Follow our simple steps to get your Garmin watch setup with your smartphone.
Garmin has a pretty extensive collection of watches and all are designed to be compatible with Android phones and iPhone. If you want to know how to bring the two together, we take you through step-by-step how to do it.
The good news is that if you’re buying a Garmin watch that has been launched in the last few years, then it should be compatible with most recent iPhones and Android phones.
Garmin usefully outlines on its website what version of software your phone needs to be running on to be able to download the Garmin Connect phone app needed to connect your new watch to your phone.
For iPhones, you need to have a phone running on iOS 15.0 or higher. To check this, go to the Settings on your phone, press General and then About.
From here you can see the version of software your iPhone is running on. If you need to and can update your iPhone, that process is nicely explained on Apple's website. For owners of an Android phone, the phone or tablet must be running on Android 7.0 or above.
To check this, go into the Settings on your Android phone or tablet, go to About phone or tablet and scroll down and look for Android version. Google also provides a guide on how to update your Android phone (if needed) on its website.
Lastly, before you start this process, make sure your watch and phone are fully charged just in case the process takes slightly longer than usual. Though it should be relatively straightforward and quick.
How to connect a Garmin watch to an iPhone
How to connect a Garmin watch to an Android phone
Writer, broadcaster and musician Carrie Marshall has been a technology journalist for 24 years. Her CV is a who’s-who of magazines, websites and newspapers ranging from T3, Techradar and Woman & Home to the Sunday Post and People’s Friend, and she has been providing no-nonsense technology help and buying advice to BBC Radio Scotland listeners since the early 2000s.
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