Garmin GPS on the blink?

[ForbiddenPlanet]

After twisting my ankle just over a week ago, I went on a 2 km run / walk yesterday, and then a gentle 7.25 km run at 8:15 this morning.

I say "gentle", Garmin clocked my first km @ 4:08 whereas in reality it was more like 5:40

Got home and checked my run on the Garmin Connect map, and it starts about a quarter of a mile away from the actual start and then veers all over the place, adding on an extra quarter km for good measure.

Wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience this morning?

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate]

Yes totally! My Garmin had me running loops of impassable bits and bobs today. I looked at the map after and thought I never did that bit. Or that bit. Or that bit! Very strange. The gps must have had a very funny five minutes or more 🤣.

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10 in reply to Frenc]

Thanks Frenc - not just me then! 😀 Hopefully it will be fixed for tomorrow. 🤞

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to ForbiddenPlanet]

What didn’t help this end was I was trying out a new route and got lost anyway and ended up having to run through someone’s back garden to get back on to the road I needed! The owner was there with his dog and I stopped and apologised profusely! Yes, hopefully it will be back to normal soon 😊.

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10 in reply to Frenc]

Oh dear, hope the owner of the garden was not too put out! According to the Garmin map I spent most of my run in a river, and finished in deep water. 😂

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to ForbiddenPlanet]

He was very polite in that buttoned up British kind of way! I couldn’t face going all the way back that I’d come so it was a relief. 😊

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to ForbiddenPlanet]

Lol you should have pressed swim rather than run! Then it might have been accurate 🤣.

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10 in reply to Frenc]

🤣🤣🤣🤣!

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to ForbiddenPlanet]

Well done on your run btw after hurting your ankle.

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10 in reply to Frenc]

Thank you, it was lovely to be back out there again. 😁

[Biscuitbaker Graduate10]

Me too, the first bit at just after 6am had me going all over the place, it seemed to seemed to settle down after about 2km. I had basked in the fast for me pace announced into my headphones, Wow I wasn’t even trying that hard, only to be cruelty disabused of it when I actually looked at the map 😬🤣

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10 in reply to Biscuitbaker]

Yes - utterly cruel getting our hopes up like that! I was on for a 5K PB by about 7 minutes if the Garmin pace was correct! 🤣🤣

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Biscuitbaker]

I had a stonking pace for one of my kilometres this morning - which was technically impossible! Garmin wasn’t on the ball today 😁.

[Hargo]

This is a reoccurrence of a bug that popped up last year. Luckily there are a couple of fixes that aren't too complicated. The first is to go into your run settings and change the GPS to galileo. The second is to set your watch to record and leave it recording outside for an hour or so. This should hopefully recalibrate the GPS. DC rainmaker has all the info on his website.

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10 in reply to Hargo]

Thanks for the info! 👍🙏

[AndresL Graduate10 in reply to Hargo]

Interesting. I ran using both constellations for well over an hour, but my location (and pace) was still wholly useless, with sections of 30’ missing. I will try to see if I can remove the GPS data after the fact and stay only with Galileo. I will check the DC Rainmaker website, thanks for the info!

[AndresL Graduate10]

Ah, so it wasn't only me, not the fact that I ran under the trees for most of my run! I’m doing the half-marathon adaptive training plan, and I went for a long easy run at my town’s commons, which has a thick canopy over most of the trails. The watch kept complaining that I was under my target easy pace, but I ignored it because I wanted to keep my heart rate in zones two and low-3. After about 35 minutes, I got bored of the commons, and I took off to a trail of footpaths going through farms, etc... and finished after 105 minutes. The watch downgraded my VO2max and set my training status to unproductive... But also tells me I ran a new PB Km (2’ 45” 🤣) and Mile. I supposedly ran only 12 km, but when I looked at the map, it was a total mess, with the Commons section completely missing and lots of straight “jumps” of kilometres of length...

So, yeah, Garmin’s GPS must have been drunk yesterday, although the consistent pace-accuracy limitation in wooden areas is really bothering me, and I am seriously considering getting a Stryd device. Anyone has experience with them?

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10 in reply to AndresL]

Excellent PB! Were you tempted to accept it as a new record? 😁

Yeah my Garmin map showed me teleporting all over the place as well!

Interesting that your watch didn't autocorrect, as your run was well over an hour. 🤔(See helpful info posted above by Hargo ).

[Curlygurly2 Graduate10]

Yes, I had a couple of days like that.

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10 in reply to Curlygurly2]

I'm tempted to try a run or at least a long walk to see if it works now, but I think my ankle needs a rest today.

[AndresL Graduate10]

Nah, not for a second. It was too ridiculous and uncorrelated with the effort. My easy pace is about 7’30” per km, give or take, and 2’45” would be a (very short ) sprint on a (very) good day!

I completely missed Hargo’s post. Thanks for pointing it out!

[Sarararara Graduate10]

It’s always log runs with both Garmin and MMR in case of weird readings. Plus you get to compare 2 sets of stats!

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10 in reply to Sarararara]

I run without a phone (just my watch, which will play music), so although I also look at stats on MapMyRun and Strava, they're both fed from my Garmin!