I just got a Garmin Fenix and the first few times had no problem acquiring a satellite but recently it has been taking 5-10mins to acquire. I am wearing the watch on my wrist and out in the open away from buildings and trees. Is this normal?
I wouldn't consider it normal. I don't have a fenix, but being newer technology it should acquire at least as fast as my edge which is seldom more than 3 to maybe as much as 5 minutes. If you are moving very much while it's trying to get a lock, that may increase the time to acquire. Also if your location is more than say 100 miles away from it's last known location.
If you don't get a solution from someone here, don't hesitate to call Garmin Support. If they can't solve it, they'll send you another. Or if possible, return it to where you bought it and get another.
The Fenix has always been a little weird about satellite acquisition. For the last few weeks, we've had more than enough snow for me to go cross country skiing. Usually I go down to the local park, a walk of about 5 minutes, to ski laps. I always turn my Fenix on when I leave the house. Sometimes it's locked to satellites when I reach the end of my driveway. Sometimes it isn't locked when I reach the park, and only after I get my boots in the bindings is it ready to go. This has been typical throughout the 1 1/2 years I've owned a Fenix; the acquisition time varies greatly, and I always try to give it at least 5 minutes.
But this is about to change. You can change it today by getting the 4.12 beta that they released yesterday (search the site for the link). Fenix now pre-caches satellite positions, and although i haven't tried mine yet, the reports I've seen say that it's much faster now to acquire. If you're not willing to run beta software on your Fenix, then you'll have to wait a little while yet.
I am not shure if the EPO.bin file (pre-cached satellite positions) is inclouded in the fw 4.12beta update or if you get it, by connecting the fenix to garmin express + garmin connect and do a sync...
Now, we just need a gps fw update to get to more accurate gps position for track recording. I hope, the fenix 2 uses the same gps fw as the normal fenix and so we will get a gps fw update for sure.
