Garmin’s preferred tracker concept gets a revamp
Garmin has quietly introduced some changes that revamp its preferred tracker concept. Now users have the ability to define a Primary Wearable, along with a Primary Training Device.
The page can be found in the smartphone app’s Settings section. It is only visible to those who have registered more than one Garmin device in their Connect account.
What is a Primary Wearable?
According to the company, your Primary Wearable should be the device you use the most. This is the main source of information for daily health metrics such as steps and sleep.
If you have multiple watches that can track daily activity and steps, you must designate one as your Primary Wearable in Garmin Connect. When data is recorded at the same time by multiple devices, your set Primary Wearable will be the one that syncs daily health metrics such as sleep, body battery, and steps over data with your account. This prevents the same data from being counted twice.
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It should be noted that some devices, such as the Vivomove Sport, are only partially compatible. Some features are not supported by such devices. Therefore, setting a device that is only partially compatible as your Primary Wearable may have an impact on the accuracy of your health and fitness data.
What is a Primary Training Device?
As its name implies, the Primary Training Device, on the other hand, is the main source for training related data and performance stats. Garmin has not said exactly which data, but we assume this includes Activity History, Exercise Load, Intensity Minutes, Acute Load and more.
Use this setting to specify the tracker that you typically use for exercising. This new setting is ideal for people, for example, who like to use their fancy looking Vivomove Trend or Vivosmart 5 as the all day wearable and the Forerunner 955 as a training device.


Interestingly enough, not everyone with multiple devices in their account are seeing the change just yet. It may be because this is part of a Beta firmware update that is not available to all just yet. It is confirmed that Forerunner 955 users on firmware 14.15 are seeing the new Primary Training Device feature. Also those with Fenix 7 and Epix 2 are getting the option. Some can only see it in the Garmin Connect web view.
Devices with the update can now be set as the main device for training. As before, watches that don’t support the new function can be set as the Primary Wearable.
Why this matters
There are a variety of reasons why someone would choose to own multiple Garmin devices. People have different preferences when it comes to the type of tracking they want. Someone who enjoys running, for example, may own a GPS watch. For cycling they may have a bike computer. They can tailor their tracking experience by owning multiple devices and taking advantage of the features offered by each. Some simply enjoy having the most recent technology and may opt to upgrade to a newer model as it becomes available.
Garmin syncs and consolidates data across devices automatically. Setting a Primary Training Device now ensures that you are receiving optimized guidance and accurate data.
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Does this mean that when I switch from one (compatible) device, my Epix 2 , to another, my 955, and make the 955 my primary training device, it gets a complete Physio TrueUp update from Garmin Connect, with all data like sleep, stress and body battery but especially HRV Status and Training Readiness?
Garmin is yet to explain exactly how this works. There is nothing on its web pages that even mentions the new feature (apart from just mentioning it by name in the changelog of the latest Beta).
I don’t understand what am I missing without this feature. I have a fenix6 that i wear 24/7 and when I cycle i use an Edge Explore 2. What stats could be improved with this feature?
This seems to be unnecessary. Why isn’t the primary training device the one that you are using at the time of your training? I want my Edge to be primary for cycling and my watch to record all the other stuff. Why doesn’t it just upload information to GC without regard for the device? Now my watch overrides my Edge 530 and the training status on my GC no longer matches that from my edge. Is there a way to disable this feature and go back to the way it was before?
I have a similar problem. 955 for wearing and running and swimming and gym. Edge for the bike. The load, body battery and calories data are incorrect because they do not take into account cycling. how to set it? Garmin doesn’t answer anything, I think they know about the errors.