How to install the BrakeAce app on Garmin (beta)

What you need

• — Your Garmin Edge and its USB cable (the one that came with it carries data)
• — A Mac or Windows computer
• — On Mac only: the free OpenMTP app (openmtp.ganeshrvel.com) or Android File Transfer

1. Download the file for your Edge

Download the .prg file that matches your Edge model and save it somewhere easy to find, like your Desktop.

Supported Edge models

Each Edge model needs its own file. Pick your model in the downloads list below. If your Edge isn't listed, it isn't supported yet — email us.

2. Copy it to your Edge — Windows

1. 1Fully quit Garmin Express if it's open (also close its icon near the clock in the taskbar).
2. 2Turn on your Edge and plug it into your computer with the USB cable.
3. 3Open File Explorer. Your Edge appears under "This PC" with its model name.
4. 4Open the internal storage, then the GARMIN folder, then the APPS folder.
5. 5Drag the .prg file you downloaded into the APPS folder.
6. 6Wait for the copy to finish, then unplug the Edge.

2. Copy it to your Edge — Mac

1. 1Fully quit Garmin Express, including its icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen. It blocks other apps from seeing your Edge.
2. 2Install and open OpenMTP (or Android File Transfer). Newer Edges don't show up in Finder, so you need one of these apps.
3. 3Turn on your Edge and plug it into your Mac with the USB cable.
4. 4In OpenMTP, open the Edge's storage on the right-hand side, then open GARMIN, then APPS.
5. 5Drag the .prg file from your Mac (left side) into the APPS folder.
6. 6Wait for the copy to finish, then close OpenMTP and unplug the Edge.

3. Add BrakeAce to your ride

Unplug your Edge and let it finish starting up. BrakeAce does not get its own icon on the home screen. It is a Connect IQ data field you add to a data screen. The steps, including pairing and the BrakeAce menu, are below.

After copying, the file may disappear from the APPS folder. That's normal: newer Garmin devices move installed apps into a hidden folder.

How to use BrakeAce on your Edge

1. Add BrakeAce to a data screen

BrakeAce Data Field is not an app you launch from the Edge home screen. After the .prg file is installed, you add it to a data screen on the activity profile you ride with.

1. 1From the Edge home screen, open the menu, then Activity Profiles.
2. 2Select the profile you want BrakeAce on.
3. 3Select Data Screens, then the screen you want to change (or add a new data screen).
4. 4Select Layout and Data Fields. A layout with one or two large fields gives BrakeAce room for both brakes, battery, temperature, and the ride stats. A smaller field still works and switches to a compact view.
5. 5Select the field you want to replace: tap it on a touchscreen Edge, or move to it with the arrow buttons and press the select button.
6. 6Open the Connect IQ category and select BrakeAce Data Field.
7. 7Save, then back out to the home screen.

The field only appears on the profile you added it to. If you ride with more than one profile, repeat this for each one.

Do not pair the sensors from the Edge Sensors page. BrakeAce connects to them itself while the data field is on screen.

2. What the field shows

Each brake has its own row, FRONT and REAR, followed by the ride stats.

1. 1Each row shows the sensor’s short id. A sensor named BA-A12F is shown as A12F.
2. 2The status reads Searching, Found (the sensor is known but not connected yet), or Connected.
3. 3When a side is connected, its row adds battery percent, temperature in °C, and a bar showing how hard that brake is working right now.
4. 4Below the brakes: Events (brake events this ride), Avg (average event length), the front/rear share of braking as F and R percentages, and brake time for F, R, and Both.
5. 5Press Start on the Edge to begin the ride. That resets the stats and counts them while the timer runs. The field searches for and connects to sensors before you press Start too.

3. Pair your sensors

Pairing happens inside the data field, not in the Edge Sensors menu.

1. 1Have both sensors powered on and close to the Edge.
2. 2Open your ride profile and go to the data screen with BrakeAce. Searching means it is looking for sensors.
3. 3With nothing saved yet, the first BrakeAce sensor it connects to becomes FRONT and the second becomes REAR.
4. 4Connected means data is coming in. If a sensor ends up on the wrong side, use Swap front / rear (section 5).
5. 5The pairing is remembered. Next time, the field reconnects to the same sensors.
6. 6If several BrakeAce sensors are nearby, use Assign front and Assign rear (section 7) to pick yours.

4. The BrakeAce menu

The data field has its own settings menu, titled BrakeAce. Garmin opens a data field’s settings from the Connect IQ section of the activity settings; the exact path varies by Edge model and software version.

1. 1With your ride profile open, open the settings for Connect IQ data fields and select BrakeAce Data Field.
2. 2A menu titled BrakeAce opens with: Swap front / rear, Reconnect sensors, Remove front, Remove rear, Forget all, Assign front, Assign rear.
3. 3Remove front and Remove rear show the short sensor id when that side is paired, for example Remove front A12F.
4. 4Selecting an item runs it and closes the menu. Assign front and Assign rear open a list of sensors instead.

5. Swap front and rear

Use this when the front brake sensor shows on the REAR row, or the other way around.

1. 1Open the BrakeAce menu.
2. 2Select Swap front / rear.
3. 3The menu closes. The two sensors trade places and the Edge remembers the new assignment.

6. Unpair or reconnect

1. 1Remove front or Remove rear unpairs that side only. The other side stays paired.
2. 2Forget all unpairs both sides and starts a fresh scan.
3. 3Reconnect sensors drops the live connections and scans again, keeping your pairing. Use it if a sensor stays on Found.

7. Choose which sensor is front or rear

Assign front and Assign rear let you pick from the sensors the field has detected, instead of taking the first one it finds.

1. 1Wait on the BrakeAce data screen for a few seconds so the field can detect nearby sensors.
2. 2Open the BrakeAce menu and select Assign front or Assign rear.
3. 3A list of short sensor ids opens (up to four). A sensor already used on the other side is not listed.
4. 4Select your sensor. The menu closes and that side pairs to it.
5. 5If the list only shows Waiting for names, go back, wait a few more seconds on the data screen, and try again.

8. Edge 540

The Edge 540 download uses a simpler two-line display, one line per brake. It has the same BrakeAce menu for swapping, removing, and assigning sensors.

1. 1F: scan or R: scan means that side is looking for a sensor.
2. 2F: or R: followed by a short id means that side has found its sensor.
3. 3Once connected, the line shows live readings for that brake.

Update to a new version

1. 1Download the new .prg for your Edge from this page.
2. 2Copy it into GARMIN/APPS the same way as above, replacing the old file if your computer asks.
3. 3Unplug the Edge. You may need to add BrakeAce to your data screen again if it no longer appears.

Remove the app

1. 1Connect the Edge to your computer the same way as above.
2. 2Open GARMIN/APPS and delete the BrakeAce .prg file (if it's visible).
3. 3If you can’t see the file, remove the app with Garmin Express.
4. 4Unplug the Edge.

Troubleshooting