The best Garmin smartwatches offer onboard storage for music and podcasts. This perk means that you can jam out to your tunes while working out, without having to lug around a hefty smartphone.
Best of all, Garmin's offline music feature plays nicely with many of the most popular streaming apps, including Spotify and Amazon Music.
However, the process to initially get your preferred streaming downloaded and synced to your Garmin is slightly involved, which is why I am here to help.
Follow along as I walk you through the complete process, which should take roughly 15 minutes. The result will be a smartwatch filled to the brim with all your favorite pump-up tracks.
Also, while I'm specifically using Spotify for this explainer, the process of adding music to your Garmin watch using one of the other supported streaming platforms is essentially the same.
How to save Spotify music to your Garmin watch
- Download the Garmin Connect IQ app to your smartphone
- Log in to the app store and search for Spotify (or your preferred music app)
- Download the app and accept permissions
- On your Garmin watch, select Music from the menus and then Spotify
- Open the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone, enter your Spotify login credentials, and agree to the terms
- Open the Spotify app on your Garmin watch and tap "Get started"
- Select the playlists and/or podcasts you wish to download for offline listening
- Wait for the music to sync; once complete, your download will appear in the Spotify music library on your watch
- Pair some Bluetooth headphones with your Garmin and get your jam on
Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.
1. Download the Garmin Connect IQ app to your smartphone
To save Spotify music to your Garmin smartwatch for offline listening, you'll first need to download the Garmin Connect IQ app to your smartphone. You'll find it in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
2. Log in to the app store and search for Spotify (or your preferred music app)
Open the Connect IQ app and select the Garmin watch you'd like to download Spotify to. Next, search for Spotify or your preferred music streaming platform. Garmin watches support Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, and YouTube Music.
3. Download the app and accept permissions
Once you've located your preferred music streaming app, tap "Install" and accept any permissions. Note: Make sure your Garmin watch is close by. After a few minutes, the app should appear on your smartwatch.
4. On your Garmin watch, select 'Music' from the menus and then Spotify
Once you receive the notification that the app has been successfully installed, open your Garmin's menus and select "Music" and then "Music providers." Go ahead and tap on Spotify or your streaming platform of choice. This should result in a message stating you need to log in via the Garmin Connect app on your phone.
5. Open the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone, enter your Spotify login credentials
Before opening the Garmin Connect app, first make sure it's up to date. With that taken care of, open the Garmin Connect app; a pop-up should appear asking you to sign in to Spotify or your preferred streaming platform. Tap "Sign In" and enter your app login credentials when prompted.
6. Open the Spotify app on your Garmin watch and tap 'Get started'
At this point, you should be able to open the Spotify app on your Garmin watch. Go ahead and tap "Get started" to select playlists or podcasts you wish to download to the watch locally for offline listening.
7. Select the playlists and/or podcasts you wish to download
Tap the green "Add" button to download a playlist or podcast. Note: You can't search for individual artists or albums, but you can view and download the songs you most recently listened to.
8. Wait for the music to sync
Once you're happy with your music/podcast selection, go ahead and confirm your downloads and wait for the data to sync to the watch. This can take anywhere from several minutes to half an hour, depending on how much your tranfering.
9. Pair some Bluetooth headphones with your Garmin and get your jam on
Once the download is complete, you'll receive a message stating as much. Your playlist/podcast(s) can now be selected from the Spotify "Library" tab. Now it's time to pair a set of Bluetooth headphones with your Garmin watch, ditch your phone, and head out for a run/walk/hike/bike ride with some sweet, sweet music playing in your ears.
How many songs/podcasts you can save depends on which Garmin smartwatch model you own. The Garmin Forerunner 570, for example, has 8GB of internal storage, which should be enough to save 500 or more songs/podcasts.
Which begs the question, what do you like to listen to while working out? I'm a fan of punk rock and classic hip-hop; let me know your preferences in the comments below.
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