Worthless

Bluetooth (iPhone 6, v 9.2) connects to my new 2689 fine, but the Smartlink app itself refuses to acknowledge the pairing. I only get an error message saying to pair it or move in-range (it is right beside me).

Garmin needs to hire some folks that understand Bluetooth. I have their Forerunner 220 watch as well and it also is very selective about when it wants to connect. Complaints are rampant about that as well, so it isnt my phone or technical competence. Just half-baked, poorly tested programming and all of the complaints seem to fall on deaf ears at Garmin because they do not address them in updates.

You also have to manually pair your phone to the Garmin each time you want to use the app (if it worked)... Cant just hop in the car and be automatically connected.

As for the app itself, it is hard to review since the core functionality doesnt work, but one big gap in my opinion is that you evidently cant search for locations that arent nearby... For example, if I am in City "x" and want to send a few waypoints to the GPS that are not in City "x", no can do. Cant imagine why they would have limited it like that, but not incredibly surprising at this point.

This is my third Garmin GPS. The 2689 seems to be a nice unit.... My Forerunner watch is also a nice device. Garmins attempts to tie them to the outside world are (or should be) downright embarrassing. The rest of the world seems to be able to accomplish it, so Im not sure why Garmin struggles so much in this area.

jas0420 about Garmin Smartphone Link