For about 5 years I have been using a Garmin watch when I go running to record the route and the time, then downloading the record onto my pc. When Garmin has an update for the software that is on the pc (Garmin Express), it tells me on my pc, and gives me the choice whether I download or not. Occasionally, the watch tells me there is an update available. I assumed that was for the software on the watch itself. For a long time, for both watch and pc, I would accept the download, but then one day, after a pc download, the Garmin on my pc stopped working. Garmin Helpdesk told me that they no longer supported Win 7, which is the most modern OS software that my pc will work with. I managed to persuade them to let me have a copy of the last version of the pc software that would work with Win 7. I stored it somewhere safe, and installed it. Everything worked upto and including last Saturday's run, but then my watch said there was an update which, as far as I could see, didn't give me the choice. I had to download on my watch whether I wanted to or not.
I ran today, but when I tried to download the record onto my pc, the pc software wouldn't open Garmin Connect. Garmin Connect is the software that opens the latest record so that I can see it. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling Garmin Express, but it hasn't made any difference. Garmin Connect opens a page in Chrome as usual, and just below it a URL line (is that the correct name?) where it has 'connect.garmin.com/modern/home', again as usual, but then does nothing.
I contacted Garmin's Helpdesk but they didn't solve the problem.
I took my Garmin watch to a pc that had Win 11 on it, as well as a Garmin Express installation, and it was able to download the Garmin record from the watch without problem. That suggests the problem isn't with the watch and connecting cable.
Garmin's Helpdesk insisted that the watch software for my model of watch hadn't been updated for at least 5 years, though the recent update isn't the only one I've had over the time I've had it. However, the watch update may be a red herring.
As I told Garmin's Helpdesk, if I go to using Win 11, I am going to have to buy a new pc, and any necessary software (Win 11, etc), but the cost doesn't end there. I have a perfectly good printer that has an old type of interface from the computer, so that would have to be replaced too because new pcs dont have that interface.
Therefore, but has anyone on the forum had this Garmin problem, and how did you solve it? Sorry the story is so long,
Thanks for any help
