Your Garmin won't show up in Finder?
Plug a music-capable Garmin watch into a Mac and, more often than not, nothing happens. It charges, but Finder never lists it. The watch isn't broken, and neither is your Mac. They just don't speak the same protocol.
What's going on
Garmin's music watches, the Fenix, Epix, and Forerunner music models among them, connect over MTP rather than as a plain USB drive. Windows handles MTP without help. macOS doesn't, so the watch shows up nowhere in Finder. For years the answer was Android File Transfer, a tool Google has since abandoned and which breaks on current Macs anyway. Garmin's own forums are full of people stuck on exactly this.
Mount it in Finder instead
Comprador shows the watch in Finder like a USB drive. Add music, or copy your activity files and routes off, by dragging them. No payment, and nothing to enable on the watch. It's free and open source.
- Plug the watch in with a cable that carries data, not a charge-only one.
- If the watch asks how to connect, choose MTP. The music watches default to it.
- The watch appears in Finder's sidebar under Locations. Open the GARMIN folder to copy music in or pull GPX and activity files out. Eject it before you unplug.
How it compares
| Comprador | Android File Transfer | OpenMTP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free & open source | Yes | Free, closed | Yes |
| Shows up in Finder, like a drive | Yes | No | No |
| Still maintained | Yes | Abandoned | Yes |
| Works with any MTP device | Yes | Most | Most |
Non-music Garmin units often offer a plain USB mass-storage mode and mount on a Mac without any of this. The music watches are the ones that need MTP.
Questions
Which Garmin devices need this?
The music-capable watches: Fenix, Epix, and the Forerunner music models, among others. Many non-music units still mount as a normal USB drive.
Why won't my Garmin show up on my Mac?
The music watches speak MTP, and macOS has no built-in MTP support. The watch connects and charges, but Finder never lists it until something on the Mac translates MTP.
Can I add music, or copy my activities off?
Both. Once it's mounted, drag music into the watch's music folder, and pull activity files, GPX routes, and the rest out of the GARMIN folder like any other volume.
Does it work on Apple Silicon?
Yes. It's a native app, signed and notarized by Apple, for macOS 13 or later. There's no developer mode to turn on.
Is it safe?
Free and open source, no telemetry. It talks to the watch over USB and serves the files to Finder over a loopback connection the network can't reach. Nothing leaves your Mac.