How to sync Garmin runs to Apple Health
Enable Apple Health in the Garmin Connect app so runs from your Forerunner, Fenix or Venu land in Health as workouts. What syncs, what does not, and how to avoid duplicates.
Garmin watches record the best running data on the market, but the numbers stay inside Garmin Connect unless you tell it to share them. The Garmin Connect iPhone app can write every activity to Apple Health as a workout.
Enable Health in Garmin Connect
- Open Garmin Connect on your iPhone.
- Tap More (the three lines), then Settings.
- Tap Connected Apps or Partner Apps, depending on your version.
- Tap Apple Health, then Connect.
- In the Apple Health sheet, turn on Workouts, Heart Rate and anything else you want, then tap Allow.
Sync your watch. The next run appears in Health with Garmin Connect as the source.
Why not through Strava
Strava writes to Health only what the Strava app recorded itself. A run that arrived in Strava from Garmin is not forwarded. The Garmin Connect switch above is the only way to get Garmin runs into Health.
Avoiding duplicates
If you also wear an Apple Watch and start the Workout app at the same time, Health will hold two runs. Pick one recorder per run. If you forget, Runtile merges runs that overlap in time and keeps the one with more distance. The duplicates guide has the details.
What you get in Runtile
Distance, duration, pace, heart rate and the route, all read from Health. Your Garmin's running dynamics stay in Garmin Connect, but cadence is derived from step samples when Garmin writes them.
Questions
Do old Garmin runs sync to Health?
Garmin Connect writes activities from the moment you enable Health. Runs from before that stay in Garmin only.
Do heart rate and cadence come across?
Heart rate does, as samples inside the workout. Running dynamics such as ground contact time are Garmin only and are not written to Health.
Do I still need Strava?
Not for Health. Strava does not forward Garmin runs to Health anyway. Keep Strava for the social side if you like it.
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