Work down the checks under each symptom. If they do not resolve it, send us the details listed at the end of this page rather than digging further — we can see things you cannot.

A survey never appears on the watch

The most common cause by far is one unsupported question keeping the whole survey off the watch. Check the survey against What makes a survey work on the watch — look especially for photo, audio or task questions and goal-table matrices.

Then check, in order: the watch app setting is on for the study; the survey is assigned to this participant; its schedule type is one the watch handles; today falls inside its date range; and the participant has tapped Download Updates in the phone app since you assigned it — the watch can only receive what the phone already has. Then let the watch sync, or tap Sync Now on the Watch App screen to be sure.

“The mEMA app is not installed on this watch”

Exactly what it says, and it is what you will see before a first install — or if the app was later deleted from the watch. Tap Install Watch App and follow step 6 in Setting up a participant's watch.

If the button leads somewhere unexpected, check the Connect IQ app is installed on the phone and the participant is signed in to it.

The watch says “Set up on phone”

The watch app is installed but has never received anything. Open the Watch App screen on the phone with the watch nearby and tap Sync Now. If the screen does not list the watch at all, the pairing in Garmin Connect is the place to look.

The watch shows as not connected

Normal, and not a fault — see the note at the end of Setting up a participant's watch. It only matters if it is never connected: check the phone’s Bluetooth, that Garmin Connect is installed and running, and that the watch is charged.

A prompt was late, or did not arrive

A few minutes late is expected — see the timing note in Assigning and scheduling surveys to the watch. Also check the watch was charged and worn, and that the window had not already closed.

Prompts that are consistently missed are worth reporting to us with the model of watch, since alert behaviour differs between models.

A survey ended by itself part way through

Its window closed. This is deliberate, and what the participant had already answered was kept. If it happens often, the window is probably too short for the survey’s length.

“Survey is ready — Open mEMA to begin”

Seen occasionally on the Vivoactive 4. The watch closes this screen by itself; the participant opens mEMA from the apps list and takes the survey as normal. It is a quirk in that model’s handling of app prompts, we work around it deliberately, and no data is affected.

Answers do not seem to have arrived

Check the two hops separately (see Where watch responses go). First: has the watch handed them to the phone? Its status band says whether anything is still waiting to send. Second, and more often the answer: has an upload actually run on the phone? An answer sitting on the phone does not upload itself.

If your study uses manual upload, have the participant tap Upload in the app, then check again.

When you contact us

Send:

  • The watch model and the participant or study identifier.
  • Roughly when it happened, and whether it has happened more than once.
  • What was on the screen — the watch’s, the phone’s, or both.
  • The survey involved, if it is specific to one.

That is enough for us to pull the diagnostics. You do not need to gather logs or files — send it through the usual route, Submitting a Ticket to the Help Desk.