Problem with the loading cable

The general problem with "spike" style connectors (as opposed to "wipe" style) is that either the fit has to be extremely precise or one end or the other must slightly "telescope" with sufficient force to insure that a solid connection is made for all the pins.

"Wipe" style connectors don't have this problem and in addition they clean themselves when inserted and removed. They have other issues (tension of the wiping components, etc) but not that one.

What appears to be the case here is that one or both data pins has insufficient tension to insure a good connection all the time due to variations in manufacturing tolerance (the *exact* protrusion of both the pin and socket in the watch), and thus it drops out occasionally on some units. The easiest fix for this is going to be on the cable end by changing it so it has an effective "spring" action in the pins themselves to allow a small amount of travel, and to load that spring action when the cable is inserted. Looking at my cable quite-closely I don't detect any sort of spring-action on the pins at all.

That's where the problem appears to be and it's a fairly obvious problem; with a "spike" style connector getting tolerances tight enough that you always have sufficient contact pressure on all pins at the same time is extremely difficult if neither end of the connector has any sort of spring-loaded action to it.

That's interesting about the pins in your cable, I wondered something similar.

All our cables though (we now have 4) do have sprung pins. Each pin moves independently and can be depressed down to the surface of the base against quite a firm spring action.

Those observations made me feel it wasn't a problem of this nature that was causing the data drop out from the watch.

same

same connection problem with 2 Fenix 5Xs, when connected to macbook pro a slight movement will dismount the watch but will continue charging. Fenix 5 black no with connection at all.

I just received my first replacement 5X and sadly enough, also it has this same wobbly cable issue :mad: Both the original and the swapped unit rock a 54Hxxxxx serial range. The first was 54H 007xxx, while the replacement went one digit higher at 54H 024xxx.

I have also just received a replacement F5x, serial number 54h020xxx. An excellent service from Garmin in all respects - apart from the fact the replacement is the same as the original. The watch has great difficulty connecting to the computer via cable.

As we have a F5x, a F5, and a F5s in the family the problem with the F5x is overpoweringly obvious. To be fair to Garmin they have never claimed I'm imagining things and they have sent a replacement. None of that changes the fact that I don't have a watch that can reliably connect to the computer via cable after paying £630 for it and I am irritated that the replacement is no improvement.

I have also just received a replacement F5x, serial number 54h020xxx. An excellent service from Garmin in all respects - apart from the fact the replacement is the same as the original. The watch has great difficulty connecting to the computer via cable.

As we have a F5x, a F5, and a F5s in the family the problem with the F5x is overpoweringly obvious. To be fair to Garmin they have never claimed I'm imagining things and they have sent a replacement. None of that changes the fact that I don't have a watch that can reliably connect to the computer via cable after paying £630 for it and I am irritated that the replacement is no improvement.

It absolutely blows my mind that a company that prides themselves on producing nice things (which is why I buy them) would not only change the cable connection to the watch for no apparent reason, but fail to produce at least a working change. Did they test like 2 units before releasing it to the masses? Seems kind of amateur-hour for a company like Garmin. I've just resigned myself to putting up with it since it appears there's no real fix

It absolutely blows my mind that a company that prides themselves on producing nice things (which is why I buy them) would not only change the cable connection to the watch for no apparent reason, but fail to produce at least a working change. Did they test like 2 units before releasing it to the masses? Seems kind of amateur-hour for a company like Garmin. I've just resigned myself to putting up with it since it appears there's no real fix

They are sending me two new cables to test - the first replacement was worse than the original, which only failed if i moved it. The replacement just lost connection without any movement on my behalf. Not convinced these will make a difference but will give them a go. However, the tech - who was incredibly helpful and recognized it was an issue, did note that there was a code in the system for an updated cable which hadn't yet been released. So maybe a true fix is in the works.

Having a watch with the serial number in the 300'S puts me on the very front end of the release. Mine had a horrible connection just had to touch the cable and it would drop the usb connection both on my PC at work and home. After one of the early updates to the watch, the issue with my work computer was solved but my home PC still had a terrible connection so Garmin sent me a new cable to try, which made zero difference on my home PC. The next option was Garmin replaced my watch now my serial number is in the 26,000 range, the new watch still disconnects but i really have to intentionally move the cable to the extreme to get it to disconnect this I can live with for now. My Forerunner 935 is rock solid!

Received my replacement data cable from Garmin today. Same story. No connection to the computer but the watch charges.

After the new cable sent by Garmin which confirm that the cable is not the problem.
Garmin sent me a new Watch.
Mechanically the cable is more stable, and the connection with MAC/PC too.
Thanks to Garmin support for the efficiency :D:D:cool: