APAC Bluetooth® Headphone Compatibility for Garmin Wearables

Garmin strives to maintain Bluetooth compatibility with the most popular brands of headphones on the market. When paired with your compatible Garmin watch, these headphones allow for wireless listening of audio such as music, podcasts, and audio-prompts on compatible products.

Your watch has been designed to support standard Bluetooth profiles for wireless audio playback.  However, there are many Bluetooth headphones to choose from and there are differences in performance between headphones and between manufacturers. Garmin recommends the following headphones based on their Bluetooth performance with your watch:

My headphones are not listed above. Will they work?

Your Garmin device has been designed to work with Bluetooth-compliant headphones by supporting standard Bluetooth profiles for wireless audio playback. Consult your owner’s manual for steps on how to pair headphones with your Garmin device.

NOTE: Not all headphone features will work with Garmin devices (e.g., volume control). Audio performance also cannot be guaranteed.  See the next section for help with audio issues.

I am having audio cut-out issues with a set of Bluetooth headphones. What can I do?

If you are experiencing audio cut-out or the headphones disconnect while you use your Garmin watch, this could be due to the following factors:

The distance between the watch and headphones

The location of the Bluetooth receiver will vary across brands and models of headphones, in either or both earbuds or in the control module, for example.

Possible Solution: Try wearing the watch on the opposite wrist, which may help alleviate the issue of audio cutting out.  

Being indoors vs. outdoors

When you are indoors, the Bluetooth signal can bounce off of the walls when data is traveling between your watch and headphones, creating better reception versus being outdoors.

Body interference

With some models it may be possible to wear the headphones in a way that the Bluetooth receiver is not snug against your head. In general, not having the receiver tight against your head or body will improve Bluetooth reception.

Out-of-date software

Confirm that your Bluetooth Headset is running the latest available system software. Consult your headphone manufacturer for assistance if needed. 

Confirm the Garmin device is running the latest version of software by connecting it to a computer and installing Garmin Express. Garmin Express will automatically check for and install any available updates once you have added the device to the program.

Headphones paired to another device

If your headphones are paired to both your watch and your mobile phone, the phone can "steal" the BT connection to the headphones, causing the headphones to disconnect from the watch.  In this case, either disconnect the headphones from your phone or temporarily disable BT on your phone while listening to music from your watch.

Additional factors

Headphones which have a low battery charge could cause the connection to drop.

Some headphones have better receivers than others, and those with more sensitive receivers will work best with your Garmin device.

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