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Last time I checked, there was no way to build an app and send it to your Garmin watch without applying (and paying for?) a license. Is there a way around that

Last time I checked, there was no way to build an app and send it to your Garmin watch without applying (and paying for?) a license. Is there a way around that?

makepanic 5y ago
Afaik if you have the watch locally available you can just connect it to your PC and deploy it there. Even the SDK is available for "free": https://developer.garmin.com/connect-iq/overview/ https://developer.garmin.com/connect-iq/overview/
- Raed667 5y ago
  my bad I must be remembering things wrong or the old website was too confusing. there is no better way to get good information on the internet than to post something factually wrong! it's finally time for me to code that app
  - carl_dr 5y ago
    > there is no better way to get good information on the internet than to post something factually wrong! Good old Murphy’s law!
sunpazed 5y ago
I’ve been building free Garmin apps and watch-faces since 2016. Any developer can download the ConnectIQ SDK and freely publish an app or watch-face in the Garmin App Store. Does not require any license to build, install or publish an app.
kelnage 5y ago
That definitely wasn’t true when I developed my watch face (https://github.com/kelnage/digital-simplicity https://github.com/kelnage/digital-simplicity) - the Garmin IDE compiled it down to a single IQ file which can then be transferred directly to the device via USB. Of course if you want to distribute it via their App Store you have to apply (it was free when I did it), and the way changing settings used to work (through a convoluted path on the connected mobile device and via the store) it was often best to do that. But you could also use the settings file software Garmin included in their IDE to do it (or now do it directly on the device).
jzwinck 5y ago
This is not true, has not been true for years, and probably was never true at least since the public release of their app store.

Last time I checked, there was no way to build an app and send it to your Garmin watch without applying (and paying for?) a license. Is there a way around that?

makepanic 5y ago

Afaik if you have the watch locally available you can just connect it to your PC and deploy it there. Even the SDK is available for "free": https://developer.garmin.com/connect-iq/overview/ https://developer.garmin.com/connect-iq/overview/

Raed667 5y ago
my bad I must be remembering things wrong or the old website was too confusing. there is no better way to get good information on the internet than to post something factually wrong! it's finally time for me to code that app
- carl_dr 5y ago
  > there is no better way to get good information on the internet than to post something factually wrong! Good old Murphy’s law!

sunpazed 5y ago

I’ve been building free Garmin apps and watch-faces since 2016. Any developer can download the ConnectIQ SDK and freely publish an app or watch-face in the Garmin App Store. Does not require any license to build, install or publish an app.

kelnage 5y ago

That definitely wasn’t true when I developed my watch face (https://github.com/kelnage/digital-simplicity https://github.com/kelnage/digital-simplicity) - the Garmin IDE compiled it down to a single IQ file which can then be transferred directly to the device via USB. Of course if you want to distribute it via their App Store you have to apply (it was free when I did it), and the way changing settings used to work (through a convoluted path on the connected mobile device and via the store) it was often best to do that. But you could also use the settings file software Garmin included in their IDE to do it (or now do it directly on the device).

jzwinck 5y ago

This is not true, has not been true for years, and probably was never true at least since the public release of their app store.