how to connect AirPods to garmin watch? (Venu, FR, Vivoactive)

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Pairing earbuds or headphones to a Garmin watch is a great way to listen to music or take hands-free calls (only with Garmin Venu 2 Plus) while you’re out and about.

Most Garmin Watches these days come with music storage of almost 500 songs. Plus, there are many third-party music streaming apps you can install on your Garmin that include Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartradio, and Deezer.

Except for Venu 2 Plus, all Garmin Watches lacks a built-in speaker or microphone, you’ll need to use a pair of headphones or earbuds to listen to music. Apple Airpods or Airpods Pro is a great option to pair with your Garmin Watch as they are the gold standard of wireless earbuds.

In this post, we’ll show you how to pair AirPods and AirPods Pro with your Garmin watch. We have discussed the pairing process of different Garmin Watches with Airpods in detail below.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

Do Airpods work with Garmin Watch?

Yes, Apple Airpods and Airpods Pro do work with a Garmin Watch. But you have to keep in mind that only those Garmin Watches which have an integrated music player and storage can take benefit from pairing external headsets.

Apart from Apple Airpods a range of earbuds and headphones by Bose, Anker, Beats, and others are compatible with Garmin watches.

How to connect Airpods To Garmin Vivoactive Watch (4/4S/3)?

Not all watches in the Vivoactive Series can be paired to AirPods or AirPods Pro. This is simply because only the Vivoactive 3 Music, Vivoactive 4/4S models have an integrated music player that supports playback of locally stored music only.

To Connect Airpods/Airpods pro with Garmin Vivoactive 4/4S, follow the steps below:

  1. Place both AirPods in the charging case and then Press and HOLD the button on the back of the charging case until the LED light starts flashing WHITE to indicate pairing mode.
  2. On Garmin Vivoactive, access the main menu and Tap settings.
  3. Scroll Down and find tap on the ‘Phone‘ option. Tap on ‘Status‘ to turn on the Bluetooth connectivity
  4. Navigate back to the main menu, tap ‘sensors’ and click ‘add new’, and then ‘headphones’. It will start searching for nearby Airpods for pairing.
  5. Now click on the name of your Airpods and it will take a few seconds to connect your Garmin Vivoactive to your Airpods Pro.
  6. Play any track on your Garmin watch and if you can hear the music playing on the Airpods, then you have successfully paired the two devices.

In the same way, you can connect Apple Airpods to Garmin Vivoactive 3.

Pair Airpods With Garmin Venu Watch (2/2S/SQ Music)?

Apple Airpods can connect to all Venu Series watches except for the base variant of Venu SQ Music. No matter if you own the original Venu or the latest Venu 2 Plus, you can connect them with your Airpods or Airpods pro.

Here is how you can connect Airpods to Garmin Venu 2S.

  1. Make sure that your Airpods are in the charging case, fully charged, and within close range of Venu 2S.
  2. Enable Airpod’s pairing mode by pressing the button at the back of the charging case.
  3. Open Settings on your Venu 2S.
  4. Select > Music > Headphones > Add New.
  5. Select your Airpods/Airpods Pro, and wait for a while to complete the pairing process.
  6. Play any song from your playlist on the Venu 2 to test the pairing.

All Watches in the Venu Series can be connected to the Apple Airpods this way.

Link Airpods To Garmin Fenix Watch (7,6,5)?

Garmin Fenix 7 is the latest lineup of Fenix watches and unlike its predecessor, it comes with a touchscreen just like Venu and Vivoactive Series watches.

To pair Airpods with Garmin Fenix 7 is, therefore, easier than its predecessor as navigating on a touchscreen is far easier than using old school buttons.

Here is how you can connect Fenix 7 with your Airpods Pro:

  • Put both the Airpods in the charging case and enable pairing mode by holding down the button on the back of the case.
  • On Fenix 7, open the Settings App and select ‘Music’.
  • Tap on Headphones, and select ‘ Add New’.
  • Select Apple Airpods from the list and wait for the pairing to complete.
  • You can now play any track from your music library on Fenix 7.

You will find music storage on only the ‘Pro’ version of the Fenix 6 lineup.

