iPhone Getting outside data into Health App

I have an iPhone 6 and I let the Health app track my steps, stairs, etc. However, I don't run with my phone. I have an older Garmin Forerunner 210 GPS watch that I run with. This watch has no wireless or bluetooth connectivity (only ANT support for heart rate monitors, etc). However, after my runs, I connect the watch to my laptop to charge it and sync the run data off to both Garmin Connect and to RunKeeper. So the data is there on both sites. Both Garmin's and RunKeeper's IOS apps have support for HealthKit, but apparently only if you have a newer device that has wifi or bluetooth and can talk directly to your phone. So even though they have the data on my runs on their website... since i don't have a compatible device, it doesn't trend in the Health app. It seems to be one-way only... wireless device to iPhone or iPhone to website (Runkeeper.com, etc) but not the other way (ie: Runkeeper.com to IOS app to Health app). Anyone know of any solutions to get the data into the Health app? I've tried EveryMove since it connects to so many sources, but it too reads from the sources, but doesn't right back to Health app. Any thoughts? Basically, after I run and sync to GarminConnect.com or RunKeeper.com, I'd like to have that data read by an IOS app and then written into the Health app.

 

Well, for one its not a matter of entering my steps. I already have the Health app setup to do that. But when I leave my phone at home and run with only my GPS watch, the phone doesn't get that data. But when I sync up my watch, both GarminConnect.com and Runkeeper.com do. But its not just steps. Its pace, distance, elevation changes, heart rate, calories burned, etc.

My point is that if I had a new activity tracker that could talk directly to my iPhone, it would all work fine. But I have an older GPS watch that's still perfectly good and doesn't need to be replaced. It syncs up with everything but my phone just fine. But with IOS apps for both Garmin Connect and RunKeeper... and with the ability to upload run data to both sites... why don't the IOS apps also pull from their respective websites and post to the Health app? Its obvious they don't. What I'm interested in is finding a solution that can...

 

While I'm not going to argue that there's no money in it for Garmin, your premise is partially wrong. I get the idea of planned obsolescence (I'm sure Apple would like to make it apply to iPads so everyone would get a new one every year too along with their iPhones). However, the Forerunner 210 was sold new in retail stores as recently as a year ago. Yes, it was replaced by the 220 and newer models. But it is far from "such an old device" or unsupported. Garmin just released a code update for it 2-3 weeks ago. And the new "Garmin Express" software they released just a few months ago fully supports the 210. It is far from unsupported. The fact is, when I connect my watch to my Mac and fire up Garmin's sync software, the data ends up on GarminConnect.com. If I buy any of their newer devices that talk to my iPhone, the data from those devices ALSO ends up on GarminConnect.com. From a coding perspective, it would be trivial for Garmin to code their IOS app to not just push up to the web, but to also pull from the web and post into HealthKit. I know its not the end of the world. I get my running stats in one place and everything else in another. And I could get it all in one place if I ran with my phone. But their big and bulky and armbands suck and running waistbands expose the phone to sweat, etc. I prefer a watch. It would just be nice to have a single pane of glass view in the Health app and have it pull from various sources including ones that can't talk to it natively via BT but can do so via the web.

At the end of the day, I'm not asking about "why". I know the "why". I'm asking if anyone knows of an alternative. Quite a few health apps can sync with others (ex: Everymove can read data from most every health app out there if it has a public API). I'm wondering if anyone knows of any 3rd party tools (similar to Everymove or something else) that can read from GarminConnect or RunKeeper and populate that data into HealthKit. The fact is, Everymove can read from both. RunKeeper can read from Garmin, etc. If any one of these could pull the data from GarminConnect or RunKeeper and push it into HealthKit so I could see it all in one place... that would be what I'm looking for.

 

Thank you. I'll give Strave a try...