The Uploader for Garmin 5.0 and Sportablet 5.9 can now send tracks to some Garmin models (Forerunner 205, Forerunner 305, Edge 205, Edge 305), straight from your Android tablet / phone.

It's the first step of a long journey. All details here. 

Tell me what you think here, and don't forget to leave a positive review on google play, tell your friends, etc. The app needs you : ).

I've just pushed a new version of Sportablet to Google Play, with a direct upload option for Endomondo. This feature is going to be in permanent beta (see my previous post for details). 

Guys, please share this news with your Endomondo friends, thanks :-)

With some luck, next week I'll add one more direct upload option

The Uploader for Garmin, version 4.1, supports direct upload to Training Peaks. As usual, it may take a few hours before Google Play makes that version available to you guys. Of course, Sportablet will get this feature as well, though you may have to wait till Sunday (I've got a real job too :-).

Thanks to Training Peaks for their support, and to the ubiquitous DC Rainmaker who put us in contact.

Sportablet 5.1 and the Uploader for Garmin 3.7 provides alpha-level support for the Garmin Swim and the Forerunner 50 / 60 / 70. This is basically closing the circle for all the ANT+ Garmin devices.

To set up your Android device (10" tablet: use Sportablet; 7" tablet or smartphone: use the Uploader), please follow these instructions. Remember that you have to install the two dynastream services, unless you're using an Xperia phone, in which case you can find more detailed instructions here.

The Swim and the FR 50 / 60 / 70 have a twist in their communication protocol, so you need to set up my apps accordingly:

After you set that option, you'll be ready to give it a try. As always, it is advisable to turn off any source of interference, as it's difficult to maintain the delicate ANT+ timing in android. The posts above provides some valuable tips, but in the end, setting your Android device in airplane mode could be the simplest thing to do. On my Xperia Ion, airplane mode seems to disable ANT+ as well, but if you use the USB dongle, or if you have another model, give it a try.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Some users have complained that my app is reading the wrong date/time for activities using these garmin models. It's not really like that. Some background: in (other) models, with GPS, Garmin uses the timestamp from the GPS signal. In these models, without a GPS, Garmin has actually two clocks. One is used to show you date and time on the watch face; the other is used internally, to associate a date and time to activities, steps, etc. The two clocks are not automatically syncronized (yeah). So even if you see the right date and time, the internal clock will be stuck to the late 80s until you pair the watch with the garmin express agent.

See this post from Garmin, which I quote here: "The first time activities are uploaded from the Garmin Swim, FR60 or FR70 to Garmin Connect, they may show dates of late 1989 and early 1990. This can occur even if the time and date have been correctly set on the watch because the internal clocks of the the device are set to December 30, 1989, by default. To prevent this from happening, pair the device with the computer through Garmin Express prior to performing any activities. The internal clock will be synchronized with the computer’s clock".

It's not something that I can magically fix. You have to connect the watch using garmin express once, then your date and time will be fine.

UPDATE: the instructions here apply also to Samsung devices with a (working) internal ANT+ chip: S4, S5, Note 3, etc, or any other phone / tablet with an internal ANT+ chip. Please read the specs for your android device. A directory of devices with built-in ANT+ capabilities is here:  http://www.thisisant.com/directory/


The Uploader for Garmin version 3.0 provides alpha-level support for the integrated ANT+ chip present on some Sony Xperia phones. I'm writing this just after releasing the new version, so it may take a while for Google Play to make version 3.0 available to you guys.

For a list of phones with an integrated ANT+ chip, see here. I did all my testing using a Sony Xperia Ion, LT28h, running Android 4.0.4. Please remember that if you installed an unofficial ROM on your phone, ANT+ might not be working anymore. If you have troubles with my app, please double-check using the official ANT+ Demo.

The ANT+ Radio Service from Dynastream is required. This service is usually pre-installed on the Xperia, but you might want to check the version you have, and maybe update. I did my testing with version 3.0.0 and 3.4.0, released a few days ago.

Last thing: on my phone, bluetooth must be enabled in order for ANT+ to work. However, I did all my experiments with GPS off (both phone and Garmin) and with WiFi off (phone). I suggest that you do the same.

Once you have checked the ANT+ Radio Service version, and enabled bluetooth, you can give the app a try. 

First, set up your watch as described here if you have a Forerunner 405 / 405CX / 410, here if you have a Forerunner 310xt, 610, or 910xt, here if you have a Garmin Swim or a Forerunner 50, 60, or 70.