To link Airpods to Garmin Fenix 6 or 5 Series watches, you will have to follow these steps:

  • Press the Up Menu Button to open the Settings
  • Press the down button to scroll to ‘Music‘, and then press the start/stop button.
  • Now, Press the down button to scroll to ‘Headphones’, and then press the Start button.
  • You will see a list of all the compatible headphones, use the down arrow until you see ‘Apple AirPods’, and then press the Start button.
  • The Fenix 6 will now start searching for your Airpods, select them when they appear on the list.
  • You have successfully connected your Fenix 6 with Airpods, and you can now play music stored on your watch.

Connect Airpods To Garmin Forerunner Watch (945,245 Music)?

Like the Fenix 6 and 5 Series, Garmin Forerunner Series also doesn’t have touchscreen support. Therefore, connecting Airpods with Forerunner is a bit tedious as you will have to use the button interface to navigate through the menus.

Garmin Forerunner Series Watches that have music:

  • FR 245 Music
  • FR 645 Music
  • FR 745
  • FR 935/945

Except for 645 Music, You can easily link these watches to your Airpods by following these steps:

  • Put AirPods into the charging case, and make sure they are not connected to any other device.
  • On your Forerunner watch, open the Settings App by pressing the Up Button.
  • Navigate to the ‘Music’ option using the Down Button on the watch and press the start button to select it.
  • Now, scroll down to ‘Headphones’ using the up/down arrow keys and then press the start button.
  • You will now see the ‘Add New’ option and then press the Start button.
  • Now, your Forerunner would take a few seconds to search for Airpod/Airpod Pro. Once it is available, select the earphones by pressing the start/Stop button.
  • You have successfully connected your Forerunner with Airpods, and you can now play MP3 music stored on the watch or Spotify playbacks.

Now, to pair Airpods to Garmin Forerunner 645 Music.

  • Follow the above steps until you find the Settings menu.
  • In the Settings Menu, scroll down to the ‘Sensors and Accessories’ option and press the Start/Stop Button.
  • Find ‘Headphones’ by pressing down arrow keys, and then press the start/stop button
  • All other steps are the same as on other Garmin Forerunner Watches.

Frequently Asked Questions: Sync Garmin and Airpods

Yes, all Garmin watches are compatible with iPhones. However, the iPhone should be running iOS 7 or later. You will have to download the Garmin Connect app from the App Store and install it on your iPhone first. Next, you need to enable Bluetooth on both devices and then pair them.

There could be a few reasons why your AirPods won’t connect to your Garmin watch:

  • The AirPods are not in pairing mode, or connected to any other device.
  • The Garmin watch is not in pairing mode.
  • Your Garmin watch is not in pairing mode or connected to other headphones.
  • The Bluetooth connection between the two devices is weak as they are far away.
  • There is interference from other electronic devices.

Yes, all Garmin watches are compatible with iPhones. However, the iPhone should be running iOS 7 or later. You will have to download the Garmin Connect app from the App Store and install it on your iPhone first. Next, you need to enable Bluetooth on both devices and then pair them.

There could be a few reasons why your AirPods won’t connect to your Garmin watch:

  • The AirPods are not in pairing mode, or connected to any other device.
  • The Garmin watch is not in pairing mode.
  • Your Garmin watch is not in pairing mode or connected to other headphones.
  • The Bluetooth connection between the two devices is weak as they are far away.
  • There is interference from other electronic devices.

You can try one of the following methods to fix audio issues when using Airpods with the Garmin Music watch:

  • Make sure that both your Airpods and Garmin watch have the latest firmware installed. Outdated firmware can sometimes cause audio issues.
  • Turn off Bluetooth on other devices as if there your Airpods are also connected to iPhone or iPad, it can interfere with the audio quality.
  • Restart your Garmin watch and Airpods, this will help resolve any temporary glitches that might be causing the audio issues. In other cases, you will have to reset your Airpods.
  • Charge both devices as the low battery can also lead to audio issues.

If you are still facing audio issues, it is recommended that you contact Apple or Garmin support for further assistance.

Final Words:

In this post, we have tried our best to help toy connect your Airpods or Airpods Pro with Garmin watch. We have also looked at some of the most frequently asked questions about using Airpods with Garmin watches.

We hope that this article has been helpful and that you are now able to successfully pair your Airpods with your Garmin watch.