Why Does Garmin Upload Take 6 Hours

With the rise of connected devices that automatically upload your rides and runs upon completion to Garmin Connect, there's been a corresponding rise in usage of third party sites that synchronize that data to other grooming log platforms such as Strava and Training Peaks.  These middle-man sites operate by copying your activity information automatically upon detection of a new activity being uploaded, to the final destination of your choice.

It is in some ways ironic that with increased connectivity has come more complexity in getting files where you want them.  That's largely due to the fact that Garmin has been less than entirely piece of cake when it comes to getting data where cease users programme to analyze information technology.  While Garmin Connect does have an API bachelor, that API isn't well documented, nor supported at all, and hasn't been updated in years.

Thus most of these third party applications have had to spend a bit of time reverse engineering how things work.  Sometimes that works well, simply other times that's acquired some ripples between Garmin and 3rd political party apps – such equally with CopyMySports earlier this twelvemonth being throttled from an activity polling standpoint.

Ultimately though, these solutions exercise offer users a smashing mode to quickly and seamlessly get data from Garmin Connect to tertiary party sites.  With that, permit's run through the three I'm enlightened of today.  Oh, and all of these are gratuitous.

Tapiriik:

We'll commencement off with Tapiriik from the very beginning, which takes you hither, to their landing page to select which services you want to connect to.

In my case, I'll outset with Garmin Connect first:

In one case I've done that, you'll see how 'Garmin Connect' is shown on the upper half with 'Connected' next to it, while the others are down below indicating they aren't continued to yet.

Then next I'll choose Training Peaks, and complete the same thing:

Once that'due south consummate, you'll see both listed on the upper half.  Yous'll besides encounter the option to 'Synchronize now', as well equally 'Automatic Synchronization' below it.

In my instance, I went with 'Automatic Synchronization', which costs $2 per twelvemonth.  Otherwise, you tin but press the 'now' button and it does it for free.

Later I paid my 2 bucks via PayPal, I was back on the landing page and able to configure settings.  In this folio I tin choose which accounts sync where.  Sorta similar beingness a traffic cop.

In my instance, I didn't want to sync from Training Peaks to Garmin Connect, and then I unchecked that option:

Then, I let it practise it'southward thing for the initial synchronization.  Because I have a couple of activities in Garmin Connect (uhh…thousands), this took a bit of time.  I merely went to bed.  It sorta worked out better that way.

With that, it finishes some time later (just insert some montage music).  And, magically, all the activities in my Garmin Connect business relationship bear witness up in Training Peaks (an account I tend to use for random testing and thus doesn't accept all my activities in it):

Once it completed, you'll see how frequent it synchronizes.  This is a bit unlike than CopyMySports which does polling at an undefined frequency.  In this instance, Tapiriik has a defined 60-infinitesimal interval.

The next twenty-four hours I went out for a run, and permit the Garmin FR620 automatically upload the run like normal to Garmin Connect via WiFi when I got back to the business firm.  For fun, I timed to see how long it would accept to bear witness-up in Training Peaks.  In my instance, nearly 10 minutes and 9 seconds.  But why 10 minutes?  Well, that's just when information technology happened the next sync would occur – which is every threescore minutes.  And then it was generally just pure dumb luck it was on the shorter side rather than the longer side.

The long pole in the tent here is pretty much the polling procedure to pickup the activeness from the source service (i.east. Garmin Connect).  The cosmos of the activity in the destination service (i.due east. Training Peaks) takes mere seconds.

At this point, the activity is set to utilize every bit normal for assay/logging within Training Peaks.   Note that for Training Peaks you'll need to be either a Premium or Coached member for sync to piece of work, which, I recollect is a fair business motility.

Of grade, Tapiriik supports other services every bit well (like Strava), I but happened to use Grooming Peaks equally my example.  Overall information technology works quite well, and is the well-nigh 'known' in terms of having a simple countdown clock until sync.  While I wish the synchronization were more frequent, I suspect that'south purely a case of not ticking off Garmin with too many requests.

