How to save Spotify music to your Garmin watch for offline listening

How to save Spotify music to your Garmin Forerunner 570 — (Image credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

The best Garmin smartwatches offer onboard storage for music and podcasts. This perk means that you can jam out to your tunes while working out, without having to lug around a hefty smartphone.

Best of all, Garmin's offline music feature plays nicely with many of the most popular streaming apps, including Spotify and Amazon Music.

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How to save Spotify music to your Garmin watch

Download the Garmin Connect IQ app to your smartphone
Log in to the app store and search for Spotify (or your preferred music app)
Download the app and accept permissions
On your Garmin watch, select Music from the menus and then Spotify
Open the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone, enter your Spotify login credentials, and agree to the terms
Open the Spotify app on your Garmin watch and tap "Get started"
Select the playlists and/or podcasts you wish to download for offline listening
Wait for the music to sync; once complete, your download will appear in the Spotify music library on your watch
Pair some Bluetooth headphones with your Garmin and get your jam on

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

1. Download the Garmin Connect IQ app to your smartphone

To save Spotify music to your Garmin smartwatch for offline listening, you'll first need to download the Garmin Connect IQ app to your smartphone. You'll find it in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

2. Log in to the app store and search for Spotify (or your preferred music app)

Open the Connect IQ app and select the Garmin watch you'd like to download Spotify to. Next, search for Spotify or your preferred music streaming platform. Garmin watches support Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, and YouTube Music.

3. Download the app and accept permissions

Once you've located your preferred music streaming app, tap "Install" and accept any permissions. Note: Make sure your Garmin watch is close by. After a few minutes, the app should appear on your smartwatch.

4. On your Garmin watch, select 'Music' from the menus and then Spotify

Once you receive the notification that the app has been successfully installed, open your Garmin's menus and select "Music" and then "Music providers." Go ahead and tap on Spotify or your streaming platform of choice. This should result in a message stating you need to log in via the Garmin Connect app on your phone.

5. Open the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone, enter your Spotify login credentials

Before opening the Garmin Connect app, first make sure it's up to date. With that taken care of, open the Garmin Connect app; a pop-up should appear asking you to sign in to Spotify or your preferred streaming platform. Tap "Sign In" and enter your app login credentials when prompted.

6. Open the Spotify app on your Garmin watch and tap 'Get started'

At this point, you should be able to open the Spotify app on your Garmin watch. Go ahead and tap "Get started" to select playlists or podcasts you wish to download to the watch locally for offline listening.

7. Select the playlists and/or podcasts you wish to download

Tap the green "Add" button to download a playlist or podcast. Note: You can't search for individual artists or albums, but you can view and download the songs you most recently listened to.

8. Wait for the music to sync

Once you're happy with your music/podcast selection, go ahead and confirm your downloads and wait for the data to sync to the watch. This can take anywhere from several minutes to half an hour, depending on how much your tranfering.

9. Pair some Bluetooth headphones with your Garmin and get your jam on

Once the download is complete, you'll receive a message stating as much. Your playlist/podcast(s) can now be selected from the Spotify "Library" tab. Now it's time to pair a set of Bluetooth headphones with your Garmin watch, ditch your phone, and head out for a run/walk/hike/bike ride with some sweet, sweet music playing in your ears.

How many songs/podcasts you can save depends on which Garmin smartwatch model you own. The Garmin Forerunner 570, for example, has 8GB of internal storage, which should be enough to save 500 or more songs/podcasts.

Which begs the question, what do you like to listen to while working out? I'm a fan of punk rock and classic hip-hop; let me know your preferences in the comments below.

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Dan Bracaglia is the Tom’s Guide editorial lead for all things smartwatches, fitness trackers and outdoor gear. With 15 years of experience as a consumer technology journalist testing everything from Oura Rings to instant cameras, Dan is deeply passionate about helping readers save money and make informed purchasing decisions. In the past year alone, Dan has assessed major product releases from the likes of Apple, Garmin, Google, Samsung, Polar and many others.

An avid outdoor adventurer, Dan is based in the U.S. Pacific Northwest where he takes advantage of the beautiful surroundings every chance he gets. A lover of kayaking, hiking, swimming, biking, snowboarding and exploring, he also makes every effort to combine his day job with his passions. When not assessing the sleep tracking and heart rate accuracy of the latest tach gadgets, you can find him photographing Seattle’s vibrant underground music community.

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