Then, click options, and check Force ANT+ scan option. 

If you have a 405/405CX/410, check also the Delay Ack option. If you have another model, you probably don't need to, but if the app gets stuck while trying to find the device model, check that option anyway. Also, for the 310xt,610, 910xt, 60, 70 family, if file transfer times out and fails, go into options again, find File Transfer Chunk, and set a lower value, like default or small.

That's it. Click get activities, and give it a little time. While using the dongle, I send a special packet that is also used in the PC version, which speeds up device discovery. It doesn't seem to work with the internal ANT+ chip, so discovery may easily take 50 seconds or so. When the device is found, you'll be asked to pair. Just accept on your Forerunner.

Please note that this code is still in alpha. I recommend that you test it thoroughly before you purchase the app. The critical part is only the upload. Once the activity has been uploaded, the rest of the code is reasonably well tested. So you don't need to purchase the app to test the most critical part, which is data transfer.


Guys, if it works on your phone, or if it doesn't work :-), I would appreciate a log. 
Do it like this: select options, scroll down to diagnostics, check enable device diagnostics, turn on the watch again, and try an upload. The app will see that there are no new activities and will stop earlier. Send me that log using the red email log button, thanks :-). If necessary, add any text you want to the email before sending it. This will help me helping other people who may have the same phone but a different ROM version etc.
After you send the log, please turn off diagnostics again. Diagnostics will interfere with the timing of ANT+. 

This post will guide you through all the steps needed to connect your Android tablet or smartphone to a Garmin Forerunner 310xt, 610, 910xt, using either Sportablet (for 10" tablets) or the Uploader for Garmin (for smaller tablets and smartphones). I'll use the 910xt as an example, but things are basically the same for other models.

A couple of notes first:

- Please read this tutorial to the end, including the "tweaking" section. 99% of people having transfer problems simply didn't follow the advice in that chapter. Please do.

- If you have an HTC or LG phone running Lollipop (android 5) make sure that you get version 4.14 of the ANT+ radio service from google play, because earlier versions don't work on your device. 

Some android devices have an internal ANT+ chip. A list is being maintained by dynastream here. Note that minor model differences matter: the S4 has a working internal ant+ receiver, the S4 mini and active don't. 

If your device is in that list, you can skip Step 1, as you won't need the ANT+ USB dongle. In Step 2, you need only the Radio Service (don't install other stuff). In most cases, it will come preinstalled. However, you have to set the "force ant+ scan" option in my app.

If your device is not in that list, chances are it does not come with a big, size A usb port, so you might wonder how to plug in your ant+ dongle. The answer is quite simple: you need an OTG cable like this:

in some [rare] cases, the android device is not bringing power to the usb, so the ant+ dongle won't be powered, and unsurprisingly it won't work. Please read Step 2 on this other tutorial to learn how to supply power. In this case, a y-cable is normally safe as well as the hub.

In most cases, you need to use the ANT+ USB key that you're already using with your computer. Before you go further, check the key version on the bottom: it should read USB2. USB1 keys are not supported at this time.

The app is also known to work with the Suunto Movestick and with the newest "mini" ANT+ garmin dongles.

The apps adopt the ANT+ services from Dynastream. Unlike the Garmin ANT+ Agent you install on your PC, those ANT+ services don't know about your Garmin device, but know about the ANT+ hardware (the USB key, the internal chip on Xperia, etc). This should make my apps a bit more future-proof (read: I shouldn't have to implement low-level drivers for new keys). We'll see :-). Meanwhile, that means you have to install two free apps (Android services actually) from Google Play:

- The ANT Radio Service (which deals with ANT+ channels)

- The ANT USB Service (which deals with the USB key). This is not necessary if your device has an internal ANT+ chip.

   Go ahead and do it! 

Note that those apps require your Android device to be properly classified by Google Play as one with USB Host capabilities. Some devices, which are host-capable, are not properly classified in Google Play. In that case, unfortunately, the ANT+ services will result "incompatible" with your device and you won't be able to download them. As they're provided by Dynastream, there is little I can do about it - you'll have to find an alternative way to obtain and install the APK. 

