# Garmin 520 not syncing



## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

My Garmin 520 is connecting to my iPhone 6 through Bluetooth with no problem. But it starts to sync and then says "Sync Failed". 
I notice that the Garmin Connect app had a recent update and that's when the glitch started. Up until today's ride , I had no problems. 
Anyone else experience this?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I only rarely use wireless uploading, but have you tried disconnecting the GPS and phone and then reconnecting? Usually an app update prompts the need to reconnect devices.


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

Yes. Tried rebooting both. It's paired but sync fails. Should I try deleting GC app and reinstalling. 


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

thecanoe said:


> Yes. Tried rebooting both. It's paired but sync fails. Should I try deleting GC app and reinstalling.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That's usually the next step when a phone app isn't working right.


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## gckless (Aug 25, 2016)

thecanoe said:


> Yes. Tried rebooting both. It's paired but sync fails. Should I try deleting GC app and reinstalling.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


To clarify, did you disconnect the devices (actually go in and tell them to forget each other and then pair again) or just reboot them? Might need a full disconnect. I'm sure you're probably trying to reinstall the app right now, which isn't a bad idea, but if that doesn't fix it then definitely try disconnecting and pairing again.


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

gckless said:


> To clarify, did you disconnect the devices (actually go in and tell them to forget each other and then pair again) or just reboot them? Might need a full disconnect. I'm sure you're probably trying to reinstall the app right now, which isn't a bad idea, but if that doesn't fix it then definitely try disconnecting and pairing again.


Did all of the above with no success. I'd be willing to bet that GC comes out with an update/fix. I'll call Garmin customer service tomorrow and see what they say.

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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

I always use the wireless upload feature with my 510. Sometimes, the service just gets flaky. The next day it is working fine again. Sometimes when it says it failed, it actually worked. I know this isn't a solution for you, but when wireless upload isn't working for me despite trying the suggested tricks I just chalk it up to the flakiness that has always been present. Without doing anything, things seem to start working normally again later.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

ewarnerusa said:


> I always use the wireless upload feature with my 510. Sometimes, the service just gets flaky. The next day it is working fine again. Sometimes when it says it failed, it actually worked. I know this isn't a solution for you, but when wireless upload isn't working for me despite trying the suggested tricks I just chalk it up to the flakiness that has always been present. Without doing anything, things seem to start working normally again later.


That's true. It does occasionally get flaky. Part of the reason I don't rely on it for my primary upload method. I prefer to plug in, because it also takes care of charging.

My old Forerunner 310XT that did wireless uploading over ANT+ was SUPER flaky. It would occasionally take a week for a ride to upload.


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

Ugh, my 510 had some retribution for my comments I think. I tried my first ride since a recent GC mobile app update and while the 510 seemed like it booted up normally, it was shut off when I went to press start for my ride. I powered it back up and the file system had been wiped out and all settings lost. I know that the app doesn't control the device in any way, but it sure is a strange coincidence with it being the first use since a recent app update. I'm working on rebuilding the file system now.


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

I don't have a computer, so, I have to use Bluetooth for sending my data from my 520 to my iPhone through GC app and then it goes to Strava. Frustrating when something works for two years and then an app update stops it from working. I'm starting to think that running Strava on my iPhone solves the problem. Now that I have an iPhone 6SE, strava runs smoothly, even when no cell service and I'm running RWGPS at the same time. Someone tell me the advantage of using my Garmin vs iPhone. 


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

It sits on the stem and saves your phone battery.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

the GPS is actually better.

I've found that relying too heavily on wireless anything is asking for trouble.

I had to hard wire the network in my house to my computer because the walls destroy wifi signals. House was built in the 50's with the wire mesh lath. Yay for near-Faraday cages in homes before wireless tech existed!

Bluetooth has been flaky since I first used it years ago. It's better now, but still has flaky moments. I was chilling in my favorite bar this evening after my ride, and my phone was nearly useless in there today. Wifi or no. The place was absolutely slammed, and all those phones in a small area were taking a toll on both the cell towers in the area as well as the bar's complementary wifi.

When wireless stuff works, I'm thrilled by it. When it doesn't, I'm not surprised because there are a lot of reasons it might not. Call me jaded, but I won't put so much faith in wireless tech yet that it's the only thing I'll use.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

If the Garmin isn't syncing try deleting any historic activities that are stored on it. If you're getting a sync error it can sometimes be that it doesn't like one of the activity files, by clearing them out it will only be looking at the latest ride which might get it working.

If you can connect the Garmin Edge 520 to a borrowed computer by USB I'd check to see if there is anything in the \Garmin\NewFiles folder as well. If there is anything in there I'd delete those files as they could be corrupt and potentially cause a sync issue. 

You don't need to have Garmin Express installed on the borrowed computer. You should be able to just plug the Garmin in and it will appear as a removable drive that can be browsed.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

True. Any Garmin will get flaky if you have too many activities on it filling up the memory. It will get flaky before it throws any memory warnings at you (in fact, I've never pushed mine so far to ever get a memory warning).


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

Tried deleting the most recent rides. Still getting sync failure. I think it's the GC app update that's causing this. I'd be willing to bet a new update will be out soon to fix this. 


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## ewarnerusa (Jun 8, 2004)

Take all of the rides off of the device. I think the app polls through the activities to look for new ones and if it encounters a corrupted one it aborts.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Yeah, the older ones are more important to remove. I periodically clear ALL of them out of mine.


