GPS accuracy very bad !!

Sorry, but I'm not agree with you.

You have the right to be disappointed but be careful with your statement which are only based on assumptions not proof.

DCRainmaker was the first in his last swimming video to declare how he was fed up with the accuracy of his Garmin Plus.
Got to 07:00 and see for yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF_KMeKB708

Also Monsieur Yeti and myself have been plenty satisfied with the use and accuracy of our Garmin 5X Plus.

Yes but when I saw GPS results with Galileo, I have some doubts... Nobody could proove that Galileo is working or at least activating it brings something better. On some traces GPS only is better... If it is usefl, why Garmin didin't do a video to show us this improvement ? May be I am wrong...

I would prefer DCrainmaker telling us before that this watch was horrible with its GPS... He have been working 1 year with Garmin team on the Fenix 5 Plus and he didin't noticed all issue we found in one week ; Drunk man syndrome, water swimming problem, Pulse OX wrong for some people (not you :), Galileo useless,... ) I am not also speaking about the risk to brick your watch...

Really hope they will do a better job soon at Garmin.

IMHO I had the best gps accuracy with firmware 2.40. Obce I installed 3.1 everything went worse and the drunkman pattern started to show. So I think that it is more a software issue than anything else and I do not know why Garmin is not working on it. Furthermore they must use the compass and the built in accelorometer to improve tracks, just like Suunto is doing with his al new Suunto 9 and the new Fused track. Garmin is by far the biggest Gps manufacturer in the world, but since they have so many products in the market I really see the dificulty to solve all the software problems found in any of its devices. However since the Fenix series are their top end watches, and their best selling product by no doubts the have to focus to solve its software issues.
So please Garmin if you’re reading these lines and all the people in these forums, solve as fast as you can the problems found in the plus series. Your strive will have its reward you can mark my words.

Hi,
Thanks for your feedback and your information. Unfortunately, I tested directly with firware 3.10 since when I had it it updates automatically. That could explain why DCRainmaker didin't have the same behaviour like us if he tested the watch with a previous version. NemoSandman also noticed that holding the watch with its face pointing to the sky was improving accuracy but it is not very easy...

I really hope they will provide a fix or at least coming to a previous version that works. When I compared with my 5 years old Suunto it is not acceptable to have awatch having a so bad accuracy whereas it is the high end watch of Garmin and costing more than the double of my high end Ambit 2.

Let's see...

IMHO I had the best gps accuracy with firmware 2.40. Obce I installed 3.1 everything went worse and the drunkman pattern started to show. So I think that it is more a software issue than anything else and I do not know why Garmin is not working on it. Furthermore they must use the compass and the built in accelorometer to improve tracks, just like Suunto is doing with his al new Suunto 9 and the new Fused track. Garmin is by far the biggest Gps manufacturer in the world, but since they have so many products in the market I really see the dificulty to solve all the software problems found in any of its devices. However since the Fenix series are their top end watches, and their best selling product by no doubts the have to focus to solve its software issues.
So please Garmin if you’re reading these lines and all the people in these forums, solve as fast as you can the problems found in the plus series. Your strive will have its reward you can mark my words.

Suunto 9 has excellent GPS that no garmin has ever beaten, even the newest Fenix 5x plus.

I'm now testing the suunto 9, and coupled with the bug that Garmin has and doesn't fix, I'm leaning towards returning my Fenix and keeping suunto 9 instead. Suunto has zero issue and excellent GPS accuracy.

Suunto has zero issue and excellent GPS accuracy.

"I put the two top triathlon/multisport watches to the test on a winner takes all test. Who sinks and who swims? Turns out, they both sunk...horribly."
DC Rainmaker on his video
"Fenix 5 Plus vs Suunto 9: Openwater Swim Shootout (Failboat)"

You mileage may vary.

Suunto 9 has excellent GPS that no garmin has ever beaten, even the newest Fenix 5x plus.

I'm now testing the suunto 9, and coupled with the bug that Garmin has and doesn't fix, I'm leaning towards returning my Fenix and keeping suunto 9 instead. Suunto has zero issue and excellent GPS accuracy.

