u/hanscrongle

That is all

The Fitbit deadline is today (Google account migration) and the data-deletion deadline is July 15. If you've been holding out and now want to move to Garmin instead of handing over to Google, this is the window.

I did this recently going from the original Pixel Watch to an Epix Pro Gen 2. The export and import both have undocumented gotchas, so a quick brain-dump:

WHAT TRANSFERS

- Daily steps, distance, calories, floors, active minutes

- Weight, BMI, body fat percentage (this one matters, more below)

WHAT DOESN'T (Garmin's limitation, not Fitbit's)

- Heart rate history (no import format exists for it)

- Sleep stages (same)

- Individual workouts (Fitbit doesn't export TCX from Google Takeout, only daily totals)

- SpO2, stress scores

THE BODY FAT THING

Garmin Connect normally only accepts body fat % from their Index smart scale (USD $220+). But the web import page at connect.garmin.com/modern/import-data also accepts body composition data in CSV form. If you logged body fat in Fitbit via an Aria or manual entry, it imports straight in. Years of history, no scale purchase needed. Almost nobody seems to know this is possible.

FREE TOOL FOR WEIGHT + BODY FAT UPDATES
https://www.wearableconverter.com/garmin-body-composition

THE EXPORT

Use Google Takeout, not Fitbit's older "Settings > Data Export" path. Takeout gives you the lifetime archive in one ZIP. The Fitbit dashboard export caps at 31 days per request, which is unusable for multi-year history.

THE GOTCHA NOBODY WARNS YOU ABOUT

Fitbit syncs to Google's servers in batches. Your most recent days in the Takeout export may only be partially synced at the time of export. If your Takeout ZIP is more than a week old, request a fresh one before doing anything. Old exports cause Garmin to reject the most recent month.

GARMIN'S IMPORT BUGS

Garmin Connect's importer shows "an error occurred with your upload" on a lot of CSV uploads. It's a known bug in their importer, not in your file. Hit retry, it almost always goes through. Don't waste time editing your CSV.

Full step-by-step here including the manual JSON parsing method if you want to do it yourself for free:

https://www.wearableconverter.com/transfer-fitbit-to-garmin

Disclosure: I built a $9 browser tool that does the conversion in one click because I didn't want to parse JSON by hand again next time someone in my family switches. Not pushing it here, the guide above is free and complete. But if anyone wants the URL, happy to share in a reply.