Garmin Connect outage leaves folks unable to share their fitness virtue signaling
- Reference: 1736360104
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/01/08/garmin_connect_outage/
- Source link:
There's no need to panic: Garmin's watches appear to be still recording data but the Connect platform used to correlate fitness data, and share it with others such as Strava, took a dive early on Wednesday morning. Garmin isn't responding to questions about what went wrong as yet, or if any personal data has been lost.
The problems started at around 0200 PT (1000 UTC) and affected the app, not the corporate website. Still, people keen to share their fitness goals were frustrated.
[1]
"No way: I’ve just finished a ten-mile run and Garmin is having an outage, OMFG," was a typical [2]comment from users.
[3]
It appears that sailors relying on Garmin - who were their original target market back in the 1990s when the biz started up - are unaffected. That's good news for those busy navigating shipping lanes.
[4]Exercise-tracking app Strava to give away data sweated out after four billion runs, rides and rambles
[5]Garmin staggers back to its feet: Aviation systems seem to be lagging, though. Here's why
[6]Fitness freaks flummoxed as massive global Garmin outage leaves them high and dry for hours
Garmin isn't saying what caused the outage, and it isn't the first time the Swiss-based exercise biz has had problems. In 2020, the manufacturer was [7]tripped up by a suspected ransomware attack that left the servers down for five days while it responded to the SNAFU.
According to the status page today, everything's fine for the moment, so it's time to start telling everyone how far you ran today again.
We'll update as more information comes in. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z38DkYV9VxBt4bCF0Gpq6wAAAIo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://x.com/AlexandraSaund/status/1876945709645156627
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[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/28/strava_free_data/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/27/garmin_ransomware_recovery/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/23/garmin_outage/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/27/garmin_ransomware_recovery/
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Means to an end
The connection app is a jeans to an end.
There are loads of 3 parties that can integrate with connect cloud and you can consume your data there.
Connect is the conduit that connects your activity to a wider ecosystem, loads are free some are paid for.
Many just use connect to get their data to Strava.
https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918057-Garmin-and-Strava
Re: Means to an end
The Connect app on iPhone is just a way of presenting Connect website data and it does nothing without an internet connection. If there's no internet then I can't synch my watch to the app even though the synch is direct device-to-device bluetooth. All the post walk calculations have to be done online, in spite of the app running on device capable of doing them. I can create courses on the website but, in spite of having 80GB of free memory on my phone, I can't download them to the iphone via Connect app, so if I want to add a course to my watch I have to wait for and internet connection. It's lazy app development at its finest and, given that I only use my Garmin watch for Munro bagging it's a pain given the lack of internet in many of the areas I walk in.
The Connect website itself is clunky as fuck. No bulk editiing, no folders to organize courses, terrible presentation and overlaying of data and no integration with the other Garmin websites like Explore or the standalone Mac app.
I don't want to share my data with anyone, so the wider ecosystem of connectable sites is of no interest to me.
If the watch wasn't such a good piece of kit for walking then I wouldn't bother with Connect and Garmin at all, although I've talked to DC Rainmaker and he says that Garmin's web offerings are pretty good compared to the competition; God only knows how rubbish they must be.
As we all know
If the run isn’t broadcast to your mates by Garmin/Strava, then it didn’t happen. So mop up the sweat and tears and get back out there, biatches.
Running non stop.
They’ve been running non stop without an outage for 4 years or so so need a lay down some time.
I use Connect because I've got a Garmin watch. The watch is great for my use and I think that the steaming pile of dogshit that is the Connect app is probably better when it's borked than when it's working.