Sorry but ain’t truth what you are saying. Due to the low power comsuption of the new sony chipset found in the new suunto 9, the signal received from the watch will be much lower than the one found in the garmin one and will barely differ in any real case. However the best track traces shown in the maps for the suunto are due to the new suunto fused track.
the best results for any gps device were the ones found in those with a Sirdef chipset, now Qualcomm.
I will go further with saying that anyone expecting an extreme accuracy for one of these devices is going to be let down by miles.
Also nobody is taking into account that the gps antenna in round watches without a bump (just like Ambit series or V800) will have worst accuracy due to the electronic interferences of the other electronic hardware found in the watch, and that it is a fact.
Can Garmin gps accuracy be better and improved??? Sure it can, the watch has a lot of hardware to improve and to correct the signal interferences but it is a software problem that garmin has to work on it.

...
Can Garmin gps accuracy be better and improved??? Sure it can, the watch has a lot of hardware to improve and to correct the signal interferences but it is a software problem that garmin has to work on it.

Exactly, and that is what i do not understand, why is Garmin so slow in improving the software?
The 920x is way better then the Fenix 5x.
And my Fenix 5x Plus is even worse then the 5x...

So before bring out a new device with unfinished beta or even alpha software, you'd better work on getting the software correct working or am i wrong...
However, i believe if times come, the software will get an improvement.. just hope it's soon and not takes until Version 10 or later...

OWS coud be easily corrected with a simple if - then question... (as example: if the signal is 5sek later, then it can't be 100m away or something like that)
I might be wrong, since i'm not working in the computer software business, but in my understanding should such an error question be possible to make without to much effort...

It's a shame Garmin is considering GPS on this watch as an extra feature.

I think also that Garmin is lying about implementing Galileo. There is no change when using it or not and telling that Galileo is not yet 100% operationnal is not an reason. I think it is just a marketing "trick", maybe the watch can receive Galileo signal but it doesn't deal with it. If Garmin could proove that their watch is Galileo compatible, it should be great but I think they will never show us any result or study about it.

I wil never trust again reviewer like DC Rainmaker that claims the Fenix 5 Plus has new GPS hardware and new software... Reviewer who works cloasely with vendors are not reliable. I bouhgt my watch based on his review but it was an error. Every Garmin watch will be grat for him.

I have a Fenix 5X and definitely see a change when using GPS + Galileo compared to GPS + Glonass. First, time to first fix is always longer with GPS + Galileo. This may be simply due to the shorter messages used in the Glonass system. Shorter messages completed in less time make it possible to fix faster. Also on my runs GPS + Galileo gives almost perfect distance. I run in a 400m track around a soccer field and with Glonass each 400m lap was about 15 meters before the previous one. However, with Galileo option it beeps almost always in the same location or just one or two meters earlier or later. But GPS track is no better or worse than Glonass option, just the distance is better. And GPS only setting results in lap alerts in mixed places. :D The soccer field I run is an open area with almost open sky. However, Galileo option doesn't affect my bike rides in any way, I prefer Glonass during biking. Or even only GPS when I need some battery life.

The thing with operational state of Galileo is or was right. As I know all satellites are positioned in the sky recently, but some are in testing stage yet. During the run I gave my example there were only three Galileo satellites my phone can fix to while there were close to ten GPS satellites. However, at the moment my phone can fix 6 Galileo satellites. So it should improve. But I don't understand why people think Galileo support will improve the accuracy of the watch. It only increase the number of satellites watch can fix so that it should help in areas with low satellite visibility. However, my own runs display some distance accuracy in the open area. Real benefit of Galileo is with two frequency but watch can use single frequency Galileo, too. There is a watch named Polar V800 with a Sirf chipset and only GPS support. It'll definitely beat our Fenix'es even if Garmin enables GPS, Glonass and Galileo at the same time and put Beidou near them. :D

Sorry but ain’t truth what you are saying. Due to the low power comsuption of the new sony chipset found in the new suunto 9, the signal received from the watch will be much lower than the one found in the garmin one and will barely differ in any real case. However the best track traces shown in the maps for the suunto are due to the new suunto fused track.
the best results for any gps device were the ones found in those with a Sirdef chipset, now Qualcomm.
I will go further with saying that anyone expecting an extreme accuracy for one of these devices is going to be let down by miles.
Also nobody is taking into account that the gps antenna in round watches without a bump (just like Ambit series or V800) will have worst accuracy due to the electronic interferences of the other electronic hardware found in the watch, and that it is a fact.
Can Garmin gps accuracy be better and improved??? Sure it can, the watch has a lot of hardware to improve and to correct the signal interferences but it is a software problem that garmin has to work on it.

That's your theory. I have both and while theoretically the low battery may mean lower signal, in reality, suunto GPS is way far superior. I don't have drunk lines in suunto even with normal GPS and I don't even have to use fusedtrack..
????