I upgraded from an older Forerunner to a Fenix 8, but plugging it into my MacBook via USB does literally nothing. Now it seems macOS just ignores the watch completely.
I saw a few threads online mentioning Android File Transfer, but that app doesn’t work anymore. Someone on Reddit recommended MacDroid, but I wanted to ask. How are you guys moving files back and forth between the Fenix 8 and a Mac? Do third-party MTP tools actually work, or is there a better workaround?
Your Fenix 8 isn’t showing up in Finder because Garmin uses Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) on newer watches instead of regular USB Mass Storage. macOS can’t browse MTP devices on its own, so the watch may appear connected while still being inaccessible through Finder.
You can remove Android File Transfer. It’s outdated and tends to have problems with newer macOS releases and Apple Silicon Macs.
For direct access to the watch’s files over USB, you’ll need an MTP-compatible app. MacDroid, for example, can mount MTP devices in Finder for normal drag-and-drop file transfers. Make sure Garmin Express is fully closed first. Only one application can control an MTP device at a time, so Express running in the background can prevent another file manager from seeing the watch.
If you only need firmware updates, map management, or playlist syncing, Garmin Express should be enough. It handles those tasks over USB without giving you direct access to the file system.
For routes and GPX files, USB usually isn’t necessary. Upload them to Garmin Connect in your browser, then let Garmin Connect sync them to the watch through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Before installing anything, connect the watch directly with a known data-capable USB cable, since charge-only cables and hubs can cause misleading connection problems. For activity files, sync to Garmin Connect and use “Export Original” on the activity page to download the FIT file. Save MacDroid for cases where you genuinely need folder-level access, such as manually copying music or GPX files.
If the watch is set to Garmin USB mode, switching file-transfer apps won’t solve it. On the Fenix 8, check Watch Settings > System > Advanced > USB Mode and select MTP, then unplug and reconnect it. Garmin exposes both Garmin and MTP modes, but neither makes the watch behave like a normal external drive in Finder.
I wouldn’t bother with folder access for every task. Sync activities through Garmin Connect and export the original FIT file when needed. For personal MP3 or M4A files, Garmin’s documented Mac method is Garmin Express, while streaming-provider playlists download over Wi-Fi.
MacDroid makes sense when you specifically need to inspect folders or manually place files. Set the watch to MTP first and completely quit Garmin Express before opening it. Otherwise you can spend a while blaming the cable when the watch is simply in the wrong USB mode or another app has claimed the connection.
Treat MTP as a transfer connection, not a normal disk: copy files to the Mac before opening or editing them, and don’t reorganize Garmin’s folders. MacDroid can expose those folders, but for routine activities and music, Garmin Connect or Express is safer than manual file management.
Pulling one FIT file off the watch and loading a whole music library are two different jobs, and the thread is kind of blending them. If all you want is activity data, you never need to touch the file system. Garmin Connect syncs it and gives you the original file with a couple of clicks. If you’re moving 200 songs manually, that’s when USB and folder access actually matter, and that’s a much smaller crowd than people assume.
@kevin86 nailed the real trap. Most ‘my watch won’t show up’ posts come down to USB mode or another app holding the connection, not the cable and not the app you picked. Set MTP, quit Express fully, then plug in. I’d check that before installing anything. MacDroid is fine for exposing those folders when you genuinely need to poke around in there, but treating it as the default fix for every transfer is overkill for something Connect already handles wirelessly.
The part nobody flagged: music syncing over USB on a Mac has always been the flaky bit, MTP app or not. Streaming playlists come down over Wi-Fi anyway, so the only thing you’re really dragging by hand is personal MP3s. If that’s your use case, expect some trial and error and copy files off the watch before touching them, like @vladthesprite said. Don’t reshuffle Garmin’s folders and then wonder why the watch sulks.