Insert your USB key. If you have a micro-usb connector, remember that you need to use a USB OTG adapter. This dialog should pop up from the ANT+ Service:

of course, you have to accept.
If the dialog does not pop up, your USB key is not being recognized by the ANT+ Service. That's not part of Sportablet, so I can't really help you much on this side. Please check the Google Play page for the two ANT+ Service apps, as there are quite a few hints from users in the comments section. Sometimes, rebooting your tablet / phone with the ANT+ key connected is needed to make it work the first time (well, at least, that's what a few people told me - I never had to do it myself).

Now, if you want to double-check that it works, and you have a chest strap that you use with your Garmin, you can also download the free ANT+ Demo from Dynastream. It's a simple app that can connect with a chest strap or a scale and show you some values (it won't connect with your Garmin, just with the HR belt). If the ANT+ Demo works, everything has been set up properly. If you don't have a chest strap, just skip this step.

It's time to fiddle with the watch a little and make sure ANT+ is properly set up. Although you've probably done this before to pair your Garmin with your PC, you have to do this again to enable pairing with your Android device. The following pics are based on a Forerunner 910.

Click Mode, then choose Settings > System > Data Transfer

note: this part is no longer necessary with the latest version. I'll remove it as people upgrade:
UPDATE (July 2014). Due to a new version of the Dynastream Service, before you click get new please get into the options, scroll down to the ANT+ section, scroll down to the last entry (it should read "Force Claim Interface") and turn that ON. This is usually needed only if you use the ANT+ USB dongle, and not necessary if you have a built-in ANT+ chip in your phone.

NOTE: if you're using an Xperia or another device with internal ANT+ chip, remember to click options, and set "Force ANT+ scan" on. This will force the app to try using the internal chip.

device.Before you upload, it's advisable to turn off the gps in your Garmin. Now start the app, and click Get New (Sportablet) or Get Activities (Uploader). You may see that the app is trying to connect on different frequencies: that's ok as it's part of the ANT+ protocol. After a while, the app will ask you to accept pairing on your device:

Pairing is a delicate process in ANT+, and you have to be ready to accept on your watch. If it fails, please repeat.

After pairing, the app will try to download all your activities from the watch. If you have many, the transfer may fail, as ANT+ has very delicate timing and can easily go out of synch over long transfers. Still, downloaded activities are recovered (you can check that by clicking Done: downloaded activities will appear in the activity list). You can repeatedly download until you get them all.

NOTE: it is often necessary to set up a few options in the app, as well as to set up your tablet / phone properly. So, if the process fails or times out, please read the following section. It is *very* important that you turn off wifi / data / 3g / etc on your android device.

If you keep experiencing problems downloading, read on for a few tricks.

ANT+ has very delicate timings, which can be easily disturbed by background processes, especially in a smartphone. So if you experience problems, the first thing you should do is turn off the GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, data connection on your phone.  This is known to help a lot, and honestly, is basically mandatory.

There are also a lot of settings under the ANT+ section of the app's Options. 

- Make sure diagnostics is off.

- Lower the File Transfer Chunk. It's normally set to unlimited, as this is the setting that maximizes transfer speed. If you experience failures, move it down a notch to default; if it still fails, move it to small. It's relatively normal for some smartphones to require a small chunk.

- If it still fails, enable the "Delay Ack" option.

- If that is not enough, you can try to enable the power boost. In that case, make sure you don't have any other ANT+ equipment around, because increasing power will also increase the probability of interaction with distant devices.

If nothing works, get in touch. Enable logging, try an upload, stop it manually if needed, click the red "email log" button and maybe add a few lines to the email to explain what is going on on your side :-).

This is a quick post, mostly intended for those who tried the previous version (alpha) and want to upgrade to beta. A more detailed post for the rest of you guys will be out in the weekend.

Sportablet 3.7 and the Uploader for Garmin 2.9 provide beta-level support for the 310/610/910/etc family. A passcode is no longer needed, and it's now safe to purchase the app if you feel so.

If you tried the alpha, and as I suggested, did not buy the app, the safest thing to do is to unistall the previous version and install the new one. If you have bought the alpha, just let Android upgrade to the new version. It's a safe procedure anyway. If you uninstall / reinstall the app, make sure to bring back any change you made under "options".


Note: uninstalling the app is only suggested if you used it with one of the ANT+ devices above. There is no need to reinstall anything if you used a previous version with a different Garmin device.

If the alpha app didn't work for you, usually because you have too many activities on your watch, the new version will bring them in incrementally. The first upload may still fail, but some activities will be read: click on "done" and you'll see them. Click "get new" again, and a new batch will be read, and so on until you have them all. At that point, only new activities will be read.

