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I Am Having Bluetooth Headphone Connection Issues With My Watch


To conserve battery power, standard Bluetooth mode is only awake on your Garmin watch when you are using it to listen to music. If music is paused or stopped, the connection will drop after 30 minutes of inactivity. When you go to the music controls page the watch will immediately begin looking for Bluetooth audio devices (headphones or Bluetooth speaker) to which it can connect.

If you have previously paired a Bluetooth audio device to your watch, it will automatically attempt to connect to the watch when it is on a music page. From within the music controls page or from the Sensors and Accessories menu, you can add new devices or manage the connections to your headphones or other Bluetooth audio devices.

Troubleshooting the Connection

Try the troubleshooting steps below if you are experiencing issues connecting your headphones.


Troubleshoot the Headphones

  • Temporarily disable Bluetooth on your phone or other nearby Bluetooth devices. You may have difficulty reconnecting to previously paired Bluetooth headphones if you have recently connected them to a phone (or another active audio player).

  • Turn off and on the Bluetooth on your headphones. For some headphones, this can be accomplished by plugging them in to charge.

  • Update the software for your headphones. Refer to your headphone manufacturer for steps. 

  • Remove the headphones from all other devices and add them to the watch first.

  • Refer to the headphone manufacturer for additional troubleshooting.


Troubleshoot the Watch

  • Reboot the watch by turning it off and then powering it back on.

  • Turn Bluetooth off on the watch, reboot your watch, then turn Bluetooth back on and attempt pairing the headphones again.

  • Put your headphones into pairing mode and then connect them to the watch using the music controls or the Sensors and Accessories menu. See your owner's manual for steps. 

  • Remove the headphones from the Sensors and Accessories menu on your watch, then pair them again. See your owner's manual for pairing steps.


Update the Watch Software


Once you have successfully connected your Garmin watch to your Bluetooth headphones you can re-enable other nearby Bluetooth devices without affecting the headphone connection to your watch. For information about headphone compatibility with Garmin devices, see Related below.

Related