How to View CGM Data on a Garmin Watch or Bike Computer
One of the most common questions I respond to on the CGM in the Cloud and Type 1 Diabetics Athletes groups is how to set up viewing your blood sugar from a CGM on a Garmin device. I’m excited to bring these instructions to my blog!
Objective: Set up a watch face and data field for Dexcom, Libre, or Medtronic** CGMs on a compatible Garmin device (see next step for compatible devices). This will allow you to see your blood sugar on your watch at all times (watch face) or within any Garmin activity app (run, bike, paddleboard, etc.) and analyze your data.
*Note: Medronic CGMs can work as well but you will need additional hardware. Please see THIS LINK for more information about what’s involved and head over to the Nightscout for Medtronic group for assistance. Then you can come back to these instructions at Step 2 after setting up Nightscout.
Overview of the steps (clickable links):
- Step 0a: Check if your Garmin device is compatible.
- Step 0b: Understand how this works and if you need offline access.
- Step 1: (1a) Set up Nightscout if using the Dexcom app or (1b) set up Spike or xDrip+.
- Step 2: Download and install NightscoutWatch and NightscoutData from the Connect IQ store on your smartphone.
- Step 3: Add your Nightscout site or phone internal server to the watch face and data field settings.
- Step 4 (watch only): Turn on the watch face.
- Step 5 (data field only): Add the data field to the activity apps you use.
- Bonus #1: Look at your CGM data inside Garmin Connect!
- Bonus #2: Look at your CGM data inside TrainingPeaks, sort of.
Step 0a: Check if your Garmin device is compatible. You can view the list of compatible devices for the data field HERE (includes bike computers) and the list of compatible devices for the watch face HERE (watches only, no bike computers). At the time of writing, the devices listed below are compatible. If your device is not compatible, skip to the end of this post for possible other solutions.
Step 0b: Understand how this works and if you need offline access. Dexcom users, determine if you need to be able to view your CGM data when you do not have data/Internet on your phone (no signal). In either set up, you must have a mobile smartphone with you. I repeat, YOU MUST HAVE A PHONE. The Garmin is not collecting data from your CGM.
Dexcom users, notice that if you are using the Dexcom app for iOS or Android: (a) you will need to set up a Nightscout site (more details in the next step) and (b) you will not receive blood sugar readings if you do not have cell phone service. Yes, the latter can be a problem if you do your activities in the wilderness, in rural areas, or out at sea where you are lucky if you have one bar.
Dexcom users, if offline access to your CGM is important to you, you must switch to using Spike or xDrip+ instead of the native Dexcom app. You might be wondering if there are any downsides to making this switch. In general, xDrip+ and Spike have better features than the Dexcom app — the custom alarms are amazing! However, the trade-off is that you will no longer be able to use Dexcom Clarity reports and if you are a G6 user you will need to calibrate. (Note that you can set up a Nightscout and use those reports instead of Clarity.)
Step 1: (1a) Set up Nightscout if using the Dexcom app or (1b) set up Spike or xDrip+.
Step 1a: Set up Nightscout if using the Dexcom app. Please see my article “The Best Nightscout Set Up Instructions and Common Mistakes.”
Step 1b: Set up Spike or xDrip+. Sorry folks, going to link you to the relevant pages here. The instructions for Spike (iOS) are HERE and xDrip+ (Android) can be found HERE. (The instructions for xDrip+ are a little lacking. All you have to do is click the “Download APK” link on your Android phone and open it.) Note that neither of these apps are available on the official Apple App Store or Google Play.
Step 2: Download and install NightscoutWatch and NightscoutData from the Connect IQ store on your smartphone. Open the GarminConnect app. Tap your device. Go to “Activities & App management” then “Get More Applications.” Then search for Nightscout. Note that there are several options that come up here. You want “NightscoutWatch” and/or “NightscoutData.” The author is “Horsetooth”. On the watch face and datafield pages, tap the blue download button then sync your phone.
Step 3: Add your Nightscout site or phone internal server to the watch face and data field settings. For the watch face, go to “Activities and App Management” -> “Watch Faces.” Select the Nightscout icon. Then go to “Settings.” If you are using Dexcom + Nightscout, put in your Nightscout URL. Make sure you put in “https” instead of “http” in the URL. If you are using xDrip+ or Spike, put in the internal server. Instructions can be found within the Spike app by going to “Settings” -> “Integration” -> “Internal HTTP Server” in the menu. There should be similar information within xDrip+, but I am not sure of the location. Repeat the same process for the data field.
Step 4 (watch only): Turn on the watch face. Google how to activate a watch face for your specific Garmin watch. For example, these are the instructions for the Forerunner 935.
Step 5 (data field only): Add the data field to the activity apps you use. Open the activity app you want to use, e.g. “Run.” Go to the activity settings. On the FR 935, you do this by pressing the left center button. Then go to “Data Screens” and you can either edit or “Add New” (scroll all the way to the bottom). If you are adding new, select “Custom Data” and choose your layout. From “Connect IQ Fields select” the Nightscout field.
Done! Enjoy!
Bonus #1: Look at your CGM data inside Garmin Connect! After you have recorded an activity using the Nightscout data field, you can see your blood sugar for that activity in GarminConnect (app or web browser). In your browser, go to https://connect.garmin.com/ and log in. Go to Activities -> All Activities in the sidebar and select the activity you are interested in. Then scroll down to view your Nightscout data. Similarly, in the GarminConnect app, select the activity and scroll. In the app, you can also overlay other data points by clicking on the graph and “Overlay.”
Bonus #2: Look at your CGM data inside TrainingPeaks, sort of. You cannot view your CGM data from Garmin inside the TrainingPeaks online app. However, you can see it if you use WKO4. What’s neat about this is that you could build a dashboard that shows how your blood sugars and other metrics are changing by activity type over time. GarminConnect doesn’t give you the trend over time. I downloaded a free trial and was able to add the @nightscout developer field. Here’s a screenshot and more about how to do this. I’m a PhD student and too poor to justify buying WKO4, but if you want to buy it for me, I’ll help you troubleshoot. ;-)
End note: What if my Garmin watch isn’t compatible? (For bike computers, I don’t believe there are currently alternatives.) Search for Nightscout in the Connect IQ store. You’ll see there are some different apps available. I have used “CGM Sport” for activities and “CGM Widget” on my first generation Vivoactive. Check if one of these is compatible with your watch. Note that the CGM Sport is an alternative to the native Garmin activity apps. For example, you would record a run inside the CGM Sport app instead of the native Garmin run activity. Also, the Widget is not a watch face but it’s pretty easily accessible.
