Connection drops during the night / Alarm fails to trigger - Garmin & Pixel 9 Pro

Bug reports
1

Hi everyone,

I’m experiencing a very frustrating issue with my Garmin watch and Sleep as Android. The connection between my phone and the watch seems to die completely during the night.

My Setup:

  • Phone: Google Pixel 9 Pro (Stock Android)

  • Watch: Garmin Venu 4

  • Sleep as Android Version: 20260121 (230966) Premium

  • Integration: Native Garmin Integration via Connect IQ Store (no old add-ons installed)

The Problem: If I do a short test during the day (set an alarm for a few minutes, start tracking, turn off the screen), everything works perfectly – tracking is active, and the watch vibrates. However, when I sleep through the night, the tracking just stops at some random point (for example at 3:00 AM or 6:00 AM). Out of my last 3 nights, only ONE night tracked completely until the morning. Because the connection drops/the tracking stops, the morning alarm obviously fails to vibrate the watch.

What I have already tried (and checked multiple times):

  • Battery Optimization: Set to “Unrestricted” for BOTH Sleep as Android and Garmin Connect.

  • Permissions: “Alarms & Reminders” permission is granted for BOTH apps. Location permission for Garmin Connect is set to “Allow all the time”.

  • Pause App Activity: Disabled for both apps.

  • Pixel Settings: Turned off “Adaptive Connectivity” on the Pixel.

  • Digital Wellbeing / Bedtime Mode: I use the Pixel Bedtime Mode (triggers when charging), but I added Sleep as Android and Garmin Connect to the “Do Not Disturb” exceptions.

  • Watch Settings: DND during Garmin’s sleep mode is explicitly turned OFF. Battery saver is OFF.

  • SaA Settings: Wearables → Garmin is checked. “Vibration” is enabled. Bluetooth keep-alive is enabled.

Since the short tests work, the native Connect IQ app seems to be configured correctly. But it seems the Pixel 9 Pro is aggressively killing the connection after a few hours of sleep, or the app on the watch crashes.

Is there any hidden Android 14/15 or Pixel 9 Pro specific setting I am missing to keep the Bluetooth connection alive all night? Has anyone successfully solved this exact behavior?

Thanks in advance for any help!

2

Hi @SlayEM,
Thank you for reaching out with such a detailed description of the issue. It sounds like the system is terminating the tracking process prematurely, which usually points to a background restriction conflict.

To ensure your tracking stays active throughout the night, we should look at a few specific areas where the “handshake” between your phone and wearable might be breaking:

  • Battery & Process Optimization: Even if the main app is excluded, the system can still kill the connection if Bluetooth is optimized. Could you please check that Bluetooth is also set to “Don’t Optimize”?

  • System-Wide Features: Are you currently using Adaptive Battery or any “Ultra Power Saving” modes? These can override individual app settings and force-close processes after a certain period of inactivity.

  • DND vs. Bedtime Mode: It is important to note that Android treats Do Not Disturb (DND) and Bedtime Mode as two distinct environments. Adding an exception for Sleep in DND will allow vibrations during that mode, but those permissions do not automatically carry over to Bedtime Mode.

  • Bedtime Mode Restrictions: Beyond silencing notifications, Bedtime Mode often triggers additional system-level optimizations that can be even more aggressive than standard battery saving.

As a quick test: Could you try running a tracking session with Bedtime Mode disabled next time to see if the wearable vibrates as expected?

Please let me know what you find, and we’ll go from there!

3

Thank you very much !

I will try your tipps, and give an update in some days.

4

Hi @lenka-urbandroid,

Thank you so much for the detailed reply! Your tips regarding the system-level Bluetooth optimization were incredibly helpful. I went through all of them and it actually led to a massive breakthrough. We finally found the real culprit, but it leaves me in a bit of a dilemma between the SAA app and Garmin’s native Sleep Mode.

Here is exactly what happens:

Scenario A: I bypass Garmin’s native Sleep Mode schedule

If I trick the watch so it doesn’t enter Garmin’s native Sleep Mode, SAA works flawlessly. The SAA watch app turns the screen off normally, the Bluetooth connection stays alive all night, and the alarm works.

The problem: It completely ruins my native Garmin sleep tracking, Body Battery, and wake-up times because Garmin doesn’t know I slept and requires manual stopping in the morning. I really need both systems to track accurately.

Scenario B: I keep Garmin’s native Sleep Mode ON (What I actually want)

If Garmin’s native Sleep Mode turns on, Garmin tracks perfectly. BUT when I then start SAA tracking, the Garmin watch display stays ON indefinitely. It shows the “Tracking… Screen locked. Unlock by long touch on screen” interface and simply refuses to turn off, ignoring the 8-second timeout set in the Garmin settings.

The fatal error: Because the screen stays on and is too bright, I cover the display with my palm to turn it off. However, the palm gesture on Garmin acts as a “Home” button. It pushes the SAA app into the background, which immediately kills the active Bluetooth connection and ruins the SAA tracking for the rest of the night.

My Question:

Is there any way to achieve this balancing act? How can I get the SAA watch app to let the screen timeout/turn off naturally while Garmin’s native Sleep Mode is active? Is there a hidden setting in SAA to prevent this permanent “Screen locked” wake-lock, so I don’t have to use the palm gesture and kill the app?

Thank you again for your amazing support!

5

Hi, if the system on the watch kills our companion app, we sadly cannot prevent this at all. Garmin Sleep mode can activate some additional “optimizations” which will break the real-time tracking (while keeping Garmin sleep analysis intact).

Is the gesture backlight settings on? Garmin watches have a system-wide gesture backlight setting that lights up your screen on wrist move, when you move your wrist while running an application. By default, this setting is ON. For some absurd reasons, Garmin considers sleep tracking as an “activity”.

  • Go to Settings/System/Lighting/During Activity/Gesture and turn it off. Now the light will not come on when you run or bike and turn your wrist. Make sure it’s still on for buttons and alarms so that it turns on when you need it during exercise.