Fixing Garmin Connect Bluetooth Pairing Issue with Huawei Phone

By | January 1, 2018
67 Comments

Today I have tried to setup my New Year Gift – Huawei P10 Lite with my old friend – Garmin Vivoactive. Since it took me more than 4 hours in total, I would like to share the solution with you, as it seems that the issue is related to most Huawei phone – Garmin Watch pair.

I am not sure what exactly worked, but finally I have the ability to sync data, get notifications on the phone, and so on. I will just describe what I did to make it work.

1. Download and install most recent Garmin Express software (I suppose most of you are still using Windows for any purpose)

2. Add your phone to Garmin Express and wait until sync has finished. Make sure that device appears at your Garmin Connect top panel. See screenshot below.

3. Stop Google Play Services. I don’t know what exactly affects pairing, but it works when services are not running. :) If stopping does not help, remove Google Play Services update, as it seems that only most recent versions interfere with pairing process. If you don’t know where to do this, go to Settings->Applications->Google Play Services->Stop.

4. Open Garmin Connect Mobile, skip initial setup and go to Garmin Devices. You should see the synced device there.

5. Tap the device name and try pairing it as usual (your watch will show the code and you will be able to input it).

6. Start Google Play Services and have fun with your watch. If you have removed updates, it’s time to get them back to most recent version.

I have tried various solutions: this one and also this – none of them helped. I won’t even tell you about numerous software re-installations and factory resets of the watch. Hope this will help someone to save some time struggling to make Garmin watches work with Huawei phones. I tried to post this on official Garmin forum, but it seems they have some database issues, so I hope Google will index my post and will advance it to its results. :)

If you have any other solutions or at least explanation, why my idea works, just let me know in comments. As I understood, this issue is not only related to Huawei phones; this method will also be useful for Samsung and other brands, when it comes to sync with Garmin connect.

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67 thoughts on “Fixing Garmin Connect Bluetooth Pairing Issue with Huawei Phone”

  1. waarizag

    HI bUDDY,

    yOU HAVE SAVED MY LIFE.

    I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR INFO. I tried to get a solution with huawei and garmin, but they didnt help me. I reviewd all the webpages and nothing worked either.

    Until I found your post. Thanks sooo much !…

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  2. Lisa

    I just wanted to say, thank you so much for posting this. 2 and a half hours driving myself crazy trying to find a solution. If u were here I would hug you haha

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  3. Peter

    Hello,
    I don’t know how on earth you managed to figure this out but you have helped me too. My Huawei P10 lite just would not pair and sync with. Yes Garmin FR25.

    I uninstalled Google play services and now it’s working. Thank you so much. I hope sometime you will also be rewarded for sharing your helpfulness.

    Cheers

    Peter

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  5. Merel

    You are my hero! Can’t thank you enough. Have been trying all sorts of things to get it working and this actually worked! Thank you very very very much!

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  6. Malcolm

    Worked for me with Vivomove HR to P10 lite. Google play services can be forced to stop and that works as well. Mine restarted once the watch was connected.

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  7. Colin Macgregor

    You are a star!
    Been trying for hours with a Huawei P9 until i found your post and it all works well now.

    Thank you so much ;)

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  8. Jj

    Thankyou. Pointed me in the right direction. I couldnt pair phone with express so paired watch.. Stopping google play stores sorted the phone to watch pairing

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  9. Marko

    Thanks man, this really worked. I had issues pairing my Garmin Vivoactive 3 and Huawei p10 lite for days without any luck.

    Stopping of Google Play Services solved the issue!

    Cheers!

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  11. Capper20

    Connected right away on P10 Lite once I disabled and uninstalled Google Play Services then stopped service. Once I updated GPS it lost the Vivoactive3 again and won’t connect unless I force stop GPS again. I expect others will also have the same issue.

    A much easier option than running an old phone just for sync…

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    1. admin Post author

      Try rebooting the phone – it usually helps. Sometimes sync is being lost, but it gets restored after phone reboot.

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  12. jel888

    Thanks SOOOOO very much, I had to uninstall Google Play services (going back to factory install version) for it to work. Seems to be stuck on the Sync with mobile app step though.

    Note too that Garmin US told me there a legal action happening and that Garmin France asks you to send in you watch (I assume to replace or fix).

