FTMS All Sync - One App to Rule Them All

Absolute Bollocks Creations proudly offers FTMS All Sync for Garmin fitness trackers. This application runs as a custom Activity that supports Indoor Biking, Elliptical, Indoor Rowing, Stair Climbing, and Treadmill activities. It connects via Bluetooth to all types of Smart FTMS-compatible exercise equipment. Track metrics from any fitness machine that supports standard Bluetooth Smart connectivity, right on your Garmin watch or bike computer.

Full vs Lite Versions

The Lite version is a slightly stripped down release to support several of the more limited devices, specifically:

Decent G2
Fenix 6 / 6 Solar / 6 Dual Power
Fenix 6S / 6S Solar / 6S Dual Power
Fenix 6S Pro / 6S Saphire / 6S Pro Solar / 6S Pro Dual Power
Forerunner 245
Forerunner 55

These devices have memory limitations that prevent them from running the full version, including Dynamic Workout support

Limitations vs Full Version

Limited Langauge Localization (Deu / Dut / Fre / Spa)
No second page of metrics in pro mode
No end of activity summary screen (See stats in Connect)
No on-device display field editing (use Connect IQ or Garmin Express)
No synthetic metrics (speed / average speed calculated for rower, etc.)
Several less important data metrics have been omitted (peak speed / cadence / power)

(Sorry, I REALLY had to squeeze to fit this app onto these devices.)
Otherwise, all features and functions are identical to the full version

Smart Fitness Machine Protocol (FTMS)

Using this application on your your Garmin device you may connect to any FTMS-compatible indoor bike, elliptical trainer, rowing machine, stair climber or stepper machine, or treadmill. The application will collect real-time power, cadence, speed, incline, and other data directly from the smart trainer and store it to Garmin Connect during your workout.

Specific Fitness Trainer Types

Indoor Biking Elliptical Rower Stair Climber Stair Stepper Treadmill

Application Overview

From the main screen you can configure the selected Activity Type and select the trainer to connect to when starting the Activity. When launching FTMS All Sync, the application will begin scanning for compatible Bluetooth FTMS devices nearby.

Once the applications detects a compatible smart trainer it will display the Name, along with a rough estimate of the distance to the device (to help distinguish between multiple devices in a crowded environment, like a gym for instance.) If more than one device is detected, use the Next and Previous buttons, or swipe up or down on touchscreen devices to scroll through discovered fitness trainers. Once a Smart Trainer is found and you have highlighted the correct machine, press Start to begin the activity.

A Bluetooth connection will now be made to the currently listed device, and metrics will be captured from the smart trainer.

While the activity is running the Application will display 6 configurable fields of metrics from the smart trainer. Not all FTMS trainers (and types of trainers) support all possible metrics. (For example only Elliptical and Treadmill devices support Inclination, etc.) The application supports all types of metrics as defined by the Bluetooth SIIG specification, but not all machines support all possible metrics.

To configure the data being displayed, you may either use Connect IQ or Garmin Express to configure the settings of the Application or select Menu from the Main View and customize the currently selected Activity type. Each of the 6 fields can display any of the available metrics types supported by the Smart Trainer type selected.

Configuration of Basic and Pro Mode Features

Main Menu (Basic Features) Main Menu (Pro Features) Pro Mode Features

Configuration of settings may be performed within the application using the main menu, or via Connect IQ or Garmin Express using the application Settings.

Enabling Pro Mode from settings activates additional features not available in the free version.
pro Mode Features include:

Time-based Alarms - Vibrate and Alarm every x Min/Sec during the workout
Auto Lap - Automatically increment Lap count based on Distance
Heart Rate Zone Alarms - Vibrate to notify when heartrate crosses each Heart Rate Zone thhreshold
Page 2 Metrics - Display a second page of metrics during the workout - Use Next/Previous to switch pages
Dynamic Workout Controls - Create custom workout profiles to adjust machine settings during the workout

Common Questions

Why doesn't the application record to native Distance, Power, and Speed metrics?

Garmin severely limits what 3rd party developers are able to do with Connect IQ applications. Only Garmin can write to native data fields. ALL 3rd party applications are only able to write to their own bucket of custom fields in the Fit Activity data.

This data is available in the Fit data file uploaded to Garmin Connect and can be tagged with markers to identify it as specific standard data types
Third party integrations (like Strava) can potentially identify and correctly process Connect IQ data fields as standard fields (if they choose to)
Connect IQ applications cannot read or write data fields belonging to other applications (even from the same developer)

How do I record speed and distance metrics in Garmin Connect?

To apply the captured speed and distance metrics to the native Garmin fields, simply edit the activity from Connect. Enter the Distance captured via Bluetooth into the native Distance field. Average speed and pace values will be calculated using this distance.

Manually entered distance does not count towards other metrics, like Vo2Max or Endurance scores
There is no way to enter dynamic metrics, like average moving speed or individual lap speeds or distances, etc.
It is possible to enter manual values for average and peak Power during the activity, but
Connect doesn't use these metrics for anything, so just recording them as custom Connect IQ fields with the app provides just as good of a record for reference

My Bike / Elliptical / Rower / Stepper / Treadmill is not detected

Unfortunately, the Bluetooth stack available to developers on the Garmin devices is VERY limited. The physical hardware itself also seems to be somewhat weak, as numerous devices that work find with Kinomap or Zwift on your phone or tablet appear to be completely invisible to Garmin. If you launch the Activity and the datafield displays only 'Scanning...' it most likely means either:

Your Smart Trainer does not actually support standard FTMS protocol (many commercial devices have proprietary protocols)
or your Garmin device is unable to communicate with your trainer (even though it works find with phone or tablet apps like Kinomap)

The easiest way to test your device compatibility with your smart trainer is to use a Bluetooth Scanner application.
BleScan is a great option as it just looks for and lists any and all Bluetooth devices nearby that your Garmin device can discover. It also provides information about the device Name and Service Id advertised.
If BleScan cannot detect your device, then your Garmin device is unable see or communicate with your trainer in any fashion (over Bluetooth anyway)
If BleScan does detect your device, but the device does not advertise a Service Id of '00001826-0000-1000' then your device is not advertising standard FTMS protocol and will not be found by these applications.

I found a bug!

If you are experiencing behavior that you think might be a bug, please use the Contact Developer option in the Connect IQ Store.