Apple Health to Garmin: What Transfers

Why Apple Health is the hardest source to migrate from

Apple Health is unusually complete, but Garmin cannot read the database directly. The first job is to turn the encrypted iPhone backup into portable files.

• Apple documents two routes to your Health data. The Health app can export everything as XML straight from your iPhone, and Apple also states Health can come as part of a privacy.apple.com data request. Neither gives you a tidy CSV, and Apple contradicts itself about whether the account-level request includes Health at all, so the app export is the one to trust. The <a href="/guides/how-to-download-apple-data">Apple data download guide</a> covers the account export separately
• Health data is tied to the encrypted backup and requires tools like Health Auto Export to convert it into CSV, JSON, and workout files
• Sleep, HRV, reproductive, hearing, and clinical records have no Garmin equivalent at all
• Workouts are exportable as TCX/FIT via Health Auto Export
• Weight and body composition are exportable as CSV

Step 1: Take an encrypted iTunes backup of your iPhone

Apple Health data is not available as a normal folder on the iPhone. Start by making an encrypted local backup; without encryption, extraction tools cannot access the Health database.

1. Connect your iPhone to a Mac or PC
2. Open Finder (Mac) or iTunes (PC/older macOS)
3. Select your iPhone
4. Choose "Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac"
5. Check "Encrypt local backup" and set a strong password you will remember
6. Click "Back Up Now"
7. Wait: backup time depends on iPhone storage (10-60 minutes for typical 128GB iPhones)

Step 2: Use Health Auto Export to extract Apple Health data

Health Auto Export is a third-party app for converting Apple Health data into CSV, JSON, Markdown or GPX. It is closed source and freemium: a one-off payment for the basic version, or a lifetime unlock for the premium one. Apple's own XML export is the free alternative, if you do not mind working with XML.

1. Install Health Auto Export from healthyapps.dev
2. Open the app and point it at your encrypted iTunes backup
3. Enter the backup password
4. Select data categories to export (Workouts, Body Measurements, Heart Rate, Sleep, etc.)
5. Choose a format (CSV for spreadsheets, JSON for scripts)
6. Click "Start Export"
7. The app produces a folder of CSVs/JSONs

Step 3: Find and prepare the workout TCX files

The export folder may contain several formats depending on the tool and the workout source. Garmin needs a workout file with timestamps and, for route activities, GPS trackpoints.

1. In the export folder, locate the workout files. Apple Health exports workouts as TCX or GPX depending on the tool
2. If you used a different tool that produces CSV, you will need to convert workouts to TCX first
3. Verify each TCX file contains GPS trackpoints and heart rate data
4. Sort by date if you want to upload in chronological order

Step 4: Upload workouts to Garmin Connect

Garmin Connect accepts workout files from its web import page. This is the part of the migration that preserves the original activity timeline most reliably.

1. Sign in at connect.garmin.com
2. Click the cloud upload icon (top-right) or go to connect.garmin.com/modern/import-data
3. Drag and drop your TCX workout files
4. Garmin imports each as a separate activity
5. Workouts uploaded this way appear alongside Garmin-recorded activities on the same timeline

Step 5: Transfer weight and body composition

Weight is one of the few non-workout categories that maps cleanly between Apple Health and Garmin Connect. Export it separately so you can check units and dates before importing.

1. In the Health Auto Export folder, find the Body Measurements CSV
2. Open it in a spreadsheet and verify the columns (date, weight, body fat %, BMI)
3. Go to Garmin Connect > Health Stats > Weight
4. Use the import option
5. Upload the CSV
6. Garmin normalizes the columns and adds the entries to your weight chart

What does not transfer (sleep, HRV, reproductive)

Apple Health contains many measurements that Garmin either calculates differently or does not accept from a third-party source. Keep the original export even when a category cannot be migrated.

• Sleep stages: Apple Health stores these per-night but there is no Garmin import path for third-party sleep data
• HRV (SDNN): Apple Watch records HRV but Garmin uses its own RMSSD-based format
• Reproductive health: cycle tracking, basal body temperature, cervical mucus notes have no wearable counterpart
• Heart rate: Apple Watch records continuous HR but historical HR cannot be imported to Garmin
• Steps and floors: no Garmin import for historical daily summary data
• Clinical records (vaccinations, medications, lab results). Apple Health unique, no Garmin equivalent

Ongoing sync: keep Apple Health feeding Garmin

• For new workouts going forward, third-party apps like RunGap, HealthFit, or Strava sync can route Apple Health workouts to <a href="/guides/how-to-export-garmin-connect-data">Garmin Connect</a>
• The sync is one-way (Apple Health → Garmin) and runs in the background
• Sleep, HRV, and reproductive data stay in Apple Health only
• This is the practical answer for users who keep both ecosystems active. Use the <a href="/guides/backup-your-exports">backup guide</a> to preserve the source archive

Where to store it

• Store in a folder named apple-health-to-garmin-2026-08
• iPhone backups are large (10-50GB): local copy on an external SSD (external SSD) using Cryptomator
• Off-site encrypted copy in ProtonDrive (ProtonDrive)
• or pCloud (pCloud) for lifetime storage
• Keep the original iTunes backup file separately. It is the master archive that everything else derives from

Related guides

• Download Your Apple Data: Health, iCloud, Photos & App History (2026)
• Export Garmin Data: FIT Files, Sleep and HRV
• Back Up Your Data Exports: Storage, Encryption & Organisation (2026)

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