If by “transfer files” you mean making a complete backup of the Fenix 8, folder access won’t really do that. Some settings and synced data are not stored as a neat collection of files you can copy back later. Garmin Connect handles most of that. Manual USB access is mainly useful for grabbing specific FIT, GPX, music, or diagnostic files.
For that job, @kevin86’s USB mode check is the first useful test. Set the watch to MTP, quit Garmin Express completely, reconnect it directly, then open an MTP client. Do not wait for Finder or Disk Utility to notice the watch. They generally won’t. MacDroid is an option, but installing it only makes sense if you regularly need those folders.
When copying from the watch, copy the file to the Mac first and work on the copy. Opening a FIT file directly from the MTP connection, renaming Garmin folders, or trying to treat the watch like an external SSD is asking for pointless trouble.
Wait until the transfer finishes before unplugging, too. MTP apps are not always clear about queued writes, and the watch may still be processing a file after the progress window disappears.
For occasional activity exports, Garmin Connect is less annoying. For a batch of files or manual music management, use MTP. For a full watch backup, neither method is really the solution.
Open System Information on the Mac first, then check Hardware > USB with the Fenix connected. That tells you whether macOS can see the watch at the hardware level, even though Finder refuses to show it. If nothing new appears there, an MTP app will not fix the problem. Try the original Garmin cable, connect directly instead of through a hub or monitor, and clean/dry the watch contacts before going further.
If the watch does appear in the USB list, then @kevin86’s USB mode check is the useful next move: switch it to MTP, reconnect, and fully quit Garmin Express, including any menu bar/background process. At that point Finder still doing nothing is normal. You need an MTP client such as MacDroid only if you actually want to browse folders.
I’d be skeptical of paying for or installing a file manager before making that hardware-versus-software distinction. A watch visible in System Information but absent from Finder is an MTP limitation. A watch absent from System Information has a connection problem.
For occasional FIT files, routes, or normal syncing, Garmin Connect is less work. Use direct MTP access when you have a specific reason, such as retrieving several files, diagnostics, or manually managing personal music. Copy files onto the Mac before editing them, and avoid treating the Garmin folder structure like a removable SSD.
Don’t factory-reset the watch or keep installing file managers yet. On an Apple-silicon MacBook, connect it while the Mac is unlocked and approve the USB accessory prompt. If you previously dismissed it, check System Settings > Privacy & Security > Allow accessories to connect.
After macOS permits the data connection, switch the watch to MTP and reconnect. Finder still won’t mount it like a drive, but an MTP client should then detect it.
Careful before you hand over a card number for any MTP app. Most of them, MacDroid included, gate the useful bit behind a paid tier. The free side usually only gets you read-only or a crippled version, and two-way transfer is the part you actually want. That’s fine if you’re moving music onto the watch regularly, but for a one-time FIT grab it’s a lot of ceremony for a file you can pull from the browser in ten seconds.
Which is why I’d flip the order most of the thread is suggesting. @redfalcon1441’s System Information check is the right first move, no argument there. But once you know the hardware link is alive and the watch is in MTP, ask yourself what you’re really after before installing anything. If it’s activities, Garmin Connect and Export Original is done. If it’s a handful of GPX routes, Connect syncs those too. The folder browsing everyone keeps circling back to only earns its keep when you’re managing a personal music library by hand, and that’s a narrow use.
The tool itself isn’t the problem, and I’m not knocking it. MacDroid does mount MTP devices in Finder, which is more than macOS gives you out of the box. I’d just treat it as the thing you reach for after you’ve confirmed you genuinely need folder access, not as step one.
Small thing nobody mentioned: the FIT file Connect hands you with Export Original is the raw device file, so you’re not losing data by skipping USB. People assume the version off the watch is somehow more complete. It isn’t, for a single activity.
One more practical bit. If you do go the MTP route, the watch will sometimes drop the connection mid-copy on a longer music transfer, and the app won’t always tell you cleanly. Move files in smaller batches instead of dumping 200 songs at once. Slower, but you won’t be guessing which tracks actually landed.