Plus, for free, it's hard to vanquish.

CopyMySports:

CopyMySports has been around quite a long time, though nether their previous name of 'GarminSync', which they changed mid-summer.  The application is largely aimed at copying data from Garmin Connect to Strava, but it also copies data to RunKeeper besides.

To setup CopyMySports you lot'll get-go with their home page.  This is where you can setup the sync process to either Strava or RunKeeper (the two services they support today).  Down the road they've noted they program to add together support for Training Peaks.

At the lesser of the page yous'll encounter a little box to type in some text.  In order to setup CopyMySports you'll basically need to tell the service who you lot are.  Instead of authorizing your Garmin Connect business relationship like Tapiriik, you're going to provide it with an ID of one of your activities.  It and then uses that to follow your future activities past looking up your username.

To find an ID, simply open up one of your activities in Garmin Connect.  At the top of your browser in the address bar you lot'll see the action ID.  I've highlighted information technology in yellow.  It's simply the numerical number.

Copy that number downwards (using re-create and paste, or erstwhile-school with a pen and newspaper).  And so, paste/write it in the little box.  A few seconds later on it'll practice a quick validation and allow you know the business relationship it belongs to, along with a short blurb about the activity. Validate all is well there before continuing on.

There'south a piddling checkbox above (really two).  The first one will copy activities marked as private.  For example, by default I mark all my activities as private and only publish those I let to be shared – thus I don't desire to check that box.  The second checkbox enables you to copy the activity you just typed in the box above.  In my example, I've already published that activity to Strava, so I unchecked information technology after I took the screenshot.

Next, I clicked 'Connect with Strava'.  This will bring upwards a page from Strava that has you authorize CopyMySports.  This is similar to (for case) what Twitter does if y'all authorize an awarding or service with them.  It allows y'all to easily revoke access later on.  In my case, I just click 'Authorize' and I'm proficient to become.

Once I've done that, it'll give me this little confirmation page.  Note that in my case I didn't do a bulk copy of past activities (though I did for Training Peaks with the previous business relationship).  You lot can do that to Strava though for older activities using the CopyMySports Bulk Copy feature, which will get back and copy all your older stuff over.  In my example, I've got tons of wonkiness in my Garmin Connect account (for example, I ofttimes have 4-6 versions of the same ride recorded since I apply then many devices), so I want to proceed my Strava account kinda 'clean'.

Note, if downwardly the road you ever want to revoke access to CopyMySports, yous tin practice that within the Strava settings and then 'My Apps' section:

With that, I went ahead and went out for my run and came back.  Once inside I pressed the 'Upload' push on my FR620 and allow it upload to Garmin Connect.  Once I confirmed the action was on Garmin Connect, I was curious to see how long it would take until it showed up on Strava.

In my case, that was 38 minutes.

CopyMySports aims for a synchronization time as little as every fifteen minutes.  If you had for example paired your FR220/FR620 or Border 510/810 to your phone and uploaded upon completion at a park somewhere, it'd potentially be at that place before you got home.  At worst, if yous finished at domicile information technology'south there before y'all're out of the shower.

As yous can see, the solution worked well.  I know they're working to speed up the synchronization delay, only like everyone else, is a bit express there past what Garmin will tolerate.

SyncMetrics:

(Update equally of August 2014: SyncMetrics is no longer operating.)

Now, SyncMetrics is a bit different in scope than the previous two sites.  It does Garmin Connect to Strava like the others, just it too covers more health-focused sites like Withings, FitBit and iHealth.

With that, let's go things setup.  To practise so, we'll tap 'Register' in the upper right.

That'll pop-up an business relationship creation page.  At present, I actually like this over the other two sites, every bit I feel similar I take more 'control' over the transactions.  Of course, both the other sites accept ways to turn things off, but this just makes information technology simpler in my mind (I know some would disagree).

