FTMS Stair Climber

What FTMS Stair Climber Does

The FTMS Stair Climber datafield lets your Garmin device talk directly to FTMS-compatible stair climber machines over Bluetooth. During your workout, it reads metrics like floors climbed, step rate, elevation, and total steps from the machine and logs them into your activity so you can review everything later in Garmin Connect.

FTMS Stair Climber runs as a datafield screen inside Garmin’s built-in activities (such as Stair Stepper / Stair Climber), not as a standalone app. If you’re new to datafields, the setup guide below will walk you through the configuration.

Free Trial & Unlock Model

You can use FTMS Stair Climber in a free trial mode, limited to the first 10 minutes of each activity. During the trial window:

• All features are active, including Dynamic Training Profiles (where supported)
• You can confirm your stair climber is compatible and metrics are recording correctly

To remove the time limit and record full sessions, you can unlock the app via an annual subscription processed securely through Gumroad. Details and pricing are explained on the Purchase & Unlock page.

Prefer a one-time purchase instead of a subscription? Consider FTMS All Sync, which supports all trainer types in a single app with full Dynamic Training Profile support.

How It Looks on Your Watch

FTMS Stair Climber provides a full-screen data page showing up to six metrics at once, ideal for tracking floors, steps, and cadence while you grind through your climb.

Note: Exact layouts and available metrics depend on your stair climber model and device.

Smart Trainer Metrics

These metrics are read directly from your FTMS-compatible stair climber (when supported by your trainer) and recorded into the activity file:

• Total Floors
• Steps per Minute
• Average Steps per Minute
• Total Steps
• Strides (where supported)
• Calories
• Elevation (Ascent)
• Elapsed Time

Garmin Device Metrics

These values come from your Garmin watch itself and can be shown alongside stair climber data:

• Heart Rate
• Average Heart Rate
• Max Heart Rate
• Energy Expenditure (Cal/min)
• Clock Time

All of these are stored in your activity, so you can review them later on the Stats and Charts pages in Garmin Connect or in compatible third-party platforms.

Compatibility Notes

FTMS Stair Climber is designed for machines that support the standard FTMS Bluetooth profile. In many product descriptions this may be listed as:

• “FTMS”
• “Bluetooth Smart Trainer”
• “BLE FTMS support”

Some commercial or gym stair climbers use proprietary Bluetooth protocols and may not be detected by the app. If your machine isn’t being found, check the FAQ & Troubleshooting page for steps to verify FTMS support and test using the BleScan tool.