VIRB Elite Sensor dropouts

Mick T. - Thanks! Question: if the GPS is off up until I hit record, does it take some time before it acquires signal? In other words, should I start recording like 30 seconds before an event to be safe?

I was looking for a setting in which the GPS is on and has acquired a signal, but it is not actively recording data... like what the Garmin 500 does.

As far as the sensor drop issue, this is quite common sadly. Even the new magnetless cadence sensor is still constantly dropped by the Virb Elite. Sometimes it drops them an hour into a ride, other times it drops them 5 minutes into a ride.

It sucks. :/

Mick T. - Thanks! Question: if the GPS is off up until I hit record, does it take some time before it acquires signal? In other words, should I start recording like 30 seconds before an event to be safe?

I was looking for a setting in which the GPS is on and has acquired a signal, but it is not actively recording data... like what the Garmin 500 does.

I think the time it takes to acquire satellites is dependent on the amount of time the unit has been switched beforehand. I usually start recording, on my MTB, about a couple of minutes before the ride.

Hope this is of some help

As far as the sensor drop issue, this is quite common sadly. Even the new magnetless cadence sensor is still constantly dropped by the Virb Elite. Sometimes it drops them an hour into a ride, other times it drops them 5 minutes into a ride.

It sucks. :/

Ditto. I've had temporary success by dropping and re-pairing the sensor, but the problem will show up again a few days later

As far as the sensor drop issue, this is quite common sadly. Even the new magnetless cadence sensor is still constantly dropped by the Virb Elite. Sometimes it drops them an hour into a ride, other times it drops them 5 minutes into a ride.

It sucks. :/

Bummer... I should have saved the money and gone with the standard version. Apparently the issues is with ANT communication in general as both of my sensors drop at the exact same time.

I don't remember having sensor dropping problems with mine until 3.7, though, so it's something they broke and should be able to fix.

I have just returned from a MTB ride and I have experienced the intermittent dropout from my cadence and hear rate sensors with my Virb Elite. This is the first time that this problem has occurred for me and I have had no updates recently. Very strange. My Garmin edge 510, that is mounted on the handlebars, recorded the whole data from the sensors without problem, apart for the usual cadence spikes that I have learned just to live with.

I am going to do a factory reset on the Virb and then re-pair the sensors to see if that helps. I will report back after tests.

Actually, you have a point. The reason to get an Elite model was that everything should be synched in time correctly because of the GPS. Since it can't reliably record ant sensor information I figured I would just use the gps log from my edge. However, the time stamps in the Virb video are all off so it is a pain to try and sync them anyway.

So, I have done a full factory reset and re-paired my HR monitor and cadence sensor. On the dashboard screen the HR was showing bpm -0 and the rpm also showed -0. I switched off, removed the battery and micro SD card and did two spins in an anticlockwise direction while reciting extracts from Shakespeare's Macbeth. Put everything back together and switched on. Now the HR and cadence on the dashboard is showing the correct reading (using the edge 510 for comparison). No dropouts while monitoring as yet (1 hour sat on my repair stand spinning the cranks). I have no confidence that the Virb Elite will record the GPS data on my next ride. I will try pulling the battery before setting off. Also another bug has come to light when using the setting 'GPS while recording'. You are unable to use the 'distance/duration' setting on GPS Adjust using Virb Edit, to make successive clips count time and distance from the start of the ride and not just from the start of the current clip.

I think it is time that Garmin stopped working on new features and concentrated on getting the core of the system working properly first.

I still love the Garmin Elite, even with all it's foibles, but I wouldn't depend on it in it's current state. For accuracy I prefer my wife's Contour roam, Garmin edge 500 and Dashware, it just works without hiccup.

Come on Garmin, get your act together now, give us our own dedicated forum for the Virb and better online support for your products that we are trying desperately hard to support.