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  13. TonyJS5

    This is fantastic, thank you. After trying everything I could find since about October 2017, this solution has allowed me to connect my and my wife’s Vivoactive 3 to my Huawei P9 Lite and her Samsung Galaxy A3 respectively. My watch took about 20 mins to sync. Thank you!

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  14. Kevin Byrne

    Thank you very much! I was at a loss and after various e mails to Garmin support and hoping that updates would resolve it! I;m back in business with my trusted Vivoactive.

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  15. Mariano

    Thanks!!! I was worried. I bought my Forerunner 30 and I tought it was a mistake.

    For all who still have problems, verify you have on your mobile data, wireless and gps location services on your phone.

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  16. Tomáš

    Thanks so much. Like other people here, this was the only solution that got the pairing work for Forerunner 235 + Huawei P8 lite. I have been waiting for the solution from Huawei or Garmin for 4 months. Still there is nothing to this day.

    I think Garmin engineers are not aware of this simple workaround otherwise they would post it to their forums.

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  18. Fabio

    If only I knew this before returning the Vivosmart!!! That was last Christmas and I tried everything but to disable Google Services. Damn! ;D You did great! Does it works with no problem after you re-start Google Services?
    I must also say that is so ridiculous that Garmin (and/or Huawei of course) didn’t fix the issue! It is (and was) so easy to be aware of it… just google it!

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  19. Maikel

    Last weekend I updated my P10 with Emui 8 and over it is…
    No solution works… My Huawei can not find my Garmin Forerunner 230.
    So if you read this before you update… please don’t!

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  20. Zuzana

    Thanks very much!! I managed to synch my Huawei P8 Lite with Garmin Vivoactive only with stopping Google play and uninstalling Google play services for Instant apps.

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  22. Gareth Edwards

    Amazing
    How has such a simple fix not been recognised by Garmin.
    Even on the XDA site there are convoluted fixes that involve turning Bluetooth/wifi on and off(that incidentally worked once for me after much hassle).
    I’ve since seen this, and it worked straightaway so thank you for this fix.
    I’ve also linked to this doc on one of the XDA threads giving you the kudos for finding this
    Thanks again

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  24. Billy Da

    Actually, -1.
    This fix worked for a while, but every time I restart the Garmin it loses connection to the P20 Pro again….

    Any other ideas anyone?

    thanks

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  25. Pingback: Problemi di compatibilità Bluetooth tra i Garmin fēnix/Forerunner e gli smartphone Huawei/Honor | Cuneotrekking

  26. Ellen

    Hallo, mijn Huawei p20 lite synchroniseert wel. Maar wanneer ik Garmin connect afsluit verbreekt hij de verbinding en krijg ik geen meldingen meer op mijn horloge. Mijn iPhone 6 maakte altijd automatisch verbinding. Daarbij moest ik altijd handmatig synchroniseren op de app. Iemand een tip?

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    1. admin Post author

      Just don’t close Garmin Connect. Let it run in background. I’ve had similar issue and you have to leave it running…

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    1. admin Post author

      It seems that Huawei has already fixed that. You just need to go to battery management and allow Garmin Connect to run in the background.

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  28. Lee

    Didn’t work for me on my huawei honor 10 to forerunner 235…it pairs but doesn’t connect. Incoming calls, messages and txts do not show on garmin but data from garmin transfers across to garmin connect app! Very ey strange and very very frustrating ?

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    1. admin Post author

      You should check Garmin Connect -> Settings -> Smart Notifications on your phone. It’s like you have most notifications not enabled there.

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  29. Lee

    Downloaded an older version of Connect and it works fine now, so its obviously the new versions of connect that messes everything mg up.

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    1. Richard

      How did the old version works? Whem trying to add device in old version it asking for update otherwise not working….

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  31. Majka

    Guys, this doesn’t work for me. I have Huawei P20 lite and NOTHING works. It makes me crazy! I had Honor and there was no problem, everything worked perfectly. Any ideas, please?

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      1. Majka

        I can pair phone, everything is set up but I can’t get notifications from my mobile in my watches. Garmin app runs but when I receive email for example I don’t get notification on my fenix.

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        1. admin Post author

          I seems that you should enable them in Garmin Connect App.

          Open Connect – go to Settings->Smart Notifications. Make sure that apps you require to send notifications are enabled there.

