With Android 11 on Samsung phones, there are phone settings that restrict background processes for many apps. When you use Health Sync with Garmin Connect, Health Mate (Withings), Polar or Suunto, sync update messages are received and processed in the background on your phone. Due to the default Samsung phone configuration, some update messages can’t be processed in the background.

You can easily solve this, but it requires a few actions. You see the required configuration changes below, together with screenshots:

First open the Settings menu/app on your phone

Select “Battery and device care”

Select the three dots menu at the top right of the page

Select Automation

Make sure the “Adaptive power saving” mode has been disabled.

Now go back to the Device care page

Select the Battery option

Make sure ‘Power saving mode’ is disabled.

Select “Background usage limits”

Disable “Put unused apps to sleep”

Now check the “Sleeping apps” and make sure ‘Health Sync’ is not listed with the Sleeping apps. If it is listed there, please remove it from the sleeping apps.

Then go to the “Never sleeping apps”

Add ‘Health Sync’ to the list of apps that won’t be put to sleep by clicking on the + symbol in the top of the page, then add Health Sync.

Go back to the battery page

Select the “More battery settings” menu

Disable teh “Adaptive battery” setting (grey button like in the screenshot above, not blue)

Now go back to the Settings menu/app on your phone, and select the Apps page

Select the three dots menu up to the right

Select “Special access”

Select “Optimize battery usage”

If it shows “apps not optimized” then select “All apps”

Then search for “Health Sync” and disable the optimization (slider button to the left: grey instead of blue).

You are ready!