How To Connect Garmin Connect To MyFitnessPal | No Sync Fix

Linking these two apps lets your workouts raise your daily calorie goal and keeps food totals aligned across both logs.

When you’re connecting Garmin Connect to MyFitnessPal, you log a run on your Garmin watch. You log lunch in MyFitnessPal. When the accounts are linked, those two habits stop fighting each other. Garmin sends exercise calories to MyFitnessPal, and MyFitnessPal can send nutrition totals back to Garmin Connect, so your training and food diary stay in step.

This walkthrough sticks to what matters: the cleanest way to connect, what should sync, what often breaks, and the fixes that save the most time. If you want the link working today, start with the prep checks below, then pick the connection path that fits how you use the apps.

Before You Start: A 3-Minute Setup Check

A lot of “it won’t connect” moments come from one small mismatch. Run these checks once and you’ll dodge most repeats later.

• Update both apps: Install the latest Garmin Connect and MyFitnessPal versions from your app store.
• Use one MyFitnessPal login method: If you created the account with Apple/Google sign-in, keep using that same method when the link screen asks you to log in.
• Match basics across profiles: Height, weight, birth date, and units (lb/kg) should match in both apps. Small differences can skew calorie math.
• Set the same time zone: Your phone time zone should match in both apps, or you may see “yesterday” workouts land on the wrong day.
• Decide your step source inside MyFitnessPal: If you use steps, pick Garmin as the step source so you don’t double-count steps from a second tracker.

How To Connect Garmin Connect To MyFitnessPal On iPhone And Android

You can link from either side. Both routes end at the same permission screen where you approve data sharing. If one path fails, the other path often works right away.

Option A: Link From Garmin Connect

This is the most direct route when you already live in Garmin Connect and want to add MyFitnessPal as a connected app.

1. Open Garmin Connect on your phone.
2. Open the menu, then go to Settings.
3. Tap Connected Apps, then choose MyFitnessPal.
4. Tap the link or connect button, then follow the sign-in screen.
5. Approve the permissions prompt so Garmin and MyFitnessPal can exchange data.

If you want Garmin’s own wording for the current screens, Garmin’s official steps match this flow: Steps to link Garmin Connect with MyFitnessPal.

Option B: Link From MyFitnessPal

This route is handy if you’re already tracking food in MyFitnessPal and want exercise calories to adjust your day.

1. Open MyFitnessPal.
2. Go to the menu, then tap Apps & Devices.
3. Find Garmin Connect in the list, then tap Connect.
4. Sign in when prompted and approve permissions.

MyFitnessPal keeps a living troubleshooting page for this integration, including what to expect from the sync: Garmin Connect FAQ and troubleshooting.

What Actually Syncs Between Garmin And MyFitnessPal

Most people care about two things: workouts changing the calorie target in MyFitnessPal, and food totals showing up in Garmin Connect. That’s the core loop. Once linked, you can usually expect:

• From Garmin to MyFitnessPal: Exercise calories, step-based activity calories, and some activity summaries.
• From MyFitnessPal to Garmin: Daily calories consumed, plus macro totals if your MyFitnessPal settings allow it.

Two things can surprise new users. First, sync is not always instant. It can take a few minutes after a workout uploads. Second, “calories burned” and “calories earned” are not the same number. MyFitnessPal may apply its own adjustment logic rather than copying Garmin’s full burn total line by line.

Why The First Sync Can Feel Slow

The first link creates a fresh permission token between the two services. That handshake can take a bit, then both apps may run an initial pull to populate today’s numbers. If you just linked and nothing shows up, log out and back in on both apps, then wait a few minutes before trying bigger resets.

Symptom You See	Most Likely Cause	Fix That Usually Works
Connection screen loops back to login	Pop-up blocked or login method mismatch	Try the other linking path, or link on web with pop-ups allowed
Workout shows in Garmin, not in MyFitnessPal	Garmin activity not fully uploaded yet	Open Garmin Connect, pull down to refresh, confirm the activity is synced
Calories in MyFitnessPal do not change after a workout	Exercise calories not set to adjust goal	Check MyFitnessPal settings for calorie adjustment and verify the Garmin link is active
Food calories do not appear in Garmin Connect	MyFitnessPal permissions not granted for nutrition totals	Unlink, relink, and approve all requested permissions
Steps double-count in MyFitnessPal	Two step sources enabled	Pick Garmin as the step source inside MyFitnessPal and disable the other source
Yesterday’s workout lands on today	Time zone or day boundary mismatch	Match time zone settings on phone, Garmin, and MyFitnessPal, then resync
Sync worked, then stopped after an app update	Expired permission token	Disconnect and reconnect the integration to refresh permissions
Only some activity types sync	Activity classification or privacy setting blocks share	Set the activity visibility to shareable and retry after saving

Fixes When The Connection Fails Or Data Stops Updating

If the link fails during setup, try the simple steps first. If it used to work and stopped, skip down to the unlink-and-relink reset. Most cases clear with one of these.

