Garmin
Sleep as Android integrates Garmin wearables that support the ConnectIQ (CIQ) platform.
Does your watch support the ConnectIQ platform? check here.
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We are doing our best to provide a full featured integration for all the different wearable platforms, but on some platforms it is really hard due to various limitations in their APIs. We have asked Garmin to give us access to their BT specific API for the good of our users and theirs, but they refused or asked for an absurd amount of money to do so. So we have to rely on the buggy IQConnect API with problems that Garmin has not fixed for many years. Because their message queue breaks regularly, we had to implement our own parallel messaging system using HTTP. This makes the Garmin integration far from optimal and severely limits our ability to fix problems. The integration is provided "as is". |
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Garmin integration does not support testing the sensor with Test sensor. |
1. New version
We heard your feedback regarding Garmin connectivity issues, and we’ve been hard at work on a solution. We are excited to introduce a completely redesigned Garmin integration!
By moving to a new watch app system, we’ve resolved many of the stability issues that plagued the older version. Because the Garmin API can still be a bit unpredictable due to unresolved bugs, we consider this a "transition phase" and appreciate your patience.
Please, report any troubles via the main Sleep app by using the Left ≡ menu → Support → Report a bug. Thank you.
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This integration requires Sleep as Android version 20260429 or newer. |
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On your phone: Install Sleep Watch starter from the Play Store.
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On your watch: Install the the new watch app from the Connect IQ Store.
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Configure Wearable: Once both apps are installed, go to Settings → Sleep tracking → Wearables → Wearables and select Garmin.
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Heart Rate: To include HR data, enable Heart rate monitoring in Settings → Sleep tracking → Wearables.
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Start Tracking: You can now initiate sleep tracking directly from your watch or from the phone app. If you don’t use the Sleep Watch starter, you need to start the tracking on both devices.
2. Old version
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On the phone: Sleep Watch starter from Play Store.
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On the watch: Install this old version of the watch app.
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Make sure that all of the apps are installed, and then select Sleep → Settings → Sleep tracking → Wearables → Wearables → Garmin.
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For HR data, enable Heart rate monitoring in Settings → Sleep tracking → Wearables.
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To start sleep tracking, tap Start tracking on the on the phone and then start on the watch.
3. Older than 3.1 Connect IQ
You need to side-load a legacy version of the Sleep app, if your ConnectIQ is less than 3.1. Look here, find your model and put the corresponding file (Sleep.prg) onto your device, in /GARMIN/APPS folder
5. Troubleshooting
5.1. Connection issues?
Check Your Version: Ensure you are running Sleep as Android version 20260429 or later. The new watch app architecture requires this specific update to communicate correctly.
5.2. Connection dropping?
Disable Battery Optimizations: Android’s power management often kills background processes. To ensure a stable connection, disable "Battery Optimization" for the following apps: Sleep as Android, Watch Starter, Garmin Connect, and your system Bluetooth app. For device-specific instructions, visit DontKillMyApp.com.
5.3. Vibrations when tracking starts/ends?
Garmin devices are programmed to vibrate whenever an activity starts or stops. Because our app records your sleep as a formal activity to ensure data accuracy, the watch’s firmware triggers this alert automatically.
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Enable Do Not Disturb: Ensure Do Not Disturb is active on your watch (Settings → System → Do Not Disturb).
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Adjust Vibration Settings: Manually toggle vibrations off in Settings → System → Sounds/Vibration on the watch
5.4. Missing vibrations?
Adjust DND Settings if the watch isn’t vibrating for alarms:
1. On the watch, go to Settings → System → Sleep mode and disable DND during sleep.
2. Ensure Status notifications and Vibrations are enabled under Settings → Smart notifications → Notifications → Apps.
5.5. Backlight turning on during sleep?
To prevent the screen from lighting up when you move in bed, navigate to Settings → System → Lighting → During Activity → Gesture and set it to Off.
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We recommend keeping "Buttons and Alarms" enabled so the backlight still functions during your morning alarm or regular workouts. |
5.6. Cannot Start Tracking from Phone?
Due to a long-standing firmware limitation on certain models (specifically the Vivoactive 3), the watch may not respond to a "start" command sent from the phone. If the start dialog does not appear, please initiate tracking directly from the watch app instead.
FAQ
Sleep tracking with Wear OS device requires a companion app installed from the Play Store on the watch.
How to get there:
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Make sure the watch is connected to the phone.
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Go to app list on your watch, select Play Store.
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Find Sleep as Android and select Install.
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After the companion app is installed, you can enable the connection in Settings → Wearables → Use wearable → Wear OS.
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Test the connection in Settings → Wearables → Test sensor - you should see a graph reacting to your movement (a short delay is normal, data are sent in batches).
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Sleep tracking collects data the night and they are analyzed in real-time. This means the watch must stay connected with BT during sleep tracking. |
All currently supported devices can be found at list of compatible devices.
If you’d like us to integrate another device, please submit it as a suggestion to our Suggestion Forum. Also, please check if the device has an API so we can integrate it.
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Garmin watches have a system-wide gesture backlight setting that lights up your screen on wrist move, when you move your wrist while running an application. By default, this setting is ON.
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Go to Settings/System/Lighting/During Activity/Gesture and turn it off. Now the light will not come on when you run or bike and turn your wrist. Make sure it’s still on for buttons and alarms so that it turns on when you need it during exercise.
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Fenix 6: It may be possible to set a power mode / power profile in the power manager so that the backlight doesn’t only light up in the sleep app.
This dialog is the only way to start a watch app from the phone. Unfortunately, there’s no way to do it without this dialog.
However, there is a bug in the Garmin firmware that breaks this dialog on Vivoactive watches.
In this case, please don’t start sleep tracking from the phone.
As a workaround, start sleep tracking from the watch (just start the app on the watch and it will trigger sleep tracking on the phone).
When initiating sleep tracking from the phone, you must confirm a dialog on the watch, asking you if you want to launch Sleep. To initiate the connection between the watch and the phone, we need to launch the Sleep app on the watch - but the way Garmin designed it, it is not possible to programmatically launch an app on the watch without asking the user for consent.
This seems like an odd choice in the context of sleep tracking. The reason, as explained by Garmin, is that all ConnectIQ apps are treated as "activities," meaning actual physical activity, and the watches only allow one app to run at a time (no multitasking). You wouldn’t want a random app to replace your current activity (say, recording your run in the middle of a marathon) and cause you to lose your data. Looks like we’ll have to live with that :/.
On the Wear OS platform and ONE UI Watch (Galaxy Watch 4 + 5), we use gentle vibrations for an even more natural wake up.
It starts with a single vibration, another in 30s, then again in 20s and so on. After a few minutes, the vibrations become continuous.
If you’re worried that’s not enough, you can set a delayed start of alarm sound on the phone. And there is always the backup alarm.
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Please make sure that you are not accidentally starting the Sleep as Android app from your watch. This would start sleep tracking immediately.
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Make sure you are not using automatic start of sleep tracking in Settings → Sleep tracking → Automatic sleep tracking → Start sleep tracking.
You can find more information about automatic sleep tracking start here.