Garmin Connect IQ App

SWIMTAG's new Garmin Connect IQ app is available in the Connect IQ App store now.

The App uses your Garmin Watch's swim detection algorithms on the watch for displaying live results so the results you see on your watch will be the same as using the Garmin Pool Swim app. However the SWIMTAG app has some key differences.

1. The app records the accelerometer data in the background and uses this for post-swim analysis and processing. Using our in-house machine learning model we are able to provide a far more accurate breakdown of your swim. You can visualise your swim afterwards by opening the Swim Editor in SWIMTAG afterwards to see this plotted in the background.
2. When you press the LAP/BACK button to add an interval the app stops recording completely. You will notice the motion data is flatlined during this time. This ensures that no false lengths are picked up while you're resting.

Availability

The App is available for 96 Garmin watch models in total. This includes every modern device that supports Pool Swimming (with the exception of the Swim 2 model which doesn't allow watch apps to be installed). 

While we have made every effort to test on all device simulators we need your help to report any issues that might appear on your own device. No matter how trivial please let us know by emailing [e-mail]..

The SWIMTAG App can be downloaded onto your watch by using the Garmin Connect IQ app on your phone, simply search for 'SWIMTAG'.

We are keen to hear your feedback. If you are a regular Garmin swimmers we'd like to hear which bits you like / dislike about the SWIMTAG app and do you have any suggestions for things you'd like to see in it. Now is your opportunity, we are all ears!

How To Use

When you first open the app you will see a welcome message, press BACK to close this and the home screen will display that shows the current time and a default option to 'Start 25m Swim' (or 25yd depending on your watch settings). From here you can press START to start recording a new swim straight away.

All other options can be found from the main menu, press UP or DOWN to open the menu and you can choose to:

• Choose Pool (or add a new pool size option)
• Setup Stats - Configure which stats you want to see while swimming
• Settings - Find extra settings for the app
• Swim History - View your last 5 swim summaries stored on your watch

Swim Controls

To start recording a new swim press START from the home screen or select 'Start Swim' from the menu.  You will be counted down from 5 seconds to start.

Once swimming we try to mirror the Garmin Pool Swim app to keep things familiar:

• Press the LAP/BACK button once to enter 'Rest mode' (or Interval in Garmin-speak). This will pause the recording and change the colour of the display. Press the same LAP/BACK button again when you are ready to start swimming again.
• Press the START/STOP button to bring up the swim menu, from here you can choose to save or discard the current recording. If you want to save directly you can hold the START/STOP button for 2 seconds.

After saving you will see a swim summary view that gives you an overview of your swim. Your swim will sync with Garmin Connect automatically. If you have your SWIMTAG account connected to Garmin Connect it should also publish to SWIMTAG at the same time.

APP Info

The SWIMTAG Garmin watch app is the alternative pool swimming watch app aimed at ALL levels of swimmers. 

 

The app can be used standalone on your watch, but for the best experience - sync with your SWIMTAG account.

Why use SWIMTAG vs. Garmin Pool Swim?

The SWIMTAG App offers a few additional features that we think you will find useful and motivate you to swim those extra few laps each session.

 

Do you find your Garmin swim results are sometimes missing a lap, or maybe an unexpected stop mid-length triggers a new olympic PB?

 

With SWIMTAG you can easily make adjustments to your swims using our Swim Editor tool, the motion data from your Garmin watch is sent to us along with the swim results so that you can really see your swim and make adjustments to your data afterwards. This is especially important when you are taking part in one of our virtual competitions or challenges and one length can make the different between 1st and 2nd.

 

On top of this we have also developed a customisable UI that lets you pick the layout and statistics that are important to you in the pool.

 

If you are an existing SWIMTAG user your swim history and local pools will be synced to your watch so you can pick your pool from the list and the pool will be set for you in SWIMTAG.

 

FAQ's

Will my results still appear in Garmin Connect?

 

Yes, under the hood SWIMTAG uses the same swim recording process as the default Pool Swim app, it will still sync to Garmin Connect in the same way as before. So if you decide SWIMTAG is not for you, just switch back and you won't have lost any data.

 

How do I sync my SWIMTAG Account?

