How to Fix Your Garmin Not Connecting to iPhone in iOS 13

If you’re having trouble connecting with your Garmin device after updating your iPhone to iOS 13, you’re not alone as the company has today acknowledged the issue and has published a support article detailing what to do if you are having issues connecting or getting notifications on your Garmin device from your iPhone.

It appears that permission settings to allow your Garmin device to communicate with your phone have changed with the release of iOS 13. Simply follow the steps below to fix any issues you may be experiencing after applying the update.

The Garmin Connect app displays the message “Bluetooth is turned off”

Here’s what you need to do:

1. From the iPhone, select Settings
2. Scroll down and select Connect
3. Toggle Bluetooth Sharing on

NOTE: Location setting on your iPhone should also be set to Always and all toggles should be set to on.

“I Am No Longer Getting Smart Notifications on My Garmin Device”

Here’s how to fix this:

1. From the iPhone Settings, select Notifications
2. Set Show Previews to either Always or When Unlocked
3. Under Notification Style, select Messages
4. For Messages, set Allow Notifications to on, Alerts options should all be checked, and Show Previews must be set to Always (Default) or When Unlocked

NOTE: Step 4 can be repeated for every app listed under Notification Style on your iPhone.

For more detailed info on how to customize which apps display notifications on your Garmin device, click here.