HRV Sync

Guide · Garmin to Apple Health

What Garmin Connect sends to Apple Health, and what it leaves out

Garmin Connect can write steps, heart rate, sleep, workouts and a few body measurements to Apple Health. HRV, VO2 max, blood oxygen and respiratory rate aren't on Garmin's list. Below: the full list, how to fill each gap, and how to switch sharing on.

Updated · by Marcin Naglik, developer of HRV Sync · iOS 17 or later

Data Garmin Connect writes to Apple Health

Garmin's support page lists these types. Garmin Connect writes them to Apple Health after each successful sync of your watch, once you allow them.

  • Steps
  • Walking + Running Distance
  • Flights Climbed
  • Active Energy
  • Resting Energy
  • Heart Rate
  • Sleep Analysis
  • Workouts
  • Weight
  • Body Fat Percentage
  • Body Mass Index
  • Water

Heart rate is your all-day heart rate; for timed activities, only the high and low values are sent. Workouts are the activities uploaded to Garmin Connect, without the GPS track.

Source: Garmin Support, Sharing Your Garmin Connect Data With Apple Health (content version 32, archived 19 March 2026; list re-checked in October 2026). The Health permission screen for Garmin Connect may show a few more types.

What Garmin leaves out, and how to fill each gap

  • Heart rate variability. HRV Sync, an iPhone app, reads the overnight HRV your Garmin watch records from your Garmin account and saves each reading in Health's Heart Rate Variability type, free: sync Garmin HRV to Apple Health.
  • VO2 max, blood oxygen and respiratory rate. Type a value into the Health app by hand, or use HRV Sync's optional Vitals Pack, a one-time purchase ($9.99 in the US) whose first sync brings in the past year. The VO2 max, SpO2 and respiration guide covers both ways.
  • Mindful Minutes. Garmin's list has no Mindful Minutes. Meditation and breathwork may show up as workouts, but not as Mindful Minutes. HRV Sync saves them as Mindful Minutes, free.
  • Stress and Body Battery. These are Garmin's own scores and Health has no type for them, so they stay in Garmin Connect.

How to switch sharing on

These steps follow Garmin's support page.

  1. Allow Garmin Connect in the Health app

    Open the Health app › Summary › your profile picture › Apps (Apps and Services on newer iOS versions) › Connect, and turn on the categories you want. Garmin notes that Connect doesn't appear there if the only Garmin device on your account is an Edge cycling computer.

  2. If you said no earlier, start in Garmin Connect

    Open Garmin Connect › More › Settings › Connect Apps › Apple Health › Connect with Apple Health, choose the items Garmin Connect can access and tap Allow. These are the menu names on Garmin's page; they can move between app versions.

  3. Open Garmin Connect after your watch syncs

    Garmin says Garmin Connect must be open in the foreground to send data to Apple Health; if you close it, the transfer finishes on the next sync with the app open.

If you also wear an Apple Watch

Health keeps the data from both sources. When Garmin Connect and your Apple Watch send the same type, such as steps or heart rate, Health uses the source that is higher in its list, so Garmin data can seem to be missing even though sharing is on. To change the order, open that type in the Health app, tap Data Sources & Access, then Edit, and drag the source you want to the top.

Garmin's page also notes that Activity rings appear only if an Apple Watch has been paired, and only Apple Watch data moves them.

Using Athlytic, Bevel or another recovery app?

These apps read HRV from Apple Health. With a Garmin watch, the HRV has to get into Health first, and Garmin Connect doesn't put it there, so the app sees no Garmin HRV until another app writes it.

Garmin HRV is RMSSD. Health's classic Heart Rate Variability type, which Apple Watch has filled for years, holds SDNN, a different measure, so check how your app handles HRV from other wearables. Athlytic, for example, has a help article on Garmin, Oura and third-party wearables. How each app uses the values is up to that app.

Questions

Why does Apple Health only show two weeks of my Garmin history?

Garmin's support page says that when you first switch sharing on, the Health app imports past data going back up to two weeks. That limit applies to the types Garmin Connect sends. HRV Sync can bring in weeks or months of HRV, and its Vitals Pack brings in the past year of VO2 max, respiratory rate and blood oxygen.

Does Garmin Connect read data from Apple Health?

No. Garmin's support page says Garmin Connect sends data to Apple Health but doesn't pull data from an Apple Watch or from Apple Health. For weight, Scale Relay, from the same developer, sends weigh-ins from Apple Health to Garmin Connect.

Get HRV Sync

HRV Sync fills the HRV and Mindful Minutes gaps for free, and the optional one-time Vitals Pack adds VO2 max, sleep respiratory rate and blood oxygen.

Download on the App Store

iPhone, iOS 17 or later. HRV Sync is not a medical device.

Related

HRV Sync is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Garmin Ltd. or Apple Inc. Garmin® is a registered trademark of Garmin Ltd. Apple® and Health® are trademarks of Apple Inc. Not affiliated with Athlytic or Bevel.