380 showing in GC from my “old” 935?
Just contacted Garmin about this issue. Helpdesk didn’t understand my problem and advised me to only use my Edge1030 or make an extra account.
She didn’t know about other multiple device problems.
When I use both my Fenix 5 and Edge 1030 I get multiple rides.
If I only use my Edge 1030 my Fenix tells me I am untraining. If I do use my Fenix 5 my VO2 drops significantly. Frustrating!
Lex – you will get multiple rides if you record on both.
I was talking about step true ups. I believe you want the Fenix 5 beta software and the newly announced Physio True Up, which means you should be able to just record cycling on the 1030 and the Fenix 5 will “get” the training effect passed onto it.
From the 5/5s Forums:
Hello Fenix 5S/5 users,
We have new beta software ready for your upcoming adventures!
Fenix 5S: link to www8.garmin.com
Fenix 5: link to www8.garmin.com
Note: Please allow for the updates to propagate across all servers. There is no need to post that the link does not work. It will after a bit of patience.
9.02 Change Log Notes:
Added Physio TrueUp support. Physio TrueUp syncs activities done on other Garmin devices, allowing your device to more accurately reflect your training status and fitness. Activities from other devices will appear in the Activities menu, and they will update your Totals for Running, Cycling, and Swimming. Your Training Status, Training Load, and VO2 Max will be updated using activities from your other devices, and your Recovery Time will be also updated using data from other devices supporting Physio TrueUp. Enable Physio TrueUp in Settings > Physiological Metrics on the device or in Device Settings on Garmin Connect Mobile.
link to garmin.com
Someone knows already when the trueup update will be available?
I mean officially rolled out, no beta.
Awesome to read that only one device needs to support Physiological Metrics.
Thanks Garmin for that! 🙂
Officially it started rolling out yesterday, however, it’ll take up to about a week for all the different firmware versions for all the different devices to hit the full population (they purposefully slow-roll a portion of the population each day, I think it’s 20%).
I’ll be detailing this all in a post in the coming days. It’s both simple and complex at the same time. Lots of variables.
Thanks Ray for the info.
Waiting for your detailed new post 🙂
Thkz Greg! I want exactly what you describe. My Fenix 5 representing the training-values from my Edge.
I will try it when I get home. Thank you very much!
Not what I expected. Fenix 5 tells me I am untraining. Last sport is not updated.
Sorry, which Edge, and which firmware versions on both?
There’s minimum firmware versions for all devices ‘participating’.
On my Fenix 5 i’ve installed software 5.02 .
I dont now which software was on my Edge1030 when i wrote my above comment. Yesterday it updated my Edge to version 5.00 .
I will test tomorrow wether this will have effect.
Yup, 5.00 is the minimum (and current) supported version for the Edge 1030. If you actually look at activities on Garmin Connect, on the right side it’ll specify which firmware version it was uploaded with for each activity.
For the Fenix 5, that should be at firmware version 9.10. Can you double-check which Fenix 5 firmware version you have (I don’t see a 5.02 ever released): link to www8.garmin.com
Oops. Fenix 5 has software 9.02. It was a Beta release which shows the true-up option which is turned on.
I will upgrade to 9.10 for my tomorrow ride so both of them are ready for synching true up.
My former Edge 1030 firmware was 4.0.0.0 acoording to Garmin Connect.
Thanks for the tips!
True up needs to be set to ‘active’ on my Fenix 5. Cannot find an option in the 1030 to set it to ‘active’. Am I overlooking something?
Yes! Thanks for helping me out! Finally my Fenix works as I expected it to work as I bought it!
I didnt have to make a new ride to synch my new rides. It als synchs my past rides and updated my training performance.
Thanks Greg and DC!
Hi, been eagerly awaiting thjis and jumped on the beta as soon as I saw it. It’s been working as expected and agree that it now finally works as a system instead of disparate solutions. Love it.
One note for anyone who struggles to get it working, you do need to go into GC mobile and enable physio true up on the devices or it appears not to work. I was scratching my head for a day or so til I got this.
Thanks Ray for pushing this and keeping us updated
PS I’m using an edge 820 on latest fw with 5s 9.02.
Does TrueUp only work with steps?? It does NOT sync “Run Miles This Week” or “Training Status”?? I would like a Fenix 5 to update from a Forerunner 935 for these and steps update but not those two.
It looks like talking with Garmin the software update for the Fenix won’t be out until later this month that allows physio true. It’s out in the beta form in you have Garmin express running on a PC.
True-up syncs steps between multiple devices
Physio True-Up syncs VO2 max, recovery time, training status and training load data among devices along with activities
Mini Garmin FAQ here link to support.garmin.com
Does true up make it possible to merge data in a triathlon? I have a Garmin 735xt that will not connect to my stages power meter unless I hold it close to the power meter and strap the watch to the handlebars. That creates additional stress in T1. I would rather keep the watch on my wrist and let my head unit (currently a Garmin 310xt which connects perfectly to stages) record my ride.