A few of you guys had so many activities that even reading the directory caused a timeout :-). In that case, and more generally if you experience a lot of failures while downloading (mostly on smartphones), there is also a new option that you can try:
- (choose options, of course)
- scroll down under ANT+, choose File Transfer Chunk
- try "default", if it fails try "small". Transfer will be slower but the phone may handle that traffic better.

More details in the next post. 

By the way guys: if you like the app, leave a positive comment on google play. Too many harsh people out there, who won't even get in touch when they can't make it work, and just leave 1 star :-).

Update:  Sportablet 3.7 and the Uploader for Garmin 2.9 provide beta-level support. A more detailed post will follow, but the passcode is no longer needed, and it's now safe to purchase the app if you feel so.

Sportablet 3.5 and the Uploader for Garmin 2.6Sportablet 3.5 and the Uploader for Garmin 2.6 provide alpha-level support for the Garmin Forerunner 310xt, 610, 910xt. Being still in alpha, support is disabled by default and can only be enabled with a passcode.

Note: I've just released those versions (January 20) so it may take a few hours before Google Play makes them available to you guys.

To obtain a passcode:

- Please understand that it's alpha code. It's fairly complete but lacks some error handling and error recovery. It may leave some files on your tablet in case of errors, and the only way to clean up those files will be uninstalling the app. Therefore, please don't ask for a passcode if you have purchased the app, or obtained a free activation code from me, because you may have to uninstall / reinstall the app when it goes beta or final.

- Follow the steps in my post "getting ready for ANT+". Instructions are for the 405, but you should be able to figure out how to make it work with your model (otherwise, sorry, the alpha is not for you :-). Unlike what is said in the instructions, enable device diagnostics under "options". Also, leave buffering and delay OFF at first.

- With diagnostics enabled, try to get the activities. The watch should pair and then an error message should appear, telling you that a passcode is needed. Click on the red "email log" button, send me the log. I'll get back to you with the passcode.

- Please understand that you're expected to actually try the app :-) and tell me if it's working fine with your Garmin, your tablet, your phone. I may need to add a few options to get the best reliability / performance on all platform, and withouth logs, it's hard to do so.

- for details on how to use the internal ANT+ chip in the Xperia see here.

- Please understand that, after you obtain a passcode, you should not buy the app during the alpha period, because it's recommended that you uninstall / reinstall the app when it goes beta or final.

- Please do not apply for a passcode if you're paranoid, you're afraid that my app will destroy your Garmin, your tablet, your phone, cause a nuclear war, summon demons to your house, or are otherwise suspicious that I'm a master of mischief trying to steal your precious money. Life is too short to deal with that.

If you're still reading this, yes, you're the right person to try the alpha :-)

Before you can connect your ANT+ Garmin Device to your tablet / phone, you need to install some additional piece of software and set up a few things in your watch. Here is a detailed explanation of each step. 
A couple of notes first:


- Please read this tutorial to the end, including the "tweaking" section. 99% of people having transfer problems simply didn't follow the advice in that chapter. Please do.

- If you have an HTC or LG phone running Lollipop (android 5) make sure that you get version 4.14 of the ANT+ radio service from google play, because earlier versions don't work on your device. 

Some android devices have an internal ANT+ chip. A list is being maintained by dynastream here. Note that minor model differences matter: the S4 has a working internal ant+ receiver, the S4 mini and active don't. 

If your device is in that list, you can skip Step 1, as you won't need the ANT+ USB dongle. In Step 2, you need only the Radio Service (don't install other stuff). In most cases, it will come preinstalled. However, you have to set the "force ant+ scan" option in my app.

If your device is not in that list, chances are it does not come with a big, size A usb port, so you might wonder how to plug in your ant+ dongle. The answer is quite simple: you need an OTG cable like this:

in some [rare] cases, the android device is not bringing power to the usb, so the ant+ dongle won't be powered, and unsurprisingly it won't work. Please read Step 2 on this other tutorial to learn how to supply power. In this case, a y-cable is normally safe as well as the hub.

A small number of Android devices (mostly the Sony Xperia family) come with an internal ANT+ chip. In this case, you don't need the Garmin USB key. In every other case, you need the ANT+ USB key that you're already using with your computer. Before you go further, check the key version on the bottom: it should read USB2. USB1 keys are not supported at this time.
The app is also known to work with the Suunto Movestick and with the newest "mini" ANT+ garmin dongles.

