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Is there an open-source version of the Garmin Connect app for Android?
I am considering the purchase of a Garmin GPS watch, but I don't want to run the bloated Garmin Connect app on my phone. Really all I want, is the ability to pull coordinates from my watch (.gpx files) and put them on my phone or computer. Does a privacy-respecting app like this exist?
thanks for the suggestion! I'll check it out
Have you tried this app specifically with a garmin watch? Seems like a well built maps app, better than the one I am currently using, but I can't find any garmin functionality within it.
https://www.goldencheetah.org/ (though not a mobile app) might do this. It's aimed for cycling, but perhaps it can pull GPX from a Garmin watch too.
You can get the .fit files off of your watch over usb MTP, however I've never connected it with my phone over usb. You'd need a USB C Garmin cable, or a USB C to USB A adapter. The files are in the ACTIVITY directory on the watch, the names aren't useful but you can find the one you want by timestamp. If you need gpx instead of fit you'll need to convert them, but most training analysis tools know what to do with fit files.
It's probably worth mentioning that you'd lose out on a lot of the watch's functionality by not having the Connect app. It may be better to go with a cheaper brand that only records position and sensor data.
oh really? Thats the kind of functionality I am looking for actually. I've never actually used a garmin watch. Do they all allow file transfer over USB? Also, with most of them is it possible to disable bluetooth or is that just on be default all the time?
I don't know about all of the models, but the Fenix and Forerunner series do allow you to copy files over USB. You can disable the phone connection in the watch settings, which presumably will save a little battery life. I've never disabled mine, so not sure how much of an effect it has.
One thing I forgot to mention earlier is that you will need to use the Connect app at least once to set the watch up.