It'll transport me an account activation electronic mail, to validate I'm a real person and didn't hose upward my email address.  I suggest clicking on that link you receive if  yous want to accept further success in this venture.

Once you do that, y'all'll be brought to the beneath screen.  Which is absolutely a flake confusing (primarily the upper portion).  But ignore all the upper stuff, and focus on the lesser half, which is all the accounts you can link up.

Next, I clicked on 'Garmin Connect' in the listing to get-go that setup.  Yous'll and then click on the Garmin Connect logo, every bit information technology specifies in the 'Hint'.  I'd propose a 'Hint' of my own however: If I have to have a hint when that's pretty much the simply button/link on the folio that's non clearly a button, peradventure information technology's time to create a existent push.

Next, nosotros'll enter your Garmin Connect credentials in.

In one case you've washed that, you'll be back hither, prepare to link up another business relationship.  In my case, I'grand going to spit this out to MapMyFitness.  Then I'll click MapMyFitness and then click to 'Authorize'.

I also did the aforementioned for RunKeeper, just to meet how that'd piece of work.

Later on, if you lot were to look at RunKeeper, you'd see the API authorization listed at that place in your settings:

Once that's done, I'yard presented with options to sync activities to/from Garmin Connect.  The claiming though is that I don't have much control over what happens subsequently I check that box.

And I checked the aforementioned box for RunKeeper.

Now, there's some limits here:

– I can't specify if it's for just newer activities, or also older ones too.  Currently, it pulls only activities after the creation date.
– I tin can't specify what to practice near private activities, to include, or not to include?  Currently it pulls them.

Once it's done a sync, you'll see the activities listed within the window 'Activities' tab.  I really like this a bit, equally information technology'due south more of a sync log file, something the other ones lack.  I tin can run across what got processed easily.

After it syncs you lot'll see the data on the destination side.  Below, you can run into my activities copied over from skiing the past few days (I've got duplicate activities since I was uploading from different devices).

I can then click on an activity and see information technology in its fully glory:

At present, I had some initial teething issues with the SyncMetrics service, but the support folks were able to take intendance of it.  The interesting aspect to SyncMetrics is that it goes across simply the sport side and delves into the weight/sleep side a scrap, where the other services shy away from that.

So if your goal is getting more health and wellness information moved effectually, SyncMetrics may be the ameliorate option.

Wrap-up:

In looking at the solutions  at hand, you can see they vary a bit in implementation, and thus the 'cleanliness' of each solution.  Further, some solutions may exist faster but less consistent in terms of speed, while others may exist slower, but more consequent.  Unfortunately, there is no perfect-instant solution.  But, I think that they practice offer quite functional solutions, and ones that ultimately get your data to it's final destinations jazz-easily gratuitous.

Now, the trick here is that all of this depends on an API that's just barely at that place.  Garmin deleted the API'southward primary page late this past summer, though the rest of the API documentation is notwithstanding published.  In my recent discussions with them, Garmin has seemingly tried to further distance themselves from even having an API at all (outside of their corporate health plan stuff they announced a few months back).  I'grand optimistic however that they'll re-think any 'dorsum of the brain' thoughts virtually closing things down any (further).  Simply because I'd annotation that the sports technology darling of the globe (Strava) tried doing that this by summer, and that didn't turn out terribly well for them.

Thus, in that vein, hither'south a fun fact for yous (or for Garmin): That Strava API endmost post was shared more than than any other mail service e'er in the history of this site – including any individual product review at that signal (which are typically the most popular posts here).  Equally a event, Strava has mostly changed their ways, which is a good thing.

In the meantime, nosotros can all enjoy the complimentary offerings that are out at that place today, and hopefully down the road sure parties will brand information technology easier to use their devices while nevertheless using the bountiful and diverse third political party software options built around those devices.

Thank you for reading!

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Source: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/12/automatically-training-fitness.html

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