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

Even if it was syncing fine on previous rides, I should delete all of them?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

thecanoe said:


> Even if it was syncing fine on previous rides, I should delete all of them?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Might as well. It needs to be done from time to time anyway. Garmin specifies that the 520 has a 180hr track memory. Get close to that and the device will start getting flaky. If any of the previous rides got corrupted, that will cause problems. It could be any of the old ones that got corrupted and causing problems with sync, because the app on your phone as well as the computer program that handle sync look at your entire history to check for new activities. If there's an error with trying to match something in the device memory with what's been loaded already, it will have problems.

This has always been a thing for any Garmin that syncs. It doesn't matter if you browse the device as a usb drive and do manual uploads, because that avoids the checking process. It's the check during sync that is the problem if something gets corrupted.


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

Harold said:


> Might as well. It needs to be done from time to time anyway. Garmin specifies that the 520 has a 180hr track memory. Get close to that and the device will start getting flaky. If any of the previous rides got corrupted, that will cause problems. It could be any of the old ones that got corrupted and causing problems with sync, because the app on your phone as well as the computer program that handle sync look at your entire history to check for new activities. If there's an error with trying to match something in the device memory with what's been loaded already, it will have problems.
> 
> This has always been a thing for any Garmin that syncs. It doesn't matter if you browse the device as a usb drive and do manual uploads, because that avoids the checking process. It's the check during sync that is the problem if something gets corrupted.


I deleted all rides on my Garmin and it still had a sync failure. 
I still think it's pretty coincidental that it stopped syncing right after the app update. In the mean time, I'll use my iPhone.

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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

I heard back from Garmin. I unpaired the unit and signed out of GC. Turned everything off and started from scratch. No luck. I'll call G tomorrow. 


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## dcabib (Feb 20, 2017)

thecanoe said:


> I heard back from Garmin. I unpaired the unit and signed out of GC. Turned everything off and started from scratch. No luck. I'll call G tomorrow.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hello Friend...

I have the same issue since last week. I've deleted all tracks, I've executed software reset (software facture reset at Edge 520), I've deleted and installed the device on Garmin Connect on my iPhone and no luck at all.

I am still having "sync error" message with no more additional information.

Please let me know if you have any updates.

Thanks.,


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

dcabib said:


> Hello Friend...
> 
> I have the same issue since last week. I've deleted all tracks, I've executed software reset (software facture reset at Edge 520), I've deleted and installed the device on Garmin Connect on my iPhone and no luck at all.
> 
> ...


I called Garmin support today and they suspect that the software in my 520 needs to be updated to the latest version. Makes sense. I'll report back after I do that.

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## dcabib (Feb 20, 2017)

thecanoe said:


> I called Garmin support today and they suspect that the software in my 520 needs to be updated to the latest version. Makes sense. I'll report back after I do that.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I'm not sure what step I did to make it work, but after some time my Garmin Edge 520 is back.

1) I've updated Garmin Connect on my computer
2) I've update Garmin Edge software (not sure if it's required because apparently it had the last version of the software)
3) At Garmin Connect, removed Edge 520 Device
4) Deleted Bluetooth connection on my iPhone regarding Garmin 520 
5) Deleted Garmin Connect on my iPhone
6) Install Garmin Connect
7) Create a Bluetooth Connection on iPhone
8) Add new Device on Garmin Connect

Now it's working&#8230;


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

dcabib said:


> I'm not sure what step I did to make it work, but after some time my Garmin Edge 520 is back.
> 
> 1) I've updated Garmin Connect on my computer
> 2) I've update Garmin Edge software (not sure if it's required because apparently it had the last version of the software)
> ...


Congratulations. I did all the above except #2. But my Garmin has old software so I'm hoping that when I update the software, it works.

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## Jii (Dec 29, 2004)

I had the exact same issue as the OP. Still running the 2.30 firmware on the Edge and have had no problems with syncing to GC before last weeks update. Don't own a computer at the moment so have no device to install Garmin Express on for firmware updates.

Tried all the unpairing and re-pairing-tricks and removed and reinstalled the GC-app but no dice.

However, I found a fix using work computer (am not allowed to install software on computer so next steps are done as if Edge is a normal external memory)

1. Deleted the old (already synced) rides from the device (this was done earlier when trying all other tricks but took this into account here for clarity)
2. Plugged the device to computer with USB cable 
3. Located "activities"-folder in device. You should see the unsynced ride(s) in this folder
4. Moved the unsynced ride(s) to some other part of the computer (not in any folder in device), leaving the "activities"-folder empty
5. Unplugged device and synced with GC (Sync successful, no new rides)
6. Plugged it back in and returned the unsynced ride(s) to the "activities"-folder
7. Unplugged device and synced with GC (Sync successful, new ride(s) added successfully)

Did another ride after this which synced without a hiccup. Hope this helps!


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## Joe Handlebar (Apr 12, 2016)

Definitely need to keep your software updates going. Your Connect app will update automatically (unless you have that function turned off) but you need to plug in the unit to update it through Garmin Connect on your computer (for the 510 at least). Seems like Garmin threw a slew of software updates out over the last few months. For a while it seemed like I had to update it at least once a week. Good thread, I'll bet more people have this issue than mention it here.


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

Here's the latest. I never got a chance to update the software in my 520. Last night GC had an update on their app. So I thought I'd try to sync. Worked perfectly. Go figure. But I'll still update my software when I can get to a computer. 


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## Ranger Pride (Jan 21, 2005)

Doesn't the 520 update wirelessly through the Garmin Connect App?


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## thecanoe (Jan 30, 2007)

Ranger Pride said:


> Doesn't the 520 update wirelessly through the Garmin Connect App?


I don't think so. The 520 has to be plugged into a computer to update its software. The GC app gets updated on the phone.

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## a_double (Apr 14, 2013)

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