What about syncing Physio Metrics from Zwift, TrainerRoad, etc? I can see my Zwift activity syncs up with FR935, but TrueUp doesn’t appear to have updated the VO2max, TrainingEffect, 7-day TrainingLoad, etc from that Zwift activity.
Will True Up take a ride recorded on my Garmin Edge 1000 and update recovery time and training load on my Fenix5?
Or does the the Fenix5 need to be used to record that level of data?
Thanks!!
Yes
The first one. Fenix 5will be uploaded with yor data
Thanks Lex…it seemed like it would but then after my ride it did not show the recovery time on the Fenix but the Garmin had said it was 7-hours. It also did not seem to bump my training load. It could be it did and I did not notice.
I was thinking maybe Training Load was tied to something special on the Fenix…I’ll pay more attention in the future. Thanks.
It shows up on my ‘last ride’ widget/app . Glad to show you my 144 km ride’. (Largest ride for me)
Nice! I agree on the “Last Sport” widget…my ride showed up as well. It just looks like “Training Load” and “Recovery” were not updated in the “Training Status” Widget. That always shows “No Status” but I think that has to do with the fact that I do not run.
Examples…I figured it out I think. Garmin Edge 1000 has no thad a firmware update since March 2018. It will tell Garmin Connect about the ride and sync it into “Last Activity.” It does not affect anything under Training Status in Garmin Connect. See pix (not nearly as impressive your ride!)
My Fenix shows the ride..GC has not record of the actual impact to Training Load. The ride was yesterday, 6/29/18.
GC pic…
One more piece….the Edge 1000 does not have the True Up option in Device Settings on GC. I must need a firmware update to be fully compatible.
Has anyone seen FTP true up or even get reflected in Garmin connect with 2 Garmin devices? I have a 520 plus that has given me increased FTP in the past few rides but that doesn’t reflect either in Garmin Connect or on my 935?
I use the Vivoactive 3 for my steps and daily watch and have a 920 that I use when Im doing Intervals of walking and running on the treadmill. I start the Vivoactive3 while walking the first 1/4mile then pause the V3 and start the 920 when I jog the next 1/4 mile. At the end of the 1/4mile jog I tap the lap and pause the 920 and start the V3. I repeat this process until I’m finished with the 8-10 jog intervals. I do this because I don’t want to pollute the jog pace with the walking interval pace, I want them separate. The Intensity minutes require that the V3 be involved and I do find the Intensity minute total to be motivating. When I’m finished I may have 360 Cal from walking 3+miles and 320Cal from the 920 jog data, but when I look at the Active calories burned it’s only 420Cal even though the two workouts clearly list their individual calories totaling. Is the True Up function eliminating the calorie burn due to the back and forth or alternating devices during the Intervals?
Can I create a custom workout of alternating walking – running similar to the triathlon “multisport” ?
Love your site, great reviews, use it when I’m contemplating a new purchase
As an aside I miss my Black G-Shock watch and was thinking about a Fenix but I’m assuming the the wrist based HR would be no better than the Vivoactive 3. I love all of the technology the data is motivating but $699 for the Fenix doesn’t seem worth it. Any thoughts?
@keith hoffmann – I’d try creating a Garmin Workout with the 1/4 mile jog/walk intervals and then repeat 8-10 times.
you’ll then be able to see pace per interval on Garmin Connect
Guys,
Do you know if manual uplods update the TrueUp? For an example, I upload a Wahoo Bolt activity to Garmin Connect, with Heart Rate and Power, does it work?
Thanks,
Vinicius
No it doesn’t. Even if you change the device name in fit file to something else like Edge 820, it still won’t update stats on other Garmin devices. Tested between FR935 and Elemnt Bolt.
Thanks @gtom!
Too bad to read that… I was expecting something cross platform. I have the 1030 and Bolt, I want to use both… I will continue using my Training Peaks as a portal to track my fitness progress…
Does a ride completed on an edge 820 effect training status displayed on a 935?
When I complete a ride using 820 it does sync across the the f5s. It does seems to update the Training Status and subpage (vo2, recovery, training load, lthr). The only constraint is that the actual Training Status requires two runs to kick into effect. I’m currently in recovery from broken foot so no running which means the Training Status has dropped off and tells me to run outdoors twice. Interestingly the subpage still update with my gentle recovery rides, I just get a ridiculous nag flag telling me to go for a run when the device clearly doesn’t need it.
Great work integrating the devices but this constraint needs removing.
