Gravl runs on a wide range of Garmin watches, so you can log sets and follow your session from your wrist while your Garmin records the activity properly - heart rate included.
Garmin needs a few more steps than the other platforms, because the watch app is a separate install from the Connect IQ Store. This guide walks the whole thing, in order.
Using a different watch? See Gravl on Apple Watch or Gravl on Wear OS.
Before you start
What you need:
- The Gravl app on your phone (iPhone or Android), on version 1.48 or later. Older phone versions can't drive the watch at all.
- The Garmin Connect app on the same phone, signed in, with your watch connected to it.
- The Gravl watch app, installed on the watch from the Connect IQ Store. This is a separate install - having Gravl on your phone does not put it on your Garmin.
- A watch on Connect IQ 3.4 or later (see supported models below).
- Bluetooth on, and the watch connected to that phone and no other.
Supported watches. Gravl runs on around 70 Garmin models, across these families:
- fēnix - 6X Pro, 7, 7S, 7X and the Pro/Solar variants, 8 AMOLED, 8 Pro, 8 Solar, fēnix E
- Forerunner - 55, 165, 255, 265, 570, 955, 965, 970 (including Music and S variants)
- Venu - 2, 2S, 2 Plus, 3, 3S, 4, X1
- epix - epix (Gen 2), epix Pro (42/47/51mm)
- vívoactive - 5, 6
- Instinct - Instinct 3 AMOLED (45mm and 50mm)
- Enduro - 2, 3
- tactix - 7, 7 AMOLED, 8
- Also - Approach S70, quatix 6X, D2 Air X15, D2 Mach 1 Pro
The Connect IQ Store listing is always the definitive list - it shows exactly which devices the current version supports, and it's what gets updated when we add models.
Monochrome watches aren't supported. Gravl's watch app needs a colour display, so the older non-AMOLED Instinct models and similar monochrome Garmins are not on the compatible list. If your watch isn't supported, Gravl simply won't appear as installable in the Connect IQ Store for that device.
Permissions. The watch app asks for sensor and activity permissions during the Connect IQ install - accept them, they're what let it read your heart rate and save the activity.
Connect your watch for the first time
Gravl guides you through this on a single screen:
- On your phone, go to Profile - Connected Apps - Garmin Watch.
- Turn on Enable Garmin Watch.
- Work down the checklist until all three rows are green:
- Garmin Connect app - shows Ready once Gravl can see it. If it says Not installed, tap Install.
- Watch connected - shows your watch's name. If you own several Garmin devices, Gravl asks you to select the watch to use with Gravl.
- Gravl on your watch - shows Installed. If it says Not installed, tap Install to open the Connect IQ Store on the right device.
The same screen tells you when a watch app update is available.
How to know it worked: all three checklist rows show green, and opening Gravl on the watch shows the idle screen - Start a workout on your phone.
Start a workout
Order matters on Garmin:
- Open Gravl on the watch first. It sits on the idle screen waiting.
- Start the workout from your phone.
The first sync takes about 5 to 10 seconds - that's normal, don't tap anything twice.
If the watch says "Start a workout on your phone" and you already started one, don't start again. Wait a few seconds, and if it stays idle, back out of the watch app and reopen it - a workout that's already running on the phone will be picked up when the watch app opens shortly after.
The phone owns the workout on Garmin. The watch app is a companion that mirrors it and sends your actions back; it has no standalone mode.
During the workout
On your wrist you can:
- See the current set - exercise, reps and weight - plus what's up next while you rest.
- Log a set, or open the set menu to Start timer or Edit & start if you want to change reps or weight before lifting.
- Run the rest timer with a buzz when it's time to go again.
- Rate your exertion after an exercise.
- Follow supersets and timed exercises.
- Track heart rate, straight from the watch's own sensor.
- Get a PR celebration on your wrist when you set a new record.
A few Garmin-specific behaviours worth knowing:
- Dropsets are edited on the phone. The watch shows Edit dropsets on your phone rather than letting you change them on the wrist.
- When every set of an exercise is done, the set page shows All sets done instead of a rest timer.
Finishing the workout
Finish on your phone. The watch shows Finish on your phone for exactly this reason - the phone saves the session, the summary and your PRs.
If the phone is out of reach or the link dropped, the watch's menu has a Save activity option so the Garmin activity itself isn't lost. Use it as an escape hatch, not as the normal route.
Syncing with Garmin Connect and your health apps
When you record a workout from your Garmin, the saved session in Gravl shows a Recorded on Garmin card, and tapping it opens the activity in Garmin Connect. Heart rate comes straight from the watch's sensor rather than from your phone.
Worth knowing:
- The activity lands in Garmin Connect as a strength training activity, with heart rate and calories. From there, Garmin Connect's own settings decide what it forwards to Strava, Apple Health and the rest - that part is configured in Garmin, not in Gravl.
- Gravl won't re-import its own Garmin-recorded session back from Apple Health or Health Connect, so it doesn't appear twice in your history.
- Strava and external workout imports are set up in Profile - Connected Apps. See Connected Apps.
Troubleshooting
The watch won't connect, the app doesn't appear, or the workout never reaches the wrist. Work through this in order:
- Confirm you have the latest versions installed - Gravl on the phone, the Gravl watch app, and Garmin Connect.
- Confirm you connected Garmin inside Gravl: Profile - Connected Apps - Garmin Watch, and that you completed all the steps there.
- Remember the Gravl watch app is a separate install from the Connect IQ Store. Make sure it's actually installed on your Garmin from there.
- Open Gravl on the watch, then start the workout from your phone. The first sync can take 5 to 10 seconds.
- If it's still the same: turn Bluetooth off and on, then restart both the watch and the Gravl app on your phone.
- Make sure the watch is not paired to a second phone. A Garmin connected to two phones is one of the most common causes of a dead link.
The checklist row says "Not installed" but the app is on the watch. Garmin sometimes reports a stale registration. Force-close Gravl on the phone, reopen it, and revisit Profile - Connected Apps - Garmin Watch so it re-checks. If it still disagrees, reinstall the watch app from the Connect IQ Store.
Sets, weights or exercises don't match between watch and phone. The phone is the source of truth - it's what gets saved. Fix anything wrong there. If the watch has drifted, back out and reopen the watch app to pull a fresh snapshot.
The workout didn't save. Check whether the Gravl session on the phone finished properly first. If only the Garmin activity is missing, look in Garmin Connect - the watch may have saved it separately via Save activity.
Gravl Tip:
Open the watch app before you hit start on the phone. That single habit prevents most Garmin sync complaints we see.
Still not working?
Copy the list below, fill it in and send it to us so we can report it:
Device info
- Phone model:
- Phone OS:
- Watch model:
- Garmin Connect version:
- Gravl version on phone and watch:
Additional info
- Other Garmin devices connected:
- Other devices connected:
You can reach us from Support. Add a screenshot or a short recording of what you're seeing if you can - it makes the report much faster to act on.