Step 1: Confirm The Link Shows As Active In Both Apps

In Garmin Connect, you should see MyFitnessPal listed under connected apps. In MyFitnessPal, Garmin Connect should show as connected under Apps & Devices. If one side shows “connected” and the other side does not, the permission token did not finish saving. Relinking from the side that shows “not connected” often finishes the job.

Step 2: Force A Fresh Upload On Garmin’s Side

Garmin can only send what it has uploaded. Open Garmin Connect, pull down to refresh, and check that your latest activity appears with today’s date. If your watch is still waiting to sync, keep the app open with Bluetooth on until the sync completes.

Step 3: Force A Fresh Refresh On MyFitnessPal’s Side

Open MyFitnessPal, visit Apps & Devices, tap Garmin Connect, then look for a “last synced” time. If it is stale, tap sync if the button is available. If there is no manual sync button in your version, logging out and back in can trigger a fresh pull.

Step 4: The Clean Reset: Unlink And Relink

When a connection token goes stale, unlinking and relinking clears it. Do it in this order to avoid ending up half-connected:

1. Disconnect Garmin Connect inside MyFitnessPal (Apps & Devices → Garmin Connect → Disconnect).
2. Close MyFitnessPal fully, then reopen it and confirm it shows disconnected.
3. In Garmin Connect, remove MyFitnessPal from connected apps if the option is available.
4. Restart your phone, then link again using Option A or Option B from earlier.

After relinking, give it a few minutes, then test with one small activity, like a short walk, to confirm the sync is alive.

Data Type	Where You’ll Notice It First	Best Sanity Check
Workout calories	MyFitnessPal daily calorie target	Log a short activity, then watch the target change
Steps-based activity	MyFitnessPal step tally	Confirm only one step source is active
Food calories	Garmin Connect nutrition tile	Log a small snack, then refresh Garmin Connect
Macros	Garmin Connect macro view	Check that carbs/fat/protein totals match the MyFitnessPal day
Day totals across midnight	Both apps, next morning	Confirm yesterday’s totals stayed on yesterday

How Calorie Adjustment Works So It Doesn’t Feel Weird

MyFitnessPal can change your day’s calorie target based on activity data. Garmin supplies exercise calories. MyFitnessPal decides how that affects your “remaining” calories, based on your goal settings.

Two Numbers Matter More Than The Rest

• Your base goal: The number MyFitnessPal sets before any workouts.
• Your activity credit: The extra calories MyFitnessPal adds after Garmin sends activity.

If you expect your full Garmin burn to show as an equal “credit” inside MyFitnessPal, you may feel off at first. MyFitnessPal may apply its own logic to avoid counting calories that were already baked into your base goal, depending on how your plan is set up. If the adjustment looks consistently low or high, match your profile stats and units across both apps, then watch it for a few days with the same routine.

How To Spot Double Counting Fast

Double counting usually shows up as calorie credit that jumps way above what your activity suggests. The most common cause is two step sources. Fix that first. Next, check that you are not linking Garmin plus a second wearable through another integration inside MyFitnessPal.

Privacy And Permission Notes You Should Read Once

When you connect accounts, you are granting access for the apps to exchange data. That includes activity details from Garmin and nutrition totals from MyFitnessPal. Read the permission screen before you tap allow, since it tells you what categories are being shared. If you ever want to stop the sync, disconnecting the integration is the fastest way to cut the data flow.

Tips To Keep The Sync Clean Day After Day

Once the link works, a few habits keep it steady.

• Let the watch upload before editing meals: Finish your Garmin sync, then log food. It reduces cases where the day recalculates twice.
• Keep one “source of truth” for food: Log meals in MyFitnessPal, not in two places, or totals can drift.
• Don’t micro-edit old days: If you edit a week-old entry, the apps may need to resync that whole day. Stick to same-day edits when you can.
• Check the connection after major updates: After a big iOS or Android update, open both apps once and confirm the integration still shows active.
• Test with a tiny entry: When you change settings, log a small snack or short walk, then confirm it moved across before trusting a full day.

A Simple Troubleshooting Flow You Can Reuse

If something looks off tomorrow, run this in order. It keeps you from doing the heavy reset when a refresh would have fixed it.

1. Confirm both apps show the integration as connected.
2. Refresh Garmin Connect and confirm today’s activity is uploaded.
3. Refresh MyFitnessPal and check the last synced time.
4. Fix step source conflicts if numbers look doubled.
5. Unlink and relink if the sync clock is stuck.

Once you’ve done a clean relink and a test entry syncs across, you’re set. From there, it’s just checking in now and then after updates or phone changes.