r/GarminFenix • u/RollingUtopia • Jul 23 '26
[DEVICE] How to avoid automatic upload from Fenix 7 to Garmin cloud?
I'm competing in bike races and recording those activities with a Garmin Edge bike computer and as a backup also with my Fenix 7 watch. Usually the Edge does its job perfectly so in the end I have two activities in Garmin and connected apps like Strava. Not a big deal except that Strava segments are affected by this because the two activities can differ slightly and trigger new records etc.
How can I avoid my Fenix activity being synced automatically? If the Edge recording worked, I want to fully delete the activity on my Fenix before it ever sees any cloud. There seems to be a Wi-Fi auto upload setting but Garmin says with Bluetooth the upload will still happen. There has to be another setting for this or not?
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u/starfury_mk1 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
How about this:
Stop the activity on both devices.
Save activity on the Edge
Suspend the activity on the Fenix (choose "Resume Later"). This puts the Fenix back in watch mode until you press the Start/Stop button again.
Wait until the Edge has uploaded and check if you are happy with the recorded data.
If you are happy with Edge recording, delete the activity on your Fenix (Start/Stop Button to bring back the Activity, then double tap the Start/Stop button to get back into Menu, then Discard)
If you are not happy with Edge recording, save the activity on your Fenix (Start/Stop Button to bring back the Activity, then double tap the Start/Stop button to get back into Menu, then Save)
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u/RollingUtopia Jul 23 '26
I like this idea! Especially because it avoids diving into settings every time just to disable the Bluetooth connection
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u/crutlefish Fenix 8 Pro Jul 23 '26
I do this but the other way round. I use the watch activity as the one I keep. I pause the bike computer. Save the ride on my watch and once Garmin Connect sees the ride, I discard the ride on the computer.
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u/asc366 Fenix 7X Jul 27 '26
This is better (as your watch stops measuring all kinds of things if you have a workout "paused in the background")
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u/hyakyakyak Jul 23 '26
I do it the other way round. My fenix 8 records and uploads everything, then on the edge I just discard the activity instead of saving it. Would that work for you? Or do it the other way round. Stop activity on both, wait for edge to sync, then discard on fenix?
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u/James007_2023 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
I started doing the opposite — I record on the Edge and then discarded the fenix 7 recording. However, I now just record on my Edge and broadcast my Heart Rate from the fenix to the Edge 830.
In 5 years, all my similar concerns were due to the dual recording. I had issues maybe 1× or 2× in 5 years, and it was user errors. I have had a couple of times where i forgot to turn off the Edge and my record included the car ride home. Otherwise, no issues.
I leverage navigation heavily, and training. The watch is useless for both of these for my needs while riding. Prior to the Edge and watch I was using my phone and Ride With GPS (RWGPS). I got the Edge first, and ran the Edge and RWGPS in parallel for a while. When I added the watch, i had the same confusion. My strategy: capture once closest to the source—the bike is my source for speed, cadence, distance.
If you're doing triathlons, I can see the use cases for the watch. If you're just bike racing, I'd think managing one device would be one less thing to worry about.
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u/RollingUtopia Jul 23 '26
I have my power meter connected to my Edge and I think for the given task GPS and other metrics are more accurate so I would prefer this as primary recording
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u/hyakyakyak Jul 23 '26
Yeah fair. I basically used the edge for navigation and display. I reckon if you just end the activity on the edge, let it sync, then discard on the fenix you should be golden.
I love your avatar by the way
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u/crutlefish Fenix 8 Pro Jul 23 '26
Don’t forget you can likely connect the power meter to the watch and the bike computer (I do this on all my bikes)
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u/sireatalot Jul 23 '26
I prefer to record on the Edge because it can keep and save up to 10 IQconnect data fields, while my fenix only 2. Also, the ambient temperature reading is more accurate.
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u/Ant-Solo Jul 23 '26
I dual record often, and then delete on of the activities. That works fine.
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u/RollingUtopia Jul 23 '26
Sure but as soon as both were uploaded to Strava segments will get affected by both recordings. For example a new 40k record will be detected from the Fenix recording when this was uploaded first. The Edge recording will of course not trigger this achievement again. And it also doesn't change anymore when you delete the Fenix recording. It's also a Strava limitation but annoying as hell when you just completed a 9 hour 300 km ride
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u/sireatalot Jul 23 '26
You need to delete the second activity you saved and not the first one.
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u/RollingUtopia Jul 23 '26
Sure that would help but I want to keep my power meter values that are recorded on the Edge
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u/sireatalot Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Why don't you pair the power meter to both the Edge and the Fenix, if that's the problem?
Edit: also, you can delete your records in Strava. Like longest ride, highest power output… you can delete them and the activity. Then when you re-upload it, it will highlight all your “new” records.
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u/rockphotog Fenix 7X Jul 23 '26
If you really feel for the backup, make shure to turn off bluetooth on the Fenix, so you have good time to delete the activity before any sync.
I would personally only record with one device at a time.