Anyone noticed that rides from Zwift and TrainerRoad are not coming over to the watch as part of Physio TrueUp? I’m using a Garmin 5S and Activity synchronization is spotty at best.
why would they? it’s a Garmin to Garmin trueup not a 3rd party to Garmin Trueup!!
Because ultimately they’d like to see me solely on their website and not on TrainingPeaks when looking at ALL of my workouts, both Garmin-recorded and sourced from other indoor training like Zwift and TrainerRoad. Or they can up their Connect concept from consumer-grade fitness to true pro-grade.
yeh I get that as a goal, but step at a time!! Not sure the current TrueUp works 100%, just had to reset my 935 and lost about 9k steps & my running VO2 but other things like load carried over
“My understanding is that on that these non-supported devices it’ll properly upload steps to supported devices, but just not display the ‘True Up’ numbers on the non-supported device.” This statement is accurate. The article is correct that your best procedure with two Garmin watches is to have one powered down or in sleep mode while the other watch is on. If both watches are on, TrueUp may retain the data from the watch with the least activity so that you could lose a lot of steps or miles.
I have the supported VS HR+ and the unsupported VF1. The VS HR+ is a great GPS and Elevate watch, but it has a rubber strap that will cause welts on a sensitive person. The VF1 has safe 3rd party bands available from Amazon.
Here are the TrueUp steps to follow, beginning at bedtime: Sit down. Sync the supported watch (the VS HR+). Log on to your computer’s Garmin Connect to confirm that your daily-activity data are correct. The numbers will be correct as long as you have not had two watches active during the day (ie, nothing for TrueUp to subtract). You must verify the data with the computer version of Garmin Connect, not with your cell phone’s Bluetooth app of Garmin Connect. If there is an overlap loss of valuable data, you have time before midnight to pad your numbers with more exercise. If the numbers are accurate, as they will be, good. Power down the VS HR+ and, if desired, charge it overnight. Awake the unsupported watch (the VF1). Walk 50′ to give the VF1 some step data. Sync the VF1. Your Garmin Connect data (cell phone or computer) should increase by 50 steps. Wear the nontoxic VF1 loosely at night. In the morning, sit down. Sync the VF1. Put the VF1 to sleep. Power on the VS HR+. Walk 50′ to give the VS HR+ some step data. Sync the supported watch (the VS HR+) once or twice until it displays the same step count as your cell phone or Garmin Connect. At the end of the day, repeat all of the above steps. That’s it.
I can’t emphasize enough that if an unsupported watch is ever on at the same time as a supported watch, you could lose valuable data when TrueUp decides which watch it wants to choose. Never, ever have an unsupported watch on at the same time as you are recording valuable exercises with the supported watch.
Lastly, some nights you will get bizarre sleep patterns on your unsupported watch, but this has only happened once in the past month on my VF1. What I got was a report that I was awake for 8 midday hours. I got no report about the 8 nocturnal hours I actually was asleep. Perhaps like you, I don’t care if my sleep data are accurate every night.
interesting!
Does this work with recording a big ride on a garmin edge whilst using a forerunner for everything else?
And would this include Threshold, FTP, Max, Recovery hours etc?
I know Garmin announced Forerunner 230 as being included, though I don’t believe that is true by the time I’m writing this. I mean that no other device’s data can be seen on Forerunner 230.
I see no reference to Forerunner 230 having trueup in its firmware update log and/or device settings
Hi – hoping someone can confirm for me –
If I manually upload a Zwift .fit file to Garmin connect, it appears in the history of my FR935 watch, much as if I’d recorded a ride on my Edge 820. It doesn’t however, seem to update the training status stats – ie zero rest required despite what was a harder than usual workout.
I usually record Zwift rides directly on my FR935 as well, for training status completeness, but forgot this worming hence the workaround. I was hoping I’d discovered a system that avoided the need for dual recording, but don’t seem to have.
Should Zwift rides that sync to history update training status, or is that never going to work ?
Cheers,
Pete
Hi, I took off my forerunner 35 while out on the bike, I used my edge 520+ and heart rate chest strap. While all the heart rate data was recorded, how can I get is to show in my calendar? Should true up not sync this data? Intensity minutes is also missing for today.
Well, how is possible that Body battery is not synced across diferent devices? thus, Vivosmart 4 and Forerunner 945, stress is synced but not body battery, what a shame 🙁
maybe because only one device can be set as primary activity tracker in Garmin?
Did this ever get sorted for Edge devices? I have a fenix 5 and an Edge 1000 and I still don’t get any ‘credit’ for Edge activities in training load. There isn’t a Physio True Up option for the 1000 in GC.
Is there a way to use a 3rd party app (watch-based or Android on my Samsung cellphone) to use data from the Garmin Vivoactive 4 to generate training-load status? Garmin has left that functionality out of the Vivoactive bag of tricks, but the sensors & data required to calculate this are on the phone. Can I use 3rd party apps to get there?
