Check whether Garmin has simply not finished processing it, whether it is there under another name, and whether it ever left Wahoo with a file. In our measurement Garmin listed an accepted upload only after about two minutes, and Garmin gives an uploaded ride its own name, so a ride that seems missing is often already there.
What should I check, in which order?
These checks follow the order in which we would look, and each one names what Nabe shows:
- Wait two minutes and reload. Garmin accepts an upload first and creates the activity afterwards; see the timings below.
- Look for Garmin’s name. Garmin names an uploaded ride after place and sport, such as “Sankt Gallen Cycling”. Nabe then sets the name from Wahoo, if Wahoo has a real one; more in why Garmin Connect renames a ride.
- Look at the transfer in Nabe. “Skipped, Garmin already has this ride” means Garmin had a matching ride before Nabe uploaded, usually from your watch on the same ride.
- Check whether Wahoo has a file. A workout that Wahoo lists without a ride file is skipped for Garmin with the reason “no file at Wahoo”. On 27 September 2026, 4 of 30 workouts on the first page of our own Wahoo account came with a file address.
- Check the switches. Wahoo needs reads on, Garmin Connect needs writes on, and the ride has to arrive after reads was switched on. Older rides go only through “Transfer older activities”, with a duplicate check first.
- Check the Garmin sign-in. If the Garmin session expired, the transfer waits with “Sign-in needed” and a card at the top of the dashboard; after you sign in again, it goes out on its own.
- Check the free period. After the first 30 days without a subscription, everything stays visible but transfers pause.
How long does Garmin take to list an uploaded ride?
Minutes, not seconds, in our measurement. On 13 September 2026 the Nabe app uploaded a 12-minute test ride (4.99 km, average 158 bpm and 171 W) to Garmin Connect. The times come from the app’s network log:
| Step | Time (UTC) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Garmin’s activity list loaded for the duplicate check | 02:52:23 | 20 entries, no match |
| Upload sent | 02:52:24 | accepted, still without an activity number |
| Activity list, 1 second later | 02:52:25 | ride not listed yet |
| Activity list, 2 minutes later | around 02:54 | ride listed |
From loading the list to the accepted upload took about one second, including the rewrite of the file.
Why is an accepted upload not there right away?
Because Garmin answered “accepted” before it had finished. The answer to the upload carried no activity number yet; Garmin processes uploaded files in the background and creates the activity afterwards. Until then there is nothing in the list to find.
How does Nabe know the upload worked?
Nabe counts a transfer as done when Garmin confirms it with an activity number or reports that it already has the ride. If Garmin accepts without a result, the transfer counts as temporarily open: the next attempt first looks in Garmin’s list for the ride and, if it is there, closes the transfer with that activity’s number instead of uploading again. In our test the activity number came from the list later on.
Does a slow list cause duplicates?
Not with Nabe. Before it uploads, Nabe marks the transfer as “possibly uploaded” and keeps that mark until Garmin gives a clear answer. While the mark is set, Nabe only asks Garmin whether the ride is there and never uploads it a second time. The rule for recognising the same ride is in how to avoid duplicate rides.
When should I sync my watch?
After the ride is in your Garmin Connect list. Your watch downloads the ride from there on the first sync; if the ride is not listed yet, there is nothing to download. Garmin asks you to sync twice, as described in how a Garmin Edge and a Garmin watch share training load.
Is the first request slower than the rest?
In our measurements, yes. On 27 September 2026 the first download of a ride file from Garmin Connect in a new session took 16.1 seconds, the next one 0.28 seconds. The first request of a session sets up the connection to Garmin; the ones after it reuse it.