In the end, I decided to base Sportablet on the ANT+ services from Dynastream. Unlike the Garmin ANT+ Agent you install on your PC, those ANT+ services don't know about your Garmin device, but know about the ANT+ hardware (the USB key, the internal chip on Xperia, etc). This should make my app a bit more future-proof (read: I shouldn't have to implement low-level drivers for new keys). We'll see :-). Meanwhile, that means you have to install two free apps (Android services actually) from Google Play:
- The ANT Radio Service (which deals with ANT+ channels)
- The ANT USB Service (which deals with the USB key). If you have an internal ANT+ chip (like the Xperia) you don't need this. See here for details on using an Xperia.

   Go ahead and do it! 

Note that those apps require your Android device to be properly classified by Google Play as one with USB Host capabilities. Some devices, which are host-capable, are not properly classified in Google Play. In that case, unfortunately, the ANT+ services will result "incompatible" with your device and you won't be able to download them. As they're provided by Dynastream, there is little I can do about it - you'll have to find an alternative way to obtain and install the APK (or convince Dynastream to drop the USB HOST requirement from their manifest, as I did for Sportablet). 

Insert your USB key. If you have a micro-usb connector, remember that you need to use a USB OTG adapter. This dialog should pop up from the ANT+ Service:

of course, you have to accept.
If the dialog does not pop up, your USB key is not being recognized by the ANT+ Service. That's not part of Sportablet, so I can't really help you much on this side. Please check the Google Play page for the two ANT+ Service apps, as there are quite a few hints from users in the comments section.

Now, if you want to double-check that it works, and you have a chest strap that you use with your Garmin, you can also download the free ANT+ Demo from Dynastream. It's a simple app that can connect with a chest strap or a scale and show you some values (it won't connect with your Garmin, just with the HR belt). If the ANT+ Demo works, everything has been set up properly. If you don't have a chest strap, just skip this step.

It's time to fiddle with the bezel a little and make sure ANT+ is properly set up. Although you've probably done this before to pair your Garmin with your PC, you have to do this again to enable pairing with your Android device, and to make sure that all the activities in your watch will be sent. The following pics are based on a Forerunner 405.

Choose Settings > ANT+ > Computer

Make sure that:

Run Sportablet. Don't click on Get new yet. First, make sure that your watch is not in stand-by, by clicking the top button. I've found that the watch transmits more reliably while in Time mode:

note: this part is no longer necessary with the latest version, I'll remove it as people upgrade:
UPDATE (July 2014). Due to a new version of the Dynastream Service, before you click get new please get into the options, scroll down to the ANT+ section, scroll down to the last entry (it should read "Force Claim Interface") and turn that ON. This is usually needed only if you use the ANT+ USB dongle, and not necessary if you have a built-in ANT+ chip in your phone.

Now click the Get new button. You may see that the app is trying to connect on different frequencies: that's ok as it's part of the ANT+ protocol. After a while, the app will ask you to accept pairing on your device:

do so by clicking the top button on your watch. After that, it should proceed as usual: Runs are downloaded, then Laps, then Tracks. At the end, the dialog will report how many new activities you got. Click Done to get back to your main screen. 

NOTE: if you're using an Xperia or another device with internal ANT+ chip, remember to click options, and set "Force ANT+ scan" on. This will force the app to try using the internal chip.


NOTE: it is often necessary to set up a few options in the app, as well as to set up your tablet / phone properly. So, if the process fails or times out, please read the following section. It is *very* important that you turn off wifi / data / 3g / etc on your android device.

ANT+ has very delicate timings, which can be easily disturbed by background processes, especially in a smartphone. So if you experience problems, the first thing you should do is turn off the GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, data connection on your phone. This is known to help a lot, and honestly, is basically mandatory.

ANT+ is not particularly good at transferring long sequences of data, and the protocol Garmin adopted on top of it for the 405/410 family does not allow to retry on failures, so the combination is a little flaky on some devices. If you have any problem downloading long activities, Sportablet and the Uploader provides a few settings that you can try (under "options")

- First, make sure that diagnostics is turned off. ANT+ is very time sensitive, and on some devices even the time spent on logging seems to cause problems.
- Next, just enable "Delay Ack". Leave all the other ANT+ options off. This should give the watch a little more time to synch with the tablet during long bursts.
- If that still fails, turn "Boost TX power" on.
- If you still have problems, get in touch. The other settings are not effective for a 405/410.