Poor ANT Connectivity

Just went for my first short bike ride with my f5, with the following ANT devices paired:

Stages Power Meter
Garmin HRM Run
Garmin Speed Sensor
Garmin Varia Rear Radar Light
Garmin Tempe Sensor

All of which I'd previously paired and set-up with my f5 without any problems. All of these devices (apart from the Tempe) were also paired with my Edge 1000 mounted on my handlebars.

Previously, I had all of these (except the Varia) paired with my f3 and the only connection problems I'd encounter during rides would be the Tempe (mounted under my saddle) would sometimes drop out for a single 1-minute reading.

However, with my f5 it's a different (and not good) story - Even before I started the ride, my Stages PM kept disconnecting and reconnecting, and at the end of the ride there's no power recorded at all. During the ride I kept getting messages come up on the f5 that the Varia light had disconnected and reconnected several times. Connection with the Tempe seems to have been lost for about 80% of the time as the temperature shows long blocks clearly taken from the f5's internal sensor (where it's much warmer as it's picking up skin temperature). The heart rate trace also shows a point where it's dropped the connection with the chest strap.

As I said, my setup is the same as I've been using with my f3 for the last 2+ years and apart from lots of very short Tempe drops, I never experienced anything like this. I've also checked the activity as recorded on my Edge 1000, and everything's fine on there.

Is anyone else experiencing similar?

FIT file can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/eei3y3sfcj8151d/73JD2214.FIT?dl=0

0 RDM01 over 8 years ago

I have two Stages power meters and they have a weak ANT+ signal. It has cause issues, such as trying to initially pair with some Garmin Edge units like the 810. Although they work well enough once paired with the Edge products I have had issues with Forerunner units. If you are wearing the F5 (or 920XT) on your wrist, the right wrist will work better and even better with the F5 facing inside the right wrist. It gives it a better line of sight to the Stages PM since the crank arm comes between the Stages meter and your left wrist.

Since the F5 supports BLE and the Stages PM does also, I have found this to be a better way to connect than using ANT+, even on my TT bike when I am in the aero position. You might give that a try. Pair with F5 with the Stages using BLE and disable the ANT+ connection since it can only be connected to one at a time.

In a previous post I wrote I did this test. The connection is better but still having drops during the ride. I haven't any single drops with my former FR920XT, Fenix 3 nor Edge 520!

0 jminar over 8 years ago

I did a little test yesterday with my Tacx Satori Smart Trainer, an HRM Run and the help of my girlfriend. I put the trainer in an open area at home and had her take my Fenix 5 and walk away in a straight line. The first time she saw the cadence/power output of the trainer drop was at about ~ 6 meters (~ 19 feet). She then slowly walked back towards me until the signal was regained at ~ 5 meters (~ 16 feet). We repeated this a total 3 times and those distances were pretty consistent. For the rest of the ride I had the Fenix lay flat on a table in front of the bike, about 1 to 1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet) away from the trainer with no signal drops.

Interestingly, the HRM-Run signal was lost only the first time, but then stayed connected while the connection to the Trainer dropped out for a second and third time.

Now, I know that a Trainer is not comparable to a PM regarding signal strength, but i think the connection to the HRM Run gives a good baseline for you guys to compare. Unfortunately I don't have my Fenix 3 any more, so I don't know if it had better signal reception than the Fenix 5, but to me 5 meters don't seem too bad.

Here is the training btw., you can see the drops at minutes 7 to 9.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1654744916

0 Cedricg_38 over 8 years ago

Did a 1H30 ride with old Garmin Cad/Speed sensor, no problem at all.
Hope it was no just a lucky ride ;-)

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

I had trouble getting speed and cadence sensor to connect at first.

After four minutes of connecting and dropping, they both caught on and were fine for the remainder of my ride. My hrm just needed to be replaced, it was several years old.

So, troubleshooting with a ton of patience worked out well. Everything seems to be working great

0 NeilJonesOnline over 8 years ago

Did a 1H30 ride with old Garmin Cad/Speed sensor, no problem at all.
Hope it was no just a lucky ride ;-)

I had trouble getting speed and cadence sensor to connect at first.

After four minutes of connecting and dropping, they both caught on and were fine for the remainder of my ride. My hrm just needed to be replaced, it was several years old.

So, troubleshooting with a ton of patience worked out well. Everything seems to be working great

Is your speed sensor on your front or rear hub?

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Mine is on the rear

0 Cedricg_38 over 8 years ago

Mine is mount on the rear wheel. It the same model and mount that this one:
http://www.kogagestolen.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/6949.jpg
Bought in 2013 with my Garmin 910XT :-)

0 Cedricg_38 over 8 years ago

Mine is on the rear wheel.

0 cpapenfuss over 8 years ago

Stryd - does not really work

I have completed three runs with the F5. The Stryd keeps dropping on each run. 45 min and roughly ten drops. One was for more than one minute.
Spoke to Garmin support on Monday. They recommended that I keep the unit for now - sounds like a software problem?

0 webvan over 8 years ago

But the F5x running the same software doesn't have these dropout problems right?