I used the Xert app to record an interval workout on my Garmin 840 and Shimano Di2 shifters. The workout started as normal, and I was able to perform the workout without any issues.
After it was over, I kept riding and at some point, pressed the top of the handlebar button on my Shimano shifters. This switched the screen on my Garmin, and my entire workout was instantly lost. Exert did not save it or did not seem to have saved even the partial portion of that workout up to that point.
I’m pretty upset that I lost this.
Can anyone please walk me through the steps of either recovering the data or determining what the issue seems to be?
How is it possible that the number one function of a workout app, which is to not lose any user data, was able to fail in my case?
Can we agree that this “user error” (of pressing a shifter button) should not simply lose the workout in progress?
Update about an hour later: Somehow the workout, at least up to the point that I pressed the shifter top button, “appeared” on my Xert page… So the workout data somehow was saved, but I am unsure as to what I did to rescue it. Back at home, I played with my Garmin device and manually synced it several times. However, during the ride, I could not get back to the workout screen. It simply showed me a new workout on the Xert app, with no indication that a previous workout had occurred.
I still feel there should be a better user experience, or at least the ability to return to a workout in progress after the screen switch occurs. Any thoughts on this would be welcome.
I have never lost a workout file on any Xert app including the Connect IQ Player for Garmin or EBC on Android or iOS.
A recording (partial or otherwise) is never lost since the app won’t delete the file until a successful update to XO (xertonline.com) has occurred.
That being said when it comes to Garmin’s Connect IQ platform you have to realize that platform is well, quirky.
I never tried using Di2 shifting while a Connect IQ app was running but when an activity is interrupted on EBC you can always resume it.
It’s possible you can’t resume a workout on a Garmin due to the limitations of Connect IQ.
What type of workout was it that you wanted to run on the IQ Player outdoors?
The alternative is to push any workout that displays the Send icon to the device and use the native workout player on the Garmin instead. This works for any workout that has less than 50 steps (Garmin limitation).
If Autogen is displayed on the Trainng page you also have the option to generate a simple workout that meets today’s goals (XSS ratio and Focus) then Send that to the Garmin.
The third option is to use XSS Buckets and free ride to meet today’s goals.
Thank you for that complete response. This was one of the smart workouts ( Say It Ain’t So - 45 Interval Workout), and I sort of like the fact that some of the intervals in it are ramped. My understanding is that Garmin’s internal workouts, if I were to download them there, cannot do that.
Also, the steps involved to copy and send a workout to Garmin Connect and then download it and synchronize it is a multi-step, five-minute-long process. I wish there was a way to completely automate that to simply sync from the calendar.
I didn’t mind using the Xert workout player. However, switching screens on Garmin basically makes it lose the plot. When I try to get back to the Garmin Xert app, it would not resume; it just tried to load a new workout. Thankfully this was at the end of the ride with the workout completed.
One option I have is to disable the top bar buttons for Di2, which are by default configured to change the screens and cycle through screens when riding on the Garmin. It’s not super critical, although it’s nice to have, but I can just swipe the head unit itself rather than using those buttons.
So, lessons learned, and I’m really glad that at least the data did not get lost.