Thanks; you do astoundingly good & thorough reviews!
Hi I have a Garmin 935 and Edge 130 Bike computer. I recently paired both devices with a power meter in an Assimoa Uno pedal set up on my Keiser m3 indoor cycle. After an interval session on the spin bike I was surprised to see that the power readings from the Forerunner (set for indoor cycle) and the edge computer recorded on connect were very different with the readings from the forerunner markedly lower than the edge (average power 53W from the forerunner and 106 from the edge) with the power output recorded by the Edge looking more like readings on the built in screen of the cycle (which has no bluetooth or ANT function to transmit readings to a garmin device). Any help on explaining why the power records are different would be much appreciated
Thanks for the responses. Problem seemed to be that the 935 was not recognising that power readding from assimo uno needed to be doubled while Edge made this computation. issue was resolved when I updated the firmware for my Assimoa pedal set up and got equivalent readings on both garmin devices
I Have a Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music, FR920xt and Edge 520. I wear the VA3 24hrs unless I am doing workouts that require either of the other two devices (HR monitors). However, when i log into garmin connect, my HR stats only show for the time wearing the VA3, and not during the time I was wearing the either of the other two devices, even though the HR displays as part of the workout stats. I am not really concerned with the info transfering from one device to another, I would just like it the Garmin Connect health stats section to display the entire days HR no matter the device. Is this possible?
Thank you,
Armin
Hi
I have GarminVivoactive 3 and fitbit Aria scale.
Is there a way to automatically transfer the data from fitbit server to Garmin?
Thanks
So you used to be able to do it by connecting MyFitnessPal to Garmin Connect, and then connecting your Fitbit Scale to MyFitnessPal. An it’d magically update Garmin Connect…sometimes.
But I’m not sure if that still works today. Might be worth checking the Garmin forums.
link to support.garmin.com
Does the True Up display total Performance Metrics on the Garmin Connect App?
For example, if I use a Garmin watch (Fenix 6s Pro) for some activities and a Garmin Edge 830 for cycling, and the Preferred activity tracker on the App is set to the Fenix since it tracks all day activity and sleep metrics, will the bike rides recorded on the Edge 830 be displayed in the Performance metrics section of the Connect App ?
Thanks, V
Hi, could do with an update and include a comment that this does not work between older devices because the way training status is calculated differs. I have a Fenix 5X Plus and a edge 830. The trueup sync does not work with both devices showing different training status and loads. I can‘t help but think that this is a way to get people to buy new devices, since a software update on how this is calculated on older devices shouldn’t be that difficult.
Welcome to capitalism, ?
In all seriousness even with a Fenix 6 and Edge 830 I still get different values although the two work much better than the 5 did with 830.
I’d wait it out. Hopefully Garmin’s new marketing strategy will bring enough voices to make a difference in the way Garmin treat loyal, multi device, customers
Can anyone explain why Garmin shows two different training status scores. One per device. I have a Fenix 5X and a edge 830. The load is different, the training status differs. It says they Physio True-Up changed the way it is calculated on the 830 but surely newer devices (2 years app art!) must be backward compatible to some extent. Am I missing something?
You aren’t missing anything. Garmin’s Physio True-Up is pretty much garbage, unless you happen to have two devices on the same generation of training status, load, etc. I have a fenix 5 plus and edge 520 plus and they give two totally different values for each. I stopped fighting Garmin a while ago and now just record everything on my fenix 5 plus. Now when I go for a ride I will run both devices and just discard the edge 520 plus file at the end.
Hello will this work with venu and forerunner 235? My two watches have both saved seperate activities
Melissa
Any idea when Body Battery will be added to Physio Tru Up?
I find it a little cumbersome about this whole thing. We already have the garmin connect app. It appears to allow adding multiple watches. Assuming one only wears one watch at one given time, why can’t the sync mechanism just take the data delta (e.g. step counts, calories, etc) from last sync for BOTH watches, and add it onto the existing count, then push back the data back onto both watches? Why do I need a separate app (TrueUp) and then potentially have to manually set which one I’m wearing (i.e. Preferred Activity Tracker) each time I’m changing watches?? Not to mention no support of the Vivomove listed, which is currently what I’m planning to buy as a second watch (looks much better in a suit compared to a VivoActive).
Realistically, you’re looking at an article from 2016 – some 7 years ago. That said, even then, there was no TrueUp app, it just happened behind the scenes. The app you see in this article is simply the Garmin Connect Mobile app that you use with the watch.
The same is true now (it is/was just a toggle to turn on), except, in the last few weeks they’ve been slowly implementing some changes such that even the toggle has gone away and it just happens by default/always. Every Garmin device is supported (and has been for many years).