It is not required to use Stryd for pace and distance, you can use GPS instead. But Stryd is often more accurate, responsive, and consistent than GPS for pace and distance. If you wish to use Stryd for pace and/or distance, follow the steps below:
ANT Pairing Only
Many Garmin watches can pair with Stryd through Bluetooth and ANT. Only use ANT pairing, Bluetooth pairing can cause a variety of issues.
Head to your Garmin watch settings
Scroll to the 'Sensors and Accessories' menu
You may see Stryd paired to the watch. If you see FP-STRYD, PWR-STRYD, or PWR-[NUMBER], remove these pairings. ONLY pair the Stryd pod as FP-[NUMBER]. [NUMBER] is the ANT+ ID of your Stryd.
If you don't see FP-[NUMBER] in the list, physically move your Stryd to activate it and use the watch menus to add a new sensor (search for foot pod only). The watch should find your Stryd.
Optional configuration:
If your Garmin watch supports Bluetooth sensor pairings, you can additionally pair Stryd as a Bluetooth sensor and then disable this pairing. The advantage of doing this is that the watch will not ask you to pair in the future, which can lead to incorrect configuration of the watch.
FP - STRYD: Pair but disable. You should pair and disable so you are not prompted in the future to make the connection.
PWR - STRYD: Pair but disable. You should pair and disable so you are not prompted in the future to make the connection.
Foot Pod Settings
You can configure Stryd to be used always for pace and/or distance, or indoor only (default). Disable autocalibration as it will lead to unexpected results:
Choose FP-[NUMBER] from the list
Scroll down and select 'Speed'
Scroll down to set to 'Always'
Scroll down and select 'Distance'
Scroll down to select 'Always'
Scroll down and select 'Cal. Factor'
Scroll down and select 'Disable'
Scroll down to 'Set Value' and confirm that it is 100.0