Getting and editing a track recorded on Garmin Connect

Exporting the activity from Garmin Connect

From an activity page on Garmin Connect, the export menu offers several formats — including FIT, the device's native format, which keeps the most original data (altitude, heart rate, cadence, depending on the sensors used).

Why FIT keeps more data than GPX

The more universal GPX format only keeps position, altitude and timestamps. FIT, specific to the Garmin ecosystem, also carries everything the sensors recorded — heart rate, cadence, power depending on your setup. Exporting straight to GPX from Garmin Connect before editing means losing this data from the start, even though it can still be useful: an average heart rate, for instance, helps recalibrate an effort estimate for a similar outing next time.

Importing the FIT file with no prior conversion

The FIT file loads directly, with no conversion to GPX beforehand. That's a useful difference: converting a FIT to GPX with a third-party tool before you can edit it wastes time and sometimes data; direct import avoids both.

What usually needs fixing after a Garmin import

• Altitude, when the barometer has drifted mid-outing — a profile that looks shifted by several dozen metres compared with what the terrain actually felt like.
• Glitch points, caused by a lost signal under a bridge or dense tree cover.
• File size, for a multi-hour outing that's built up tens of thousands of points — useful if the file needs to go back onto an entry-level device with a point limit.

That last point is covered in the guide on reducing an oversized GPX file. Older-generation Edge models are particularly affected: a per-file point limit, often missing from the spec sheet in-store, usually only comes to light when loading fails.

Re-exporting to another format or device

Once the fixes are done, the file re-exports to standard GPX, compatible with most third-party platforms and devices — Wahoo, Suunto, Coros, Polar, Strava, Komoot. Handy for sharing a Garmin-recorded outing with someone on a different ecosystem, or archiving the activity in a more universal format than proprietary FIT.