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          1. Majka

            Yes. I can find my phone using that function. And I also can sync my data… Everything is set up but still I can’t get any notifications.

  32. admin Post author

    The only solution i found was to Re-install Garmin Connect and Re-pair your phone again. Not sure if you haven’t done that though…

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    1. Majka

      I did. I uninstalled Garmin Connect from my phone and install again, I reset my watches to factory settings and set up everything again. NOTHING works…

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          1. Majka

            I’m still unable to pair them.
            Huawei P20 lite, LX1
            Fenix 5s saphire

          2. Majka

            It was fixed!!! I just sync.it on Saturday and now it works! :D

  33. Richard

    Hi all,

    I read all comments. I made everything step by step and still its not working. I have vivosmart4 and Huawei P10 phone. Any clue where i can search for the problem?

    Thanks in advance

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    2. Majka

      Hi Richard,
      I sent several emails to Huawei helpdesk but no response. It’s frustrating to have such a amazing function and won’t be able to use it. Please, let me know if you find any advice how to fix it. I browsered internet the whole day but with no suitable result. Many thanks!

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  34. Kasia

    Hi, unfortunately it didn’t work for me :( I’m trying to connect my Vivoactive 3 with Huawei p20. Tried doing it a few times, plus all other solutions I could find online and nothing seems to work

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  35. Kasia

    Hi, so the phone itself connects with the watch no problem. Its just the Garmin Connect app that can’t connect. I’ve tried changing the battery settings, notification settings and disabling Google Play Services. Nothing. Last night it somehow connected suddenly when I disabled the Google Play Services, but as soon as I changed the setting back it disconnected and since then the trick didn’t work again. Very frustrated now :(

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  37. Kasia

    Ok I think I’ve found what was wrong. Now I’m just hoping it’ll stay connected. While the Google Play Services are disabled and all battery/notification settings are done – remove the device from the Garmin Connect app, close the app, open it again and click Add device. Then on the watch go to Pair Phone is settings. Any other order of action – it didn’t work or it would disconnect straight after I’ve enabled Google Play Services again or when the Garmin Connect app is closed.

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  38. Lebone

    My Forerunner 235 has stopped updating since the update to it yesterday. So Ms Brightspark unpaired it from the phone (Huawei P20 Lite). Now i can’t pair it again. The Passcode wont display on the phone. Garmin app then comes up with some message message about issues pairing with Huawei Phones and i must check Garmin Express for updates. Tried that and Garmin Express says my watch is up-to date – version 7.90. Anyone else having the same issue?

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  39. Graham Sullivan

    This is at least clear – received today from Garmin:

    Hi Graham,

    You have previously been sen the Garmin Minimum Bluetooth requirements that clearly state that the Huawei phones have not passed our tests to be compatible with any of our devices.

    This is something that Huawei have identified is an issue with their software.

    Garmin has done as much as they can to update our devices and find workarounds to fix this issue but as advised in the link, you will experience drop outs which will require regular troubleshooting, and we can not confirm there will ever be a connection with Huawei phones and Garmin devices.

    Kind regards,

    Victoria

    Garmin Europe

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  40. Rjkh

    Hi, I can’t get my Garmin fenix5 watch to connect with an Honor View 10 phone running EMUI 9.0 via bluetooth on Garmin connect.

    I have tried restarting both devices, reinstalling Garmin connect, updating my phone software via Garmin Express. It just won’t go beyond ‘searching’ in the Garmin connect app.

    Otherwise my phone connects with ease to my car stereo, home speakers etc via bluetooth.

    Any advice?

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  41. Connie

    I plan to have Vivoactive 3 watch .From Garmin website , there is highlight sync problem/ trouble shooting with Huawei phone. How often will happen for sync problem ?

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    1. admin Post author

      For me, the sync issue is already resolved. Honor 10 + Vivoactive have no problems. I think that other wearables were fixed too.

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  42. Chiara

    Hi to everybody. I’d like to have a Forerunner 235, but I have a Huawei P8 Lite. I’d like to know if connection problems are fixed or not!

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  43. Dad

    Works one time. Every time you you want to reconnect the device, the can’t problem occurs and Garmin didn’t give a f***,great service.

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  44. Soko

    Thank you very much. This simple guide has fixed the issue. I would not have thought of stopping Google Play.

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