Problems of tracking of the activity in Expedition mode

I'm not sure exactly what's going on. Probably need a little more detail about the exact sequence of steps. Some of what you describe is normal, some is not.

Once you turn on expedition mode (manual), the device will prompt every time you power it off as to whether your want to power off OR go (back) into expedition mode. If you actually power down at that point, it's a true power-down - the next time you power up, the device will go through it's normal boot sequence. If you go (back) into expedition mode, then the device "sleeps". The next time you press power, it will "wake up" - which does not involve the full boot sequence.

Hello Twolpert,

Thanks for the info. The issue deeper is that every time I turn the device into expedition mode sometimes it enters the expedition mode sometimes it turns off which I don't understand when and why. I find what happened after the device is either waking up from the expedition mode or starts to boot as it was turned off. In this case after boot, the device starts to countdown 30sec asking to enter Expedition mode or not turn off. The problem is that I never know when it enters expedition mode and when it enters real expedition mode. 

The next problem I´m having when it enters the expedition mode is the absolute incorrect tracking of data. I own also Garmin Fenix 6 and I do the same trip with 66i and Fenix6 I see maybe I do 10kilometers with Fenix, but 66i shows 13km which is silly as the tracking refresh rate is much less than in normal mode. The same issue is with the elevation tracking, but vice-versa. The elevation profile is always much less maybe 5x less than Fenix 6.

Can You please evaluate if this device is problematic and is a case for claim/replace the device or its absolutely normal? I mean I have an old phone with low-quality GPS and still delivers better results regarding measurements.

I am now unclear as to which expedition mode you have selected.

To be clear: In prompted mode, you will be prompted each time you power the device off (as I previously described). In this mode, every time you power off (by pressing the power button long enough), you will be prompted to (re)enter expedition mode or to actually power off.

In auto mode, the device automatically starts the process of entering expedition mode after 2 minutes of inactivity. This is the mode in which you will see the 30-second countdown. Your options there are (a) wait for the countdown to expire, which enters expedtion mode, (b) enter expedition mode immediately by pressing Enter or (c) stay on without entering expedition mode by rocker-down to the appropriate on-screen button and Enter.

Either way, if you are sleeping in expedition mode, the green LED on the top of the unit will flash periodically. This does not occur if the unit is off.

I failed to ask if you have updated to the latest available firmware for the 66i. If not, use Garmin Express on a desktop PC to do so. Then test again. I don't recall anything recent (and important) regarding expedition mode. But it never hurts to be up to date. And it's the first thing tech support will ask you to do if you have to contact them.

Firmware release notes here: https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=15005

You can check the version on the unit via Main Menu > Setup > About. About is the last setup menu item.

Now I see something is going wrong. I use expedition mode in prompted mode with turn-off button than selecting Expedition mode. Expedition mode works in 60-70% OK in those 30 percent even the green light is flashing I press turnoff mode to "wake the machine up" it says resuming, but suddenly the Garmin logo appears and starts to boot up like it was turned off. After a while the countdown screen (like the automatic Expedition mode) appears. Do You agree it´s something wrong?

I´m using Garmin Express of course and I have the latest firmware installed 5,50

Going directly from "resuming" to the Garmin logo (meaning it's rebooting) is abnormal. This would typically indicate a crash. The only thing I would suggest is that you be certain you are not holding the power button down longer than necessary when "waking" the device. I don't know how that would interact with expedition mode.

If holding it down too long is not the problem, I'd call tech support.

There are definitely issues with expedition mode where it will sometimes pause tracking. The user will have to click resume to begin tracking again, so this instance in my case is not the result of powering down. I'm in the process of trying to log the step by step actions (and settings I have) that cause this to happen to I can send this to Garmin support. Consider doing the same, and then perhaps together we can get this resolved.

"The problem is that I never know when it enters expedition mode and when it enters real expedition mode."

If you see the green led flash every couple of seconds, it's "supposed" to be in expedition mode.

I can't say I have. My experience is from testing EM locally in my neighborhood. When I saw it was pausing the Trip Computer, I begin to run a variety of tests in an attempt to find steps to reproduce the issue, but it was a hit and miss. It was during these tests that I saw there was also issues with EM rebooting the device and that they were happening frequently. So I simply chose not to use EM on any actual trips.

The battery response they gave to you sounds odd. A device either tracks properly or it doesn't - plus or minus a small percentage or degree of error which is normal. But not by almost double the actual distance.

How long ago did the engineering dept tell you they were trying to resolve the issue? And did you have any luck with creating a set of steps to help them repeatedly reproduce the problem(s), or did you give up because it was inconsistent or too frustrating?

Would have to see the track. Would guess that expedition mode does more aggressive things than simply logging points at longer intervals. Perhaps not insisting on an accurate fix at each point. Less radio time and less computation per point.

Garmin units are notorious for failing to suppress large excursions due to multipath. This would likely get worse in expedition mode. That would lead to a lot of extra distance in expedition mode, but only in challenging conditions - urban canyons, nearby bluffs, etc. It would be apparent if you looked at the track on a map.