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Garmin Cirqa live heart rate on iPhone

Beatcast verified

Updated

Short answer

Switch on Broadcast Heart Rate in Garmin Connect (Garmin Devices, your Cirqa, Health & Wellness, Broadcast Heart Rate, Status on). The band then sends the standard Bluetooth heart rate signal, and an iPhone app such as Beatcast can read it live. In Beatcast the number takes the colour of your zone, with the zone's number, name and bpm range underneath. Leave your target zone and Beatcast tells you by sound, voice or haptic, even with the phone locked in a pocket.

Last checked: 12 October 2026; the subscription details were checked again on 30 October 2026. This page ages fast, so the date matters.

What works, and what to expect

  • Works: the Bluetooth side. The Cirqa broadcasts over ANT+ and Bluetooth, and an iPhone has no ANT+ radio, so Bluetooth is the one that counts.
  • Off by default: broadcasting is off out of the box.
  • Known issue, reported by owners: after Cirqa firmware 2.50 (released 20 August 2026), some owners reported Bluetooth broadcast dropouts. Garmin had not acknowledged a bug or a fix date as of a press report on 28 August.

Switch it on

In Garmin Connect, go to Garmin Devices, then your Cirqa, then Health & Wellness, then Broadcast Heart Rate, and turn Status on.

You can also start it from the band. Turn on Device Control in the same place, then hold the band's button for three seconds until the LED flashes yellow. The button does nothing until Device Control is on, which is worth knowing before you stand there holding it.

Broadcasting costs battery. That is also why it is off to begin with.

What about the subscription

When the Cirqa launched in July 2026, reviewers found that live heart rate during a workout in Garmin Connect sat behind Connect+, Garmin's subscription. One press report (the5krunner, 28 October 2026) says that part has been free since 23 July 2026, and that the live heart rate graph and zone displays remain in Connect+.

None of that affects broadcasting. The signal the band sends over Bluetooth never needed a subscription, and Beatcast reads it directly, zones included. Garmin Connect has to be closed to the band, or it may hold the connection.

Read it on your iPhone

  1. Switch broadcasting on, as above.
  2. Open Beatcast and the sensor list. The band appears as a heart rate sensor.
  3. Pick it and start a session.

Beatcast puts the live number on a screen you already own. A band with no display is a fine idea until you want the number, and then the number sits in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen while you do something else. Back in the app, the readout takes the colour of your zone, with the zone's number, name and range underneath.

Zones, alerts and afterwards

The zones work out of the box. Nothing to type in first. If you know your numbers, base them on a percentage of maximum heart rate, on Karvonen or on a percentage of lactate threshold heart rate, and choose two, three or five zones.

Set a target zone and Beatcast tells you when you leave it, by sound, voice or haptic. That keeps working with the phone locked and in your pocket.

The time in each zone stays with the session. Each week in History also gets its own page with your time per zone, and the weekly CSV export names the zones and their bpm bounds. Single sessions export as CSV or TCX.

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If it won't appear

  • Check that Status is on. Broadcasting can be off after an update.
  • Close Garmin Connect and anything else that might be holding the band.
  • Take the band off the charger and wear it so it senses skin.
  • If it worked before the August firmware and stopped after, other owners reported the same.

The not connecting checklist covers the general cases.

Questions

Does the Cirqa show live heart rate on its own?

No, it has no screen. The number lives in an app.

Can I see live heart rate zones from a Cirqa, on a treadmill or an indoor bike?

Yes, on the phone. While the band broadcasts, Beatcast shows which zone you are in and colours the number to match. Lean the phone on the console or the handlebars, and if it locks, the zone stays on the Lock Screen.

Do I need Connect+ to see live heart rate?

One press report (the5krunner, 28 October 2026) says live heart rate during a workout in Garmin Connect has been free since 23 July 2026. For broadcasting to another app you never needed it.

Can two apps read it at once?

Garmin states no connection limit for the Cirqa. Plan on one Bluetooth receiver at a time.

See also: Garmin watches that broadcast, which watches broadcast.

Good to know

Beatcast is not a medical device. It is built for training and general wellbeing, and it cannot detect, diagnose, treat or monitor any condition. If something about your heart worries you, talk to a doctor rather than to an app.

The Bluetooth word mark is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Apple, iPhone, Dynamic Island and Lock Screen are trademarks of Apple Inc. Garmin, Cirqa and Connect+ belong to their owners and are used only to say which sensors Beatcast can read. Beatcast is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or certified by any of them.

Got a Cirqa working, or not? Report it in r/beatcast.