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Garmin 510 Bluetooth woes

by Nixster
Tue, Oct 20, 2015 13:03
6

I have a 510 and the operation of Bluetooth sync with my iPhone 4S is completely random. 

Sometimes it does what it is supposed to and connects with the phone, auto uploads on saving to Connect and then Strava.

More often it doesn't connect, or connects eventually forcing a manual upload via Bluetooth. Increasingly often it seems it won't connect at all and I resort to the cable to upload rides.  Then, just when I have given up on Bluetooth completely, it randomly does the full auto upload and takes me by surprise.  The recent firmware update doesn't seem to have made a difference, other than to perhaps add a feature that I can't use due to Bluetooth issues.

So: 

Is this common?

Am I doing something wrong, or rather is there something I can do to make it work better?

Is it a hardware issue and therefore a warranty claim?

Distance between phone and 510 seems irrelevant, I've literally had them touching and no dice or 10 feet apart and connected. I am sure however that it's not the phone, that connects with better behaved devices perfectly.

 

Help!

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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6 comments

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Nixster | 9 years ago
0 likes

Finally seem to have sorted this.  In the interests of anyone who may be struggling with this too:

A factory reset had no effect on bluetooth connection.

Latest (4.30) firmware was installed on 510 but bluetooth was still not working.

I updated Garmin Connect mobile to latest version (3.1.0.13)

I deleted the Garmin from iPhone bluetooth list and the iPhone from the 510.

Tried to pair from iPhone bluetooth settings page - no dice.

Tried to pair 510 from Connect Mobile iPhone app - finally got a connection and a sync with the 510.

Not uploaded to Strava yet but have managed to upload a ride from the device to Garmin Connect app.  (That ride was already on Strava from a manual upload but the Connect to Strava link has always worked in the past.)

I'll be trying Live segments next - oh and rebuilding my profile data from the factory reset.

Suffice to say that I'm not impressed with Garmin's software capabilities or support information.  Strava on the other hand is very good.

Avatar
shmooster | 9 years ago
0 likes

I found mine failed to upload a lot, and then I got the odd crash when out on longer rides. I noticed when connecting to windows I got messages about corrupt storage. I eventually reformatted it under windows and set it up again and it's been perfect ever since. It usually syncs within a few seconds these days. Worth a bash, check the Garmin forums for instructions. There was a known issue on earlier firmware that caused storage corruption.

Avatar
Nixster | 9 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for the responses, reassuring if frustrating that I'm not alone!

Avatar
arckuk | 9 years ago
1 like

I don't use an iphone, but the Android app suffers from similar problems. For me, the auto-upload works about 80% of the time, and on other occasions I have to manually instigate an upload of the previous ride on the Garmin (probably sorts out 10% of the problems), go into the Garmin connect app on my phone and do a sync (5%), switch off and on bluetooth on one/both of the phone and Garmin (3%) or re-pair the devices (1%). The remaining 1% is usually sorted by a combination of swearing and threatening behaviour towards uncaring pieces of plastic and silicon. 

Check that the Garmin's firmware is up to date - the updates sometimes make things a bit better for some people, but are rarely a panacea.

Avatar
Happymanc | 9 years ago
0 likes

I was having problems uploading automatically and noticed on the new version of the garmin connect   app  that if you go to

settings

devices

select your device  

device settings

there is an auto upload toggle/switch, for some reason mine had been switched off, after turning it back on, mine  has (touch wood) sync'ed every time   

Avatar
Adlopa | 9 years ago
0 likes

Much the same problems here with an 810. I'm mid-way through a warranty claim, but having read of many similar firmware-induced problems on the Garmin support forum, I'm inclined not to bother since a swap-out almost certainly won't fix anything. 

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