Garmin Physio TrueUp Not Working? Try these fixes.

Garmin Physio True Up was introduced to provide a seamless experience for users who prefer using multiple Garmin devices for tracking their fitness activities. 

For instance, let’s say you use a Garmin watch (let’s say Forerunner 955) for running and a bike computer (Edge 1030) for cycling.

With Physio True Up, your data will be automatically synced between your Garmin watch and bike computer, allowing you to leave one device at home when performing a particular activity. 

This way you don’t have to keep both Garmin devices to track advanced metrics like ‘Training load’ & recovery time. 

While this data sync feature is generally reliable, some users have reported Garmin Physio TrueUp feature is not working for them.

Here are a few solutions to fix the Physio TrueUp that worked for most people.

Run-of-the-mill fixes:

Here are some usual fixes you would  Garmin Support 

1. Uninstall the Garmin Connect app from your mobile device, then download and reinstall it from the app store. 
2. Ensure that both devices are properly syncing the latest data to the Garmin connect app.
3. Toggle the Physio TureUp off and on.
4. Update Garmin Connect and all the Garmin Devices to the latest firmware.
5. This is a more drastic measure, but resetting the Garmin devices to their factory settings can plug the minor firmware bugs that may be preventing Physio TrueUp from working.

Is the Garmin Physio TrueUp Really Broken?

In most cases, Garmin Physio True Up is not broken, and the issue is often due to either device compatibility or a specific metric that cannot be synced.

The first cases rarely occur as most of the Garmin devices released in the last 7 years support this feature.

Check Compatibility of your Garmin Devices:

The first thing you need to check is the compatibility of your Garmin Devices. Skip this section if you are sure about it.

Physio True Up is available on many newer Garmin devices, including fitness watches, bike computers, and other fitness devices.

Still, you can refer to the user manual to cross-check whether your devices are compatible.

Let’s save you the trouble.

1. Open the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone and navigate to the “Devices” tab. 
2. Select the Garmin device you want to enable Physio True Up on.
3. Tap on “Device Settings” and then find the “Physio True Up” feature from the list of options.

If no such toggle appears for you for any of the devices you want to sync, there is simply no need to read this post. One of your devices is not compatible.

Popular Physio TureUp Compatible devices:

As almost all the Garmin devices from 2016 and onwards are compatible with the Physio True Up feature, there are slim chances yours won’t make it to the list.

Check Compatibility of the metric you are trying to sync:

It’s important to check if the specific metric you are trying to sync is compatible with the Physio TrueUp tool.

Garmin Physio True Up can sync various physiological metrics, such as heart rate, VO2 max, and Training Load Focus, among others. However, that doesn’t cover all physiological metrics Garmin devices can track.

Here is what Garmin has to say about the compatible metrics in the Physio TrueUp feature.

• VO2 Max
• FTP and Power Zone.
• Training Load Focus
• Heat & Altitude Acclimation
• Race Predictor
• Last Activity/Sport Widget
• Last Run/Ride/Swim Widgets
• Weekly and Monthly Totals
• Training Load
• Recovery Time
• Sleep (Both devices must support ‘Sleep Score’ and ‘Insights’ OR compatible with Sleep True Up)

Just recently, Garmin added three new metrics to this list but only for select devices (UTS-compatible Garmin devices)

• HRV Status
• Training Readiness
• Training Status

Complete list of devices that support Unified Training Status:

What does this mean?

You can’t sync ‘Training Readiness’ data between Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE and Garmin Forerunner 955. 

So if you have been trying to sync one of these three new metrics across non-UTS devices, this might be your answer. 

The Physio TrueUp is not broken, rather some  Garmin devices are intentionally kept out by the company. 

What if both devices are UTS compatible, and still you can’t sync these metrics? Look for a firmware update, and install it if there is any. Reboot both Garmin devices and try syncing them again. 

Keep in mind that unified training status is a new feature, and may get finicky at times. It would need several firmware updates before it is perfected for compatible Garmin watches.

‘Training Load’ not Syncing:

Garmin’s Training load is a complicated metric that tracks the cumulative amount of physical stress that a user’s body experiences over time.

The metric is divided into different categories, including “Recovery,” “Maintaining,” and “Productive.”

1. Recovery: This refers to the amount of physical stress that the body experiences during rest or low-intensity activity, such as light walking or stretching.
2. Maintaining: This refers to the amount of physical stress that the body experiences during moderate-intensity activity, such as jogging or cycling at a steady pace.
3. Productive: This refers to the amount of physical stress that the body experiences during high-intensity activity, such as sprinting or heavy weight lifting.

As you can see, the training load is included in the list of metrics that can be synced with the Physio TrueUp tool. And yet, some users find it hard to make it work.

A Reddit user recently reported facing the same problem with his Garmin bike computer and watch.

The user had two Garmin devices connected to Garmin Connect, a Forerunner 745 and an Edge 530, which are used to track different types of activities (running, cycling). 

In the Garmin Connect app, the training load data from the bike computer was categorized as “recovery”, and from the Watch as ‘maintaining’. 

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In short, the data was not combined even when the Physio TrueUp feature was turned on. 

Garmin team has acknowledged the bug related to Training Load syncing issues and is working on a fix. In the meantime, it’s helpful that they have offered a workaround to help users continue to track their training load.

What is the Workaround to Sync Training Load?

1. ​​On each Garmin device, navigate to the settings menu and locate the True Up feature.
2. Disable the True Up feature on both devices.
3. Sync each device individually to Garmin Connect to ensure that all data is up-to-date.
4. Once both devices have synced, turn on the True Up feature on both devices.
5. Sync both devices to Garmin Connect again.
6. Check the Training Load data to see if it has synced correctly.

If this workaround doesn’t work for you, all you can do is wait until Garmin come up with a proper solution.

Are both Garmin devices running the same Training Load Algorithm?

Take a close look at the following list:

If any of your devices is not on the list, you would never get the same training load values even when properly syncing through the Physio True Up. Why?

The mentioned devices have revamped more accurate training load algorithms that didn’t make it to the older devices. 

Garmin illustrated this with the example of the Forerunner 935 and Edge 1030 Plus. FR 935 runs the old algorithms to calculate training load so its data will not be combined with the relatively latest bike computer even though both devices are compatible with the Physio Ture Up.

Is the Garmin Server Down?

It’s possible that the Garmin servers are down.  What does that have to do with Physio True Up?

To sync metrics between two Garmin devices, you need to first sync it to the Garmin connect app. 

If the servers are down, it may not be possible to complete the initial sync, preventing the data from being shared between devices.

This can be caused by a variety of factors, such as maintenance or system updates. 

The issue is usually temporary, and the servers are typically restored within a few hours. 

You can check the Garmin status page or contact Garmin support for more information on any known outages or issues.

Wrapping Up:

You can try some usual fixes like removing the Garmin devices from the Garmin Connect App, and reconfiguring them; resetting the devices and the app; and toggling the Physio TrueUp switch on and off.

If the feature has recently stopped working for you, just check the Garmin Connect Server Status. 

Make sure that you are using the feature the right way and not expecting something it is incapable to do by design. For instance, metrics like Training readiness, sleep, and HRV status only sync for devices that support Unified Training Status.