 

1. First ensure your SWIMTAG account is connected to Garmin Connect (instructions here)
2. Record your first swim using the SWIMTAG Garmin App on your watch, once saved, ensure the swim has uploaded to SWIMTAG via Garmin Connect
3. On your SWIMTAG Watch App press DOWN > Settings > Sync.
4. Voila! If you go to 'Choose Pools' you should see your home pools have loaded onto your watch

Sync your SWIMTAG account

Select 'Choose Pool' to see your local pool list

How Do I Choose Which Stats Appear During Swimming?

From the watch app press DOWN then choose 'Setup Stats' from the menu, you can edit the primary view (this is the view that is always shown when you start your swim), or you can add alternative views, which can be shown by pressing/swiping UP/DOWN during your swim.

Once you have chosen the view to edit, you can press UP/DOWN to change which stat is selected and SELECT to cycle through the available stats.

Choose the view type you prefer

The default view has 4 stats visible, you can change this by pressing BACK then CHANGE VIEW, then choose which view type (DOUBLE, TRIPLE or QUAD) by pressing/swiping UP/DOWN.

The results shown on my Watch are different from those published to SWIMTAG?

The results you see on your watch and on Garmin Connect are based on your watches built-in algorithms for detecting swimming, these algorithms run 'on-the-fly' as the watch records and are limited to the processing power of your watch (which is limited) this is why they can be prone to errors. 

At SWIMTAG we have developed our own in-house Machine Learning model that is very capable at processing swimming data on our servers. After testing our ML model on Garmin recording we noticed that the results are consistently better and more accurate.

So when we receive your swimming results from Garmin Connect we will run the data through our ML model and make adjustments to ensure it is accurate.

Swimmers can see their original Garmin results in the Swim Editor (currently only on the main website and not on the mobile app) by clicking the 'Garmin Results' tab on the right.

If a swimmer wishes to keep their Garmin results by default they can do this via the Settings > Watches menu and disable the 'Enable SWIMTAG processing' toggle switch. This prevent your Garmin results from being overwritten when the swim is published.

How Do I See The Motion Data From My Swim

Once your swim has published to SWIMTAG you can log into your account, on the website go to Profile  > Edit Swim > Modify Data

On the SWIMTAG App, first ensure you have the latest version installed from the App Store, then you open the profile area and press 'View Swim' to load the swim editor then press the Edit icon to see the swim.

The lengths don't line up with the motion data in the background

This seems to be an issue on Forerunner/Fenix devices, it happens when you rest between lengths but don't enter rest mode (press LAP), the position of the lengths then drifts out of sync with the actual motion data, you can prevent this happening by pressing LAP whenever to take a rest between lengths.

Will My Edited Swim Results Be Sent Back To Garmin Connect?

Garmin Connect doesn't allow automatic imports but you can download your swim as a .FIT file and upload back into Garmin Connect if you wish.

I am struggling to read the numbers on the screen

We have added a 'High Contrast' mode that will revert the screen to Black/White, go to Settings from the main menu to enable this.

How do I add an interval during my swim?

While you are swimming press LAP/BACK to enter rest mode, this will add a new interval and the band will stop recording while you rest. When you are about to start swimming press LAP/BACK again to go back to swimming mode. Your interval stats will reset and you will see a comparison of your current interval vs the last one.

We are testing an Auto-Rest function that detects when to go into rest mode automatically and hope to have this available soon.

How do I add a drills / kick sets?

During your swim press SELECT once to open the swim menu then select 'Choose Drill' to show a list of available drill items, select which one you want to start this drill, when you have finished the drill go back to the menu and toggle it OFF.

If you choose a Kickboard drill you will notice that a new menu option '+25m Kick' appears in the swim menu, you can press this each time you complete a new Kick length. SWIMTAG will automatically add KICK lengths to your swim results (they will not appear in the Garmin Connect results however)

For all other drill items (Fins, Hand Paddles, Underwater) SWIMTAG will tag your lengths when the swim is processed and they will be visible in the swim editor.

How Do I Reset / Clear All Data?

If you want to delete all your data from the app just choose Settings > Reset App.